Natural Theology, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
God's perfect knowledge of Man, Evidenced from his making Man. The ſeveral duties Man owes to God as his Creator. Man's deſtruction whence it ariſeth, that the Creator deſtroyes his own Creature.
THus I have endeavoured to demonſtrate the Being of God to Man, from the Creation of Man, which methinks ſhould be the moſt cogent Argument upon him, being taken from himſelf. Argumentum ad hominem ab homine. And becauſe I would ſtill make Natural Theology ſerve the Intereſt of true Religion, as the Hand-maid doth her Miſtreſs; I ſhall therefore draw ſeveral practical Inferences that naturally ariſe from the Conſideration of God as the Creator of Man.
Infer. I. Firſt, He that made Man muſt needs know him. He that made a Watch, or Clock, knows every pin in it, and the motion of every wheel. So doth God know the Soul in all the faculties of it, knows what it can do, what it can not do; What are the apprehenſions, volitions, and inclinations of it; What are the regular, and what are the oblique motions of it; What principles are in the Mind, how reſented by the Will, how they are entertained in the Affections: He knows what it doth, what it would do, what it will not do. So that as it is ſaid of Chriſt, he needed not that any ſhould teſtifie of Man, for he knew what was in Man, Joh. 2. 25.
The Prophet David in the 139. Pſalm, ſpeaks of God's exact knowledge of him; Firſt, in General, O God thou haſt ſearched and known me, v. 1. And then particularly, Thou underſtandeſt my thoughts afar off, v. 2. Thou compaſſest my path, and art acquainted with all my ways, v. 3. There is not a word in my mouth, but thou knowest it altogether, v. 4. As if he ſhould ſay, Thou knoweſt what I think, what I ſpeak, what I do: And he giveth a twofold reaſon of this knowledge God had of him: One was, becauſe he was every where preſent with him, v. 7. 8, 9, 10. And the other, becauſe he made him and formed him; Thou haſt poſſeſſed my reins, thou hast covered me in my Mothers womb, v. 13. My ſubſtance was not hid from thee, when I was made in ſecret, v. 15. In thy Book were all my members written, v. 16. God laid the draught of him, and made him, and therefore muſt needs have a perfect knowledge of him.
And from this knowledge of God a Chriſtian may form, to himſelf, matter both of Caution and Conſolation.
1. Caution, Ought we not then take heed to our ſelves, when God hath ſuch perfect knowledge of us? Our actions are all known to him, y ea our words, yea our thoughts: The very frame and conſtitution of our moſt inward man is known to him: What neither Men or Angels know of us, or can know, that God knows. The Anatomist that diſſects the Body, and diſcerns all its ſecret Veins and Arteries, and the ſmalleſt Fibrae's of Nature doth not ſo exactly know it, as God doth know it that made it, and he knows alſo that Spirit that dwels in it, it being the work of his own hand: Doth the Spirit in Man know the things of Man? yet God knows them better then the Spirit of Man; yea, he knows the Spirit it ſelf, and that better then it knows it ſelf.
Let then Chriſtians walk continually under an awful ſence of this: And take heed of all ſin, becauſe it is all known, eſpecially that of Hypocriſie; an Hypocrite pleaſeth himſelf that he is not known to Men: But let him conſider that he is known to his own Conſcience, and that condemns him; And he is known better to God then to his own Conſcience, and therefore God will condemn much more, as knowing all things, 1 Joh. 3. 20. And ſuppoſe a Man ſhould be unknown to himſelf, as we know the Heart of Man is deceitful not only to the deceiving of others, but even of it ſelf, yet nothing in the Heart is hid to God; So that when the queſtion is put, The heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it? It is anſwered, I the Lord ſearch the heart, &c. Jer. 17. 9, 10.
It ſhould ingage every Chriſtian to ſearch and know his own Heart, becauſe it is ſearched and known of God: That he that knows the Heart may find uprightneſs, and truth in the inward parts, which he is ſaid to Love.
II. Conſolation, A true Chriſtian may comfort himſelf in God's knowledge of him.
1. That God knows the weakneſs of our Nature, carries comfort in it to his people. As 103. Pſalm 14. He knoweth our frame, he remembreth that we are dust: He knows he made us at firſt out of the duſt, and he remembers it ſtill, and as he makes it to himſelf an Argument of pity, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks in the 13. verſe, ſo we may thence alſo frame an Argument to our own comfort in the daily feeling we have of it.
2. That he alſo knows the Heart, is no ſmall comfort to the upright in Heart. And that 1. In reſpect of the obloquies, cenſures, and misjudgings of Men. 2. In reſpect of the failings and defects that attend our Services: God can look through them all, to that integrity that is in the Heart which is known to him: Hezekiah was guilty of many failings, but he had this to comfort him, that his Heart was upright with God, and that God knew this, for he prays God to remember it, 38. Iſa. 3. 3. In reſpect of Inability to perform what good we deſire: God doth not only know what we act, but that deſire of the Heart out of which we act, and where the Deſire is beyond the Act, as it is in all true Saints, God knows that deſire to accept it, though the Act falls ſhort of it: David was under ſuch a deep ſence of God's goodneſs to him, that he knew not how ſufficiently to expreſs his thankfulneſs, but he comforts himſelf in this, that God knew him, 2 Sam. 7. And what can David ſay more unto thee for thou knowest thy ſervant.
Infer. II. If God be the Creator of Man, it followes that Man is not his own, God hath a ſupreme right to him as his Maker: He hath made us, and his we are, foreign for foreignas thoſe words may be read, Pſal. 100. 3. He hath made us, and not we our ſelves. And this Original Right of God cannot be alienated, either by any extrinſick Power, or by any Compact made by our ſelves: Though Men ſell themſelves to work wickedneſs as Ahab did, yet they cannot ſell away God's right to them as their Creator. As he that is the true proprietor will claim his goods where he ſinds them, though ſold over and over by ſuch as had no right.
And therefore for Men to be their own, and live to themſelves, hath a manifold Evil wrapt up in it.
1. It is Ingratitude; If it be Ingratitude not to improve, and devote the additional Comforts of our Being to God, much more not to devote our Being it ſelf. Being it ſelf is the greateſt favour we receive from him, and therefore it is the greateſt unthankfulneſs, not to give him the Praiſe of it, by living to him. If any of us ſhould raiſe a Man into ſome good condition in the World, and then ſhould not be acknowledged by him that is thus raiſed, we ſhould juſtly brand him with Ingratitude: Much more Ingratitude is it not to acknowledge God that hath raiſed us out of Non-being into Being. When Paul deſired a favour of Philemon, with reſpect to Oneſimus, he preſſeth it by this Argument that he could tell him, that he owed himſelf unto him, Philem. 19. It would have been great ingratitude had Philemon denyed his requeſt, though he did not owe himſelf to the Apoſtle in that Supreme and abſolute Right as we owe our ſelves to God. And he that made us reaſonable Creatures could have made us Brutes; ought we not then to be thankful to our Creator for making us ſuch, and no Man is truly thankful that is his own, and reſerveth himſelf from him. Man's ſervice of God may be accounted reaſonable,foreign cultus rationalis. Beza. as making him a reaſonable Creature, and not a Brute, Rom. 12. 1.
2. It is Injuſtice; He that is his own, and lives to himſelf, detaineth from God that which is His, and that is Injuſtice.
And as the Heathen Poet ſpeaks, foreign, &c. all Vertue is comprehended in Juſtice, ſo injuſtice runs through the Nature of all ſin, and all ſin is radically comprehended in this, In Mans being his own. The unprofitable ſervant in the Parable was Condemned for not improving his Maſters Talent to his uſe; and the unjuſt Steward was caſt out of his Office for imbezeling his Maſters goods: And there was injuſtice found in them both: For Man not to improve the Talent of his Being to the uſe of his Creator is unjuſt, much more to imbezel and waſte it upon the ſervice of his Luſts. For what are all the faculties of our Souls and Bodies, but our Maſters Goods, and to be devoted to his uſe.
Know ye not that the unrighteous ſhall not inherit the Kingdom of God?foreign. ſaith the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 6. 9. He mentions afterwards ſeveral ſorts of ſinner,s but in this they all agree, they are all unrighteous.
3. It is folly; ſhould a Man live to himſelf, when he cannot make himſelf happy? Happineſs is that which all deſire; why ſhould then Man make himſelf his End, when he cannot be his own happineſs? was Man ſelf ſufficient he need not go out of himſelf, but be his own Principle, Rule, and End, But ſeeing he is not ſufficient to his own happineſs, it is folly for him to live to himſelf. If Man in his fullest ſtate of perfection was not his own happineſs, how much leſs can he be now in his Indigent empty ſtate? When Man changeth his ultimate end from himſelf to God, he now returns to the true Wiſdom, and is delivered from that folly that ſin had poſſeſt him with. For Men imagine they can make themſelves happy, elſe they would not ultimately live to themſelves.
Two things are requiſite to Man's happineſs in his preſent ſtate. One is, That he be delivered from thoſe hurtful Evils that are injurious, or deſtructive to it. And the other is, That he poſſeſs that poſitive good that is ſuitable, and every way ſatisfactory to his Nature, as he is a rational Creature; But neither of theſe can man effect for himſelf. For the former, Can he deliver himſelf from ſin, which is the worſt of all Evils, and that Wrath, Curſe, and Death, which he lies obnoxious to upon the account of it? We ſee he cannot deliver himſelf from Temporal Evils, which ſeems more in his power to do, much leſs from thoſe Eternal Evils which are inflicted by God's more immediate hand.
As to the latter, Can he of himſelf raiſe up his Soul to the well-head of all true felicity, and fetch thence thoſe Living Waters, that ſhall quench the thirſt of his Soul, and ſatisfie all his deſires? Can he, having extricated himſelf from thoſe chains of ſin that held him in bondage, enfranchiſe himſelf into a State and Spirit of true liberty? Can he enlighten his own mind, and quicken himſelf into the life of holineſs, when he is dead in ſin? Alaſs, how little is it Man can do for himſelf in any thing, much leſs in theſe great things wherein his true happineſs conſiſts? Therefore is it not folly for Man to be his own, and live to himſelf?
4. Hereby Man perverts the End of his Being. For God made Man for himſelf: He is both the Efficient, and End of his Being. And making Man for himſelf, he fitted him with Faculties to ſerve his End: As every Rational Agent doth propoſe to himſelf an End in what he doth, and doth forme means ſuitable to that End: Now if Man lives to himſelf, he ſerves not the End of his Creation; And what is a thing good for, if it doth not ſerve its End?
Would it not be a Monſtrous thing in Nature, if the Sun ſhould not ſhine forth its light upon the World, which is the end God made it for? Or if the Earth ſhould impriſon within it ſelf its ſeminal vertue, and not ſend it forth in thoſe ſeveral fruits that it had a Commiſſion to do for the uſe of Man and Beaſt? But we ſee theſe inferior parts of God's Creation do ſerve their End, and is it not ſad that the ſupremer part of it, which is Man, ſhould not ſerve his? May not he look upon the whole Creation, and then bluſh at himſelf? And the very Horſe, Man rides upon, reproves the rider whiles he is ſerving of him.
This is the Harmony of the Creation, when every part of it keeps its place, and ſerves its End; It is only Man's ſin that hath diſturbed this harmony, by making Man live to himſelf, and ſo not to ſerve his End.
5. Man's Being is prophaned; As the devoting it to God doth Sanctifie it, ſo not to do it leaves it Common; Thoſe Beaſts, thoſe Fruits under the Law that were given to God were Sanctified, and the reſt were Common: Man doth Sanctifie his Being when he ceaſeth from himſelf, and offers up himſelf to God: It is the Apoſtles exhortation, 12. Rom. 1. Preſent your Bodies, that is by a Synecdoche, your ſelves as a living Sacrifice: And then it follows, holy. When Man makes himſelf a Sacrifice to God, then is his Being Conſecrated: As Lactantius tells the Heathen,Lib. 5. p. 421. that the Chriſtian Sacrifice was bona mens, purum pectus, innocens vita; A good Mind, pure Heart, innocent Life.
And as we are to offer our ſelves to God as a Sacrifice, ſo to dedicate our ſelves to him as his Temple; That both Soul and Body may be his habitation: And we know, under the Law, after the Temple was built, and dedicated, it was no longer a Common ſtructure. The Temple of God is Holy, In noſtra dedicandus est mente, in noſtro conſecrandus est pe…ore. Cypr. de Idol. vanitat. p. 289.ſaith the Apoſtle, and then addeth, which Temple ye are, 1 Cor. 3. 17. For ſeeing that he dwels not in Temples made with hands, being the Maker of the World, and all things therein, as we read Acts 17. 24. he now dwels in living Temples made without hands, which are his people that ſeparate themſelves unto him.
And leaſt there ſhould be wanting a Prieſthood, with reſpect to the Sacrifice and Temple; The ſame that are the Sacrifice and Temple are the Prieſthood alſo. The Prieſts under the Law were perſons ſeparated from Common men, and Sanctified to God. So they that ſeparate themſelves from the principles and practiſe of the Carnal World, and live to the ſervice and honour of God, they are his Prieſthood. As the Apoſtle St. Peter writes to the believing Jews, 1 Pet. 2. 9 and ſtiles them a Royal Prieſthood, and ſo a peculiar, not Common, People; for they were ſuch as had been Converted to God by the Goſpel, and ſo were Sanctified to his ſervice.
And ſeeing the ſame perſon is both Prieſt and Sacrifice, that which is off'red up, muſt needs be a Free-will offering. For the Sanctified will offers up the whole Man to God: And ſeeing it is the whole Man, it is an Holocaust alſo that is off'red up, or as ſtiled in the Law, a Whole burnt Offering.
Infer. III. But we may hence more particularly learn the ſeveral duties Man owes to God as his Maker.
1. We owe him Love; We Love them that give us gifts, how much more ſhouldſt thou Love him that gave thee thy ſelf? when Job would reckon up what God had done for him, he inſiſts firſt upon God's giving him Being, 10. Job 10, 11. &c. Thou hast powred me out like Milk, crudled me as Cheeſe, cloathed me with Skin and Fleſh, fenced me with Bones and Sinews, &c. Thou hast granted me life and favour.
And this favour of giving thee Being, is the firſt of God's favours; and it muſt needs be favour, for no Man could merit of God to give him Being. And if the preſervation and accommodation of our Being in the World, ſhould ingage us to Love God; how much more our Creation that gave us Being: And as every Man doth Love himſelf, becauſe he is himſelf; much more ſhould we Love him that gave us our ſelves, and that more then our ſelves.
2. Fear; For he that gave thee Being can deſtroy it: And he is to be fear'd above all, for as he alone could give thee Being, ſo he alone can deſtroy it. The Body may be killed, and yet Man not deſtroyed; but to have Soul and Body cast into Hell, this deſtroys Man: now this only God can do, as our Saviour ſpeaks, and therefore he is to be chiefly feared: And this he will do, if thou feareſt him not. He that made thee, will not have Mercy on thee, as it is ſaid 27. Iſa. 11. Elihu had an aw of God upon him, conſidered as his Maker, as appears by his ſpeech, 32. Job laſt, I know not how to give flattering titles, in ſo doing my Maker would ſoon take me away. He that ſet me in a rank and ſtation of Being, would remove me, or rather throw me out of it again. He that made Man hath thereby Sovereign Power over him; By this Sovereign Power, he hath right to appoint Man a Law to govern him. And if Man tranſgreſs this Law, he violates God's Sovereignty; And therefore it belongs to God, either to pardon or puniſh the Tranſgreſſion. And upon the account of both, God is to be feared: As he hath Power to puniſh, ſo we are to fear him; and as he hath Power to pardon, ſo we ought to fear him alſo, Pſal. 130. 4. There is forgiveneſs with thee that thou mayſt be feared. And as God's Sovereign Power over Man as his Creator, gives him this Right, ſo his eſſential or Creating Power, gives him ability to deſtroy the Creature which it gave Being to. The Prophet Jeremy therefore bids the people not to fear the Heathen Idols, 10. Jer. 5. And why? For they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. But then ſpeaking of the true God, adds v. 7. Who would not fear thee, O King of Nations? for to thee doth it appertain: He can do Good and Evil, he can ſave or deſtroy Man that made him, and therefore fear appertains to him.
3. Praiſe; As the Pſalmist calls upon the moſt inferior Beings to praiſe God▪ as Beaſts, and all Cattle, and creeping things: how much more ſhould Man praiſe God that hath ſo noble a Being. David conſidering himſelf as God's Creature and Workmanſhip, breaks forth into his praiſe, 139. Pſal. I will praiſe thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. And then he ſpeaks particularly, how God drew out the Scheme of him in his Book, and then how his members were faſhioned, and curiouſly wrought, v. 15. 16. Now ſaith David, I will praiſe thee; Even as a curious piece of Work, every one is ready to commend and praiſe: The Philoſopher could thank his God that he made him a Man, and then for the advantages he afterwards conferred upon his humane Nature. Ought we to praiſe God for our Food, that preſerves Life? much more for Life it ſelf, that is better then Food, Matth. 6. 25.
4. Submiſſion; Will he correct and chaſten thee, ſubmit and give him reverence: Do we ſo to the Fathers of our Fleſh, that are but inſtruments to give us our Fleſh and ſhall we not much more do it to the Father of Spirits, that is the Efficient and Creator of the Spirit? As the Apoſtle argues, 12. Heb. 9. Hath he made thee out of the clay, as Job expreſſeth it, Chap. 10. Hath he given thee Being, and may he not diſpoſe of it as he will: Hath not the Potter power over the clay to make it, and faſhion it as he pleaſeth? He that built an Houſe may alter it and change it; yea and pull it down if he pleaſe.
God hath a twofold dominion over Man, Dominium juriſdictionis, & proprietatis. A Dominion of juriſdiction, whereby to rule over us, and a Dominion of property to diſpoſe of us: And both theſe are founded upon the higheſt and moſt Sovereign Right, which is that of Creation.
5. Dependance; Thou hadſt thy Being of him, and thou haſt it ſtill in him: As the Apoſtle puts both theſe together, 17. Act. 28. We are his of-ſpring, that is, we have our Being of him;foreign. and ſaith alſo, We live, move, and Be in him: Our preſervation is but a continued Creation. We ſubſiſt every moment in the firſt principle of our Being; As the beams ſubſiſt in the Sun from whence they ſpring.
Thy Life depends more upon him, then upon the Bread: Man liveth not by Bread alone, but by every word that commeth out of the mouth of God. That word that firſt gave Man his life, is that upon which it ſtill principally depends: And it is that which Job acknowledgeth; Thou haſt given me life, and favour, and thy viſitation preſerveth my ſpirit, Job 10 9, 10.
Now this Natural dependance upon God, ſhould teach Man a Moral dependance upon him: Man's ſtate is paſſively a ſtate of dependance, and therefore his life ſhould be actively a life of dependance.
Should we not then in all our ways acknowledge him? And trust in him with all our Hearts, and not leane to our own underſtanding? 3. Pro. 5, 6. what ever means thou uſeſt for the welfare of thy Soul or Body, yet depend not upon them, but upon him that is the Creator of both: Let that infinite Power, Wiſdom, and Goodneſs, out of which thy Being flowes, be the objects of thy dependance for thy well being.
Eſpecially ſeeing we have theſe ingaged to us (if we are believers) in an Everlaſting Covenant, to be exerted for our ſuccor and ſupply in every time of need: So that we may now depend upon him, and commit our ſelves to him, not only as a Wiſe, Good, and Powerful, but as a Faithful Creator, 1 Pet. 4. 19. Conſidering that the Soul and Body that were made by him, are not under his care only by the common Laws of Creation and providence, but by ſpecial Covenant.
6. Obedience to his Law, I mean his Written Law; I know this Law comprehends in it all the foregoing duties, which are in themſelves Naturally moral, and by vertue of God's Law are made Poſitively moral; but yet this Law of God being of further extent, I ſhall therefore ſpeak of it under a diſtinct head.
God, as Man's Creator, hath right to appoint him the Law and Rule of his Life, and Actions; and ſo as his Creatures we owe him obedience. All Creatures are paſſively under a Natural Law, which the Creator did appoint to them; and which is obſerved by them, though many of them know it not; But Man is under a Written Law, which he is actively to obey. He being a Reaſonable Creature, he is capable of knowing the rule and end of his being, which the other Creatures are not: And both theſe are laid down in the Scriptures. Conſider then, 1. God is Man's Creator. 2. He Created him for an End. 3. He hath given him a Law and Rule to walk by in order to that End. And hereupon Man lies under the higheſt obligation to Obedience, it being the Law of him that made him: And Man's obedience to God ought to be abſolute; Though it ought not to be ſo to Men, becauſe God's dominion over us is ſuperior to that of all Men, and ſo may ſuperſede and over-rule it.
And if we think it our duty to obey Magiſtrates and Parents that have ſome inferior power over us, how much more that God who hath a Supreme Power, and that founded in the higheſt right, which is that of Creation.
And let us particularly ſhew our obedience to his Law in our worſhip of him: For as worſhip is due to God as our Creator, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, 95. Pſal. Oh come let us worſhip and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker; ſo he hath right alſo thereby by to ſet us the rule of our Worſhip. As not to Worſhip him is Contempt, ſo to Worſhip otherwiſe then he hath appointed is Idolatry, or Superſtition; yea it is a bold uſurpation of the Creature upon the Creator. The Apoſtle calls it Will worſhip, 2. Col. becauſe it is founded in Man's will and not God's.
And what though the worſhip God hath inſtituted, hath an outſide meanneſs and no external ſplendor in it, to affect the ſenſe; yet we are to perform it out of meer obedience. And obedience hath a Comelineſs and Beauty in it, though it be in the leaſt matters: And in ſuch matters, wherein we can ſee no Reaſon for them, but the will of God; as in Abraham's Offering up his Son, and Naaman his waſhing ſeven times in Jordan, &c. And in theſe eſpecially is Man's obedience tryed: All moral duties carry ſuch equity and goodneſs in the Nature of them, that right Reaſon doth perſuade obedience to them; but theſe that are duties only by Inſtitution, are to be obeyed though meerly to comply with the Creatours will. And that God might have this obedience from Adam as well as the former, he forbad him to Eat of one Tree of the Garden. And why one, and not two? why that and not another only depended upon God's Sovereign will: And ſuch Inſtitutions we have ſtill in God's written Word, to which we are to give obedience, as they bear the ſtamp of God's Authority, though we ſhould ſee no other Reaſon for it. This is the third Inference.
Infer. IV. Hence we may take notice in the next place, that Man's ſafeſt and happieſt conſiſtance is in God, he being Man's Creator, and the Fountain of his Being: As we ſee every thing in Nature hath its beſt exiſtence in the principle out of which it is derived, and the Original out of which it ſprings: As a Branch hath its beſt exiſtence in the Tree, Rivers in the Sea, Fire in its Element, Earthly matter in the Earth: So hath Man in God; Here is his moſt proper dwelling, and reſting place: As every thing in Nature hath its home and centre; But God himſelf is theſe to Man: And therefore hither ought his motions tend, as every thing in Nature, is tending thither where it hath its beſt abode.
Sin hath ſeparated Man from the principle of his Being, and cut of his Communion with his Creator, and now no wonder though he finds no reſting place, being out of his Centre; and that his Soul is withering, being cut off from the root of its life.
Though it is true Man's natural Being is ſtill upheld by the Power and providence of God; yet as to his moral Well-being, ſin hath made an interciſion betwixt God and him.
But let him not continue thus; But as the Child that is carried from home, cries to return back again; and taken from the Armes of its Parents, reacheth to come to them again; ſo let Man do, let him be crying after God, to return to him as his true home, and the great Parent of his Being.
Go to him and tell him, thou art his Creature, and he thy Creator, if thou canſt not yet call him Father; pray him to have pity on thee, as thou art the work of his Hand: To receive thee, and pardon thee, and to deliver thee from that ſin which is none of God's work, yet hath marred his work in thee, and leads the Creature from his Creator, though it ſelf be none of his Creatures.
And we that live under the Goſpel have both direction and encouragement herein: The Goſpel tells us the way whereby we may come back to God again, which is Jeſus Chriſt; When as thoſe that live without it, feel after him only as Men in the dark (as the Apoſtle ſpeaks of the Gentiles, 17. Act.) wanting a guide to lead them to him.
It alſo doth give great Encouragement to Men, by declaring God's infinite readineſs to receive his returning Creature: It tells us that Chriſt came from Heaven to declare this readineſs, and ſo he did it all along, when here upon Earth; eſpecially in the three Parables of the loſt Sheep, the loſt Drachme, and the loſt Son, 15. Luk. But his ſuffering Death to make way for our return, and to bring us to God, doth above all abundantly declare it, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 1 Pet. 3. 18. Christ hath once ſuffered for ſins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
Infer. V. Hence it follows that if God is our Maker, Man hath no Reaſon to Glory in himſelf; For he hath derived his Being, his Self from God: Haſt thou Beauty, Strength, Parts, and Endowments of Mind, but why ſhouldſt thou Glory? art thou not God's Creature, haſt thou any thing but what thou haſt received? It is of him that thou art what thou art in every thing, except thy ſin; And wilt thou Glory in that? in that which is thy ſhame? in that wilt thou Glory which hath ſtript Man of his Glory? Hath he formed thee out of the Clay, raiſed thee out of the Duſt, clothed thee with Skin and Fleſh, breathed into thee the breath of Life; yea, brought thee out of the Abyſs of nothing into being, (As David ſpeaks of his ſubſtance and members formed by God, when once there was none of them, 139. Pſal. 16.) and wilt thou Glory in thy ſelf? Eſpecially wilt thou Glory in thy ſelf againſt God, and ſay, who is the Lord? I have Strength, Wit, Wiſdom of mine own, and why ſhould I be ſubject to him? or what need I depend upon him. Thus Man comes to diſown his Creator, and ſets up himſelf as God, and above him that made him: And as if he had his Being of himſelf, in the pride of his Heart, ſaith with the Prince of Tyrus, I AM; when as God's Name alone is I AM, as God told Moſes, Exod. 3. 14. And as the Greek word EI was writ upon the gates of Apollo's Temple, which ſignifies, Thou art; which intimates what Notion the very Heathen had of God; that he was Being it ſelf, and of himſelf; ſo that all other Beings muſt be of him. But Man forgets this, and thinks he is of himſelf, and therefore is apt to lay aſide all reſpect to God, and exalt himſelf into his room.
And as Man was once nothing Negatively, till God gave him Being, and made him ſomething; ſo he would ſoon return to nothing again privatively, if he was not continually preſerved by an Influx of Being from the firſt Being.
So that, as a late Learned Writer ſpeaks, if God ſhould ſay to him, or to any Angel in Heaven, Accipe quod tuum est, & abi; Take that which is thine one, and be gone; they muſt depart into their firſt nothing: What hath Man then left him to Glory in?
Infer. VI. Laſtly, The Saints may hence draw ſeveral Arguments to plead with God by, and ſtrengthen their Faith therein: Eſpecially in theſe Caſes.
1. To make proviſion for them; Hath he given me Being, and will he not take care of that Being he hath given me? Hath he given me Life, and will he not give food to maintain that Life? and a Body, and will he not provide raiment to Cloath it? We know theſe are Chriſt's Arguments to ſtrengthen his Diſciples Faith againſt inordinate Cares; in the 6. Matth. 25. Hath he put this Inſtinct into all living Creatures to provide for their young, that proceed from them by Natural Generation; and is it not then eminently in God's Nature, that is the Creator of all things? Hereupon he is ſaid to feed the Ravens, cloath the graſs of the Field, take care of Sparrows, and to ſend rain for his Land, Job 37. 13. And will he not take care of his people who are a more ſpecial part of his Creation.
2. To redeem them from Sin, and Satan, and the World, the three great Adverſaries of their Souls. 1. From Sin, we may plead with God to redeem us from it, that what is no part of his Creation, may not deſtroy that Soul that is a chief part of it: That what hinders us from ſerving the end of our Being, which is to Glorifie our Creator, may not ſtill be found dwelling in us his Creatures. 2. From Satan; That we who are God's Creatures, may be delivered from his Vſurpation and Tyranny, who hath no right to rule over us: That he who is the God of the World, by permiſſion and power only, not by any right, and to whom we owe no ſervice, may not hinder us in the ſervice of him that is the true God, the Creator, and rightful Governor of the World, and to whom we owe all ſervice. 3. From the World; Did not God make Man, and made him Lord of his Creation, and made the Creatures to ſerve him? maiſt not thou then plead with God, that he would help thee to maintain thy Sovereignty over them, that they may not enſlave thy Soul, and make thee to be ſervant to them? That thou mayſt not only live as his Creature, but reign in that Station of Sovereignty wherein God firſt ſet Man, over the World, and things thereof.
For as the Poet ſpeaks of Money, Imperat aut ſervit, &c. It is either a Man's Maſter or his Servant; ſo it may be ſaid of all other things. A Man may have a Natural dominion over them, and command them for his uſe, and yet be under a moral ſlavery and ſubjection to them, by having his Heart captivated and enſnared by them: And ſo Man is degraded of one great part of that Sovereignty wherein he was firſt created.
3. To inſtruct and teach them in their way; As David prays, 119. Pſal. 73. Thy hands have made me and faſhioned me, give me underſtanding that I may learn thy Commandments. As if he ſhould ſay, Lord, thou haſt given me my Being, and wilt thou leave me; and not guide me and lead me, now thou haſt made me? Or as others, thus, Thine hands have made me and faſhioned me, therefore I owe thee Obedience, give me therefore underſtanding that I may learn thy Commandments, and ſo give obedience to thee: Or it may be David looks at God as his Father by Creation, and therefore begs that, as a Father, he would inſtruct him, and learn him his Commandments: And ſo may the Saints plead, that as God hath given them Being, ſo he would guide them in the way to their Well-being.
4. They may hence plead for ſupport under their afflictions; That God would have regard to the work of his hands, that no affliction may be above their ſtrength to undergo, leaſt it prove deſtructive to the Creature that he hath made.
It was Job's complaint to God, though he went too far in it, 10. Job. 8. Thine hands have made me and faſhioned me, yet thou doest deſtroy me: And hence he makes his plea alſo with God, Remember I beſeech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay, and wilt thou bring me to the dust again? And Job ſpeaks this upon the account of his ſore afflictions.
And though the Saints may plead with God by a nearer relation to him then that of Creation, as being his adopted Children, yet the former plea is not antiquated, as the relation it ſelf is not nulled. As appears, becauſe God himſelf from thence draws Arguments to pity and ſuccour his people: As in the 57. Iſa. 16. I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth, for the Spirit ſhould fail before me, and the Soul that I have made: And that which is an Argument to himſelf, may be to us to plead with him by.
And I may add, we may hence alſo plead to be ſaved out of affliction, as well as ſupported under it: For he that firſt created Man out of the duſt, is able to Create deliverance to us, when by afflictions we are laid in the duſt, and brought even to the duſt of Death, as David's expreſſion is, 22. Pſal. 15. And we may believe he is willing as well as able, ſeeing our Creation was not the effect of his Power only but of his Goodneſs alſo; and this goodneſs of his continues ſtill towards his Creature, whereby to be ready to give it a Well-being, as he firſt gave it Being.
And hereupon, Job is thought to comfort himſelf, that God would raiſe his Body out of the grave, it being his own Workmanſhip, 14. Job 15. Thou wilt call, and I will anſwer; thou wilt have a regard to the work of thy hands. And from that Power and Goodneſs of God that will raiſe up the Bodies of the Saints at the laſt day, they may hope for a Reſurrection out of the grave of any Temporal affliction in this World (only with a ſubmiſſion to the Creator's will); As the deliverance of the Jews out of Captivity is ſet forth by the opening of their graves and making dry bones to live, Ezek. 37. 5, 13.
5. They may hence alſo plead with God to reſtore them into a ſtate of holineſs and righteouſneſs, ſeeing he made Man firſt in ſuch a ſtate: For who can reſtore lapſed Man, but he that firſt made Man; God made Man upright at firſt, and he alone can reſtore him to it again.
After ſin had broke in upon the Nature of Man, and corrupted it; God is ſaid to repent of his work, that he had made Man; but in our Reſtoration God rejoyceth in his work again: As our Saviour telleth us, That there is joy in Heaven when a ſinner repents, 15. Luk. 7.
And this Reſtoration is called a Creation, for it brings Man into the Image of God again; And being a Creation it cannot be effected but by God himſelf. And he that made Man at firſt after his Image, of his own goodneſs, when none did ask it of him; will he not be ready to reſtore it to us when we ſhall come, and begg it at his hand?
There is a cry to God as the great Creator of the World, which is only vox Naturae, the voice of Nature; So every Man is ready to cry to God in his diſtreſs; Yea the very brute Creatures thus cry, The young Lions ſeek their prey of God; and the Ravens cry to be fed, and God is ſaid to hear them: But the Saints cry is vox Spiritus, the voice of God's Spirit in their Hearts; wherein they make a Spiritual and ſpecial improvement of their Common relation to God as their Creator, in all the Caſes formentioned: And though it be but Common bleſſings they ſometimes begg, and the good things of Nature, yet it is by a principle that is ſupernatural.
Infer. VII. Laſtly, We may hence take notice of the deſtructive and provoking Nature of Sin; It provokes God to deſtroy the Creature that was made by him: Yea that Creature which he hath beſtowed peculiar Workmanſhip upon. God loves every Creature as it is his Creature, and much more Man among his Creatures; how comes it then that any Man is deſtroyed? it is becauſe ſin hath got into his Nature, and his firſt armeth him againſt God his Creator, and thereby his Juſtice comes to be armed againſt Man his Creature and he falls before it.
And therefore let no Man plead for liberty and impunity in ſin, becauſe he is God's Creature: As many ignorant people have no higher hope then upon this bottom, He that made them will not damn them: God hath given Man a Law and Rule to walk by, and provided means for him in order to his Salvation; but if Man refuſe thus to walk, and reject the means of his own happineſs, let him not cenſure his Maker as cruel to his Creature: For it is not ſo much God's deſtroying Man, as Man's dedeſtroying himſelf. As if Jeremy the Prophet being in the miry Dungeon, and having Ropes and old raggs let down to him to pull him out, ſhould yet have refuſed to put them under his Arms, but will ſtay and periſh there; Jeremy had thereby been the cauſe of his own death. Or as a wiſe and merciful King delights not to have his Subjects put to death, but by wilful breaking the Law they bring it upon themſelves.
Neither let any Man ſay God deſtroys his Creature out of his mere Sovereignty: And that he made ſome Men on purpoſe to deſtroy them; And that without any conſideration of their ſin, he decreed them out of his own pleaſure to everlaſting miſery.
And therefore here, though in the cloſe of all, I ſhall vindicate my Text from a corrupt Interpretation; which though the Grammatical conſtruction may bear, yet the Truth will not;foreign. For the Inviſible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly ſeen, &c. even his Eternal Power and God-head, to this end that they might be without excuſe. As if to make men inexcuſable, was God's end in making himſelf known in the works of Creation, when it is only a conſequence of it through Man's default.
`Some indeed have thought that God out of his abſolute Sovereignty may take away from his Creature that which he hath given it, as Life, and Being; he may annihilate what he hath Created: but to make his Creature Eternally miſerable (which is worſe then a not-Being) meerly out of Sovereignty, this cannot conſiſt with his Infinite Mercy and Goodneſs: A Man hath that Dominion over a Beaſt that he may take away the Life of it if he pleaſe; but to put his Beaſt out of his mere pleaſure to perpetual Torment, is perfect cruelty, and contrary to that mercy and humanity that belongs to the perfection of Man's Nature. And therefore it cannot be imagined that any ſuch thing can be found in God. I will aſcribe Righteouſneſs to my Maker, ſaid Elihu, Job 36. 3. And ſo we ought to aſcribe Mercy and Goodneſs, and all perfection to that God that made us all, as it becomes Creatures to their Creator.
God might have choſen whether he would make ſuch a Creature as Man or not; he did not owe this to him to give him Being, much leſs to make him a reaſonable Creature; but having made ſuch a Creature and put him under a Law, now God hath obliged himſelf to diſpoſe of Man, not according to mere Sovereignty, but according to that Law under which he ſtands.
And if Men, not ſo much for want of ability, as out of ſloth, or hatred, and contempt, do not comply with this Law, and the terms of their own happineſs, they are thereby ſelf-deſtroyers, as God charged it upon Iſrael of old, O Iſrael thou hast, deſtroyed thy ſelf.
And as one well ſpeaks, Deus non prius eſt ultor quam homo peccator; God is not a revenger till Man is firſt a ſinner: God is often ſaid to ſhew mercy for his Names-ſake, but is never ſaid to Plague or Puniſh meerly for his Names-ſake. And therefore why ſhould Man complain? as Salvian expoſtulates with the Chriſtians of his time. Why do we complain that our puniſhment is bitter and grievous; Vnuſquiſque noſtrum ipſe ſe punit? Every Man doth puniſh himſelf, though he is alſo puniſht of God; God doth it Judicially as a righteous Judge, but Man doth it Meritoriouſly as a guilty ſinner.
Not but that God as an abſolute Sovereign may give more of his grace and gifts to one then another; for he may do what he will with his own, where he is Indebted to none; Neither can we conclude becauſe Man's deſtruction is of himſelf, therefore his Salvation is of himſelf: For the one Man can effect of himſelf as Adam did, but the other he cannot attain without God.
As the Sheep in the Parable that went aſtray of it ſelf, but came not home till the Owner found it out, and brought it back upon his Shoulder, 15. Luk. 4, 5.
Man was able to deprive himſelf of his Original Righteouſneſs, but it is only God can reſtore it: As Natural privations in the Body are eaſily made by a Man's own ſelf, a Man may eaſily deſtroy his own ſight, but it is beyond his power to reſtore this habit of ſight: According to the Axiom in Philoſophy, A privatione ad habitum non datur regreſſus; There is no return in Nature from a privation to the habit again.
And it is much more true of Spiritual privations upon the Soul, Man hath been able to bring them upon himſelf, but he cannot of himſelf return to thoſe divine habits that he is deprived of.
So that in thoſe that are Saved, God will have his Grace and Mercy magnified, as being Saved by himſelf; ſo, in thoſe that Periſh, he will have his Juſtice magnified, as being deſtroyed by themſelves.
Men Periſh by their own Will, but againſt God's Will; I mean his Antecedent Will, and as revealed in his Word. For elſe Men Periſh by God's conſequent Will, having rejected the means of their own Salvation.
So that I ſhall Conclude in the Concluſive words of that Learned Gentleman in his late Elaborate Diſcourſe of the Divine Will,Edward Polhil Eſq it its Eternal Decrees, and Holy Execution. God's Will of Man's Converſion as ordinative of means is accompliſhed in this; That there is a ſerious exhibition of the means in order to Converſion as their proper end, and that end, (but for Man's voluntary Corruption) would be thereby attained, even in all.
I ſhould next proceed to ſpeak of thoſe ſeveral Attributes of God's Being, which are evidenced from the Works of Creation, which are either mentioned in the Text, or may be educed out of it; And ſhew how they may all be improved to the ſervice of True Chriſtianity, and to an higher degree then the highest Light, and Power of Nature could ever attain to: But this ſhall ſuffice for the preſent.
FINIS.