Observations, censures, and confutations of notorious errours in Mr. Hobbes his Leviathan and other his bookes to which are annexed occasionall anim-adversions on some writings of the Socinians and such hæreticks of the same opinion with him / by William Lucy ...

Sect. 13.

This doctrine is most agreeing to the Scriptures (which teacheth the truest Philosophy) for the Scrip∣ture makes him to be the Creatour of the world; if so, then before the world; then Eternall; then these dura∣tions, which are measures of our worldly things, can∣not be affirmed of him, nor time, nor parts of it, which are onely measures proportioned to those things of this world, which are successive. I need not name the pla∣ces, but there are many of Scripture which expresse this eternal being of God, so Psal. 90.2. Before the moun∣tains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the Earth and the World, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art GOD; Here, in this one place, is all the Philo∣sophy I have delivered of Gods eternity; here is contain∣ed his Eternal being, when the world was not, in that is said before. &c. when they were not, he was. Secondly, here is expressed the totall being of the Eternal toge∣ther, in that is said, Thou art God from everlasting to everlasting, not thou wert, or wilt be, only, but before them thou art; and here is expressed likewise, that, in respect of other things, the Creatures, he may be said to have these relations before and after, though not in relation to himself; but yet no set terme, as to say, a day, or two dayes, or years, before. I am confident there is no one place of Scripture which expresseth any certaine mea∣sures of duration belonging to him. I know it may be objected to this, that in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Chap. 1. vers. 10, 11, 12. The Apostle, speaking of the Eternity of our Saviour, according to his Divinity, saith; Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the works of thy hands.

Verse. 11. They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. Verse 12. And like a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy yeares shall not faile. In this place the eternity of Christs divinity is called yeares; and therefore those measures of our times must be ap∣plied to that Eternity, and then dayes may, of which years are composed. To this we may most reasonably answer, that the Apostle accommodates his manner of language to the capacity of the vulgar, and the language of men, concerning durations, so well as actions; so be∣fore he said, the Heavens were the works of Gods hands, as if he had said, because all great works are wrought by hands amongst men, God had hands, by which he wrought those heavens, So, thy yeares shall not faile; that is, thou art Eternal, because men reckon their duration by yeares; and yet observe the language, it is said, they are indeficient yeares, yeares which faile not, all our yeares, faile, the last yeare is gone, this farre in going, and untill the end of the world, mans yeares, the worlds yeares, and their durations will faile; but Gods yeares, no part of his duration, reckon it what you will, shall faile. This is the sense of the Scriptures, and men can∣not, without a contradiction, expound it of our time, every part of which is deficient; Thus the Philosophy I have delivered being framed according to Scripture, I shall answer his Argument. The dayes, which may be attributed to God, and the measures of our time, can onely be in regard of his coexisting with time in this world, and therefore he doth not, nor can be said to be of more dayes, then the world hath; for he, who affirms he hath more dayes, or any such Computation, affirmes a falshood; there were not more dayes, therefore not a

coexisting with them; and therefore he had more dayes when Isaac was born, then when Abraham; but in neither of them had he an infinite number, but finite numbers of dayes; nor doth the world yeeld more; his durance is without number of weeks, or dayes, what successive thing soever we accompt by; and therefore that Argument, against the worlds eternity, hath no force, applied to God.

Notes

• The doctrine of eternity most agreeable to H. Scrip∣ture.