ETERNITY

That mysterious attribute of God which implies his existence, as without end, so without beginning. The self-existent Being, observes Dr. Clarke, must of nece ity be eternal. The ideas of eternity and self-existence are so closely connected, that, because something must of nece ity be eternal, independently and without any outward cause of its being, therefore it must nece arily be self-existent; and, because it is impo ible but something must be self-existent, therefore it is nece ary that it must likewise be eternal. To be self-existent, is to exist by an absolute nece ity in the nature of the thing itself. Now this nece ity being absolute, and not depending upon anything external, must be always unalterably the same, nothing being alterable but what is capable of being affected by somewhat without itself. That being, therefore, which has no other cause of its existence but the absolute nece ity of its own nature, must, of nece ity, have existed from everlasting, without beginning, and must, of nece ity, exist to everlasting, without end. As to the manner of this eternal existence, it is manifest it herein infinitely transcends the manner of the existence of all created beings, even of such as shall exist for ever; that whereas it is not po ible for their finite minds to comprehend all that is past, or to understand perfectly all things that are present, much le to know all that is future, or to have entirely in their power anything that is to come, but their thoughts, and knowledge, and power, must, of nece ity, have degrees and periods, and be succe ive and transient as the things themselves: the eternal, supreme cause, on the contrary, must of nece ity have such a perfect, independent, unchangeable comprehension of all things, that there can be no one point or instant of his eternal duration, wherein all things that are past, present, and to come, will not be as entirely known and represented to him in one single thought or view, and all things present and future be as equally and entirely in his power and direction, as if there was really no succe ion at all, but all things were actually present at once. This is, in reality, the most incomprehensible of the Divine attributes. God is without beginning; the Father , always a Father, without beginning; the Son , always the only begotten of the Father , without beginning; the Holy Ghost , always proceeding from the Father and the Son , without beginning; the one God , always existing in the Trinity of his persons, without beginning. “There is but one living and true God , everlasting , without body, parts, or pa ions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodne ; the maker and preserver of all things visible and invisible; and in the unity of this Godhead, there be Three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity , the Father , the Son , and the Holy Ghost .”— Article i.