Observations Natural and Moral, Chapter 10
CHAP. X. The bleſſing of God, and the influence of the heavens, make things fertile below here.
Hoſea 2.21. I will heare the heavens, and they ſhall heare the earth, and the earth ſhall heare the Corne and the Wines, and they ſhall heare Izreel.
VVE have ſpoken before of mettals which the Iewes cal [domes] ſilens, foreign ſilen….now it reſteth to ſpeake of that which they call [Zemeh] germinans, & [chaja] vivum. God who created the trees, fruits and man, hee heareth them, Deus audit eminenter, cael… audit metaphe; hom…e audit proprie.and maketh them to heare one another, God heareth eminenter, he that planted the care ſhall hee not heare? Pſal. 94.9. the heavens and the earth heare metaphorice, How God is ſayd to heare the heave…s.and man heareth properly.
God heareth the heavens when hee giveth his influence and bleſſing unto them to make them nouriſh the things below here.
When God worketh upon the creatures below here, Deus operatur ratione. Sappoſiti …rt ut….he worketh either mediatly or immediately; hee worketh immediatly vel ratione virtutis vel ſuppoſiti; hee worketh immediatly ratione virtutis, becauſe all vertue proceedeth onelyonly from him, as the Sunne worketh immediately ratione virtutis becauſe it hath the vertue from it ſelfe, and not from another: the Moone againe worketh mediate ratione virtutis becauſe ſhee hath the vertue and heare from the Sunne, and heareth not firſt, of it ſelfe: Man liveth not by bread onelyonly but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, Mat. 4.4. The power to nouriſh and feede cometh immediately from God. Simile. A man is in a conſumption, he commeth to adviſe with a Phyſitian, the Phyſitian biddeth him take ſo much water and heate it, and then to take ſuch herbs and put into it, and make a decoction thereof: the patient taketh water and drinketh it, but hee leaveth out the herbs and dieth of the conſumption. The bleſſing of God in Phyſicke or in meat is like the hearbs put into the water, and if it be left out, the creatures cannot nouriſh us: this bleſſing of God in the creatures whith feedeth us, The bleſſing of God called the ſtaffe of bread.is called the ſtaffe of bread, Deut. 28. for as the ſtaffe upholdeth the old weake man, ſo doth the bleſſing of God uphold and nouriſh us.
God againe worketh Immediate rations ſuppoſiti, for he is indiſtanter (as the Schoolemen ſpeake) in everie thing.
Yee will ſay, how doth God worke mediately, Queſt. ſeeing he is immediately in every thing?
If ye will reſpect the ſecond cauſes with the effects, Anſw. How God is ſayd to worke mediatly.then God is ſaid to worke mediatly, but not if ye will reſpect the media themſelves.
When God uſeth the ſecond cauſes to produce an effect, How God uſeth ſecond cauſes to produce effects.he uſeth them not as helpes or as co-working cauſes with himſelfe, but to ſhew his goodneſſe and his bountie, that he will communicate with his creatures ſome part of his power, and for the weakneſſe of theſe whom he helpeth. Curſe ye Meros, becauſe be came not out to the helpe of the Lord Iud. 5.23. the Lord needed no helpe of Meros, but when Gods people ſaw the tribes comming out to helpe, then it helped their infirmitie; but the hand of the Lord is not ſhortned, 1 Sam. 14.6. who can helpe with few or by many.
The heavens are ſayd to heare the earth when they ſend downe their heat and raine to moyſten the earth; When the heavens are ſayd to heare the earth.the former raine in the ſcripture is called [more] plavia and the latter raine [Malcoſh] pluvia ſerotina, foreign jacer… foreignwhich fell out in the monethmonth Niſan when the Corne began to bee ripe, it was called pluvia maturati…nis. And when the heavens are like braſſe, then they heare not the earth. Now when the heavens heare the earth, then the husband man waiteth for the pretious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it untill he receive the earely and the latter raine: Iam. 5.7. How the earth is ſayd to hea…e the Corne, and Wine.And the earth ſhall heare the corne and the wine, the earth heareth the corne and the wine when it is mannured and laboured by the husband man, and when the heavens ſend downe their influence upon it, when the earth is mannured and dreſſed, foreign Terratuaeris maritata, Terra moritur comnin colitur & producit fructus.then it is ſayd to be married, Eſay 62.4. [Veartzecha tibbagnel] and when the ground is not mannured nor ſowne, it is ſayd to die. Gen. 47.19. Wherefore ſhall wee die before thine eyes both we and our Hand?
God is the onelyonly cauſe of fertilitie. God is the onelyonly cauſe of fertility.Paul may plant, and Apolles may water, but it is God that giveth the encreaſe, 1 Cor. 3.6. and it is the Lord that crowneth the yeere with goodneſſe, Pſal. 65.12. The Lord made them to underſtand this, that it was he onelyonly who cauſed things to grow, therefore they called the great trees which grow without labour arbores Dei, as the cedars and ſuch: and this people found this by experience in the bleſſing of the ſeventh yeare, when the increaſe of one yeare ſerved for three: and that he might teach them that fertiſitie onelyonly depended upon his bleſſing, hee cauſed the earth to make a great ſhew of fertilitie which afterwards turned to nothing. Hab. ….…. … eſt Oliva, the labour of the Olive made a lie, that is, the Olive bloſſomed verie faire, When the earthis ſayd to abhort.but deceived the expectation of the labourer. So 2 King. 19 this country is barren; but in the originall, it is more emphaticall [haaretz meſhakkeleth] haec regio facit abortum, for as a woman when ſhe is with child, when ſhe parteth with it, foreign haec regio facit a…orlum.ſhe is deceived of her expectation, ſo the ground about Iericho made a faire ſhew to the labourers, and deceived them.
I will beare the heavens. Our faith ſhould not looke to the meanes which God uſeth, but to God himſelfe; neither ſhould we depend upon the meanes, when God uſeth reaſonable creatures as his inſtruments: wee may be thankefull to them, but wee muſt give the whole praiſe to God; but we have no obligation; to the unreaſonable creatures as to the heaven and to the earth; this was the ground, We have no obligation to unreaſonable creatures to thanke them as Gods inſtruments.amongſt the heathen that made them worſhip the Sunne, the moone, and the ſtarres. Alexander the great was mindfull of his horſe that ſaved him in the battell, that when he died hee builded a Cittie upon him, and called it after his name, Bucephalus: he was not ſo mindfull to give thankes to God after his deliverie, as he was to his horſe.
I will heare the heavens, Men ſhould not reſt untill they come to the firſt cauſe.this ſhould teach us never to reſt untill we come to the firſt cauſe, but men who have their portion in this life, their bellies are fed with his bid treaſures, Pſal. 17.14. Why are they called his hid treaſures? becauſe they know not who is the giver of them, they ſee the creature but they ſee not the giver; ſo when the Lord ſmiteth them, they ſee three fingers as it were upon the wall with Balthaſar Daniel 5.5. But they ſee not the hand, nor the arme, nor him that ſtriketh; but Iob aſcended from the Chaldeans to God himſelfe, and ſaith, the Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken, Iob. 1.21. And ſo did David when Shimei railed againſt him 2 Sam. 16.11.When the univerſall and particular cauſe concurre together, things take their denomination from the particular cauſe.
I will heare the heavens, when the Vniverſall and particular cauſe concurre together, things take their denomination from the particular and not from the univerſall cauſe, as ſol & homo generant hominem, yet the man is ſayd to beget his child, and not the Sunne. So when the cauſe of cauſes worketh with ſubordinate cauſes, we muſt not aſcribe every particular effect to God, but to the proper cauſe, as the fire burneth, but not God, and ſo the bread feedeth us; yet none of theſe could effectuate any thing without the firſt cauſe, therefore we are called the of pring of God Act. 17.29. although our fathers beget us: ſo Iere. 1.5. Before I formed thee in the bellie. Pſal. 22.9. Thou art he that tooke me out of the wombe, and thou didſt make me hope when I was upon my mothers breaſt: our father begetteth us, yet unleſſe hee bleſſe the begetter hee cannot beget; ſo our mother conceiveth us, yet ſhe ſhall not beare us except he bring us forth; The creation tooke the denomination from the univerſall cauſe.although theſe take the denomination from the ſecond cauſes, yet unleſſe the Lord bleſſe them who is the firſt cauſe, it is nothing. But in the firſt creation which was onelyonly by the power of God and no helping cauſe concurring, then the worke tooke the denomination from the univerſall and firſt cauſe.
Whether doth the effect owe more to the univerſall or particular cauſe? Queſt.
It oweth more to the particular cauſe than to the univerſall cauſe, Anſw. Whether things owe more to the univerſall or particular cauſe.becauſe it getteth it's kind from it, and is named by it, and is likeſt to it; but for preſervation and continuation of the kind, it is more beholden to the univerſall cauſe, as the childe is more beholden to the heavens for his conſervation, than to the parents; but if wee looke to the cauſe of cauſes God himſelfe, creatures are moſt beholden to him both quoad ad eſſe & conſervari.
And the heavens ſhall heare the earth when it is manured by the husbandman.
Obſerve how the husbandman is directly ſubordinate to the providence of God, The husbandman is directly ſubordinate to the providence of God.all honeſt callings are ſubordinate to God, but yet the ſubordination is not ſo clearely ſeene, nor the bleſſing of God appeareth not ſo well in any other trade as in husbandrie; for after that he hath caſt the ſeed in the ground, he lyeth downe and ſleepeth, and night and day it ſpringeth up and he knoweth not how, for the earth bringeth forth of it ſelfe, firſt the blade, then the care, then the full corne in the eare, How riches and a prudent wife are from the Lord.Marke 4.24. Houſe and riches are the inheritance of the fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord, Prov. 19 14. Houſe and riches are from the Lord as well as the wife, but the directing hand of God and his ſpeciall providence is not ſo clearely ſeene in theſe, as in this.
All the bleſſing of husbandrie dependeth upon God, The cuſtome of the heathen in their husbandrie.therefore the heathen when they went to plough in the morning they layd on one of their hand upon the ſtilts of the plough, and they lifted up the other hand to Ceres the Goddeſſe of corne: but it is a pittie to ſee the moſt part of theſe who mannure the ground as though they were fungi or foreign , ſprung out of the ground like toad-ſtooles, affixi glebae, filij terrae, having their mindes fixed upon the earth, and never to elevate their minds higher to God, than the Oxen which labour the ground, but if they had hearts to looke up to God, O beatos agricolas! O how happie were thoſe huſbandmen!
There are five things which commend husbandrie in the Scriptures; firſt, the antiquitie of it, Five things which commend husbandrie.There was not a man to till the ground, Gen. 2. He is the firſt man that is miſſed, it is neither the Lawyer nor the Phyſitian, nor the Tailor but onelyonly the husbandman.
Secondly, the innocencie of it, it was commanded to Adam in Paradiſe, and Chriſt calleth his Father a husband man, Ioh. 15.1. I am the true Vine and my Father is the husbandman.
Thirdly for the delight of it, Vzzia the King is called vir agri, becauſe he delighted ſo much in husbandrie, 2 Chron. 26.10.
Fourthly, for profit, Eccleſ. 5.9. The profite of the earth is for all, the King himſelfe is ſerved by the field.
And laſtly, this calling is moſt clearely ſeene to bee ſubordinate to Gods providence, and therefore Eſay 28.26. The Lord is called the husbandmans God, who teacheth him and inſtructeth him.
The concluſion of this is, Concluſion. God by his bleſſing is both in the cauſes and the effects immediatly, therefore theſe are deceived who hold that God fet the heavens on worke, and they give onelyonly their influence to the earth, corne, and wine: Simile. torpedo or the crampfiſh when it toucheth the hooke, it tranſmitteth a benummedneſſe from the hooke to the line, and from the line to the goad, and from the goade to the fiſhers arme; here the crampfiſh worketh but mediately, but God worketh immediately in all the cauſes and in all the effects, and therefore let us crave the bleſſing of God both to the cauſes and to the effects.