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A44070 The creatures goodness, as they came out of God's hands, and the good mans mercy to the brute creatures, which God hath put under his feet in two sermons : the first preached before the University of Oxford : the second at the lecture at Brackley / by Thomas Hodges ... Hodges, Thomas, d. 1688. 1675 (1675) Wing H2319; ESTC R17986 37,570 50

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still obedient unto his Word The Angel destroys Senacharib's mighty Host The Stars in their courses sight against Sisera The Ravens feed Elijah The dumb Ass reproves the madness of the Prophet The Frogs and Flyes plague Pharaoh and the Egyptians The Lice or Worms devour proud Herod Aelian Var. Histor Lib. 4. Cap 28. and destroy profane and impious Pherecydes And so we are on a sudden fallen on an implicite Answer to our Third Query namely whether the Creatures be all now so good as when they first came new out of Gods hands How are the mighty Angels fallen and become Devils multitudes of them And over Adam and his posterity we may lament as David over Saul and Jonathan his Son a little alter'd 2 Sam. 1. The beauty of Paradise is slain upon the high places How are the Mighty fallen There the Shield of the Mighty was vilely cast away The Shield of Adam as if he had not been anointed with the Oyl of Sanctity and Soveraignty How are the Mighty fallen and the Weapons of war perished Man that was so very good when God made this general survey of his Creatures by sin became so very evil that Gen. 6. God repented and it grieved him at his heart that ever he made him How is the goodly Picture marr'd the beautiful Face deformed the sweet Instrument broken Bethel made a Babel or a Bethaven Light become darkness Man that was naturally very good become by nature very evil As for the inferiour Creatures Man's fall exceedingly crushed them yea brought a curse on his own head and theirs too So that now they are not generally so pleasant so useful so serviceable and obedient to us as they would have been if we had not sinned Rom. 8.20 Rom. 8.20 The Creature it self is made subject to vanity Which place if we understand in the most ordinary sense there is a two-fold vanity to which the Creatures are now subject 1. To be abused vainly by sinful Men to ryot luxury and excess And 2. The Creatures are subject to corruption And thus far we answer by way of concession that the Creatures are not so very good as they were at first But yet we say 1. That the Creatures are still good in respect of their essence or being which they have from God 2. With the Apostle Paul 1 Tim. 4.4 That every Creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving To the Pure all things are pure 3. And again That all things shall work together for good Rom. 8.28 to them that love God and are the called according to his purpose That if they touch any deadly things they shall not hurt them To them is the promise made Psal 91.13 Thou shalt tread upon the Lyon and the Adder and the young Lyon and Dragon shalt thou trample under feet Either there shall no evil betide us from the Creatures or God will turn it unto good to us 4. We say too that 't is good as things now stand 'T is for the peace and tranquility of the Common-wealth of mankind that God hath made some Creatures instrument wrath and vengeance upon Disturbers and publick Enemies as in a well-ordered Common-wealth 't is good that there be Goals and Gibbets c. for the terror and punishment of Evil-doers IV. And now if any ask me Whether the wound which the Creatures got by the fall of Adam crushing of them be incurable waether the Creatures ever yet have had or shall hereafter have a Restauration to their primitive goodness and integrity I answer 1. That when God the Builder of this great House of the visible World had been so provoked by his Tenant Adam that he might justly have sworn in his wrath that he would pull down this House about his ears and either make a Dung-hill of it or consume it with the Timber thereof and the Stones thereof Then the Lord Jesus Christ he by whom all things were made which were made at first he interposed step'd in held the hand of Divine Justice and put under his shoulders to uphold the tottering Creation He undertook and covenanted to make God full satisfaction and reparation and to establish the World again upon its own Basis Reconciling or making all things meet again and sweetly kiss each other Col. 1.20 Whether they be things in Earth or things in Heaven Thus did Christ become surety and bound for us or else a writ of execution had been presently served upon us and the Creatures under us id est upon us Body and Goods 2. When we read that God reprieved Adam from execution and gave him that great Mother Promise of the blessed Seed we may rationally suppose that he did in some measure at least alleviate or mitigate the justly deserved curse upon the Creatures for his sake and cause For if God spared not to promise us his own Son and to deliver him up for us all how should he not with him freely promise to give us all things even all things richly to enjoy If he will promise to give us his Son the Heir of all things in Marriage to us surely the Inheritance too that shall be ours Again God will not pardon the Principal Man and execute those who are instruments rather than Accessaries to wit the Creatures 3. If we consult the latter end of the eighth the beginning of the ninth Chapter of Genesis we shall find that upon Noah's building an Altar and offering burnt Offerings unto the Lord after the Flood God did covenant and promise to uphold and establish the World and did renew Adam's forfeited Character by which he made him Lord of the Creatures unto his posterity blessing and restoring Noah and his Sons and in them us in a great measure to that Right and Royalty which their and our great Grand-father Adam had lost 4. The Lord Christ God blessed for ever by being made actually a curse for us in the fulness of time hath purchased and given unto us the use of the Creatures as a blessing and hath utterly taken away the partition wall of typical uncleanness as to many Creatures which stood for a time betwixt Jew and Gentile and now every Creature of God is good being sanctified by the Word and Prayer that is good Men may now have a good and holy use of all God's good Creatures 5. We cannot but acknowledge that the Scriptures of truth speak of Gospel-times as of the World to come Acts 3.21 Heb. 1. As of times of Reformation Heb. 9.10 As of times of Restitution of all things according to our last Translation As of a new Heaven and a new Earth And sometimes since Christ they speak of New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven Rev. 22. Of the Paradise of God of a Tree of Life and of a Water of Life Revel 2.7 Rev. 22.12 And this seems to be upon the Earth And 't is observed that then and there the Tree of