Owen - BX9315 O81

PREFACE: L6 gels and archangels, do glorify him with dread, and sc adore himwith trembling; and shall men full of clay, c, full ofsins, dispute of the Deity without fear? Hor- ror doth not shake their bodies, their minds do not >e tremble, but being secure and prating, they speak of u the Son of God, who suffered for me, unworthy sin- " ner, and ofboth his nativitiesor generations; at least " they are not sensible how blind they are in the light" To the same purpose speaks Eusebius at large, Denzan. Evan. lib. 5. cap. 2. Leo well adds hereunto the consideration of his incar- nation, in thoseexcellent words, Seres. 9. de Nativitat. Quia in Christo Jesu Filio Dei, non solum ad divinam essentiam, sed etiam ad hnmanam speetat naturism, quod dictum estper phophetam; generationemejus quis euar- rabit? Utramque coins substantiam in unom convenisse person,, nisifides credat, seems non explicrrt; et ideo cauterio nunquam decit taudis; quia sampans sufficit copia laudatoris. G'audiamus igitur quad atl eloquendum tantummisericordice sacramentum impares sumas; et eum salutis nostne altitzutiuempremere non valeamus, sentia- mus nobis bonum esse glad vincimser. Nemo eniin ad cognitionem veritatis magis propinquat, qúamquiintelli- git, in rebus Divinis, etiamsi multum profciat, semper sibi superesse quad qurrat. a Because in Christ Jesus a the Son of God, that relates not only to his divine a essence, but also to his human nature, which was a spoken by the prophet: Who shall declare his gene- " ration? For the word does not explicate which re substance is residing in one person, except faith a believe it, and therefore matter of praise is never se wanting, because the high praise of the praiser is ss never sufficient. Let us rejoice, therefore, that we a are unable to declare so great an oath ofmercy; and se seeing we cannot be able to understand the depth of " salvation, let us understand that it is happiness that "we are overcome. For none maketI a nearer ap- re proach unto the knowledge of the truth, thanhe who " knows that, although he may profit much in divine s, matters, there is always something remaining for .r him to seek after." See alsoFulg. lib. 2. ad Thrasi- mund. But I speak of the person of Christ as unto the as- sumption'of thesubstantial adjunct of the human nature, not to be a part, whereof his person is composed, but as unto its subsistence therein by virtue of a substantial union. Some of the ancients, I confess, speak freely of the composition ofthe person of Christ in and by the two natures, thedivine and the human. That the Son of God after his incarnation had one nature com- posed of the Deity and humanity, was the heresyof A- polinarius Eutyches, the Monothelites, or Monophy- sites, condemned by all. But that his most simple di- vine nature, and the human, composed properly of soul and body, did compose his own person, or that it was composed of them, they constantly affirmed: Tó, 0e1 ,e "wino zed elderfeerze,7 morel Wes ygs¢5, voyxeïeSse (Nips. Éz ,, 1415 zed' ,s2s eider:411msTW.e't, i5ívs, z o, Mee, s: is v 749,41,, i.e. Deg ascsi gins, ¡Pig e, We say that the e, Mediator betwixt God and man was composed both " of our human nature in perfection, on our account, " according to the Scriptures; and also, of the Divine a nature of the person of the Son of God, according to a, his own word," saith Cyril of Alexandria. A Santis Patribus adunatione ex divinitate et humanitate Christus Dominizs nostrr eompositus prasdicatur. Pet. Diacon.. lib. de Incarnat. et Grat. Christi ad fulgentium. er Our " Lord Christ was preached by the holy fathers, as fe composed of the divine and human nature." And union which they intended by this compositionthey called i'sns 9V01,49, because it was of diversnatures; and ILOTO (14...%01V, an union of composition. But because there neither was, nor can be any com- position properly so called of thedivine and human na- tures, and that the Son of God was a perfect person be- fore his incarnation, wherein he remained what hewas, and was made what he was not; the expression bath been forsaken and avoided; the union being better ex- pressed by the assumption of a substantialadjunct, or the human nature into personal subsistence with the Son of God, as shall be afterwards explained. This they constantly admire asthe most ineffable effect ofdi- vine wisdom and grace; `o acorn rata-,se, i Táyo amxú- diga(ros, ögávm ",, ó üragìs 4 )sagsinsy ä ätigcros rcexsyse, üex 0e5 tas d Delos seisses,,, s, He who is without flesh is " incarnate, the Word is embodied, he who is invisi. ri ble is seen, he who shines in heaven is thoroughly a handled on earth, be who is from eternity begins, the. to Son of God is become the Sonof man," saith Gregory. Nazianzen, Orat. 12. in admiration of this mystery. Hereby God communicates all things unto us from his own glorious fulness, the near approaches whereof we- are not able to bear. So it is illustrated by Eusebius,

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