232 OF THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 



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 con- 

 tinuance 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 consum- 

 mation, 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 privately, 

 in the reprobate ; or according to appearance, in the 

 visible church. 



21. For manners, the doctrine thereof is contained in 

 the law, which discloseth sin. The law itself is divided, 

 according to the edition thereof, into the law of nature, 

 the law moral, and the law positive ; and according to 

 the style, into negative and affirmative, prohibitions and 

 commandments. Sin, in the matter and subject thereof, 

 is divided according to the commandments ; in the form 

 thereof, it referreth to the three persons in Deity : sins 

 of infirmity against the Father, whose more special at- 

 tribute is power ; sins of ignorance against the Son, 

 whose attribute is wisdom ; and sins of malice against 

 the Holy Ghost, whose attribute is grace or love. In the 

 motions of it, it either moveth to the right hand or to the 

 left ; either to blind devotion, or to profane and liber- 

 tine transgression ; either in imposing restraint where 

 God granteth liberty, or in taking liberty where God 

 imposeth restraint. In the degrees and progress of it, it 

 divideth itself into thought, word, or act. And in this 

 part I commend much the deducing of the law of God to 

 cases of conscience ; for that I take indeed to be a break- 

 ing, and not exhibiting whole of the bread of life. But 



