suffers us not to doubt of this truth when he assures us that we are made of the Bone and Flesh of J. C. and that we are his Members and that the Marriage of Adam and Eve was the Figure of J. C. and his Church LVI God might have form'd Men and Animals by ways as simple as the ordinary Generation is But seeing this way figured J. C. and his Church since it bore the Character of the Chief of God's Designs since it represented as I may say the well-beloved Son of his Father that Son by whom the whole Creation subsists God was obliged to prefer it before all others whereby to teach us that as intelligible Beauties consist only in the relation they have to eternal Wisdom so sensible Beauties must in some manner much unknown to us have some relation to the Truth incarnate LVII Doubtless there are many relations between the principal Creatures and J. C. who is their model and end For all is full of J. C. all expresses and figures him as far as the simplicity of the Laws of Nature will permit them but I dare not enter into the particulars of this For besides that I am afraid of deceiving my self and that I don 't sufficiently know either Nature or Grace the present or the future World to discover the relations thereof I am sensible that Mens Imaginations are so witty and delicate that one cannot by Reason lead them to God much less to J. C. without tyring them and exciting their railery The greatest part of Christians are accustom'd to a Philosophy which rather loves to shelter its self in fictions as extravagant as those of the Poets than have recourse to God and some are so little acquainted with J. C. that a Man shou'd pass with them for a visionary if he shou'd say the same things with S. Paul and not quote his words For 't is rather this great Name than the Sight of the Truth which engages them The Authority of the Scripture hinders them from blaspheming against that which they are ignorant of but seeing they think but little of it they can't thereby be much enlightned LVIII It is certain the Jews were a figure of the Church and the most holy and famous amongst the Kings Prophets and Patriarchs of this People did represent the true Messias our Saviour J. C. This truth can't be denied without undermining the Foundations of Christian Religion and making the most learned of the Apostles pass for the most ignorant of Men. J. C. not being yet come it was necessary he shou'd at least be prefigured He ought to be expected he ought to be desired he ought to disperse by his Figures some sort of Beauty in the World to make it pleasing to his Father Thus it was necessary he shou'd have been in some sense as ancient as the World it was necessary he shou'd die presently after Sin in the person of Abel Agnus occisus ab origine Mundi principium finis Alpha Omega heri hodie est erat venturus est These are the Qualifications which S. John gives to the Saviour of Men. LIX Now supposing that J. C. ought to be presigured it was expedient he shou'd chiefly be so by his Ancestors and that their History dictated by the H. Spirit shou'd in all times be preserv'd to the end that J. C. may still be compar'd with his Figures and acknowledg'd as the true Messias Of all the Nations of the Earth God loving that best which had most relation with his Son the Jews were to have been the Ancestors of J. C. according to the flesh and to have received this favour of God since they were the most lively and most express Representations of his Son LX. But if this Difficulty be further urg'd so as to demand a reason of the choice which God made of the Jews to be the principal Figures of J. C. I think I may and ought to affirm first That God always acting by the most simple ways and discovering in the infinite Treasures of his Wisdom all the possible Combinations of Nature with Grace chose that which wou'd make the Church most ample most perfect and most worthy of his Majesty and Holiness as I have already said In the second place I think I ought to answer That God foreseeing what wou'd happen to the Jews by a necessary consequence of natural Laws had more relation to the design which he had of representing J. C. and his Church than any thing which cou'd happen to any other Nation it was expedient that he shou'd chuse this People rather than any other For in conclusion the predestination to the Law is not like the predestination to Grace and tho' there is nothing in Nature which may oblige God to dispense his Grace equally to all People it seems to me that Nature might merit the Law in the sence wherein I here understand it LXI It is true that all that happen'd to the Jews who represented J. C. was not a necessary consequence of the order of Nature Miracles were necessary to render them the lively and express Images of the Church but Nature must have furnish'd the Fund and the Matter and perhaps the principal Stroaks in several things Miracles finish'd the rest But no other Nation wou'd have been so proper for so just and high a Design LXII It appears to me that we are oblig'd to think that God's Wisdom foreseeing all the Consequences of all the possible Orders and all their Combinations never works Miracles when Nature suffices and that thus he was oblig'd to chuse the Combination of Natural Effects which saving him as I may say the expence of Miracles might nevertheless very faithfully execute his Intentions For example 'T is necessary that all Sins shou'd be punish'd but not always in this World Supposing nevertheless that it was expedient for the glory of J. C. and the establishment of Religion that the Jews shou'd be punish'd in the face of the whole Earth for putting to death the Saviour of the World it was convenient that J. C. came into the World towards the end of Herod's Reign supposing that according to the necessary consequence of the Order of Nature that People shou'd be divided amongst themselves about that time that Civil Wars and continual Seditions shou'd weaken them and that lastly the Romans shou'd destroy and scatter them abroad after the total destruction of their City and Temple It is true there seems to have been something extraordinary in the desolation of the Jews But since it argues more Wisdom in God to produce such surprising Effects by the most simple and general Laws of Nature than by particular Wills I know not whether on this occasion we ought to have recourse to a Miracle For my part I don't dispute of it here this is a thing which is not easie nor indeed very necessary to be cleared I give this Example for to make some application of my Principles and to make them the
proper seasons all these grains are not increased thereby Or if they be the Hail or some other unlucky accident which is a necessary consequence of the same Laws of Nature hinders them from nourishing their Ear. Now because it is God who has established these Laws it might be said that he would that some certain seeds should be fruitful rather than others if we did not know otherwise that the general cause ought not to act by particular wills nor an infinitely wise Being by compounded ways God ought not to take other Measures than those which he has taken to govern the rains according to the seasons and places and desires of the Husbandmen We need to say no more of the order of Nature Let us explain a little more largely that of Grace and above all things let us observe that it is the same wisdom and the same will in a word the same God who has established both the one and the other of these Orders Additions Above all let us observe that it is the same wisdom and the same will in a word the same God who has established both the one and the other of these orders that is to say that of Grace and that of Nature This is of the greatest consequence For God cannot be false to himself or not follow his wisdom in the establishment of the order of Grace It is therefore necessary to the end that Gods conduct may bear the Character of his divine attributes that his ways be simple general uniform and constant Thus we may already see that it will not be impossible to justifie the wisdom and goodness of God tho Grace often falls without effect and tho there be more men who are damned than those who are saved God will appear wise tho Grace should not be always proportioned to our weakness He will be good and love men tho all be not saved because we cannot take it ill that God has greater love for his wisdom which is consubstantial to him than for his work which is only an imperfect Image of his substance THE SECOND PART Of the Necessity of the general Laws of Grace XXIV GOD loving himself by the necessity of his Being and resolving to procure an infinite glory to himself and honour perfectly worthy of him consulted his wisdom about the accomplishment of his desires This divine wisdom filled with love for him from whom he received a Being by an Eternal and ineffable generation seeing nothing in all possible creatures the intelligible Ideas of which he contains that might be worthy of the Majesty of his Father offered himself that he might establish to his Honour an Eternal Worship and as Sovereign Priest offer unto him a victim which by the dignity of his Person might be capable to please him He rerepresented unto him an infinite number of designs for the Temple which he intended to raise to his glory and at the same time all possible ways of performing them That design which at first sight seems Greatest and most Magnificent the justest and most easily understood is that which has most relation to the Person unto whom all the Glory and Holiness thereof must refer and the wisest manner of performing this design is to Establish certain very simple and fruitful Laws to bring it to its perfection This is that which Reason seems to answer to all those who consult it with attention and according to the principles which Faith teaches us Let us examine the circumstances of this Great design and afterwards endeavour to find out the ways of performing it Additions The proof of all this is because God does nothing without his Wisdom or without his Son which Scripture teaches us as well as Reason Joh. I. 3. Heb. I. 2. c. That Jesus Christ is the principle design of God see the first Article and the following That he is the Model of the Elect Rom. VIII 29. And above all that his ways do more than any other bear the Character of the divine Attributes that which I have already proved and which you may see further manifested in the third explication I shall not hereafter stop in the Explication of what is clear enough in its self and of little consequence XXV The Holy Scripture teaches us that it is Jesus Christ who makes all the Beauty the Holyness the Greatness and Magnificence of this Great Work For if it be compared therein to a City it is Jesus Christ who makes all the Splendor thereof The Sun and the Moon does not enlighten it Apocal. XXI 23. but the Brightness of God and the Light of the Lamb. If it be represented as a living body all whose parts have a marvelous relation to one another Col. I. 18. II. 19. Eph. I. 22 23. it is Jesus Christ who is the head thereof it is from him that Spirit and Life is communicated to all the Members that compose it If it be spoken of as a Temple it is Jesus Christ who is the Corner-stone Eph. II. 20 c. upon which all the building is founded it is he who is the Sovereign Priest It is he who is the Sacrifice thereof Heb. IV. V c. X c. None of the Faithful are Priests but because they partake of his Priesthood They are not Sacrifices but because they partake of his Holiness It is only in him and by him that they continually offer themselves to the Majesty of God To conclude it is only by the Relation which they have to him Phil. III. 9 10 11 c. that they contribute to the beauty of this august Temple which always has been and for ever will be the delightful Object of God himself XXVI Reason also teaches us these Truths For what relation is there betwixt creatures how perfect so ever they are supposed to be and the Action by which they are made Every Creature being limited how can it be worth the Action of a God whose price is infinite Can God receive any thing from a pure Creature which may incline him to act But let it be that God hath made man in hopes of being honoured by him Whence is it that the number of those who dishonour him is much the greater Doth not God hereby sufficiently declare that he very much neglects the glory pretended to be received by his work if separated from his well beloved Son that it is only in Jesus Christ that he resolved to produce it and that without him it should not subsist a moment XXVII A man resolves to do somthing because he hath need thereof or because he wou'd see what wou'd be the effect of his work or lastly because he learns by trying his strength what he is able to do But God has no need of his creatures He is not like men who receive new impression from the presence of objects His Ideas are eternal immutable he saw the world before it was form'd as he sees it at present In short being
already so often said and shall further say in the following Articles XLI Behold as I think the great difficulties all the Oeconomy of Religion the Idea which we have of a good wise and powerful God constant in his designs regular in his actions a thousand places of Scripture supplying us with many more against that which we see come to pass every day in the order of Grace and tho very able men have answered them yet it seems to me they cannot be so easily resolved by their principles as by that I shall lay down XLII As for my self I have always believed that God in truth wills in general that all men should be saved Both Reason and Scripture has always hindred me from doubting thereof And tho some Authors for whom I have a great respect have in the foregoing Ages publish't divers explications of this Truth I never could easily admit of those which seem'd without any necessity to set bounds to the infinite goodness and mercy of God Thus consulting the Idea which all men have of God I entertained the Sentiment which I at present expose to the censure of all those who examine it with Attention and judge of it with Equity Additions We tempt God when we desire him to do that which he ought not to do that is to say that he should act after a particular manner and not in consequence of general Laws otherwise what harm wou'd it be for one to cast himself headlong as Satan desired J. G. to do If it be as wise for to sustain an heavy body in the Air as to make it fall upon the Earth we should not tempt him we should not engage him to do a thing unworthy of him when trusting in his goodness we should throw our selves out of the windows In a word provided a man has always a good design he can never want prudence XLIII God being obliged alway to act as becomes him by simple general constant and uniform ways in a word such as are agreable to the Idea which we have of a general cause whose Wisdom has no bounds it became him to establish certain Laws in the Order of Grace as I have prov'd he has done in that of Nature Now these Laws by reason of their simplicity have necessarily woful consequences in respect of us but these consequences do not oblige that God should change these Laws for those that are more Compounded For these Laws have a greater proportion of Wisdom and Fruitfulness to the work which they produce than all those which he could ordain for the same purpose since he always acts after the most wise and perfect manner It is true that God might prevent these sad consequences by an infinite number of particular wills but his Wisdom which he loves more than his Work the immutable and necessary order which is the rule of his will do not permit it The effect which wou'd happen from each of his wills wou'd not be worth the Action which shou'd produce it And consequently we ought not to find fault because God does not confound the order and simplicity of his Laws by miracles which wou'd indeed be very convenient for our necessities but very much opposite to the Wisdom of God which it is not lawful to tempt XLIV Thus seeing we ought not to be displeased that the rain falls into the Sea where it is useless and not upon Sown-grounds where it is necessary because the laws of the communication of motions are very simple fruitful and perfectly worthy of the wisdom of the Author and that according to these Laws it is not possible that the rain should fall rather upon the Land than the Seas so that we ought not to complain of that apparant irregularity whereby Grace is given to men It is the regularity wherewithal God acts it is the simplicity of the Laws which he observes it is the wisdom and uniformity of his Conduct which is the cause of this seeming irregularity It is necessary according to the Laws of Grace which God has established in favour of the Elect and for the building of his Church that this Heavenly rain should fall sometimes upon hardned Hearts as well as upon prepared Souls If therefore Grace is given sometimes to no purpose it is not because God acts without design much less that he acts with an intention to render Men more culpable by the abuse of his favours It is because the simplicity of the general Laws permits not that this grace inefficacious in respect of a corrupted heart shou'd fall upon another heart where it wou'd be efficacious This Grace not being given by a particular will but in consequence of the immutability of the general order of Grace it is sufficient that this order shou'd produce a work proportionable to the simplicity of his Laws to the end it might be worthy of the wisdom of its Author For to conclude the order of Grace wou'd be less Perfect less Admirable less Amiable if it was more Composed XLV If God should have given Grace by particular wills without doubt for the Conversion of a sinner who had four degrees of Concupiscence he would not have resolved to have given but three degrees of Spiritual pleasure supposing that these degrees of grace had not been sufficient to convert him He wou'd have deferred his bounty till the sinner should not have been in the presence of the Object that tempted him Or rather he wou'd have given this same grace of three degrees of strength to such an one whose Concupiscence should have been less active For what an odd design would it be to give three degrees of Spiritual delight to one to whom four are necessary and refuse them to him whom they wou'd have Converted Does this agree with the Idea which we have of the wisdom and goodness of God Is this to love Men Is this to will that all shall be saved Is this to do all that can be done for them Yet God crys out by his Prophet Inhabitans of Jerusalem and men of Judah Isa V. 3 4. judge between me and my Vineyard What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it Wherefore had I not reason then to look for good Grapes when it brought forth wild Grapes What wisdom is it by particular wills to give so many inefficacious Graces to sinners supposing that God wills their Conversion as Scripture teaches us and that he has not that fatal design of rendring them by his gifts more Culpable and blame Worthy XLVI But if Grace be given to men by most simple and general Laws all these great difficulties vanish away The order of Grace which God hath establish't having more Wisdom and fruitfulness in respect to the work which it produces than any other God was obliged to chuse it for the establishment of his Church Thus we may be assured that God truly wills the salvation of all men that he hath done all for them that he
World is full of disorders Who can resist God but God himself But on the other hand who can be displeased that God loves his Wisdom more than his Work Let all those who love order adore and love his Conduct who makes it his inviolable Law let them love and adore his goodness who being fully sufficient to himself has vouchsafed to form a design of making them eternally happy LVI It may be said perhaps that these Laws are so simple and so fruitful that God must needs prefer them before all others and that loving only his glory his Son must needs become incarnate that thus he has done nothing only for his Elect. I confess that God hath done nothing only for his Elect 1 Cor. 3.23 for St Paul teaches us that he has made his Elect for Christ and J. Christ for himself If to render God Amiable to men he must be made to act only for us or after such a manner as is not the most wise I had rather say nothing than talk at this rate Reason teaches me to render God Amiable by considering him infinitely perfect and representing him so full of Charity for his Creatures that he hath made none of them with a design to render 'em miserable For if all be not so happy as to enjoy his presence it is because order requiring that so great a good should be merited all men do not merit it for Reasons which I have already mentioned Is not this to render God Amiable to represent him such that even the Reprobate cannot but adore his conduct and repent of their negligence Additions Altho Predestination be not founded but upon the prescience of God and the freedom of grace as may be seen in St Aust de dono Pers. from the 17. C. to the end nevertheless the greatest part of men to the Idea which answers to this word fix a divine decree so absolute that one seems to them to oppose free grace when he maintains that God was obliged by reason of his wisdom which he loves invincibly to choose those whom he hath chosen As the Palagians suppose that the reason of Gods choice is to be found in the natural merits of men and St. Augustine with the whole Church having maintained that this depends upon the will of God many imagine that he opposes predestination who asserts that the choice of the Elect depends upon the will of God tho it be a will enlightned and conducted by eternal Wisdom To say that the reason of Gods choice is in man is to be a Pelagian and maintain that grace is given to merits But to assert that the reason of this choice is in the eternal wisdom which is the Law of God or the rule of his proceedings This is to cry out with St. Paul O altitudo divitiarum Sapientiae Scientiae Dei But many men do not understand these words in this sence they pretend that one is chosen and another reprobated meerly because God wills it and that his will is his only reason and that it is upon this account that the Elect are more especially obliged to God It is in condescension to this disposition of mind which I have observed in a great many honest men that I have composed this Article But they who will Meditate a little may easily see what are my thoughts thereof LVII In the mean time to satisfie those who suppose that God has predestinated every one of the Elect by a particular will it may be said without injuring the sentiment which I have Proposed that God before he created Souls to unite them to bodys foresaw all that should happen to them according to the general Laws of Nature and Grace and all that they should do in all possible circumstances Thus according to this supposition it being in his power to create the Soul of Paul or that of Peter and to unite it to such a body which he foresaw would be the body of one of the predestinated he resolved from all Eternity to create the Soul of Paul thro' the good will he had for him and to predestinate him by this choice to Eternal Life Whereas he creates the Soul of Peter and unites it to another body by a kind of necessity by reason of the Laws of Union of Souls with Bodies which he has very wisely established for as soon as Bodies are made he has obliged himself to unite Souls unto them which was advantageous for all before sin Now the Body of Peter being begotten by an Heathen Father or by a Father who has no care to Educate his Children or lastly Peter by Birth finding himself engaged in times places and employments which led him to that which is evil he will infallibly be amongst the reprobate In the mean time Peter will be useful to the designs of God for tho he himself does not make one of the Predestinated yet some of his posterity may He will promote the Beauty and Greatness of the Church of Jesus Christ by the many relations he will have to the Elect. In short he will not be miserable but proportionably to the ill use which he shall have made of his liberty For God does not punish with grief any but voluntary irregularities This is all I can say to satisfie the inclination of some persons But I do not clearly see that any one ought to stop here LVIII They who pretend that God has particular designs and wills for all the particular effects which are produced in consequence of general Laws do ordinarily make use of the authority of Scripture whereon to found their opinion Now seeing Scripture is made for all the World for the simple as well as for the learned it is full of Anthropologies It gives to God not only a Body a Throne a Chariot an Equipage the passions of Joy of Sadness of Anger Repentance and other motions of the soul but also attributes unto him those ways of acting which are usual among men that it may speak to the Vulgar after the most sensible manner If J. C. was made Man this was partly to satisfie the inclination of men who love that which resembles them and attend to that which affects them It is to persuade them by this true and real kind of Anthropology of those truths which they would not have been able to comprehend Thus St. Paul to accommodate himself to all men speaks of the Sanctification and predestination of the Saints as if God continually acted in them by particular wills And even J. C. himself speaks of his Father as if he did by such wills adorn the the Lilies and preserve even the hairs of the heads of his Disciples because in truth the goodness of God towards his Creatures being extream these expressions give a great Idea thereof and render God amiable even to those minds which are most gross and have most of self love in them Nevertheless since by the Idea which we have of God and by those
Action of God which is of infinite value and the World how perfect soeve◠〈◊〉 might be is not infinitely amiable and cannâ—◠〈…〉 unto God an Honour worthy of him Thus separate Jesus Christ from the rest of the creatures and see if he who cannot act but for his own glory and whose Wisdom has no bounds cou'd resolve to produce any thing from without But if you joyn J. C. to his Church and the Church to the rest of the World out of which it was taken then you will raise to the Glory of God a Temple so august and so holy that you 'l perhaps be surprized that the foundations of it were laid so late Additions See then the order of things All is for men men for J. C. and J. C. for God Whether things present or things to come all are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods 1. Cor. 3.22 God hath Subjected all things to J. C. All Power is given to me both in Heaven and Earth St. Mat. 28.18 Heb. 2.9 That J. C. might subject all things to God and give up his Kingdom at the end of the World having destroyed all Principalities and all Powers 1. Cor. 15.24 That the Son himself may be for ever subject to him that put all things under him and that thus God may be all in all Ver. 28. This is the Spiritual Temple which must be altogether filled with the Majesty of God and remain eternally because its immovable foundations are laid on J. C. before those of this world which must Perish * I was set up from everlasting from the begining or ever the earth was Fundavit me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apud Sept. Ab aeterno ordinata sum ex antiquis antequam terra sieret Prov. 8.23 God has elected us in J. C. before the Creation of the World Eph. 1.4 His grace is given to us before the world began 2. Tim. 1.9 And J. C. himself in his Prayer after the celebration of the holy Supper beggs of 〈◊〉 Father that glory which he possessed in him before the world was i. e. before he resolved to form the World St. John 17.5 To conclude J. C. being the first of the predestinated since we are not predestinated but in J. C. God who has made the world only for the predistinated Omnia propter electos must as I may so say have thought of J. C. before all things For if these passages and such like be interpreted only of the Eternal prescience it also may be truly said that the motion of a straw is in God before all ages as well as the Incarnation of his beloved Son who renders all the Work of God Amiable to him If the different manner after which the H. Spirit speaks of the works of God in the H. Scripture be observed it cannot be doubted in my opinion that J. C. and his Church is truly the design of God See wherefore it is evident by reason and certain by Faith that God never repents or changes his design God is not as the Son of man that he should repent Numb 23.19 Yet nevertheless the H. Scripture says that God repented he had made man Gen. 6.6 And that the Jewish Priest-hood their Ceremonies their whole Burnt offerings were not at all pleasing to him Isa 1. Psalm 50. Why did God make a World which he was obliged to destroy Why has he established a worship which he is bound to reject he who is constant in all his purposes It is because he would thereby signify that the present world is not properly his work or his true design nor the Jewish worship a true worship or worthy of him But what then is his immutable design The Lord sware and will not repent thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec God will never repent of having made J. C. Sovereign Priest He thereby receives Divine Honours His Priesthood shall continue for ever having been confirmed by an Oath Heb. ch 7. c. God repented that he had made Saul King over the people Saul I say the figure of Herods and the Image of Politick Kings who only seek their own greatness But David the figure and Father of Jesus Christ is after Gods own heart God never repented that he had made him King over his People I have Sworn once by my Holiness that I will not fail David His Seed shall endure for ever and his Seat is like as the Sun before me Psal 89.34 35. Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a Son and of his Kingdom there shall be no end When Abraham by the sacrifice of his only Son had represented Jesus Christ raised from the Dead God assures him and that also with an Oath to render this promise irrevocable that in the Antitpye of Isaac delivered from the Dead that is to say in J. C. raised from the Dead set at his right hand made a Priest according to the order of Melchisedec and a King over his People all the Nations should be abundantly blessed By my self have I Sworn saith the Lord in thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be Blessed Thus we see when God speaks of the Incarnation of his Son and of his Priesthood he thereunto adds an Oath to shew that this is his irrevocable purpose or rather his purpose for since God never repents all his designs are irrevocable But I think I ought to advise that what I have hitherto said is not essential to my purpose which is principally to justify the Wisdom and Goodness of God notwithstanding Monsters Sinners and all the irregularities found in the World If I place J. C. at the Head of all things if I make him the principal design of God it is because I hope by this means to justifie the thought or desire which God had to go out of himself by communicating himself to his Creatures and by the regular order of Meditation it seems to me I ought to begin there IV. In the mean time if you observe that the glory which redounds to God from his work is not essential to him if you grant that the World cannot be a necessary Emanation of the Divinity you 'll plainly see that it was not to have been eternal tho' it never should have an end Eternity is the Character of Independence it must needs be therefore that the World had a begining The annihilation of substances is a mark of inconstancy in him that made them they therefore shall never have an end Additions I mean that Eternity does not imply independence But independence implys Eternity for nothing can be independent that is not Eternal Eternal existence therefore is the manner whereby that thing which is independent exists GOD could not give Eternal existence to Creatures To consider only the Power of God he was able to have created the World from all Eternity for he never was without his Power But if his Wisdom which is his inviolable be consulted he ought not to have
done it and consequently in one sence he could not for it is not in the power of God to belie himself or to despise the Laws which his wisdom prescribes to him The same thing must be said concerning the annihilation of substances If you consider only the power of God he may annihilate them But if you consult his wisdom it appears that he will do no such thing for God acts alwayes after the wisest manner that he can or which best comports with his divine attributes He may chuse whether he will act at all in this he is very indifferent for he is altogether sufficient to himself But if he acts he cannot change His conduct must alwayes bear the impression of his wisdom and his immutability It seems to me that order which is his inviolable law requires it should be thus See the 2d discourse Articles 50 51 52. V. If therefore it be true that the World ought to have a beginning and that the creation of J. C. could not be so ancient as the eternal generation of his divine Person an eternity must needs have preceded time Thus do not think that God delayed the production of his work he too much loves the glory which he receives thereby in J. C. It may be truly said in some sence that he has made it as soon as he could For tho' in respect of us he might have created it ten Thousand years before the begining of the World yet ten Thousand years having no relation to eternity he could not have made it sooner or later since an eternity must needs have gone before VI. It is plain that soon and late are the properties of time And if it should be supposed that God had created the World sooner than he did by so many Millions of years as there are grains of sand upon the Sea-shore might it not still have been asked Why God who so much loves the glory which he receives by the Establishment of his Church had not begun many Ages before Thus it is sufficient to say that an Eternity * Ought to have gone went before the Incarnation of the World to shew that this great mistery was accomplished neither too soon nor too late It was therefore necessary that God should have created the World for the Church the Church for J. C. and J. C. for to find in him a Sacrifice and a Sovereign Priest worthy of the divine Majesty This order of the designs of God cannot be doubted of if it be observed that he cannot have any other end of his actions but himself And if it be understood that eternity is not proper to creatures it will be granted that they were made when they ought to have been These truths being supposed let us endeavour to discover something in the conduct which God observes for the execution of his great design Additions Read the Objection and Answer which is at the end of the third explication where I shew that St. Augustine did not pretend that the Judgments of God are impenetrable in this sence that the truths which Faith teaches us being supposed it is unlawful to justifie his wisdom and goodness in the execution of his intentions 'T is certain that the Fathers and all Divines have endeavoured to give a reason of their Faith and we ought to meditate upon the truths of Religion to attain unto the understanding of that which we already believe But to remove all scruple concerning my way of proceeding I shall now shew that St. Augustine himself approves it by his Example and his Reasons Consentius had some difficulties concerning the Trinity he had proposed them to Alipius that he might obtain the resolution of them from St. Augustine But having learnt that St. Augustine was in a place of retirement and proper for meditating and clearing up his doubts he writ to him himself as unto a man whose spirit * Sensum altissima mysteria perscrutantem penetrated into the highest mysteries that he would give him those explications he desired if he thought convenient Nevertheless he openly declares that 't was his opinion the reasons of our mysteries ought not to be sought after but that men should depend upon Faith only These are his words Epis 221. Ego igitur cum apud memetipsum prorsus definierim veritatem rei divinae ex fide magis quam ex ratione percipi oportere si enim fides Sanctae Ecclesiae ex disputationis ratione non ex credulitatis Pietate apprehenderetur nemo praeter Philosophos atque Oratores beatitudinem possederet Sed quia placuit Deo qui infirma Mundi hujus elegit ut confundat fortia per stultitiam Praedicationis salvare credentes non tam ratio requirenda de Deo quam autoritas est sequenda Sanctorum Nam profecto neque Ariani qui Filium quem genitum confitemur minorem putant in hac impietate persisterent neque Macedoniani Spiritum Sanctum quem neque genitum neque ingenitum credimus quantum in ipsis est a Divinitatis arce detruderent si Scripturis Sanctis magis quam suis ratiocinationibus accomodare fidem mallent But see St. Augustin's Answer Quod autem petis ut questionem Trinitatis hoc est de Unitate Divinitatis discretione Personarum caute prudenterque discutiam ut doctrinae meae sicut dicis ingeniique serenitas ita nebulam vestrae mentis abstergat ut quod nunc cogitare non potestis intelligentiae a me lumine declaratum quodammodo videre positis Vide prius utrum ista petitio cum tua superiori definitione concordet superius quippe in eadem ipsa Epistola in qua hoc petis apud temetipsum definisse te dicis ex fide veritatem magis quam ex ratione percipi oportere Si enim fides inquis Sanctae Ecclesiae ex disputationis ratione non ex credulitatis pietate apprehenderetur nemo praeter philosophos atque Oratores beatitudinem possideret sed quia placuit inquis Deo qui infirma hujus Mundi elegit ut confundat fortia per stultitiam Praedicationis salvos facere credentes non tam ratio requirenda quam autoritas est sequenda Sanctorum Vide ergo secundum haec verba tua ne potius debeas maxime de hac re in qua fides nostra Consistit solam Sanctorum autoritatem sequi nec ejus intelligentiae a me quaerere rationem Neque enim cum caepero te in tanti hujus secreti intelligentiam utcunque introducere quod nisi Deus intus adjuverit omnino non potero aliud disserendo facturus sum quam rationem ut potero redditurus quam si a me vel quolibet doctore non irrationabiliter flagitas ut quod credis intelligas Corrige definitionem tuam non ut fidem respuas sed ut ea que fidei firmitate jam tenes etiam rationis Luce conspicias Absit namque ut hoc in nobis Deus oderit in quo nos reliquis animantibus
appearance of a false humility Additions Thus they do who are of the opinion of Consentius condemn'd by St. Augustin X. Their example should not teach us this agreeable virtue which entertains in mens minds sloth and negligence and comforts them in the ignorance of those truths which are most necessary for them We ought continually to beg of him who enlightens all men that he would communicate to us his light that he would reward our Faith with the gift of understanding and above all that he would hinder us from taking probality and confused sentiments which precipitate the minds of the proud into the darkness of error for that evidence which attends his Answers Additions To this end we should observe the rule which I think I have demonstrated in the 2d Chapter of the Search after Truth and the necessity of which I have shewn in all the rest of that Book for the Libertines are either the most ignorant or fullest of errors and prejudices XI He that pretends to speak of God with any exactness ought not to consult himself or speak as the common sort of men He should lift up his mind above all creatures and with a great deal of attention and respect consult the vast Idea of a Being infinitly perfect And since this Idea represents to us the true God very different from him whom the greatest part of men do fancy to themselves we should not speak of him according to the popular Language It is permitted to all men to say with the Scripture that God repented he had made man that he was angry at his people that he delivered Israel from Captivity with the Strength of his Arm. But these expressions and the like are not permitted to Divines when they should speak exactly Thus when it shall be observed in what follows that my expressions are not common none ought to be surprised thereat It should rather be carefully considered whether they are clear and whether they perfectly agree with the Idea which all men have of the Being infinitely perfect Additions The reason of this is because we ought not to judge of things but by the Idea we have of them For to judge of God by ones self is to make God like unto himself A man cannot judge even of other men by himself without falling into many errors XII This Idea of an Infinitely perfect Being contains two Attributes absolutely necessary for creating the World a Wisdom which has no bounds and a Power which nothing is able to resist The Wisdom of God discovers unto him an infinite number of Ideas of different works and all possible wayes of executing his designs and his Power makes him so much Master of all things and so independent upon all assistance whatsoever that it is sufficient for him to will to the end that what he wills may be done For it must especially be observed that God has no need of Instruments for acting that his will is necessarily efficacious In a word that as his Wisdom is his own understanding so his Power is not different from his Will Of this infinite number of wayes whereby God might have executed his purpose let us see which is that which he was obliged to prefer before all others let us begin with the Creation of the Visible World of which and in which he forms the Invisible World which is the Eternal Object of his Love Additions Of this infinite number of ways by which God might have executed his purpose let us see which is that he was obliged to prefer before all others This without doubt is that which agrees best with the character of the divine attributes Now this is the most simple the most general the most uniform But observe I do not engage my self to enquire which is the most simple this is not necessary It is sufficient for my purpose that God acts by simple and general wayes because these wayes are more worthy of him than those which are particular and that amongst these simple and general ways he chuses that which is most worthy of his Wisdom in relation to his Work It is not at all necessary that I should particularly explain which is this most wise way and most worthy of God XIII An excellent Workman should proportion his Action to his Work he does not that by wayes very much compounded which he may perform by more simple he acts not without an end and never labours in vain Hence it must be concluded that God discovering in the infinite treasures of his Wisdom an infinity of possible Worlds as necessary consequences of the Laws of motion which he might establish determined to create that which might be produced and preserved by the most simple Laws or which might be the most perfect in relation to the simplicity of the means necessary to its production and preservation Additions This is a comparison which I use to keep up attention of mind and to heighten it so as to conceive the way by which he acts unto whom none can be compared For few men can comprehend that the designs of God are wise and enlightned and that God does not form them but according to the relation which they have with the ways or manners of acting which carry in them the character of his Attributes They think that God chuses the design most worthy of him without considering or without regard to the ways of executing it But let them observe that God wills that his ways be most wise as well as his designs He wills not that his designs should honour him and his ways dishonour him He compares the wisdom of his design with the wisdom of his ways and chuses both the design and the ways which altogether best agree with the character of his Attributes This is my Principle by which I shall justifie the wisdom and goodness of God notwithstanding all the irregularities of nature monsters sin and the miseries to which we are now subject I begin with the faults of the Material World XIV God doubtless might have made a World more perfect than that which we Inhabit He might for example have ordered that the rain which serves to make the Earth Fruitful should fall more regularly upon Lands that are cultivated than upon the Sea where it is not so necessary But to have this World more Perfect he must have changed the simplicity of his ways and have multiplyed the Laws of the communication of motions by which our World subsists And then there wou'd no more have been that proportion betwixt the Action of God and his Work which is necessary to determine an infinitely wise Being to act Or at least there wou'd not have been the same proportion between the Action of God and such a perfect World as there is betwixt the Laws of Nature and the World which we Inhabit For our World how imperfect soever it may be imagined is founded upon Laws of motion so simple and so natural that it is perfectly worthy of the
motions of the Soul of J. C. in their behalf since these same motions never fail of giving it Thus the desires of J. C. alone have infallibly their effect as occasional causes because God having made J. C. Head of the Church it is only by him that the Grace which sanctifies the Elect ought to be given XX. Now we may consider in the Soul of J. C. two sorts of desires actual transient and particular desires the efficacy of which continue but a little time constant and permanent desires which consist in a firm and lasting disposition of the soul of J. C. in relation to certain effects which tend to the execution of his design in general If our soul by its different motions did communicate to our bodies all that which is necessary to form and make it grow we might distinguish therein two kinds of desires for it would send into the Muscles of the Body the Spirits that give it certain dispositions in respect of the present Objects or actual thoughts of the mind by actual and transient desires But it would give to the Heart and the Lungs the natural motions which serve for respiration and circulation of the Blood by stable and permanent desires It would also by such like desires digest its nourishment and distribute it to all the parts which have need thereof because this sort of action is at all times necessary for the preservation of the body XXI By these actual transient and particular desires of the soul of J. C. Grace is given to persons who are not prepared and after a manner which hath something singular and extraordinary in it But it is given regularly by permanent desires to those who worthily receive the Sacraments For the Grace which we receive by the Sacraments is not given meerly by the Merit of our Action tho we receive with fit dispositions it is because of the merits of J.C. which are freely applyed to us in consequence of his permanent desires We receive by the Sacraments much more Grace than our preparation can deserve and it is even sufficient for the receiving some influence thereby that we do not put any impediment But it is also to abuse that which is most holy in Religion to receive them unworthily Additions Since J. C. as man does not act but by his desires and the Grace of the Sacraments is permanent it is evident that the Grace which he communicates to those who receives them worthily comes not from J. C. as the occasional cause If there be not in J. C. a permanent desire or a constant will to do good unto those who come unto the Sacraments there would be no great mistery in them XXII Among the actual and transient desires of the Soul of Jesus there are certainly some which are more lasting and frequent than others and the knowledge of the desires is of very great use in morality Doubtless J. C. thinks oftner upon them who observe his councels than on other men The motions of love which he has for the Faithful are more frequent and lasting than those which he hath for the Libertine and the Wicked And since all the Faithful are not equally disposed to enter into the Church of the predestinated the desires of the Soul of J. C. are not in respect of them all equally lively frequent abiding Man more earnestly desires those fruits which are more proper to nourish his Body he thinks oftner upon Bread and Wine than on those Meats which are difficultly digested J. C. having a design to form his Church ought therefore to concern himself more for those who may easily enter therein than for those who are very far from it Thus the H. Scripture teaches us that the humble the poor the penitent receive greater Graces than other men because they who dispise Honours Riches and Pleasures are much fitter for the Kingdom of God They who according to the example of J. C. have learnt to be meek and humble in heart shall find rest to their souls The yoak of J. C. which the Proud can't bear will become easie and light by the assistance of Grace For God hears the Prayers of the Humble he will comfort them he will justifie them he will save them he will heap Blessings upon them but he will bring down the Haughtiness of the Proud Blessed are the Poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven But Cursed are the Rich for they have received their Consolation in this World How hard is it says J C. for the Rich to enter into the Kingdom of GOD It is easier for a Camel to pass thro' the eye of a Needle Which cannot be without a Miracle As for them who like David humble their souls with Fasting put on Sack-cloath In a word afflict themselves at the sight of their Sins and the Holiness of God will become fit objects for the compassion of J. C. for God never will dispise an humble and a contrite Heart We always disarm his wrath when we prefer the interests of God before our own and take vengeance upon our selves XXIII Since the will of J. C. is altogether agreeable to Order of which all men have naturally some Idea it may further be discern'd by Reason that the soul of J. C. has more thoughts and desires in respect of some Persons than others For Order requires that J. C. should bestow more Graces for example upon those who are called to H. Orders than those whose vocation necessarily engages them in the business of the World In a word upon those who make the principal parts of the body of the Church Militant than they who have not the oversight of any or are engaged in the Ecclesiastical Function and raise themselves above others by ambition or interest For if it be fit that J. C. give Graces unto these in respect of the Persons whom they govern yet they don't deserve such as may sanctify them in that state which they have chosen by self-love They may have the gift of Prophecy without having that of Charity as Scripture teaches us XXIV We have proved that the different desires of the soul of J. C. are the occasional causes of Grace and we have endeavoured to discover something of these desires Let us now see of what kind of Grace they are the occasional causes For tho J. C. be the Meritorious cause of all graces it is not necessary he should be the occasional cause of the graces of knowledge and certain outward Graces which prepare the heart for conversion but cannot effect it for J. C. is always the occasional or necessary cause according to the order established by God in respect of all Graces which conduce to men salvation XXV Distinctly to understand what is the grace which J. C. as Head of his Church bestows upon his Members we must know what is the concupiscence which the first man has communicated to all his Posterity For the second Adam came to cure the disorders which
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 figure of him who was to come These words who is the figure of him who was to come in the place where they are put it out of doubt that the first Adam represented the second even by Concupiscence it self and the Death which he communicated to all Men together with his Son Hence it is that St Paul makes so many Antitheses betwixt the Earthly Man and the Man from Heaven The first Man was made a living Soul 1 Cor. 15.45.47 the second Adam a quickning Spirit The first Man is of the Earth Earthly the second Man is the Lord from Heaven God by the first Man and Woman did not only represent J. C. and his Church but also by the place into which he put them by their posterity especially those of them whose actions the Scripture doth largely recite The Earthly Paradise represented the Church J. C. keeps and Cultivates it The River divided into Four Streams to water this very Delightful and Fruitful place is the Eternal wisdom which enlightens and animates the Church I also came out as a Brook from a River and as a Conduit * Vulg. Lat. de Paradiso â—ccl 24.30.31 into a Garden I said I will water my best Garden and will water abundantly my Garden-bed It is written of the true Solomon that his wisdom ran down abundantly as the Rivers at the beginning of Harvest Who filleth all things with wisdom Eccl 24.25 26 27 as Physon and as Tygris in the time of the new fruits He maketh the understanding to abound like Euphrates He maketh the doctrine of Knowledge appear as the Light and as Geon in the time of Vintage The Tree planted in the middle of the Garden which brought forth a Fruit able to make Men Immortal is also the Eternal Wisdom according to the words of the Proverbs of Solomon She is a Tree of Life Prov. 3.18 to them that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retaineth her He who shall overcome the World shall be nourished with this Fruit for certainly these words of St. John To him that overcomes Apoc. 11.7 it shall be given to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God are to be understood of no other Trees but this As for the other Tree which teaches good and evil and whose Fruits Eve found so Beautiful to the Eye and Pleasant to the Taste it represents sensible objects which at present excite in us such a strong Concupiscence and give Death to those who suffer themselves to be surprized by their Charms 'T is plain that all these relations would not be so exact if they were no more than imaginary EVE had two Sons Cain and Abel Gen. 4. they both offered their Sacrifice God rejected that of Cain's and received that of Abel's Cain was troubled hereat and slew his Brother the blood of Abel which was spilt cryed for Vengeance God declared that Cain should be a Fugitive all his Life and that he would hinder him from being slain Doth not this sufficiently represent the Synagogue who being the Elder yet offered not unto God a Sacrifice acceptable unto him That the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ was only Worthy of GOD That Jesus Christ was slain in Abel by the Jews who were his Brethren according to the Flesh That for their Punishment the Jews should be Vagabonds and Fugitives upon the Earth as Cain was and that God will not quite Destroy them tho their Crime was such that they might say more truely than Cain All they who meet me will slay me If we examine after matters of Fact and those especially whose Circumstances the Scripture more particularly recites we shall see Jesus C. expected and figured every where Expected becanse of the promise which God had made that the seed of the Woman should break the Serpents Head Gen. III. 15. And Figured because the Spirit of God takes pleasure in representing unto Men him who was to be their Mediator and render all the Work of God perfectly worthy of its Author I confess that in these things we may be easily deceived and that none but the Spirit of God can make us distinctly and without fear of error see the reality of these Figures But these Figures are so lively and so express that he must be strangely Stupid who is not Affected with them and very rash who looks upon those as Ridiculous Persons and Visionaries who according to the Example of the Apostles and Holy Doctors seek Jesus Christ in the Scriptures as he himself has Commanded us in these words Search the Scriptures for they are they John 5.39 which Testify of me For in short all that is in the Old Testament relates to Jesus Christ and his Church 1 Cor. 10 11. All these things happened to them in Figures The Third Explication Where 't is prov'd that the chief of Gods design is J. C. and his Church that God truely loves Men that he sincerely desires to save all that his Conduct is worthy of his Wisdom Goodness Immutability and other Attributes What is the order of the decrees which contain the Predestination of the Saints I. BY this Term GOD I understand a Being infinitely Perfect II. A Being infinitely Perfect Perfectly knows himself III. By the knowledge which he has of his Being he sees the Essences of all things he sees all possible Creatures or all that which he is able to Produce He is Wise by Himself alone IV. The Being infinitely Perfect necessarily loves Himself He can will nothing but by his will I mean the love which he bears to himself Therefore he can do nothing but for himself V. The Being infinitely Perfect is Almighty He can do all that he knows supposing he can will it with a practical will VI. By a practical will I mean a decree or will executive of a design concluded upon which supposes in God the knowledge and choice of the ways of acting which are most worthy of himself For there are Simple Fruitful General Uniform and Constant and there are Compounded Barren Particular Irregular and Unconstant Ways of Actions The first are to be preferred before the latter for they shew Wisdom Goodness Constancy Immutability in him that makes use of them The other denotes the want of Understanding Malignancy Inconstancy Lightness of Mind VII It is visible that there is something useless in his action who does that by compounded ways which may be brought to pass by simple and he wants knowledge who hath more Practical wills when one sufficeth VIII The Conduct of a Good Wise Constant and Immutable Being must carry in it Wisdom Goodness Constancy and immutability Order requires this IX The Wisdom of GOD renders him Impotent in this sence that it permits him not to will certain things nor to act after certain ways It permits him not to will certain things for if God had made but one animal he could not have made
passages of Scripture which agree with this Idea we correct the sence of some other places which ascribe unto God members or passions like unto ours So when we wou'd speak exactly of the manner of Gods acting in the order of Nature or grace we ought to explain the passages which make him act as a man or a particular cause by that Idea which we have of his wisdom and his goodness and by other places of Scripture which are agreable to this Idea For in conclusion if the Idea which we have of God permits nay obliges to say that he does not cause every drop of rain to fall by particular wills tho this sentiment is authorized by the natural sence of some places of Scripture there is the like necessity to think that notwithstanding certain authorities of the same Scripture God does not give to some sinners by particular wills all those good motions which are of no effect to them and yet to several others wou'd be effectual because otherwise it seems impossible to me to make the Holy Scripture agree either with reason or with its self as I think I have proved LIX If I thought that what I have already said was not sufficient to convince considering persons that God acts not by particular wills as particular causes or limited understandings do I should proceed to shew that there are few truths whereof more proofs may be given supposing it granted that God governs the World and that the Nature of HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS is but a Chimaera For in truth nothing is done in the World which doth not prove this sentiment Miracles only excepted which nevertheless wou'd not be Miracles different from the effects which are called natural if it was true that God ordinarily acts by particular wills since Miracles are not such but because they happen not according to general Laws Thus do Miracles suppose these Laws and prove the sentiment which I have laid down but as for ordinary effects they clearly and directly demonstrate general Laws or Wills For example if a stone be let fall upon the head of one that passes by the stone will always fall with equal swiftness without distinguishing either the piety or the quality the good or evil dispositions of the passenger If any other effect be examined we shall see the same constancy in the action of the cause which produces it But no effect proves that God acts by particular wills tho men often imagine that God works Miracles every moment for their sakes Since the way by which they wou'd have God to act is agreable to ours since it flatters self-love which refers all things to its self since it comports well with the ignorance we are in of the combination of occasional causes which produce extraordinary effects it naturally enters into the mind when we do not sufficiently study Nature and consult with attention enough the abstracted Idea of an infinite Wisdom of an Universal Cause of a Being infinitely perfect Additions Let me be permitted to desire of the Reader that he do meditate some time upon this first Discourse before he reads that which follows The Second Discourse Of the Laws of Grace in particular and of the Occasional Causes which Govern and Determin their Efficacy First Part. Of the Grace of Jesus Christ Additions Before this 2d Dis read 3d. C. of 2d P. of Search after Truth and the Expli of the same C. where the Author opposes the Efficacy of pretended second causes I Have proved in the First Discourse the necessity of Occasional Causes in the Order of Grace as well as in that of Nature and I don't think that which I have written can be distinctly understood but it must be granted But now I am about to prove by those arguments which Faith supplies that Jesus Christ is this cause Since this is of the greatest consequence clearly to understand the principles of Religion and to make us draw near with confidence to the true Propitiatory or the occasional cause which never fails to determine the efficacy of the general Law of Grace I think I may require the Reader to Meditate upon this Second Discourse with all diligence and without prejudice I. Since there is none but God who acts immediately and by himself upon Spirits who produces in them all the different Modifications whereof they are capable it is he alone who enlightens our minds and inspires us with certain sentiments which determine our divers wills Thus there is none but God who can as the * By the true cause I understand the Cause which Acts by its own strength true cause produce grace in our Souls For the principle of all the regular motions of our love is necessarily either knowledge which teaches us or a sentiment which convinces us that God is our happiness since we never begin to love any object if we do not either clearly see by the light of Reason or confusedly feel by the taste of pleasure that the object is good I mean capable of rendring us more happy than we are II. But seeing all men are engaged in Original sin and all even by their nature infinitely below God it is only J. Christ who by the dignity of his Person and the holiness of his Sacrifice could have access to his Father reconcile us to him and merit his favours for us Thus it is J. C. only who cou'd be the Meritorous cause of Grace These truths are agreed on But we do not seek after the cause which Produces Grace by its proper efficacy nor that which merits it by his sacrifice and good works we seek after that which regulates and determines the efficacy of the general cause that which may be called the second particular and occasional III. For that the general cause may act by general Laws or Wills and that his action may be regular constant and uniform it is absolutely necessary that there be an occasional cause which determines the efficacy of these Laws and serves to establish them If the percussion of bodies or some such thing did not determine the EFFICACY of general LAWS of the Communication of motions it would be necessary that God should move bodies by particular wills The Laws of the union of the Soul and Body are made efficacious only by the changes which happen in each of these substances For if God should make the Soul feel a pungent pain tho the body was not pricked or if the brain shou'd not be moved as if the body was pricked he wou'd not act by the general Laws of the union between Soul and body but by a particular will If it shou'd rain upon the Earth any other ways but by the necessary consequence of the general Laws of the communication of motions the rain and the fall of each drop that composes it would be the effect of a particular will Insomuch that if order did not require that it should rain this will would be altogether unworthy of God It is therefore