Catholic Theology Plain Pure Peaceable, Section 4
SECT. IV. How far God uſeth Means.
§. 1. CHriſt who is the chief means is uſed in all the Conveyances of Grace, to any one in the world.
§. 2. God hath a double work in Illuminating and Converting ſouls: One by activity of exteriour appulſive cauſes: The other within us on the Agid. Column. Rom. Quodl. 1. qu. 2. p. 5. citeth Dio…yſ. de div. nom. l. 3. as holding that every order of ſecond cauſes is like a beam of light ſtreaming down from God, as ſo many cords let down to men to draw them up to God: And if a man ſhould take hold of one of them and aſcend to Heaven, he might imagine that Heaven did bow down to him, when indeed it moveth not, but he would draw himſelf up to it: ſo when upon Prayer or other ſecond Cauſes, God doth us good, he ſeemeth to incline and bend to us, but it is not ſo, but he is unchangeable and it's we that are drawn and moved to him, and by the uſe of means by us, we are conjoyned to Gods purpoſe, that the things may be done for us which he hath decreed: Vid. reliq. where he confuteth the contrary errours.faculties of the ſoul, without thoſe cauſes. I cannot better illuſtrate it, than by the cauſing of ſight, hearing, &c. The Light without us, is not only a terminating object (as ſome dream,) but an Active thing, or Action, which operateth by appulſe upon the eye: And the Sun and Aire are the cauſes of it. The eye is not only a paſſive Receiver (as ſome dream,) but an Organ where the viſive ſpirits, and ſoul are Active: And God worketh internally on this viſive faculty by his influx, to ſuſtain it in its activity. And by a congreſs of theſe two fires or Active cauſes, the ſenſitive ſoul doth ſee. Now we all know that God giveth the external light only per media, by the Sun, &c. But how he ſuſtaineth and actuateth the Viſive faculty is more difficult. His own influx or Cauſation is undoubted: And that the ſame Sun ut cauſa univerſalis cheriſheth and moveth the viſive ſpirits: But whether God move the ſenſitive faculty or ſoul it ſelf, by any ſuperiour ſpirit, or mediate cauſe▪ in its motion or action towards and on the exteriour light, is paſt our knowledge: (Though the order obſerved in other caſes, maketh it not improbable.)
Even ſo in the Illumination of the mind, and converſion of the will, we are ſure that beſide the terminative object, there is an external motion which by the foreſaid means is made at leaſt on the ſenſes, and imagination, whatever it do further on the Intellect: But in the ſuperiour Influx on the ſoul it ſelf, what uſe God may make of Angels or other ſuperiour ſpirits or cauſes, we cannot tell. We are ſure (as is ſaid) that if there be a ſecond cauſe, yet as to proximity it is never the leſs neerly from God: And ſouls being Intellectual, and for ought we know of the higheſt nature of Creatures, though not the higheſt Degree, neither is improbable, that God moveth us by a ſecond cauſe, or that he doth it without.
§. 3. But as Chriſts fore-deſcribed mediate Cauſality is ſtill ſuppoſed, ſo it is certain that God doth not only work (as ſome think) concomitantly with the word, but by it as his Inſtrument. Though his wayes of co-operation are paſt the reach of man: yet this much is ſure, 1. That he adap… eth the means to do their work, both word, Miniſter, &c. 2. And that his concurſe maketh the due Impreſſion on the ſenſe and imagination. 3. And though no Philoſopher certainly know whether the Images in the phantaſie be meerly paſſive as to the Intellect, or what uſe is made of them and the paſſions to Intellection and Volition; yet ſuch uſe as is naturally to be made of them for theſe ends, God maketh, and manageth them accordingly by skill and power.
§. 4. But here MOTION the effect of Active force, and ORDER of motion, as the effect of GOVERNMENT, muſt be well diſtinguiſhed: For it is not ſo much the ſecond Cauſes of the ſouls Action, as ſuch, that we are now enquiring after: But of the ORDER and Rectitude of its Actions, which is done by Government.
§. 5. That God doth work Grace on man by means, ordinarily, (as ordinarily he cauſeth natural effects by means; and Miracles are rare) may be proved by all theſe following evidences.
§. 6. 1. In that he hath made ſo large proviſion of means, and that in an admirable frame, which is as it were, a Moral world. Which he would never do in vain; nor if he ordinarily workt without them that work which he hath appointed them to do. It is the reaſon of the Brittiſh Divines in their ſuffrages at Dort. Had not God decreed to work Grace by means, he could have done it with a fiat.
§. 7. 2. The Glory of this Kingdom or Sapiential Rule, which is ſo conſtantly and largely given him in the Scripture, Pſal. 103. 10. and 145. and 119. throughout; and Matth. 25. As the Ship▪maſter or Pilot is praiſed who by a Helm can turn about the Ship as he will, Jam. 3. 4.
§. 8. 3. God worketh on all things according to their nature: And this is ſuitable to the nature of man: And the Cauſation is anſwerable to the effect: And ORDER is a moral effect, which needeth not a Creation but a moral ordering Cauſation.
§. 9. 4. Experience telleth us that thoſe proſper beſt in grace that moſt faithfully and diligently uſe the means: And we never knew of any man 1 Tim. 4. 15. Prov. …: 20, 21. & 3. & 5. & 8. & 13. 4.in the world, that came to Actual knowledge, faith, or Love, without means; but all by the cauſality of them.
§. 10. 5. We find that the greateſt neglecters and deſpiſers of means, are every where moſt graceleſs, and the worſt of men.
§. 11. 6. We have (Miniſters and people) frequent and ſtrict commands, to uſe means moſt diligently, conſtantly and carefully.
§. 12. 7. We have abundance of promiſes of Gods bleſſing upon the Licet omnis cauſa ſecund… proprie dicta, cauſet effectum ex natura rei, tamen quod ipſa ſit cauſa non eſt ex natura rei quia ſolum ex voluntate Dei. Alliac. in 4. q. 1. F.uſe of means: Act. 26. 17. I ſend thee to open their eyes and turn them. Rom. 10. How ſhall they hear without a Preacher, &c. Iſa. 55. 2, 3. Hear and your ſouls ſhall live. Matth. 28. 20. I am with you alwayes, &c. Luke 10. 16. He that heareth you, heareth me. Pſal. 19. 7, &c. The Law of the Lord is pure—Converting the ſoul. 1 Pet. 1. It is the incorruptible Seed that regenerateth us. Heb. 4. The word is powerful—and a ſearcher of the heart, &c.
§. 13. 8. When God will ſave a people he ſends them the Goſpel, and Amos 8. 11. Prov. 29. 1…when he will forſake them he taketh it away.
§. 14. 9. The Devil ſheweth his malice to ſouls and grace, by oppoſing the means, depriving men of them, or keeping them from them, or from the faithful uſing of them.
§. 15. But it is none of my meaning that the bare means of it ſelf doth change the ſoul, or that it is the principal cauſe: But only that God operateth Moral effects by Moral means, as he doth Natural by Natural means, being ſtill the prime Cauſe of all himſelf.
§. 16. If we thus conjoyn all Cauſes and ſeparate not what God hath conjoyned, it will help us the better to eſcape errour in this matter. But if men will dream that all the honour or action that is aſcribed to ſecond cauſes, is a derogation from God and a diſhonouring of him, they forſake the truth and injure him.
§. 17. For if this were true, that to honour the means or acknowledge Though God be proxi…u… (not as in loco) in all his operations, yet ſeeing he operateth by ſecond cauſes, he doth it according to them, as all experience tells us: Therefore to end theſe Controverſies, we ſhould conſider more how thoſe cauſes operate.ſecond Cauſes, and their aptitude and efficacy, is to diſhonour God, then God ſhould be the greateſt diſhonourer of himſelf, by making and uſing ſuch cauſes and means; And ſo many Creatures as there be in the world, ſo many diſhonours are caſt on God; and the excellenteſt Creatures would diſhonour him moſt: which ſottiſh conceit muſt needs be joyned with Manichaeiſm, that an ill God was the Maker of the World. God is Glorious in all his works, and ſhineth to us in them all.