Religion and reason adjusted and accorded, or, A discourse wherein divine revelation is made appear to be a congruous and connatural way of affording proper means for making man eternally happy through the perfecting of his rational nature with an appendix of objections from divers as well as philosophers as divines and their respective answers.

RELIGION AND REASON Adjusted and Accorded . OR , A Discourse wherein Divine Revelation is made appear to be a congruous and con-natural Way of affording proper Means for making Man eternally Happy , through the perfecting of his Rational Nature .

SECTION I. There is an absolute perfect Being , which is self-existent , Eternal , only One , Infinite , Immutable , a pure Act , entirely Simple , one Formality , and a Spirit .

1. WHatsoever has Perception , the same has a Being ; for what is not , can have no Perception . And that there is Perception , the very Denyer of it ( if there be any one so vain , as to contradict the rest of Mankind ) may be convinced from his own denyal . For the denyal of it , if the denyer be serious , must proceed from this , that he thinks there is no such thing as Perception ; which Thought of his , he cannot otherwise chuse but grant to be either true or false ; if he grant it to be false , he owns in effect there is Perception . But in case he will have his Thought to be true , he must yield that his very Thought it self is a right Perception ; and so either way he 'll be necessitated to acknowledg , that there is for certain Perception .

2. Perception then most certainly there is , and consequently something that perceives , or that has an actual Being which is the Subject of Perception . And whatsoever has an actual Being or doth Exist , the same must have it's existence either intrinsecal of it self , or from some other thing that is extrinsecal to it . Whatsoever receives its existence from any thing that is extrinsecal to it , that same it not the perfectest Being that is , ( because it depends upon another for its existence ) provided there be any Being at all , which has nothing of Existence from another .

3. And that there is some Being which has nothing of existence from another , is clear from hence , that , since the reason of a things existing by virtue of another , is because there is some other thing which causes it to exist ; and that an endless Series , or infinite number of things causing others to exist is impossible to have been , ( because a by-past Series of things may be encreased by a new addition made unto it , and a Series of things which may be encreased is not infinite , for otherwise there might be something that would be more , or greater than infinite , which questionless cannot be ) there must of necessity be some first cause which receives nothing from another , but exists wholly of it self , and is thereupon the most perfect Being .

4. That which is the most perfect Being or first Cause , must of necessity have always existed , or been from Eternity ; because if there had been a time when it was not , it must of nothing have become something , seeing it self was first . And in case it should of nothing have become something , it would have been , or existed , before it had a Being , or Existence , and consequently have been and not have been , or existed and not existed at once , which is impossible . For being supposed to be the first Being , if ever it had a Beginning , it must have been as well the Producer , as the thing to be produced , and so as it was the Producer must be supposed to have had a Being , and as it was the thing to be produced , to have had no Being , and both at the same Instant , which is a manifest Contradiction .

5. The prime or first Being then is necessarily eternal à parte antè , and what is necessarily Eternal à parte antè , is likewise so à parte pòst , because having nothing of existence from another ( Paragraph 3. ) it must necessarily exist of it self , and what necessarily exists of it self , has existence essential to it ; and what has existence essential to it , cannot but exist , and what cannot but exist , doth perpetually exist ; and consequently the first Being , as it never had a Beginning , so shall it never have Ending , and that under the necessity of a Contradiction to be otherwise , since necessarily and essentially to exist is to be impossible at any time not to exist .

6. Since then Existence is essential to the first Being , and that because it is the first Being , and has no dependence on another , but exists entirely of it self , there are of necessity no more First Beings but One. For in case we should suppose there were more First Beings eternally co-existing , we must grant that existence would be equally essential to them all , and consequently that there could be no essential difference among them . Neither could it possibly be , that they should in any sort accidentally differ , because their Existence being essential ( and so of necessity the very same thing throughout with the whole substantial thing existing ) would have no room , or place , for any accident in them whatsoever . And if there were neither essential , nor accidental difference , there could be none at all ; for a meer numerical difference without either , is here impossible ; because , in that , Existence is essential to the First Being , it differs not from pure formal Existence , and what differs not from pure formal Existence must of necessity comprehend all existence , or whatever doth or can exist ; and consequently , if any thing exist , or have a Being , which is not within the same , it must unavoidably receive it from thence ; so that it is plainly impossible there should be more first Beings save one alone .

7. That there is then one only First Being , which is comprehensive of all Being , is evident . And that the same is infinite in Essence and Perfection of Being , is no less evidently certain , for in case it were of a finite Nature , it must by some means or other be limited , for what has no limitation or bounds , is infinite . And if the First Being be limited , it must of necessity be limited by it self , by reason it alone being before all other Beings , there could not possibly be any thing besides it self to limit it . And that it should either voluntarily limit it self ; or be necessarily limited by its own intrinsic Nature , is impossible ; for the former cannot be , because Existence being essential to it ( par. 5. ) makes it necessarily to be , whatever it is , eternally ; nor can the latter be , because its essence being pure formal existence , ( par. 6. ) cannot be intrinsecally limited or restrain'd , by its own Nature , to this or that , or any determinate Mode , or Measure of Existence whatsoever . The First being therefore is infinite in Being , a Perfection of Essence ( which again farther shews , that there is one alone First Being , for being infinite in Being and Perfection of Essence , it has all possible Being and Perfection within it self ; and if it have all , there is none besides has any but what it receives from it . )

8. The first Being then is necessarily infinite in Being and Perfection of Essence : and what is necessarily so , cannot possibly either acquire , or lose any thing whereby its Perfection can , in any respect whatsoever be either augmented , or diminished ; and what cannot , in any respect whatever , receive either augmentation , or diminution , is wholly immutable , the First Being therefore is Immutable .

9. Whatsoever is Immutable has nothing either of Potentiality , or Passibility , at all belonging to it , for otherwise it would not be impossible ( as implying no Contradiction ) that it should be changed from Power to Act , from Acting to Suffering . And what has nothing at all of Potentiality , or Passibility belonging to it , must of necessity be a pure essential Act ; the First Being therefore is a pure essential Act.

10. That which is a pure essential Act , is void of all manner of Composition , for else it would have a mixture of some ingredient with it . And what is void of all manner of Composition is absolutely Simple ; the First Being therefore is absolutely and altogether Simple .

11. That which is absolutely simple , has no parts at all , and by consequence , whatever is contained in it , the same is its whole entire Self and Being , and thence one pure Formality ; the First Being therefore is one pure Formality .

12. And what is one pure Formality , has no formally distinct Parts , and therefore neither Power , nor Wisdom , nor Goodness , nor Mercy , nor Justice , nor any Attribute whatever , are formally distinct in the first Being , either from one another , or from its self . ( But since the prime Being eminently contains whatever excellency is intended by the Attributes we usually , for expressing our narrow Thoughts by , give unto it , 't is not incongruous nor unuseful , to ascribe them thereunto . )

13. And what is so absolutely simple , that it has not so much as formally distinct Parts , must necessarily be without Parts really exclusive of one another ; and what is so cannot be corporeal , because a Body consists of Parts really exclusive of one another ; and what is not corporeal , is immaterial ; and an immaterial Being or Substance we call a Spirit ; the First Being therefore is a Spirit .

The total then of all contain'd in this Section summ'd up together amounts to this ; that there necessarily is an absolutely Perfect Being , which is self-existent , Eternal , only One , Infinite , Immutable , a pure essential Act , entirely Simple , one Formality , and a Spirit which we usually call by the name of GOD.

SECT. II. In the Vnity of the Divine Essence there necessarily is a Trinity of Persons .

1. THat there is only one God , has been shewn , Sect. 1. Par. 6. whose Existence because it is essential to him ( sect. 1. par. 5. ) by the Essence of God is to be understood the Eternal Nature , or Being , or Thing existing , which is God. For essentially to exist , is to be necessary to exist ; and to be necessary to exist , is to be impossible not to exist ; and for a thing to be impossible not to exist ; is to be a thing whose Essence is pure Existence , or a direct contradiction to Non-Existence . The Divine Essence therefore is a Thing , Substance or Being , which is a perfect contradictory Repugnancy to Non-Entity , and is God alone himself , or the Divine Nature eternally existing of it self .

2. What is meant by the Divine Essence being explain'd , we must next consider what the Word Person , attributed to God , is intended to denote ; and we find it to be this , An incommunicable Substance of an intelligent Nature .

3. Essence and Person thus explicated , in regard God is one pure essential Act , and entirely simple Being ( sect. 1. par. 9 , 10. ) it is impossible there should be any Plurality or Distinction of Persons in God , unless God himself be some way differently related to and within himself , and that the several Relatives answering such Relation , be each of them an incommunicable Substance of an intelligent Nature .

4. That God is differently related to and within himself , may without farther Enquiry be gather'd hence , that being possessed of the plenitude of Perfection , he must necessarily have Understanding ; and having Understanding , in that he is eternal ( sect. 1. par. 4. ) and a pure essential Act ( sect. 1. par. 9. ) he must actually from all eternity understand something ; and seeing nothing was from Eternity but himself ( sect. 1. par. 6. ) and that therefore he is the Source , Fountain and Comprehension of all Being , it evidently follows , that his Understanding was from Eternity necessarily and primarily , actually carry'd towards himself , and by consequence that God's Understanding has an Eternal-necessary-primary-actual Respect to himself as understood . And forasmuch as there is nothing in God but what is his whole entire self ( sect. 1. par. 11. ) 't is clear , that God's Understanding is God , and consequently that God as knowing himself , has an Eternal-necessary-primary-actual Respect to himself as known ; and therefore since a Knower , as a Knower , is plainly distinct from the thing known , as such , and vice versa , because relatively oppos'd to each other , there must of necessity be different Relations , and answerable Relatives thereto , in God ; which was the first thing to be proved .

5. The mutual opposite Relatives of Knower and Thing known , are therefore evidently in God. And forasmuch as to know is to have the Likeness of the thing known in the Understanding of the Knower ; to know a thing perfectly , is to have the exact likeness of the Thing known , without any the least dissimilitude whatsoever in the Knowers Intellect . Wherefore since God is infinite in Perfection ( sect. 1. par. 7. ) he has the express Likeness of himself , without any the least dissimilitude whatsoever in his Intellect , that is in himself ( for whatever is in God is God ( sect. 1. par. 11. ) And seeing there are no Accidents in God ( sect. 1. par. 6 , & 11. ) the express Image or Character which God has of himself in himself , is substantial ; and consequently the Relations found in God are substantial , and not accidental Relations ; which Relations since they are in an intelligent Being , and distinct one of them from the other , each of the Relatives included therein , must needs be an incommunicable Substance of an intelligent Nature , which was the second thing to be proved . Both which together ( viz. that there are different Relations in God , and that the Relatives answering thereto , implied and included in them , are each of them an incommunicable Substance of an intelligent Nature ) make it plainly appear , that there are distinct Persons in the Divine Essence or God.

6. Farther , in regard Knowledg or the Character of the Thing known , proceeds from the Object or the Thing known , God as knowing himself , proceeds from God as known , and so is God of God.

7. And forasmuch as a Son imports an intelligent Being proceeding from an intelligent Being according to Identity of Nature , which among Men is said to be begotten ; and that God as a Knower is an intelligent Being , eternally proceeding from God as known an Intelligent Being , according to Identity of Nature , it follows , that God as a Knower , is the eternal Son of God as known ; and consequently , since Father is the Correlative of Son , that God as known , is the eternal Father of God as a Knower ; whence it is apparent that there are two distinct Persons in the Deity , the Father and the Son.

Objection . The Identity of Nature which is in Father and Son of human off-spring , is specifical ; but the Identity of Nature in the mentioned Divine Persons is numerical ; and therefore since the Appellation of Father and Son is transferred from Man to God ; the Notion of them is improperly attributed to God.

Solution . There is nothing at all , not so much as Substance or Being , which is univocally predicated of God and Man . For the Divine Substance , whose Essence is pure Existence , and stands thereby immediately of it self in a necessary contradictory Opposition to Non-Entity , is of a Nature infinitely different and distant from the Nature of all created Being ( which is the whole Mass of Being besides God alone , as will in the next Section be made appear ) whose Existence , in that it is not essential to them , may be or not be , and accordingly before the Creation was not . Yet nevertheless when we transfer Names or Notions from Man to God , they are not untruly spoken of him , because he who speaks them , has no Design to be understood , as that he conceived the Name or Notion he makes use of , to be a true and perfect Representation of what is really in God ; but only that there is that in God , which has some Analogy or Resemblance with that thing whereof he transfers the Name or Notion , from Man to God. And therefore when we call the First Person in the Blessed Trinity Father , the Second Person Son , by reason , the Second Person , we say , proceeds from the First by way of Generation , we do not intend to signifie thereby , that we take the Generation which is Diwine , and that which is Human to be in all things so alike , as the Generation of two Sons by two Fathers in Mankind is alike , it being manifest , that the one is Spiritual , the other Carnal ; the one by communicating the same Numerical Nature , the other by communicating the same Specifical Nature only . And yet in that there is a communicating of Natures ( though after a different manner ) both by God and Man ; from the Resemblance arising thence proceeds the interchangeable Notion and Name of Father and Son.

8. How the Second Person of the Sacred Trinity is God of God , the Son of God , and the express Image or Character of the Father , hath already been seen . Why he is likewise called the Word of God , and also Light of Light , shall be now shewn . God is Truth it self , by which the Truth of all other things is estimated ; and therefore , forasmuch as God the Father is in God the Son , as in a Knower ( par. 5 , & 7. ) the Son is the Knowledg of the Father ; ( for what is Knowledg but the express Image of the Thing known in the Knowers Mind ? ) And so , because Knowledg is an internal Speech , Word or Expression of Truth , the Son of God is thence rightly called the Word of God. And for the like reason is he said to be Light of Light ; for Knowledg is intellectual Light ; and the Divine Knowledg , which is the Son , being totally and substantially derived from the Father ( par. 6. ) is thereupon not improperly said to be Light of Light.

9. Thus we see how the First and Second Person , the Father and the Son , are founded in the Notion of KNOWING . But besides the Knowledg of a Thing , there is in intelligent Beings Delight taken in the thing known , when apprehended to be good , which Delight is called a loving of the Object , and the Power or Faculty from whence it proceeds , is named the Will . Wherefore in regard that God is an intelligent Being , and so capable of Delight taken in the Fruition of Good , there is that in God which corresponds to the Will in Man , by which he may enjoy good . And seeing there is nothing in God which is not essential to him ; as he eternally , necessarily , primarily , actually knows ; so doth he also eternally , necessarily , primarily , actually will or love ; and since there is nothing which has an eternal necessary Being ( sect. 1. par. 6. ) to be so beloved , save only God ; He eternally , necessarily , primarily , actually loves himself . And because this Love or Respect to the Object beloved is a Relation to another for another ( for Love and the Thing beloved are relatively distinct and mutually oppos'd ) there is another Relation besides the two former of knowing and being known , found in God , to wit , Loving or Love ; which Relation , in that it has an immediate Respect to Good , ( for Good is the proper Object of Love ) Good known to be good , ( ignoti nulla cupido ) is the Correlate to Love. Wherefore in regard that nothing but God himself can be the Object of his eternal-necessary ▪ primary-actual Love , ( he alone being eternal ) God known to be good , must be the Correlative of that Love. And forasmuch as Truth is the Good and Perfection of an intelligent Being , God known to be Truth is that very Good. And seeing Truth known is the express Character of the Object in the Knowers Intellect without any dissimilitude whatsoever from it in it self , God in God is God known to be Truth . Since therefore God to be in God , is the Father to be in the Son ( par. 5 , & 7. ) the Relative , which is Love , must be related to the Father and the Son directly according to their very joint-Relation ; and consequently seeing every Relate denotes Distinction from its Correlate ; LOVE , which is the third Relative , is distinct from the FATHER and the SON , according to their very joint-Relation of Father and Son. Whence it must of necessity be , that because nothing is in God which is not God ( sect. 1. par. 11. ) LOVE is God distinct from Father and Son , and so an intellectual incommunicable Substance , and consequently a Divine Person ; and thus a Third Person is found in God.

10. And because this Third Person is related to the Father and the Son , as Father and Son ( whence they are both but one joint Principle of Love ) there are but three Relatives in the Deity , and consequently three Persons only , or a Trinity of Persons in Unity of Essence .

11. But yet albeit the Third Person proceeds both from the Father and the Son , he nevertheless proceeds principally from the Father , because Good as Good , is that which produces Love , though it cannot be beloved unless known . And therefore though Good known to be Good be the adequate Principle of Love , yet the whole Force of moving in Good known , is in the Good ; and Knowledge is but the application of it , that it may move . Whence appears a considerable Ground of Reason , why our Blessed Saviour and some of the Primitive Fathers might very well be induced to speak of the Holy Ghost's procession from the Father , without mention made of his procession from the Son.

12. Why the Third Person is called the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit , and the Lord and Giver of Life , seems to be in respect of the Church , which is the peculiar Office of the Holy Spirit ( sent by the Son from the Father ) to enliven with Grace , and to breath or inspire Sanctity into , and not in respect of the other two Persons , in whom Life and Holiness abound no less than in the Third .

13. Lastly , Whereas the Divine Essence is both Subjectum and Terminus of the Relations in God , and that Relatives are simul natura & cognitione , it s plainly consequent , in regard the Divine Essence is an eternal Being ( sect. 1. par. 4. ) and that the Divine Persons are eternally related to each other , ( par. 4 , & 9. of this Section ) that the whole Three Persons in the Blessed Trinity are co-eternal together , and co-equal .

Obj. 1. That God should necessarily know himself , and be known by himself , and likewise necessarily love himself , appears not to be any such great Mystery as that of the adorable Trinity has been ever held by the Catholic Church to be .

Solut. The stupendious Mystery of the Trinity in Unity , appears not so plainly in that , as in the Consequent of it , namely , that God necessarily knowing himself , and being necessarily known by himself , constitutes two distinct Persons , and that necessarily loving himself , constitutes a third Person distinct from both the other two , whilst every one of them by reason thereof ( as hath been shewn ) is an incommunicable Substance , notwithstanding that there be no more but one only Substance in God.

Object . 2. Inasmuch as every one of the Three Persons is said to be an incommunicable Substance , there seems rather to be Three entire Substances , than only one .

Solut. It doth not necessarily follow , that because the Father is an incommunicable Substance , the Son an incommunicable Substance , and the Holy Ghost an incommunicable Substance , that therefore there are three several Substances ; for the Substance of any one of the three Persons is not a several Substance from the Substance of the other Two , whilst the very same numerical Essence , Nature or Being is God knowing himself , God known of himself and God loving himself known . And yet because there is nothing at all accidental in God ( sect. 1. par. 11. ) but every thing in him is substantial ; and that to know , and to be known , and to love what is known , as such , cannot possibly be the same ; we must of necessity hold , that the Divine Nature is substantially One , but relatively More ; or that the Substance of God is distinguished , yet not into more Substances , but into more Relations subsisting in the same Substance , whence there are three Subsistences in one Substance , or a Trinity of Persons in Vnity of Essence .

SECT. III. The Vniverse was created by God. There was no prae-existent Matter whereof it was made . It is not of the Nature and Essence of God. It neither could have been eternal for Duration , nor infinite in Extension . There is no Endless Number of Worlds . The Vniverse is only one , the best for Kind that was possible to be created .

1. WHereas it was proved , sect. 1. par. 6. that there is only one First-Being , whose Existence alone has no dependence on another , it must needs be that the Universe is either God himself , who is that first Being , or that it was originally derived from him in every part and parcel thereof .

2. And that the Universe is not God himself , is plain from this , that God is one simple uncompounded Being ( sect. 1. par. 10 , 11. ) whereas the Universe in every part of it is some way or other compounded , as for example , Body is composed of several material Atoms ; Man of Body and Soul ; and Angels of Essence and Existence ; and all these again of Substance and Accident . The Universe therefore , with all that therein is ▪ was originally derived from God alone .

3. And since the World is originally derived from God alone , every thing which it contains , must of necessity either participate and be of the same Nature and Essence which God is of , or else they must have been created or produced of nothing , there being only one first Being ( sect. 1. par. 6. ) And that they do not participate of the same Nature and Essence with God , is clear from hence , because in that there is nothing in God which is not God ( sect. 1. par. 11. ) they would otherwise be God , which for the Reason given in the second Paragraph of this Section , is made appear to be impossible . All things therefore without contradiction were at first created or produced by God of nothing .

4. And whatsoever is created and has motion ( as all the Parts of the visible world we are assured have , ) the same could not be eternal , but must have had a beginning ; otherwise there would have been an infinite Duration , an infinite number of Days , of Months , of Years already past , and consequently , seeing one Infinite is not greater than another ( for it is not Infinite to which any thing can be added ) there would have been no more Days than Months , nor Months than Years since the Creation of the World ; and yet on the contrary , seeing there are more Days than Months , and more Months than Years in the same long continuance of Time , there would have been more Days than Months , and Months than Years since the Creation , which is a Contradiction . Again , supposing the World to have had an infinite duration , and Mankind the like continuance , there was either an infinite Series of Generations of Men a thousand Years ago past , or there was not ; if there was not , a thousand generations elapsed since , could not make the foregoing Number infinite ; for of two Finites added together , an Infinite cannot arise . But if the Series of generations of Men was a thousand years ago infinite , then a thousand generations have been added since to that which was before infinite ; and so , since nothing is infinite to which any addition can be made , the Series of the generations of Men from the Creation should be both infinite and not infinite ; which is contradictory and impossible .

Object . 1. Since God has been from Eternity , what should hinder , but that there might possibly have been an equally continued Succession of Time together with his eternal Duration ?

Solut. It is not properly affirmed of God , that he was heretofore , or shall be hereafter , but only that he IS ; whence we see that he himself in Answer to Moses asking him what he should tell the People his Name was , said , I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say to the Children of Israel , I AM hath sent me unto you , Exod. 3. 13 , 14. For since Existence is essential to God , there is no divisibility , no praeterition , no futerition , and consequently no succession nor continuance ( truly speaking ) incident to him . Those things only whose Natures may be , or may not be , can be rightly said to continue , when their Existence is prolonged by a Cause without themselves , upon whose pleasure their continuance in Being from time to time depends ; for that alone can properly be said to continue , which in its Nature is capable to be discontinued . But of God whose Essence is Existence , it cannot be properly said , he has been , or shall be , but solely that HE IS ; for what is it essentially to exist , but purely to exist ? and what is it purely to exist , but purely to be ? And what is it purely to be , but solely to be ? And to say a thing was or shall be , which solely is , amounts in effect to this , that it solely is , and not solely is , a thing impossible . From God's Existence then a Possibility of an eternal Duration or continued Succession of Time cannot be inferred , there being no such thing as an eternal Duration incident to the Divine Nature , which is essential pure Existence , or ISNESS , without was , or shall be , in any sort properly and truly appropriated thereunto .

5. As the World is not eternal according to Duration , so neither is it infinite in respect of Magnitude , for in case it were infinite in bulk and greatness , the space from the Center of the Earth towards the East , would be either finite or infinite ; if infinite , then the space from the Center of the Earth towards the West , North and South taken together , would not only be no greater than that towards the East ( because one Infinite is not greater than another ) but there would also be more infinite Spaces in the Universe than one , neither of which is possible ; not the former , because three equal Spaces taken together are certainly greater than one alone , which is no greater than any one of them ; nor the latter , because , in regard the Universe is not greater than an infinite Space , it cannot contain more infinite Spaces than one ; for otherwise it should be greater than it self : But if the Space from the Center of the Earth towards the East were finite , then also the Space from the Center of the Earth towards the West , North and South , would be likewise finite , and of four finite Spaces an infinite Space cannot be made ; the World therefore is not infinite in extension .

6. The World then is neither infinite in respect of an eternal duration in which it has continued , nor in respect of an immense Bulk whereto it is extended . And no less certain is it that an infinite number of worlds is equally impossible , Number and Infinitude mutually of necessity excluding each other , since no number that can be augmented is infinite , and that to the greatest number imaginable a new Addition may be made .

And seeing there cannot be an infinite number of Worlds , it follows by necessary Consequence that there is only one . For since the Divine Wisdom and Goodness are no less infinite and essential to God than his Omnipotency , or any other Perfection in the Deity is , he cannot without contradicting his own Attributes ( which it is equally impossible for him to do , as to deny himself , or to violate his own Nature ) will or act any thing which is not according and agreeable to the highest wisdom and greatest goodness , or what 's the very best ( all things considered ) to be effected . Wherefore seeing it is impossible to create an infinite number of Worlds ( par. 6. ) and that no definite number could be so great , but that it would be in the Almighty's power to create a greater and greater in infinitum , if his Omnipotency be solely regarded ; it plainly follows , that the creating of one World alone was , ( all things considered ) the very best ; whilst if it had been better to have created two than one , it would likewise have been better to have created three than two , and four than three , and so forward without end : in consequence whereunto , it must needs be that one only World was created .

8. That there is then but one only world appears evident ; which that it certainly is the most perfect for kind that could be created , may be gathered from hence , that the wisdom and goodness of God being infinite and essential , will not permit him to do any thing but that which ( all things duly weighed ) is clearly best . For if it were otherwise , he should not always act according to the highest wisdom and greatest goodness , and so cease thereupon to be necessarily infinitely wise and good , which he cannot do without ceasing to be God. Nor doth it therefore follow , that , if God should act necessarily , every effect of his acting would be infinite ; for no created Being is capable of Infinity , this being peculiar to God alone , ( sect. 1. par. 7. ) The Universe then is the best that it could be made ; neither seems it to be wholly above the reach of human Reason to conceive in some competent measure , in what respect it could have been no other than what it is . For , first , it is clear by the event ( not to mention , that it becomes every rational Being to communicate good , when he nothing thereby diminisheth his own ) that it was more ▪ agreeable to the divine wisdom and goodness to create , than not to create . Secondly , It is manifest that the Almighty could not create any single Creature or Species of Creatures so perfect , but that it would be in his omnipotent Power to create others more and more perfect perpetually ( forasmuch as between himself and any Creature how perfect soever , there would still remain an infinite distance ) and consequently that it could never enter into his Mind actually to create any single Creature or Species of Creatures , for that , if he had done it , he had not acted according to the highest wisdom and greatest goodness , because he could still have created better . Thirdly , It appears consonant to Reason , that it was therefore best to create an Universe of several Beings , which in their different Natures and distinct Stations , should conspire and co-operate together to procure the most comprehensive and excellent End , that whatever could be created , should in its whole Latitude possibly be capable to effect and bring to pass under God the Author and principal Cause of all Good.

Object . 2. If the Almighty cannot but do what is best , he is no free Agent , and consequently it was not in his Choice , whether he would have created the World or not .

Solut. Though the Almighty cannot but do what is best , yet he is nevertheless a free Agent ; for he is not at all necessitated thereunto from any thing without himself , neither is there within himself that which otherwise engages his Will than to make the best Choice ( or what is most agreeable to his eternal immutable wisdom and goodness ) which it necessarily always doth , but with infinite Freedom ; not that there can be Election in fieri , or to be made ( truly speaking ) in God , who in that he is a pure essential Act ( sect. 1. par. 9. ) was from Eternity determined in his Will about all things , and his Choice always made , and in facto esse ; God at once and ever both actually knowing and willing what is infallibly best , thro the necessary and essential perfection of his Nature . So that although God could not but create the World , yet was the actual willing thereof most voluntary and free , if freedom of Will be a Perfection ; for in him dwelleth the fulness of Perfection , sect. 1. par. 7.

Obj. 3. If God did at once and ever actually know and will what is infallibly best , the World upon that account should have been created from eternity .

Solut. There 's no necessity of the Consequence ; for although God be a pure essential Act ( sect. 1. par. 9. ) and so cannot have any new Thoughts succeeding one another , but comprehends and wills all things at once together ; yet in that he not only ordains the existence of them , but also when and how they shall exist ; he might from eternity will the Creation of the World to be some thousands of years only since ( as we stedfastly believe from Sacred Writ that it undoubtedly was . ) If it be replied , that , for the same reason , it was in the Almighty's power to have willed the Creation of the World to have been many thousand years sooner than we believe it was ; and if so , then was he not necessitated to create the World when he did ; I rejoyn , that in regard God always of necessity acts according to his absolute wisdom and goodness ( which are invariable and immutable ) it follows , that what is at any time de facto done by God , the same is necessarily done by him , and for the best . For to have the liberty of not acting when , or of otherwise acting than right Reason dictates a thing to be done , is a weakness and imperfection whence Sin arises , from which therefore even human Nature , when perfected , is totally freed ; and consequently , since God is essentially perfect , he is essentially estranged from it .

Object . 4. If so be the Creation was the effect of God's Will , whereunto it was necessarily determined by the Perfection of the Divine Nature , it should seem that the Creature is not much obliged to God for the same .

Solut. Since it is impossible that God , in whom is the Plenitude of all Perfection ( sect. 1. par. 7. ) should create the World for any the least Benefit or Pleasure to himself ( more than what he hath and enjoys in his own Will to communicate good ) it is manifest that the End for which it was created , was the sole Good and Benefit of the Creature ; which because it could not in any sort whatever merit from God , as having its existence and every other good by the sole favour of his Bounty ; 't is evident , that the Creature owes it self and all the good it has or ever shall enjoy solely and wholly to its Maker and Preserver , as the principal Author and Bestower of it . Nor ought the Gratitude to be less , because the Benefit proceeds from such Kindness as the giver could not be restrain'd from shewing by reason of his own innate goodness , but much the greater ; whilst a Benefit or Kindness done , which proceeds from Bounty govern'd by solid Reason , is more truly and really obliging than that which has no other Bottom , or firmer Foundation than the meer accidental Pleasure of the Donor : as by the following Instance I shall endeavour to make out . Two Men being in extream necessity , are reliev'd by two of their Neighbors ; the one chearfully gives Relief upon this consideration , that it is a Good which his Reason tells him , he ought by no means to omit the speedy doing of . The other affords help upon no rational solid ground which engages him thereto , but is meerly led by his Pleasure , or present Inclination to do it . The two Men preserv'd from perishing , receive each of them an equal Benefit ; but when the one comes to understand that the Neighbor who reliev'd him , did it from such stedfast grounds of Reason and Goodness within himself , that he would for certain not have suffered him to perish . And when the other finds it was almost an equal Match , whether he had been lost or sav'd , in that his Safety proceeded from a present unstedfast Inclination , 't is obvious that the former would have cause to be more intimately and cordially thankful , and to love him more tenderly and affectionately that saved him alive , than the latter would have reason to be unto the other who preserv'd him from perishing .

SECT. IV Man was created by God. He has an immaterial Substance , which is the Principle of Motion proper to him , immortal and indued with the Rational Faculties of Vnderstanding and Will . He was created in a State of Innocency . What the State of Innocency was . The End for which Man was created . In what his Chief Good and Felicity doth consist .

1. THat God is the Creator of all things , and therefore of Man , was proved sect. 3. par. 2 , 3. Who , in that it is evident by certain Experience , that he moves himself , whenever he pleases , after what particular manner he pleases , and to whatsoever Object he pleases ( without being necessarily agitated by Sense , or Passion , or Phantasie , as Brutes always are ) he must have some Power or Principle within him which is not material ; especially since he doth sometimes with great Deliberateness and Reason , set himself to oppose what the corporeal and animal part solicits and prompts him to ; and prevails thereby against the Allurements of Sense , the Assaults of Passion , and the Insinuations of Phansie ; which could not be , if there were nothing but corporeal Substance , or the animal Life in Man ; because Matter , Sense , Passion and Phansie make up the whole Animal ; and it is not possible that the same numerical Matter , Sense , Passion or Phansie should have at the same time quite contrary Motions , Inclinations , or Impulses , crossing , opposing and controlling one another , and therefore it must be some other Power residing in Man , which resists and masters their Motions , Inclinations and Impulses .

2. There is then in Man something besides corporeal Substance , and consequently something which is not subject to Corruption , but is of an indissoluble and immortal Nature . For since Corruption is the dissolution of a thing compounded , and dissolution is separation , and separation division , which cannot be made but in something that is divisible , or may be divided into separate parts , it is apparent , in regard nothing is divisible into separate parts but what is corporeal , and that Man has a Principle of Nature in him which is not so ( par. 1. ) that there is something belonging to human Being which is incorruptible and immortal , viz. the active Power or Principle in Man , which we call the Soul , since besides it and the Body , there is nothing else conceivable that constitutes the whole Substantial Frame of Man .

3. Man's Soul then is of an immortal Nature . And seeing we experience within our selves , that it has a Faculty to frame Notions of things conceived , to it by the Senses ; and from Notions put together , to make Judgments ; and from those Judgments orderly disposed , to infer , or find out some Truth whereof it was ignorant before ; the Soul is said to be Rational , or endued with Reason ; for by Reason is meant a Power in the Mind of Man which enables him to proceed from the knowledg of one thing to the knowledg of another , by due Consequences made to that intent and purpose . The Soul then has a rational Faculty or Ability whereby it discovers the Truth of things , and this Faculty we usually call the Intellect or Understanding .

4. And forasmuch as the End and Benefit designed by Nature to accrue to Man by the knowledg of things , is to discern what is convenient or inconvenient , or good or evil for him ; and that it would be to small purpose nevertheless to attain thereunto , if he had not a Faculty or Power enabling him to apply himself to that which is good , for the obtaining of it ; and to deeline that which is evil , for the avoiding of it ; 't is clear , that , since God and Nature make nothing in vain , there is in Man a Faculty by which the Soul is impower'd to desire good for the acquiring of it ; and to have an aversion to evil , for the avoiding of it ; which Faculty is called the Will or rational Appetite , because framed by the nature given it by God , to follow the Dictate of Reason .

5. Wherefore seeing the all-wise and all-good God was the Creator of Man , who consists of Soul and Body , 't is manifest that he had by Creation not only an Understanding and Will , whereby he was capacitated to apprehend and desire what was truly good for him ; but had likewise a Body duly qualified to contribute its assistance towards the fruition of the same .

6. And since nothing is good to Man as Man , but either that which of all things is most convenient for him , or which will do him most good ( and is therefore called his chief Good ) or else something that is useful and beneficial to him for procuring the same ; 't is plain , that Man in the state wherein he was created , understood what was his chief Good , and what the proper Means whereby to procure it were , and made use likewise of the same , seeing his Intellect was clear , his Will upright , and his Body in a frame duly subservient to the same ( par. 5. )

7. Which chief good of Man , in regard he is composed of Soul and Body , must be something that is best , either for the Soul alone , or the Body alone , or for both together . That Man 's chief good cannot consist in what is best for the Body alone , is evident from this , that the Soul is undoubtedly the more excellent part of Man ; so that what is best for the Body ( be it what it will ) must of necessity be some good which is consistent with the good that is best for the Soul.

8. And what is best for the Soul , the same must give the greatest and highest Perfection to it which it is capable of . And the greatest and highest Perfection which the Soul is capable of , must needs consist in that which will most of all perfect the prime Faculties thereof , which being the Intellect and the Will ( par. 3 , 4. ) 't is manifest that that which will most perfect those two Faculties , is best for the Soul.

9. And since the Intellect is a Faculty of Knowing , and the Will of Desire ; the utmost Perfection of the one will be the largest and highest Knowledg ; and of the other the greatest and noblest good which they are respectively capable of .

10. Wherefore seeing the Object of the Intellect or knowing Faculty is Truth ; and that the more a Man knows , he is both the more desirous and more capable still of farther and higher Knowledg ; 't is apparent that the Intellect could not be perfected to its utmost Capacity by the Knowledg of all created Beings , if really possessed thereof , because there would be a more excellent Object than all that , still unknown , to wit , the prime independent Being , which is the Origin and Cause of all created Being . The Knowledg therefore of the prime independent Being , so far as is attainable by Man , will alone be the utmost Perfection of the Intellect .

11. And forasmuch as the Will is a rational Appetite desirous of good , and consequently , if it follow the Course of Nature imprinted in it first by God ( par. 4. ) will certainly desire above all things that which the Rational Faculty of Knowing , the Intellect , directs unto as the greatest and noblest good ; it must needs be ( seeing the Intellect , if it judge according to right Reason , cannot chuse but determin that the highest Knowledg attainable of the most excellent Object , is the greatest and noblest good , which a Being whose nature is rational , can possibly desire ) that Man's Will shall never arrive at its utmost Perfection and Satisfaction till the Soul be filled with the highest Knowledg attainable of the most excellent Object , which is the prime independent Being , or God ( sect. 1. )

12. Wherefore seeing it is evident by the two last Paragraphs , that the Objective Perfection both of the Intellect and the Will is the prime Being under the Notion of Truth and Goodness , it plainly follows , that ( seeing it was proved in the Paragraph above , that whatever is the Perfection of the Intellect and the Will , the same is the Perfection of the Soul ) God known and beloved is the chiefest Objective Good of the Soul , called by Divines the Beatific Vision , or Light of Glory .

13. And forasmuch as from the Fruition of the Chiefest Good , the greatest and purest Joy , Pleasure and Contentment which Man's Heart is capable of , must of necessity flow ; 't is clear that the greatest and purest Joy , Pleasure and Contentment must accordingly flow from the clear Knowledg of God , or the Beatific Vision ; and such Joy , Pleasure and Content is formal Perfection , the chiefest Bliss and ultimate End of Man .

14. Hence it is manifest , that Man was not made to enjoy , immediatly upon his Creation , the Beatific Vision ; for if he had once enjoyed it , he should have been for ever confirmed and established in Bliss . For the Beatific Object once clearly seen , will most certainly be beloved and delighted in with all the might and power of the Soul , as fully satisfying the whole Desire thereof . And being so beloved and delighted in , the Soul cannot otherwise chuse , but with its whole force and strength of affection perpetually desire the sight of it , and consequently there can be no Divorce between the Soul and Object of Felicity , after it is once fully possessed thereof , by either withdrawing its Affections , or placing them on any thing besides .

15. Although therefore Man by Creation ( as was proved , par. 6. ) understood what his chief good was , and wherein the Means convenient to procure the same were placed , and withal made use of the latter to obtain the former by ; yet in regard he was not fully united to God in perfect Love thro' the best Knowledg of him , 't is plain that tho the state of Creation was a state of Innocency , Uprightness or Integrity , in that Man's Heart was right towards God , yet was it not a state of Perfection from which he could not depart or fall .

Object . If Man 's own Felicity be the ultimate End for which he was created , as was said above , Paragraph 13. how is it that God's Glory is so universally held , as we know it is , to be the Final Cause of the whole Creation ?

Solut. Man's Felicity , and the glorifying God for ever by the Saints in Heaven , are not two several distinct things , but one and the self same thing . For since Felicity is the greatest and purest Joy , Pleasure and Contentment flowing from the Beatific Vision which Man's Soul is able to contain , ( par. 13. ) and that this very Joy , Pleasure and contentment doth not at all differ , save only in Words , from loving God with all the Heart , and with all the Soul , and with all the Mind ( for what is it so to love God , but to take delight in him with the whole power and strength of the Soul ? ) 't is plain , that such Love ( or perpetual , firm and full adherence to God , as the most desirable Object , with plenary satisfaction ) being the sublimest & perfectest Act which Man's Soul can exhibit to God , is to give him the greatest Honour and Glory , or to own his transcendent Excellency above all other things in the best and noblest manner which the Soul is able to do . And to this only Act of glorifying God , all other Acts of Honour to be given unto him , as inferior to it , do , by Divine Designment , directly tend . For to love God upon Earth above all things , is only a lower degree of the glory which is to be consummated in Heaven . Neither is that great and just Opinion and Reverence which every created intelligent and rational Being ought to have to and for the Almighties adorable Excellence , Attributes and Counsels , the final Honour which God requires ; for an Assent of the Understanding however strongly and reverently given to the Truth of all those , is but a subordinate and subservient Act of Honour intentionally designed by the Requirer of it , to procure and effect a correspondent Act in the Will , of taking Delight in them , as the only ultimate and perfect Act of glorifying God ; whilst every Act of Honour whatsoever done by the Intellect , is not only eminently contain'd therein , but is also rendred in a more excellent way thereby , than immediatly in it self , for to place ones whole Delight in the contemplation of the Divine Excellence , Attributes and Counsels , is evidently a more noble Act of honouring God , than only to give a full and reverent Assent to their Truth , since he that does the latter , does the former also , and with all the advantage which the operation of the Will most vigorously re-enforcing and elevating the operation of the Intellect by the Souls strongest Affections can perform . To which supream and comprehensive Act of glorifying the Divine Majesty , since it is nevertheless impossible that the Almighty and All-sufficient should have any regard at all in respect of an Advantage either of Benefit or Pleasure expected to accrue thereby to himself ( because Perfection being essential to the Deity , ( sect. 1. par. 7. ) the Divine Nature is even to contradiction incapable of acquiring or receiving any manner of Profit or Pleasure from the best Performance of his Creature ) it is manifestly plain that God's Design in creating Man , was not to receive , but to communicate good . Nor indeed is that Course of doing good , without expecting a requital unagreeable to Human Nature it self , which , in that it is Rational , would prompt every one to do good to others , without expectation of any Return to be made for the same , provided that he himself should not suffer any harm , loss , or want thereby ; as the Almighty most undoubtedly can never in bestowing Benefits , possibly do ; who when he has given all that he can , will have nothing less himself , than if he had not given any thing at all .

SECT. V. Man is fallen from the State wherein he was created . The manner of the Fall explicated . The eating of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil was forbidd●● , because of the Evil which God certainly knew would ensue from the very eating thereof .

1. FOrasmuch as the full Fruition of the Beatific Object is Man's Chief Good , and the End for which he was created ( sect. 4. par. 13. ) 't is consequent thereunto , that it alone is to be desired and sought after for its own Cause , and other things so far forth only as they are instrumental and serviceable in some respect or other for the Constitution of it , if so be the primitive course of Nature instituted by God ( sect. 4. par. 5 , 6. ) be pursued and kept to . Wherefore , since it is found by daily Experience , that Man is so far from loving God alone for his own sake , and other things in order only to the enjoyment of him , that he loves the things of this World more than he loves God , and prefers the possession of them before the fruition of his Maker , 't is evident , that Man has deserted the primitive Institution of Nature , and is manifestly fallen from the State and Condition wherein he was created .

2. But because Contraries are made more plainly to be seen by their Opposites , 't will be conducible to the better understanding of the state where to Man fell , to shew more fully than has yet been done , in what his state of integrity principally consisted , which was this ; First , That the Intellect was indued with the true Knowledg of God , so that Man by Creation understood his Maker to be the Author and End of all things , and the sole sovereign Good of the Soul , and withal sufficiently knew what Duties he was to perform in order to the obtaining of the same . Secondly , That the Will was aright inclined to both , I mean Man's Sovereign Good , and the Duties conducible to the acquiring of it , and put him upon the due exercise likewise of the same . Thirdly , That the sensitive Appetite was not immoderately bent upon any thing , but was totally subject to the pleasure of the Will . And , Fourthly , That the Animal Spirits with the whole frame and composure of the Body , were of so equal and regular a Temper , that no disturbance or unruly Motion proceeded from them to excite the sensitive Faculty to any inordinate Desire . The mentioned Rectitude of the Rational Powers we find within our selves to be dissolved , and the Disposition of the whole man to be changed and altered , whilst by the Senses the animal Spirits are vehemently often excited , and the sensitive Appetite from thence inflamed to several Lusts , by which the Will is moved to sundry inordinate Desires , and the Intellect through them is either darkened that it cannot clearly see Truth , or else is diverted and turned away from the due ( Consideration of it . Whence it is abundantly manifest , that Man has lost the Integrity which his Maker at first conferred on him .

3. Now forasmuch as the irregular Distemper which Man has contracted , is not only known to be at present Epidemical ; but that the Writings of old assure us , by the Disputes had about the Origin of Evil , and otherways , that it has universally infected Mankind for a long time , yea and that we have moreover ancient Records of Divine Authority conveyed to us by unquestionable Tradition , which assure us that it was derived to us from our first Progenitors , it will import much towards the carrying on of my Discourse , to understand how this Distemper befel them , and by what means it becomes transmitted to their whole Posterity . The former of which , because the Divine Oracles themselves clearly shew , we may by consulting them , be certainly acquainted therewith . And these tell us , that God having given in the state of Innocency this Command to Man being placed in Paradice ; Of every Tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat : But of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die , Gen. 2. 16 , 17. Our first Parents wilfully brake it by eating of the forbidden Fruit , Gen. 3. 6. Where we read , And when the Woman saw that the Tree was good for food , and that it was pleasant to the eyes , and a Tree to be desired to make one wise , she took of the fruit thereof and did eat , and gave also unto her Husband with her and he did eat .

4. From this Text 't is obvious to gather that the Tempters Words to Eve were but one Motive of three which prevailed with her to eat of the forbidden Fruit ; the whole Progress of the Temptation seeming plainly to have been this . The Words spoken by the Tempter to Eve , viz. God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof , then your Eyes shall be opened , and ye shall be as Gods , knowing Good and Evil. Gen. 3. 5. raising some wavering thoughts in her , whether she should eat of the Fruit or not , induced her to fix her Eyes more earnestly on it then she had formerly done ; whence being more taken with its Beauty than before she had been , ( for the Text by saying , when she saw it was pleasant to the Eyes , gives us to understand , that she had not been so much delighted with the sight of it at other times , as she was at that ) the phansied Sweetness of the Tast , and delicious Nutriment which it would afford , ( meant by these words , When she saw 't was good for Food ) and the expected benefit and pleasure of being made wise in a moment , wrought all of them together so strongly on her Phantasie , that the Animal Spirits were drawn thereby from their native equal distribution in the Body , to flock in greater abundance than usually to the Seat of the sensitive Appetite , which caused an immoderate Lusting after the Fruit therein ; with which the Will growing , through the Appetites ardency of Desire , more and more affected , stifled at length the Exercise of Reason , and then fully yielded to the Temptation .

5. The Fruit being tasted , pleased so well Eves Palate , and reaching her Stomach , was so grateful to it , that she staid not to try what further effect would be wrought by it , but went to Adam that he might partake with her of her newly acquired Delight and Satisfaction ; she gave also ( saith the Text ) unto her Husband with her , and he did eat , Gen. 3. 6. That Adam transgressed the Command of God in eating of the forbidden Fruit , as well as Eve , is clear then we see by Sacred Writ ; but the Manner how he was drawn to do it by the Woman , is not so evident in Scripture , as how she was overcome by the Serpent ; yet thus far however we are ascertain'd by that infallible Testimony , that it was not done by Arguments which deluded his Understanding , seeing we read that Adam was not deceived , 1 Tim. 2. 14. but by hearkning unto ( or obeying ) the Voice of his Wife . Gen. 3. 17. And it will not be difficult to make out the rest by Reason . For if we first reflect how Women by their smiling Looks , sweet Words , and amorous Gestures often overrule their kind Husbands ( of which sort Adam was undoubtedly one ) and induce them to do , what otherwise they would abstain from . And if Secondly , we consider , that the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil being sweet and delicious , and for that greedily fed upon by Eve , would not only quicken and augment her animal Spirits , but would also by its too much Nutriment , enflame and overheat her Body , ( of an equal Temper , till she had listened to the Tempter ) and thence excite Venereal Desires ( which are apt to enliven the Luster of the Eyes , the Briskness of the Countenance , and the Amorousness of the Gesture ) in her , and so render her more delicate and taking than she had formerly appear'd to be , 't will be the less wonder that Adam should be surprised , and hearken to the Voice of his Wife ; especially if withal it be minded that the State of Integrity consisted more in the even and unbyass'd Frame and Constitution of the Body and Soul of Man , than in the strong Habit of Virtue which was by degrees through the frequent Exercise of pious Duties perform'd to grow to perfection ) in the Soul , as is manifest by this , that diverse both Men and Women under the Gospel Dispensation , have through the Power of Christian Virtues , encountred far sharper Tryals of their Obedience to Gods Commands , and victoriously triumphed over them , than those which our Prime Parents were at the first assault easily vanquished by , as the Multitude of Holy Confessors , and glorious Martyrs abundantly testifie .

6. Thus our first Parents fell , that is , they eat of the forbidden Tree , by which they were deprived of that Estate , which if continued in , would have made them at length for ever happy ; seeing that before their consenting to eat , their Minds were placed chiefly on God , and so only on other Things as subservient and tending to further the full Fruition of him , by loving him with all the Heart , with all the Soul , with all the Strength , and with all the Mind . But as soon as their Desires were ardently set on the coveted Fruit , their due Conformity of Mind to God was violated thereby , in that their Affections were turned away from the due Love of God to the inordinate Love of the Apple , by which they departed from their Original State , in preferring the Vanity of a Sensual Pleasure before the Spiritual Delight of the Soul.

7. After the forbidden Fruit was eaten and digested , our Prime Progenitors were yet more estranged from their Maker by strong Venereal Desires which it raised in them ; strong I say , because if they had continued in their first Estate , those Desires would have been wholly regulated by their Rational Faculties , and not at all violent ; whereas after the Digestion of the Fruit , they were inflamed with immoderate Lust to each other , whence looking towards the satisfying of their Carnal Appetite , their Spiritual Love to God as their Sovereign Delight stood at a still greater distance thereby . For that the Fruit , through its deliciousness and nutritive Nature , excited them to Venery ( besides that Physitians inform us , that Sweet being compounded of what is moderately hot and moist is very nutritive , and generative Seed the Superfluity of Nutriment ) may be easily gathered from Gen. 3. 7. compared with Gen. 3. 11. whilst it is said in the seventh Verse , And the Eyes of them both were opened , and they knew that they were naked , and they sewed Fig-leaves together , and made themselves Aprons ; and in the eleventh Verse God replying to Adam , who had rendred this Excuse for hiding himself , that he was afraid because he was naked , said , Who told thee that thou wast naked ? hast thou eaten of the Tree whereof I commanded thee , that thou shouldest not eat ? fairly intimating that the eating of the Tree was that which discovered to our first Parents their Nakedness , not so much by putting them in mind of their Sin , as by manifesting of their Shame , the latter of which it was that troubled them , not the former , as seems evident by their covering of their Nakedness , and excusing their eating of the Fruit. So that this which was their Fault gave them not their Disturbance , but 't was the Effect thereof that caused their Trouble , to wit , their Nakedness , or the swelling Motion of their Generative Parts , not then under the absolute Power and Command of their Wills , as they had formerly , no less then the rest of the Members of the Body , always been ; which thing being ashamed of , they sought to cover those unruly Parts by sewing Fig-leaves together , and making themselves Aprons to hide them with . Nor is this a new Interpretation of the Passage , as the great St. Austin will witness , whose Words are these ; Posteaquam Praecepti facta est transgressio confestim gratià deserente Divinâ , de corporum suorum nuditate confusi sunt , unde etiam foliis ficulneis , quae forte a perturbatis prima comperta sunt , pudenda texerunt , quae prius eadem Membra erant , sed pudenda non erant senserunt ergo novum motum inobedientis Carnis sitae . tanquam reciprocam poenam inobedientiae suae . ( Aug. de Civitate Dei Lib. 13. Cap. 13. ) i. e. After a Transgression of the Precept was committed , the Divine Grace straightway deserting them , they were troubled for the Nakedness of their Bodies , whereupon they covered with Fig-leaves , which haply they first in their Perturbation met with , their undecent Members , which before were the same Members , but were not undecent ; they felt therefore a new Motion of their disobedient Flesh , as a reciprocal Punishment of their Disobedience .

SECT. VI. Original Sin the natural Consequent of eating of the forbidden Fruit , and how ? What Original Sin is ? God cleared from being the Author of it . Actual Sin is excited by Original . All Miseries incident to Man , as well as Sin , are the bitter Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil .

1. AFter the Equability of Temper in the Bodies of our Common Parents was corrupted , ( Sect. 5. Par. 4. ) the same Objects , which had no power to move the sensible Appetite of themselves before , more than was convenient , would now raise a different Motion in it , by reason the same Causes in a Subject diversly disposed will have different Effects . Wherefore since there would be a perpetual Commerce between the Senses of our first Parents and corporal Agents from every hand , incessantly almost beating on them with Objects grateful to the now corrupted sensitive Appetite , the Inequality of their Bodies Temper once begun , could not chuse but still continue . And in regard the Seed of Generation is an Extract from the Body , participating of the Nature and Qualities of it , the male Disposition of our Prime Progenitors Bodies ( never to be restored to their primitive Constitution ) would be transmitted by propagation to their Children , and from them to their Off-spring , and so successively downward to the Worlds end .

2. Wherefore since we are convinced by constant Experience that Mans Body , by reason of its close Conjunction and Union with the Soul , has such an Influence on it , that it certainly inclines it to all manner of Affections which the animal Parts excites it to , except when Reason prevails with the Will to resist the Motions of the sensitive Appetite , ( which cannot be while the Intellect is uncapable of the Exercise of Reason ) 't is manifest that , seeing Children in the Mothers Womb have not at all the use of Reason , there will be in their Souls an Inclination or Habitude agreeable and correspondent to the Disposition of their corporeal Part , which , in that it is begot and conceived of Seed issuing from disordered Bodies , will it self be in disorder , and thereby cause an unanswerable disorderly Disposition in the sensitive Faculty , inclining it to Objects of sense , and that again work a proportionable inordinate Habitude in the Will , which bereaving it of the due Inclination it ought to have towards the true Object of Felicity , causes a Want of that Original Disposition of Soul , which should and would have been in Children , if so be Man had continued in the State of Integrity ; which Want is that Malady of the Soul Men call Original Sin , or Privation of Original Righteousness , and is the Consequent , in the manner above explain'd , of eating the forbidden Fruit.

3. By this Explication of Original Sin , God is justified , and cleared from all Suspicion of being cause thereof ; whereas , if the Sin of Adam was transferred to his Posterity , because their Wills are included ( as some say ) in his , I see not how the Almighty could be cleared from being the Author of it . For since the Wills of Children are not really and truly by Nature in the Wills of their Parents ( for otherwise all Children should of Right be guilty of all the Sins of their Parents ) the Wills of Adams Progeny could not be included in the Will of Adam , unless God , in whose Power the Wills of all Men are , would for his Preasures sake have it so . If therefore by Gods meer voluntary Constitution the Wills of Adams Posterity be included in Adams Will , it follows , that by the same Constitution the Sin of Adam is his Posterities Sin also , in that the very Reason why the Sin of Adam becomes the Sin of his Posterity , is because their Wills are voluntarily constituted by God in his Will , which , if it were true , would make God the Author of Original Sin.

Object . 1. If Original Sin be derived from Adam by Propagation , it cannot be a Privation of Original Righteousness , because Privation is the meer want of a thing , and not a Positive thing which may be propagated .

Solut. There are two things to be considered in Original Sin , an Habitude or Proneness in the Will towards the Enjoyment of the Creature , and a Want of Original Righteousness , or Disposition of the Soul towards God , which it had by Creation . Now although the Want of Original Righteousness be truly and properly Original Sin , ( because if there were no want of that , there would be no Original Unrighteousness ) yet in that the native Habitude or Proneness of the Will towards the Creature ( Par. 2. ) instead of God , is the reason why the Soul becomes deprived of Original Righteousness , that Habitude or Proneness of the Will is also called Original Sin ( which that , and how , it proceeds by means of natural Generation was shown in Par. 1. 2. ) And it is so in all manner of Vice , that the irregular Act or Habit is not Vice formally taken ; but the Privation of the opposite Virtue , which ensues upon that irregular Act or Habit , and yet nevertheless the irregular Act and Habit are both called Vice Metonimically , because it is a necessary Result of each . For instance , an intemperate Act or Habit is said to be a Vice , and yet the formal Reason of their Vitiousness confists in this , that the one ( at least ) weakens , the other destroys the Virtue of Temperance , ( or in case a Man be intemperate before , they render it more difficult for him to become Temperate , by strengthening or encreasing his Intemperance ) for it is impossible that any thing should be morally evil , but as it deprives of some moral Good , or weakens it , or puts a Man farther from it ; for if by Intemperance a Man were not a whit the less Virtuous , he would not be one jot the more Vitious , than if he were not Intemperate at all . And the like may be as truly said of any other irregular Act or Habit of the Will . If it be urged , that in case Original Sin descend in the manner before described ; by propagation , it would rather be derived to us from our immediate Parents , than from our First , since another Temper of Body is communicated by them to us , then what was derived from Adam to his own Children , ( as is evident from the manifold different natural Dispositions we meet with in young Children ) and yet Original Sin is solely fixed to the eating of the forbidden Fruit ; my Answer is , that though it be very true that Infants receive another Disposition from their more immediate Progenitor , than what has been perpetually derived from Adam , and consequently that some of them also have a greater propensity to Vice through the personal Faults of their nearer Ancestors and Parents ; yet in that the whole Stock of Mankind , ever since Adam , has had a proneness from their Conception , to the Creature , in room of the Creator , by reason of the first Transgression ; Original Sin is rightly imputed to the eating of the forbidden Fruit , it being certain that from that Fault alone ( though there had never been any other ) therewould have ensued a Want of Original Righteousness in all Mankind . Object . 2. If Original Sin proceed from a Proneness in the sensitive Appetite towards the Creature , and that from the unequal Temper or male Disposition of the body ; unless the Body be restored to its primitive Constitution , ( which is not to be expected ) no Man shall ever be quit or clear from Original Sin in this Life .

Solut. Although Concupiscence be never totally rooted out of the sensitive Faculty in this Life , yet it doth not always ( as it does Infants who have not the use of Reason ) necessarily so influence the Will , as it does the sensitive Appetites ( and the Will is the only proper Seat of Sin ) but may through a virtuous Course of Life , be so far mastered and subjugated to the Power and Command of the Will , that it shall be able to give but small and ineffectual disturbance to the Rational Faculties ; which actually falls out , so often as the Soul acquires the Habit of Virtue , whereby it obtains a sincere Affection to God as its Sovereign Good ; for such Affection or Charity ( as shall be shown afterward , Sect. 11. ) not only frees the Soul from Original , but all other mortal Sin likewise ; whilst it is thereby formally justified and put into a State of Grace and Salvation .

4. The mentioned Difficulties about Original Sin removed , I go forward to shew , that as Original Sin proceeds from our first Parents eating of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil ; so doth Actual Sin from Original , as the Source and Spring from whence it flows . For Original Sin being a Want of Original Righteousness by reason of an Habitude or Proneness to the Love of the Creature , in the Soul ; that Habitude or Proneness , when the Intellect is once capable of actually apprehending an Object of sensual Delight , will be apt to proceed to an actual Desire , which is actual Sin ; unless some rational Motive be offered by the Understanding , which shall prevail with the Will to prefer the Spiritual Joy of the Mind before the sensual Pleasure of the Body ; which , for cause that shall be shewn Sect. 9. cannot generally ( if at all ) be , but by virtue of supernatural Helps from God.

5. And not only Sin both Actual and Original , but all sorts of Miseries likewise which befall Mankind , proceed from eating of the forbidden Fruit. For as for Infirmities , Diseases , Sickness , and Death , they , at first sight almost , shew whose ugly Brats they be . For what is Death but a separation of Soul and Body ? and whence comes this , but from some either excess or defect of Humors in the Body ? and neither of these had been found in the World , if the same Constitution of Body had still continued in all Mankind , which was in our first Parents , till they were induced to eat of the forbidden Fruit. For since in these words , Dust thou art , and to Dust shalt thou return , Gen. 3. 19 : is contained part of Adams Doom , it appears , that if he had not sinned , he had not died ; that is , if he had not eaten of the Tree of the Knowledg of Good and Evil , he had not been deprived of that Constitution of Body , which would always have preserved him alive . And for Diseases and Sickness , what else are they , but Male-dispositions of the Body , arising from an undue Mixture of Humors , or from some Obstruction ( both which the State of Innocency was clear and free from ) tending to Death ? So that a Disease or Sickness as such , may be rightly said to be Death or a Dissolution begun ; which verifies in a literal sense ( over and above the mystical ) the words spoken by God to Adam , On the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die ; for the just Temper of his Body was then corrupted when the Temptation prevailed , the first cause of all the succeeding Alterations , which brought it by degrees to dissolution . And as to Infirmities , whereunto add corporal Exuberances and Defects , do they not all come from an unequal Quantity and Disproportion of Seed , or elementary Principles which befel Mans Body at first from eating of the Apple or Fruit ? Grief then , together with Discord , Damnation and Hell , remain only to be spoken of , which when I have first answered an Objection that here offers it self , I shall make known whose foul and cursed Off-spring they likewise be .

Object . 3. 'T was said Sect. 4. Par. 12. that Man was created to enjoy the Beatific Vision , which how he could have done , if so be our first Parents had continued innocent , and never have died , is not easie to conceive .

Solut. It is easier to conceive that , then how , if Mankind had been immortal , the Earth should have born them ; for the Multitude of Men by a perpetual Generation would have exceeded the number of Atoms in the Universe . But in case we reflect how that the State of Innocency was not a State of Perfection , ( Sect. 4. Par. 15. ) and yet that Man was created to attain Perfection in the full Fruition of God by Intellectual Vision , ( Sect. 4. Par. 12. ) 't is not difficult to gather , that Adam and his Posterity , if they had persevered in Innocency , should have been exercised for a time in such Duties , Ways and Means , as would have only prepared them for the Everlasting Enjoyment of God , which because it is placed in the perfect Love of God clearly seen , ( Sect. 4. Par. 13. ) those Duties , Ways and Means must have been such , as would from time to time have excited and encreased their Affection to God , as namely observing , admiring , and lauding his excellent , and wonderful Power , Wisdom , and Godness manifested in the admirable Works of the Creation , and the continual Preservation of them ; which when they had so long and effectually done , that they could have been no longer satisfied with beholding the Creator in the Glass of the Creature , their Desire of seeing him in Himself would have grown so vehement , that they could have had no Rest without seeing him face to face ; and consequently , since the Almighty had made them for that End , and appointed those Means they had used to fit them for it , 't would have been altogether becoming , and consentaneous to , his unchangeable Goodness to translate them from the Earthly to the Heavenly Paradise , their Natural Bodies being changed into Spiritual Bodies , ( and thereby made unmeet to live on the Terrestial Globe ) like as St. Paul says of those that shall be found alive at the day of Judgment , Behold I shew you a Mystery , we shall not all sleep , but we shall all be changed . 1 Corinth. 15. 51. And again , Then we which are alive shall be caught up together with them ( i. e. the Dead in Christ , Vers. 16. ) in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air , and so shall be ever with the Lord . 1 Thess. 4. 17. Why all this should not be rationally enough offer'd in answer to the Objection , I apprehend not . But yet if we seriously reflect that God is Omniscient , and knows at once and always every thing , and by consequence had as primarily in his Knowledg the Fall of Adam as his Creation , we must conclude that God from Eternity determined how Adam should be dealt with after his Fall , rather than what his Progress to Bliss should be in case he fell not , when as he inerrably knew he would certainly fall . And therefore he had no earlier Thoughts of creating Man , than he had of calling him to Repentance , and of providing him a Saviour , ( the Necessity whereof will be shown in the 9th . Section ) there being no succession of Thoughts in God concerning those things whereof there is a Succession in themselves ; whence he at once eternally saw the Creation and End of it , with all the Means , whereby it was to be successively brought to pass , of which we have some imperfect Resemblance in a skillful Architect , who about to build a stately Palace , has the whole Model of the Building together in his Mind , although the Parts thereof be successively framed , and the Materials fitted for the Work one after another . For the Omniscient saw together in his Thoughts the noblest Universe of Creatures , which all Created Beings could possibly constitute for producing the most Excellent End that could be . ( Sect. 3. Pag. 8. ) Among those Creatures some were to operate necessarily , some voluntarily , towards procuring the general grand Effect to be produced ; of the latter sort of which , Man was ordained to bear a considerable share ; who , though by original Constitution he might have kept his Native Integrity , yet our Blessed Saviours Incarnation , Doings , and Sufferings occasioned by the Laps , were as primarily intended by God , as the very Creation it self . For the All-wise and All-good God infallibly knowing what Use Man would make of the Freedom of his Will , designed his Creation no sooner than he did a Way , which should not only prevent the defeating of the End for which he made man ; but would also be a means to advance it to an higher degree of Perfection than it could have had without it ; whilst man has by the Blessed Incarnation of the Son of God , ( of which hereafter in the 9th . Section ) and the gracious Sequel of it , far greater Motives to the Love of God ( in which Felicity consists , sect. 4. par. 13. ) than by the Creation , and all other things besides whatsoever ; and consequently a certain Means of augmenting the intensness of his Affection to God , and thereby the greatness of his eternal Bliss , as will hereafter be made out , sect. 11.

6. This occasional interruption over , I go on to shew , that Grief , Fear , Discord , Damnation and the Torments of Hell are so many several Branches of the Tree of the knowledg of good and evil . For as for Grief , it is a Passion which arises from the Sense of an incumbent Evil , and Fear from the apprehension of an evil approaching ; so that , in regard there could have no evil happened if Man had continued innocent , there would have been neither Fear nor Grief in the World. Nor should Discord or Wars have been found amongst men , if their Appetites had continued regular and subject to Reason ; for generally it is because that several men desire the same single thing ( which one alone can but enjoy at the same time ) that differences arise , which , if the Parties concerned be Sovereigns , often grow to Wars . But whatever other cause of Dissentions there be , 't is the effect of immoderate Desires which sprouted from the Tree of the knowledg of good and evil . There is then no Misery incident to Man , if Damnation and the Pains of Hell be within the List , but derives its Origin from thence ; which that they are , shall be the Work of the following Section to make appear .

SECT. VII . Eternal Damnation , or the perpetual Loss of Bliss , inevitably follows from the perpetual Alienation of the Souls Affections from God. Eternal Torments , or the Pains of the Damned necessarily for ever accompany their impious Desires of preferring worldly Vanities before the Enjoyment of God. Hence by these two , an Aversion from the Creator , and a Conversion to the Creature , Man makes himself eternally miserable .

1. SInce it has been proved ( Sect. 4. par. 13. ) that eternal Felicity consists in the immense Pleasure , Joy and Contentment that flows from the Beatific Vision , or Intellectual Sight of God , and that the same Pleasure , Joy and Contentment is the Love of Complacency , or Delight whereby the Soul inseparably adheres to God with all its might ( sect. 4. par. 14. ) 't is plain that such Alienation of the Soul's Affections from God , as shall for ever deprive it of such adherence to him , must of necessity deprive it of everlasting Bliss .

2. And in regard an everlasting deprivation of Bliss is that eternal Misery , which the Schools call Poena Damni , 't is clear that Damnation , or the perpetual Loss of Bliss inevitably follows the perpetual Alienation of the Souls Affection from God.

3. And whereas it is impossible to alienate the Souls Affections from God upon his own account , because in him is no appearance of evil , 't is manifest that for the gratifying of some inordinate Desire , as the Lust of the Flesh , the Lust of the Eye , or Pride of Life , man's Soul is alienated in affection from God.

4. Wherefore if the Souls Affections be in this Life so bent upon Riches , Honour , Luxury , Revenge , or other worldly Contentment , that it prefers any of them before the enjoyment of God ; and thence makes choice thereof as its chief Good and Felicity , or the thing wherein it is above all others delighted , it must needs be , that whatsoever Soul departs this Life so affected , must either forsake and leave off that its desire , or be satisfied with the Fruition of the Thing desired , or else be eternally tormented ; for to be for ever deprived of that which the Soul perpetually longs for , will be an endless affliction .

5. And first , That a Soul departing this Life with an habitual affection to some worldly Vanity wherein it delights , cannot ever shake off that its Desire , is apparent from this , that the Will ( which is an essential Faculty of the Soul ) can never be void of some Desire or other , and that it is unconceivable how it should part with those it is habitually possessed of when it leaves the Body , since it is certain that the love of God in pious Souls , begun here on Earth , continues after Death , and accompanies them to Heaven ( as will be seen sect. 13. par. 2. ) and that the Nature of Qualities or habitual Dispositions , whether good or bad , as to their inherence in the Soul , is in all men alike . And secondly , That those Lusts which inseparably adhere to mens Souls after death , can never with the enjoyment of what they desire , be satisfied , is as certainly true , as that their Return to the Earth to enjoy the Pleasures of this World , shall never come to pass . And thirdly , that men who have inordinate desires , shall after death endure Torments answerable to the strength of Affection which they have for the Things they lust after , and cannot possibly enjoy , may be gathered from the afflicted miserable condition of those Persons upon Earth whose Hearts are irrevocably set on Riches , Honour , Luxury , Revenge , &c. when they find themselves totally disappointed of what they earnestly desire . For does not Experience shew us , that the Heart of many a covetous Wretch is so cemented to his Gold , that when it is stollen from him , his Life , which before he would not have exchanged for Heaven , becomes his Hell , so as that he hastens by the first thing in his way to be delivered from it ? And are not the Thoughts of some vain-glorious and ambitious men so intent upon Honour , that falling into Disgrace , their very Hearts burst for grief of the want of that alone , amidst the affluence of almost all other worldly Goods besides ? As sad distress befals not a few forlorn Lovers , whose Affections are so fast glewed to their Mistresses , that they judge no Pain like that of frustrated Love , insomuch that they chuse the readiest for the best way of offering violence to their restless wearisom Lives . What shall I say of envious and revengeful wishes not accomplished , than which no Viper can more cruelly gnaw mens Hearts ? If then mens Desires may be so violent , and the frustrating of them so grievous , as hath been said , while the Soul is involved in a Body of Clay , how fierce will the one , and how intolerable will the other be , when its Operations are not damped thereby ?

Object . 1. 'T is a Maxim , That men cannot desire what they know is impossible to be had ; which if true , the damned cannot retain any affection for the things of this world , because they are certain they must never return to earth to get possession of them .

Solut. That Maxim is true only of as many as are governed by right Reason , but not of such as are overborn by Passion or Wilfulness . For wherefore should the ambitious man's heart burst through grief for the loss of Honour , if he either hoped to be restored to it again , or that his Affections were taken off it , since none kill themselves with Sorrow , while there is hope of having what they wish ; nor grieve for want of that which they have no desire to ? When the Miser has lost his Gold , if he either saw an appearance of getting it again , or found a willingness in his Mind to forget it , he would not be so hasty , as for dispatch sake , to be his own Executioner . Nor is the poysonous Cup acceptable to the distressed Lover , because his Mistress is not at hand , but because his hopes of enjoying her is at an end , and yet his desire of mutual Embraces is no whit lessened , but more enlarged thereby . And if the Maxim hold not good in those and other vicious men while in the Flesh , neither will it when they are departed hence , seeing their Affections are so far from leaving them , that they are encreased and become more vehement by the Souls being separated from its Body of lumpish Earth .

Object . 2. There be several Places in holy Scripture where Hell is set forth by such a Fire as seems plainly to denote an external material Fire ; as the Furnace of Fire , Mat. 13. 42. Vnquenchable Fire , Mark 9. 43. The Lake of Fire , Revel. 20. 15. The Flames of Hell therefore are not an internal , but an external Fire .

Solut. Since the Reasons given above , shew that the Demned are most grievously tormented with the internal and unquenchable Flames of their own ardent and perpetually frustrated Desires , the Furnace of Fire , and the Lake of Fire spoken of in Scripture , must either be another Hell of tormentive Flames , or else but Expressions fitted to the Capacities of the generality of the People , ( who are to be taught in Words adapted to their Understandings ) to signifie unto them the extremity of the Pain and Misery which vicious men for ever suffer after Death . But that there are more Hell-Fires than of one kind mentioned in Scripture , is no where , I think , to be met with in it . And in regard the Torments of Hell are described likewise , by the Worm that dieth not , Mark 9. 44. by weeping and gnashing of Teeth ; as also by outer Darkness , Mat. 22. 13. as well as in the other Places , by Fire ; and that these Expressions are certainly Tropical ( since a Worm cannot gnaw upon the Souls of the Damned , which yet are held to endure the Pains of Hell before their re-union to the Body ; that Spiritual Substances cannot really shed Tears , nor gnash Teeth ; and that there is no Darkness amidst abundance of material Fire ) it will be , I presume , an hard matter to produce a convincing Argument , why the Furnace of Fire , and the Lake of Fire must of necessity be literally understood ; especially seeing the Damned endure intolerable Pain , though there be no external Punishment at all in any sort whatsoever inflicted on them . Add hereunto , that whereas in Matth , 5. 22. it is written , Whosoever shall say unto his Brother thou Fool , shall be in danger of Hell-Fire ; Dr. Hammond has it in the Margin , liable to the Fire in the Valley of Hinnom , which Fire being long since extinct , cannot in a Literal Sense signifie the tormentive Flames of Hell. Besides , why the Pleasures and Joys of Heaven should be mystically represented in the 21st . and 22d . Chapters of the Revelation of St. John ; and yet the Pains and Torments of Hell set forth by Fire in the 20th . Chapter , should admit of none but a Literal Interpretation , is a thing unaccountable . If Reply were made , that the Apocalyps is wholly Mysterious , whereas other Scriptures are so only here and there ; I would retort , That then the Lake of Fire , Revel. 20. 15. is not to be understood according to the Letter , no more than the pleasant Objects of Delight ( Rev. 21 , and 22. quoted before ) of the New Jerusalem ; which if so , by Hell-Fire in other Places of Sacred Writ is not meant a material Fire , except the Lake of Fire in the Revelation , and the Furnace of Fire in St. Matthew , and unquenchable Fire in St. Mark , relate not all to one and the same manner of Torment ; which if any one will say they do not , let him bring a convincing Reason for so doing , and be believed . Lastly , Whereas if Hell-Fire be a Torment externally forced on the wicked , several Difficulties ( to my apprehension , insuperable ) offer themselves ; as , First , How a material Substance can immediately act on an immaterial which is not essentially united with it . Secondly , Why a finite Act , or a Thing done and past should be punished with endless Pain . And , Thirdly , Wherefore the Creator should eternally afflict his Creature for no good at all to himself , for doing of that which can neither really harm , nor grieve him ; especially since that which men call Vindicative Justice , cannot in Reason be exercised either by God or Man , as shall hereafter be made appear in the 10th . Section . But in this other way of mens frustrated vicious desires tormenting themselves , there 's no need of those or any such like strange and unreasonable Suppositions , while the damned are their own Tormentors , and yet voluntarily persist in those desires wherewith they are tormented ; because in the Object of them is their conceived Felicity placed . For the Covetous , Ambitious , Voluptuous , or Revengeful Mind could not at all relish the spiritual Joys of Heaven , nor would exchange what it more values , for the full Fruition and perpetual possession of them ; according to that which we find elegantly said by the Author of the Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety ; Alas what Delight would it be to the Swine to be wrapped in fine Linnen , and laid in Odors ? his Senses are not gratified by any such Delicacies , nor would he feel any thing besides the Torment of being withheld from the Mire . And as little Complacency would a Brutish Soul find in those purer and refined Pleasures which can only upbraid , not satisfie him . But what still more confirms the Truth of that which has been writ in this Section ; according to the Doctrin asserted in it , Heaven and Hell are directly set against each other ; and the several ways that lead unto them diametrically opposite to one another . For the Joys of Heaven are the fulfilling the Souls desires in the fruition of the really chief Good of man . The Torments of Hell , the Frustration of the Souls desires of some falsly supposed Chief Good. Virtue , the Way of Bliss , is the preferring the Love of God before the Love of the World. Vice , the Path of Hell , is the preferring the Love of the World before the Love of God. And as the Beatified Souls according to the higher degree of Love wherewith they are affected to God , are more happy because fuller of delight so the damned Spirits , the stronger affection they have to the things they lust after , are more grievously tormented , the disappointment of a stronger affection being more afflictive than of a weaker .

Object . 3. According to this Doctrin , neither the Bodies of the glorified Saints would participate of Bliss ; nor the Bodies of the damned have any portion of Pain .

Solut. Not so ; for if when the Soul abounds with Joy and Delight , it be able to quicken , chear and make brisk this dull and heavy Lump of Clay , as we see it doth ; how much more will it through the immense Joys of Heaven have a powerful influence on a spiritual Body ? And if Grief for the disappointment of mens wished desires here can cast them into violently scorching Fevers , how should the excessive Pain of the perpetual Frustration of the damneds hot Lusts , but put their Bodies into an everlasting state of Burning ? Besides , since all Bodies must be contain'd in Place ; as the Bodies of the Saints shall possess the most glorious which are suitable for them , so the Bodies of the damned shall in habit the most dismal that are proper for them , and therefore what difference of Place can contribute to Bliss and Misery , they 'l differently share therein in respect of that also .

Object . 4. Murther is a Sin that cries for Vengeance , and yet if the Torments of Hell consist in the Disappointment of mens Desires , there would be no Punishment , but only the loss of Heaven , allotted to that most horrid Crime .

Solut. Murther is a crying Sin indeed ; for it stays not for the Judgment of the World to come , but it self begins its own Punishment here , the Mutherer being tortured and distracted almost with the representation of the Act alone , whilst it is a thing so detestable , and repugnant to the very Being of human Nature , that in despight of all his endeavours to the contrary , he starts , and is agast at the horror of it , as often as it occurs to his mind ( though but in sleep , when he neither dreads the Sentence of a terrestrial nor celestial Judg. ) So that when after this Life , he shall have no intervention of necessary business to divert his Thoughts from it , 't will be terrible and tormentive to him beyond expression , since his very Essence will have a perpetual perfect antipathy to it , and yet he shall ever be haunted and infested with its ghastly and dreadful visage . But besides , murtherers are tormented as well as other Sinners by their frustrated desires ; for Good being the Object of the Will , every Creature which is endued therewith , has an affection for some or other either real or apparent Good , and 't is this latter that the wicked of all sorts ardently affect ; though they judg in general the state of the glorified Saints to be true felicity , and their own condition a state of misery ( notwithstanding that they can by no means relish the manner of delight which the Blessed have ) for otherwise there could be no such Pain as Poena Damni , the loss of Heaven , since none are troubled for the want of that which they have not any respect or esteem at all for ; whence the very Inconsistency of the Thoughts of the damned concerning true and false Bliss , set their minds upon the Rack . To which is to be added yet another Torment which afflicts likewise , without exception , the whole Crew of reprobate Souls , to wit , the gnawing Viper of Envy and Malice towards the Saints in Bliss , in that they obtain their full desires , when they themselves are totally deprived of their own .

SECT. VIII . The only Evil which is prejudicial to Man in respect of the End for which he was created , is Malum Culpae , the Evil of Fault ; and it is either Privative or Positive , The former consists in an Aversion from God ; the latter in a Conversion to the Creature . Each of them is called Sin , the one Formal , the other Material . The greatest Alienation of the Heart from God makes the greatest Sinner .

1. SEeing it was proved ( sect. 4. ) that God created Man , not for any Good whatsoever to accrue thereby to himself , but solely and wholly to communicate Good to his Creature , 't is manifest that nothing can harm or prejudice Man in respect of the End for which he was created , but that alone which is prejudicial to him in respect of his own final Good ; which since it has been shewn ( sect. 4. par. 13 , 14. ) to consist in the perfect Love of God , 't is clear that nothing is evil to man as man , or created to inherit Bliss , but either the very Alienation it self of the Hearts Affection from God ; or something which causes the same ; or is an inducement thereunto .

2. And since the alienation of the Hearts affection from God , is in respect of God an aversion from him ; and that it is evident there can be no aversion from God , ( in whom there is not any the least appearance of evil ) but through the inordinate desire of some temporal Benefit , or Pleasure , which is preferred before him ; 't is manifest that in these two , Aversio à Deo , & Conversio ad Creaturam , an aversion from God , and a conversion to the Creature , is contained the whole Evil that befall man as man , or a rational Creature made to enjoy everlasting Bliss , since nothing else can make him fail of being eternally happy .

3. And forasmuch as the Evil which is an Aversion from God , is a meer Privation of that Love of God which the Soul ought to have towards him , 't is plain that actual Evil ( called by Divines Malum Culpae actualis , or Peccatum actuale ) cannot be placed in an Aversion from God , but in a Conversion to the Creature .

4. Yet in regard it would be no hindrance to man's Felicity however strongly his Soul were addicted to any temporal Good , provided the Soul's Affection to God were not any thing abated thereby , 't is clear that Sin formally taken is that Evil which is an Aversion from God , and that the Conversion of the Heart to the Creature , or the inordinate Love of the World and worldly Vanities , is Sin materially only ( and not formally ) considered .

5. But this notwithstanding , since it is not possible , but that the Soul which immoderately affects the Creature , or the satisfying an inordinate Desire , must of necessity have its due Affection to God hindred or abated thereby , 't is evident that in every inordinate , immoderate Conversion to the Creature , there is always necessarily implied and involved an aversion from God , ( because to love two Things , God and the World chiefly , that is , God above the World , and the World above God both at the same time , is plainly repugnant and impossible ) in regard of which it is properly sinful , or formally a Transgression of the Law of God.

6. Hence it comes to pass that the external Act conceived to be prohibited by the Divine Law , is no real Breach thereof , save only when , and as it impedes or diminisheth the Souls due Affection or Love , which of right it ought to have to God , in order to its own Felicity , as shall hereafter in the explication of the seventh and Eighth Commandments ( Sect. 19. ) be made appear .

7. In the greatest Alienation therefore of the Heart from God , is the greatest sin ; which Alienation because it befalls the Damned , in that their Aversion from God is perpetual , the Damned are the greatest Sinners .

Object . 1. Sin is the Transgression of the Law of God. 1 John 3. 4. and the Transgression of the Law is therefore sinful , because it is repugnant to the Divine Will , and an Offence to God.

Solut. The Definition of Sin given by the Blessed Apostle must needs be infallibly true ; but the reason offered , why the Transgression of the Law is sinful , is none of the Apostles , and its truth may very well be questioned . For in case Gods Will had been absolutely set against Sin , rather than it should have been ever in the World , neither the Author nor Actors of it had received a Being , since he was the Maker and Creator of them both . And therefore it is not in respect of any Injury , Harm , or Inconvenience whatsoever that can befall the Almighty , ( who is infinitely above the reach of any Displeasure or Annoyance possible to be done unto him ) by the committing of Sin , that he forbids it ; but because it is mischievous and hurtful to the Creature in many respects , as hath been set forth in the three preceding Sections last past . So that the Reason why the Creator gave Man a Law to observe , was not simply this , that he required Obedience should be given to whatsoever he commanded , but that Man through Obedience to the Law ( which is a Rule , that , if rightly observed , will make him happy ) might reap the Benefit of the due Observance of it , as from this subsequent Argument will ( I think ) be evinced . Tho Obedience is due to be performed , but in respect of some Command given to be obeyed ; no Command is to be given to be obeyed , but in respect of some good End whereunto it tends ; for to command a thing either to no End at all , or to a bad End , would be irrational ; since to do the former would be an impertinent Vanity ; and to do the latter would be plain Perversness ; both which , since they are infinitely remote and estranged from the Nature of God , 't is impossible he should command any thing but for a good End. And forasmuch as he is utterly incapable of receiving any manner or measure of Good , by reason of his infinite Self-perfection ; he cannot possibly require Obedience from his Creature for any Good , either of Profit or Pleasure expected to redound thereby to himself . And therefore whenever he gives a Law or Command to his Creature , he does it for this sole End , that the Creature may be benefited thereby , in case a sincere and cordial Obedience be performed unto it .

Object . 2. If God cannot possibly give a Command but such only as tends to the Good of the Creature , it will not be in his Power to command a thing of that nature , that simple Disobedience to his Will , without respect had to some or other definite Good to be obtained by fulfilling the Command , should be a sin .

Solut. That God cannot possibly give a Command but for some good End and Purpose , and that he himself is incapable of receiving any good , hath been proved before . But it doth not thence follow , that he cannot command a thing to be done without respect had to some or other express definite Good ; because he may command a thing purely indifferent in it self , to the intent that men by yielding Obedience to his Command for the Commands sake , may be inured to submit with readiness and chearfulness to his Will in all things , which whosoever doth , cannot fail of being at length eternally happy , because the most of his Precepts at least ( as in Sect. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20. will be seen ) are proper means in themselves for procuring mans Felicity ; which the performing of things wholly indifferent in their Nature , when enjoyned by God , ( if any such there be ) by facilitating of Obedience will be apt to further , in that a pliableness to observe Commands in things necessary will be promoted thereby . But if it were so that Obedience were good for the meer Commands sake , without respect had to the benefit intended to accrue to the sincere Observers of it , Disobedience would be equally sinful in every sinful Act whatsoever ; whence a small stroke given in wrath would be as great a Crime as Parricide or Treason ; to rob a poor Man of all he has , would be a Fault as small , as to steal a Penny from the richest Person ; and to commit Adultery or Incest would be no greater a sin , than a lascivious Thought or Word , since all sin without exception is absolutely forbidden by God , and not one single Crime whatsoeever allowed to be committed . But if Disobedience to Gods Commands be therefore sinful , in that it causes a Want or Privation of some good , or degree thereof , which is a Means conducible to Felicity , then is every sin greater or less than other , by how much the good whereof it deprives the Soul , is more or less available then other for bringing it to Bliss . And therefore although every Sin be a Transgression of the Law , yet inasmuch as every Branch and Title of the Law is not of equal Virtue to further Mans Felicity , 't is clear that all Acts whereby the Law is transgressed are not equally bad or sinful .

Object . 3. God by the sole Act of Creation , or making Man out of nothing to have an Existence or Being , obtained a Sovereignty over him , by virtue of which he has a Right of Dominion , or a just Power to lay what Commands he pleases upon him . Whence it must needs be that every Act of Disobedience to Gods Commands is a Wrong and Injury done unto him , although the Performance of the Command would neither do him good , nor the omitting to do it procure him any harm .

Solut. That God has a Right of Dominion over Man , or a just Power to command him whatever he pleases , is an undeniable Truth ; but the Ground thereof is not solely ( as the Objection would make it ) because Man was created by God , and received his Being from him ; but by reason also that such is the unerrable Rectitude of his Understanding , and the absolute Goodness of his Will that he cannot possibly command him any thing , but what , if duly observed , will infallibly procure his Good. For if God by the sole Act of Creation ( abstracting from this , that he created Man from an end agreeable to his Nature , certainly to be obtain'd , if he obeyed the Law of his Maker ) had a Right to dispose of him after any manner whatsoever , without regard had to his Wisdom and Goodness , ( which always determine his Will to command that which is good for the Creature , seeing nothing can be so , extrase , to himself ) the Almighty would have been as Benign and merciful ( being ever of necessity the same , Sect. 1. Par. 8. ) as he now is , if so be he had inflicted on all Mankind without any Demerit of theirs the most exquisite and endless Torments ; because he would have been no less their Creator by doing that , then in shewing the greatest Kindness imaginable . The truth of this Assertion , that God obtain'd not a Sovereignty over Man to command him any thing , whatsoever pleaseth him , upon the bare account of the Creation , may be somewhat illustrated , if we take into consideration the Right which Parents have to command their Children , who doubtless are not obliged to Obedience upon this sole account , that they were begotten by them ; for otherwise Obedience from Children to Parents would be due to be performed to them , however qualified , insomuch that neither extream Folly , nor raging Madness , nor any other thing whatsoever could incapacitate them justly to exact at all times , and in all things , an entire Observance of all their Commands whatever they should be , because their Parental Right of Dominion and Authority over them would be in all Conditions the same , if it only arose and grew from this , that they were the Issue of their Bodies ; but who ever was known to assert the Duty of such Obedience ? The truth is , in whomsoever a Regular Power of commanding or giving Precepts to others according to the Principles and Dictates of Reason justly resides , there are those three things previously required and presumed to be in him . First , A Will and Desire to do them good . Secondly , An Understanding sufficient to judge what will ( at least in probability ) procure their good . Thirdly , A Power enabling him to encourage them to Obedience , by proposing a Benefit to be rationally expected by their observance of what he commands , and on the contrary to deter them from Disobedience by threatning Harm to befal them , if they refuse or neglect to do what is enjoyned . Whence appears a manifest Reason why God is always actively to be obeyed , but Human Powers are not so . For God through the absolute Purity of his Nature , has a stedfast unchangeable Mind and Will to do good ; and by reason of his infallible Wisdom , a constant Ability to know what is good ; and in virtue of his Omnipotency , a lasting indeficient Power to benefit the due Observers of his Commands , and to denuntiate Evil which will infallibly befall the Violaters of them ; whereas all Human Powers are at one time or other ( or at least may be ) destitute of some one or more of the mentioned Qualifications , and thereupon may command what is repugnant to some Moral Precept , and so are not necessarily to be actively complied with in every thing they give in Command ; to some Moral Precept , I say , because though all Positive Divine Precepts , as well as Moral , are to be actively obeyed , yet the Reason of that is founded on the Morality of this Truth , that it is contradictory to the Wisdom and Goodness of God to command any thing that will not certainly be good for him who is required to do what is commanded , if he yield a chearful Obedience thereunto . Here some might probably interpose and say , that Slaves and Servants are bound to obey their Lords and Masters , and yet they do not do the things commanded for their own , but for their Lords and Masters Profit . To this I answer , that Masters of Servants , and Owners of Slaves , are not truly speaking their Governours ; nor is the Duty these owe them properly a Duty of Obedience , but of Commutative Justice arising from a mutual Contract ( express , or tacite ) Servants selling their Work , either all of it , or half of it , or some part of it only ( as their Masters and they agree ) for Hire ; and Slaves parting with the Property of their Bodies and Goods for the saving of their Lives in their Enemies power to have been taken away ; so that it is upon the account of Compact and Bargain , that Servants and Slaves are obliged to perform their Masters and Lords Wills and Pleasures , and not from strict Obedience , which is properly a Duty tending to the Advantage of those who are obliged to it . If it be replied that Subjects however owe Obedience to their Sovereigns in a proper sense , and yet These seek their own , as well as their Peoples Benefit ; I rejoyn , that since Sovereign Princes cannot without the Aid and Help of others , maintain their Authority ( as the Almighty can do his , which makes a difference in that respect between him and all other Governours ) for the Preservation of the People they are to rule , unless They themselves be preserved in Person , Power , and Wealth agreeable to their Office ; it is absolutely requisite , that They should reap such Benefit by the Obedience of their Subjects , as is necessary to preserve Themselves and their Government , no less then the People committed to their Charge . If it be yet still further urged , that admitting God cannot give a Command but only such as tends to the Good of the Creature , yet it does not follow thence , that this End is the Ratio formalis , the very Reason of the goodness of the Command , but a necessary Consequent only of it ; for whatsoever is agreeable to the eternal Rectitude of the Divine Wisdom to be made a Law , Obedience thereunto must of necessity be good to Man , but such a Law however is good in it self , of which sort are all the Precepts of the Moral Law. I answer , it is an uncontroulable Maxim , that Cessante ratione Legis cessat Lex , ( i. e. as to the Equity of it , or the reasonableness of its being put in execution ; for a Legislator may sometimes prudently forbear the direct express Repealing of a Law , tho it be not for the present beneficial , or fit to be made use of ) and the Reason of a Law evermore then ceaseth , when it becomes unserviceable to the End , or unuseful to procure or further the Good for which it was made ; so that if it were possible , that the Moral Law could cease to be serviceable ( to as many as use it aright ) to the End for which it was given , namely , to advance Humane Nature towards its Perfection , by the Fruition of Mans Chief Good , it would cease to be a Law. For let Aquinas be in the right , that Scientia Dei est causa scitorum ab ipso , 1 ma. par Quaest. 14. Art. 9. 3 m. and consequently that Gods seeing a Law to be perpetually good , makes it to be really so ; yet it is no otherwise , then by seeing it to be a perpetual fit , apt , and proper means to further the procuring of the End designed to be obtained by the true Observers of it , thereby . From which consideration it is apparent , why a perpetual Obligation lies upon all Men to keep the Moral Law , namely , because it is at all times beneficial ( if sincerely obeyed ) to every one for promoving his everlasting Welfare ; and not meerly because it is according to the eternal Rectitude of the Divine Mind , for so is also every positive Command of God , for whatever God once approves of , he eternally approves of as good for what , and so long as he intended it ; for the longer or shorter Continuance of any of Gods Ordinances , or Institutions , or the more or less usefulness they are of towards the End to be obtained by them , makes them neither more nor less agreeable to the eternal Rectitude of the Divine Wisdom , which exactly fits every thing the Almighty institutes for the Occasion he intends it , with irreversible Council ; the whole Change which ever happens in Divine Commands , being wholly for the Creatures Sake , to whose variable Condition in several Ages of the World , several different Institutions and Dispensations have been suited by the eternal immutable Wisdom and good Will of God ; Opera mutat Deus , sed non consilia . St. August .

SECT. IX . Mans Recovery from his laps'd and lost Condition wherein it consists , and how wrought . Natural ways and means unable of themselves to procure it . Supernatural Causes chiefly prevalent to that End. Of these the Free Love of God to Man , and the Incarnation of his eternal only begotten Son , with the Consequents of it are the chief .

1. SInce it has been made apparent , First , that the Honour wherewith God requires to be eternally glorified , is the loving him with all the Heart , and with all the Soul , and with all the Mind ; and that so to love him is Mans ultimate End , and everlasting Bliss ( Sect. 4. ) Secondly , That Man by Creation was placed in a Condition , through the Rectitude of his Intellect and Integrity of his Will , and the due subordination of the inferiour Faculties , together with a good Constitution of Body , which put him in the direct Way towards the obtaining of that his Ultimate End and chiefest Good. ( Sect. 4. ) Thirdly , That by eating of the forbidden Fruit , Man fell from that Condition wherein he was created , into a State of Sin and Misery , the latter of which is the necessary conseqent of the former . ( Sect. 5 , 6. and 7. ) and Fourthly , That Sin is an Aversion from the Creator , and a Conversion to the Creature , or the deserting the Love of God for the Love of the World ; ( Sect. 8. ) 't is plain , that to cause Man to withdraw and take off his Affections from the World , and so to place and fix them again on God , that he shall at length attain to the full Enjoyment of him , in loving him with all his Heart , and with all his Soul , and with all his Mind , is to restore him , or to put him again into the Way , which shall bring him to the End for which he was created .

2. That this could never have been effected by any Natural Means , is plain from hence , that ever since the native Temper of our first Parents Bodies was corrupted , the Objects of sense , which before contributed Help and Assistance in their Kind towards the Souls Progress in the Love of God , wrought a contrary Effect by alluring the Sensitive Appetite to the immoderate Love of themselves , not through any newly acquired Malignity in them , but because the Subject receiving them was changed from its first Constitution , which being once corrupted , the Distemper consequent upon it ( if not by some means corrected ) would grow worse . For Children , by the frequent beating of corporeal Objects on their Senses , would be much addicted to those which were grateful to the Carnal Appetite , before they grew up to the use of Reason . And when they had attained to riper years , their Bodies would be grown so hot , and their Passions thereby , especially being often fomented , so strong and violent , that they would commonly overbear and sway their Rational Faculties . Add to this , that Men being prone to be led by the Example of those they converse with , the Vices of one another would mutually debauch , and confirm them in their inordinate Lusts ; from all which , a general Neglect of God , and consequently a gross Ignorance of him would at length ensue . The truth of this was so evidently seen among the Gentiles , that the Knowledge of the one true God was mostly lost . Yea , and even those of them , who had some right Notions of him , did not very well consider the Enjoyment of him by Love , to be the sole Sovereign Good of the Soul. Nor were Mens Understandings only exceedingly darkened , but their Wills likewise very much vitiated , whilst every one through a natural inbred desire to be happy , frequently persuing some particular fancied good or other , as Wealth , Honour , Sensual Delights , &c. which the Constitution of their Bodies , their Education , Conversation with others , or some Occasion or Temptation they met with in the World , inclined them to , more than to any other Object , because so eagerly bent upon their miserable mistaken Felicity , that tho the truly chief Good had been demonstrated to their Understandings , yet would they not have been induced thereby to endeavour after the Fruition of it as their only Bliss ; Motives being as necessary for a thorow Amendment to incline the Will , as Arguments are to convince the Understanding . For as a setled Judgment concerning any supposed Truth cannot be reversed without stronger Reason ( at least in appearance ) given , than that whereby it is established in the Mind ; so neither can an Affection rooted in the Will be eradicated , but by more powerful Motives , than those by which it is fixed there .

3. Wherefore seeing then that the Objects of Sense , and almost every thing Man is concerned with since the Fall , are apt , by reason of his corrupted ▪ State to alienate his Affections from God , 't is clear that Causes , not within the Limits of Nature , would be necessary to withdraw his Heart from the Love of the World , and the false Delights thereof , to the Love of God , if ever he should arrive at Bliss ; and such Causes as are not within the Bounds of Nature are supernatural . Supernatural Causes therefore are necessary to reduce Man to the Way which leads to the End for which he was created .

4. And forasmuch as Man is a Rational Creature , and cannot be moved but in a Way agreeable to his Nature , without violence offered to the same , those supernatural Causes must not force him , but connaturally draw and win him by convincing his Understanding of the Truth , and by inclining his Will to the Love thereof , which are not to be effected but by Arguments and Motives . For as the impression of Force is a proper Means whereby to move a Corporeal Substance from one place to another ; so are Arguments and Motives proper means whereby to draw the Mind off from one Object to another . For to say , that a Man either assents to , or chuses with Reason , that for which he sees no Reason ( general , or special ) so to do , appears to be a Contradiction ; and either to assent unto , or to make choice of any thing without Reason , is repugnant to Mans Nature , which is Rational , and ought in all things to act according to Reason .

5. To put Man therefore in the Way to glorifie God eternally , and to be for ever happy , in loving him with all the Heart , with all the Soul , and with all the Mind , is to clear his Understanding by convincing it , that God alone is ans Sovereign Good ; and to purifie his Will by affording Motives of a nature more powerful to incline it to the Love of God ; then all the Motives which the World can exhibit , are to win it to the Love thereof .

6. Wherefore since on the one side Mans Soul is sensually affected with Objects ever at hand , and esteems nothing able to bring Contentment , but some or other Enjoyment of this Life , not only by reason of its own native and acquired corrupt Inclination , but also from the Opinion of the World round about confirming it therein ; and that on the other side , the Object of Mans Felicity is Spiritual , not obvious to sense , and afar off , it follows , that unless the Object of Felicity should become such , as to be put into a Condition , whereby it might be capacitated to draw Mans Affections in a way agreeable and familiar to his Nature from the Love of the World to the Love of it self , Man could never be brought back again to the Path of Life , but would go perpetually on in the Way which leads to Perdition .

7. Seeing then the goodness of God is such , that it was inconsistent therewith , not to afford Means whereby Man might be recovered from his lost Condition ; and yet not to violate his Rational Nature ; 't was necessary , that God , being the Object of Mans Felicity , should become Incarnate and be made Man , to the intent he might familiarly converse with Man , softly instil through his Senses his Divine Precepts , and to do , and suffer such things on his account , and for his sake , as that , considering the Dignity of the Person , the unmerited and unspeakable Kindness , and unvaluable Worth of the Benefit , it could not possibly otherwise fall out , but that as many , as should seriously and frequently reflect and meditate thereon , would be induced to despise the World , and all its alluring Enticements for the perpetual Enjoyment of so great and excellent an Object , as so gracious and good a God must needs appear to be .

8. It was therefore the Almighties great Kindness to condescend to Mans Frailty , and be cloathed with his Flesh in the second Person of the blessed Trinity , because in that he is the Wisdom of his Father , and Word of God , ( Sect. 2. ) 't was an Office peculiarly proper for him to manifest and declare unto the World the Love which God had to Man in reconciling , or drawing him to Himself again .

9. To which End , Christ the Eternal Son of God did many signal Miracles to give irrefragable Testimony , that he was sent from the Father , was One with him , and that the Design of his coming into the World , was to make up the Breach and Distance between God and Man , which he accordingly on his Part did by Teaching , by Doing , and by Suffering . For by his Doctrine he infallibly shewed not only the miserable Condition which Man would eternally incur , unless he forsook the World , and turned to God ; but also that God himself was Mans Felicity ; and what Course he should take , that he might for ever fully enjoy him . And seeing it was not enough that Man should have his Understanding aright informed , unless his Will were likewise inclined to do what he ought in order to the full Enjoyment of God , Christ was graciously pleased to undertake the doing and suffering such beneficial and stupendious things for him , that nothing but want of Consideration and due Reflexion on them could possibly frustrate their prevalent Virtue and Power over the Will , effectually to incline and turn it unto God , as the sovereign good thereof . For since God is Man's Felicity , could any thing possibly be parallel'd hereunto for the meriting of his Love , & consequently for inducing him to use the means available to Bliss , that the omnipotent Creator of all things should become clad with human Flesh subject to Infirmities , for the sole good of his Creature ? That he should familiarly converse with his Vassals , and call them Friends and Brethren , and really treat them as such ? That he should toil himself both night and day in travelling from place to place to preach the glad Tidings of Salvation , to heal the Sick , to give Sight to the Blind , to make the Deaf to hear , the Dumb to speak , and the Lame to walk , to comfort the Sorrowful ▪ to pardon the Penitent , and in a word , to do all manner of good ? Yea , and ( as if all this had been a small Token of his Love to man ) that he should be willing to suffer Banishment , Heat , Cold ; Hunger , Thirst ? That he would endure to be buffeted , spit upon , reviled , mocked , scourged ? That he refused not to undergo an Agony , which caused his precious Body to sweat drops of Blood , and to suffer a most ignominious and painful Death ? And that all this should be done and suffered , not for the least advantage to the Deity , but wholly for the benefit of man , to save him thereby from intolerable , endless misery , and to bring him , if he embraced his Kindness , and followed his Instructions , to everlasting unspeakable Joy and Happiness ? For God so loved the World , that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believed on him should not perish , but have everlasting life , John 3. 16.

Object . We hear nothing in all this of appeasing the fierce Wrath of an angry and incensed God ; nothing of satisfying Divine vindicative Justice ; nothing of making recompence for the Wrong done to a sovereign Power by the breach of his most righteous Laws .

Solut. That the Almighty neither doth nor can suffer Wrong by any Act of the Creature , has been sufficiently seen before , ( sect. 8. Solut. of Object . 1 , & 3. ) And where no Wrong is , what necessity there 's of Satisfaction and Recompence is unconceivable ; so that by granting Christ's Passion not to be an infinite Satisfaction for an infinite Offence committed against God by Sin , in that sense as Satisfaction for an Injury done by one man to another is made , there 's no danger at all of touching upon Socinianism , it being plainly absurd to infer from the non-necessity of an infinite Satisfaction by the suffering of Christ , that he is not God co-essential with the Father ; since it is through the Incapacity of God's being offended , and not for want of Merit in Christ's Death , that his Passion is not an infinitely satisfactory Recompence to God for Sin. But nevertheless there is ground enough for an Orator so to expatiate upon the Mystery of Man's Restauration by Christ , as elegantly to use the Allegories mentioned in the Objection , ( whilst there are two Parties , God and Man ; a Law given by God , and Man the Transgressor of it ; that the Father and the Son are distinct Persons , and that the latter assumed Man's Nature on purpose to make up the Breach between God and Man ; and that his great and gracious Merits were in their Nature , considering the infinite Dignity of the Person , sufficient to have fully satisfied for an infinite Offence , if God had been infinitely offended ) but to bring them from the Pulpit to the Schools , as if the Law given by God to Man , had been really intended not for Man's good alone , but his own also , ( for all Laws , as was shewn sect. 8. must of necessity tend to some good ) is nothing scholastically done . For that even the Breach of human Laws ( from whence the Allegories in the Objection ▪ were occasioned ) is esteemed an Offence against the Maker of them , more commonly , than cautiously , shall in the following Section ( which for illustration rather than necessity , is here inserted ) be made appear .

SECT. X. The End of Human Laws is the Good of the Community . The Breach of them is evil , as it hinders the same , and not as it meerly opposes the Will of the Legislator . Every Breach of them is more or less evil , as it is more or less prejudicial to the general Good ; and has in that respect a greater or less Penalty assigned thereunto . Penal Laws are made for preventing of Evils that might happen for want of them , and not to take revenge on the Transgressor of the Law for neglecting or crossing the Legislator's Will .

1. 'T Would be wholly frivolous and pertinent for men to make Laws , if the end for which they are made , could be had and enjoyed without the making of them ; and therefore some End or other is designed in the making of all human Laws .

2. And forasmuch as the End designed in the making of them , must , if the Institution of Government ( which is the Ordinance of God ) be not deserted , but kept to , be something that is intended for good , 't is plain , since Laws generally respect the whole City , Province , or Nation where they are made , that the good of the Community ( consisting of the governour and governed ) is the general End designed , ( according to the Institution of Government by God ) in the making of human Laws .

3. For if to have the Legislator's Will obeyed otherwise than with regard had to the general good , were the End aimed at in the constituting of human Laws , then might the Law-giver of right enact any thing for Law , though known as well by himself as the People , to be destructive of the common good , provided it were the Legislator's mind to be obeyed in the observance of it , because he would act therein what directly tended to the End of Government , to wit , Obedience ; whereas in truth Obedience performed to the Command of the Law-giver , is a means by which the End of Government , the Public Weal or Good is to be obtained , and not the End it self .

4. Laws then ought of right to design the common Good ; and therefore every Law , as it contributes more or less to the benefit of the Community , is more or less good ; and by consequence likewise the Breach of every Law is a greater or less Evil , Fault or Crime , by how much the observance of the Law whereof it is a violation , is more or less conducible to the public Commodity .

5. Hence it follows , that Penalties inserted in Laws are not intended as pure Revenge for offending the Law-giver in the breaking of his Laws ; but are real Branches of the several Laws wherein they are found , tending to enforce , through fear of the Penalty to be inflicted , the performance of the thing commanded to be done or abstained from , when the Laws directive part shall fall short of attaining its End.

6. For since there will be in all places where there 's need of Government , some good , and some bad people , 't is requisite that convenient provision be made by Laws , that the good designed to be obtained by Government , should be effected and brought to pass , as much as may be , by both sorts . And the way to do it in respect of good men , is to direct them , but in respect of bad men , to awe them , and through the fear of Chastisement , Amercement , or other Penalty , to affright them into their Duty , or to do what is beneficial to the Public ; or , in case their Malignity be such , as that there 's no hope of Amendment , to remove them either by perpetual Imprisonment , or Exile , or Death , out of the way , that they may not for the future obstruct the good which the Government labours for ; and that others by their example may be deterred from committing the like Crimes for which they undergo the Penalty of the Law.

7. For that the true intent of the Law in punishing Offenders , is , that which hath been said , will farther appear from this , that the Law authorizeth the supream Magistrate to dispense with Penalties in Criminals , which of right it could not do , if meer Revenge , or Satisfaction by way of condign Punishment for the Offence committed , were the thing aimed at in the enjoyning of Penalties ▪ For to free an Offender without Satisfaction , when the Law requires Satisfaction , is to do Injustice ; which the Law , that requires Justice to be done , could not without contradicting it self , empower him to do . But if by commanding of Punishment to be inflicted on the Transgressors of the Law , the Security of the public Peace be aimed at , then is it not only equitable , that the Penalty of a Law in such case should be remitted , when the inflicting of it is adjudged by the supream Governour to be less beneficial to himself and his Subjects , than the omitting the execution thereof would be ; but even Justice requires , that it should be actually omitted , and that the person liable by the Letter of the Law to be punished , should be freed and delivered from the Penalty ; which was never intended by the Law-giver to be executed on any one to the prejudice of the Commonweal . For to dispense with Penalties , is not so truly an Act of meer Grace , as of distributive Justice , forasmuch as no Dispensation ought of ●●ght to be given , save only to such , as the Law it self would have exempted from Punishment , in case the Lawgiver had foreseen the Circumstances which render their indemnity better for the Public , than their being punished . So that whenever a Dispensation to free from the Penalty of the Law , is rightly granted , the intent of that very Law is more truly fulfilled , than if the Penalty were inflicted ; yea in truth it is only in so doing rightly fulfilled ; the very ground and reason of granting Dispensations being this , that Penal Laws might have their due effect , viz. the Good of the Community , which in some Cases and Circumstances would by the executing them in their literal sense be prejudiced , instead of being promoted .

8. The Truth of this Assertion , that punitive Justice is not vindicative , will yet farther appear from this , that Lex Talionis , Eye for Eye , Tooth for Tooth , &c. is no part of the Law of Nature , as it would of necessity be , in case Penalties for Breach of Laws were purely vindicative , and intended as satisfaction or just recompeuce for the violation of them . For since in strictness there 's no equality or proportion between the Member of a Man's Body and the Goods of Fortune , it were unequal and un●●● to recompense the loss of any Limb with a pecuniary Mulct ; and yet we see 't is generally so done by Christians , who nevertheless maintain the perpetual obligation of the Law of Nature . Yea the Learned Bodin tells us upon no slight ground , that the Lex Talionis , in the commonly received Notion of it , was never in practice among the very Jews ; his Words in the English Translation are these ; To requite like with like is indeed nothing else , but to punish Offences with Punishments answerable to them , that is to say , great Offences with great Punishments , mean with mean , and so little Offences also lightly ; which they also meant when they said , a Hand for a Hand , a Tooth for a Tooth , and an Eye for an Eye . And so the ancient Hebrews , the best Interpreters of God's Law , have understood it , expounded it & practised it , as it is in their Pandects to be seen in the Title of Penalties . Yea Rabbi Kanan denieth the Law of like Punishment to have any where in the Cities of the Hebrews taken place in such sort , as that he should have an Eye put out who had put out another man's Eye ; but the estimation of an Eye put out , was usually by the discretion of the Judges , in money valued . For proof whereof let it be , that before the Law of like Punishment , there was a Law ( viz. Exod. 21. ) whereby it was ordained , that if two men fighting ▪ one of them should hurt the other , but not yet unto Death , he which had done the hurt , should pay the Physician for healing thereof . But to what end should he so pay the Physician , if he which did the hurt were in like sort to be himself wounded ? It should also thereof follow more absurdly , that many delicate and tender ▪ Persons in receiving of such Wounds , as they had given to others , should thereof themselves die and perish . Besides that also , he who had the harm done him , having lost his I Hand where with he should get his Living , if the others Hand were also for the same cut off , he so wanting his Hand , wherewith he should get his his Living , might haply so starve . Wherefore such literal Exposition of the Law of like Punishment , by Aristotle and Favorine , is but vain and deceitful . Bodin of a Common-weal , Book 6. page 781.

9. I 'le conclude this Point with one only Argument more for the confirmation of what has been said , which is this , to inflict Punishment as dolorous and painful , without regard had to a farther End to be obtained by the doing of it , is to do direct Evil ; because that Punishment , which has no Tendency to the procuring of something which has as much or more good in it than the pain has harm ( for Pain simply in it self considered , is Evil , as being offensive to Nature , and a thing occasioned by Sin ) is purum putum Malum , meer Evil ; which for any Law to design , would argue the Makers of it to be void of Reason and Humanity .

Obj. 1. If the Breach of a Law be not an Offence and punishable , as it only stands in opposition to the Will of the Law-giver , without regard had to the Public Good presumed to be included in it ; then are not men obliged in Conscience to obey a bad Law , or which tends not to the Common Good : But men are obliged in Conscience to obey the Laws of the Land where they live , although in that respect bad , as not tending at all to the Public Good : Ergo , the Breach of the Law is an Offence and punishable , as it only stands in opposition to the Will of the Law-giver , without regard had to the public Good presumed to be included in it .

Solut. In answer first to the Major , I return , that if it were so , that a private Person could certainly know , that a certain Law had no manner of Tendency to the Public Weal , yet would he be obliged in Conscience to give Obedience to it , ( provided it were not against the Moral , or some Positive Divine Law ) because in disobeying , he might be an occasion to others of slighting , or contemning the Governour and Government , which is a Mischief of most dangerous Consequence to a Nation . But Secondly , I answer to the Minor , that no Law , which is not repugnant to some part of the Law of God ( who , by reason of his inerrable Wisdom , never commands but what is good ) ought by private Persons to be judge bad . For every Legislator among Men , whatever way he acquires a Right to the Legislative Power , doth necessarily receive with it the Sovereign or Supreme Judgment and Will , both these being so inseparable Ingredients of the Legislative Power , that it cannot subsist without them . For whoso has not the Supreme Judgment , ( or a Right invested in him to give final Judgment and Determination what is requisite and convenient to be enacted for procuring the Publick Good ) he wants the Knowing part of a Law-giver , or that which legally enables one finally to judge and determine what will be a proper Means for the Consecution of the Common Good. And whoever has not the Supreme Will , ( or a Right appropriated to him of enacting what is finally adjudged and determined to be good for the Common-weal ) he is destitute of the commanding part of a Law-giver , or that which legally empowers one to pass , what is determinately adjudged requisite for procuring the general Good , into a Law. Which things being presupposed to be true , the Inference from them will be necessarily this ; That no Law enacted by a Sovereign Power can in Reason be said by any private Person to be bad , or not tending to the Public Good , ( if it be not manifestly contrary to his Law whose Judgment is infallible . ) For in that he has the Legislative Power , he is of necessity supposed to have the Supreme Judgment , so that no inferior Judgment ( as the Judgment of every Subject , there being but one Supreme in one Government , necessarily is ) can without manifest Contradiction to Reason judge that he judges amiss .

Object . 2. If Laws be therefore obliging , because presumed to be good ; since it is certain , that no Command can be good which is opposite to Gods Law , it would follow , that no manner of Obedience , either Active or Passive , is due to the Commands of Sovereigns , which are against the Moral , or a Divine Positive Law.

Solut. If to do a thing commanded because commanded to be done , be to obey a Command , then to refuse to do a thing commanded , is to disobey a Command , and how a Man should at the same time both obey and disobey the same Command , I understand not . Actively , you 'l say , he cannot do both at once ; but may he not refuse to give an active Obedience to an unjust Command , and yet at the same Instant be willing and ready to suffer for that his Refusal , in case it be required , that he should either actively obey , or undergo the Penalty enjoyned for not so obeying ? I answer that there is no Law can oblige a Man to be willing to suffer for not actively obeying what is unlawful to be done ; for by what Law is it possible he should be obliged ? Not by the Law of God , for that commanding him not to yield an Active Obedience , cannot also enjoyn him to be willing to suffer for no other Cause , but that he observes what is commands . Nor by the Law of Reason , for how should this oblige him to be willing to be punished for Nor-observance of that , which it tells him he ought not to observe ? Some of the Roman Emperors set forth Edicts that the Christians should either Sacrifice to their Idol-gods , or be put to Death ; the Active fulfilling of which unjust Commands , was to do Sacrifice , the Passive to be put to Death ; and yet divers good and godly Christians fled on purpose to avoid both ; and doubtless did no wrong therein , ( being warranted by Christ himself , saying , When they persecute you in this City , flee ye into another , Matth. 10. 23. ) albeit they neither answered the Letter of the Edicts , nor the Intention of the Emperors , which was that one of the two ( either sacrificing or suffering Death for not sacrificing ) should be done . ( And by the way this is a remarkable Instance , that Disobedience to a Command is not an Offence , as it meerly contradicts the Will of the Legislator . ) But there is not however the least Encouragement to be gathered from hence for Resisting or forcibly opposing the Higher Powers ; for tho there be no manner of Obedience due to an unjust Command ; ( for that Command which is unjust , has no obligatory Virtue in it , but is unlawful , that is , truly speaking , no Law. ) Yet in that a Sovereign looses not , by commanding something which is unjust , his Legislative Power or a Right to command whatsoever he deliberately thinks to be for the general Good , which is not against the Divine Law , Moral or Positive , he ought not to be forcibly withstood . For whosoever has by Law the Supreme Judgment and Will ( which together constitute the Supreme Power ) the same Law presumes that the common Safety depends on his Government ; and therefore without violating of the Law , and through that the Common Safety , the Sovereign is not even in the Abuse of Government to be opposed by Arms , because it is more convement in respect of the Whole , that some Part suffer unjustly , than that the Government it self should be rendred useless , or so obstructed that it could not protect and secure the Laws , which it is always presumed by the Law will fall out , when Subjects with Violence oppose the Supreme Governour .

Object . 3. Albeit the Lex Talioni be no part of the Law of Nature ; yet seeing it is not disagreeable thereunto , ( as 't is evident by the Instance of Adonibezek , Judges 1. 6 , 7. that it is not ) does it not rightly follow , that Punishments may be justly Vindicative , though they are not necessarily so ?

Answ. No it does not , for notwithstanding that it may be reasonable at sometimes to take an Eye for an Eye , a Hand for a Hand , &c. yet will not Vindicative Punishment be found thereupon to be lawful ; for if the taking Eye for Eye , Hand for Hand , &c. be at any time prudently thought by a Law-giver to be the best Expedient either for reclaiming Offenders , or for terrifying others , or for both , ( as it may peradventure on occasion fall out to be ) the exercise of that Strictness will be just , yet not Vindicative . For that which Men will have to be Vindicative Justice looks not at all forward , but wholly backward , being purely design'd and intended for Recompense or Satisfaction , for a presumed Injury , or Contempt done to the Law-giver in disobeying his Will , and violating his Law ; whence Vengeance executed upon a Transgressor of the Law is the very End and Scope which Vindicative Punishment aims at , and therefore the Punishment of Adonibezek was not vindicative , unless it was inflicted on him for no other end , save only to repay like for like , without any intention that it should be a Motive to him of Repentance , or that others might be warned to abstain from such Cruelty , as he had used , by the remarkable manner of his being plagued himself , as he had plagued others ; which cannot in reason be thought to be true , because Adonibezek saith , As I have done , so God hath requited me ; which shews that the manner of his Punishment proved a Motive of bringing his Sin to remembrance , and was either so intended to be , or elso to deter others from the like Wickedness , or rather for both ; and not barely for strict Retaliation or executing of Vengeance upon him for his Crime .

10. In fine , then it appears from what has been said of Human Laws , and Law-givers . First , That Sovereign Powers make not Laws out of meer design to have their Wills obeyed , but to procure their own , and their Subjects Good. Secondly , That Laws therefore are more or less good , as they contribute more or less to the general Good. Thirdly , That hence again the Breach of any Law is a greater or less Offence , as it is more or less prejudicial to the Common-weal . Fourthly , That from this it moreover follows , that Penalties inserted in Laws are not intended as pure Revenge for the Breach of them , but to be a means to enforce the observing the directive Part of the Law. Fifthly , That Laws duly executed are proper Ways , or real Causes of advancing the Public Good.

11. From the Consideration of all which concerning Human Laws compared with what was writ before ( Sect. 8. ) of the Divine Laws , the Analogy between them is obvious ; and the Certainty of these following Truths apparent . First , That God gave Man a Law to observe , not that he sought to be obeyed for the meer Obedience sake , but that Man by obeying it might benefit himself in obtaining the Possession of his chiefest Good. Secondly , That because of this , the several Branches of that Law are of more or less virtue and value , as they are more or less serviceable for procuring the Fruition of the same Sovereign Good. Thirdly , That from hence again it must be , that the Breach of any part of the Divine Law is a greater or less Evil , or ( in the Language of Divines ) a greater or less Sin , as the keeping of it is more or less available towards the Enjoyment of God. Fourthly , That it will hereupon follow , that the Punishment of Sin is not vindicative , but always , either corrective for the Amendment of the Offender , or exemplary for a Terror to others , or for both ; as in this World it perpetually is ; or else a necessary and natural Product and Consequent of Sin , as it is ever in the World to come . Fifthly , That the keeping of Gods Law , or the pious Practice of Virtue and Holiness is a proper effective Means , or an efficacious Cause of Mans Eternal Felicity ; the truth of which shall hereafter ( God assisting ) be shown in particular , as it hath already been in general .

SECT. XI . Faith , Hope and Charity are necessary Means for procuring everlasting Bliss . Sincere habitual Charity formally expels Mortal Sin , and is therefore formal , but in compleat Righteousness . Perfect Charity formally expells all Sin , and is therefore perfect formal Righteousness , or the absolute fulfilling of the Divine Law.

1. SInce it is clear by Sect. 8. Solut. of Object . 1. that God created Man , and gave him a Law , not in expectation of any Profit or Pleasure to be acquired to himself , but altogether for the Benefit and Delight of Man , and that it is likewise proved in Sect. 4. that the End for which Man was created , and had a Law given him , is the full Fruition of God by perfect Love ; it necessarily follows , in regard the End cannot be obtain'd but by Means available for procuring of it , that the Knowledge of the Means available thereto , no less than of the End it self , is requisite to be had in order to the Acquisition of the perfect Love of God , or that full Enjoyment of him which is Mans Ultimate End and eternal Felicity .

2. And because Men arrive not at the certain Knowledg of things but either by Demonstration which begets Science ; or by an inerrable Testimony , which creates an infallible Belief , 't is clear , seeing a Demonstration wherein Felicity consists ( tho it be a thing in it self demonstrable , as appears by Sect. 4. ) cannot by the generality of Mankind be attained unto ; much less , wherein all the Means available to the obtaining of Felicity ( some of them being positive and supernatural ) are placed , that a Revelation from God , who alone is inerrable , was necessary for the Discovery both of the Means of Bliss , and of Bliss it self , to the World , in order to Man's acquiring of Beatitude .

3. And forasmuch as that Knowledg which proceeds from , and is caused by Divine Revelation , is Divine Belief or Faith , 't is plain that Divine Faith is required on Man's part towards the obtaining of Felicity .

4. And in regard it is ineffectual to the obtaining of Felicity to have firm Belief only wherein it truly consists , and what the Means available to procure it are , without some farther Progress made towards the getting possession of it ; which will never be , unless a man have Hope by reason of the Divine Promise , that in the due use of the means of Bliss he shall acquire the same , 't is plain , that Divine Hope is likewise requisite as well as Faith for every one that shall eternally be saved .

5. And forasmuch as he that has a right Belief both of Bliss and the Means available to it ; and withal , an Assurance that in the due use of the Means , Felicity will be attainable by him , shall reap no Benefit thereby , if he never enter upon a resolved serious Course of making a constant diligent use of those Means ; which he most certainly will not do , unless he first have an unfeigned ardent desire to enjoy the End whereto they tend , the eternal Fruition of God , 't is evident , that the sincere and hearty love of God , or Charity proceeding from Faith and Hope , ( for no good Man stedfastly desires what he believes not to be true , or has no Hope to obtain ) is moreover necessary for the acquirment of Felicity .

6. And seeing the habitual Love of God above all things is utterly inconsistent with the habitual Love of the World above God , 't is manifest , that by the accession of the habitual Love of God above all things into the Soul , the habitual Love of the World above God is necessarily expelled , and consequently that Sin , ( whether taken privatively as an Aversion from God , or positively for a Conversion to the Creature ) which brings everlasting Death and Damnation ; ( Sect. 7. ) whence it is called mortal and damnable Sin.

7. Hence , in regard as well , Paena sensus , as Paena damni are the natural and necessary Result of the perpetual Continuance in sin in the manner before shown , ( Sect. 7. ) it is manifest that Charity possessing the Soul , and thereby freeing it from mortal Sin , by formally expelling it out of the same ( Par. 6. ) secures it from the Danger both of the loss of Heaven , and of incurring the Pains of Hell.

8. And forasmuch as he that is secured from the Danger of Damnation , and the Pains of Hell , is freed from the Guilt of mortal Sin , which is a liableness to be eternally damned and tormented for Sin , and that he who is freed from the Guilt of mortal Sin , is blameless and innocent in respect of the mortal Breach of the Law , which alone creates a mortal Guilt ; and that he who is blameless and innocent in respect of the mortal Breach of the Law , is a righteous Person , or acquit by the Law from the Punishment due in respect of such Breach ; it necessarily follows , that Charity , in regard it formally expells mortal Sin , ( the mortal Breach of the Law ) is formal Righteousness , or the formal Cause of Justification , being that which formally justifies and makes Righteous .

9. And as every degree of sincere habitual Charity formally expells mortal Sin , and thereby frees the Soul from mortal Guilt , and the Consequent of it , eternal Pain , as well that of the Torments of Hell , as of the loss of Heaven ; so doth perfect Charity formally expel all Sin , and consequently remove all Guilt , and thence exempt from all Pain and Misery whatsoever . For he that loves God with all the Might and Power of his Soul , hath thereby of necessity totally rooted out of it all the love of the World , and so hath no Sin , but is perfectly Righteous , and hath fulfilled the Great Commandment , or Royal Law ; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart , and with all thy Soul , and with all thy Mind , which to do is compleat Righteousness , the highest Act of glorifying God , and eternal Felicity .

Object . 1. When the Act whereby the Law of God is transgressed , ( be it Adultery , Theft , or any other Enormity ) is over , the Sin is past , and yet the Guilt remains , which is contrary to what hath been said .

Solut. The Sin is not past , when the Act of Adultery , Theft , or any other Enormity is over . For since Sin formally taken is a Want or Privation of that sincere hearty Affection which the Soul ought to have unto God , as its Sovereign Good : ( Sect. 8. Par. 3 , 4 ) 't is evident that the Sin still remains , ( tho the materially sinful Act be over ) so long as there is a Want of the due Love of God in the Soul , which there always is till it be habitually endued with Charity . And while the Sin remains , the Guilt must needs do so , but no longer ; for 't is only while a Man is in the State of mortal Sin , that he is obnoxious to eternal Misery ; and not when he is in the State of Grace , or ready Way to Bliss , as he evermore is , when he has an habitual hearty Affection unto God , Par. 6 , 7 , 8.

Object . 2. The sincere habitual Love to God above all things cannot of it self alone justifie any one , because the Divine Law requires that a Man love his Neighbour also as himself .

Solut. True , it doth so ; but since it is impossible , but that he , who cordially desires , and accordingly stedfastly endeavours to enjoy God eternally , should also unfeignedly wish the like to his Neighbour ( which comprehends all Mankind ) and assists him when occasion serves in what is necessarily conducible thereunto so far as he well can ; ( in doing of which , the Duty of loving a Mans Neighbour as himself is fulfilled , as will be at large set forth in the Explanation of the Decalogue . Sect. 18. and 19. ) 'T is plain that he who loves God above all things , doth in consequence thereto , of necessity love his Neighbour like as himself . If a Man love me he will keep my Words , John 14. 23. And this Commandment have we from him , that he who loveth God , loves his Brother also . 1 John 4. 21. But of this more hereafter in the three last Sections .

Object . 3. If Men be formally justified by their own habitual Righteousness , then are they not formally justified by the Righteousness of Christ imputed to them : But Men are formally justified by the Righteousness of Christ imputed to them , Christ is made unto us Righteousness , 1 Cor. 1. 30. Therefore Men are not formally justified by their own habitual Righteousness .

Solut. In answer to the proof of the Minor Proposition , viz. That Christ is made unto us Righteousness , I return , that in the same Text he is likewise said to be made unto us Wisdom , and Sanctification , and Redemption ; and therefore if Christ's Righteousness can be proved from thence to be the formal Cause of man's Justification , or that man is formally just thereby ; by the same Text it may be equally , and as well proved , that man is formally wise , and formally holy , by the Wisdom and Holiness of Christ ; which if he truly were , then would a justified Person be as just , wise and Holy as Christ himself , and consequently he ought to have no remorse for any thing he ever did , nor to crave pardon for his Sins ; and by consequence , since Sin is a Transgression of the Law , unless he no more transgress God's Law , than our Blessed Saviour himself did , he 'l be a Transgressor of the Law , and not a Transgressor of the Law , a Sinner and no Sinner , at the same time , which is impossible . Christ's Righteousness therefore in the quoted Text is Metonymically to be understood for the efficient Cause of man's Righteousness , even as his Wisdom and Holiness likewise are in respect of our being wise and holy . In this sense all the meritorious Doings and Sufferings of Christ may be rightly said to be ours , whilst by virtue of them Grace is wrought in our Hearts , by which we overcome the Temptations of the World , the Flesh and the Devil ; so that the Benefit of them really redounds to us ; and whatever Righteousness we have here , or shall have hereafter , it is the very effect of the righteousness of Christ . For since rational Arguments & Motives are the proper inducements whereby a Rational Creature is inclined to Good , whilst through them the Understanding is illuminated with Truth , and the Will excited to the love of it , 't is evident that nothing possibly besides ( except the immediate irresistible Will of God ) could so effectually work on mens rational Souls to cause them to forsake the love of the World for the love of God , as Arguments and Motives fetcht from the consideration of Christ's love to man , his Incarnation , Doctrine , Conversation , Passion , Resurrection , Ascension , Session at the right hand of his Father , and his coming to Judgment . Whence in very truth , those men , who in attributing man's formal Righteousness to the Righteousness of Christ made his by imputation through Faith , think they attribute more to Christ , and give him greater honour than they do , that hold the sincere habitual love of God to be the formal cause of Justification , are under a manifest Mistake . For since Christ is personally God , and not personally Man , and that the infinite value of his precious merits is from the hypostatical . Union of his Manhood with the Deity , 't is plain , that it is far more excellent and glorious that Christ's righteousness ( which comprehends the whole merit of all his active and passive Obedience ) should be the efficient Cause of man's Justification by producing a real habitual Righteousness in his Soul , than the formal cause thereof by a meer imputed Righteousness ; because such imputed Righteousness ( in case it were possible ) would be the Righteousness of Christ as man ( for otherwise a righteous person would be infinitely righteous , and consequently be God , since nothing is infinitely perfect in any respect whatever , but he alone ) whereas if his Righteousness be the efficient Cause of man's Righteousness , it is proper to him as he is both God and Man . But indeed it is impossible that Christ's Righteousness should become formally man's ; for seeing it is personal , and thence a thing extrinsecal to every one but himself , 't is not possible to become a formal Cause to others , in that a formal Cause , whether it be substantial , or accidental , is an internal Cause , and essentially constitutive of the thing whereof it is a Cause . For instance , Man's Soul is the formal Cause , and a substantial essential part of man , as man , or a rational Animal . Prudence is the formal Cause , and an accidental essential part of man , as he is prudent ; and so is Temperance of a temperate man ; and every Abstract else of the Concrete to which it is appropriated . For what is a prudent man , but one habitually indued with Prudence ? or a temperate man , but one whom the habit of Temperance formally makes such ? And must not a righteous person by parallel Reason be one habitually possessed of Righteousness ? If it were not thus , but that on the contrary , a prudent man could be prudent by the Prudence of another , without the Habit of Prudence within himself , then were it possible that a man might be prudent , though really imprudent in all his doings , and so be prudent and utterly imprudent at once . And if a man could be temperate without the Virtue of Temperance inherent in him , he might possibly be temperate , when he wallowed in the Sink of all filthy Pleasures , and thence be temperate and not at all temperate at the same time . And so in like manner , if a man could be righteous by the Righteousness of another , without any inherent Righteousness of his own , he might possibly at the same instant be righteous and a notorious Transgressor of God's Law , and consequently be a just and unjust person , a Sinner and no Sinner both together . If it were replied , that God always in the very moment wherein Christ's Righteousness through Faith is imputed to any man , infuses entire holiness into his Soul , so that he exactly keeps every Divine Precept ; I would make this Return ; Admitting it were so , ( which yet I think , may modestly enough be denied ) the Doctrine of imputative Righteousness ▪ would be never a whit the more true ; because inasmuch as it necessarily implies in it , that a man might possibly be ( if God would permit it ) an absolutely righteous and unrighteous person at once , ( though it never actually fell out to be so ) it supposes a possibility of two contradictory Assertions to be both true together .

But it is farther argued against imputative Righteousness thus ; If man be made formally righteous by the Righteousness of Christ , then is man truly righteous , abstracting from every thing which he himself doth more than what is necessary on his part for applying Christ's Righteousness to his Soul , viz. Faith , or a stedfast Belief that Christ's Righteousness is made his ; ( according to some ) or a Recumbence or resting on Christ for Salvation ; ( as others will have it . ) But man is not truly righteous abstracting from every thing he himself doth more than what is necessary on his part for applying Christ's Righteousness to his Soul , viz. Faith , or a Recumbence on Christ for Salvation : Ergo , Man is not made formally righteous by the Righteousness of Christ . The truth of the Proposition being evident , I prove the Assumption thus ; If a real and hearty turning from Sin , or the love of the world to the love of God , be necessary to Justification , then is not man truly righteous abstracting from every thing he himself doth more than a stedfast Belief that Christ's Righteousness is made his , or a Recumbence on Christ for Salvation : But a real and hearty turning from Sin , or the love of the world to the love of God , is necessary to Justification : ergo , man is not truly righteous abstracting from every thing he himself doth more than a stedfast Belief that Christ's Righteousness is made his ; or a Recumbence on Christ for Salvation . The Minor ( which alone can be doubted of ) proved ; If Christ's imputed Righteousness be not sufficient , without a real and hearty turning from Sin , or the love of the world to the love of God , to free the Soul from deadly Sin , and the Consequent of it , eternal Misery , then is a real and hearty turning from Sin , or the love of the world to the love of God , necessary to Justification : But Christ's imputed Righteousness is not sufficient without a real hearty turning from Sin , or the love of the world to the love of God , to free the Soul from deadly Sin , and the Consequent of it , Eternal Misery : Ergo , A real and hearty turning from Sin , or the love of the world to the love of God , is necessary to Justification . The Major needs no Proof ; and the Minor is evidently true , if deadly Sin be nothing else but the preferring the Enjoyment of the World before the Enjoyment of God , or an Aversion from God , and Conversion to the Creature ; and that everlasting Misery is the necessary Result of the perpetual Continuance in Sin , according to what is said in the 7th . and 8th . Section .

Lastly , The Doctrine of imputative Righteousness seems erroneous from what here follows . If men be formally justified by the Righteousness of Christ made theirs , then are all men justified alike , or have equal Righteousness , ( because Christs Righteousness is one and the same ) and if justified alike , then also glorified alike , seeing Glory depends on Righteousness , or rather is compleat Righteousness it self , or the perfect love of God in Heaven , ( Par. 9. ) But all men are not glorified alike , therefore neither justified alike . That all men are not glorified alike , I gather thus : The perfect or entire love of God without any mixture of Affection to any thing besides , as the Souls Sovereign Good , being Mans Felicity , ( for tho the Blessed Saints and Angels mutually delight in each other , and more or less , according to every ones Excellency ; yet it is only as they are and appear , so many bright Rayes issuing from the Sun of Glory , and not as having any proper independent Loveliness of their own , or Excellency which is not totally derived from God ) it will be so , that if , of two enjoying Bliss , the one love God more intensly and vigorously than the other , ( tho both with their whole Affection , for so do all the glorified Saints and Angels ) he will be the more happy ; for he that more intensly and vigorously affects or takes Delight in the Object he enjoys , must of necessity have more Joy , Pleasure and Contentment , then he that adheres to what he loves with less ardency of Affection . This being clear , let 's compare in our Minds the Intensness or Vigor of Love to God wherewith the Holy Virgin , the Blessed Apostles , and Pious Martyrs , or any of them , particularly the Virgin Mary , departed this Life , with that remiss , but sincere Affection which some other good Christian has to God when he leaves this World , and we shall easily perceive there must needs be a great Disproportion of their love to God. When therefore the Beatific Object shall be presented to both , their Affections will be encreased proportionably to what they w●●t from hence with , as for Example , suppose the Blessed Virgin departed this Life with an Affection to God in comparison of what the other had at his Departure , as five is in proportion to two ; then in case his Affection which stood in proportion to the Virgins as two to five be raised by the fight of God to the degree of five , hers will be advanced thereby to the degree of eight , for why the Beatific Object , since it is able to give infinitely more satisfaction than Mans Nature is capable of , should augment the one and not the other proportionably , I see no appearance of reason Affections thereof ; for as the Strength of the Body is placed in the Nerves , so is the strength of the Soul , in relation to Objects of the Will , in its Affections ; the Vigour of which , the more the Mind is set upon any thing it desires , and employed in the Contemplation of it , is the more augmented ; like as the strength of the Sinews is encreased by the Exercise of the Body . Wherefore since our gracious God will reward every one according to his Works , Matth. 16. 27. and that no Work is acceptable to him which is not done for the love of him , or out of a desire to enjoy him eternally ; it follows in all reason , that , seeing God himself is the Reward of the Ever-blessed , and that therefore the difference of Rewards must proceed from the difference of the manifestation of his Glory , he will manifest Himself proportionably to the Ardency of desire which every one has to enjoy him ; and consequently , that they who love him most here ( in that they most son likely to be given . If it be said that every glorified Saint loves God with all his Might , and consequently , that , seeing one mans Soul differs not in Effence from another , every one will love God alike in Heaven : I answer , that to love God with all the Might of the Soul , is to love him with all the desire the perpetual Enjoyment of Him ) will also love him most hereafter ; for exactly according to the measure of the Manifestation of Gods Glory both to the Saints and Angels , is the Measure of their Love of Him , or Delight taken in the Contemplation of his Excellence , and in this consists their Felicity ; which though it is sufficient and satisfactory to every one of them , inasmuch as they all love him with their entire Affection , or are delighted in him with all their might , and so are happy to their own Desire ; yet do they not however enjoy equal Happiness , because the love of God in some of them is more intense than in some others , as answering to a fuller manifestation of his Glory to them .

Object . 4. If the formal Cause of Justification be inherent Righteousness or Charity , then doth every degree thereof truly justifie , so that man's Righteousness may be greater or less , and consequently either every degree of Righteousness will not give a just Title to Heaven , so as Possession shall ever ensue thereupon ▪ or else imperfect Charity shall estate men in everlasting Felicity , which is contrary to what hath been often said .

Solut. In Answer to this Objection , I grant that every degree of habitual Charity from the highest to the lowest , if either it be not lost , or being lost , be renewed , entitles men so truly to Heaven , I that they shall not , departing this life therewith , finally fail of the full possession of Bliss , but sooner or later shall certainly obtain the same ; sooner or later , I say , because such an absolute full desire to enjoy the Presence of God , as totally excludes all appetite to earthly Enjoyments and Satisfactions of this Life , is the sole immediate disposition which prepares the Soul for Bliss ; so that those alone , who through their ardent desire to be with God , are weary of this World , shall str●ight upon their departure hence , go to pure and simple Joy ; ( but yet so intense as they shall afterwards have at the last upon the re-union of Soul and Body , I do not say , ) All the rest that depart this life , not having the like ardency of desire to be dissolved , and to be with Christ , their God and Saviour , will in all appearance of Reason retain the mixture of Affection to God and the World , which they left the later with , ( for how a meer separation of Soul and Body should root out all Affection to the World is , I think , a thing unaccountable ) till the Resurrection from the dead . If it be said ( as indeed it is by some ) that Christ's appearing to the Souls of good men that departed this Life before his Death , must needs have been a Motive and Cause of Change unto them ; whence it came to pass that the Graves were opened , and many Bodies of the Saints , which slept , arose , &c. Matth. 27. 52 , 53. I answer ; that since it is here supposed , that there had been no Motive offered before that his shewing himself to them , which had altered the state into which they entered at their separation from the Body , it is reasonable to think , that there will likewise be no Motive to cause a Change in those which have left , or shall leave this World after that his appearing , till his coming to Judgment at the last day ; which in that it must needs , in some degree or other , be both dreadful and amiable to every one that hath not totally rooted out all Affection to the World , according to their different Measures of Fear and Hope arising from their finding themselves more or less clogged with terrene Desires , will be a Motive rightly adapted wholly to purge out all the Dreggs of impure Affections , and so cause them to fix their Minds for ever upon God. But in the intenim they 'l continue in that condition , which they left the World with ; and so each of them , as their Love to God is greater , will have more and purer Delight , yet not be altogether void of anguish of Spirit , by reason they cannot go immediately to God through the load of Sin , which though not so heavy as to press them down to Hell , yet will not suffer them to soar up to Heaven . For we see even in this Life , the more Pious that men are , the more serene Joy , and greater inward Contentment they enjoy , but have not withstanding their Groans and Sighs , and trouble of Spirit , because they find the Old Man is not throughly conquered and subdued ; and however brought low , is nevertheless often giving check to their Spiritual Joy , and causing their Grief . Nor is an incompleat imperfect State after this Life till the Day of Doom only consonant to Reason ; but the Sacred Scripture also , and Catholic Tradition appear to make for it ; for what mean these Expressions of being recompensed at the Resurrection of the Just , Luke 14. 14. Of the Spirit being saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus , 1 Cor. 5. 5. Of finding Mercy of the Lord in that Day , 2 Tim. 1. 18. but that something is to be received at the Day of Judgment not to be obtained before ? Which the practical Tradition of the Church , both Eastern and Western , give Testimony to by their praying for the Dead ( but not for the delivery of Souls out of Purgatory ) a Practise so universal , that the Learned Mr. Thorndike saith , It hath been a Custom so general in the Church to pray for the Dead , that no beginning of it can be assigned , no time , no part of the Church where it was not used . Epilogue to the Tragedy of the Church of England , Book 3. Ch. 29. P. 333. And another of our Learned Country-men , Dr. Hammond writeth thus , 'T is certain that some measure of Bliss which shall at the Day of Judgment be vouchsafed the Saints , when their Bodies and Souls shall be reunited , is not till then enjoyed by them , and therefore may safely and fitly be prayed for , Annotat. on 2 Tim. 1. 16 , 17 , 18. For besides that it is evident from Holy Writ , that there shall be a general Resurrection , ( The hour is coming in which all that are in their Graves shall hear his Voice , and shall come forth , they that have done good , unto the Resurrection of Life ; and they that have done Evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation , John 5. 28 , 29. ) it is manifest likewise to our Reason , that there must be a Re-union of every Soul and Body at the last Day ; for since Christ shall then appear in his Humanity , ( Ye Men of Galilee , why stand ye gazing up into Heaven ? this same Jesus , which is taken up from you into Heaven , shall so come in like manner , as ye have seen him go into Heaven , Acts 1. 11. ) corporeal Eyes will be necessarily requisite to behold Him with , and that not only , because the Organs or Sense are the proper Means instituted by God for the giving notice of corporeal Objects to the Souls of Men ; but for this farther reason also that there may be a manifest equal Distribution of Justice to the whole Generation of Mankind ; for therefore shall Christ's Appearing , when he comes to judge the World , be with Power and Great Glory , ( Then shall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn , and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory , Matth. 24. 30. ) to the end that the Wicked on the one hand beholding plainly with their Eyes his Glorious Appearance may be convinced of the justness of their Condemnation , in being rejected and cast for ever from the Presence of God , ( which is that Portion of their Misery called Poena Damni , Sect. 7. ) because they preferred the Satisfaction of their sinful Lusts and vain Desines , ( the perpetual Frustration whereof is that other share of their Torment , named Poena sensus . Sect. 7. ) before the Fruition of their great and glorious Maker and Redeemer . And that the Godly on the other hand seeing Christ coming in his Glory , may meet him with ineffable Joy to enter upon the Possession of his Beatific Presence to be everlastingly enjoy'd , because they despised the fulfilling of their Lusts and wicked Desires here , for the Fruition of Him hereafter to Eternity .

If it be objected that Christ shall at length deliver up the Kingdom to his Father , that God may be all in all , 1 Cor. 15. 28. And that therefore it seems that the Father alone shall be the sole Object of Mans Bliss in Heaven ; I answer , that Christ delivering up the Kingdom to his Father , signifies his leaving off , or ceasing from his Mediatory Office , whereby he was constituted King for the Protection of the Church ; and not that He shall not reign eternally together with his Father , for otherwise , why is it said , that of his Kingdom there shall be no end ? Luke 1. 33. The Word God therefore in the 1 Cor. 15. 28. is not to be understood of the Father alone , but of the whole Trinity , accordingly as Doctor Hammond explicates it in his Paraphrase on the Place ; When all is subdued to Christ , then shall Christ lay down that Office , ( viz. of his Mediatorship ) which till then he exerciseth , and then shall God the Father , Son and Holy Ghost fill all the Elect with Glory and Bliss eternally .

Object . 5. Although formal Righteousness be that Love of God in the Soul which expels out of it mortal Sin here , and all Sin hereafter . Yet if Christ came into the World only to take away Sin by introducing Charity into the Soul , what doth Satisfaction , Redemption , Salvation , Propitiation , and Reconciliation made and obtained by Christ intend and signifie ?

Solut , They intend and signifie that God the Father through the gracious Intervention of his eternal Son , consubstantial and co-equal with Himself , wrought Salvation for lost Mankind , whilst his Incarnation and the Consequents of it , which he undertook for Man , are the intermediate efficient cause ( proceeding from Gods Love of Benevolence the Principal Cause ) by which the Salvation of every one that comes to Bliss is really and powerfully effected , and contain that Worth , Virtue , and Vigor , as would be of efficacy enough to save the whole World , yea , infinite Worlds , if they were possible , besides . But notwithstanding this , seeing Man is neither converted , nor perseveres in Grace , nor goes to Bliss , ( that is , neither obtains Charity , nor keeps Charity , nor is perfected in Charity ) without his own voluntary Consent , 't is apparent that the Merits of Christ are the efficient Cause of Mans eternal Welfare , by really and effectually working , preserving and perfecting the Love of God in the Soul ; whilst by Christs Heavenly Doctrine Mans understanding is divinely illuminated with the Knowledg of saving Truth , and through that , and the serious Consideration of his gracious and wonderful Actings and Sufferings in behalf of Man , his Will is powerfully converted to God. Forasmuch then as sincere habitual Charity destroys mortal Sin , ( Par. 6. ) and thereupon so far brings Man in favour with God , or so near to him , that he is freed from everlasting Destruction ( Par. 7. ) and that perfect Charity wholly extirpates all Sin , ( Par. 9. ) and thereby constitutes Man in full favour , or throughly unites him to God , is it not clear and evident that Christ in cleansing the Soul through his Merits from Sin , makes up the Breach it had caused between God and Man , and so reconciles and brings them again together ? And is he not an effectual Mediator , by whose means they are reconciled together , who would otherwise have been at as great difference and distance as Heaven and Hell could make them ? And in regard unrighteous men are the Servants of Sin , Rom. 6. 20. and that St. Peter speaking of the Servants of Corruption , saith , of whom a man is overcome , of the same he is brought in Bondage , 2 Pet. 2. 19. and that our Blessed Saviour himself testifieth , that Whosoever commiteth Sin , is the Servant ( or Slave ) of Sin , John 8. 34. is it not plain , that Christ , inasmuch as by his Merits he effectually working Charity in the Soul , doth truly deliver thereby from the Bondage and Slavery of Sin , has really wrought through his Merits mans Redemption , and is thence rightly called his Redeemer ? And because everlasting Damnation , and the Pains of Hell are the unavoidable Consequents and Result of Sin unrepented of , is not Christ , in that he works Repentance , and thereby saves men from eternal Destruction , a true and real Saviour ? And in regard the Breach and Distance caused by Sin between God and Man could not be made up , but by means sufficiently powerful to effect the same , and that Christ did that by his Merits ( or Doings and Sufferings ) which was sufficiently powerful to make up the Breach and Distance between God and Man , ( and that when nothing else was able to do it , Sect. 9. ) is he not on good grounds said to have made a full Atonement , and Satisfaction for Sin ? Not that God was ever affected with Anger , and his Wrath really appeased , it being impossible that there should be any alteration or change in God , who is immutable , ( Sect. 1. Par. 8. ) and without all variableness or shadow of turning , James 1. 17. So that God loved us even when we were Sinners , and Enemies , Rom. 5. 8 , 10. and St. John says , Herein is love , not that we loved God , but that he loved us , and sent his . Son to be the Propitiation for our Sins , 1 John 4. 10. Wherefore since there was no want of Love ( to wit , of Benevolence , for with the love of Complacency or Delight , God cannot affect Sinners ) in the Almighty , towards the making up the Breach and Distance between himself and man , the whole failure of Love was on mans side , whose Heart in that it was so fast wedded and glued to the World , that neither the Consideration of the glorious and gracious Work of the Creation , nor of the great and daily Mercy of Divine Providence , proved Motives prevalent enough to make a Divorce and Separation between them , some more potent Motive was necessary for the doing of it . And because every Creature must needs fall infinitely short of affording such a Motive , man had never been recovered from his lost Condition to have attained the end of his Creation , if God himself had not undertaken the great , and otherwise insuperable Work of his Recovery , by being made Man , and in doing and suffering what he did to regain his Love. And therefore lastly , whereas Christs bloody Death and Passion was the strongest and most endearing Argument and Motive of all other Testimonies of his stupendious Love to man , for drawing his Affections off from the Love of the World to the Love of God , which is the purging away of Sin , the shedding of Christs pretious Blood on the Cross is said to be a Sacrifice for Sin , that is , for the putting or taking away of Sin , even as the sacred Text it self directly asserteth , He appeared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself , Hebr. 9. 26. Hence it is that mans Redemption and Salvation are so frequently attributed to Christs Death on the Cross , it being the most remarkable Instance of his Love , and thereupon the potentest Motive of all others , to win mans firm Affection to himself . For that our Blessed Saviours Incarnation , and whatsoever he either did or suffered in his Manhood are likewise real Causes of mans Redemption and Salvation , the Churches Litany assures us , in which we pray to be delivered from all Sin and Mischief , from the Crafts and Assaults of the Devil , from the Wrath of God , and from everlasting Damnation ; by the Mystery of Christs holy Incarnation , by his holy Nativity and Circumcision , by his Baptism , Fasting and Temptation , by his Agony and Bloody Sweat , by his glorious Resurrection and Ascension , and by his sending of the Holy Ghost , aswell as by his Cross and Passion .

Object . 6. If , after all the Endeavour that hath been used to frame Arguments , to solve Objections , and to explicate how mans Redemption , Reconciliation and Salvation are in a true scriptural Sense wrought by Christ , for clearing the Assertion , that the sincere habitual Love of God , or Charity , is the Formal Cause of Justification , it be found , that the Assertion it self is repugnant to the 11th . Article of our Religion , wherein it is said , that we are justified by Faith only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ , all that has been done is nothing better , ( not to say , worse ) then labour in vain .

Solut. That Christ's Doings and Sufferings ( which constitute his Merit ) are a real Cause of mans Justification , has been both asserted and proved in this Section ; so that if any difference be between what the 11th . Article teaches , and what is averred by me concerning Justification , 't is only after what manner the Merit of Christ justifies a Sinner , namely , whether as an Efficient , or a Formal Cause . And yet even as to this also there will be found no difference , when the matter is well discussed . For I stedfastly hold and maintain together with the Article , that Christ's Merit is apprehended and applied to a Sinner for his Justification by Faith only , whilst he firmly believes , that God through them , will , according to his free Promise in the Gospel , deliver him from the Slavery of Sin , and the Consequent of it everlasting Misery ; so that in regard it is the Grace of Faith alone which draws the Merit of Christ home to a Christians Soul , whence it becomes an effectual Motive to gain his Affections in turning them from the false Pleasures of the World unto God the sole true Delight of the Soul , ( which is to be an efficient Cause of cleansing the Heart from Sin through Charity ) it must needs be , that in this sense we are justified for the Merit of Christ by Faith only . And that the 11th . Article of Religion is to be understood in this sense , seems clear , both from the words wherein it is expressed , and from the Churches Homily referred to for a fuller explication of what they intend . The words of the Article are these , We are accounted righteous before God , only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith , and not for our own Works or Deservings . Wherefore that we are justified by Faith alone , is a most wholsome Doctrine , and very full of Comfort , as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification . Here 't is plain , that our Blessed Saviour is affirmed to be the meritorious Cause of Justification , and it is undeniably true , that aswell Divines as Philosophers place a Meritorious Cause among the efficient Causes ; whence the learned Prelate Forbesius writeth thus , Justitia Christi nos justificari & ut Causa formali atque etiam meritoria , ut asserunt qui priorem tuentur sententiam [ nempe Christi Justitiam esse Causam formalem Justificationis ] dici non potest ; nequit enim fieri , ut eadem res sit simul Causa efficiens , ad quam Meritum reducitur , & Formalis ejusdem effecti , quia sic simul & de essentia effecti foret & non foret , cum Causa formulis sit interna 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , efficiens autem externa , uti constat . Considerationes modestae & pacificae . Lib , 2. Cap. 3. Paragr. 5. Seeing then it is impossible that a Meritorious Cause should be a Formal Cause , and that in the 11th . Article , no mention is made of a Formal Cause , it remains , that the Merit of Christ spoken of in the Article , is either an efficient Cause of Mans Justification , or else none at all . And the same is likewise manifest from the Churches Homily referred to in the Article , in which we read Part 2. Par. 4. as follows , You shall understand that in our Justification by Christ it is not all one thing , the Office of God unto Man , and the Office of Man unto God. Justification is not the Office of Man , but of God ; or Man cannot make himself righteous by his own Works , neither in part , nor in the whole ; for that were the greatest Arrogancy and Presumption of Man that Antichrist could set up against God , to affirm , that Man might by his own Works take away and purge his own Sins , and so justifie himself . ( What can well be more plain , unless it were expressed in the very Language of the Schools , then , that God is here affirmed , and Man denied , to be the efficient Cause of his Justification ? But Justification is the Office of God only , and is not a thing which we render to him , but which we receive of him , not which we give to him , but which we take of him by his free mercy , and by the only merits of his most dearly beloved Son , our only Redeemer , Saviour and Justifier Jesus Christ . ( Here the free Mercy of God , and the Merits of Christ are put together as Causes of the same kind , and who is ignorant that the free Mercy of God is an efficient Cause only of Justification ? so that the true understanding of this Doctrine , We be freely justified by Faith without Works , or that we be justified by Faith in Christ only , is not , that this our own Act to believe in Christ , or this our Faith in Christ , which is within us doth justifie us , and deserve our Justification , ( for that were to count our selves to be justified by some Act or Vertue within our selves . ) The Act or Vertue here mentioned being set in opposition to the Merits of Christ , which are an efficient Cause , 't is in effect , as if it were said , The Merit of Christ only , and not any Act or Virtue of our own whatsoever , is the efficient Cause of our Justification . ) But the true understanding and meaning hereof , is , that although we hear Gods Word and believe it , and although we have Faith , Hope and Charity , Repentance , Dread and Fear of God within , and do never so many Works thereunto , yet we must renounce the merit of all our said Virtues of Faith , Hope and Charity , and all other Vertues and good Works , which we either have done , shall do , or can do , as things that be far too weak and unsufficient and imperfect to deserve remission of our Sins and our Justification , and therefore we must trust only in Gods Mercy , and that Sacrifice which our High Priest and Saviour offered upon the Cross . ( Lo here again Christs Merits and Mans are set one against the other , which would be impertinent , if they were not spoken of the same sort of Causes , but of Causes different in kind , and a meritorious Cause is an efficient Cause , as was seen above . ) The Merit of Christ then in the 11th . Article of our Religion , is not to be understood of the Formal Cause of Mans Justification or Righteousness , but of the efficient Cause thereof ; in respect of which , I assert it to be most truly said , that , We are justified by Faith only , because by it alone Christs Merits are applied to us .

SECT. XII . Neither by the Light of Nature , nor by the Law of Moses , without Christ could ever any , either Jew or Gentile , be eternally saved , and come to Glory , but through him both of them might . The Christian Religion is in many respects preferable to the Law of Nature , and the Law of Moses . The Injunction of the Judaical Ordinances , Rites , and Ceremonies had a farther Tendency then the exacting of meer Obedience .

1. SInce the ultimate End of creating Man was that he might be eternally happy through the perfect Love of God for ever ( Sect. 4. ) it plainly follows , that , inasmuch as no man since Adams Fall , can attain to the perfect Love of God , but through Christ , ( Sect. 9. and 11. ) There is none other Name under Heaven given among Men , whereby we must be saved , Acts 4. 12.

2. For though some few do by nature ( i. e. the Light of natural Reason ) the things contained in the Law ( viz. the Moral , for the Gentiles could not by the Law of Nature observe the Ceremonial Law of the Jews ) Rom. 2. 14. by being brought through a serious Consideration of the glorious Structure of the World , more especially of Man himself ; and of Gods Providence in preserving and governing all things , to adore the Divine Majesty , to pray to him , and to praise him as the Author of all Good , and thence contract an habitual Love to him above the Enjoyment of the vain Pleasures of the World. And albeit many by the Law of Moses have not only obtained the habit of Charity , but have also acquired an high degree and measure thereof , yet in that neither Jew nor Gentile could ever without Christ attain to the perfect Love of God , ( Sect. 9. and 11. ) 't is clear , that through Christ they must do it , if ever they arrive at eternal Bliss .

3. Which most blessed State , forasmuch as God is no respecter of Persons , but in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him , Acts 10. 34 , 35. and that he who habitually loves God above all things , is Righteous , ( Sect. 11. ) every one , who departs this Life with an habitual Love to God , shall at length obtain . For seeing all must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ , that every one may receive the things done in his Body , according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad , 2 ▪ Cor. 5. 10. 't is plain , that every righteous man whatsoever shall receive a righteous mans Reward at the last day , which Reward is everlasting Bliss .

4. For , since nothing is wanting to one endued with sincere Charity , but something to perfect the same in him , to make him for ever happy ; and that the glorious appearance of Christ coming to Judgment , will throughly purge out of the Soul of every one habitually possessed of Charity all the Relicks of worldly Affections ( Sect. 11. Solut. of Object. 4. ) and thereby entirely disposed and ultimately and immediately prepared to obtain the Beatific Vision , 't is evident , that the Reward which every righteous man shall have at the last day , is everlasting Bliss .

Object . 1. If every one of all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end thereof , that habitually loves God above all things ( and consequently his Neighbour as himself ▪ Sect. 11. Solut. of Object. 2. ) when he leaves this World , shall at length be eternally blessed through Christ , what need men concern themselves so much as they do , what Religion they be of ?

Solut. It concerns every one so much as his Salvation is worth , to be solicitous to be a Member of the Catholic Christian Religion ; not only because there 's small hopes that he , who is not desirous to take the best course he can to be saved , will in sincerity of heart observe the Rules of any Law whatever ; but also because , if , notwithstanding the Divine Excellency of the Precepts , Motives , and Discipline of the Gospel-Dispensation , thousands perish within the Bosom of Christ's Visible Church through the strong Temptations of the World , the Flesh and the Devil , wherewith they are overcome ; the perdition of Souls will be certainly much greater , and more general , where those potent Adversaries of man's Bliss find small Resistance made against them . Wherefore since no man ever attain'd to live a virtuous Life in order to the End for which he was created , but in regard he was directed and inclined thereunto either by the Law of Nature , or by some Revealed Law , ( of which later sort there are only two , the Jewish , and the Christian , ) 't is apparent , that if the Christian Religion be in many respects highly preferable for the obtaining of Felicity by it , to them both , it alone , where it can be had , is to be chosen and embraced . And that the Christian Religion is in many respects highly preferable to them both for that End , is evident . For , First , It doth exceedingly much more fully and clearly reveal to the World the Nature of God , the Immortality of the Soul , the Excellency of the Fruit of a virtuous , godly Life , after Death , and the intolerable Torments of the Wicked in the World to come . Secondly , It gives far more perfect Rules , and shews abundantly more efficacious Helps and Means of leading such a Life as must bring men to Felicity , if ever they attain thereto . Thirdly , It propounds infinitely more convincing and powerful Arguments and Motives for inducing men to despise the Vanities of the World , and to fix their Affections on God ; and to pursue with diligence the Means available to the full enjoyment of him . Lastly , It affords far more endearing Considerations of Encouragement to bear with patience Reproches , Injuries and all manner of Afflictions which befalmen in the whole course of this miserable Life .

Object . 2. If the Design of Religion be to cause men to forsake the Love of the World and the vain and false Allurements of it ; what Rational Account can be given of the Temporal Ordinances , Rites and Cercmonies of the Jewish Law , which in appearance have small or no Tendency thereto .

Solut. That the Moral Law , which directly requires the Love of God , and of a man's Neighbour , was the principal part of the Mosaical Dispensation , is clear by our Saviour's Answer to the Scribe ( who said , that to love God with all the Heart , and with all the Vnderstanding , and with all the Soul , and with all the Strength , and to love a man's Neighbour as himself , was more than all whole burnt Offerings and Sacrifices ) which is this ; Thou art not far from the Kingdom of Heaven , Mark 12. 33 , 34. And therefore although there be peradventure some Precepts in Mose's Law , which are so purely arbitrary , as to be fulfilled in the meer willing observance of them ; yet God's Design in inuring the Jews to Acts of simple Obedience , was questionless this , that they might be the more willing and ready to obey him in those things which directly made for their eternal Good. For to give a Command without an intention of Good , in some respect or other , to man , by the performance of it , is repugnant to Reason , and contradictory to the wisdom and goodness of God ( Sect. 8. Sol. of Object . 1 , 2 , 3. ) But besides it is not a thing easily to be granted , that the Temporal Ordinances , Rites and Ceremonies of the Judaical Law were so purely arbitrary , as they seem upon a slight view to be . For since all good Laws respect man's Good , that his chief Good is the perfect Love of God , and that every thing besides is only for good to him as it contributes in some respect or other thereunto , ( Sect. 5. Par. 1. ) it necessarily follows , that all Laws given by God to Man , were intended to be a means of bringing him by the observance of them , to the love of himself , as his sole sovereign good ; and by consequence , that the Mosaical Law was given to the Jews to win that People by ways convenient and agreeable to their Tempers , to set their Affections on God. For though the Motives which it proposed were Promises and Threats of temporal Rewards and Punishments ; and the Ordinances of it mostly certain Rites and Ceremonies ; yet were they truly suitable to that Nation , whose Hearts were generally gross and childish , as the Apostle Paul not obscurely hints , saying , Till the fulness of time was come , the Jews were as Children in Bondage under the Rudiments of the World , Gal. 4. 3. that is , I conceive , as Children are first taught their Rudiments , because not capable of better Learning till of riper years ; so were the Jews instructed by weak and poor means till the World was grown to an Age fit for higher Documents . And why mens minds were more gross and terrene towards the Infancy of the World , Thomas Albius in his Appendix to Institut. Perip●tet . gives a very probable account . However that de facto it was so , at least as to the Jews , doth appear by their frequent murmuring and revolting ( even after they had often tasted of the extraordinary goodness of God ) whenever they disgusted their present Temporal State and Condition . For we may infer from thence , that if God had told them by his Servant Moses of Spiritual Joys they should have after this life , instead of the good Land of Canaan flowing with Milk and Honey , if they would obey and keep his Commandments and Statutes , such Doctrin would have found small Acceptance ; the Truth of which , if perchance questioned because of the Constancy of the Babylonish Captives in their Religion ; this , I think , may well suffice for Answer , that part of the Prophecy which told of their carrying to Babylon being fulfilled , gave them assurance , that as the violation of the Law had occasioned their bringing into Captivity ; so their close adherence to it for the future , would procure their own , or their Posterities Restorement to their Native Countrey and Freedom . Seeing then the Hearts of the Jewish People ▪ were such , as that the most connatural way to bring them to love God , was by delivering them from Servitude and bodily Dangers ; and by Promises of temporal Good , and Threats of temporal Evil ; 't is plain , the love of worldly good things was so setled in their Minds , that the Almighty sought not to be beloved by excluding the love of them out of their Hearts , but by gaining their Affections through them ; whilst he endeavoured to manifest , that the whole Earth was his , and the fulness thereof , to the end they might depend on his Bounty , and love him for the same ; which whosoever of them really did , God acquired thereby a Pre-eminence in their Affections , forasmuch as the due Consideration thereof would beget a greater love of the Giver than of the Gift . For whose seriously reflects that all Good comes from God , and that the possession and enjoyment of it proceeds from his bountiful Kindness without any precedent Merit on man's part , must needs acknowledg his Gracious Goodness to be such , as that he ought to relie thereon as the Sovereign Good and Fountain from which , whatsoever he enjoys , flows ; and in so doing his Affections will be carried thereto accordingly , that is chiefly and above all Earthly things . Thus we see the Reason of the Motives to the Love of God peculiar to the Jews . The Temporal Ordinances , Rites and Ceremonies , of whose Law also , however they may seem at first sight to have been Commands relating only to a bare Obedience required in the performance of them , were in very deed proper and fit Means to keep the Jewish Nation from Idolatry , and to make them observe the substantial part of the Law , which was to love God above all things , and their Neighbour as themselves . Hence the Ordinances of the Paschal Lamb and of unleavened Bread , were instituted for Helps to keep God's wonderful Mercy and Kindness to them , in freeing them from the Egyptian Bondage , in perpetual remembrance ; that they might ever be reminded to praise , laud and magnifie him , and consequently to love him for the same . Hence their Purifications and Oblations for Sin , were ordained to bring their Transgressions to mind , that they should acknowledg them , and turn from them by Repentance to God. Yea and the seemingly insignificant Ceremonious rites were appointed as things useful for walls of separation between the Jews and Gentiles round about them , to withold them from their Idolatries , wicked practices of Magical Superstitions and Whoredoms frequent among them ; for they stood in opposition to the customs of the Nations adjoyning to the Land of Judea , as we are assured from Learned men out of Maimon ( for I never had a sight of his Writings my self ) who proveth out of ancient Books that the Precepts of the Jewish Law of this kind are still with a Reflex upon the Heathen Rites , and not of those only of simple Idolatry , but most of all such as were complicated with magical and unreasonable Superstition ; and that the respect of those Laws were not so large and indistinct as to look on all the Heathens in general , but in particular to the Egyptians , Canaanites , Chaldeans and Amorites . Yea , the same Author , it is said , hath reconciled the strangeness of the Ceremonial Precepts to any man's proportion of Reason and Belief ; of which I 'le produce one Instance : It is forbidden that any man of Israel should eat Blood. Also it is commanded that the Blood be sprinkled on the Altar , and moreover , that it be covered with dust , or spilt on the ground as water . Some of the Zabii did use to eat the Blood , some others , who reckoned this to inhumanity , at the killing of a Beast reserved the Blood , and gathered it up into a Vessel or Trench , and then sitting down in a Circle about the Blood , they ate up the Flesh , and satisfied themselves with an Opinion that their Daemons fed upon the Blood , entertaining a strong Conceit that this manner of sitting at the same Table with their Gods , would engage them to a nearer Tye of Conversation and Familiarity , and promising to themselves also that the Spirits would insinuate themselves in Dreams , and render them capable of Prophecy , and things to come . In reference to these Ways of the Amorites , God expresly forbad his People to eat Blood ; for so some of the Zabii did ; and to meet with others who gathered it up into a Vessel , he commanded the Blood should be spilt on the ground like Water . And because they ate their Sacrifice in a Circle round about the Blood , he also commanded that the Blood should be sprinkled ( not about , but ) upon the Altar . Mr. Gregory of Oxford in his Notes and Observations upon several Passages of Scripture , Chap. 19. More Instances of the like sort may be seen in Dr. Stillingfleet's Origin . Sacr. Book 2. Ch. 7. Where he writeth , that the Precept against Woollen and Linnen , was occasioned , because the Idolatrous Priests went so cloathed . That the Jews were forbidden to round the Corners of their Heads , because it was the Custom of the Arabians , and others of the Babylonian Priests to round them . That because the Idolaters threatened all Parents that their Children would never live unless they caused them to pass through the Fire , was that strict Prohibition of giving their children to Molech , which was by that custom of passing through the Fire . These and several other Precepts of the Law of Moses are deduced ( saith the Doctor ) by that very Learned Rabbi Maimonides from Idolatrous Customs , as the Occasions of them ; which seems to have the more Reason ( says he ) because that God in the general forbad the Jews to walk after the Custom of the Nations about them , Levit. 20. 23. Thus by what in the whole has been said of the Jewish Law , it appears , that it had a Tendency to the same great End which both the Law of Nature , and the Christian Law look unto , namely , the Love of God , as sole Sovereign Good of the Soul.

SECT. XIII . Nothing is available to Felicity , but as it contributes to Charity . The nature of the two Theological Virtues , Faith and Hope ; and how they become useful and beneficial to the obtaining and encreasing of Charity .

1 SInce the ultimate End not only of Mans Creation , ( Sect. 4. ) but of his Redemption also , ( Sect. 9. ) is his own Eternal Felicity , and that Felicity consists in the perfect Love of God clearly seen , ( Sect. 4. ) 't is evidently consequent , that neither Faith , nor Hope , nor the moral Virtues , nor any Duty , nor Ordinance , nor Institution whatsoever is at all available to everlasting Bliss , save only as in some kind or other they contribute to Charity , either in helping to procure it , to preserve it , to augment it , or to compleat it ; provided Charity begun here in this world , and that which is Felicity in the next , differ not in nature , but only in degree .

2. And that Felicity is the same Charity perfected in the other World , which is begun in this , is manifest both from Reason and Scripture . For since the Love of God apprehended by Faith , and the Love of God proceeding from Vision , have both of them God , as he is the sole Sovereign Good of the Soul , for their only Object , they are of the very same Nature , each of them being a Complacency or Delight taken in God under the self same Notion , to wit , as he is the Supream Good of Man ; so that albeit the Love which proceeds from Vision , by reason of the clearer knowledg it affords of God , must needs be greater then the Love which comes by Faith , yet their difference is not in essence , but in degree only . Neither doth Reason give Testimony to the Truth thereof alone , but Scripture also , which expresly tells us , that Charity never faileth , 1. Cor. 13. 8.

Object . 1. If the Love of God in this and in the World to come be both of them Charity , how comes Charity here to be accounted a Theological Virtue together with Faith and Hope , which are only Means and Furtherers of Bliss , and Charity hereafter Bliss it self ?

Solut. The reason is because Charity here doth not always proceed to , and necessarily end in , Charity hereafter , and therefore is looked upon as an Help to Felicity , rather than any degree thereof , though in verity it be , in all those who finally lose it not , but depart hence habitually endued therewith , Felicity really begun in them , to be compleated and perfected in Heaven , ( Paragr. 2. )

3. Faith is the first in order of the Theological Virtues , because the Foundation of the Christian Religion quoad nos , whilst by it we are ascertained of the whole Mystery of the Gospel of Christ . For what is Faith in general , but Knowledge grounded on Testimony , to which an assent is given ? And what Christian Faith in particular , but the Belief of Christ's Doctrine upon the account of his Divine Word relating or testifying the same unto us ? Hence it will certainly be , that whosoever believes the Holy Scripture , will believe the Incarnation , Life , Death , Resurrection , Ascension , and coming to Judgment of our Saviour Jesus Christ , and that either superficially and carelesly , or cordially and concernedly ; if the former , he does it not to that intent , the Belief of them was proposed by God , and so no wonder if he be not bettered by it ; but if the latter , his Belief will be apt to work an answerable Love in him towards the Author and Offerer of such transcendent Kindness as in the Gospel is held forth ; and therefore the more firm and frequent acts of Faith he exercises , the more will his Love to God be excited , till at length ( if his Faith continue operative ) it grows into an Habit , by which he is put into a State of Salvation , or the direct Way to everlasting Bliss , ( Sect. 11. ) Nor is this the whole benefit of an active Faith ; for when Charity is thus by its means wrought in the Soul , Faith doth not straight give over its Function , and begin to be idle , but grows more vigorous and lively , whilst the Soul being enflamed with the Love of God , sets it a fresh on work about the Object , the Motives , and other Helps of Bliss , whence Charity becomes not only confirmed and strengthened , but augmented also . For although it have frequent need of the Exercise of Faith , only to maintain and preserve its Habit that it be not lost , by reason of the many Temptations alway ready to ensnare the Affections of the Soul ; yet in regard the more that Faith is conversant about the Object and Means of Bliss , it will from thence be obvious to the Intellect to discover still farther Excellencies in God , and greater Love and Kindness in him towards wretched Man , it cannot churse , but that fresh Representations of Loveliness in God being often made , the Soul will become more vigorously affected towards God , especially when Charity is in good plight , having no present Adversary or Temptation to encounter with .

4. After Faith , Hope lifts up its Head , and 't is twofold , either such as precedes Charity , or is subsequent to it , ( even as we have seen Faith to be Paragr. 3. ) The Hope which precedes Charity is subservient to Faith , in assisting it to beget the Love of God in the Soul , in manner here following ; When Faith has begot some imperfect desires of Bliss , before Charity be habitually seated in the Soul , some slender hope will arise from the glowings , whereby the Soul perceives herself to grow warm in Affection towards God , that he will be graciously pleased to perfect the good Work he has already begun in her . This Hope , tho weak , contributes something to Charity , if not choaked by fresh Sin ; for while the Soul hopes for what she desires , her desires of what she hopes for is quickned thereby . Nevertheless till an habitual Love to God above all things , or Charity be throughly framed in the Soul , there 's no Spiritual Life therein , but only previous dispositions preparing for it . Such Hope is therefore by the Schools termed informis ; and the other Hope which follows Charity is called formata , because Charity gives Live and Vigor to it , for no man has a firm well grounded Hope that he shall ever inherit Bliss , till he find within himself that he has an hearty unfeigned Love to God , and really persues the known Means appointed by him to procure a full Fruition of him . Thus is Charity the Parent of a true and lively Hope , and to this intent that she may be a Stay and Comfort to her Mother , for while men rationally hope to enjoy what they love , they are cherished , confirmed , and strengthened thereby in their Love , because they have confidence arising from a well-grounded Hope , that their Love is not in vain . Wherefore the greater our Charity is till perfect , that it excludes Hope through possession of the thing hoped for , the stronger will our Hope be , and the stronger our Hope is , the greater Encouragement will be given to Charity , which perfected , is Felicity .

Object . 2. The Love of God in Heaven may be an adhering with delight to the Object of Felicity ; or a Complacency , Joy and Satisfaction arising from the Beatific Vision , or Contemplation of the Divine Excellency . But the Love of God upon Earth seems rather to be a Desire only to enjoy him eternally , than any the least real participation of Bliss , or the Enjoyment of God.

Solut. Every true hearted sincere Desire to enjoy God eternally is an Effort and vigorous striving of the Soul to be throughly satisfied with the full fruition of him for ever ; which since it is caused by the Delight it finds in the solid and devout Consideration and Meditation of the Divine Excellency , or of Gods wonderful gracious Kindness to man apprehended by Faith , or of both ; the greater inward Joy and Spiritual Contentment men have in thinking of Gods transcendent Excellency , and of his stupendious Kindness shown to Man , the stronger will their Desires grow to obtain a full Possession of him to Eternity ; whence it appears that the Desire to enjoy God is an effect of Charity , or Delight taken in him , and not Charity it self ; but is a very great Advancer of it , in that it puts men upon the exercise of all things which are known to be available to the Fruition of God ; and indeed is so like to Charity , that it is not without a near Inspection discernable from it ; yet certainly is distinct from it , as may be farther gathered from the constant answer we use to give to one demanding of us , why we so earnestly desire this or that thing , which is , because we have a great Love for it , or take much delight in it ; but do not ever say , we love a thing , or are delighted with it , because we desire it . In fine , then I take it to be cleared , that Charitas viae , and Charitas patriae , the Love of God here and hereafter , differ only , as the less , and more perfect , whence I conceive , arose that common Saying of Divines , Gratia est semen Gloriae , and the occasion of calling aswell Grace as Glory the Kingdom of Heaven in Scripture .

SECT. XIV . The Moral habits Prudence , Justice , Fortitude and Temperance are truly Virtues in that respect only as they further Charity . What the Office of each of them in particular is , as 't is subservient unto Charity .

1. HAving shown after what manner the Theological Virtues Faith and Hope are useful and serviceable unto Charity , it follows to be considered of , how the moral Virtues , Prudence , Justice , Fortitude and Temperance minister help thereunto ; in respect of which alone , they are truly Virtues , and not otherways . For since Charity here and hereafter is Felicity , the one begun , the other perfected , ( Sect. 13. ) and that Felicity is the ultimate End of Man ; ( Sect. 4. ) it certainly follows , that not any thing at all is virtuous , or good to man as man , or a Rational Creature made to inherit Bliss , but what is in some respect or other advantagious and beneficial to Charity ; so that although he be commonly esteem'd a Prudent Man , who discreetly orders his actions to some honest end proposed ; a just man whose care it is to do uprightly in the Affairs of the World ; a stout man who behaves himself couragiously against his Countries Foes ; a temperate man who regularly moderates his Appetite about Meat and Drink ; yet is not any of these truly virtuous by so doing , except he do it out of Love to that End whereunto all his Actions ought either mediately or immediately to tend , because in the obtaining of that alone , Humane Nature is perfected , the Man made happy ; whereas other inferior Ends beneficial in their kind to some particular purposes may be attained , and yet everlasting Misery not be prevented thereby . This then being apparent , that Charity is the Scope and Aim which the moral Virtues ought to look and level at , let 's see in what way they compass their designed End.

2. Prudence , ( which because it is conversant circa agibilia is reckoned with the moral Virtues ) is the practical Knowledg of things to be desired , or shunned , in respect of some honest end sought after ; whence it is manifest that Prudence is deeply engaged in every moral Virtue , and therefore how much soever Charity is advanced by any of them , Prudence always plays its part in contributing thereunto .

3. Justice is said to be a Virtue whereby we give to every one what is due or right for them to have ; the Discourse whereof I 'le therefore omit till I come to the Decalogue or Moral Law.

4. Fortitude is that Virtue which strengthens the Soul to overcome Difficulties that would avert the Will from the Prosecution of Good , for fear of Evil to be encountred with before the Good can be obtained . 'T is apparent therefore to see , that , considering a Christians Life is a continual Warfare , where daily Enemies that would hinder Mans Love to God above all things , are stoutly to be combated , if Victory be desired and expected , Fortitude is a Virtue primely useful unto Charity .

5. Temperance is a Virtue which regulates the desires of the Will about the Objects of Tast and Touch , as Meat , Drink , and Venery , and is hugely serviceable to Charity . For whereas the Will through the Corruption of Mans vitiated Nature is prone to follow the Gust of the sensitive Appetite in the immoderate persuit of whatsoever is grateful to it , and is apt thereby to be drawn from the Love of its chief Object the Supreme Good , which is God ; Temperance , by restraining the sensitive Appetite from excess in its desire of Meat and Drink , doth thereby reduce the animal Spirits to a more moderate Quantity and Temper , which otherwise through their too great abundance and activeness are wont to excite the sensitive Faculty to a violent lusting after all such things as are pleasing to it ; and that again disturbs and blunders the Rational Powers of the Soul , and by eagerly pressing upon them , averts the Understanding from the due Consideration of things , and thence totally gains the Phantasie , and thereby ensnares and captivates the Will . Besides , Temperance is very serviceable , ut Causa removens prohibens , to Prayer and Meditation , the two faithful Ensurers ( as I may well call them ) of Charity , for they never fail to ensure it to us ( as will be made appear in the next Section ) if we fail not to make sure of employing them in their Office.

Object . 1. By what hath been said of the moral Virtues , if true , they are not bona per se , good in themselves , which is contrary to the Opinion of most men .

Solut. Whatsoever is bonum per se , good in it self , is of it self the Object of Desire , and so having no Reference , as such , to any farther good in consideration of which it is desirable , it ought to be desired for its own sake , without respect had to any other good whatsoever to be obtained by it , and consequently to be acquiesced in , either as the edequate End and Perfection of the Soul , or at least as a coordinate part and proportion thereof . The former the moral Virtues are not , otherwise God would be totally excluded from being in any sort Man's ultimate End and Sovereign Good. Nor can they be the latter ; First , because it is impossible , but that the Soul which is fully possessed of God , should have all Good and Perfection whereof it is capable : and Secondly , for that the moral Virtues are Dispositions of the Soul for moderating the Affections of the Will about such Objects , as shall have no Being in Heaven ; and if there be no Objects for the Virtues to be concerned about , there will also be no Virtues , because they receive their different Natures and Species from the diversity of the Objects they are exercised on . Justice indeed seems to be eternally necessary , in that we must give for ever to God , Angels and Men what is their due ; but Charity abundantly supplies that , forasmuch as to love every one of them , as they ought to be beloved , eminently contains in it whatsoever is to be rendred to them .

Object . 2. Although a man that deals uprightly to obtain the Reputation of a good Name ; or defends his Country for Honours sake ; or lives temperately out of regard to his Health ; or that does all these for the mentioned , or any other such like End , be not properly a virtuous man ; yet he that exercises Justice , Fortitude and Temperance for Honesties sake , or because it is agreeable to the Principles and Dictates of Reason , and so conformable to mans rational Nature , to do it , is certainly a moral honest man , or else there is no such thing as moral Honesty in the World.

Solut. He that does a thing for any End , be it what it will , has his Reward , or all he desires , in the obtaining of it , if so be he have not an Eye to a farther end to be acquired by it ; and therefore in case every Man did exercise Justice , Fortitude and Temperance for the pure Love of them , only because they are agreeable to human Nature , he had his Reward in doing it , and thence fell short of Felicity , or his chiefest Good the Fruition of God , and consequently he did not act virtuously . For he that acts virtuously , acts rationally , and he that acts rationally , acts for a good End , which must either be Mans ultimate End , or else some intermediate End conducible to the obtaining of it , because Mans ultimate End alone is desirable for its own Cause , and other things only as they are in order to it , as was proved before , ( Par. 1. ) and in the Solut. of the first Object . in this Section . Such a Man indeed as is said in the Objection I am now answering to be a moral honest man ( if there were any such ) would be less miserable by what he did ; but so will every one be accordingly as he is less vitious ( Sect. 7. ) although he be not in any sort truly Virtuous . Is there then you 'l reply no such thing as meer moral Virtue or Honesty ? I answer yes . Meer moral Virtue or Honesty is , when a man without the Direction or Help of any other Law , save only of the Law of Nature , doth from the Consideration of Gods transcendent Excellency in himself , of the Creation of the World , and especially of Man , ( all demonstrable by Reason , as is to be seen by the first , third and fourth Section ) and from the Beauty , Order and Preservation of the Universe ( manifest to sense ) raise his Thoughts from poring on Earthly things , to the Contemplation of the Divine Majesty and Goodness ; and by frequent admiring and adoring him , together with giving Praise and Thanks unto him for all the Enjoyments of this Life , acquires an habitual Love of him , and thence desires to be fully satisfied with the knowledge of him , despising all terrestrial Pleasures in comparison of the same ; and in virtue of his Love to God , doth heartily wish to all Mankind the like Happiness he wisheth to himself , as knowing that things of the same Kind tend by Nature to the same End. This I take to be pure Moral Vertue or Honesty , with which if any man depart hence , he will at length through Christ be eternally happy ( sect. 12. par. 3 , 4. ) But so great is the Corruption of Man's Nature through Original and Actual Sin , ( sect. 9. ) that such Virtue or Honesty is attainable by very few .

Object . 3. If the moral Virtues be therefore not good in themselves , by reason they have a tendency to a farther good to be obtained by them , 't will follow , that nothing , that has a tendency to a farther good to be obtained by it , is good in it self ; which is very unlikely to be true .

Solut. When we speak of moral goodness we evermore intend something by it , which is perfective of man's Rational Nature ; so that to enquire , whether the moral Virtues be good in themselves , or not ▪ is the same as to ask , whether they be directly and immediately perfective of man's Rational Nature , yea or no ; or be only useful to procure something which is directly and immediately perfective of it . This latter I take to be true , not the former ; and my Reason is , because the moral Virtues , in that they are not any lasting permanent good of the Soul , but pass away and leave it when it becomes possessed of its everlasting good , Felicity , ( Solut. of Obj. 1. ) are instrumentally , or so far only good unto it , as they are necessarily helps and means to procure that good which is the eternally-during Perfection of it , whence it seems plain that the Benefit of the moral Virtues , and so likewise of all Gifts , Graces and Ordinances , ( as Faith , Hope , Prayer , the Sacraments , &c. ) which cease upon the full enjoyment of God , consists in their very Tendency towards the good to be obtained by them . But yet if any will be so scrupulously nice as to demand , Whether that which is necessarily good and useful in its very Nature , though but instrumentally , to the perfecting of Man , be not good in it self , I shall not contend , but yield it is , provided it will be granted me again , that it is instrumentally so , and no more ; for then in consequence thereto , it must of necessity be owned , that it is not desirable for its own sake , but for the sake of that which it is an instrumental Cause to procure . In this sense I have proved that Faith and Hope are good in themselves , as without which Charity cannot be acquired ; ( sect. 11. par. 2 , 3 , 4. ) and the moral Virtues also in this Section , par. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. are made out to be no less ; and so shall Prayer likewise be manifested in the next Section , to be good in it self , or in its own Nature necessarily useful , for acquiring Man's Chief Good , in the everlasting Fruition of which his Rational Being will be perfected .

SECT. XV. Prayer offered to God for all things absolutely necessary to Salvation ( whether the Theological Virtues or Moral , or Remission of Sins ) is evermore effectual , if it be made aright ; and it is always made aright , when it is unfeigned , fervent , and frequently performed .

1. SEeing nothing is good to man as man , but what either ultimately compleats and perfects him , as such ; or something that hath a tendency , and is serviceable thereto ( sect. 14. ) 't is evident , that nothing ought to be desired of God which may prove any the least hindrance to man's ultimate End.

2. In regard therefore Eternal Felicity , or the perfect love of God is man's ultimate End and Perfection ( sect. 4. par. 12 , 13. ) 't is apparent that nothing which will obstruct the Love of God , ought to be prayed for .

3. And forasmuch as neither Health , nor Wealth , nor temporal Honour , nor even the Saving of Life , but may in some Circumstances prove prejudicial to Charity , none of all these are absolutely to be prayed for , but conditionally only , and so far forth as they may be useful in respect of Charity .

4. It remains therefore that nothing besides Charity it self , and what always furthers it , are absolutely to be begged of God.

5. Wherefore since Virtue ( whether Theological or Moral ) is a thing which always furthers Charity ▪ ( sect. 11 , 13 , & 14. ) 't is clear that Virtue is always to be absolutely prayed for .

6. And forasmuch as God , who is Goodness it self , grudges no man that which is really good for him ; but ever grants him his desire , if he ask not amiss , Jam. 4. 3. 't is plain that Prayer always obtains Virtue of God , whensoever it is made aright ; which is then done , when it is unfeigned , fervent and frequent .

7. For since the Almighty does not by the sole force of his omnipotent Will , immediately confer his gracious Gifts on Man , except on some extraordinary Occasions , when ordinary Means are insufficient for the designed End ( otherwise he should be in a still continued course of working Miracles ) but conveys them to us by second Causes ; if it be so that unfeigned , fervent and frequent Prayer be an effectual Means whereby he conveys unto us the Theological and Moral Virtues , then doth unfeigned , fervent and frequent Prayer always obtain them of God.

8. And that such Prayer is an effectual Means ( or which never fails ) of conveying all the Virtues to us , will be made appear , by shewing the efficacious power it has to procure each of them in particular .

9. For first , He that from an unfeigned heart pours forth fervent and frequent Prayer to God , that he may live temperately , cannot while he doth so live intemperately ; but on the contrary , will endeavour by frequent Acts of Temperance , after a constant temperate course of Life , and by frequent Acts are Habits , or a facility of acting , acquired .

10. And whoso beggeth of God in sincerity and fervency of Devotion the Grace to deal uprightly to all men , will , if he be constant likewise in his Request , abhor the injuring or doing wrong to any one , and by often excercising Acts of Justice , he will certainly obtain the habit thereof .

11. Neither will he , who unfeignedly , ardently and constantly prays that he may overcome all such difficulties as would hinder his arriving at Bliss , for fear of Temptations ▪ and Evils to be encountred with in pursuit thereof , forbear to set himself stoutly to oppose and repel Temptations , and to reject the Enticements of the World , which would draw him from the Love of his gracious God and supream Good to the vain and transitory Delights of it self , and so by frequent doing thereof , he 'l contract an easiness in overcoming what would eternally destroy his Soul , if yielded to .

12. And forasmuch as he that is constant in sincere and fervent Prayer for the Grace of Faith , will undoubtedly give himself to read with diligence and devotion the holy Scripture , to frequent the hearing of the Word preached , and to meditate often on the Contents of Sacred Writ ; how can it otherwise be , but that he should by so doing acquire a firm and stedfast pious Belief of Divine Truths revealed by Christ and his Apostles .

13. And in regard that he , whose Petition to God is unfeigned and ardent , and withal frequently used for obtaining of Hope , and putting his Trust and Confidence in God , that he will be graciously pleased to excite his Desires , and prosper his Endeavours for the attainment of Bliss , will doubtless be induced thereby to refrain from those things which he knows must destroy all hope of Salvation ; and to addict himself to a stricter Course of Life than he had formerly led ; and so by the daily Use and Exercise of such Ways and Means as are conducible to Felicity , he 'l increase his Hope , till it grow by degrees into an Habit.

14. And as for Charity , whosoever heartily and with earnestness and constancy of Desire to attain to the Love of God above all things , makes his humble address to the Heavenly Throne for the same ; it cannot otherwise fall out , but that he must often be put upon the serious consideration of the unmerited great Love of God to Man in creating , preserving and redeeming him ; of the transcendent value of the immense and endless Joys of Heaven ; and of the Vanity of the short and transitory Pleasures of this World , which , if pursued , will bring him to intolerable and perpetual Misery ; whence he 'l learn to despise all sublunary fading Delights in comparison of the everlasting enjoyment of his most gracious Maker , Sustainer and Saviour ; the greater and greater desire of which in his Heart , cannot chuse but grow by an ardent constancy in Prayer for the same , till Charity be habitually seated in the Soul.

15. Thus we see that Prayer , if it be such as God commands , doth certainly , as a subordinate Cause under himself , who is the principal Author of all good whatsoever , always prove an effectual Means of instilling every Virtue both Theological and Moral into the Soul of Man ; so that all other Virtues not here particularly treated of , as Humility , Patience , &c. are as effectually got by fervent and frequent Prayer proceeding from a sincere affection and desire of them , as those which have been handled , be . Yea , and temporal Blessings both for our selves and others , are also obtained of God by devout Prayer , when the Divine Wisdom sees the bestowing of them will be a Means to improve in Godliness ( for the Prayers sake ) the Souls of those for whom the Prayer is made .

16. And if Prayer rightly made , be so potent and prevalent to procure the Habits of Virtue , as we have seen it is ; how much more easily will it preserve them being once obtained , since every time we seriously pray , after the Soul is possessed with the habitual Love of God , we are exercising and cultivating Faith , Hope and Charity , whilst he that loves God above all things , firmly resolves that the grand and main Design of his whole Life shall be a continued Tendency through God's gracious Assistance , towards the perpetual Fruition of him in Heaven ; so that whenever he makes his pious Addresses to God in Prayer , they are always performed in Faith or a stedfast Belief of the Truth and faithful Performance of all Gospel Revelations and Promises ; and in an assured Hope and Confidence in the Mercy and Goodness of God towards him , from the unfeigned Love he finds he has to God ; so that the more a pious man pray , the more he exercises the Graces of Faith , Hope and Charity , whence their Habits must needs be confirmed and strengthened accordingly .

17. The like is also true of the Moral Virtues , whose Habits are corroborated and more firmly fixed by the devout Prayers of a godly person ; for the better one is established in Faith , Hope and Charity , the greater Vigilancy and Diligence will he use to subdue and keep under by Temperance his carnal appetite ; to do right by Justice to every one ; and to strive through Fortitude against all sinful Temptations ; and the practice of those Virtues cannot fail to invigorate and fortifie them proportionably to the measure thereof .

Object . 1. Why may not , you 'l say , the meer Consideration of the necessity of Virtue for the obtaining of Blis , put men upon the practice of all such things as are apt either to procure it , or to keep it when it is procured ? And if it may , what peculiar Excellency or benefit is there in devout Prayer ?

Solut. That the sole Consideration , if serious and frequent , of the necessity of Virtue in order to Felicity , will excite men to desire and seek after it , and if already acquired , to preserve it , there 's no doubt to be made . But nevertheless there is a Benefit peculiar to Prayer above and beyond the Utility of such Consideration , For , First , in applying our selves to God , who is our sole supream Good , we fix our Thoughts more steadily on the Means available to the gaining thereof , when we earnestly beg them of him to that end ; yea , and the very Consideration of the Necessity of Virtue will it self be much improved and heightned thereby . Secondly , Whenever we devoutly pray , we comport our selves with great reverence and Humility , as before the Throne of God , which rendring the Action of Prayer serious and sacred , makes it to work a deeper impression of the Virtue prayed for in our Thoughts , than the bare consideration of the Virtue without such Prayer would do . Thirdly , When with earnestness of Desire we petition our heavenly Father to grant us his merciful Assistance for the obtaining any Virtue , we on our parts plainly engage our selves thereby to him , to employ our own Care and Endeavours towards the acquiring thereof , which must needs cause a stronger inclination in the Soul , and a more sedulous diligence in our Actions to obtain the Virtue petitioned for , than the sole Consideration of the Benefit thereof towards Bliss , could possibly do . Fourthly , There is nothing more quickens the Desire , and encourages the Endeavours after any thing we highly value , than a well grounded Hope to obtain it by the Means used to obtain it by ; and we have his Promises who is no less faithful than able to perform , that if we ask not amiss ( as we never do when we pray for Virtue with Sincerity , Fervency and Constancy of Mind , as is clear by what has been said in this Section ) we shall most certainly have our Request .

Object . 2. If Sincerity , Fervency and Frequency of Prayer be necessary for the acquiring of Virtue , it is but rarely , I fear , attain'd unto ; for although many pray frequently , and with a real desire of what they pray for , yet are there but few that do it with much earnestness or fervency of Spirit .

Solut. There are several degrees of Fervency or Earnestness , the lowest of all which ( and Sincerity of Affection always implies some degree thereof ) if it be accompanied with frequency of Prayer issuing from an affectionate Heart , will in a longer continuance of time effect as much as an higher degree thereof in a shorter ; so that all devout Prayer constantly kept to , will at length , though some sooner than other , procure the Habit of Virtue prayed for .

Object . 3. Very few are so intent in Prayer but that their Minds are often distracted and turned away from their due Object to thoughts of Vanity , and how then should Prayer be of that efficacy as either to beget in such an Habit of Virtue , or to preserve and strengthen it if it be obtain'd ?

Solut. He that , when he goes to pray , unfeignedly desires and really strives to pray without distraction , and yet finds his Mind carried away to Objects not intended , will certainly be troubled in Spirit thereat ▪ which shews that that distraction is against his Will , and caused by the agitation of the Phantasms in the Brain , which he can neither prevent the motion of there , nor the vision of them in the Soul , no more than a man can hinder or avoid the sight of a thing passing by him directly before his Eyes . So that such distraction as is here mentioned , is involuntary , and nothing that is involuntary is sinful . But to take away all scruple that it is involuntary , let him that is distracted in Prayer , repeat over such passages , at least , where his Thoughts wandered , ( which in private Devotion any one may well do ) till he mind their Sense , and then he may be assured his preceding distraction will prove no prejudice to the prevalent effectualness of his Prayer .

Object . 4. Forgiveness of Sin is a thing necessary to Salvation , but what absolute certainty is there , that every one that begs the pardon of it , how unfeignedly , fervently and constantly soever he doth it , shall obtain remission thereof , when it is wholly in God's power and pleasure whether he will pardon the same or no ?

Solut. Since Sin is an Aversion from God , and a conversion to the Creature ( sect. 8. par. 3 , 4 , 5. ) when the Heart is truly converted to God from the Love of the world , and really and sted fastly prefers the fruition of him before the enjoyment of worldly pleasures , Mortal Sin is expelled out of the Soul , and taken away , and consequently the penalty thereof eternal Damnation is quitted and voided , the forsaking of Sin and the pardon of Sin going always of necessity together ( sect. 11. par. 6 , 7 , 8. ) Whence it is manifest , that , since he who in sincerity of heart craves pardon of his Sins , and strives in Prayer to God with fervency and constancy of Devotion for the same , will , continuing so to do , abhor his former Transgressions , and leaving off his sinful manner of Life , turn by true Repentance unto God , and take delight in him as his sole supream Good ; it is manifest , I say , that unfeigned , fervent and frequent Prayer doth evermore obtain Remission of Sin. Nor doth this at all gainsay that absolute Verity , that God only forgiveth Sin , seeing he alone both instituted the Means which take away Sin , and gives them also Virtue to do it . But to think that God ever withholds his Mercy and Kindness , when men are immediately disposed by due preparation to receive them , is a gross Opinion vilifying the Nature of God , who is essential Goodness , and repugnant to plain Scripture , which assureth us , that when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed , and doth that which is lawful and right , he shall save his Soul alive , Ezek. 18. 27. Yea , we have Truth it self verifying , and sweetly insinuating unto us from his own sacred Mouth , how ready God is to embrace men returning to him , by the comfortable Parable of the Prodigal Son , whom repenting of his riotous wicked living , the Father received with as free and kind an heart , as if he had never in the least gone astray , nor once done amiss , Luke 15. But nevertheless it is very dangerous to defer the use of Means which lead to Repentance ( even omitting the Consideration of the hazard of sudden Death , and that Habits , the longer they continue , stick the closer ) not only , because without that there is no Repentance unless miraculously wrought ( which it is great impiety to presume upon ) but also because when men lie sick and in pain , their Affliction , though it may cause remorse for Sin will not ( especially if it be smart and pungent ) permit them to exercise Prayer as it ought to be , and consequently the habit of Charity not got thereby , they will die in their Sins .

Object . 5. By the account that has been given of Prayer , it should seem to be a vain thing to pray for others , because our Prayers for them work not on their Affections , as they are apt to do on our own ; and yet it is a Duty injoyned us to pray for a Neighbour , as well as for our selves .

Solut. Although we do not always profit others in praying for them ; yet we constantly benefit our selves in the hearty doing of it ; for whilst we earnestly desire their spiritual or eternal Good ( the only things to be absolutely prayed for , Par. 4. ) we cannot chuse but be affected thereby towards that which we wish for them . And therefore the Commandment given to pray for our Neighbour , is not in vain , albeit our Prayers should do him no good . For if every man in the World should often and cordially pray for every other man , as he ought to do , every one alive would have benefit in praying for his Neighbour , by augmenting his own Love both to God and Man thereby . But besides , the Prayers of the Faithful do alway profit their Neighbour in due Circumstances , for in case he be truly penitent , and earnestly crave the Prayers of some holy Person , or of the Church , the Prayers offered to God for him , will undoubtedly do him good , whilst his Opinion of their Piety , and consequently of their Favour with God , will encourage his Trust and Confidence in God's Mercy for their Prayers sake , and thence elevate his Affection to God ; for the hope of Mercy and Kindness from God , and Affection to God , go still hand in hand , and mutually of necessity strengthen each other . Yea , though there be no Request made by the party prayed for , the Prayers of the Godly , when performed with very great ardency & constancy of Devotion ( as the Prayers of the pious Mother Monica for her Son Augustine were ) will undoubtedly obtain their desired event , because , in that they are for certain the effect of the special Grace of God , they cannot fail of an happy issue , lest otherwise God's own Work continued in , should not have the event , which it designedly by the Divine Favour tended to .

Object . 6. Miracles have been obtained by Prayer , which , because they interrupt the Course of natural Causes instituted by God , seems to import a Change in God's Mind ( which has been said to be immutable ) or however , that the influence such Prayer had , was wholly upon God , and not at all upon Man .

Solut. That God is immutable , has been proved , ( Sect. 1. Par. 8. ) and therefore his changing the Course of Nature can truly import no Change in him ; that which may rightly be inferred from thence being only this , that God from eternity determined the same should be done in time when occasion required ; which because it could never happen on God's account for any good that might redound thereby to himself , when ever Miracles are wrought , they are always done for the good and benefit of Men. And in regard nothing is truly good and beneficial to them but Holiness , and the Fruit thereof , everlasting Life ( Sect. 14. ) the intent of working Miracles , is to cause Holiness in their hearts in order to the bringing them to Eternal Bliss . And forasmuch as Holiness is not wrought in the heart but by Instruction and Motives ( Sect. 9. par. 4. ) Miracles are intended for the confirmation of the Truth of some Doctrin requisite for directing the Understanding , or for affording Motives to incline the Will to Virtue , or for both , at such certain times , and on such occasions when the constant course of Providence and usual Series of Causes appointed by God to draw Men from the Love of worldly Vanities and sinful Lusts , to the sincere Love of himself , generally fail of effecting it , not only in those who through perverseness of Will , but in others also , who by reason of the imbecility of corrupted Nature , cannot be won thereby . For as to the former sort , neither the ordinary nor extraordinary workings of God ( unless in a juncture perhaps of some pressing Circumstances ) use to work a Reformation in them , as is apparent by the Examples of Korah , Dathan and Abiram opposing and reviling Moses and Aaron , and of those Jews who heard Christ's Doctrin , saw his holy Life , and beheld his Miracles of Wonder and Mercy , and yet would not receive him , but barbarously and ungratefully prosecuted him to Death . As Miracles we have seen are done for the benefit of Men ; so was it likewise out of design for their good , that the Wisdom and Goodness of God ordered them to be done at the Instance of some or other holy Person , or with reference to him . For that Men , whose holy Lives were known and observed by the People , should be concerned about the working of Miracles , was requisite on this account , that notice might be taken of the great and special regard the Almighty had to Holiness , which otherwise they would not have understood , however not by far so well ; and by consequence the Miracles done would have had small or no influence on them , more than to have caused astonishment or admiration , and so have missed of their due and designed end of being instrumental Means of leading Men to the Love of Truth and Virtue for the gaining of everlasting Bliss .

Object 7. There is nothing said in all this Discourse of Prayer , or the other mentioned means of Beatitude , of the Power of the Holy Ghost , without which , notwithstanding all other Helps , are not able to work a through Amendment of Life to Salvation .

Solut. It is readily granted , that without the Power of the Spirit of God , all Helps and Means whatsoever are ineffectual to the obtaining of Felicity ; but in the right use of the Means , the Power of the Holy Ghost is evermore supposed to be present . For since Christ's Ascension into Heaven , all the Aids and means of Salvation are ordered and applied by his Holy Spirit , whom he promised to send after his departure to abide with the Church . But to assert that all the Means which God the Father appointed , God the Son prepared , and God the Holy Ghost makes application of to particular persons , should really work nothing , would be too absurd to suppose any rational Person guilty of . For in case they work or effect nothing , to what purpose is their use ? or wherefore did Christ undergo what he did , both in Life and Death , to prepare them , and cause his Disciples also to publish them to the daily hazard , and at length , the loss of Life ? But if any thing be effected by them , in what is their effective Virtue terminated ? Do they not reach the Understanding to convince it , nor the Will to incline it ? if not , whence is Man's Conversion wrought ? If you say , that the Spirit of God comes after the Means used , and causes by his own immediate operation the Conversion made in the Soul , you attribute that to God , which cannot be truly affirmed of him ; for since he is a pure essential Act , and that whatever is in God is God ( Sect. 1. Par. 9. and 11. ) it is not possible that he should effect any thing save only by willing it , without any physical action , operation , or emanation issuing from him , and terminated in the Object , whether the effect be to be brought about with or without means ; for if it be to be brought about without means , it unavoidably follows from God's sole willing of it ( as the Creation did ) there being no need nor use of any thing besides to produce it . But if Means be appointed by God to be used , then will not the effect follow without the use of the Means appointed , they immediately , yet but instrumentally , producing it , by virtue of the principal Cause which employs and invigorates them to that End , or wills that the Effect should be brought to pass by them . If it be urged that Christ himself saith , None can come unto me unless the Father , which hath sent me , draw him , John 6. 44. I answer , by granting the infallible truth thereof , but withal deny , that it can be gathered from thence , that whom the Father draws , he draws them not by Means , there being no mention made of the Manner of his drawing . Yea , is it not plain , that the Father drew men to Christ by means of a Voice from Heaven , when he said , This is my beloved Son ▪ in whom I am well pleased , hear ye him ? Matth. 17. 5. And what were the Works , but Means to draw men to believe in Christ , which he speaks of to the Jews ? saying , If I do not the Works of my Father , believe me not ; but if I do , though ye believe not me , believe the Works , John 10. 37 , 38. In a word , since God sent his Son into the World , that whosoever believed on him should not perish but have everlasting Life , it is manifest , that every thing our Blessed Saviour either taught , did , or suffered , whereby men are induced to believe and trust in him for Salvation , is a Means by which the Father draws them unto Christ .

Object . 8. If the Means of Salvation through the Power of the Spirit of God assisting them be the Cause thereof , why are not all men saved to whom Salvation is tendered , and the means conducible thereunto applied ?

Solut. As a material Instrument cannot effectually work on matter not qualified to be wrought upon , ( as for Instance , a Knife cannot cut Brass or Iron asunder , but a Straw or Stick it can ) so the means of Salvation held forth by the Gospel ( though being assisted by the Spirit of God , they are as apt to convert , as a Knife being employed by the Hand , is to cut ) cannot actually convert , but when they are applied to a Subject fitly prepared to take impression from them ; and therefore when they meet not with a due Disposition , or right Preparation of Heart to receive them , Conversion will not ensue . And forasmuch as such Disposition or Preparation of Heart is not in the Power of Mans Free Will , ( as Pelagius impiously held it was ) but is the undoubted work of God , every ones Conversion is truly attributed to the Power of the Holy Ghost , in that he works the mentioned Disposition in the Soul , by causing it to give due Attendance to the means of Salvation offered , as may be clearly collected from the Instance of Lydia's Conversion , whose Heart the Lord opened , that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul , Acts 16. 14. For through that her attention , the Word of God delivered by St. Paul took effect and converted her . There is then no Scruple at all to be made , but that every man's Conversion is the Work of Gods Spirit in the heart , both in respect of the Application of the Means of Grace , and of giving due Attendance thereunto . The only difficulty lies in this , how the Attention to the Doctrine of Salvation requisite on Man's part to his Conversion is wrought , whether by some physical Influence or real Emanation issuing from God , and penetrating the Heart of Man , ( as Fire warms by sending forth Heat into the thing warmed by it ; ) or by the sole force of the Divine Will , without any such , either Influence or any intermediate Cause whatsoever ; or lastly , that through the Almighties Government of the World in ordering second Causes ( which are all in his disposing ) man's mind becomes inclined , to give due heed to Instruction and Exhortation , by Motives offered several ways ( such as are pain of Body , loss of Estate or Friends , Plagues , Desolation , sudden and violent Deaths , great and unexpected Mercies and Deliverances , with divers other things seen , heard , or read of . ) The first of the three rehearsed ways the absolute Perfection of the Divine Nature makes impossible ; for how should any Physical Influence , or real Emanation proceed out of him , whose Being is Immutable , one essential Act , and entirely simple ? ( Sect. 1. Par. 8 , 9 , 10. ) The second Way would be as miraculous , as the creating of all things out of nothing ; and the Attention given to the Means of Grace would be irresistible in all Men. The third Way therefore I take to be truth , and am confirm'd therein from St. Paul's Conversion ; ( which , though strange and unusual , yet was it not effected by the immediate Will of God without all intermediate Means ) from his becoming all things to all men , over and above his zealous preaching of Christ ; and indeed from the constant manner and method of God's dealing with Mankind since the very Creation . If it be replied that I seem to place the sole and whole immediate Cause of Man's Conversion in the Means , and only the remote Cause thereof in the Spirit of God , which yet is held by Divines actually to reach and work by its immediate Inspiration the Effect ; I answer , that the Divine Will , which instituted and orders the Means as well for Conversion , as for the Preparation of the Heart , goes still along therewith to make them effectual ; not unlike to a mans Mind , which after he hath made a Pen to write with , and prepared Ink and Paper , continually goes along with the Pen to effect the intended Writing ; so that I plainly maintain what answers to that which others call the immediate Operation or Inspiration of the Holy Ghost , or Divine Influx or Concourse with the Means of Grace , whilst I hold that as the Pen cannot write without the continued assistance of the Hand moved by the Will , so neither can the Means of Grace convert a Sinner , or cause any other holy Act , without the perpetual Aid of the Divine Will or Power of the Holy Ghost enabling them thereunto . If it be said , that albeit Man's Mind guide and go along with the Hand and Pen , yet the Pen alone immediately touches the Paper , and makes the Impression in it ; my Answer is , that both the Mind , and the vis impressa conveyed by the Hand to the Pen , reach as far as the Pen it self , otherwise the Pen could not write what it doth , either as to the Character , or the Matter , ( for what knows it of the difference of any Figure or Subject whatsoever ? ) and even so doth the Spirit of God , no less than the Means of Man's Salvation , reach the Heart , both to prepare it , and convert it unto God ; but with this difference , that the Writing on the Paper is an Impression necessarily received by it ; but the preparative Disposition and Conversion of the Heart , are Effects wrought therein , by a voluntary Compliance and Concurrence of the Will of Man with the Author and Means of Grace .

SECT. XVI . Praise and Thanksgiving to God are proper and efficacious Means for procuring and augmenting Charity . Vocal Prayer , Musick and Gestures of Body betokening Humility and Reverence towards the Divine Majesty , are useful and advantageous for begetting inward Devotion and Affection towards God.

1. AS Prayer hath been shewn to have its proper effect in procuring the Moral and Theological Virtues in order to the uniting the Soul to God by Charity ; and by causing the frequent exercise of it and them , when they are acquired , by which Charity is confirmed , enlivened , and augmented in us ; ( Sect. 15. ) so likewise will it appear that the virtue and good of Praising and Lauding God for the Excellency of his Essence , Power and Wisdom , and of his great and noble Acts in creating and governing the World , is terminated in setling and confirming the Love of God in Mens Souls ; for whose Cause , and not for his own , as he commands Prayer to be made unto him ; so doth he enjoyn Honour , Laud and Praise to be perpetually given unto Him.

2. For since every Command , whether of God or Man , must of right tend to , and design the obtaining some good by fulfilling of the same ; and that it is impossible for the Almighty who was all Perfection within himself to receive any good either of Profit or Pleasure from abroad ( Sect. 8. ) it necessarily follows , that God requires Honour , Laud and Praise to be given unto him , not for any accession of Advantage to himself , but solely for the ▪ Benefit of his Creature .

3. And because the uniting the Soul to God by Charity , is the alone Good , whereunto all that can be truly said to be good to Man , tends , ( Sect. 11. ) every one is required to praise God in his Holiness , to praise him in the firmament of his Power , to praise him in his noble Acts , to praise him according to his excellent Greatness , Psalm 150. ver. 1 , 2. by reason the often hearty doing thereof cannot chuse but exceedingly advance the Love of God , and cause a longing in the Soul to understand him more and more , and to obtain the sight of him for ever .

4. And as the praising and exalting God's Excellence in respect of his Essence , Power and Wisdom , has an Influence on the Soul to beget and strengthen the Love of God therein ; so doth also the giving of Thanks unto him for his loving Kindness and Mercy to Man in creating , preserving and redeeming him proportionably to the seriousness and frequency of doing it , of necessity elevate the Heart to God , and make it in Love with him .

Object . 1. If the design of commanding Prayer to be made to God , and of Praise and Thanks to be given to the Divine Majesty , be to cause the Elevation of the Heart unto him , Vocal Prayer , Praise and Thanksgiving , the howing of the Knee , the lifting up of the Hands and Eyes , and all Gestures of the Body are to no purpose , seeing the Heart may be raised and lifted up to God without them .

Solut. That Bodily Exercise is not absolutely necessary to Salvation , is plain from hence , that some are dumb and cannot speak ; some are not able through Infirmity to bow the Knee , or lift up their Hands ; others want their Sight , and have not Eyes wherewith to look up to Heaven , and yet all of them may be saved and go to Bliss , and undoubtedly shall do so , if they be habitually possessed of Charity when they leave the World. But nevertheless this is no Argument , that Bodily Exercise is to no purpose , or that it may be omitted by those who are in a condition with convenience to perform it . For an earnest and vehement expression of words , an humbling our selves with reverence on our Knees , and the lifting up our Hands and Eyes to Heaven , are all of them Helps to stir up inward Devotion , and make our Prayers , Praises and Thanks more fervent , and consequently more effectual to promote Charity . Nor is the Musick either of Voices or Instruments unuseful for exciting Devotion , whilst it is apt to put the animal Spirits into such a motion as will cause the Heart to be carried with delight towards the Object of Worship , which men endeavour to honour and celebrate thereby .

Object . 2. Although external Actions and Gestures may improve internal Affection to God ; yet that men should be obliged to this or that Form of Words , or manner of Gesture in the Church , seems unreasonable , seeing the same Words and Gestures do not move all men alike .

Solut. To use several Forms and Gestures in the publick Congregation at once , would be very inconvenient , and a great hinderance to Devotion . For as to Words , wherein Prayer , Praise and Thanksgivings are offered to God in a public way , 't is requisite they should be the same to all , as well to avoid Confusion and Distraction , which otherwise would certainly fall out ; as also for that Christians meeting together to offer up in common , Prayer , Praise and Thanks to God , and desiring the same things , should use the same means to testifie their joynt Consent and Concern ( for the mutual Encouragement of their Devotion ) in Christianity , as Members of the same Body under one Head Christ Jesus . And in regard the same Form is convenient to be used by the whole Congregation , and that some of necessity must appoint the same , it is apparent to see , that the chief Governours of the Church ( who being generally ancient and learned men , and constantly exercised in matters of Religion , are the best able to do it well ) should have that Charge principally committed to them . And as for the Ceremonious part of Religious Exercises in public , since all decent Habits and Gestures are indifferent in themselves to be made use of ; and that it is evident , that the more public , and of greater Authority Ecclesiastical Persons be , the easier and more obvious will it be for them to know what Habits and Gestures are esteemed the most common and commendable Signs and Tokens of Decency , Humility and Reverence , ( which every private Person , who hath his particular Concerns to look after , and is not called by the Course of Providence to order Church Affairs , cannot do ) it must in reason be granted , that the Principal Managers of Ecclesiastical Matters , the Prelates ought in prudence ( seeing the Signs of Respect and Honour are different in different times and places , so as no Rule more than in general , could be left in Scripture for them ) to be the Persons entrusted to declare , appoint and enjoyn what Ceremonious Habits and Gestures are to be used in the administration of Public Divine Offices .

SECT. XVII . The two great Sacraments instituted by Christ for the Benefit of his Church , Baptism and the Lords Supper were ordained to be serviceable to Charity , the one in procuring it , the other in preserving it . Yea , and all other Divine Institutions and Ordinances whatsoever , are only so many designed ministerial Helps thereunto .

1. WHatever Virtues or Christian Duties have hitherto been spoken of , 't is apparent from what hath been said of them , that they every one of them have their Accomplishment in establishing Charity in the Souls of Men. And no less certain is it , that all other Ordinances of God , particularly the two great Sacraments of the Church , ( to pass by , for brevities sake , Confirmation , Holy Orders , &c. ) Baptism and the Lords Supper , have no other end or design , save either to beget Charity in the Soul , or to advance it towards Perfection , being first seated there .

2. For , in that a Sacrament is an outward and visible Sign of an inward and Spiritual given unto us , ordained by Christ himself as a Means whereby we receive the same , and a Pledg to assure us thereof ; it is clear , that if Charity be the Spiritual Grace here intended , it is the End and Accomplishment of every Sacrament .

3. And that Charity is the Spiritual Grace here intended , is plain , not only from hence , that nothing is truly Virtuous , or of any prevalency towards the obtaining of everlasting Life , which is not done out of Love to God , ( Sect. 14. Par. 1. ) and from the Apostles Testimony , averring that all other Gifts , Graces and Performances without Charity profit nothing , 1 Cor. 13. but also from the account given of the two mentioned Sacraments themselves in the Churches Catechism .

4. For according to that , the inward and Spiritual Grace given in Baptism , is a Death unto Sin , and a new Birth unto Righteousness ; and Charity , in that it formally expells mortal Sin , and frees from everlasting Damnation , and the Torments of Hell , is formal Righteousness , Sect. 11.

5. And to the Question proposed , what the Benefits be whereof we are made partakers by the eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ? The Answer is made , the strengthening and refreshing of our Souls by the Body and Bloud of Christ , as our Bodies are by the Bread and Wine ; by which it is manifest , that in the nourishing and strengthening of our Souls by spiritual Food , is the End of this great Sacrament attain'd . And as Bread and Wine are therefore said to nourish the Body , because being digested by the Stomach , they afford Chyle , which sanguified , immediately refresheth and strengthens it ; so the Body and Blood of Christ crucified are there said to nourish the Soul , because being applied to it by Faith , they confirm it in Charity , which is the Spiritual Nourishment and Strength thereof , being that which immediately unites it to God ( Sect. 11. ) and in the Souls Union with God is the Spiritual Life , Strength and Vigor thereof .

6. That then the Sacrament of Baptism is the Sacrament of Initiation , and introduces Charity into the Soul ; and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper , the Sacrament of confirming and strengthening the same , is in general made manifest . And how each of them in particular effects what it was instituted for , shall be briefly seen .

7. Baptism , which is the initiating Ordinance , is not to be administred to any that are capable to understand to what intent it was ordained , till they give an account of their Belief of the Articles of the Christian Faith , and make a serious and solemn profession of their unfeigned desire and stedfast resolution to forsake the World , the Flesh , and the Devil ; and to lead a godly , righteous and sober Life , in which if they be sincere , and understand ( as they ought to do ) that the external washing with Water , or dipping therein , denotes the inward cleansing of the Soul from Sin ; or a dying to Sin , and rising again to newness of Life ; and is a Seal likewise and Means thereof ; how can it be doubted of , but that the Sacramental Action of Baptism being duly performed , should to one so prepared , have the Effect it was intended for , and improve his holy purpose and resolution of leading a new Life , into a real performance of the same ? For to suppose the Soul rightly prepared , and immediately disposed to receive Baptism , and Baptism duly administred , and yet the Effect of Baptism , or Res Sacramenti not to follow , were to suppose an entire adequate Cause actually causing without its proper Effect ensuing ; or a thing actually to cause , and yet nothing answering thereto , actually caused , which is impossible .

8. And as to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper , which is an Ordinance for Confirmation and strengthening of Grace ; in that it represents unto us the bloody Passion of our Saviour in a more solemn , sacred and venerable manner , by Christ's own intendment and designation , than any other divine Institution doth , it must certainly to him who comes with due Reverence and Devotion to that august Mystery and stupendious Token of God's immense and endearing Love to Man , be the most effectual Means possible to cause a deep impression of Charity in his Soul , and even ravish and transport him with the Love of so good and gracious a God and Benefactor .

Object . 1. If the expulsion of Sin by the accession of Charity be the Effect of the Sacrament of Baptism , then can no man be justified without being actually baptized with Water , although he really repent and be truly converted to God.

Solut. If so be that external Baptism were the only Cause of the Remission or taking away of mortal Sin , the consequence would be good ; but the desire of Baptism for the washing away of Sin , may be so ardent and operative in some , that Charity will be obtained before the actual administration of the Sacrament ; and whensoever , and by what means soever Charity is introduced into the Soul , Mortal Sin is necessarily cast out thereby ( sect. 11. par. 6. ) But few without the Sacramental washing with water , though piously disposed , have the habit of Charity compleated in them . Neither is Baptism given in vain even to those whose mortal Sin is expelled out of the Soul , before it be administred ; for since there are as many degrees of Righteousness as there are of Charity ( sect. 11. par. 8 , & 9. ) the actual receiving of that Sacrament will cause in them an encrease of Charity and so of Righteousness , which is never perfect till the Love of God be so ardent , that it wholly burns up all the dross of carnal and earthly Affections in the Soul ( Sect. 11. )

Object . 2. If the Belief of the Articles of the Christian Faith , and an earnest desire , and a stedfast resolution to forsake Sin , and to lead a godly Life , be Dispositions necessarily required in those who are to be baptized , then is Infant-Baptism a fruitless and insignificant thing .

Solut. It is evident as well by the Office of Baptism , as by the Church-Catechism , that Infants through their Sureties are engaged , before the Church will admit them to Baptism ( except in imminent danger of Death , in which Case the Church enjoyning speedy Baptism , becomes it self Surety thereby , and therefore orders that the Child , if it live , be brought into the public Congregation , and that the Godfathers and Godmothers undertake for it , like to what is done in public Baptism ) to believe themselves the Articles of Christian Faith , and to renounce the World , the Flesh and the Devil , when they come to Age , no less than such as are of ripe years are obliged to declare they already do unfeignedly all those things ; by which it appears that the Benefit which accrues by Baptism to both , has a reference to , and proceeds on their part , upon the account and ground of a true profession of Faith , and a real endeavour after Holiness of Life . So that although Baptism be administred to Children before they understand it , yet the effect and benefit of it ( more than this , that they obtain thereby the grand Privilege of becoming Members of the visible Church , whence they are brought to enjoy the great Blessing of Christian Education ) takes not place , nor is reaped till they do . And thus it is easie to apprehend , as to those Children that live till they have the use of Reason , how Baptism becomes profitable to them ; whilst if they get benefit thereby , they must perform what their Sureties promised for them ; which if they unfeignedly do by cordially believing the Christian Doctrine , and by taking a firm resolution , through the Grace of God , to live a godly Life ; the Consideration of the gracious Design of Christ's instituting of Baptism to take away Sin , and of the solemn Celebration of it by the Church for their sake to that end , will , if the Consideration be such as it should be , cause a loathing of Sin , and a real forsaking thereof for the Love of God. For why Baptism already past should not through a serious reflecting on it ( especially when Confirmation is duly , according to the great importance of it , administred ) be an effectual Means of cleansing the heart from Sin , as well as it is by the earnest desire thereof , before it be had , will not be easily , I believe , resolved . The main difficulty to unfold , is , how Baptism can profit Children that die young . Those who say that Grace is immediately infused by God , will be hard put to 't to give a tolerable Reason , to what good purpose the Use of Means is , when the Effect receives no influence at all from them , but is wholly miraculous , as every Effect immediately produced by God is . To me it seems more rational to say , that as those Children who live till they be of years capable of understanding the Reason and Use of Baptism , are appointed by the Church to be informed thereof , that they may make good the Engagement of their Sureties , ( without doing of which , their Baptism will not avail them to Salvation ) so Infant-Children upon the separation of Soul and Body , are illuminated by their Angels ( for , are they not ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be Heirs of Salvation ? Heb. 1. 14. And that Baptized Children are such , we be taught by the Answer to the second Question in our Catechism , where the Word Inheritor is rendred in the Latin Haeres , and in the Greek κληρονόμος ) with the Knowledg of their Baptism ; for then they are capable of apprehending any thing offered to the intellect , it proceeding from the disposition of their Bodies , and not from the nature of their Souls , that they are ever uncapable of actually understanding . And seeing the inclination to the Creature through Original Sin , is not by far so strong , as that which is contracted by frequent Acts of sinning , their affections will be instantly turned to God by virtue of their Baptism signified unto them . But however the Truth in this obscure Point stand , this is certain , that , in regard Felicity consists in the Love of God ( sect. 4. par. 13. ) baptized Infants must , some way or other , obtain Charity before they arrive at Bliss , or at least upon the very instant of being possessed thereof . And how their Baptism should be useful to them for the obtaining of Charity , except they have Knowledg of it ; and by whom it should be made known unto them , but by their Angels ( unless miraculously , and Miracles are not wrought where there 's no necessity of them ) I do not understand . Yet since I know of no Divine Revelation , nor of any clear demonstration , after what manner their Love of God depends upon their being baptized , I do not presume to affirm that my delivered Thoughts are positively true .

SECT. XVIII . In the exercise of the hearty Love of God , or Charity , consists the sincere observance of every Precept of the Decalogue , But the absolute entire fulfilling of the Moral Law is not accomplished till Charity have attained its ultimate Perfection in Heaven .

1. WHen treating of the Moral Virtues , I shewed the Assistance , which Prudence , Temperance and Fortitude exhibit to Charity ( sect. 14. par. 2 , 4 , 5. ) I said I would defer my intended Discourse on Justice till I came to the Explication of the Ten Commandments ; whither being now come , I shall endeavour to make it appear , that every Precept of the Decalogue tends to the causing a firm establishment of Charity in the Soul of Man ; and that in the exercise thereof , when it is acquired , the sincere observance of the whole Law is practised , albeit the absolute exact fulfilling of it be not accomplished till Charity have obtained its utmost Perfection ; which human Frailty will not permit the attainment of , while Men carry about them a Body of Flesh .

2. For since to love God with all the Heart , with all the Soul , with all the Mind , and with all the strength , Mark 12. 30. is required to the compleat , exact fulfilling of the Law ; and that such Love would perpetually take up all the Powers of the Soul ; it is plain , that , in regard , while we live in this world , our Thoughts must be often employed in taking care for the necessary accommodations of Life , and in using Means to further our own and others Welfare here and hereafter , we cannot in this mortal state so fully fix our Affections on God , as to have our Souls fully possessed of him .

3. And yet forasmuch as to give God the pre-eminence in our Affections , and to despise all other things in comparison of the fruition of him to eternity , so as that when we are tempted to violate any of his holy Commandments , the ardent desire we have for the enjoyment of him , enables us to resist and overcome the Temptation ; forasmuch , I say , as thus to love God , permits us not wilfully and advisedly to break any of his Precepts , but engages and puts us upon the keeping them all in sincerity of Affection and unfeignedness of heart , it is apparent , that in the exercise of Charity is virtually contained the sincere , unfeigned Observance of the whole Moral Law.

4. Which Law consists of Ten Commandments ; the four first whereof totally respecting Man's Behaviour towards the supream Being , the only Object of these is God ; whom therefore they command us to look up to , as he is the Author and Finisher of Eternal Salvation ; in which respect we are to esteem him ( as he truly is ) the prime Verity , whom we are to believe ; the sovereign Power , in whom we are to trust ; and the chiefest Good , whom we ought to love above all things ; or the Object of Faith , Hope and Charity .

5. And seeing neither Faith nor Hope are available to Salvation , save only as they contribute to Charity , either in helping to produce the Habit thereof ; or being obtained , to confirm and strengthen it , ( sect. 13. ) 't is clear , that the Precepts of the Former Table are not observed till we love God as our Sovereign Good , or be endued with Charity .

6. Whosoever therefore exerciseth the Grace of Charity , he is all the while employ'd in the sincere keeping of the Four first Commandments ; the whole design of God's forbidding us to have any other Gods besides himself , to make any graven Image to fall down before it and worship it , to take his holy Name in vain ; and to do any unnecessary worldly Business at Times appointed for Divine Offices , being totally accomplished in this , to cause us to fix our Souls Affections on God , and to pursue with earnestness the eternal Fruition of him as our sole Sovereign Good.

Object . 1. If Faith and Hope be not absolutely necessary to Salvation in themselves , abstracting from this , that they are Ministerially beneficial to Charity ; then are the opposite Vices to them , Infidelity and Apostacy , Presumption and Despair , not Sins damnable in themselves , or as destructive of the contrary Virtues ; but only as they cannot consist together with the Grace of Charity : But Infidelity and Apostasie , Presumption and Despair are Sins damnable in themselves , or as they are destructive of the contrary Virtues Faith and Hope , abstracting from this , that these are Ministerially beneficial unto Charity : Ergo ,

Solut. The Minor Proposition must be denied , and justly ( I conceive ) may ; for although it be most certainly true , that Infidelity and Apostasie , Presumption and Despair debar . Men of Felicity , yet the Reason thereof is not because of their immediate opposition to Faith and Hope ; but for that they are totally inconsistent with Charity . For since that no Habit is truly virtuous but in virtue of the End whereto it serves , and that the End of all Virtues is Charity ( sect. 13 , & 14. ) which perfected , is Felicity ; it evidently follows , that there is not any Vice mortally vicious , or finally prejudicial to Man's Felicity , save only by reason of Charity's inconsistency with it . But it is impossible that those who either through Infidelity never believe ; or through Apostasie fall from the belief , that there is an eternal Being which ought to be belov'd above all things , should place their Affections on God : and equally impossible , that they who either through Presumption or Despair , will not make use of the necessary Means , should attain to the End to be acquired by them . Whence it is manifest , that every one of these Vices are Mortal Sins , and necessarily , if not forsaken , destructive of Salvation . If it be replied , that every Sin is a Transgression of the Law , and every Transgression of the Law a Mortal Sin , no less than Infidelity , Apostasie , Presumption and Despair , and therefore destructive of Salvation as well as they , I grant it to be true in every one abiding in the State of sinful Nature ; for since such a Man's Will is habitually vitiated with the Love of the World above the Love of God , every Act proceeding from that Source or Principle , will partake of its Nature and Disposition , and all such Love is Mortal Sin , ( Sect. 8. par. 5. ) But to him that is in the State of Grace , or endued with the Habit of Charity , which is Formal Righteousness , ( sect. 11. pa. 6 , 7 , 8. ) I deny that any single sinful Act or Transgression of the Law is Mortal , unless it be such as either by the grossness of it , or else by the perverse wilfulness of committing it , destroys the Habit of Charity in the Soul ; for it is impossible that that Man should suffer the Pains of Hell ; who habitually loves God above the World , and prefers the enjoyment of him before all Terrestrial Pleasures ( sect. 11. pa. 6 , 7. ) albeit thro' infirmity and the frailty of human Nature , he sometimes transgress in smaller Matters some part of the Law of God.

Object . 2. Faith and Hope seem very excellent Virtues in themselves ; Faith , in that it owns the Truth of God in readily assenting and firmly adhering to those mysterious Truths revealed in the Scripture , which wholly transcend all our Reason and Apprehension . And Hope , in that it owns the infinite Power and Goodness of God ; such Faith and Hope being required as Conditions of our Salvation , and that God may be righteous in absolving and saving Sinners , Rom. 3. v. 24 , 25 , 26 , 27. Whence it appears , that they are on these accounts ( abstracting from this that they are Ministerial to Charity ) necessary to Salvation .

Solut. That the owning the Truth of God by readily assenting and firmly adhering to the Mysterious Truths revealed in the Scripture , and the owning the infinite Power and Goodness of God , are any Virtues when they are not accompanied with Charity , besides for the reason shewn , ( sect. 13. par. 1. ) therefore deny , because the Devil not only gives a most firm assent to every Divine Truth revealed in the Scripture , as knowing it to be the Word of God , and therefore infallibly true , but also owns , upon the same account , the infinite Power and Goodness of God , as they are there in every respect declared and set forth ; and yet he is not at all virtuous in doing of either ; yea , the stronger his Assent is to their Truth , the more wicked he is , because he has not Charity answerable to his Knowledg , in that he loves not God as the only Sovereign Good of all rational and intelligent Creatures , when he most certainly knows that he ought to be so beloved by them . If it be alledged , that Faith in the Objection is to be understood of a Divine Faith , I return , that if an Assent given to a Divine Truth upon the Credit of a Divine Testimony be Divine Faith , the Devil's Belief of the Truths revealed in the Scripture is a Divine Faith : But if by Faith be meant a Saving Faith , then I grant the Devil is void thereof , because his Faith is not accompanied with Charity , for all Faith without Charity is nothing worth , in reference to Salvation , 1 Cor. 13. 2.

7. As the principal Aim and Drift of the Precepts of the former Table of the Decalogue is the Love of God as Mans chiefest Good ; ( Par. 6. ) so hath the Loving of our Neighbour likewise its Consummation therein . For since Rational Nature is the same in all men , and consequently the same End appointed for all Mankind ; 't is clear , that every Man , in that he is a Man , is obliged to wish and further the same final Good , and the Necessary Means conducible to it , to every one ; and this is that , which is truly loving a Mans Neighbour as himself ; whilst every other good one man ought to do to another , is a thing extrinsecal to man as man , and depends as to the Obligation thereto , on prudential Motives , or mutual Consent explicit or implicit , or formal Contracts , for the Preservation or Comfort of the animal Life , and is not so much as to be absolutely prayed for , even for our selves , ( Sect. 15. Par. 3. ) and then certainly , not of necessity to be absolutely wished or done to others , as their final good Estate , and what necessarily conduceth to the obtaining of it , evermore are .

8. Seeing then to love a mans Neighbour as himself is heartily to wish and desire that he may enjoy the same necessary good with himself , and to contribute his Assistance , when occasion requires , to the furthering thereof , and that eternal Felicity is that necessary good consisting in the perfect Love of God , ( Sect. 4. Par. 13. ) it is plain , that in heartily wishing and endeavouring also ( when occasion serves ) that our Neighbour may attain to the sincere Love of God here , and the perfect Love of God hereafter , We love our Neighbour as our selves , and thereby keep all the six last Commandments .

9. And forasmuch as no man can possibly heartily wish to another either Grace or Glory , but because of his own real desire thereto for himself first had , it is manifest , that he who loves his Neighbour as himself , doth evermore first , ( at least in order of nature ) love God as his chiefest Good.

10. And because the sincere Love of God or Charity is formal Righteousness , and that formal Righteousness doth formally justifie ( Sect. 11. Par. 8. ) it directly follows that a man is formally Righteous or justified before ( in order of Nature at least ) he love his Neighbour as himself , and consequently that the Love of our Neighbour is not any part of formal Righteousness , but a necessary Effect and Consequent thereof ; which will farther appear to be a Truth from hence , that as on the one side , he who desires and endeavours by his Council and Prayers his Neighbours Felicity , though he never attain thereto , performs his Duty to him , and thereby fulfils the Precepts of the latter Table , if so be he did them for the Love he bears to God , because such Love doth justifie , so on the other side , that he , who for Lucres sake , or for Ostentation of his Parts , or the like unworthy End , by rightly instructing his Neighbour and advising him well , truly converts him to God , is no more righteous thereby , than if he had done him no good at all ; so that it is neither by reason of the Benefit which befalls a mans Neighbour by his Endeavours for his good ; nor by reason of the Endeavours themselves , but because of the true Love of God in the Heart exciting him to profit his Neighbour , in reference to Salvation , what he can , that a man is justified . Yea , that Love we owe to our Neighbour is of a different Kind or Species , from that wherewith we love God , the former being the Love of Benevolence , the latter the Love of Complacency ; for we do not make our Neighbour the Object of Felicity , or any coordinate part thereof with God ; but desire that he may enjoy the same Object together with us , which will make us both for ever happy .

Object . 3. If formal Righteousness , or the fulfilling of the whole Moral Law consists in the sincere Love of God , and not at all in the loving a man's Neighbour as himself , it should seem that the Love to a man's Neighbour is not absolutely necessary to Salvation , because a justified Person , if he depart this World in that Condition , cannot at last fail of being for ever blessed .

Solut. When a man has attained to the sincere Love of God himself , and knows ( as he cannot otherwise chuse but do from the Light of Nature ) that he ought in a matter of necessary Concern to do as he would be done unto ; and that eternal Felicity is such to all others , as well as to himself ; he must , except he 'l contradict his own Thoughts , and forsake his true Love to God , wish , and promote likewise ( when opportunity serves ) his Neighbours Felicity ; which evidently makes it out , that a man cannot possibly be saved unless he love his Neighbour as himself . At length then it sufficiently appears in general , that the formal reason of keeping the six last Precepts of the Decalogue , as well as the four first , is placed in that Charity , which is the Love of God above all things ; and by consequence , that in the Privation of that Love is the formal Breach of the whole Moral Law ; the truth of both which , as to the six last Commandments , shall ( for clearer evidence ) be in particular explicated and declared in the next Section .

SECT. XIX . There is not any one Precept of the latter Table of the Decalogue truly kept , but when it is observed out of Love to God ; nor is there a real Breach of any of them , but when the Soul is either deprived of the Love of God , or has the same abated and weakned in it , by the Omission of something which is required , or by the Commission of something which is forbidden .

1. THE fifth Commandment of the Decalogue , or first of the Second Table , is , Honour thy Father and Mother ; where by Father and Mother I take to be understood , according to the usual Paraphrase , not our natural Parents only , but the Father of our Country also , and those whom he sets over us in the Civil Magistracy , as likewise our Spiritual Fathers , and other Instructers in good Literature and Virtue . All and every one of these we are by this Precept bound to honour ; which is , if the act be internal , to acknowledg and own in our Minds an Excellency or Eminency in the Person to be honoured above our selves ; but if the act be external , then the Honour required , is to express by outward Signs the inward acknowledgment and owning of the honoured Person 's Excellency in our hearts ; which Excellency , since it doth not consist in any essential difference , ( the Sovereign and Subject , Father and Son , Priest and People , Masier and Scholar , having all the same Human Nature , and the same Definition , as they are Men ) the Excellency of the Sovereign above his Subject , of the Father above his Child , of the Priest above his People , and of the Master above his Scholar , must be gathered from the Relation which is between every one of them respectively , in regard of which all the former are truly and manifestly superiour in Excellency to the latter ; whilst from the King as such , the Subject has Protection of Life and Estate ; from the Parents , Children receive their natural Being and means of Education ; from the Priest , the People have Spiritual Instruction , and many other Helps of Salvation ; and from the Master , the Scholar reaps the Benefit of Learning and good Discipline . Whence it appears , that the true Ground and Reason of the Honour required by this Commandment , is the Good and Benefit which every one to whom Honour is due thereby , either actually affords , or is in a Capacity , and under an Obligation by the Relation he stands in , when a just occasion serves to confer . And forasmuch as none can be bettered by any Good , unless it be applied to him , 't is necessary that every one who expects Benefit from his Superiour , be obedient to him , that is , be willing and ready to be directed , guided and ruled by him , and thus comes Obedience as well as Honour to be due by the Fifth Commandment . But yet in regard nothing is absolutely good to us ( not very Life it self , Sect. 15. Par. 3. ) save only our Supream Good ; the whole Benefit we get by our Prince , Priest , Parents and Masters , is then alone truly profitable to us in order to the End for which we were created , when the use we make thereof proceeds from the Love of God , and tends to the Eternal Enjoyment of him . Hence it arises , that if those our mentioned Governors command any thing which we are certain will prove prejudicial to our Felicity , we have no Obligation upon us to do their Commands ; from which it is clear , that the fifth Commandment is not truly kept but when we honour and obey our Prince , Priest , Parents and Masters , for the Love we have to God in the perpetual Enjoyment of him . Neither is there any real Breach of this Branch of the Law , but in the privation of such Love , for nothing is evil , but as it deprives of some good whereunto it is opposite ; and seeing nothing is intrinsecally good but Charity ; nor relatively good , but what some way or other contributes to it , ( Sect. 13 , 14 , 15. ) nothing is evil , but either because it destroys Charity , and then the Sin is Mortal ; or because it weakens it , in which case the Offence is not Mortal , but ( as the Schools for distinction sake call it ) Venial . To dishonour then our Superiors deliberately is a mortal Breach of this Precept , in that the Heart is thereby alienated from God , which thus comes to pass . He that dishonours his Father or Mother , or other his lawful Governours ( which is through a perverse Mind not to own the Good he receives , or might receive by them , nor the Excellency and Pre-eminence they acquire by reason thereof , above and over him ) does thereby disregard and slight those Benefits which God by them tenders to him ; and in so doing , not only sets slight of the Author of them , but also rejects the End , at which they ultimately aim , Felicity . No man therefore possibly can deliberately dishonour his Parents , or other his Superiors , but his Heart will be thereby estranged from God. But much more in wilfully disobeying their just Commands , is there an Aversion from their Sovereign Good , for therein is a direct Refusal of God's Goodness offered by them , whilst every thing they lawfully command is some way , more or less , directly or by consequence , advantageous to the acquisition of Bliss , if right use be made thereof .

The 6th . Commandment , which is Non occides ; Thou shalt not kill , or , Thou shalt do no Murther , is not kept by a meer abstaining from desiring , contriving , or attempting the Death or bodily Harm of our Neighbour ; but in wishing , and doing likewise our Endeavour to preserve his Life and Health in order to the eternal Welfare of his Soul ; which we cannot do , save only as we are excited thereto by the Love we bear to our own Life , and good Estate of our Bodies , as serviceable to the End for which Life and all the Helps and Attendants of it were given . For neither Health nor Life ought to be desired , if such Circumstances occur , as that the Preservation of them is inconsistent with the everlasting Welfare of the Soul ; which because it is placed in the Fruition of God , the Love we have thereto is the principal reason and motive , why we ought to desire to continue in Life and Health our selves , or wish the like to our Neighbour , for making preparation towards the full Enjoyment of him after this Life is ended . And on the contrary , the bare doing of bodily Harm to our Neighbour , or even the taking away of his Life , is no sin simply in it self considered , but in this respect only , that he who does it has not that due regard , for want of the Love of God , to the preservation of it , which the importance thereof , in order to the end whereunto it was given , requires . For who is ignorant , that the Execution of the Penalties in Laws for capital Crimes is no Sin , either in the Judge who gives Sentence of Death , or in him that executes the same , provided they have no personal Malice to the Offender , but solely have an Eye to the satisfying of the Law , which intends not any Mischief to the Malefactor , but Good to the Weal-public by removing an incorrigible Member from among the People . But if the Judg or Executioner desire his Death out of hatred to him , albeit he deserve to die , and be justly condemned and executed , there is Murther committed , notwithstanding that the Party suffering has no more Torment inflicted on him than if no Malice had been towards him ; whence it is apparent , that the Breach of this Commandment lies in that depraved Disposition of Mind , which is opposite to the sound desire of wishing a Man's Neighbour's bodily Welfare in order to the Health of his Soul , which because none ever heartily doth but in virtue of his own Love of Bliss , the Want of that Love is the formal Reason why the bereaving any one of Life , or working his bodily harm , is a sin or hinderance to Felicity .

The 7th . Commandment is , Thou shalt not commit Adultery ; the Breach of which doth not consist in the material Act of carnal copulation with anothers Wife , but in forsaking the Love of God for an unlawful Pleasure . For suppose a Wife should leave her Husband , and be married to another Man inculpably ignorant of her former Marriage , the Woman alone would offend against this Precept , albeit the Man also transgressed the Letter of the Law , in carnally knowing anothers Wife . Or in case a Man should have his Neighbours Consort put into his Bed , thinking her to be his own , he offended not , although he should commit the external Act of Adultery with her . And on the contrary , if an Husband lay with his own Wife , thinking her to be his Neighbours , he would in so doing sin against this Precept , and yet no Transgression of it would thereby be made as to the external Act prohibited . Hence it is plain , that the Violation of the Seventh Comandment is in the depraved Affection of the Will , in turning the Heart away from the Love of God to unchast Pleasures ; and that it is kept by having a Mind undefiled with fleshly Lusts , which every one so long hath , as Charity or the Love of God above all things is predominant in the Soul. If it be objected , that simple Fornication also alienates the Heart from God , through the desire of unlawful Venereal Pleasures , whence it should be a sin no less grievous then Adultery ; I answer , that he who attempts to pollute his Neighbours Bed , knows that he ought upon a double account not to do it . First , because his Neighbours Wife is not tied in a Matrimonial Bond to him . Secondly , because she is bound to another ; and therefore he will have his Heart more hardned in sin , or farther estranged from God , than if he only desired to satisfie his Lust with one , from whom upon the former account alone , he holds himself to be restrained , and so the sin of Adultery , ( all Circumstances being equal ) is a more heinous Transgression of the Law of God , than the Sin of simple Fornication is .

The 8th . Commandment is , Thou shalt not steal ; by which we are obliged not only to abstain from taking by Force or Fraud whatsoever temporal Good our Neighbour has a Right to ; but also to employ our Endeavours , if just occasion require , to help to secure him in the lawful Possession of the same ; yet with this intent , that he use it as a Means to further him in the pursuit of his Eternal Good , the fruition of which , is the Vltimate End of all Laws , whether Divine , Moral , Canonical or Civil ; in the sincere Desire whereof they are only truly kept , and for want of which they are solely broken , as to their principal and Grand Design , albeit not as to their particular respective ends , which they more immediately , but less beneficially look at . And therefore even this Precept which more obviously regards and enjoyns the doing Justice , may be violated as to the letter of it , without a formal Breach thereof , as will appear by shewing that in some Case one Man may , without violating this Precept , take from another without his Consent , what the Municipal Laws of the Land where they both live , entitle him to ; which I thus undertake to do . No Man by the primary Law of Nature or Reason can , or ever could ( except Adam , who was Lord of the whole Earth ) claim Propriety in any thing without himself . Propriety came by a latter Law , namely , either by Distribution of Lands and Goods made by Adam ; or else by Division , or Occupancy , after Adams Decease , of what he had not disposed of immediately , or mediately , in his Life time ; to which purpose Grotius in his Second Book and Second Chapter , De Jure belli ac pacis , rationally writeth , Cum non contenti homines vesci sponte natis , antra habitare , corpore aut nudo agere , aut corticibus arborum , ferarumve pellibus vestito , vitae genus exquisitius delegissent , industria opus fuit , quam singuli rebus singulis adhiberent . Quo minus autem fructus in commune conferrentur , primum obstitit locorum , in quae homines discesserunt , distantia ; deinde justitiae & amoris defectus , per quem fiebat , ut nec in labore , nec in consumptione fructuum , quae debebat , aequalitas servaretur . When Men not content to feed on things which grew naturally , to live in Caves , to go either naked , or clad with the Bark of Trees , or the Skins of wild Beasts , chose a more delicate way of living , there was need of industry for particular Persons to use in particular things . And that the Fruits of the Earth could not be laid up in Common , first the distance of Places , whither Men departed was an hindrance , then the want of Justice and Love , by which it fell out , that a due equality , neither in their Labour nor Consumption of the Fruits could be observed . This the learned Man tells us was the occasion of introducing Property , and the manner of doing it , he adds as follows ; Res in proprietatem iverunt , non animi actu solo ; neque enim scire alii poterant , quid alii suum esse vellent , ut co abstinerent ; & idem velle plures poterant ; sed Pacto quodam aut expresso , ut per Divisionem ; aut tacito , ut per occupationem ; simulatque enim Communio displicuit , nec instituta est Divisio , senseri debet inter omnes convenisse , ut quod quisque occupasset id proprium haberet . Property came in , not by the sole act of the Mind , for none could know what others would be desirous to have , that they might abstain from it , and several Men might desire the same thing ; but by some Compact either express , as by Division , or tacite , as by Occupancy ; for when to have all in common disliked Men , and yet no division was made , it ought to be held , that it was the general Consent of all , that what any one possessed , he should enjoy it as his own . Occupancy by this Discourse is made to be a tacit Division , and confers Propriety by virtue of an implicit Consent , no less then Division doth by an express Agreement ; the design and end of both which being a general Convenience , if in a particular case it happen , that an inevitable Necessity renders the intended Convenience absolutely inconvenient , Propriety there upon a natural account , of it self ceases and expires ; for since it came in only for Convenience by consent , it cannot be presumed , that the first Introducers of it intended that it should stand in force , where the End for which they introduced it , would unavoidably be destroyed , accordingly as Grotius in the before cited Book and Chapter asserteth ; In gravissima necessitate reviviscit Jus illud pristinum rebus utendi , tanquam si communes mansissent ; quia in omnibus Legibus humanis , ac proinde in Lege Domini summa necessitas videtur excepta . Si quis igitur , quod ad victum suum necessarium est , sumat aliunde , furtum non committit ; non quod rei dominus ex Charitatis regula rem egenti dare tenetur , ut quidam volunt ; sed quod res omnes in dominos distinctae cum benigna quadam receptione primitivi Juris videantur ; nam si primi Divisores interrogati fuissent , quid de ea re sentirent respondissent quod dicimus . In case of extream Necessity , the Primitive Right to the use of things revives , as if they had remained in Common , because in all Humane Laws , and therefore in the Law of Dominion , Extream Necessity seems to be excepted . If then any one take from another what is necessary to preserve his Life , he commits no Theft , not that he who is the Owner is obliged by the Law of Charity to give to him that is in Want , as some men hold , but that the Law of Propriety ought to admit of such a favourable Construction ; for if the first Dividers had been asked what they thought of that thing , they would have given the same Answer that we do . But admit the first Dividers had intended otherwise , their Intention would have been manifestly injurious ; for since Victuals are by God and Nature designed to preserve Life ; whensoever it falls out that it cannot be preserved without taking from another what is not at the same time necessary to preserve his own Life , there it is Right to do it ; and the Necessitous Person has in that condition a truer Property to the Victuals then the Possessor , to whom at most they are only convenient for his better Being , whereas to the other they are of absolute necessity to preserve him in Being ; and Being is by nature antecedent to Well-being ( the former being a thing essential , the latter accidental ) and therefore by the Dictate of Natural Reason to be preserved before the other be cared for . It is not then the sole taking away of Goods by any Man , and converting them to his own use , whereof another is seized by Law , without his Consent , which formally breaks the Eighth Commandment , but the perverse desire of despoiling one of that , which Reason tells him he ought not to deprive him of ; and whosoever deliberately acts against Right Reason , which in every thing principally designs the Fruition of God , ( as hath been often shown ) he deprives himself thereby of Charity , or the Love of God as his Sovereign Good , or at least weakens his Desire and Affection thereunto .

Object . Man by the pure Law of Nature has an innate Freedom , by which he is made Master of his own Actions , so that without his own free consent he cannot be justly subjected to another's Will and therefore it seems to be even against the Primitive Law of Nature to take in any case whatever from another , what he is unwilling to part with .

Solut. I grant that every man by Nature is Master of his own Actions ; but yet according to right Reason only ; and therefore whenever it tells any one that his Neighbour is in imminet hazard to lose his Life , if he presently afford him not Relief out of what he possesses and can spare , without endangering his own Life , he offends against his own Nature if he relieve him not ; and therefore , as to use arguments of Perswasion to such an one , is only to go about to set his Mind aright ; so likewise to use Force to compel him to do his Duty , is no more but to attempt to guide his external Action , and direct it to its due End , and that so necessary as Nature would for want thereof be frustrated in part of her prime intention thereby , whilst as well he that ought to have given , as he that stood in need to receive , would be in a worse estate in relation to their final Condition ; the former , for that he was void of Charity ; the latter , because he wanted what was necessary for conservation of that ( I mean Life ) which according to Natures Prescript , is chiefly to be employed for the procurement of Felicity .

The Ninth Commandment , which is , Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour , is expressed in such Words , that the transgressing it in any respect is sinful . But it makes nothing against my Assertion ( which is , that the Commandments of neither Table are truly kept but by reason of Charity , as it is taken for the sincere love of God , nor ever really broken except for want thereof ) that it is so , but for it ; because these words False Witness , and against thy Neighbour , imply a defect of a right Disposition in the Will towards God , seeing that man's Mind , whose sincere Affections are placed on God , will be far from acting against his own knowledg to his Neighbour's harm .

By the Tenth Commandment , Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House , &c. is forbidden to entertain or harbour desires tending to a man 's own advantage by another's harm or loss ; which , whoso doth , hath not certainly the love of God dwelling in his Heart , and therefore formally breaks the Precept .

Object . Religion and Reason do not here seem to accord ; for what Rational Account can be given why a very indigent man , though not reduced to the ut most extremity , might not silch from his rich hard-hearted Neighbour something which he could well spare , save only because it is forbidden that we should not so much as covet that which is another man's .

Solut. Nature is content with a few things , and requires not Superfluities ; and therefore Necessaries being had , no man doth really benefit himself in taking any thing from his Neighbour ; so that albeit men were not bound by any other Law than of natural and inbred Reason only , yet could no convincing Argument be brought to prove it reasonable to dispossess another of that whereof the Spoiler has no absolute need ; much less where there is a Society of men governed by certain Laws , prohibiting all manner of Rapine , would it be justifiable to do it . For whatever thing any man requires a Property in by virtue of such Laws , all the rest of the Community ought of right to permit him quickly to possess the same . Wherefore if a poor man rob his rich Neighbour , when the necessity is not so urgent as to restore him to the pure state of Nature , he acts against his own either explicit or implicit Agreement , and disturbs the Tranquility sought after by himself , as well as by others in joyning in society together , the Benefit whereof is intended by God ( who is the prime Author of Government ) for a farther End than any temporal and transitory Commodity , to wit , the Eternal Welfare of Mens Souls , as is plain from the Words of the Apostle , exhorting that Supplications , Prayers , Intercessions and giving of Thanks be made for Kings , and for all that are in Authority , that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all Godliness and Honesty ; for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour , 1 Tim. 2. v. 1 , 2 , 3. He therefore who through a perverse Mind violates the Laws of Justice , whether instituted by God or Man , despises the Means which the Almighty and Omniscient hath ordered to conduce in some respect or other to his Everlasting Good ; which he would not do , but for want of sincere and hearty Affection to God , which is the Formal Reason of the Breach of every Precept of the Decalogue , and of all other just Commands whatsoever , in that respect as the violation of them is prejudicial to the obtaining of Felicity .

SECT. XX. Charity or the unfeigned fervent Love of God above all things , proved by Scripture to be Righteousness , or the sincere keeping of the whole Law of God.

TO the Reasons formerly given ( Sect. 11. ) why Charity is Righteousness , or the sincere keeping and fulfilling of the Law of God , I shall add the Testimony of Scripture for a full Confirmation of the Truth thereof . When a certain Lawyer asked Christ , saying , Master , What shall I do to inherit eternal life ? He said unto him , What is written in the Law ? how readest thou ? And he answering , said , Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , with all thy soul , and with all thy strength , and with all thy mind , and thy Neighbour as thy self . And he said unto him , thou hast answered right , this do and thou shalt live , Luke 10. 25 , 26 , 27 , 28. If any man love me , he will keep my words , and my Father will love him , and we will come unto him and make our abode with him , John 14. 23. Love is the fulfilling of the Law , Rom. 13. 10. All things work together for good to them that love God , Rom. 8. 28. All Gifts how excellent soever , the best of Doings , and the worst of Sufferings , are nothing worth without Charity , 1 Cor. 13. 1 , 2 , 3. Charity rejoyceth not in iniquity , but rejoyceth in the truth , beareth all things , believeth all things , hopeth all things , endureth all things , 1 Cor. 13. 6 , 7. Charity is the Bond of perfectness , Col. 3. 14. It is evident , saith Dr. Hammond in his Paraphrase on 1 Cor. 13. 13. that as Faith , Hope and Charity are far to be preferred before all other Gifts of the Spirit which are given men for the benefit of others , vers. 2. so of those three Graces or Divine Virtues , Charity is the most excellent , whether considered in it self , or in the duration of it . In it self it is the most necessary Grace here , v. 1 , &c. and all the other , whether Graces or Virtues , are but Means for the working of this ; our Faith teacheth it , and our Hope excites it , and Charity is the End of the Commandment ; and Faith must be perfected by it , and without it all the Gifts mentioned , v. 1 , 2. are nothing worth , and are given men for the working of that in others : and so likewise in respect of duration , the Gifts were soon to vanish ( and are now vanished long since , the Gift of Miracles , of Languages , &c. ) and Faith and Hope will vanish with this Life ; for Faith is of things not seen , and therefore ceaseth when Vision cometh ; and so Hope , if it be seen , is not Hope ; but Charity shall never be out-dated , but last and flourish when we come to Heaven , and be then a special Ingredient in our Happiness , which indeed consists in loving God , and having common Desires with him , and loving all whom he loves ( not the Damned , who are Vessels of Wrath ) and that eternally . If what this excellent Person here saith , be a true Comment on the Text , my Discourse on Charity is sufficiently avouched by it , as being but as it were an enlargement of his Paraphrase on the Place .

Object . 1. The mentioned Quotations from Scripture , comprehend Man's Love both to God and his Neighbour , at least some of them ; yea , there is an express Text , that he that loveth another [ ὁ ὰγαπῶν τὸν ἕτερον ] hath fulfilled the Law , Rom. 13. 8. And therefore Charity as it is taken for the sincere Love of God above all things , doth not alone justifie .

Solut. One and the same Word , ὰγάπῶν , is used in Scripture for God's Love to Man , for Man's Love to God , and one Man's Love another ; so that no Argument can be drawn from the bare Word αγάπη , Love or Charity , ( for it is rendred both ways in Holy Writ ) to make it clearly out in what Love or Charity Righteousness is placed . And therefore although it be infallibly true , that he that loveth another [ ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἕτερον ] hath fulfilled the Law ; yet the Reason thereof is not , that the Love of ones Neighbour doth formally justifie ; but because it is impossible for any man to love his Neighbour as he ought to do , until , and by reason he loveth God in sincerity of heart above all things , ( Sect. 18. Par. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10. ) by which he is formally justified . And alike impossible it is for him that loveth God with sincerity of Affection , but that he should also love his Neighbour as himself ( Sect. 11. Solut. of Obj. 2. and sect. 18. par. 9 , 10. ) consonant whereunto are the Words of the Beloved Disciple , If a Man say , I love God , and hateth his Brother , he is a liar , 1 John 4. 20. It is no wonder then that he that loveth his Neighbour , is said to have fulfilled the Law , albeit the Love of God alone be that which formally justifies ( sect. 11. par. 6 , 7 , 8. )

Object . 2. No man in this Life can love God with all his heart , with all his Soul , with all his strength , and with all his mind ; therefore no man alive is justified by Charity .

Solut. Because no man can so love God in this Life by reason of the Frailty of the Flesh , 't will rightly follow , that none is perfectly justified or clear from all impurity while he breaths a mortal Life . But there is an imperfect Righteousness , or a state of Grace , here consisting in sincere Charity ( sect. 11. par. 6 , 7 , 8. ) which is plainly held forth by Scripture ; The End of the Commandment is Charity , out of a pure Heart , and of a good Conscience , and of Faith unfeigned , 1 Tim. 1. 5. And such Charity or Righteousness is attainable in this Life : There is no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus , who walk not after the Flesh , but after the Spirit , Rom. 8. 1. Neither Fornicators , nor Idolaters , nor Adulterers , nor Effeminate , nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind , nor Thieves , nor Covetous , nor Drunkards , nor Revilers , nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God ; and such were some of you ; but ye are washed , but ye are sanctified , but ye are justified in the Name of our Lord Jesus , and by the Spirit of our God , 1 Cor. 6. v. 9 , 10 , 11. In a word , the love of the World , and the false Pleasures thereof , are so diametrically opposed to the Love of God and the solid Delight of the same , that they cannot habitually possess on individual Soul at once ; Love not the world neither the things that are in the world . I● any man love the World , the love of the Father is not in him : For all that is in the world the lust of the Flesh , the lust of the Eyes , and the pride of Life , is not of the Father , but is of the world , 1 John 2. v. 15 , 16. The Love therefore of the one always excludes and expels the Love of the other ; and their Ends are as distant as Heaven and Hell , the Result of the Love of the World being eternal Misery , and the Consequent of the Love of God everlasting Bliss , as was proved , Sect. 7 , 11 , 12. ( whereunto the Holy Scripture so fully agrees for confirmation of its truth , that it would be superfluous to produce any particular Texts to that end . ) Which Bliss that Mankind might attain unto by a Way suitable to their Rational Nature , is the great Design of the Gospel of Christ ; the Christian Religion being evidently ( if the preceding Treatise be true ) a Divine Art for making Man eternally blessed , or a Method instituted by God , the best and most connatural that could be , for the perfecting of Human Nature , by duly preparing it for the enjoyment of the Beatific Vision . The like Assertion to which I meet with in a most pious and highly valued Author by all , I will only add for an Accomplishment and Confirmation to my Discourse these his excellent Words ; whether we take Christianity in its whole complex , or in its several and distinct Branches , 't is certainly the most excellent , the most compendious ART of happy living ; its very Tasks are Rewards , and its Precepts are nothing but a divine sort of Alchimy to sublime at once our Natures and our Pleasures ; Art of Contentment , sect. 1. par. 2.

If in this Treatise , or in the Appendix to it , there be any Assertion of mine , which is repugnant to Catholic and Apostolic Faith , I do hereby , as in duty bound , heartily revoke the same , and for ever renounce it as an Erorur to be detested by me , and every good Christian whatsoever .

FINIS .

AN APPENDIX OF OBJECTIONS TO Several Things Asserted in the preceding Treatise , With their Respective ANSWERS .

Objection 1.

IT is said , sect. 1. par . 3. That an actual , infinite Series of things is impossible , which Assertion if it were true , then could not the Omniscient comprehend at once all the Thoughts which the Glorified Saints and Angels shall have to Eternity .

Answer .

The Omniscient knows at once all the Thoughts which Men and Angels shall ever have , but their number is not infinite . For when Christ has delivered up the Kingdom to his Father , there will be no more Change ; but whatever the present state of the Blessed shall then be , 't will never admit of any alteration afterward ; so that the Thoughts of the glorified Saints and Angels will be perpetually the same without any succession of new Conceptions incident to them . For , if , after they have obtained their utmost Perfection in the full Fruition of God their chiefest Good , they should receive a Change , especially in their Thoughts wherein the Prime of their Felicity consists , such Change to whatever it were , would of necessity be for the worse , and so they should depart thereby from the Perfection and Fulness of Bliss enjoyed by them , which is impossible , ( sect. 4. par. 14. )

Objection . 2.

God , you say , is one pure essential Act and simple Being , sec. 1. par. 9 , 10. and yet you put two essential Acts in God , viz. Knowing and Loving , sec. 2 par. 2 , 9.

Answer .

I do not say in the cited places , that Knowing and Loving are two essential Acts in God ; I say there ( and no where else to the contrary ) that they are God himself differently related or relatively opposed to himself ; so that , in my sense , the Trinity of Persons in the Vnity of Essence is the very self-same pure essential Act and simple Being under distinct Relations to it self ( in the manner set forth , sec. 2. par. 4 , 5 , 9 , 10. ) For wheresoever there is a Relative Opposition , there is of necessity a Distinction ( Relatio being 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , sive habitudo vel respectus unius ad aliud ) and yet nevertheless it is not necessary , that where there is such an Opposition , there should be always different Subjects separate from each other , wherein that different opposite Relation should abide . For since Scientia and Scibile are Relatives ; where Knowledg is the Knowledg of ones self , there is a Relative Opposition , and yet but one Subject to sustain the same . And the like is also true in respect of Love , where it is to ones self . Whence , seeing there are no Accidents in God ( sect. 1. par. 6. ) it must be , that the Divine Relates are all of them substantial , and not otherwise distinct from the simple Essence of God , but in regard of their Relative Opposition to each other .

Objection 3.

The Father knows and loves himself ; the Son knows and loves himself ; and the Holy Ghost knows and loves himself ; and every one of these again knows and loves each other ; how then can there be only Three Persons and no more in the Divine Essence , if so be the Distinction of Persons proceeds from the Different Relations which are said to be in God , as you in Sec. 2. affirm it does .

Answer .

Each Person of the Blessed Trinity knows himself and the other two , by the Second Person , which is the Essential Knowledg of God , se●● . 2. par. 4 , 5 ▪ ( for there is but one Essential Divine Knowledg . ) And every one of the Three Persons loves himself and the other two , by the Third Person , who is Essential Divine Love , sec. 2. par. 9. ( for there is One only Essential Divine Love ) so that there are no more Relatives or Persons in respect of Knowledg and Love than Two. And albeit in respect of being known and beloved , there seem to be many several Relations in God , in that the Father , Son and Holy Ghost are each of them known and beloved of themselves , and of the other two likewise ; yet that falling out by reason of the Circuminsession ( as the Schools term it ) or mutual essential Inexistence of all the three Persons ; and not in respect of a primary-immediateopposite-Relation ( which alone constitutes a Person , sec. 2. par. 3 , 4 , 9. ) it rightly denotes no Pl●rality of Relations in God. For since the Divine Nature as Eternal Essential Truth , is the alone primary-immediate Object both of Divine Knowledg and Love ( for Truth is the adequate Object of all intelligent Beings as knowing and loving , or of the Intellect and Will ; as the sole perfection of them ) it is plainly consequent thereto , that the alone Primary-immediate Divine Object known and beloved is eternal essential Truth , ( the Origin and Fountain of the Divine Persons ; to wit , Eternal , Essential , Divine Truth begetting the Eternal , Essential , Divine Knowledg of its self is God the Father ; the Eternal , Essential , Divine Knowledg begotten of the Eternal , Essential , Divine Truth , is God the Son ; and the Eternal , Essential , Divine Love of the Eternal , Essential , Divine Truth known ( or which is the same , of the Father and the Son ) is God the Holy Ghost ) notwithstanding that there is an innate mutual knowledg and love of all the Three Persons by Circuminssession , whilst the Father is essentially in the Son , the Divine thing known being essentially in the Divine Knower ; and the Son is essentially in the Father , the Divine Knower being the essential Character of the Divine Thing known , sect. 2. par. 5. And the Father and the Son are both of them essentially in the Holy Ghost ; and He in Them , by reason of the essential Union of the Divine Love and the Divine Thing Beloved , sect. 2. par. 9. Whence it necessarily comes to pass , that whatsoever can be truly spoken or predicated of God , is mutually in all the Three Persons , and may be rightly spoken and predicated of every one of them , as well as of the Divine Nature , Essence or Being ; save only what the Primary-immediate-relativeopposition ( which , as has been shewn , is but threefold ) as such , puts a Bar unto .

Objection 4.

It is worthy of Consideration , whether the men of this Age may not make the same use of your Discourse , that the Mahometans and Jews do of others like it , utterly to dislike the Trinity .

Answer .

Since the Reason , why the Mahometans and Jews , and other Antitrinitarians , as have any real love and value for Truth , disbelieve the Trinity , seems chiefly to be this , that they are fully perswaded there can be no part of Divine Revelation which is certainly opposite to right Reason , and yet cannot apprehend but that the Doctrine of a Trinity of Persons in Vnity of Essence is contradictory ; in probability an Essay of this kind should rather do good than harm to men of such Perswasions , if so be it afford any the minutest true , though never so glimmering , Light of the but possibility of the Truth of the Doctrin of the Holy Trinity , to human Reason ; because the Revelation of the Divine Persons in Scripture would be apt to find a more easie reception in their Minds thereby , than if they still remain'd strongly possessed with an Opinion , that the Doctrin of a Trinity of Persons in Vnity of Essence was impossible to be true , through the sense and perswasion they had of its absolute Contradiction to Reason , being rationally prepossessed that one Truth cannot be really opposite to another .

Objection 5.

Against what I find writ , sect. 3. par. 7. namely , that God ever does of necessity , yet voluntarily , what is best all things considered , I offer an Objection from an ingenious Author in his Treatise of the Nature and Extent of the Divine Dominion and Goodness , which is this ; God has power to take back from us all or part of what he has given us , i. e. he can utterly destroy our Beings , or take from us so many Comforts of Life , and inflict upon us so many Calamities as shall leave us in a condition only preferable to that of Non-existence . For all that we have to render our Conditions more valuable than Not-being , is the free Product of the Divine Power . But 't is a certain and undoubted Truth , that every Authority has power to revoke all the free Issues of its own Power , unless it have abridged it self from the exercise thereof by some special Compact or Promise . For Compact or Promise lays an obligation on him that makes it , and vests a Right in the Person to whom it is made ; and therefore where Benefits are bestowed without these Instruments of conveying Right , there the Donor has the same Right to withdraw , as he had to give them , and therefore that God , who has given us our Beings , has full Power arbitrariously to destroy them .

Answer .

The presumed strength of this Discourse ( very ingenious and plausible , I confess ) lies in the supposed Certainty of this , That every Superior Authority has power to revoke all the free Issues of its own power , unless it have abridged it self from the exercise thereof by some special Compact or Promise . But it is not so certain and undoubted a Truth , as it is taken by the quoted Author to be ; for since he himself tells us , that Dominium est libertas propriis facultatibus secundum rect am Rationem utendi , and rightly , it is evident , that no Authority has a Right to exercise Dominion otherwise than according to Right Reason ; and therefore it is not only injurious to revoke a free Gift contrary to Compact or Promise ; but also , if in any other Respect whatsoever , it be not according to Right Reason to do it , this being the absolute Rule for the exercising Dominion by ; as from the following Instances will , I think , be evidently made appear ; the first of which shall be in a matter of small moment . A Pinner makes a Wire-pin , and when he has done , clips it into pieces , and throws it away meerly because he will , or for his sole Pleasures sake ; in doing this he neither wrongs any Person , nor the Pin , because it is his own , and he made it , yet in that he does an irrational Act ( in regard that Reason obliges every man to act in every thing for some good End , whereas this is plainly a vain and frivolous Action tending to no good ) he violates thereby his Rational Nature , and so injures himself ; which because Reason tells him he ought not to do , he exercises his Dominion over the Pin , not according to , but against Right Reason , which he is not impower'd by the Right of Dominion to do . The second Instance shall be in a matter of moment , as follows ; A Sovereign Prince has a just occasion to make War against a potent Enemy , and after due Consultation had with his most wise and faithful Counsellors resolves at length on a Person undoubtedly the fitest in all the Kingdom to be his General , and thereupon makes him so . The Prince afterward , notwithstanding he still upon prudent grounds esteems him a Person in every respect , for Fidelity , Valour and Conduct more requisite to be employed than any other in that Service ; yet , nevertheless out of Fancy , takes his Commission from him , and bestows the Command of the Army upon another , who through his ill Management is occasion of its Overthrow ; in this case , though the Sovereign does his Subject no wrong in removing him from the high and honourable Trust of being General , and conferring it on a Person far less worthy ; yet nevertheless he wrongs his own Reason ; and to be injurious to ones own Reason , is the principal Wrong , if well considered , that any man can do ; because of the most intimate Concern to every one , as being that which does Violence to Man 's very Natural Constitution , which is Rational and thence becomes the Original of all Injury , which any one does , either to himself or others . The third and last Instance , of many that might be brought , shall be in God himself , in manner following : Suppose the Almighty when he created the World to act therein ( as sure 't will be readily granted he did ) according to exact Wisdom , and that there is no less Reason to continue it being made , then there was at first to make it ; God in this case could not reduce it again to nothing without contradicting his own Reason , which because it is impossible for him to do ▪ it's impossible likewise to annihilate the Universe upon the account of its being the free Product of his Will ; not but that he has strength infinitely more then is sufficient to do it , but ( forasmuch as the Universe is the Result of his immutable Wisdom and Goodness ) that it can never enter into his Thoughts to do it .

If it be asked what advantage a Man has by Propriety in a thing above another Person that has no Right thereto at all , if he may not dispose of it as he pleases ; I answer this advantage , that he may make use of it according to Right Reason at his Pleasure , whereas any other who is not the Proprietor , cannot , without the Owners Leave first had , ever lawfully use it at all .

Objection 6.

From the infinite Goodness and Perfection of God , Divines usually prove the Necessity of the Eternal Communication of his Divine Nature to the Son and Holy Ghost ; and thence infer that the World was not a necessary , but free Product of the Divine Goodness , since otherwise the Almighty should have communicated Being to the Creature , no less necessarily , then he did his Essence to the Second and Third Person in the Blessed Trinity , and consequently an infinite Perfection , contrary to what is demonstrated , Sect. 3.

Answer .

Though I speak of Gods being necessitated to create , Sect. 3. Yet I expresly there say , that it is only by his Eternal immutable Wisdom and Goodness , and that they no otherways engage his Will , save only to make the best Choice ; not that God was ever undetermined in his Will , since it is impossible that his Wisdom , being essential to him , should not perpetually necessarily know ; and his Goodness no less essential to him , should not perpetually necessarily incline him to will , what is best or most agreeable to both , and equally impossible that his will , not really but notionly only distinct from either ( whatsoever is in God being God , Sect. 1. Par. 11. ) should not act according to them ; so that as all the internal Actings of God are essentially wise and essentially good , so are they likewise essentially necessary , whilst the Divine Wisdom , Goodness and Will are essentially the same , and his internal Actings nothing else but his very Will essentially actuated with Wisdom and Goodness , and by consequence eternally and necessarily so actuated . And therefore the Instance from the necessity of communicating the Divine Nature by the Father to the Son and Holy Spirit , for proof that the World was not necessarily created , in stead of disproving the necessity of the Worlds Creation , is clearly an Argument for it . For seeing the Communication of the Divine Nature is rendred by the Objection ( and truly ) the necessary Result of the infinite Goodness and Perfection of God , it plainly argues a greater Perfection in an intelligent Being , to act out of necessity of Nature , then to act with that Freedom which supposes a Liberty of acting , or not acting , or pleasure , and consequently , in regard there are no degrees of Perfection in God , who is essential Perfection it self , that the Creation was as well a necessary as voluntary Product of the Divine Will , and that the reason why the Universe is not of infinite Perfection answerable to the Maker of it , is from the Incapacity of the Subject , accordingly as was shewn , Sect. 3. Par. 1 , 2 , 3 , 8. the World being a Complex of Things , the perfectest that could be created , ibid.

Objection 7.

If the World could not have been eternal , as it is said in Sect. 3. Par. 4. that it could not ; the reason thereof must be , either because God could not have created it from Eternity for want of Power , or because the World it self was incapable of existing eternally : But neither of these is true ; not the former , because God is always alike Omnipotent , so that in respect of him the World might as well have been created from Eternity , as when it was ; nor the latter , because no moment can be thought on wherein the World could have been more capable to be created then in any other . Ergo , the World might have been eternal .

Answer .

The World was incapable of existing eternally ; for since the glorious Structure thereof was successively made , and not instantaneously ( as is clear from the account we have of its Origin , Genes. 1. and from these words also , On the seventh day God ended his Work which he had made , Gen. 2. 2. ) it implies a Contradiction that it should have been eternal ; for what was done on the second , third , fourth , fifth and sixth day of the Creation , could not possibly be eternal , otherwise whatsoever was done on any of those days would have been done as soon as that which was done on the first day , which is impossible , because what was not done till the second , third , fourth , fifth or sixth day could not be done before , unless the same thing might be done and not be done at the same time . And as what was done on the six latter days could not be eternal , so neither that which was done on the first ; for in regard the first day was only one day before the second , two days before the third , three days before the fourth , four days before the fifth , and five days before the sixth ; it is not possible that what was done on the first day should be any more eternal , then what was done upon any of the other , except the addition of one day to two , three , four , or five others could make their finite Number infinite . If it be said that this indeed rationally makes it out , that the World , supposing the manner of the Creation as it is related by Moses , could not be eternal . But what if God had pleased to create the World in its full entire Glory instantaneously at once , might it not then have been created from Eternity ? I conceive not , for otherwise there would have been infinite successions of times and things , which in Sect. 3. Par. 4. is made out to be impossible . And therefore although it be not very apparent to Mans Understanding , but that something instantaneously made by God might possibly be eternal . Yet that any such thing could be created from eternity , the Creation whereof would imply the supposal of contradictory assertions to become true from thence , ( as from the Eternity of the World , wherein things continually succeed one another the Creation thereof would do , Sect. 3. Par. 4. ) there 's no appearance of any possibility at all . Yea , if the Reasons given , Sect. 3. Par. 8. be found good . First , That God always of necessity acts according to the highest Wisdom and greatest Goodness . Secondly , That the Creation of any individual Creature , or single Species of Creatures would not have answered that his Wisdom and Goodness . Thirdly , That nothing but the very Complex of Beings which constitutes the Universe could have been created ; it seems necessarily to follow , that , in regard the World which exists could not have been eternal , nothing at all could have been created from Eternity .

Objection 8.

Whereas it is affirmed , Sect. 4 : that God created Man for his own Good , that he might inherit everlasting Bliss , the Holy Scripture tells us in express words , The Lord hath made all things for himself , even the wicked for the day of Evil , Prov. 16. 4.

Answer .

As to the former part of the Verse , The Lord hath made all things for himself , I find one Exposition of it in the Critics , against which , I think , nothing can be justly excepted , to wit , Omnia operatus est Dominus propter seipsum tanquam ultimum finem ; which as to Man's particular , I have shown , Sect. 4. Par. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. how it is most true . And the like must pari ratione be held of all other rational Animals , if any such there be in the Universe besides , as also of every Angelical Nature , whose Chiefest Good and Ultimate End and Perfection must consist in the Vision of God. Yea , and meer corporeal Substances , although they have not an immediate Tendency towards God , yet are they necessarily serviceable to Man ( at least ) who has , in that the circumstant material World is absolutely requisite to his Generation , Nutrition , Augmentation , Conservation , and even Perfection , whilst by the Organs of Sense , on which are no Operations wrought but by Corporeal Objects and Agents without him , he attains to the Knowledge , Admiration , and Love of God ; so that all things , either mediately or immediately appear to acquire their Vltimate End and Consummation in God. But to suppose the Almighty to have created all things so for himself , as that his Ultimate Aim in all his gracious and glorious Acts , was to Receive , and not wholly to Do Good , is to suppose an utter Impossibility to be an absolute Truth . For since nothing is good , but in respect of some Convenience of Profit or Pleasure which accrues by it to whom it is good , 't is clear , that God , in whom is the Fulness of Perfection , is totally incapable of receiving Benefit from the Creature . And no less impossible is it that he should acquire Pleasure or obtain Delight from any thing without himself ; for what is of infinite Excellency is infinitely delightful , which because the prime independent Being God is , he must needs be infinitely delighted in the Contemplation of himself ; and to say there can be an accession of Pleasure to infinite Pleasure , is in effect to say that Infinity is not infinite . But farther I shew the Impossibility of God's receiving Pleasure from any Performances of the Creature thus : Whatsoever Pleasure the Almighty has , it is either essential to him , or accidental ; essential he can have none , but what is necessarily intrinsecal to his very Nature , and such is not the supposed Pleasure arising from the Honour exhibited to God by the Creature . And to say that any Pleasure by way of accident is in God , or of a different Nature from his Essence , is to deny him to be the most Simple , and in Consequence thereto the most Perfect Being , for what is not most simple , is some way or other compounded , and all Composition denotes Imperfe●●ion , because in every Composition the Parts compounding must of necessity be of a finite and limited Nature ; for if either , or both Parts ( supposing there be only two ) were of infinite Perfection , there could be no Composition made , by reason that in one Infinite would be the entire Perfection of whatever could be in both Parts , and so there would be nothing more in the Whole or Compound , than in one Part thereof ; which since it is repugnant to the Nature of whole and Parts , the Reality of such a Composition is impossible , and cannot be in God who is essentially infinite in Perfection . As to the latter part of the Verse in the Objection , viz. even the Wicked for the Day of Evil ; Dr. Patrick in his Paraphrase on the Text tells us , That it hath exercised many Pens to little purpose , when the Sense is clear , which is this : The Lord disposeth all things throughout the World to serve such ends , as he thinks fit to design , which they cannot refuse to comply with ; for if any Men be so wicked , as to oppose his Will , he will not lose their Service , but , when he brings a Calamity upon a Country , employ them to be the Executioners of his Wrath. This Interpretation makes nothing at all against any thing I have asserted . But suppose the worthy Expositor should himself be mistaken , no less then he thinks many others to be , we may rationally conclude that no convincing Proof of any thing can be made from a Text , whose Sense is so dubious , that the determinate meaning of it cannot be assigned .

Objection 9.

In the first Petition of the Lord's Prayer , Hallowed be thy Name , we desire that God may be glorified ; in the second , Thy Kingdom come ; we pray for our own and other Mens eternal Glory or Felicity ; and therefore seeing God's Glory is desired in the first Petition , and Man's Glory or Felicity in the second ; God's Glory and Man's Felicity cannot be the same thing as they are said to be , Sect. 4. Solut. of the Objection there made .

Answer .

The Glory desired in the first and second Petition , is not adequately the same , but yet not totally different ; for in saying Hallowed be thy Name , we pray that God's name may be glorified by the whole Work of the Creation , of which Man being a Part , we petition that Mankind , together with the rest of the Universe ( except the Damned which are irrevocably lost ) may glorifie God , and chiefly in acquiring the respective End for which every thing was created ; and therefore though the eternal glorifying of God by Man prayed for in the second Petition , be not adequately the same with the glorifying God by the whole Creation , in obtaining universally its End , and observing the Laws appointed for procuring the same , desired in the first Petition ; yet is it the same with Mans particular ultimate End or Felicity ; which , inasmuch as it consists in loving God with all the Power and Strength of the Soul , and that such Love is the Honour which God requires to be given by Man to Eternity , ( Sect. 4. in the Solution of the Objection ) it is plain , that Man 's eternal Glory and Felicity is the same with his glorifying God for ever . Neither is it any Tautology ( which the designed Brevity of the Lords Prayer composed by Divine Wisdom necessarily , I confess , acquits it of ) when we have first prayed in general that the whole Creation , whereof Man is a Part , may glorifie God in the attainment chiefly of their respective Ends , to crave more particularly for our selves , and all others of the same Species with us , the End for which Man was created ; whilst to pray so first in general is a proper operative Means and Inducement to cause us to desire more concernedly and with greater ardency of Devotion , that we and our Neighbour may not our selves fail of the End of our Creation , when we have already begged that every thing whatsoever may acquire its Perfection . If God , you 'l say be glorified chiefly in the acquisition of the End for which things were created , it should seem that he is not at all glorified in the Damnation of Reprobate Men and Angels , in that they neither obtain the End for which Rational and Intelligent Natures were created , nor observe the Laws conducible thereunto ; I answer , that therefore they do not glorifie God after the manner intended in the Lord's Prayer ; yet their Condition nevertheless is not such , but that Glory redounds thereby to God , and that not only in regard of their Beings ( whereof they would not be deprived , as will hereafter be shown in the Answer to the 9. Obj. ) which are of God ; but also in respect that forsaking him , and placing their Affections on other Objects never to be obtained , they find themselves perpetually tormented , and thence of necessity own that their Sufferings proceed from their perverse Desires continued in , and that God is altogether Righteous , not at all rejoycing , or taking Pleasure , in their wretched miserable Condition , as he himself protesteth , As I live , saith the Lord God , I have no pleasure in the Death of the Wicked , Ezek. 33. 11.

Objection 10.

Death is said , Sect. 6. among other Miseries which befall Mankind , to be the Connatural Effect of eating the forbidden Fruit , which seems to be contrary to Experience , for Death is often caused by the Inequality and Corruption of the Air , 't is clear at least , that from thence do spring all Famins , Plagues , &c. and 't is incredible those things should not act upon Man , and cause Death , although his animal Spirits were ne're so rightly tempered . I know some say , that in the State of Paradise there was no Summer nor Winter , and so none of these things which are the Effects of such inequality of Seasons . And indeed those more noble and conspicuous Stars scattered through the Zodiac , that is on both sides the Ecliptic , are a great sign that the Earth at its first drying was turned just under the Ecliptic , and had its Axis still conformed to the Ecliptics Axis . Now if this had continued , I easily perceive all parts would have perpetually kept the same Relation to the Sun , so would have had a constant equability of Heat . But now we see it is otherwise , and I would gladly learn how the Deviation of the Earth's Axis from the Poles of the Ecliptic to the Poles of the Aequator , which is the cause of Winter and Summer , and of all Distempers in the Air , could be the connatural effect of the Fruit.

Answer .

To this Inquiry , in which the whole difficulty is wound up , I thus make answer ; Since it was the good Pleasure of God to prevent the grand sad effect which the eating of the Apple would of necessity have produced , I mean Adam's and Eves eternal Misery , in case they had not returned to love God as their Sovereign Good , it was requisite to let them understand the danger of transgressing the Almighties Command , not only in regard of what was past , but also of what was to come ; which to do in a way connatural and suitable to their State , seems in reason to have been the very same which the Almighty took . For whereas our first Parents were put into the Garden of Eden , abounding with Variety of what was good and grateful to them , thereby to incline them to be thankful , to give Praise and Honour to God , and above all , to love him as the Author and Giver of every good thing they enjoy'd , what so connatural a Course even to the eye of Human Reason could have been taken to bring them home to himself again by Repentance , as to turn them out of the pleasant Enjoyments they in the State of their Integrity had experienced ; and for that end to make the Earth so barren , as that without the Sweat of their Brows it should not yield them necessary Maintenance ? And then , forasmuch as God works not Miracles where natural causes are sufficient to effect his Purpose , 't is most reasonable to think , that the Earth was made less fruitful , in the way which in the Objection it is supposed that it might fall out , to wit , by causing that Motion of the Earth ( or Course peradventure of the Sun , it matters not whether ) which makes difference of Seasons , and alteration of the Air ; whence also Sicknesses and Diseases would be apt to grow , and so constant causes of Misery and Mortality be in all Ages ready at hand to put Men in mind of their frail and sinful Condition , and thence become ( not tormentive Revenges , but ) connatural Means , Motives and Inducements to make them fly with sorrow of Heart and full purpose of amending their Lives , ( for Wickedness even in the apprehension of the very Pagans was the Cause of the Calamities which befel Men ) to God for Succour , Help and Comfort , and so to build their Hopes , and put their Trust in him , and consequently to love him as their Sovereign Benefactor . If it be replied that what has yet been said falls short of resolving the main difficulty , which is , how the eating of the Fruit could be the connatural Cause , or a necessary Motive to God , for altering either the Course of the Sun , or the Motion of the Earth , by which the Air became distempered for the Sin of Man ? My Answer is , first , that admitting there was a Change either of the annual course of the Sun , or of the Motion of the Earth from what it was at first , it will , I think , be hard to give any other good account , why the Change was made , save only that which has been given already , namely for embarrening the Earth , and bringing Distempers and Diseases on Mankind , to drive them in a manner to have a sense of their sinful sad Condition , to the end they might cast themselves upon the Mercy and Goodness of God , and place their Affections on him for the same . But I answer secondly , that there is in truth no necessity to grant there was any different Course of the Sun , or Motion of the Earth , from what it was annually afterward ; for the Omniscient eternally comprehending at once what will ever be the Effects as well of all voluntary as necessary Causes , could not chuse but know that Adam would voluntarily fall from the State wherein he created him , and exactly at what time ; and therefore ordered from Eternity such a successively various Course of the Sun , or Motion of the Earth , as would be congruous both to the Estate of Mans Integrity , and of his lapsed Condition , for helping him on towards Felicity . For that Adams Continuance in Paradise was but short , may be rationally inferred from hence , that the crafty Serpent could not be ignorant that the longer our first Parents persevered in the Practice of Obedience , and frequent pious Duties , seriously performed to God , the harder still it would be for him to overcome them by his designed Temptation , in that Habits are evermore strengthened and confirmed by the iteration of Act ; and therefore , questionless he would not omit ( especially considering his violent restless Desire to do Mischief ) the very first opportunity of assailing them , ( and we do not read of any more Temptations of his offered to them but only one ) so that their Fall might very well be before the Airs Distemper could happen , though the annual Course of the Sun , or Motion of the Earth , was never different from what it is at present . If it be alledged , that such Knowledge in God as has been mentioned , must either be the cause of Adam's Fall , and consequently of Sin , ( which would be Blasphemy to affirm ) or else it must proceed from , and depend upon the Fall , as the Object whence it is derived ; ( which would be absurd to assert ) I answer , there is no necessity of granting either , for as to Sin , since it is a meer Privation Sect. 8. Par. 3 , 4. ) 't is impossible there should be any efficient cause thereof . And in that every Man knows his own Thoughts and Actions without a Monitor , or receiving notice of them from any thing besides himself ; is it not evident , that , if God be as primarily intimate to a Man's Thoughts and Actions , as the Man himself is , he 'l as primarily know immediately of and from himself the Man's Thoughts and Actions , as the Man himself doth from himself ? And that God is as primarily intimate to every Man's Thoughts and Actions , as the Man himself is , appears from hence , that in whatever any of them is distant from pure nothing , it has the same by the Divine Power , Will or Mind intrinsically concurring to the Production of it ; and so God must of necessity as primarily know it , and as intimately as the Man knows it himself . Nor is the mentioned Divine Concurrence , let Man's Thoughts and Actions be what they will , any cause at all of Sin , for Thoughts and Actions are never sinful as such , they are only sinful when , and as , they are directed and tend to a wrong end , ( and such Direction and Tendency proceeds wholly from Man , and not in the least from God ) by which the Mind is alienated and turned away from the Object of Felicity ; for in the Alienation and Aversion of the Mind from God , in whose Fruition Felicity is placed , doth Sin formally consist , Sect. 8. Par. 3 , 4.

Objection 11.

You assert , Sect. 4. par 14. That if Man had once enjoyed the Beatific Vision , he could never have fallen from Bliss ; for which though you produce there such reason , as to me , I confess , appears sufficient to make it out , yet the plausibleness of the Praeexistentiarian Hypothesis makes me somewhat doubt of the certainty of the Truth of your Assertion ; especially considering your agreement with it in this , that God does what is best for his Creatures ; and that it seems reasonable to think , that such a praeexistent state as is described in Lux Orientalis , Chap. 14. p. 113. was best for Rational Souls ; Of which Opinion I greatly desire to know what your Sentiments are .

Answer .

You put me upon a very ungrateful Task , for I love not to intermeddle with other mens Writings ; yet to afford you what satisfaction I can in a single Sheet , I will give you my Thoughts concerning the mentioned Hypothesis so far as relates to my Assertion . That the Beatific Vision once fully enjoyed , can never be deserted or lost : in pursuance of which , it will be convenient to transcribe the place you direct me to , which contains these express Words ; The Eternal and Almighty Goodness , the blessed Spring and Root of all things , made all his Creatures in the best , happiest and most perfect condition , that their respective Natures rendered them capable of ; and therefore they were then constituted in the inactuation and exercise of their noblest and most perfect Powers . Consequently the Souls of men , a considerable part of the Divine . Workmanship , were at first made in the highest invigoration of the spiritual and intellective Faculties , which were exercis'd in Virtue and in blissful Contemplation of the supream Deity . Here we see the chief Faculties of the Soul are supposed to have once enjoyed the perfectest Bliss for quality that their Natures were capable of ; which , if in truth it had ever been so , their Condition would have been in all reason eternally happy . For , First , The Intellect and the Will being in their highest inactuation and exercise , they could not purely of themselves without some Argument or Motive desert the Beatific Object , because the one most perfectly understanding , and the other most perfectly loving ( being in their highest invigoration ) the same , they should otherwise , without regard had to any Object withdrawing them from God , have left and forsaken what was most clearly known by the Intellect to be the Soul 's chiefest Good , and as such , practically delighted in with all the strength of the Will , which is a thing impossible , the Intellect being never drawn but by some Argument true or false ; nor the Will inclined without a Motive really or apparently good . Neither , Secondly , could the Souls copartner the Body , nor the inferior Powers , of the Soul relating to the Body , have drawn the supream Faculties from that which they fully experienced to be amiableness it self and the only true Felicity , to gratifie any or all of them ; for the Soul was united with the most subtil and aethereal Matter that it was capable of inacting , and the inferior Powers , those relating to the Body , being at a very low ebb of exercise were wholly subservient to the Superior , and employed in nothing but what was serviceable to that higher Life ; so that the Senses did but present occasions for Divine Love , and Objects for Contemplation , and the Plastic had nothing to do but to move this passive and easie Body , accordingly as the Concerns of the higher Faculties required . Lux Orientalis , Chap. 14. pag. 114. Whence it plainly appears that the Souls inferior Powers , and the Body were so far from having a stronger propensity to Objects of Sense , than the superior Faculties had an inclination to God , that those were wholly subservient unto these in the exercise of their proper Functions , and so could be no inducement to make them forsake their enjoyed Felicity Nor , Thirdly , could long continuance through Torpitude or Defatigation in performing their Offices be a Cause why the Soul should desert its Bliss , because when it shall be re-estated therein to Eternity , it shall ( according to the Praeexistentiaries ) have a Body of the like pure aethereal Matter , and the same innate triple congruity for ever which it had at first . For since the supream Faculties were by Creation in their highest inactuation , exercise and invigoration that their Natures rendred them capable of , and the Soul united to the most tenuious , pure and simple Matter as the fittest instrument for the most vigorous and spiritual Faculties ( as the Author of Lux Orientalis , Chap. 14. pag. 114. expresly says they were ) the first and last state of Soul and Body will not be different ; which if really so , then if ever we had been in perfect Bliss , we should have continued therein to Eternity ; for the last Estate of the Blessed shall abide , the Praeexistentiaries grant , for ever .

The Annotator upon Lux Orientalis , I know offers , pag. 116 , 117 , 118. several things to evade this Consequence , That if the last estate of the Blessed be unalterable , the first would have been so also ; for he says ,

First , That it may be a Mistake , that the Happiness is altogether the same that it was before . For our first Paradisaical Bodies from which we lapsed , might be of a more crude and dilute Aether , not so full and saturate with Heavenly Glory and Perfection as our Resurrection-Body is .

I answer , that tho the Annotator makes some scruple whether the Body was by Creation such as the Author has described it to be ; yet I do not find that he differs from him as to the state of the Soul ; which in regard it was in its highest inactuation , exercise and invigoration , the Body that it might be adapted thereunto , was of necessity to be of the most subtil and pure aethereal Matter that the Soul was capable of inacting ( as the Author , we have seen , says it was ) or else there would have been that disproportion between the Soul and Body , as that the praeexistent state should not have been the best that Rational Nature was capable of , which the Praeexistentiaries cannot admit of to be true without yielding the very Foundation of their Hypothesis to be subverted thereby , since they lay it ( as hath been seen ) in this , That the Eternal and Almighty Goodness , the blessed Spring and Root of all things , made all his Creatures in the best , happiest , and most perfect condition that their respective Natures rendred them capable of . The Annotator's first Reason why happy Souls might formerly fall , albeit they shall never hereafter in the future world do so again , being , you see , of no validity , let 's proceed to examine the rest ; for he saith , 2ly . The Soul was then unexperienced ; and lightly coming by that Happiness she was in , did the more heedlesly forgo it , before she was well aware , and her Mind roved after new Adventures , although she knew not what .

3ly . It is to be considered whether Regeneration be not a stronger Tenure for enduring Happiness , than the being created happy . For this being wrought so by degrees upon the Plastich 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 with ineffable groans and piercing desires after that divine Life that the Spirit of God co-operating exciteth in us : When Regeneration is perfected and brought to the full by these strong Agonies , this may rationally be deemed a deeper tincture in the Soul , than that she had by meer Creation , whereby the Soul did indeed become holy , innocent and happy ; but not coming to it with any such strong previous Conflicts and eager Workings and Thirstings after that state , it might not be so firmly rooted by far , as in Regeneration begun and accomplished by the operation of God's Spirit gradually , but more deeply renewing the Divine Image in us .

4ly . It being a renovation of our Nature into a pristine state of ours , the strength and depth of impression seems increased upon that account also .

5ly . The remembrance of all the hardships we underwent in our lapsed condition , whether of Mortification , or cross Rancounters , this must likewise help us to persevere when once returned to our former Happiness .

6ly . The comparing the evanid Pleasures of our lapsed or terrestrial Life with the fulness of those Joys that we find still in our heavenly , will keep us from ever having any hankering after them again .

7ly . The certain knowledg of everlasting punishment , which if not true , they could not know , must be also another sure bar to any such negligences as would hazard their setled Felicity , Which may be one reason why the irreclaimable are eternally punished , namely , that it may the better secure eternal happiness to others .

8ly . Though we have our triple vital congruity still , yet the Plastick Life is so throughly satisfied with the Resurrection-Body , which is so considerably more full and saturate with all the heavenly Richness and Glory than the former , that the Plastick of the Soul is as entirely taken up with this one Body , as if she enjoyed the Pleasures of all the three Bodies at once , Ethereal , Aereal and Terrestrial .

Since the Annotator in the first Argument he offers , why Souls will not lapse in their future state , as they did in their first ▪ says only , that our first Paradisiacal Bodies might be of a more crude & dilute Ether not so full and saturate with heavenly Glory and Perfection as our Resurrection-Body ; but in his eighth Argument positively affirms that the Resurrection-Body is considerably more full and saturate with all the heavenly Richness and Glory than the former ; yet without any reason alledged for the same ; and that also in his fourth Argument he calls our last state the renovation of our pristine state ; and in his fifth Argument our former happiness ; his Assertion in the eighth Argument appears to be precarious , besides that it plainly contradicts the Author's description of the first Paradisiacal Body , backed with Reason ( unconfuted by the Annotator ) as in my Answer to the first Argument was observed . Yea , considering that Man's Nature is capable of all the Glory of the Resurrection-Body , if the Glory of our first Bodies was inferior to it , the Foundation of the Praeexistentiarian Hypothesis is totally razed ; which is , That the Almighty made all Creatures in the best Happiest , and most perfect Condition that their respective Natures rendred them capable of . This in Answer to the eighth Argument . And as to the 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 , all the Motives recited in them for causing the Soul to persevere in Bliss once again obtained , by fixing its Affections unalterably on God , fall so far short of the immense Power , Force and Efficacy which the full Fruition of God by clear Vision affords to that end , that the Disproportion between them , in that very respect , is unspeakable ; insomuch that if the Soul were capable of infinite influx , the Beatific Vision would infinitely ravish it with the Delight thereof . And therefore , if ever we had been in that height of Felicity which the Author of Lux Orientalis , chap. 4. p. 113. holds we once enjoyed , we could not voluntarily have deserted the same ; and that God , by whose meer Goodness it was bestowed , should have thrust us from it , is incredible ; and if neither we had forsaken God , nor God us , we should certainly have remained for ever happy . If it be said , that the triple vital Congruity would have been given by God in vain , if it had never been exerted , my Answer is , that all good Souls did not lapse , but that some still continue in Bliss , Lux Orientalis , Chap. 14. p. 119. And the Annotator in his eighth Argument , we saw , allows the triple vital Congruity to accompany us in the next world ; in case there be any such thing as that Congruity is said to be .

9ly . The Annotator concludeth thus ; And lastly , which will strike all sure , He that is able to save to the utmost , and has promised us eternal life , is as true as able , and therefore cannot fail to perform it .

This , I own , strikes all sure indeed ; but to have recourse to the Divine Promise to do it , is , after all the high Efforts of Wit and elegant Philosophical Essays that have been used by the Praeexistentiaries , to leave their fine Hypothesis to shift at length as it can , for any help that 's to be had from Philosophy at the upshot of all , when it should have received its consummation from it ; and might in reason have expected it , if in truth it had been really founded on a sound Philosophical Bottom . For though the Promise of God must of necessity stand firm , yet in that he does not use to accomplish the same , but by something which immediately brings it to pass , and establisheth it , there must be a more immediate Cause of fixing the Saints in everlasting Bliss , than the Divine Promise ; and the Beatific Vision is ( as has been shewn ) that very Cause .

Angelic Nature , you 'l say , is a much more sublime and excellent Constitution than Humane ; and therefore the lapsed Angels fell from an higher pitch of Glory than the Praeexistentiaries suppose lapsed Souls to have done ; I answer , That comparatively they did not ; for the Author of Lux Orientalis writes , that Blessed Souls were in the highest Bliss their Natures rendred them capable of . But the Angels that fell never attained to the highest Felicity they were capable of enjoying ; for though they saw , in the Glass of the Creature , and more especially in that most clear one of their own pure Natures , the Divine Excellency ; yet they never saw it immediately in it self , and to do that is the alone highest degree of Bliss that Rational and Intellective Beings can attain unto ; which Supream Glory , if they had once been possessed of , they could never have lost it . For since Good is the proper and adequate Object of Desire , it implies a Contradiction , that what is immediately seen or known and experimentally found , to be essential Goodness , which God is , should ever be voluntarily deserted by Men or Angels ; for otherwise they should decline good under the very Notion of good , and thereby cease to be what they essentially are , ( a thing impossible ) for it is the essential Nature of the Will to love good as good . By what hath been said in this last Paragraph it is easie to apprehend the Cause of the different final condition of good and bad Angels ; for as the good Angels , by reason of the free and full conversion of their ardent desires to enjoy the immediate sight of God , were accordingly rewarded with the Beatific Vision , which makes them eternally most happy ; so the bad Angels on the contrary , through their voluntary aversion from God , in preferring something in their Affections , before the fruition of their Maker by immediate Vision , deprived themselves for ever of that Blissful Sight ; and by their Conversion to the more valued Object of their inordinate desire violently affected , but never to be obtained , render their Condition most miserable to Eternity .

But after all this , though the highest state of Bliss be an illapsible Condition , and cannot after it is gained , be fallen from , may it not however be reasonably enquired , whether there might not have been a lapsible praeexistent state of Men not unlike to that of Adam's in his Innocency , but coming much nearer to Perfection than his did ? And if there might , why , considering that the almighty Goodness does always what is best for the Creature , there really was not such a State ? My Answer is , that from the seeming possibility of such a State , it cannot be rationally evinced that the actual Existence of it would have been best ; as may be seen from the Annotator's Answer to one , who would needs prove the Sovereignty of God's Will over his Goodness from hence , that it would have been better to have created the World sooner than he did ; the Answer is this , If the World could not be ab aeterno , [ which the Annotator had elsewhere made good it could not ] but must commence on this side of Eternity , and be of finite years , I leave to the Opposer to prove that it has not been created assoon as it could be ; and that is sufficient to prove that its late Production is not inconsistent with that Principle , that God's Goodness always is the measure of his Actions . For suppose the World of as little continuance as you will , if it was not ab aeterno , it was once of as little ; and how can we discern but that this is that very time which seems so little to us ? Annotations upon Lux Orientalis , Chap. 9. pag. 59. This I take to be no less a solid , than ingenious Answer to the Objection ; but withal think that it affords a sufficient ground of Argument whereby to evince , that no Hypothesis whatsoever of a praeexistent happy State can be rationally founded on this Presumption , that it was better or more agreeable to the Divine Wisdom that it actually should be , because in appearance , convenient and possible that it might be . For supposing the Creation of the World to be good for the Creature ( as no doubt it is , it being impossible that the Creator should be bettered thereby ) how apt will Man's narrow Reason be to suggest from thence , that the sooner it was created , the better it would be for them . And yet nevertheless , considering that Wisdom and Goodness are essential to God , so that he cannot but do , what all things reckoned upon , is absolutely best ; and that we are ascertain'd by inerrable Testimony of the late Creation of the World ; we must of necessity conclude that we are deceived in thinking that it had been better that the World should have been of long continuance . And therefore we can be no more certainly assured , that there really was a praeexistent happy state of Souls , because it seems to our short Reasoning , that it would have been better for them ; then it doth follow , that the world had continued longer than the holy Scripture assures us it hath , because in appearance it would have been better for the Creature , for whose Benefit it was made , that it had done so .

Objection 12.

If the only end designed by God in creating the World , was to communicate and to do good to the Creature ; and that being immutable he still retains the like Kindness and Good-will to them which he did at first ; I see no possibility of giving any good account , why the Almighty , whose Will is irresistable , either created not Men and Angels in an indefectible State , or at least preserved not all , as well as some of them from endless Misery . But the difficulty in that respect vanisheth , if it be indeed true , which is usually said , that Gods ultimate Intent in creating the World , was to glorifie himself in the final Condition of Men and Angels ; and that , either by shewing his absolute Soveraignty and uncontroulable Dominion in making a Decree of Election and Reprobation antecedent to any Covenant between himself and the Creature . Or else by making known his Justice , executed upon some Offenders , and his Mercy exhibited to others , after Terms of Reconciliation had been propounded by the Creator , but could not be observed on the Creatures part , save only by some few predestinated ones . Or lastly , by executing due Vengeance , after sufficient ( however inefficacious ) Grace tendred to all , upon the wilful Rejecters thereof , and by rewarding with Beatitude the cordial Embraces of it . All which Opinions , though different from each other , yet they every one of them centre in this , that the Almightie's great and ultimate End in creating the World , was , to glorifie himself eternally in the final Estate of the Elect and Reprobate Men and Angels .

Answer .

Since every thing done by God as well as Man ought to be done for some good End , and that the Divine Nature is totally incapable of any good , either of Profit or Pleasure , save only what is eternal and essential to him , ( Sect. 8. Solut. of Object . 1. ) it necessarily follows that God created not the World to acquire any good at all to Himself , and consequently that it was wholly framed to procure the Benefit of the Creature . This allowed of to be true , there must be some other cause known to God , why he created not Men and Angels in an indefectible State , or at least prevented not every ones eternal Ruine , than that he sought to acquire to himself everlasting Glory by the manifestation of his Power , Justice and Mercy , in the final Salvation of some , and Damnation of others of his Creatures , albeit the same could in no respect whatsoever be discerned by Man what it is . But yet it is not , I think , a thing totally estranged from Human Reason to conceive and apprehend how , and in what respect it is better for the Creature , that the World was created then otherwise , notwithstanding that some , both Men and Angels perish everlastingly . For let it be considered that it was agreeable to the Divine Wisdom and Goodness to communicate Being ; and withal , that it was impossible to create any single Creature , or Species of Creatures , however excellent ( Sect. 3. Par. 8. ) and our reason will straightway lead us to discover , that the infinitely wise and good God propounded to himself , the creating such a Complex and Universe of Beings , as that the most comprehensive and excellent End , which whatsoever could be created , should in its whole Latitude be possibly able to aspire to , might be attained . Which great and noble End each part of the Universe , in its proper Station , was by the Almighties admirable Disposal and ordering , to concur together to produce under himself , the principal Cause , always promoting the same on his part , yet so , as that he leaves every second intermediate Cause to act according to its own Nature , ( save only in some cardinal Instances where the Divine , Wisdom sees a necessity of an extraordinary or miraculous working above Nature , to prevent a Failure too great , in respect of the grand designed End , to be permitted ) since otherwise the World would have been made to small , or no effect . Wherefore seeing Man of all the Creatures upon Earth is alone Rational and determins himself to Action , his Nature would be violated ( which were in effect to unman him ) if he should be otherwise moved or wrought upon to act , than according to his own voluntary Choice founded in the Rational Faculties of the Soul , the Intellect and the Will . Which Choice , if it be made according to Right Reason in an hearty preferring the Love of the Creator before the Love of the Creature , ( or in placing the Souls Affections upon God as its sole Supream Good , and on all other things as subservient to the Enjoyment of him ) will bring every Man in the World , who shall leave it with such an habitual Affection , at length to Beatitude , ( Sect. 12. Par. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. ) But if the Choice be made against Right Reason , in valuing the Enjoyment of the Creature above the Enjoyment of God , ( or in fixing the Hearts Desires on earthly Vanities , as the chief Delight thereof ) 't will bring upon every one departing this Life habitually so affected , everlasting Misery ; yet such as is nothing else but an effect or necessary Result immediately flowing from the continuance in , and persuance of their own foolish Choice made in their Life-time ; ( Sect. 7. Par. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. ) and how plainly equitable is it , that their Condition should not be less miserable then the Measure of their own Desires , whether for Degree or Duration shall make them ? So that considering the ineffable endless Joys which myriads of glorified Saints and Angels will have ; and that the damned Souls and Devils ; by persisting in a perpetual eager Thirsting after those things they shall ever be frustrated of , not only wilfully deprive themselves of Bliss , but are also thereby their own eternal Tormentors ; ( for the sin of the Devils whereinsoever it particularly consisted , was for certain the desire of something they earnestly wished , and preferred the obtaining of before the Fruition of God , and which they shall ever affect , seeing they will never repent of the Wickedness of their Thoughts , and yet shall always be disappointed of ) it is apparent , that it is much more agreeable to Reason , that it is much more agreeable to Reason , and suiting also with the Divine Attribute of Gods eternal Goodness , that upon the Account now given , the World should rather have been created then not , though diverse of the noblest part of the Creation undergo perpetual Misery ; then it is upon their Hypothesis , who say , that God justly inflicts eternal violent Pains on Reprobate Men and Angels for the vindicating of his Glory ; which , in truth , can neither be encreased by all the due Performances of the best of his Creatures , nor diminished by the Disobedience of the very worst of them . Add to this ( for a still more clear manifestation of the Reasonableness of God's creating the World , notwithstanding the endless affliction which befalls part of the Creatures ) that the State of the Damned is , in their own Thoughts , so much more preferable to Non-existence , as that their Minds are so set and fixed upon their ardently beloved Objects , that they would not forgo and part with the longing desire and Love they have to them , for the possession of Bliss ; it being impossible that they , whose Affections are totally bent on Riches , Honour , Luxury , Revenge , &c. should have any real desire to be united to God with the entire affection of their Spirit , in which Felicity doth alone consist . If it be objected , that since the Reprobate , for fear only of the Judgment of the last day , shall call upon the Mountains to fall upon them and hide them , how much more is it probable , that they 'l desire to be annihilated and cease to be , when they feel the intolerable Pains of Hell ? I make answer , that albeit the Wicked are terribly afraid of the Day of Doom , and that the Damned rage for the extremity of their Torments ; yet it is not consequent thereto , that they 'l desire Non-existence to avoid them . For though it were granted to be really in it self more eligible not to exist , than to suffer exquisite Torments ; yet since the Reprobate do not desire what would be better for them , but what they judge to be so ; unless it be true , that they are actually willing to desert , and for ever to forgo the love of those things which they have absolutely and fully fixed their Affections on , it cannot be , that they should steadily desire not to be , because a permanent adherence of Mind to the Objects of their Lusts , and a real desire of Non-existence are inconsistent together . And that the Damned will never desert the Love they have to the Objects of their Lusts , may be apprehended from this , that , seeing they have adjudged them to be absolutely good and necessary , as without which they cannot think of any satisfaction to themselves ; to suppose their Affections taken off the Objects of their Lust , were in effect to suppose them to love , and not to love the same thing at once . And therefore though the Damned should have such Thoughts as these , we wish we had never been born , we wish we were annihilated ; yet in regard they nevertheless continue their strong and pressing desires towards their coveted Objects , it is an argument , that the latter are their fixed Affections , and the former only incompleat wishes , since they cannot be cordially possessed of both at the same time , an absolute unbridled lusting after their beloved Objects , and an absolute fixed desire of Non-existence , being utterly inconsistent together .

Objection 13.

Some Sinners are taken away in their younger years ; others permitted after a long and wicked Life to die in their Sins ; some great Sinners converted and eternally saved ; other less Offenders left to eternal Misery ; whence it seems to follow , that the Almighty acts as in unsearchable Wisdom , so most freely therein , for his own Glory ; and that consequently everlasting Woe and Misery are not necessary Results and Effects of Sin , but Punishments inflicted by God for the same .

Answer .

That some men die sooner , some later , is generally from the Power and Force of natural Causes , which are ordained and ordered indeed by God , yet not on purpose to bring this or that particular Person to his End , at this or that appointed time , and after this or that precise manner ; but they have their natural Influence , and set determinate Course in the Universe , to contribute every one of them in their Kind and Station , to the bringing to pass the most comprehensive and excellent End , which whatsoever could be created , should in its amplest Extent be possibly able to produce or arrive at , ( Sect. 3. Par. 8. ) under the Influence and Course of which Causes manifoldly different as every single Person falls , he comes accordingly to the Period of his Life ; whence it happens , that this Man dies in his Infancy , another in his Youth , a third in his Middle-age , and a fourth in his Old ; that some are drowned by Water , some hurt by Fire , others perish by Cold , &c. and yet who can soberly think that the Causes which bring these things to pass were purposely ordained , and had their Natures and Courses given and appointed them for that very end ? especially if we reflect that some men poison others , some themselves ; for none will sure be so wicked , as to affirm , that God either instigated the Murtherers , or gave the Poison its venemous Nature out of design to destroy the Persons murthered . That Men therefore die at different Ages , and after different manners , proceeds not , generally speaking , from the determinate Council and Will of God ; and if sometimes he purposely destroys any flagitious Persons , as he did Korah , Dathan and Abiram , he designs it to be a Warning to others , not to imitate them in their gross Impiety ; and at that time , when he knows the Offenders will rather grow worse , than ever after come to amendment . And as Man's Condition here , for any Decree of Gods to the contrary , is as good as can be , considering the Causes Natural and Moral which render his Condition what it is ; so will his State hereafter likewise be , the necessary and voluntary Causes considered , which bring him to it ; of which Causes the Variety in respect of all Mankind is so great at all times , and so differently circumstantiated in their Influence and Application ; and the Subjects to be wrought on so contrarily often disposed one to another , that it is easie to conceive , that they may very well become effectual Means of Conversion to some great Sinners , while other less Offenders are not moved to a thorow Amendment by them ; so that the dying of men in their Sins cannot justly be so attributed to the Divine Will and Pleasure , as if the Almighty suffered them to perish out of pure design for the manifestation of his Glory ; the infallible Word expresly declaring to us the contrary , God is not willing that any should perish , but that all should come to repentance , 2 Pet. 3. 9. And again , who will have all Men to be saved , and to come unto the knowledge of the Truth , 1 Tim. 2. 4. To which knowledge , though they do not all attain , yet is the Word of God no less firm and sure . Why all . Men in the World have not heard of God's infinite Love manifested in the Death of Christ , many Causes may be assigned all grounded on Gods infinite Justice and Mercy . Of Christ's Death many which heard not , might have heard ; many which are not , might have been Partakers , save only for their free and voluntary Progress from evil to worse , or wilful refusal of Gods loving Kindness daily proffered to them in such Pledges , as they were well content to swallow , foolishly esteeming these good in themselves , being good only as they plight the truth of God's Love unto them , which he manifested in the Death of his Son. With this manifestation of his Love many again out of meer Mercy have not been acquainted , lest the sight of the Medicine might have caused their Disease to rage , and made their Case more lamentably desperate . Dr. Jackson in his Treatise of the Divine Essence and Attributes , Cap. 17. Paragr. 3. All which ( I mean that hath been said in the whole Answer to the Objection ) considered , together with this , that it was not only better to create than not to create , but also that no other World could be created , save only that which doth exist , ( Sect. 3. Par. 8. ) 't is clear that the Almighties Wisdom and Goodness are justified even to the Eye of Human Reason , notwithstanding the different times and ways of men departing Life , either in respect of Age , or of dying more or less in Sin.

Objection . 14.

From the Instances given in the explanation of the Seventh Commandment ( sect. 19. ) you seem to hold , that there can be no external Sin in the Body , of any one denomination , where there is not an internal Sin in the Soul of the same kind , from which alone the exterior Act , as being produced by it , can be called sinful . Against this Opinion I offer it to your Consideration , whether there may not be external Idolatry , where there is no internal ; as suppose an Idol be commanded by the Magistrate under pain of Death to be worshipped by bowing down before it , and a Christian to save his Life , bows his Body towards it , but at the same time abominates the Idol in his heart , so as that he is far from giving any internal Honour to it ; and yet surely you will not say , but that he commits the Sin of Idolatry , and may be justly censured by the Church as an Idolater .

Answer .

Since the Christian instanced in does what is commanded so far forth , as that the Lookers on have sufficient cause to believe he has committed Idolatry , the Church ought to esteem and censure him as an Idolater for what he has done , by reason it cannot judg of the Heart , but by outward Signs , and inappearance he has committed Idolatry . But yet if you 'l go to the exact definition of Idolatry , you 'l find the Fact comes not within the compass of it ; ( and that Sin , which will not come under the definition of Idolatry , you must needs grant cannot be , truly speaking , the Sin of Idolatry ) for Idolatry is a Crime which exhibits the honour due to God alone , to another Object ; and therefore , since the bowing down of the Body is not an Act appropriated to the Divine Majesty , for we lawfully and laudably bow unto our Prince , Parents , and others in Authority over us ( of which there are several Examples in Holy Writ ) it is evident , that the mentioned act of bowing towards the Idol is not Idolatrous according to the definition of Idolatry . To make this more plain by an Instance , let 's suppose another Christian to be brought before the Idol , and commanded to bow unto it as the other did , which he likewise in appearance does by stooping down , that he may catch it by the feet to overthrow it , and according to his intent , casts it with scornful indignation to the ground ; in doing of which he gives full satisfaction to the Beholders , of his abhorrence of performing any manner of Worship to it , notwithstanding that they all see him bow towards it as low as the other did , & judg him an Idolater , till the Reason of his incurvation becomes apparent to them , by seeing the Idol so contemptuously used at the length . Is then , you 'l say , the formerly spoken of Christian , who is granted to deserve the Churches Censure as an Idolater , no more guilty of Idolatrous Worship , according to the strictest Notion of Idolatry , than the latter ? I refer you to the definition of Idolatry , which cannot delude you , for answer . Is he therefore , you 'l peradventure reply , only sinful in the sight of Men , and not also in the sight of God ? Yes undoubtedly he is a very grievous Offender even before God , as well as men ; for he not only scandalizes Christianity , in giving the Enemies of it an occasion to triumph , in hardening them in their idolatrous Worship , and in encouraging them to proceed to persecute Christians with hope of desired success ; but also in disheartning of the weaker Brethren ; in making them to stagger in the Faith , and in grieving all the Members of Christ in general ; to do any one of which , is a great Sin , but to do all of them together , is a Crime of complicated Scandal to the Gospel of Christ , which at once instructeth and exhorteth , saying , Be not afraid of them that kill the Body , and after that have no more that they can do . But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear ; fear him , which after he hath killed , hath power to cast into Hell ; yea , I say unto you , fear him , Luke 12. 4 , 5. Whosoever shall confess me before men , him shall the Son of man also confess before the Angels of God : But he that denieth me before men , shall be denied before the Angels of God , Luke 12. 8 , 9. If any man will come after me , let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me . For whosoever will save his Life shall lose it , and whosoever will lose his Life for my sake , shall find it , Matth. 16. 24 , 25. So that the committing of Idolatry to the eye of the world , tho to save a man's Life , is an heinous Sin , both in the sight of God and all good men . If you say , that in some case even external Gestures of Body are appropriated unto God , as namely , when and where Divine Worship is solemnly paid by the Congregation to him ; I return , that if it be really so , then in that case the giving external honour to any thing besides God , is , I own , Idolatrous . But the example of the Jewish Congregation , 1 Chron. 29. 20. seems clearly to gainsay , that bodily Gestures betokening Honour , even at the time and place of exhibiting Divine Worship , are appropriated unto God ; for it is there written , And David said to all the Congregation , Now bless the LORD your God : And all the Congregation blessed the LORD God of their Fathers , and bowed down their Heads , and worshipped the LORD and the King. The last Clause of this Text is rendred in the Polyglot by the interlineary Version , Et inclinaverunt se & incurvaverunt se Domino & Regi ; in the Vulgar Latine , Et inclinaverunt se , & adoraverunt Deum & deinde Regem ; and in the Septuagint , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 . By all or any of which Words , there is not the least difference to be discerned of the external Honour which the Congregation gave to God and to the King ; the same corporeal Gesture being used alike to both ; and yet the honour intended to be given by that Gesture was certainly distinguished into Religious and Civil ; which we must therefore suppose to have been done by an internal Act of the Mind , exhibiting the former unto God , and the later unto the King. But besides that this particular place of Scripture necessarily requires this exposition for vindicating the Congregation from the guilt of Idolatry ; how plainly reasonable is it , that all bodily Gestures should be no otherwise regarded or valued , save as they proceed from the operation of the Soul , which commands and orders them to what end it pleases , since if they be considered apart from that , they are nothing else than animal motion ; but co-operating together with it in the same individual Act , whether good or bad , they are partakers with it therein , and from thence reputed to be virtuous or vicious , accordingly as the Act of the Mind , with which they concur to produce one and the same outward Action , is held to be .

Objection 15.

Although what for the surprizing Novelty of several things I meet with in your Treatise ; for the close connexion and consequences it is throughout continued with , and for the unexpectedly satisfactory Answers given to many difficult Objections made , as well by your self as others , I look upon it as a Piece , which if published , would not only very much delight the Reader , but also bring great benefit to the serious Perusers of it ; seeing it both clearly proves the absolute necessity of subduing mens Lusts in order to their eternal Salvation , and likewise plainly shews the Way by which the thing must be effected , and that so connatural and agreeable to man's Rational Nature , that every Step thereof will be grateful to as many as shall steddily pursue the same : Yet for all this I know not how it may please some of our Divines , especially in those Sections where you treat of the Blessed Trinity , of the Honour of God , of the Torments of Hell , and of the Meritorious Satisfaction of Christ , not that I think they will be able to find any thing in them which is erroneous or unorthodox , but because your Notions are unusual and peculiar to your self , which to men that by a long tract of time have habitually acquired another System of Theology , will peradventure not be wholly agreeable .

Answer .

As for my Notions about the Blessed Trinity , they are not new ; for Boetius in lib. de Trinitate circa finem , quoted by Aquinas ( p. 1. qu. 28. art. 7. ) writeth thus ; Similis est Relatio in Trinitate Patris ad Filium , & utriusque ad Spiritum Sanctum , ut ejus quod est idem ad id quod est idem , intimating that there is an Identity of Substance , but a Plurality of Relations in the Deity , which constitutes the distinct Persons . And St. Augustin explicating that Sacred Mystery by Mens , Notitia & Amor , calls Notitia proles Mentis , and Spiritus Sanctus Amor Patris & Filii , Lib. de Tr. & alibi . To these I will add one of the best and most esteemed of the Schoolmen , Aquinas ( to pass by others of them ) who founds the Doctrin of the Holy Trinity of Persons in Vnity of Essence , in the real Relations which are in the same divine Nature . 1 P. Quaest. 28. Art. 7.

And whereas writing of the Honour of God , I say , that he requires not any thing to be given him for his own sake , so as that some Pleasure or Advantage might really acerue thereby to himself , but for the sole Benefit of the Creature , I will produce the Sentence of two highly priz'd Authors among us , that I am not singular in that Opinion ; for Dr. Isaac Barrow in his Fourth Sermon speaketh thus ; God surely doth not exact honour from us , because he needs it , because he is better for it , because he ( for its self ) delights therein . 'T is only then ( which should affect our ingenuity to consider ) his pure Goodness that moves him for our benefit and advantage to demand it of us . And the Author of the whole Duty ty of Man , writeth thus ; God who is essentially happy in himself , can receive no accession to his Felicity by the poor Contributions of Men. He cannot therefore be supposed to have made upon intuition of encreasing , but communicating his Happiness . And this his original Design is very visible in all the parts of his Oeconomy towards Men , The Art of Contentment , sect. 1. par. 1.

What I say of the Torments of Hell , differs in nothing that I know of from Dr. Scot in his so much valued Book of the Christian Life , Chap. 3. p. 57 , 58. save only in the delicacy of his Phrase ; whose elegant words are these ; Though the coming into the other World will questionless improve those Souls which are really good before ; yet it is not to be imagined how it should create those good who are habitually bad , and if we retain in the other World that prevailing affection to these sensitive Goods which we contracted in this , it must necessarily render us unspeakably miferable there . For every Lust the Soul carries into the other World , will by being eternally separated from its Pleasures , convert into a hopeless desire , and upon that account grow more furious & impatient . For of all the torments of the Mind , I know none that is comparable to that of an outragious desire joyn'd with despair of satisfaction ; which is just the case of sensual & worldly-minded Souls in the other Life , where they are full of sharp and unrebated desires , and like starved men that are shut up between two dead Walls , are tormented with a fierce but hopeless hunger , which having nothing else to feed on , preys and quarries on themselves , and in this desolate condition they are forced to wander to and fro tormented with a restlefs Rage , and Hunger , and unsatisfied desire , oraving Food , but neither finding nor expecting any , and so in unexpressible Anguish , they pine away a long Eternity . And though they might find Content and Satisfaction , could they but diver their affections another way , and reconcile them to the heavenly Enjoyments , yet being irrecoverably pre-engaged to sensual Goods , they have no Savour nor Relish of any thing else , but are like Feverish Tongues that disgust and nauseate the most grateful Liquors by reason of their own over flowing Gall.

Lastly , if in any thing I have writ about Christ's meritorious Satisfaction , I peradventure fully accord not with some Divines , the difference , when the Matter is duly weigh'd , will prove , I hope , to be only verbal . For I assert , ( sect. 11. ) First , That Christ's death on the Cross was of infinite value and merit . Secondly , That by and through the same , Remission of Sin , Justification , and every other Good , whether of Grace or Glory , are obtain'd . Thirdly , That Christ's Crucifixion was as real and proper an expiatory Sacrifice for Sin , as any under the Law of Moses ( but of infinitely more value ) ever was . Fourthly , That God's Justice is de jure prevented thereby from being exerted agaist Sinners in their everlasting Destruction . The only difference then ( if any ) remaining is in this , That I cannot apprehend , what some others perchance think , viz. That Christ's Merits operate upon God , and work an Effect of Mercy and Favour in his Will , whereas I humbly conceive them to be a secondary efficient Cause subservient to God's Love to Man , for conveying and applying the same unto him , by being an effectual Means of converting his Affections from the Vanities of the World unto God , that he may be eternally saved ; for which I offer to serious consideration these following Reasons inducing me thereto . 1. That Christ's most gracious doings and sufferings for Man , are held by all Christians to be a Meritorious Cause . 2ly . That a Meritorious Cause is an efficient Cause . 3ly . That it is the Property of an Efficient Cause to work some real Effect . 4ly . That it seems plainly impossible that any real Effect should be wrought in God , who is impassible and immutable ( sect. 1. par. 8 , 9. ) for otherwise seeing whatsoever is in God is God ( sect. 1. par. 11. ) such an Effect would be God himself , and so the Merits of Christ would be the efficient Cause of the Deity . 5ly . That Christ's Merits therefore are not an antecedent , but a subsequent Cause to the merciful-lovingkindness of God to Man , by which the eternal Goodness actually confers all the happy Effects of divine Favour and Grace on him , whereby he is delivered from Sathan , Sin , and Damnation , and brought to everlasting Bliss .

If it be replied , that however plausible , yea , certainly true , this arguing be , yet there is something more in Christ's Suffering for the Sin of Man , than what hath hitherto been said , namely , the satisfying Divine Justice ; I answer , that strictly speaking , neither Justice nor Mercy , nor other Attributes of God are formally distinct , either from one another , or from the very Essence of the Deity ( Sect. 1. Par. 11. ) and therefore albeit I willingly grant , that Christ died for all men , even the Reprobate , as to me seems plain from these Words of the Apostle , But there were false Prophets also among the People , even as there shall be false Teachers among you , who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies , even denying the Lord that bought them , and bring upon themselves swift Damnation , 2 Pet. 2. 1. yet it was not to this very intent and purpose , that he should undergo those Pains and Punishments which were allotted for Sin , the everlasting Torments of Hell ; ( but to put Mankind thereby into a Way , State and Condition , that not any one should finally perish , save only such as embraced not the Mercy of God in Christ , manifested to the World in his Holy Gospel ) . for what Justice is it , that the Damned should suffer the Pains of Hell , in case Christ had as truly and fully satisfied for them , as if they had already undergone them themselves ? If it be answered , that the actual Benefit of Christ's Satisfaction only reaches to those who believe in him , and obey his Word , so as that they shall not perish , but have everlasting Life , I readily own that Christ's Merits and more especially his bloody Death and Passion , did in this sense abundantly satisfie Divine Justice , for by these he really affected , that none can justly be damned , to whom they are applied by a lively and efficacious Faith , ( Sect. 11. ) so that at the last day it will be equally just for God to render some for and through the Merits of Christ eternally blessed , as it will be to give up others for their Sins to be for ever miserably afflicted ; and contrariwise , it would be alike unjust to save the Wicked in that day , who do not believe in Christ and obey him , as to destroy the Godly , who believe and put their Trust and Confidence in him ; whose Death on the Cross was as real a propitiatory Sacrifice for Sin , ( but of infinitely more value ) as the annual expiatory Sacrifice under the Law , as by the explanation of the Nature and Efficacy of it will appear : The Sacrifice of Expiation was never compleat and perfect , nor had the designed and due Effect of its Institution , by the sole slaying and offering of the Beast , however rightly and solemnly performed both by the Priest and People , unless they added thereto the afflicting of themselves , as is plain by Levit. 16. ver. 29 , 30 , 31. In the seventh Month , in the tenth Day of the Month , ye shall afflict your Souls , and do no Work at all , whether it be one of your own Country or a Stranger that sojourneth among you . For on that day shall the Priest make an Atonement for you , to cleanse you , that ye may be clean from all your Sins before the LORD . It shall be a Sabbath of Rest unto you , and ye shall afflict your Souls by a Statute for ever . And again , Chapt. 23. ver. 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32. On the tenth Day of this seventh Month there shall be a Day of Atonement , it shall be an holy Convocation unto you , and ye shall afflict your Souls , and offer an Offering made by Fire unto the LORD . And ye shall do no work in that same day , for it is a day of Atonement to make an Atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever Soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day , he shall be cut off from among his People . And whatsoever Soul it be that doth any Work in that same day , the same Soul will I destroy from among his People . Ye shall do no manner of Work , it shall be a Statute for ever throughout your Generations , in all your Dwellings . It shall be unto you a Sabbath of Rest , and ye shall afflict your Souls on the ninth day of the Month at Even , from Even unto Even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath . Lo how strictly it was commanded by God , that every one should afflict himself , ( to wit , with Fasting and other pious Signs of Sorrow , as Interpreters agree ) and to what end , but that their afflicting themselves should work Contrition in them for their sins , that the Lord might be propitious to them ? for without Contrition the inward Sacrifice of the Heart , and a real turning from Sin unto God , ( to which the very External Rite of Sacrificing did contribute something ( I say something , for the Law made nothing perfect , Hebr. 7. 19. ) whensoever it was seriously perform'd with calling to mind , and detesting their Sin , which the Institution necessarily required ) the offering of the Victim was not at all grateful to God , but rather an Abomination to him , ( though in the sight of the People , who are not privy to the thoughts of the Heart , the Law was fulfilled thereby , and Offenders freed from Judicial Punishment ) as diverse Places of Holy Writ plainly shew ; To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me ▪ saith the LORD ? I am full of the Burnt-offerings of Rams , and the Fat of fed Beasts , and I delight not in the Blood of Bullocks , or of Lambs , or of He-goats . When ye come to appear before me , who hath required this at your hand to tread my Courts ? Bring no more ▪ vain Oblations , Incense is an Abomination to me , new Moons and Sabbaths , the calling of Assemblies I cannot away with , it is iniquity even the solemn Meeting . Your new Moons and your appointed Feasts my Soul hateth , they are a Trouble unto me , I am weary to bear them . And when you spread forth your Hands I will hide my Eyes from you ; yea , and when ye make many Prayers I will not hear , your Hands are full of Blood. Wash ye , make ye clean , put away the Evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes , cease to do Evil , Isa. 1. ver. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16. To what purpose cometh there to me Incense from Sheba ? and the sweet Cane from a far Country ? Your Burnt-offerings are not acceptable , nor your Sacrifices sweet unto me , Jerem. 6. 20. I hate , I despise your Feast-days , and I will not smell in your solemn Assemblies . Though ye offer me Burnt-offerings , and your Meat-Offerings , I will not accept them , neither will I regard the Peace-offerings of your fat Beasts , Amos 5. 21 , 22. But of the inward Sacrifice of the Heart , Contrition , thus saith the Royal Prophet , The Sacrifice of God is a troubled Spirit , a broken and contrite Heart , O God , shalt thou not despise , Psal. 51. 17. And in all sincere Contrition , a renouncing of Sin is always necessarily implied ; for whoever in good earnest bewails his sin , cannot while so doing continue in a voluntary course of sinning . There was then no Remission of Sin before God , even under the Law of Moses , but that Transgressors , notwithstanding their observance of its external Ordinances , were liable to Punishment , yea , and that Temporal also , as well as Eternal , as is evident from the Almighties afflicting the Jewish Nation with Plagues , Famines and Captivity for their sins , ( to prevent the sinning still anew , and consequently the Aggravation of the Pain of such as he knew would never be reclaim'd , and to be a Motive to the rest to leave their wicked ways ) in this World , and transmitting those that continued obstinate and impenitent to everlasting Misery in the World to come ; for no Repentance , no Pardon ; He that covereth his Sin shall not prosper , but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy , Prov. 28. 13. Let the Wicked forsake his Way , and the Vnrighteous Man his Thoughts , and let him return unto the LORD , and he will have Mercy upon him , and to our God , for he will abundantly pardon , Isa. 55. 7. It may be that the House of Judah will hear all the Evil which I purpose to do unto them , that they may return every Man from his evil Way , that I may forgive their Iniquity , and their Sin , Jerem. 36. 8. If the Wicked will turn from all his Sins that he hath committed , and keep all my Statutes , and do that which is lawful and right , he shall surely live , he shall not die . All his Transgressions that he hath committed , they shall not be mentioned unto him , in his Righteousness that he hath done , he shall live , Ezek. 18. 21 , 22. Neither are Sins remitted in the time of the Gospel , any more than they were in the time of the Law , unless forsaken , as might be proved from many Texts of the New Testament , of which , for brevities sake , I will produce some few plain ones ; Except ye repent , ye shall all likewise perish , Luke 13. 3. 5. Repent ye therefore and be converted , that your sins may be blotted out , Acts 3. 19. But shewed first unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem , and throughout all the Coasts of Judea , and then to the Gentiles , that they should repent and turn unto God , and do works meet for repentance , Acts 26. 20. Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity , 2 Tim. 2. 19. as if the Apostle had said , Let no Man presume that Christ will save any one who is a Christian , unless by virtue of his Christianity he depart from iniquity .

Since then it is apparent that there is no Pardon of sin without Repentance , and Conversion unto God , and that the design of the Sacrifice of Expiation in Moses's Law , was to be a Motive and Cause to incline Men to call their sins to remembrance , to be sorry for them , and to forsake them , without doing of which that Sacrifice had not the Effect intended by its Institution , as is clear from the Scriptures above recited ; it remains only to make it manifest , that Christ's Crucifixion was a proper Expiatory Sacrifice for Sin , to shew these two things . First , That he purposely came to suffer Death upon the Cross , to the end that he might convert men thereby from their sins to God. And Secondly , That there is no Condemnation to those that are so converted .

First , That Christ came on purpose into this World to die the Death of the Cross for this very end , that he might turn Mens Hearts from Sin unto God , these following Texts of Sacred Writ will irrefragably ( I doubt not ) evince ; When our Blessed Saviour told his Disciples of his Death near at hand , he said , Now is my Soul troubled , and what shall I say ? Father save me from this hour , but for this cause came I unto this hour , John 12. 27. And to what end came he unto it , but to destroy Sin by the Sacrifice of himself upon the Altar of the Cross , that Men might die unto Sin , and live unto Righteousness , whose Fruit is everlasting Life ? for so the two chief Apostles plainly tell us ; Now once in the end of the World hath he appeared to put away sin by the Sacrifice of himself , Hebr. 9. 26. Who his own self bare our sins in his own Body on the Tree , that we being dead to sin should live unto Righteousness , by whose Stripes ye were healed , 1 Pet. 2. 24. Knowing this that our Old Man is crucified with him , that the Body of sin might be destroyed , that henceforth we should not serve sin , Rom. 6. 6. That he died for all , that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves , but unto him which died for them , and rose again , 2 Cor. 5. 15. Who gave himself for us , that he might redeem us from all Iniquity , and purifie unto himself a People zealous of good Works , Tit. 2. 14. For if the Blood of Bulls and of Goats , and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the Flesh , how much more shall the Blood of Christ , who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot to God , purge your Conscience from dead Works to serve the living God , Heb. 9. 13 , 14. Which Scriptures since they evidently prove , that Christ came into the World to undergo Death , that by virtue thereof , we might die unto Sin and live unto Righteousness , or be converted from our wicked Courses to lead a godly Life , what I have now only remaining to do , is to prove ,

Secondly , That there is no Condemnation to those who forsaking their sins turn unto God , or that are converted from the Love of the World and worldly Vanities to the Love of God ; for the certainty of the truth whereof , we have the Testimony of Truth it self assuring us , He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them , he it is that loveth me , and he that loveth me , shall be loved of my Father , and I will love him , and will manifest my self to him , John 14. 21. And a little after , If a Man love me , he will keep my Words , and my Father will love him , and we will come unto him , and make our abode with him , Ver. 23. And St. Paul in express words saith , There is therefore now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus , who walk not after the Flesh , but after the Spirit , Rom. 8. 1. Nor is the truth of this Doctrine averred only by Scripture , but it is also evident to Human Reason ; for since Sin is the privation of the due Love of God in the Soul through the inordinate Love of the World ; ( Sect. 8. Par. 2 , 3 , 4. ) and that everlasting Misery is the necessary effect of the perpetual continuance in sin after this Life , ( Sect. 7. Par. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. ) 't is as manifestly impossible that he who has forsaken the Love of the World for the Love of God should eternally perish , ( unless he relapse and die in mortal sin , by leaving again the Love of God for the Love of the World ) as it is impossible that the same Man should love the World above God , and God above the World both together to eternity .

For what end Christ died for us , suffered for us , bare our sins in his own Body upon the Tree for us , the Word of God it self having expresly shewn , ( viz. That we being dead unto Sin should live unto Righteousness , 1 Pet. 2. 24. ) there is no need for the explicating those Expressions , that Christ either really transferred our sins from us to himself ; or took upon him the Punishment due to our sins , being the perpetual Loss of Heaven , and the everlasting Pains of Hell ; to assert any of which would be no less than Blasphemy . 'T is abundantly enough , that in regard Christ is Θεάνθρωπος , God-man , he underwent so much in behalf of Sinners , that his unexpressible Sufferings are a truly meritorious ( i. e. an efficacious efficient ) cause of cleansing us from sin , of justifying us , and of bringing us to Glory ; which they effectually are to as many as through a vigorous Faith rightly weigh the Value of them , whilst the due Consideration of the immense and unmerited Love of Christ to Man , manifested chiefly in his bitter and ignominious Death constraineth Men to forsake all worldly Pleasures for the Blessed Enjoyment of so gracious and stupendiously loving a God and Saviour , accordingly as St Paul averreth , saying , For the love of God constraineth us , because we thus judge that if one died for all , then were all dead , and that he died for all , that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves , but unto him which died for them , and rose again , 2 Cor. 5. 14 , 15. which words are thus cleared unto us by the learned Dr. Hammonds Paraphrase on the place : For our Love to Christ founded on his to us hath us in its Power to make us do whatsoever it will have us , making this Argument from this certain acknowledged truth of Christs having died for all Men , that then certainly all Men are Sinners lapsed in a lost Estate , and so hopeless unless they use some means to get out of that Estate , which that he might help us to do , was the Design of Christ's dying for all , that we might ( having received by his Death Grace to lead a new Life ) live no longer after our own Lusts and Desires , but in Obedience to his Commands that died and rose again to that end , ( to bless us in turning every man from his Iniquities , Acts 3. 26. ) 'T is clear then from what hath been said , that our Conversion to God was the very Design of Christ's Crucifixion , to the end we might be eternally saved , and not that he might so suffer for us as to really transfer our Sins , or the Punishment thereof , from our Persons to his own ; which that the words he bare our sins in his own Body on the Tree , so very much urged and insisted on by some , do not necessarily import , may be certainly gathered from another Text not unlike to this , When the Even was come they brought unto him many that were possessed with Devils , and he cast out the Spirits with his word , and healed all that were sick , that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the Prophet , saying , himself took our Infirmities , and bare our Sicknesses , Matth. 8. 16 , 17. for none questionless will affirm , that Christ transferred the Infirmities and Sicknesses , of those whom he cured to his own Body from theirs . When it is therefore said , that Christ bare our Sins , and bare our Infirmities , it is to be understood that he really cured both , and as truly by virtue of his Death takes away sin , and the eternal Punishment thereof , from all that by Faith apply it to themselves , as he took away diverse Infirmities by his Word from several who believed on him , so that the Socinians injuriously , and blasphemously deny the Divine Power and efficacy of the infinitely meritorious , and satisfactory Sacrifice of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ upon the Cross for the Redemption of Man , who by the eternal Love of GOD the FATHER , through the Merits of GOD the SON apprehended by Faith , wrought in the Heart by GOD the HOLY GHOST , is effectually delivered from the miserable Thraldom of Sin , Sathan , and Damnation ; for which ineffable undeserved Kindness is of Right therefore perpetually to be given to that ever adorable ,

TRIN-VNI DEO GLORIA .