Chap. 38. an Expofition upon the Book of J o B. Verf. q.. 4 thou knowea not what a day may bring forth, nor whether, as to thee, a co morrow (hall be brought forth. Death fweeps men fuddenly from the face of the earth ; only the Lord aiwayes is, and is alwayes the fame : All things change , but God is not changed : He is himfelf,and his yearsfails not : Then what's mans agecompared to God ? Note , Secondly ; Clod is the fir¡t Being. Where waft thou , when 1 laid the foundations of the Earth ? God alone was beforeall things; yet he wasnot at ail alone : For (as An:eon:nie Brat one of the Ancients faith) He wets to himfelf a world, place, and deotsfolus,ipfe frbi d9 anundur &100505& temper & omnia. Tertui, adverfuoPrax- time, and all things. Thirdly; God is an Eternal Bang. It's poffible for oneto be fir(1, and not to be eternal. One earn. cap.5 man may have a Being before another, and not have a Bting from eternity ; but God had an eternal Being, before the world had a Being, or man anyBeing in the world. There are Things of three forts : Firfl , Such as have had abeginning, and (hall have an end, and be no more. Thus it is with all meer fenlitive Creatures, the Bea1}s of the Earth , and Fowls of the Ayre ; they reifh , there's an end of their being , when they die, or come to the end of their lives. Secondly , There are other things which have had a begin ning, yet (ball have no end ; As Spirits, Angels good orbad, and the fouls of men : yea, the bodiesof men , though they are fubjea to, and are cut off by death , yet they (hail return a- gain ; and havin..., been fown in corruption , (hall be railed in in- corruption ; and be clothed with immortality , which is a piece of Eternity. Thirdly,There isa I eing,which is without beginning,and with- cut ending;and that is Gods Beingonly,or theBeingof God who thus exprell himfelf to ta'tofes, I arn,and 1 amthat fans; (Exod.3. 14.) That word takes inall Time, pall, prefenr,and to come; yea, pai1,prefenr, and to come, are all one in Gods Being (Pfal, 90. t .) Thouhaft been our habitation,frotsgeneration togeneration; That is, H We
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=