XXV. I9-] THE SECOND BOOK. 265 



matter of belief and truth of opinion, and matter of ser 

 vice and adoration ; which is also judged and directed by 

 the former : the one being as the internal soul of religion, 

 and the other as the external body thereof. And there 

 fore the heathen religion was not only a worship of idols, 

 but the whole religion was an idol in itself; for it had no 

 soul, that is, no certainty of belief or confession: as a 

 man may well think, considering the chief doctors of their 

 church were the poets : and the reason was, because the 

 heathen gods were no jealous gods, but were glad to 

 be admitted into part, as they had reason. Neither did 

 they respect the pureness of heart, so they mought have 

 external honour and rites. 



20. But out of these two do result and issue four main 

 branches of divinity; faith, manners, liturgy, and govern 

 ment. Faith containeth the doctrine of the nature of 

 God, of the attributes of God, and of the works of God. 

 The nature of God consisteth of three persons in unity of 

 Godhead. The attributes of God are either common to 

 the Deity, or respective to the persons. The works of 

 God summary are two, that of the creation and that of 

 the redemption ; and both these works, as in total they 

 appertain to the unity of the Godhead, so in their parts 

 they refer to the three persons: that of the creation, in 

 the mass of the matter, to the Father ; in the disposition 

 of the form, to the Son; and in the continuance and 

 conservation of the being, to the Holy Spirit. So that 

 of the redemption, in the election and counsel, to the 

 Father ; in the whole act and consummation, to the Son ; 

 and in the application, to the Holy Spirit; for by the 

 Holy Ghost was Christ conceived in flesh, and by the 

 Holy Ghost are the elect regenerate in spirit. This work 

 likewise we consider either effectually, in the elect; or 



