Existence and Attributes of God, Discourse 9 (1 of 4)

Existence and Attributes of God · Discourse 9 (1 of 4)

p. 341A DISCOURSE UPON THE Wiſdom of God.

Rom. XVI. 27.

To God only Wiſe be glory through Jeſus Chriſt, for ever, Amen.

THis Chapter being the laſt of this Epiſtle, is chiefly made up of charitable and friendly Salutations and Commendations of particular Perſons, according to the earlineſs and ſtrength of their ſeveral Graces, and their labour of Love for the Intereſt of God and his People.

In verſe 17. he warns them not to be drawn aſide from the Goſpel Doctrine, which had been taught them, by the plauſible Pretences and Inſinuations, which the Corrupters of the Doctrine and Rule of Chriſt, never want from the ſuggeſtions of their Carnal Wiſdom. The Brats of Soul-deſtroying Errors, may walk about the World in a garb and diſguiſe of good words, and fair ſpeeches, as it is in the 18th Verſe, by good words and fair ſpeeches deceive the hearts of the ſimple. And for their encouragement to a conſtancy in the Goſpel Doctrine, he aſſures them, that all thoſe that would diſpoſſeſs them of Truth, to poſſeſs them with Vanity, are but Satans Inſtruments, and will fall under the ſame Captivity and Yoke with their Principal; Verſe 18. The God of Peace ſhall bruiſe Satan under your feet ſhortly.

Whence obſerve,

1. All Corrupters of Divine Truth, and Troublers of the Churches Peace, are no better than Devils. Our Saviour thought the Name Satan, a Title merited by Peter, when he breathed out an Advice, as an Ax at the Root of the Goſpel, the Death of Christ, the foundation of all Goſpel Truth; and the Apoſtle concludes them under the ſame Character, which hinder the ſuperſtructure, and would mix their Chaff with his Wheat; Mat. 16.23. Get thee behind me Satan. 'Tis not, Get thee behind me Simon, or, Get thee behind me Peter; but, Get thee behind me Satan, thou art an offence to me: Thou doſt oppoſe thy ſelf to the Wiſdom, and Grace, and Authority of God, to the Redemption of Man, and to the good of the World.

As the Holy Ghoſt is the Spirit of Truth, ſo is Satan the Spirit of Falſhood: As the Holy Ghoſt inſpires Believers with Truth, ſo doth the Devil corrupt Unbelievers with Error. Let us cleave to the Truth of the Goſpel, that we may not be counted by God as part of the Corporation of Fallen Angels, and not be barely reckon'd as Enemies of God, but in league with the greateſt Enemy to his Glory in the World.

2. The Reconciler of the World will be the ſubduer of Satan. The God of Peace ſent the Prince of Peace to be the Reſtorer of his Rights, and the Hammer to beat in pieces the Uſurper of them. As a God of Truth he will make good his Promiſe, as a God of Peace he will perfect the deſign, his Wiſdom hath laid, and begun to act. In the ſubduing Satan, he will be the Conqueror of his Inſtruments: He ſaith nor, God ſhall bruiſe your Troublers, and Hereticks; but Satan: The fall of a General proves the rout of the Army. Since God, as a God of Peace hath delivered his own, he will perfect the Victory, and make them ceaſe from bruiſing the heel of his Spiritual Seed.

p. 3423. Divine Evangelical Truth ſhall be Victorious. No Weapon formed againſt it ſhall proſper: The Head of the Wicked ſhall fall as low, as the Feet of the Godly. The Devil never yet bluſter'd in the World, but he met at laſt with a diſappointment: His Fall hath been like Lightning, ſudden, certain, vaniſhing.

4. Faith must look back as far as the foundation Promiſe. The God of Peace ſhall bruiſe, &c. The Apoſtle ſeems to allude to the firſt Promiſe, Gen. 2.15. A Promiſe that hath vigor to nouriſh the Church in all Ages of the World: 'Tis the ſtanding Cordial; out of the Womb of this Promiſe all the reſt have taken their birth. The Promiſes of the Old Teſtament were deſigned for thoſe under the New, and the full performance of them, is to be expected, and will be enjoyed by them. 'Tis a mighty ſtrengthning to Faith, to trace the footſteps of Gods Truth and Wiſdom, from the Threatning againſt the Serpent in Eden, to the bruiſe he received in Calvary, and the Triumph over him upon Mount Olivet:

5. We are to confide in the Promiſe of God, but leave the ſeaſon of its accompliſhment to his Wiſdom. He will bruiſe Satan under your feet, therefore do not doubt it; and ſhortly, therefore wait for it: Shortly it will be done, that is, quickly, when you think it may be a great way off; or ſhortly, that is, ſeaſonably, when Satans Rage is hotteſt. God is the beſt Judge of the ſeaſons of diſtributing his own Mercies, and darting out his own Glory: 'Tis enough to encourage our waiting, that it will be, and that it will be ſhortly; but we muſt not meaſure God's ſhortly by our Minutes.

The Apoſtle after this concludes with a comfortable Prayer, That ſince they were liable to many Temptations, to turn their backs upon the Doctrine which they had learned; yet he deſires God, who had brought them to the knowledge of his Truth, would confirm them in the belief of it, ſince it was the Goſpel of Chriſt, his dear Son, and a Myſtery he had been chary of and kept in his own Cabinet, and now brought forth to the World in purſuance of the ancient Propheſies, and now had publiſh'd to all Nations for that end that it might be obeyed; and concludes with a Doxology, a voice of Praiſe, to him who was only Wiſe to effect his own purpoſes; Verſes 25, 26, 27. Now to him that is of power to eſtabliſh you, according to my Goſpel and the preaching of Jeſus Chriſt, according to the revelation of the Myſtery, which was kept ſecret ſince the World began; but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment of the Everlaſting God, made known to all Nations for the obedience of Faith. This Doxology is interlac'd with many Comforts for the Romans. He explains the cauſes of this glory to God, Power and Wiſdom; Power to eſtabliſh the Romans in Grace, which includes his Will. This he proves from a Divine Teſtimony, viz. the Goſpel; the Goſpel committed to him, and preached by him, which he commends by calling it the preaching of Chriſt; and deſcribes it, for the inſtruction and comfort of the Church from the Adjuncts, the obſcurity of it under the old Teſtament, and the clearneſs of it under the New: It was hid from the former Ages, and kept in ſilence; not ſimply and abſolutely, but comparatively and in part; becauſe in the Old Teſtament, the Doctrine of Salvation by Chriſt was confin'd to the limits of Judea, preached only to the Inhabitants of that Country: To them he gave his Statutes and his Judgments, and dealt not ſo magnificently with any Nation ††Pſal. 147.19, 20.Ps 147:19Ps 147:20; but now he cauſes it to ſpring with greater Majeſty out of thoſe narrow bounds, and ſpread its Wings about the World. This manifeſtation of the Goſpel he declares firſt from the ſubject, All Nations: 2. From the principal efficient cauſe of it, The Commandment and Order of God: 3. The Inſtrumental cauſe, The Prophetick Scriptures: 4. From the End of it,Gomarus in loc. The obedience of Faith.

1. Obſerve, The glorious Attributes of God bear a comfortable reſpect to Believers. Power and Wiſdom are here mention'd as two props of their Faith; his Power here includes his Goodneſs. Power to help, without Will to aſſiſt, is a dry Chip. The Apoſtle mentions not Gods Power ſimply and abſolutely conſidered, for that of it ſelf is no more comfort to Men, than it is to Devils; but as conſidered in the Goſpel Covenant, his Power, as well as his other Perfections, are ingredients in that Cordial of Gods being our God. We ſhould never think of the Excellency of the Divine Nature, without conſidering the Duties they demand, and gathering the Hony they preſent.

p. 3332. Obſ. The ſtability of a gracious Soul depends vponupon the Wiſdom, as well as the Power of God. It would be a diſrepute to the Almightineſs of God, if that ſhould be totally vanquiſh'd which was introduc'd by his Mighty Arm, and rooted in the Soul by an irreſiſtible Grace. It would ſpeak a want of Streng h to maintain it, or a change of Reſolution, and ſo would be no honour to the Wiſdom of his firſt deſign. 'Tis no part of the wiſdom of an Artificer, to let a work wherein he determin'd to ſhew the greatneſs of his Sk…ll, to be daſh'd in pieces, when he hath power to preſerve it. God deſign'd every gracious Soul for a piece of his workmanſhip **Eph. 2.10.Eph 2:10: What, to have the Skill of his Grace defeated? If any Soul which he hath graciouſly conquer'd ſhould be wreſted from him, what could be thought, but that his Power is enfeebled? If deſerted by him, what could be imagin'd, but that he repented of his labour, and alter'd his Counſel, as if raſhly undertaken? Theſe Romans were rugged Pieces, and lay in a filthy quarry, when God came firſt to ſmooth them; for ſo the Apoſtle repreſents them with the reſt of the Heathen, Rom. 1.19. and would he throw them away, or leave them to the power of his Enemy, after all his pains he had taken with them, to fit them for his Building? Did he not foreſee the deſigns of Satan againſt them; what ſtratagems he would uſe to defeat his Purpoſes, & ſtrip him of the honour of his work; and would God ſo gratifie his Enemy, and diſgrace his own Wiſdom? The deſerting of what hath been acted is a real Repentance, and argues an Imprudence in the firſt reſolve and attempt. The Goſpel is called, the Manifold wiſdom of God, Eph. 3.10. the frui… of it in the heart of any Perſon, which is a main deſign of it, hath a Title to the ſame Character; and ſhall this Grace, which is the product of this Goſpel, and therefore the birth of Manifold Wiſdom, be ſuppreſt? 'Tis at Gods hand we muſt ſeek our fixedneſs and eſtabliſhment, and act Faith upon theſe two Attributes of God. Power is no ground to expect ſtability, without Wiſdom intereſting the Agent in it, and finding out and applying the Means for it. Wiſdom is naked without Power to act, and Power is uſeleſs without Wiſdom to direct: They are theſe two Excellencies of the Deity, the Apoſtle here pitches the Hope and Faith of the Converted Romans upon for their ſtability.

3. Obſ. Perſeverance of Believers in Grace, is a Goſpel Doctrine. According to my Goſpel: My Goſpel Miniſterially, according to that Goſpel Doctrine I have taught you in this Epiſtle; (for, as the Prophets were Comments upon the Law, ſo are the Epistles upon the Goſpel:) This very Doctrine he had diſcours'd of Rom. 8.38, 39. where he tells them, that neither death nor life, the Terrors of a cruel death, or the Allurements of an honourable and pleaſant life, nor Principalities and Powers, with all their ſubtilty and ſtrength; not the things we have before us, nor the Promiſes of a future felicity, by either Angels in Heaven, or Devils in Hell; not the higheſt Angel, nor the deepeſt Devil, is able to ſeparate us, us Romans, from the love of God which is in Chriſt Jeſus. So that, According to my Goſpel, may be according to that Declaration of the Goſpel, which I have made in this Epiſtle, which doth not only promiſe the firſt creating Grace, but the perfecting and crowning Grace; for not only the being of Grace, but the health, livelineſs, and perpetuity of Grace is the fruit of the New Covenant, Jer. 32.40.

4. Obſerve, That the Goſpel is the ſole Means of a Christians Eſtabliſhment. According To my Goſpel, that is, By my Goſpel. The Goſpel is the Inſtrumental cauſe of our Spiritual life, 'tis the cauſe alſo of the Continuance of it; 'tis the Seed whereby we were born, and the Milk whereby we are nouriſh'd††1 Pet. 1.23.1 Pet 1:23; 'tis the Power of God to ſalvation ‖‖1 Pet. 2.2.1 Pet 2:2, and ther…fore to all the degrees of it. John 17.17. Sanctifie them by thy Truth, or through thy Truth; by or through his Truth he ſanctifies us, and by the ſame Truth he eſtabliſheth us: The firſt Sanctification, and the progreſs of it, the firſt lineaments and the laſt colours, are wrought by the Goſpel. The Goſpel therefore ought to be known, ſtudied, and conſidered by us: 'Tis the Charter of our Inheritance, and the ſecurity for our ſtanding. The Law acquaints us with our Duty, but contributes nothing to our ſtrength and ſettlement.

5. Obſerve, The Goſpel is nothing elſe but the Revelation of Chriſt. Verſe 25. According to my Goſpel, and the preaching of Jeſus Chriſt: The diſcovery of the Myſtery of Redemption and Salvation, in and by him. 'Tis Genitivus objecti, that Preaching wherein Chriſt is declared and ſet out, with the Benefits accruing by him. This is the priviledge the Wiſdom o… God reſerved for the latter Times, which the Old Teſtament-Church had only under a Vail.

p. 3346. 'Tis a part of the Excellency of the Goſpel, that it had the Son of God for its Publiſher: The Preaching of Jeſus Chriſt. It was firſt preached to Adam in Paradiſe by God, and afterwards publiſh'd by Christ in Perſon to the Inhabitants of Judea. It was not the Invention of Man, but Copied from the boſom of the Father by him that lay in his Boſom. The Goſpel we have, is the ſame which our Saviour himſelf preached when he was in the World: He preached it not to the Romans; but the ſame Goſpel he preached is tranſmitted to the Romans. It therefore Commands our reſpect; who ever ſlights it, 'tis as much as if he ſlighted Jeſus Chriſt himſelf, were he in Perſon to ſound it from his own Lips. The validity of a Proclamation is derived from the Authority of the Prince that dictates it and orders it; yet the greater the Perſon that publiſheth it, the more diſhonour is caſt upon the Authority of the Prince that enjoyns it, if it be contemn'd. The Everlaſting God ordain'd it, and the Eternal Son publiſh'd it.

7. The Goſpel was of an Eternal Reſolution, though of a temporary Revelation. Verſe 25. According to the Revelation of the Myſtery, which was kept ſecret ſince the World began. 'Tis an Everlaſting Goſpel. It was a Promiſe before the world began, Tit. 1.2. It was not a new Invention, but only kept ſecret among the Arcana, in the Breaſt of the Almighty. It was hidden from Angels, for the depths of it are not yet fully made known to them; their deſire to look into it, ſpeaks yet a deficiency in their Knowledge of it**1 Pet. 1.12.1 Pet 1:12. It was publiſh'd in Paradiſe, but in ſuch words as Adam did not fully underſtand: It was both diſcover'd and clouded in the Smoke of Sacrifices: It was wrapped up in a Vail under the Law, but not open'd till the Death of the Redeemer: It was then plainly ſaid to the Cities of Judah, Behold your God comes. The whole Tranſaction of it between the Father and the Son, which is the Spirit of the Goſpel, was from Eternity; the Creation of the World was in order to the manifeſtation of it. Let us not then regard the Goſpel as a Novelty; the conſideration of it, as one of Gods Cabinet Rarities, ſhould enhance our Eſtimation of it. No Traditions of Men, no Inventions of vain Wits, that pretend to be wiſer than God, ſhould have the ſame Credit with that which bears date from Eternity.

8. Obſerve, That Divine Truth is Myſterious. According to the revelation of the myſtery, Chriſt manifeſted in the fleſh. The whole Scheme of Godlineſs is a Myſtery. No Man or Angel could imagine, how two Natures ſo diſtant as the Divine and Human, ſhould be united; how the ſame Perſon ſhould be Criminal and Righteous; how a Juſt God ſhould have a Satisfaction, and Sinful Man a Juſtification; how the Sin ſhould be puniſh'd, and the Sinner ſaved. None could imagine ſuch a way of Juſtification, as the Apoſtle in this Epiſtle declares: It was a Myſtery, when hid under the Shadows of the Law; and a Myſtery to the Prophets, when it ſounded from their Mouths; they ſearched it, without being able to comprehend it††1 Pet. 1.10, 11.1 Pet 1:101 Pet 1:11.

If it be a Myſtery, 'tis humbly to be ſubmitted to: Myſteries ſurmount Human Reaſon. The ſtudy of the Goſpel muſt not be with a yawning and careleſs frame. Trades you call Myſteries, are not learned ſleeping and nodding; Diligence is required, we muſt be Diſciples at Gods Feet. As it had God for the Author, ſo we muſt have God for the Teacher of it; the Contrivance was his, and the Illumination of our Minds muſt be from him. As God only manifeſted the Goſpel, ſo he only can open our Eyes to ſee the Myſteries of Chriſt in it.

In Verſe 26. we may obſerve,

1. The Scriptures of the Old Testament verifie the ſubstance of the New, and the New doth evidence the Authority of the Old. By the Scriptures of the Prophets made known. The Old Teſtament credits the New, and the New illuſtrates the Old. The New Teſtament is a Comment upon the Prophetick part of the Old. The Old ſhews the Promiſes and Predictions of God, and the New ſhews the Performance: What was foretold in the Old, is fulfilled in the New; the Predictions are cleared by the Events. The Predictions of the Old are Divine, becauſe they are above the Reaſon of Man to foreknow: None but an Infinite Knowledge could foretell them, becauſe none but an Infinite Wiſdom could order all things for the accompliſhment of them.

p. 335The Chriſtian Religion hath then the ſureſt Foundation, ſince the Scriptures of the Prophets, wherein it is foretold, are of undoubted Antiquity, and owned by the Jews and many Heathens, which are and were the great Enemies of Chriſt. The Old Teſtament is therefore to be read for the ſtrengthning of our Faith. Our Bleſſed Saviour himſelf draws the Streams of his Doctrine from the Old Teſtament: He clears up the Promiſe of Eternal Life, and the Doctrine of the Reſurrection, from the words of the Covenant, I am the God of Abraham, &c. Mat. 22.32. And our Apoſtle clears up the Doctrine of Justification by Faith from Gods Covenant with Abraham, Rom. 4. It muſt be read, and it muſt be read as it is writ: It was writ to a Goſpel End, it muſt be ſtudied with a Goſpel Spirit. The Old Teſtament was writ to give Credit to the New, when it ſhould be manifeſted in the World. It muſt be read by us, to give ſtrength to our Faith, and eſtabliſh us in the Doctrine of Chriſtianity. How many view it as a bare ſtory, an Almanack out of date, and regard it as a dry Bone, without ſucking from it the Evangelical Marrow? Chriſt is, in Geneſis, Abrahams Seed; in Davids Pſalms and the Prophets, the Meſſiah and Redeemer of the World.

2. Obſerve the Antiquity of the Goſpel. Is made manifeſt by the Scriptures of the Prophets. It was of as Ancient a date as any Propheſy: The firſt Propheſy was nothing elſe but a Goſpel Charter; it was not made at the Incarnation of Chriſt, but made manifeſt. It then roſe up to its Meridian luſtre, and ſprung out of the Clouds, wherewith it was before obſcur'd. The Goſpel was preached to the Ancients by the Prophets, as well as to the Gentiles by the Apoſtles; Heb. 4.2. Ʋnto us was the Goſpel preached, as well as unto them. To them firſt, to us after; to them indeed more cloudy, to us more clear; but they as well as we, were Evangeliz'd, as the word ſignifies.

The Covenant of Grace was the ſame in the Writings of the Prophets, and the Declarations of the Evangeliſts and Apoſtles. Though by our Saviours Incarnation, the Goſpel Light was clearer, and by his Aſcenſion, the Effuſions of the Spirit fuller and ſtronger; yet the Believers under the Old Teſtament, ſaw Chriſt in the Swadling Bands of Legal Ceremonies, and the Lattice of Prophetical Writings; they could not elſe offer one Sacrifice, or read one Propheſy with a Faith of the right ſtamp. Abrahams Juſtifying Faith had Chriſt for its Object, though it was not ſo Explicit as ours, becauſe the Manifeſtation was not ſo clear as ours.

3. All Truth is to be drawn from Scripture. The Apostle refers them here to the Goſpel and the Prophets: The Scripture is the Source of Divine Knowledge; not the Traditions of Men, nor Reaſon ſeparate from Scripture. Whoſoever brings another Doctrine, coyns another Chriſt; nothing is to be added to what is written, nothing detracted from it. He doth not ſend us for Truth, to the Puddles of Human Inventions, to the Enthuſiaſms of our Brain; not to the See of Rome, no nor to the Inſtructions of Angels; but the Writings of the Prophets, as they clear up the Declarations of the Apoſtles. The Church of Rome is not made here the Standard of Truth; but the Scriptures of the Prophets are to be the Touch-ſtone to the Romans, for the Trial of the Truth of the Goſpel.

4. How great is the Goodneſs of God? The Borders of Grace are enlarged to the Gentiles, and not hid under the Skirts of the Jews. He that was ſo long the God of the Jews, is now alſo manifeſt to be the God of the Gentiles: The Goſpel is now made known to all Nations, according to the Commandment of the Everlasting God. Not only in a way of Common Providence, but Special Grace; in Calling them to the Knowledge of himſelf, and a Juſtification of them by Faith, He hath brought Strangers to him, to the Adoption of Children, and lodged them under the Wings of the Covenant, that were before alienated from him through the univerſal Corruption of Nature. Now he hath manifeſted himſelf a God of Truth, mindful of his Promiſe in Bleſſing all Nations in the Seed of Abraham. The Fury of Devils, and the Violence of Men, could not hinder the propagation of this Goſpel: Its Light hath been diſperſed as far as that of the Sun; and that Grace that ſounded in the Gentiles Ears, hath bent many of their Hearts to the Obedience of it.

p. 3365. Obſerve, That Libertiniſm and Licentiouſneſs find no encouragement in the Goſpel. It was made known to all Nations for the Obedience of Faith. The Goodneſs of God is publiſh'd, that our Enmity to him may be parted with. Chriſts Righteouſneſs is not offered to us to be put on, that we may roul more warmly in our Luſts. The Doctrine of Grace commands us to give up our ſelves to Chriſt, to be accepted through him, and to be ruled by him. Obedience is due to God, as a Soveraign Lord in his Law; and 'tis due out of gratitude, as he is a God of Grace in the Goſpel. The diſcovery of a further perfection in God weakens not the right of another, nor the obligation of the Duty the former Attribute claims at our hands. The Goſpel frees us from the Curſe, but not from the Duty and Service: We are delivered from the hands of our Enemies, that we might ſerve God in Holineſs and Righteouſneſs, Luke 1.74. This is the will of God in the Goſpel, even our Sanctification. When a Prince ſtrikes off a Malefactors Chains, though he deliver him from the puniſhment of his Crime, he frees him not from the Duty of a Subject: His Pardon adds a greater obligation, than his Protection did before while he was Loyal. Chriſts Righteouſneſs gives us a Title to Heaven; but there muſt be a Holineſs to give us a fitneſs for Heaven.

6. Obſerve, That Evangelical Obedience, or the Obedience of Faith, is only acceptable to God. Obedience of Faith; Genitivus ſpeciei, noting the kind of Obedience God requires; an Obedience ſpringing from Faith, animated and influenced by Faith. Not Obedience of Faith, as though Faith were the Rule, and the Law were abrogated; but to the Law as a Rule, and from Faith as a Principle. There is no true Obedience before Faith: Heb. 11.6. Without Faith it is impoſſible to pleaſe God; and therefore without Faith impoſſible to obey him. A good Work cannot proceed from a defil'd Mind and Conſcience; and without Faith every mans Mind is darkned, and his Conſcience polluted**Tit. 1.15.Titus 1:15. Faith is the Band of Union to Chriſt, and Obedience is the Fruit of Union; we cannot bring forth fruit without being Branches††John 15.4, 5.John 15:4John 15:5, and we cannot be Branches without Believing. Legitimate Fruit follows upon Marriage to Chriſt, not before it: Rom. 7.4. That you ſhould be married to another, even to him that is raiſed from the dead, that you ſhould bring forth fruit unto God. All Fruit before Marriage is Baſtard, and Baſtards were excluded from the Sanctuary. Our Perſons muſt be firſt accepted in Chriſt, before our Services can be acceptable; thoſe Works are not acceptable where the Perſon is not pardoned. Good Works flow from a pure Heart; but the Heart cannot be pure before Faith. All the Good Works reckoned up in the 11th Chapter of the Hebrews were from this Spring; thoſe Heroes firſt believed, and then obeyed. By Faith Abel was righteous before God, without it his Sacrifice had been no better than Cains: By Faith Enoch pleaſed God, and had a Divine Teſtimony to his Obedience before his Tranſlation: By Faith Abraham offered up Iſaac, without which he had been no better than a Murderer. All Obedience hath its Root in Faith, and is not done in our own ſtrength, but in the ſtrength and virtue of another, of Chriſt, whom God hath ſet forth as our Head and Root.

7. Obſerve, Faith and Obedience are diſtinct, though inſeparable: The Obedience of Faith. Faith indeed is Obedience to a Goſpel Command, which enjoyns us to believe; but it is not all our Obedience. Juſtification and Sanctification are diſtinct Acts of God; Juſtification reſpects the Perſon, Sanctification the Nature; Juſtification is firſt in order of Nature, and Sanctification follows: They are diſtinct, but inſeparable; every Juſtified Perſon hath a Sanctified Nature, and every Sanctified Nature ſuppoſeth a Juſtified Perſon. So Faith and Obedience are diſtinct; Faith as the Principle, Obedience as the Product; Faith as the Cauſe, Obedience as the Effect; the Cauſe and the Effect are not the ſame. By Faith we own Chriſt as our Lord; by Obedience we regulate our ſelves according to his Command. The acceptance of the Relation to him as a Subject, precedes the performance of our Duty: By Faith we receive his Law, and by Obedience we fulfil it. Faith makes us Gods Children, Gal. 3.26. Obedience manifeſts us to be Chriſts Diſciples, John 15.8. Faith is the Touchſtone of Obedience; the Touchſtone, and that which is tried by it, are not the ſame. But though they are diſtinct, yet they are inſeparable. p. 337Faith and Obedience are joyned together; Obedience follows Faith at the heels. Faith purifies the heart, and a pure Heart cannot be without pure Actions. Faith unites us to Chriſt, whereby we partake of his Li…e; and a living Branch cannot be without fruit in its ſeaſon, and much fruit, John 15.5. and that naturally from a newneſs of Spirit, Rom. 7.9. not conſtrained by the rigors of the Law, but drawn forth from a ſweetneſs of Love; for Faith works by Love. The Love of God is the ſtrong Motive, and Love to God is the quickning Principle; as there can be no Obedience without Faith, ſo no Faith without Obedience.

After all this, the Apostle ends with the celebration of the Wiſdom of God; To God only wiſe, be glory through Jeſus Chriſt for ever. The rich Diſcovery of the Goſpel, cannot be thought of by a gracious Soul, without a return of Praiſe to God, and Admiration of his ſingular Wiſdom.

Wiſe God.] His Power before, and his Wiſdom here, are mentioned in conjunction (in which his Goodneſs is included, as intereſted in his eſtabliſhing Power) as the ground of all the Glory and Praiſe God hath from his Creatures.

Only Wiſe.] As Chriſt ſaith, Mat. 19.17. None is good, but God; ſo the Apostle ſaith, None Wiſe, but God. As all Creatures are unclean in regard of his Purity; ſo they are all Fools in regard of his Wiſdom, yea the glorious Angels themſelves**Job 4.18.Job 4:18. Wiſdom is the Royalty of God; the proper Dialect of all his Ways and Works. No Creature can lay claim to it; He is ſo Wiſe, that he is Wiſdom it ſelf.

Be glory through Jeſus Chriſt.] As God is only known in and by Chriſt, ſo he muſt be only worſhipped and celebrated in and through Chriſt. In him we muſt Pray to him, and in him we muſt Praiſe him. As all Mercies flow from God through Chriſt to us, ſo all our Duties are to be preſented to God through Chriſt.

In the Greek, verbatim, it runs thus; To the alone Wiſe God, through Jeſus Chriſt, to him be glory for ever. But we muſt not underſtand it, as if God were Wiſe by Jeſus Chriſt; but that Thanks is to be given to God through Chriſt, becauſe in and by Chriſt God hath revealed his Wiſdom to the World. The Greek hath a Repetition of the Article foreign, not expreſt in the Tranſlation, To him be glory. Beza expungeth this Article, but without reaſon, for foreign is as much as foreign, To him; and joyning this, The only Wiſe God with the 25th Verſe, To him that is of Power to eſtabliſh you; Reading it thus, To him that is of Power to eſtabliſh you, the only Wiſe God, leaving the reſt in a Parentheſis, it runs ſmoothly, To him be glory through Jeſus Chriſt. And Crellius the Socinian obſerves, that this Article foreign, which ſome leave out, might be induſtriouſly inſerted by the Apoſtle, to ſhew, that the Glory we aſcribe to God, is alſo given to Chriſt.

We may Obſerve, That neither in this place, nor any where in Scripture, is the Virgin Mary, or any of the Saints, aſſociated with God or Chriſt in the Glory aſcrib'd to them.

In the Words there is,

1. An Appropriation of Wiſdom to God, and a Remotion of it from all Creatures; Only wiſe God.

2. A Glorifying him for it.

The Point I ſhall inſiſt upon, is,

Doctr. That Wiſdom is a tranſcendent Excellency of the Divine Nature. We have before ſpoken of the Knowledge of God, and the Infiniteneſs of it: The next Attribute is the Wiſdom of God. Moſt, confound the Knowledge and Wiſdom of God together; but there is a manifeſt diſtinction between them in our conception.

I ſhall handle it thus;

1. Shew what Wiſdom is. Then lay down,

2. Some Propoſitions about the Wiſdom of God. And ſhew,

3. That God is Wiſe; and only Wiſe.

4. Wherein his Wiſdom appears.

5. The Ʋſe.

p. 338I. What Wiſdom is. Wiſdom among the Greeks, firſt ſignified an eminent Perfection in any Art or Myſtery; ſo a good Statuary, Engraver, or Limner, was called Wiſe, as having an excellent Knowledge in his particular Art. But afterwards the Title of Wiſe was appropriated to thoſe that devoted themſelves to the contemplation of the higheſt things, that ſerved for a Foundation to Speculative Sciences††A myrant. Moral. Iom. 3. p. 123.. But ordinarily we count a Man a Wiſe Man, when he conducts his Affairs with diſcretion, and governs his Paſſions with moderation, and carries himſelf with a due proportion and harmony in all his concerns.

But in Particular, Wiſdom conſiſts,

1. In acting for a right End. The chiefeſt part of Prudence is in fixing a right End, and in chuſing fit Means, and directing them to that ſcope: To ſhoot at random is a mark of Folly. As he is the wiſeſt Man, that hath the nobleſt End and fitteſt Means; ſo God is Infinitely Wiſe; as he is the moſt excellent Being, ſo he hath the moſt excellent End. As there is none more excellent than himſelf, nothing can be his End but himſelf: As he is the Cauſe of all, ſo he is the End of all; and he puts a true Byaſs into all the Means he uſeth to hit the Mark he aims at: Of him, and through him, and to him are all things, Rom. 11.36.

2. Wiſdom conſiſts, in obſerving all Circumſtances for Action. He is counted a Wiſe man, that lays hold of the fitteſt Opportunities to bring his deſigns about, that hath the fulleſt foreſight of all the little Intrigues which may happen in a Buſineſs he is to manage, and Times every part of his Action in an exact harmony with the proper Minutes of it. God hath all the Circumſtances of things in one entire Image before him; he hath a proſpect of every little Creek in any deſign. He ſees what Second Cauſes will act, and when they will act this or that; yea, he determines them to ſuch and ſuch Acts; ſo that it is impoſſible he ſhould be miſtaken, or miſs of the due Seaſon of bringing about his own Purpoſes. As he hath more Goodneſs, than to deceive any; ſo he hath more Underſtanding, than to be miſtaken in any thing. Hence the Time of the Incarnation of our Bleſſed Saviour, is called the Fulneſs of Time, the proper Seaſon for his coming. Every Circumſtance about Chriſt was Tim'd according to the Predictions of God; even ſo little a thing as not parting his Garment, and the giving him Gall and Vinegar to drink: And all the Bleſſings he ſhowrs down upon his People, according to the Covenant of Grace, are ſaid to come in his ſeaſon, Ezek. 34.25, 26.

3. Wiſdom conſiſts, In willing and acting according to the right Reaſon, according to a right Judgment of things. We never count a Wilful man a Wiſe man, but him only that acts according to a right Rule, when right Counſels are taken and vigorouſly executed. The Reſolves and Ways of God are not meer Will, but Will guided by the Reaſon and Counſel of his own Infinite Underſtanding; Eph. 1.11. Who works all things according to the counſel of his own will. The Motions of the Divine Will are not raſh, but follow the Propoſals of the Divine Mind: He chooſes that which is fitteſt to be done, ſo that all his Works are graceful, and all his Ways have a comelineſs and decorum in them. Hence all his Ways are ſaid to be Judgment, Deut. 32.4. not meer Will.

Hence it appears, that Wiſdom and Knowledge are two diſtinct Perfections, Knowledge hath its ſeat in the Speculative Underſtanding, Wiſdom in the Practical. Wiſdom and Knowledge are evidently diſtinguiſh'd as two ſeveral gifts of the Spirit in Man, 1 Cor. 12.8. To one is given by the Spirit the word of Wiſdom, to another the word of Knowledge by the ſame Spirit. Knowledge is an underſtanding of general Rules, and Wiſdom is a drawing Concluſions from thoſe Rules in order to particular caſes. A Man may have the Knowledge of the whole Scripture, and have all Learning in the Treaſury of his Memory, and yet be deſtitute of Skill to make uſe of them upon particular Occaſions, and unty thoſe knotty Queſtions which may be propoſed to him, by a ready application of thoſe Rules.

p. 339Again, Knowledge and Wiſdom may be diſtinguiſh'd in our Conception, as two diſtinct Perfections in God: The Knowledge of God is his Underſtanding of all things; his Wiſdom is the Skilful reſolving and acting of all things. And the Apostle, in his Admiration of him, owns them as diſtinct, Oh the depths of the riches, both of the Wiſdom and Knowledge of God, Rom. 11.33. Knowledge is the Foundation of Wiſdom, and antecedent to it; Wiſdom the Superſtructure upon Knowledge: Men may have Knowledge without Wiſdom, but not Wiſdom without Knowledge; according to our common Proverb, The greateſt Clerks are not the wiſeſt Men. All Practical Knowledge is founded in Speculation, either Secundum rem, as in a Man; or Secundum rationem, as in God. They agree in this, that they are both Acts of the Underſtanding; but Knowledge is the Apprehenſion of a thing, and Wiſdom is the Appointing and Ordering of things. Wiſdom is the ſplendor and luſtre of Knowledge ſhining forth in Operations, and is an Act both of Underſtanding and Will; Underſtanding in Counſelling and Contriving, Will in Reſolving and Executing: Counſel and Will are link'd together, Epheſ. 1.11.

II. The Second thing is to lay down ſome Propoſitions in general, concerning the Wiſdom of God.

1. There is an Eſſential and a Perſonal Wiſdom of God. The Eſſential Wiſdom, is the Eſſence of God; the Perſonal Wiſdom, is the Son of God. Chriſt is called Wiſdom by himſelf, Luke 7.35. The Wiſdom of God by the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 1.24. The Wiſdom I ſpeak of belongs to the Nature of God, and is conſidered as a neceſſary Perfection. The Perſonal Wiſdom is called ſo, becauſe he opens to us the Secrets of God. If the Son were that Wiſdom whereby the Father is Wiſe, the Son would be alſo the Eſſence whereby the Father is God. If the Son were the Wiſdom of the Father, whereby he is Eſſentially Wiſe; the Son would be the Eſſence of the Father, and the Father would have his Eſſence from the Son, ſince the Wiſdom of God is the Eſſence of God; and ſo the Son would be the Father, if the Wiſdom and Power of the Father were originally in the Son.

2. Therefore Secondly, The Wiſdom of God is the ſame with the Eſſence of God. Wiſdom in God is not a Habit added to his Eſſence, as it is in Man, but it is his Eſſence. 'Tis like the ſplendor of the Sun, the ſame with the Sun it ſelf; or like the brightneſs of Chryſtal, which is not communicated to it by any thing elſe, as the Brightneſs of a Mountain is by the Beam of the Sun, but it is one with the Chryſtal it ſelf. 'Tis not a Habit ſuperadded to the Divine Eſſence; that would be repugnant to the Simplicity of God, and ſpeak him compounded of divers Principles; it would be contrary to the Eternity of his Perfections: If he be Eternally Wiſe, his Wiſdom is his Eſſence; for there is nothing Eternal, but the Eſſence of God.**Maimon. Mor. Part 1. cap. 53. As the Sun melts ſome things, and hardens others; blackens ſome things, and whitens others, and produceth contrary qualities in different Subjects; yet it is but one and the ſame quality in the Sun, which is the cauſe of thoſe contrary Operations: So the Perfections of God ſeem to be diverſe in our Conceptions, yet they are but one and the ſame in God. The Wiſdom of God, is God acting Prudently; as the Power of God, is God acting Powerfully, and the Juſtice of God, is God acting Righteouſly: And therefore 'tis more truly ſaid, that God is Wiſdom, Justice, Truth, Power, than that He is Wiſe, Juſt, True, &c. as if he were compounded of Subſtance and Qualities. All the Operations of God proceed from one Simple Eſſence; as all the Operations of the Mind of Man, though various, proceed from one faculty of Underſtanding,

3. Wiſdom is the Property of God alone. He is only Wiſe. 'Tis an Honour peculiar to him. Upon the account that no Man deſerved the Title of Wiſe, but that it was a Royalty belonging to God††Laert. lib. 1. Proem., Pythagoras would not be called foreign, a Title given to their Learned Men; but foreign. The Name Philoſopher, aroſe out of a reſpect to this tranſcendent Perfection of God.

1. God is only Wiſe neceſſarily. As He is neceſſarily God, ſo he is neceſſarily Wiſe; for the Notion of Wiſdom is inſeparable from the Notion of a Deity. When we ſay God is a Spirit, is True, Righteous, Wiſe; we underſtand that he is tranſcendently theſe, by an intrinſick and abſolute neceſſity, by virtue of his own p. 340Eſſence, without the Efficiency of any other, or any Efficiency in and by him…lf. God doth not make himſelf Wiſe, no more than he makes himſelf God. As …e is a neceſſary Being in regard of his Life, ſo he is neceſſarily Wiſe in regard o… …is Underſtanding. Syneſius ſaith, that God is Eſſentiated, foreign, by his Ʋnderſtan… ing. He places the Subſtance of God in Ʋnderſtanding and Wiſdom: Wiſdom is the firſt vital Operation of God. He can no more be Unwiſe than he can be Untrue; for Folly in the Mind is much the ſame with Falſity in Speech. Wiſdom among Men is gained by Age and Experience, furthered by Inſtructions and Exerciſe; but the Wiſdom of God is his Nature. As the Sun cannot be without Light, while it remains a Sun; and as Eternity cannot be without Immortality; So neither can God be without Wiſdom. As he only hath Immortality, 1 Tim. 6.16. not arbitrarily, but neceſſarily; ſo he only hath Wiſdom: Not becauſe he will be Wiſe, but becauſe he cannot but be Wiſe. He cannot but contrive Counſels, and exert Operations, becoming the Greatneſs and Majeſty of his Nature.

2. Therefore only Wiſe originally. God is foreign. Men acquire Wiſdom by the loſs of their faireſt years; but his Wiſdom is the Perfection of the Divine Nature, not the birth of Study or the growth of Experience, but as neceſſary, as Eternal, as his Eſſence. He goes not out of himſelf to ſearch Wiſdom: He needs no more the Brains of Creatures in the contrivance of his Purpoſes, than he doth their Arm in the execution of them. He needs no Counſel, he receives no Counſel from any; Rom. 11.34. Who hath been his Counſellor? and Iſai 40.14. With whom took he counſel, and who inſtructed him, or taught him in the path of Judgment, and taught him Knowledge, and ſhewed to him the path of Ʋnderſtanding? He is the only Fountain of Wiſdom to others; Angels and Men have what Wiſdom they have, by communication from him. All created Wiſdom is a ſpark of the Divine Light, like that of the Stars borrowed from the Sun. He that borrows Wiſdom from another, and doth not originally poſſeſs it in his own Nature, cannot properly be called Wiſe. As God is the only Being, in regard that all other Beings are derived from him; ſo he is only Wiſe, becauſe all other Wiſdom ſlows from him. He is the Spring of Wiſdom to all; none the Original of Wiſdom to him.

3. Therefore only Wiſe perfectly. There is no cloud upon his Underſtanding. He hath a diſtinct and certain Knowledge of all things that can fall under action: As he hath a perfect Knowledge without Ignorance, ſo he hath a Beautiful Wiſdom without Mole or Wart. Men are wiſe, yet have not an Underſtanding ſo vaſt as to graſp all things; nor a Perſpicacity ſo clear, as to penetrate into the depths of all Beings. Angels have more delightful and lively ſparks of Wiſdom, yet ſo imperfect, that in regard of the Wiſdom of God they are charged with folly, Job 4.18. Their Wiſdom as well as their Holineſs is vailed in the Preſence of God. It vaniſheth, as the glowing of a Fire doth before the beauty of the Sun; or as a Light of a Candle in the midſt of a Sunſhine contracts it ſelf, and none of its Rays are ſeen, but in the body of the Flame. The Angels are not perfectly Wiſe, becauſe they are not perfectly Knowing: The Goſpel, the great Diſcovery of Gods Wiſdom, was hid from them for Ages.

4. Therefore only Wiſe univerſally. Wiſdom in one Man is of one ſort, in another of another ſort; one is a wiſe Tradeſman, another a wiſe Stateſman, and another a wiſe Philoſopher: One is wiſe in the buſineſs of the World, another is wiſe in Divine Concerns. One hath not ſo much of plenty of one ſort, but he may have a ſcantineſs in another; one may be wiſe for Invention, and fooliſh in. Execution; an Artificer may have skill to frame an Engine, and not skill to uſe it: The ground that is fit for Olives, may not be fit for Vines; that will bear one ſort of Grain and not another. But God hath an Univerſal Wiſdom, becauſe his Nature is Wiſe; 'tis not limited, but hovers over every thing, ſhines in every Being. His Executions are as wiſe as his Contrivances: He is Wiſe in his Reſolves, and wiſe in his Ways; Wiſe in all the varieties of his Works of Creation, Government, Redemption. As his Will wills all things, and his Power effects all things; ſo p. 341his wiſdom is the univerſal Director of the motions of his will, and the executions of his power: As his Righteouſneſs is the meaſure of the matter of his Actions, ſo his Wiſdom is the Rule that directs the manner of his Actions. The abſolute power of God is not an unruly power: His wiſdom orders all things, ſo that nothing is done, but what is fit and convenient, and agreeable to ſo excellent a Being: As he cannot do an unjuſt thing becauſe of his righteouſneſs, ſo he cannot do an unwiſe act, becauſe of his infinite wiſdom. Though God be not neceſſitated to any Operation without himſelf, as to the Creation of any thing, yet ſuppoſing he will act, his wiſdom neceſſitates him to do that which is congruous, as his righteouſneſs neceſſitates him to do that which is juſt: So that though the will of God be the principle, yet his wiſdom is the rule of his Actions. We muſt in our conceiving of the order, ſuppoſe wiſdom antecedent to will: None that acknowledges a God, can have ſuch an impious thought, as to affix temerity and raſhneſs to any of his proceedings.

All his Decrees are drawn out of the infinite Treaſury of Wiſdom in himſelf.**Polhil. againſt Sherlock, p. 377. He reſolves nothing about any of his Creatures without Reaſon; but the reaſon of his purpoſes is in himſelf, and ſprings from himſelf, and not from the Creatures: There is not one thing that he wills, but he wills by counſel, and works by counſel, Eph. 1.11. Counſel writ down every line, every letter, in his eternal Book; and all the Orders are drawn out from thence by his wiſdom and will: What was illuſtrious in the contrivance, glitters in the execution. His underſtanding and will are infinite; what is therefore the act of his will, is the reſult of his underſtanding, and therefore rational: His underſtanding and will joyn hands; there is no conteſt in God, will againſt mind, and mind againſt will; they are one in God, one in his reſolves, and one in all his works.

5. Therefore he is only wiſe perpetually. As the wiſdom of man is got by ripeneſs of Age, ſo it is loſt by decay of years; 'tis got by inſtruction, and loſt by dotage. The perfecteſt minds, when in the wane, have been darkned with folly: Nebuchadnezzar that was wiſe for a man, became as fooliſh as a Brute. But the Ancient of days is an unchangeable Poſſeſſor of Prudence; his wiſdom is a mirrour of brightneſs, without a defacing ſpot. It was poſſeſſed by him in the beginning of his ways, before his works of old, Prov. 8.22. and he can never be diſpoſſeſſed of it in the end of his works. 'Tis inſeparable from him: The Being of his Godhead may as ſoon ceaſe, as the Beauty of his Mind; with him is wiſdom, Job 12.13. it is inſeparable from him, therefore as durable as his Eſſence. 'Tis a wiſdom infinite, and therefore without increaſe or decreaſe in it ſelf. The experience of ſo many Ages in the Government of the World, hath added nothing to the immenſity of it; as the ſhining of the Sun ſince the Creation of the World, hath added nothing to the light of that glorious Body. As Ignorance never darkens his knowledge, ſo Folly never diſgraces his Prudence: God infatuates men, but neither Men nor Devils can infatuate God; he is unerringly wiſe; his Counſel doth not vary and flatter; 'tis not one day one Counſel, and another day another, but it ſtands like an immoveable Rock, or a Mountain of Braſs. The Counſel of the Lord ſtands for ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all Generations, Pſal. 33.11.

6. He is only incomprehenſibly wiſe. His thoughts are deep, Pſal. 92.5. His judgments unſearchable, his ways paſt finding out, Rom. 11.33. Depths that cannot be fathomed. A ſplendor, more dazling to our dimm minds, than the light of the Sun to our weak eyes. The wiſdom of one man may be comprehended by another, and over comprehended; and often men are underſtood by others to be wiſer in their Actions, than they underſtand themſelves to be. And the wiſdom of one Angel may be meaſured by another Angel of the ſame perfection. But as the Eſſence, ſo the wiſdom of God is incomprehenſible to any Creature, God is only comprehended by God: The ſecrets of wiſdom in God are double to the expreſſions of it in his works, Job 11.6, 7. Canſt thou by ſearching find out God. p. 342There is an unfathomable depth in all his Decrees, in all his Works; we cannot comprehend the reaſon of his Works, much leſs that of his Decrees, much leſs that in his Nature; becauſe his wiſdom being infinite as well as his power, can no more act to the higheſt pitch, than his power. As his power is not terminated by what he hath wrought, but he could give further teſtimonies of it; ſo neither is his wiſdom, but he could furniſh us with infinite expreſſions and pieces of his skill. As in regard of his Immenſity, he is not bounded by the limits of place; in regard of his Eternity, not meaſured by the Minutes of Time; in regard of his Power, not terminated with this or that number of Objects; ſo in regard of his Wiſdom, he is not confin'd to this or that particular mode of working; ſo that in regard of the reaſon of his Actions, as well as the Glory and Majeſty of his Nature, he dwells in unapproachable light, 1 Tim. 6.16. and whatſoever we underſtand of his wiſdom in Creation and Providence, is infinitely leſs than what is in himſelf, and his own unbounded Nature.

Many things in Scripture are declar'd chiefly to be the acts of the Divine will, yet we muſt not think that they were acts of meer will without wiſdom, but they are repreſented ſo to us, becauſe we are not capable of underſtanding the infinite Reaſon of its acts: His Soveraignty is more intelligible to us than his Wiſdom. We can better know the Commands of a Superiour, and the Laws of a Prince, than underſtand the reaſon that gave birth to thoſe Laws. We may know the Orders of the Divine will, as they are publiſh'd, but not the ſublime Reaſon ot his will. Though Election be an act of God's Soveraignty, and he hath no cauſe from without to determine him; yet his infinite wiſdom ſtood not ſilent while meer Dominion acted. Whatſoever God doth, he doth wiſely, as well as ſoveraignly; though that wiſdom which lies in the ſecret places of the Divine Being, be as incomprehenſible to us, as the effects of his Soveraignty and Power in the World are viſible: God can give a reaſon of his proceeding, and that drawn from himſelf, though we underſtand it not.

The cauſes of things viſible lye hid from us; Doth any man know how to diſtinguiſh the ſeminal vertue of a ſmall Seed from the Body of it, and in what nook and corner that lies, and what that is that ſpreads it ſelf in ſo fair a Plant, and ſo many Flowers? Can we comprehend the Juſtice of God's proceedings in the proſperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the Godly? Yet as we muſt conclude them the fruits of an unerring righteouſneſs, ſo we muſt conclude all his actions the fruits of an unſpotted wiſdom, though the concatenation of all his counſels is not intelligible to us; for he is as eſſentially and neceſſarily wiſe, as he is eſſentially and neceſſarily good and righteous.

God is not only ſo wiſe that nothing more wiſe can be conceiv'd, but he is more wiſe than can be imagin'd; ſomething greater in all his Perfections than can be comprehended by any Creature. 'Tis a fooliſh thing therefore to queſtion that which we cannot comprehend: we ſhould adore it inſtead of diſputing againſt it; and take it for granted, that God would not order any thing, were it not agreeable to the Soveraignty of his wiſdom, as well as that of his will. Though the reaſon of man proceed from the wiſdom of God, yet there is more difference between the reaſon of man, and the wiſdom of God, than between the light of the Sun, and the feeble ſhining of the Glowworm; yet we preſume to cenſure the ways of God, as if our purblind reaſon had a reach above him.

7. God is only wiſe infallibly. The wiſeſt men meet with rubs in the way, that make them fall ſhort of what they aim at; they often deſign, and fail; then begin again, and yet all their counſels end in ſmoak, and none of them arrive at perfection. If the wiſeſt Angels lay a plot, they may be diſappointed; for though they are higher and wiſer than man, yet there is one higher and wiſer than they, that can check their Projects. God always compaſſeth his end, never fails of any thing he deſigns and aims at; all his undertakings are counſel and will; as nothing can reſiſt the efficacy of his will, ſo nothing can countermine the skil of his counſel; There is no wiſdom nor underſtanding nor counſel againſt the Lord, Prov. 21.30. He compaſſeth his ends by thoſe actions p. 343of Men and Devils, wherein they think to croſs him; they ſhoot at their own Mark, and hit his. Lucifer's plot by Divine wiſdom fulfilled God's purpoſe againſt Lucifer's mind. The counſel of Redemption by Chriſt, the end of the Creation of the World, rode into the World upon the back of the Serpents Temptation. God never miſtakes the means, nor can there be any diſappointments, to make him vary his Counſels, and pitch upon other means than what before he had ordain'd. His word that goeth forth of his mouth ſhall not return to him void, but it ſhall accompliſh that which he pleaſes, and it ſhall proſper in the thing whereto he ſent it, Iſa. 55.11. What is ſaid of his word, is true of his counſel, it ſhall proſper in the thing for which it is appointed; it cannot be defeated by all the Legions of Men and Devils▪ for as he thinks, ſo ſhall it come to paſs; and as he hath purpoſed, ſo ſhall it ſtand; The Lord hath purpoſed, and who ſhall diſanul it? Iſa. 14.24, 27. The wiſdom of the Creature is a drop from the wiſdom of God, and is like a drop to the Ocean, and a ſhadow to the Sun; and therefore is not able to mate the wiſdom of God, which is infinite and boundleſs. No wiſdom is exempted from miſtakes, but the Divine: He is wiſe in all his Reſolves, and never calls b…ck his words and purpoſes, Iſa. 31.2.

III. The third General is to prove that God is wiſe.

This is aſcrib'd to God in Scripture; Dan. 2.20. Wiſdom and might are his; Wiſdom to contrive, and Power to effect.**Culverwell light of Nature. p. 30. Where ſhould Wiſdom dwell, but in the head of a Deity; and where ſhould Power triumph, but in the arm of Omnipotency? All that God doth, he doth artificially, skilfully; whence he is called the Builder of the Heavens, Heb. 11.10. foreign, an artificial and curious Builder, a Builder by Art. And that word, Prov. 8.30. meant of Chriſt, Then I was by him as one brought up with him; ſome render it, Then was I the curious Artificer; and the ſame word is tranſlated a cunning workman, Cant. 7.5. For this cauſe Counſel is aſcrib'd to God††Iſa. 46.10. Jer. 22.19. Great in counſel. Job 12.13. He hath counſel and underſtanding.Isa 46:10Jer 22:19Job 12:13; not properly; for Counſel implies ſomething of Ignorance, or Irreſolution, antecedent to the conſultation, and a poſture of will afterwards, which was not before. Counſel is properly a laborious deliberation, and a reaſoning of things: An invention of means for the attainment of the end, after a diſcuſſing and reaſoning of all the doubts which ariſe pro re natâ, about the matter in counſel: But God hath no need to deliberate in himſelf, what are the beſt means to accompliſh his ends: He is never ignorant, or undetermin'd, what courſe he ſhould take, as men are before they conſult. But it is an expreſſion in condeſcenſion to our Capacity, to ſignifie that God doth nothing but with reaſon and underſtanding, with the higheſt prudence, and for the moſt glorious ends, as men do after conſultation, and the weighing of every foreſeen circumſtance.

Though he acts all things Soveraignly by his will, yet he acts all things wiſely by his underſtanding; and there is not a decree of his will, but he can render a ſatisfactory reaſon for in the face of Men and Angels. As he is the Cauſe of all things, ſo he hath the higheſt wiſdom for the ordering of all things. If wiſdom among men be the knowledge of Divine and Human things, God muſt be infinitely wiſe, ſince knowledge is moſt radiant in him; he knows what Angels and Men do, and infinitely more; what is known by them obſcurely, is known by him clearly: What is known by man after it is done, was known by God before it was wrought. By his wiſdom as much as by any thing, he infinitely differs from all his Creatures; as by wiſdom Man differs from a Brute. We cannot frame a notion of God, without conceiving him infinitely wiſe. We ſhould render him very inconſiderable, to imagine him furniſht with an infinite knowledge, and not have an infinite wiſdom to make uſe of that knowledge; or to fancy him with a mighty power, deſtitute of prudence. Knowledge without prudence is an eye without motion; and power without diſcretion, is an arm without a head; a hand to act, without underſtanding to contrive and model; a ſtrength to act, without reaſon to know how to act: It would be a miſerable notion of a God, to fancy him with a brutiſh and unguided power. The Heathens therefore had, and could not but have this natural notion of God. Plato therefore calls him Mens ††Eugub. per. Philoſoph. lib. 1. cap. 5., and Cleanthes uſed to call God Reaſon, and Socrates thought the title of foreign too magnificent to be attributed to any thing elſe but God alone.

p. 344Arguments to prove that God is wiſe.

Reaſ. 1. God could not be infinitely perfect without wiſdom. A rational Nature is better than an irrational Nature. A man is not a perfect man without reaſon; how can God without it, be an infinitely perfect God. Wiſdom is the moſt eminent of all Vertues; all the other perfections of God without this, would be as a body without an eye, a ſoul without underſtanding. A Chriſtian's Graces want their luſtre, when they are deſtitute of the guidance of wiſdom: Mercy is a feebleneſs, and Juſtice a cruelty, Patience a timerouſneſs, and Courage a madneſs, without the conduct of wiſdom; ſo the Patience of God would be cowardiſe, his Power an oppreſſion, his Juſtice a tyranny, without wiſdom as the Spring and Holineſs as the Rule. No attribute of God could ſhine with a due luſtre and brightneſs without it. Power is a great perfection, but wiſdom a greater**Licet magnum ſit poſſe, majus tamen eſt ſapere.. Wiſdom may be without much power, as in Bees and Ants; but power is a tyrannical thing without wiſdom and righteouſneſs. The Pilot is more valuable becauſe of his skil, than the Gally Slave becauſe of his ſtrength; and the conduct of a General more eſtimable than the might of a private Souldier. Generals are choſen more by their skill to guide, than their ſtrength to act; What a Clod is a man without Prudence; what a Nothing would God be without it? This is the Salt that gives reliſh to all other perfections in a Creature: This is the Jewel in the Ring of all the Excellencies of the Divine Nature, and Holineſs is the ſplendor of that Jewel.

Now God being the firſt Being, poſſeſſes whatſoever is moſt noble in any Being. If therefore Wiſdom, which is the moſt noble perfection in any Creature, were wanting to God, he would be deficient in that which is the higheſt Excellency. God being the living God, as he is frequently termed in Scripture, he hath therefore the moſt perfect manner of living, and that muſt be a pure and intellectual life: Being eſſentially living, he is eſſentially in the higheſt degree of living. As he hath an infinite life above all Creatures; ſo he hath an infinite intellectual life, and therefore an infinite Wiſdom; whence ſome have called God not ſapientem, but ſuper-ſapientem ††Suarez. Vol. 1: lib. 1. cap. 3 p. 10., not only wiſe, but above all wiſdom.

Reaſ. 2. Without infinite Wiſdom he could not govern the World. Without wiſdom in forming the Matter, which was made by Divine power, the World could have been no other than a Chaos; and without wiſdom in Government, it could have been no other than a heap of Confuſion; without wiſdom the World could not have been created in the poſture it is. Creation ſuppoſeth a determination of the will putting power upon acting; the determination of the will ſuppoſeth the counſel of the underſtanding, determining the will: No work, but ſuppoſeth underſtanding as well as will in a rational Agent. As without skill things could not be created, ſo without it things cannot be governed. Reaſon is a neceſſary perfection to him that preſides over all things: Without knowledge there could not be in God a foundation for Government, and without wiſdom there could not be an exerciſe of Government; and without the moſt excellent wiſdom, he could not be the moſt excellent Governour. He could not be an univerſal Governour, without a univerſal wiſdom; nor the ſole Governour without an unimitable wiſdom; nor an independent Governour without an original and independent wiſdom; nor a perpetual Governour without an incorruptible wiſdom. He would not be the Lord of the World in all points, without skill to order the affairs of it. Power and wiſdom are foundations of all Authority and Government: Wiſdom to know how to rule, and command; Power to make thoſe Commands obeyed: No regular Order could iſſue out without the firſt, nor could any order be enforced without the ſecond. A feeble wiſdom, and a brutiſh power, ſeldom or never produce any good effect. Magiſtracy without wiſdom, would be a frantick power, a raſh conduct; like a ſtrong arm when the eye is out, it ſtrikes it knows not what, and leads it knows not whither. Wiſdom without power, would be like a great body without feet**Amirant. moral., like the knowledge of a Pilot that hath loſt his arm, who though he knows the Rule of Navigation, and what Courſe to follow in his Voyage, yet cannot mannage the Helm: But when thoſe two, wiſdom and power are link't together, there ariſeth from both a fitneſs for Government: There is wiſdom to propoſe an end, and both wiſdom and power to employ means that conduct to that end. And p. 345therefore when God demonſtrates to Job his right of Government, and the unreaſonableneſs of Job's quarrelling with his proceedings, he chiefly urgeth upon him the conſideration of thoſe two excellencies of his Nature, power and wiſdom, which are expreſt in his Works††Chap. 38, 39, 40, 41.. A Prince without wiſdom, is but a Title without a Capacity to perform the Office; no man without it is fit for government: Nor could God without wiſdom exerciſe a juſt Dominion in the World. He hath therefore the higeſt wiſdom, ſince he is the univerſal Governour. That wiſdom which is able to govern a Family, may not be able to govern a City; and that wiſdom which governs a City, may not be able to govern a Nation or Kingdom, much leſs a World. The bounds of God's government being greater than any, his wiſdom for government muſt needs ſurmount the wiſdom of all.‖‖Amyrald. deſert. The…l p. 111. And though the Creatures be not in number actually infinite, yet they cannot be well governed, but by one endowed with infinite Diſcretion. Providential government can be no more without infinite wiſdom, than infinite wiſdom can be without Providence.

Reaſ. 3. The Creatures working for an end, without their own knowledge, demonstrates the wiſdom of God that guides them. All things in the World work for ſome end; the ends are unknown to them, though many of their ends are viſible to us. As there was ſome prime Cauſe, which by his power inſpir'd them with their ſeveral inſtincts, ſo there muſt be ſome ſupream wiſdom, which moves and guides them to their end. As their Being manifeſts his power that endowed them, ſo the acting according to the rules of their Nature, which they themſelves underſtand not, manifeſts his wiſdom in directing them. Every thing that acts for an end, muſt know that end, or be directed by another to attain that end. The Arrow doth not know who ſhoots it, or to what end it is ſhot, or what Mark is aimed at; but the Archer that puts it in, and darts it out of the Bow, knows. A Watch hath a regular motion, but neither the Spring nor the Wheels that move, know the end of their motion; no man will judge a wiſdom to be in the Watch, but in the Artificer that diſpos'd the Wheels and Spring, by a joint combination to produce ſuch a motion for ſuch an end. Doth either the Sun that enlivens the Earth, or the Earth that travels with the Plant, know what Plant it produceth in ſuch a Soil, what temper it ſhould be of, what fruit it ſhould bear, and of what colour? What Plant knows its own medicinal qualities, its own beautiful flowers, and for what uſe they are ordain'd? When it ſtrikes up its head from the Earth, doth it know what proportion of them there will be? Yet it produceth all theſe things in a ſtate of ignorance. The Sun warms the Earth, concocts the humours, excites the vertue of it, and cheriſhes the Seeds, which are caſt into her lap, yet all unknown to the Sun or the Earth. Since therefore that Nature, that is the immediate cauſe of thoſe things, doth not underſtand its own quality, nor operation, nor the end of its action, that which thus directs them muſt be conceived to have an infinite wiſdom. When things act by a Rule they know not, and move for an end they underſtand not, and yet work harmoniouſly together for one end, that all of them, we are ſure, are ignorant of, it mounts up our minds to acknowledge the wiſdom of that ſupream Cauſe, that hath rang'd all theſe inferiour Cauſes in their order, and imprinted upon them the Laws of their motions, according to the Ideas in his own Mind, who orders the Rule by which they act, and the end for which they act, and directs every motion according to their ſeveral Natures, and therefore is poſſeſſed with infinite wiſdom in his own Nature.

Reaſ. 4. God is the fountain of all wiſdom in the creatures and therefore is infinitely wiſe himſelf. As he hath a fulneſs of being in himſelf, becauſe the ſtreams of being are derived to other things from him; So he hath a fulneſs of wiſdom, becauſe he is the ſpring of wiſdom to Angels and men. That Being muſt be infinitely wiſe, from whence all other wiſdom derives its original: For nothing can be in the effect, which is not eminently in the cauſe; the cauſe is alway more perfect than the effect. If therefore the creatures are wiſe, the Creator muſt be much more wiſe. If the Creator were deſtitute of wiſdom, the creature would be much more perfect than the Creator. If you conſider the wiſdom of the Spider in her web, which is both her houſe and net; the artifice of the Bee in her Comb, which is both her p. 346chamber and granary; the proviſion of the Piſmire in her repoſitories for corn; the wiſdom of the Creator is illuſtrated by them; whatſoever excellency you ſee in any creature, is an Image of ſome excellency in God. The skill of the artificer is viſible in the fruits of his Art; a workman tranſcribes his ſpirit in the work of his hands. But the wiſdom of rational creatures, as men, doth more illuſtrate it: All Arts among men are the rayes of divine Wiſdom ſhining upon them, and by a common gift of the Spirit enlightning their minds to curious inventions, as Prov. 8.12. I wiſdom find out the knowledge of witty inventions; that is, I give a faculty to men to find them out; without my wiſdom, all things would be buried in darkneſs and ignorance: Whatſoever wisdom there is in the World, it is but a ſhadow of the wiſdom of God, a ſmall Rivulet derived, from him, a ſpark leaping out from Uncreated Wiſdom. Iſa 54.16. He created the Smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and makes the Inſtruments: The ſkill to uſe thoſe weapons in War-like Enterpriſes is from him, I have created the waſter to deſtroy; 'Tis not meant of creating their Perſons, but communicating to them their Art; He ſpeaks it there to expell fear from the Church of all war-like preparations againſt them: He had given Men the skill to form and uſe Weapons, and could as well ſtrip them of it, and defeat their purpoſes: The Art of huſbandry is a fruit of divine teaching, Iſa. 28.24, 25. If thoſe lower kinds of Knowledge, that are common to all Nations, and eaſily learn'd by all, are diſcoveries of Divine Wiſdom, much more the nobler Sciences, intellectual and Political Wiſdom, Dan. 2.21. He gives Wiſdom to the wiſe, and knowledge to them that know underſtanding; ſpeaking of the more abſtruſe parts of knowledge The; inſpiration of the Almighty gives Ʋnderſtanding, Job. 32.8. Hence the Wiſdom which Solomon expreſt in the Harlots caſe, 1 Kings 3.28. was in the Judgment of all Iſrael, the Wiſdom of God; that is, a fruit of Divine Wiſdom, a beam communicated to him from God. Every mans Soul is endowed more or leſs with thoſe noble qualities: The Soul of every man exceeds that of a Brute; If the ſtreams be ſo excellent, the Fountain muſt be fuller and clearer. The firſt Spirit muſt infinitely more poſſeſs, what other Spirits derive from him by Creation; Were the Wiſdom of all the Angels in Heaven and men on Earth collected in one Spirit, it muſt be infinitely leſs than what is in the Spring; for no Creature can be equal to the Creator. As the higheſt Creature already made, or that we can conceive may be made by Infinite Power, would be infinitely below God in the Notion of a Creature, ſo it would be infinitely below God in the Notion of Wiſe.

IV. The fourth Thing is, Wherein the Wiſdom of God appears.

It appears (1.) In Creation, (2.) In Government, (3.) In Redemption.

1. In Creation. As in a Muſical Inſtrument, there is firſt the skill of the Workman in the frame; then the skill of the Muſician in ſtringing it, proper for ſuch Muſical Notes as he will expreſs upon it; and after that the tempering of the Strings by various ſtops to a delightful Harmony: So is the Wiſdom of God ſeen in framing the World, then in tuning it, and afterwards in the motion of the ſeveral Creatures. The Fabrick of the World is called the Wiſdom of God; 1 Cor. 1.21. After that in the Wiſdom of God the World by Wiſdom knew not God; i. e. by the Creation the World knew not God; the framing Cauſe is there put for the Effect and the Work framed: Becauſe the Divine Wiſdom ſtept forth in the Creatures to a publick appearance, as if it had preſented it ſelf in a viſible ſhape to Man, giving Inſtructions in and by the Creatures, to know and adore him. What we tranſlate 1 Gen. 1. In the beginning God Created the Heaven and the earth, the Targum expreſſeth, In wiſdom God created the Heaven and the Earth. Both bear a ſtamp of this perfection on them:**Omne opus naturae eſt opus intelligentiae. And when the Apoſtle tels the Romans, Rom. 1.20. the inviſible things of God were clearly understood by the things that are made; the word he uſes is, foreign, not foreign; this ſignifies a work of labour, but foreign, a work of skill, or a Poem. The whole Creation is a Poem, every Species a Stanza, and every individual Creature a Verſe in it. The Creation preſents us with a proſpect of the Wiſdom of God, as a Poem doth the Reader with the wit and fancy of the Compoſer: By wiſdom he created the Earth, Pro. 3.19. and ſtretched out the Heavens by diſcretion, Jer. 10.12. There is not any thing ſo mean, ſo ſmall, but p. 347Glitters with a beam of Divine skill; and the conſideration of them would juſtly make every man ſubſcribe to that of the Pſalmist, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in Wiſdom haſt thou made them all. Pſal. 104.24. All, the leaſt as well as the greateſt, and the meaneſt as well as the nobleſt; even thoſe creatures which ſeem ugly and deformed to us, as Toads, &c. becauſe they fall ſhort of thoſe perfections which are the dowry of other Animals: In theſe there is a footſtep of Divine Wiſdom, ſince they were not produced by him at random, but determin'd to ſome particular end, and deſign'd to ſome uſefulneſs, as parts of the World in their ſeveral natures and ſtations. God could never have had a ſatisfaction in the review of his works, and pronounced them good or comly, as he did, Gen. 1.31. had they not been agreeable to that eternal original Copy in his own mind: 'Tis ſaid he was refreſh't, viz. with that review, Exod. 31.17. which could not have been, if his piercing eye had found any defect in any thing which had ſprung out of his hand, or an unſutableneſs to that end for which he Created them. He ſeems to do as a man that hath made a curious and polite work, with exact care to peer about every part and line, if he could perceive any imperfection in it, to rectify the miſtake: But no defect was found by the infinitely wiſe God upon this ſecond examination.

This Wiſdom of the Creation appears,

(1.) In the variety, (2.) In the beauty, (3.) The fitneſs of every Creature for its uſe, (4) The ſubordination of one Creature to another, and the joint concurrence of all to one common end.

1. In the Variety. Pſal. 104.24. O Lord how manifold are thy works! How great a variety is there … Animals and Plants, with a great variety of forms, Shapes, Figurations, Colours, various ſmels, vertues and qualities! and this rarity is produced from one and the ſame Matter, as Beaſts and Plants from the Earth; Gen. 1.11.24. Let the Earth bring forth living Creatures; and the Earth brought forth graſs and the herb yielding ſeed after his kind: Such diverſity of Fowl and Fiſh from the water; Gen. 1.20. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving Creature that hath life, and Fowl that may fly; Such a beautiful and active variety from ſo dul a matter as the Earth; ſo ſolid a variety from ſo fluid a matter as the Water; ſo noble a piece as the body of man, with ſuch variety of members, fit to entertain a more excellent Soul as a gueſt, from ſo mean a matter as the duſt of the ground, Gen. 2.7. This extraction of ſuch variety of forms out of one ſingle and dul matter, is the Chimiſtry of Divine wiſdom: 'Tis a greater skill to frame noble Bodies of vile Matter, as varieties of precious Veſſels of Clay and Earth, than of a nobler Matter, as Gold and Silver.

Again, all thoſe varieties propagate their kind in every particular and quality of their nature, & uniformly bring forth exact copies according to the firſt pattern God made of the kind, Gen. 1.11.12.24. Conſider alſo how the ſame piece of ground is garniſht with Plants and Flowers of ſeveral vertues, Fruits, Colours, Scents, without our being able to perceive any variety in the Earth that breeds them, and not ſo great a difference in the Roots that bear them. Add to this, the diverſities of Birds of different Colours, Shapes, Notes, conſiſting of various Parts, Wings like Oars to cut the Air, & Tails as the Rudder of a Ship to guide their motion.

How various alſo are the Endowments of the Creatures? ſome have Vegetation, and the power of growth; others have the addition of Senſe, and others the excellency of Reaſon; ſomething wherein all agree, and ſomething wherein all differ; variety in unity, and unity in variety: The wiſdom of the Workman had not been ſo conſpicuous, had there been only one degree of goodneſs: The greateſt skill is ſeen in the greateſt variety.

The comlineſs of the Body is viſible in the variety of Members, and their uſefulneſs to one another; What an inform thing had Man been, had he been all Ear, or all Eye? If God had made all the Stars to be Suns, it would have been a demonſtration of his Power, but perhaps leſs of his Wiſdom; No Creatures, with the Natures they now have, could have continued in being under ſo much p. 348heat: There was no leſs Wiſdom went to the frame of the leaſt, than to the greateſt Creature. It ſpeaks more art in a Limner to paint a Landſkip exactly, than to draw the Sun, though the Sun be a more glorious Body.

I might inſtance alſo in the different Characters and Features imprinted upon the Countenances of Men and Women, the differences of Voices and Statures, whereby they are diſtinguiſht from one another: Theſe are the Foundations of Order and of Human Society and Adminiſtration of Juſtice; what Confuſion would have been, if a grown-up Son could not be known from his Father, the Magiſtrate from the Subject, the Creditor from the Debtor, the Innocent from the Criminal? The Laws God hath given to Mankind, could not have been put in execution: This variety ſpeaks the wiſdom of God.

2. The wiſdom of the Creation appears in the beauty and order and ſcituation of the ſeveral Creatures. Eccleſ. 3.11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time. As their Being was a fruit of Divine Power, ſo their Order is a fruit of Divine wiſdom. All Creatures are as Members in the great Body of the World, proportion'd to one another, and contributing to the beauty of the whole;**Amyraut. moral. Vol. 1. p. 257. ſo that if the particular forms of every thing, the union of all for the Compoſition of the World, and the Laws which are eſtabliſhed in the Order of Nature for its conſervation, be conſidered, it would raviſh us with an admiration of God: All the Creatures are as ſo many Pictures or Statues, exactly fram'd by line; Pſal. 19.4. Their Line is gone through all the Earth; Their Line, a meaſuring Line, or a Carpenters Rule, whereby he proportions ſeveral pieces to be exactly linkt and coupled together. Their Line, that is, their harmonious proportion, and the inſtruction from it is gone forth through all the Earth. Upon the account of this harmony, ſome of the ancient Heathens framed the Images of their Gods with Muſical Inſtruments in their hands, ſignifying tha… God wrought all things in a due proportion††Mountag. againſt Selden, p. 281. Plutarch. calls God foreign, he ſaith, nothing was made without muſick..

The Heavens ſpeak this wiſdom in their Order.

The Revolutions of the Sun and Moon determine the Seaſons of the Year, and make Day and Night in an orderly Succeſſion. The Stars beautifie the Heavens, and influence the Earth, and keep their Courſes, Judges 5.20. They keep their Stations without interfering with one another; and though they have rould about for ſo many Ages, they obſerve their diſtinct Laws, and in the variety of their Motions have not diſturb'd one anothers Functions.

‖‖Charlton Light of Nature, p. 57.The Sun is ſet as the heart in the midſt of this great Body, to afford warmth to all: Had it been ſet lower, it had long ſince turned the Earth into flame and aſhes: Had it been placed higher, the Earth would have wanted the nouriſhment and refreſhment neceſſary for it. Too much nearneſs had ruin'd the Earth by parching heat, and too great a diſtance had deſtroy'd the Earth by ſtarving it with cold.

The Sun hath alſo its appointed Motion; had it been fixed without motion, half of the Earth had been unprofitable; there had been a perpetual darkneſs in a moiety of it; nothing had been produced for nouriſhment, and ſo it had been rendred uninhabitable: But now by this motion, it viſits all the Climates of the World, runs its Circuit, ſo that nothing is hid from the heat thereof, Pſal. 19.6. It imparts its vertue to every Corner of the World in its daily and yearly viſits. Had it been fixed, the Fruits of the Earth under it had been parch't and deſtroy'd before their Maturity; but all thoſe Inconveniencies are provided againſt by the perpetual Motion of the Sun.

This Motion is orderly**Daille. m…l. part. 1 p. 483.; It makes its daily Courſe from Eaſt to Weſt, its yeary Motion from North to South: It goes to the North, till it comes to the Point God hath ſet it, and then turns back to the South, and gains ſome point every day: It never riſeth nor ſets in the ſame place one day, where it did the day before. The World is never without its light; ſome ſee it Riſing the ſame moment we ſee its Setting.

The Earth alſo ſpeaks the Divine wiſdom; 'tis the Pavement of the World, as the Heaven is the Ceiling of Fretwork.††Amyraut. …dic…in. p. 9. Tis placed lowermoſt, as being the heavieſt Body, and ſit to receive the weightieſt Matter, and provided as an Habitation p. 349proper for thoſe Creatures, which derive the Matter of their Bodies from it, and partake of its Earthy Nature; and garniſht with other Creatures for the profit and pleaſure of man.

The Sea alſo ſpeaks the ſame Divine Wiſdom. He ſtrengthned the Fountains of the Deep, and gave the Sea a decree, that it ſhould not paſs his Command, Prov. 8.28, 29. He hath given it certain Bounds, that it ſhould not overflow the Earth, Job 28.11. It contains it ſelf in the ſituation wherein God hath placed it, and doth not tranſgreſs its bounds. What if ſome part of a Country, a little Spot, hath been overflowed by it, and groaned under its Waves? yet for the main, it retains the ſame Chanels wherein it was at firſt lodged.

All Creatures are cloathed with an outward Beauty, and endowed with an inward Harmony; there is an agreement in all parts of this great Body; every one is beautiful and orderly; but the Beauty of the World reſults from all of them diſpos'd and linkt together.

3. This Wiſdom is ſeen in the fitneſs of every thing for its end, and the uſefulneſs of it. Divine Wiſdom is more illuſtrious in the fitneſs and uſefulneſs of this great variety, than in the Compoſure of their diſtinct parts: As the Artificers Skill is more eminent in fitting the Wheels, and ſetting them in order for their due motion, than in the external Fabrick of the Materials which compoſe the Clock.

After the moſt diligent inſpection, there can be found nothing in the Creation unprofitable; nothing but is capable of ſome Service, either for the ſupport of our Bodies, recreation of our Senſes, or Moral Inſtruction of our Minds: Not the leaſt Creature, but is formed and ſhap'd and furniſh'd with Members and Parts, in a due proportion for its end and ſervice in the World; nothing is ſuperfluous, nothing defective.

The Earth is fitted in its parts**Amyrant. ſur diverſes Text. p. 127.; the Valleys are appointed for Granaries, the Mountains to ſhadow them from the ſcorching heat of the Sun; the Rivers like veins, carry refreſhment to every Member of this Body; Plants & Trees thrive on the face of the Earth, and Metals are ingendred in the Bowels of it, for Materials for Building and other uſes for the ſervice of Man. There he cauſes the Graſs to grow for the Cattle, and Herb for the Service of Man, that he may bring forth food out of the Earth, Pſal. 104.14.

The Sea is fitted for uſe; 'tis a Fiſh-pond for the Nouriſhment of Man; a Boundary for the dividing of Lands and ſeveral Dominions; It joyns together Nations far diſtant: A great Veſſel for Commerce, Pſal. 104.26. There goe the Ships. It affords Vapours to the Clouds, wherewith to water the Earth, which the Sun draws up, ſeparating the finer from the ſalter parts, that the Earth may be fruitful, without being burthened with barrenneſs by the ſalt. The Sea hath alſo its Salt, its ebbs and flouds; the one as Brine, the other as Motion, to preſerve it from Putrification, that it may not be Contagious to the reſt of the World.

Showers are appointed to refreſh the Bodies of living Creatures, to open the Womb of the Earth, and water the Ground to make it fruitful, Pſal. 104.3. The Clouds therefore are called the Chariots of God; he rides in them in the manifeſtation of his goodneſs and wiſdom.

††Leſſius.Winds are fitted to purifie the Air, to preſerve it from Putrefaction; to carry the Clouds to ſeveral parts, to refreſh the parched Earth, and aſſiſt her Fruits: And alſo to ſerve for the Commerce of one Nation with another by Navigation. God in his wiſdom and goodneſs walks upon the wings of the Wind, Pſal. 104.3.

‖‖Daille melan. part. 2. p. 472, 473.Rivers are appointed to bathe the Ground, and render it freſh and lively; they fortifie Cities, are the limits of Countreys, ſerve for Commerce; they are the Watring-pots of the Earth, and the Veſſels for Drink for the living Creatures that dwell upon the Earth. God cut thoſe Chanels for the wild Aſſes, the Beaſts of the Deſart, which are his Creatures as well as the reſt, Pſal. 104.10, 12, 13.

p. 350Trees are appointed for the Habitations of Birds, Shadows for the Earth, Nouriſhment for the Creatures, Materials for Building, and Fuel for the relief of man againſt Cold.

The Seaſons of the Year have their uſe; the Winter makes the Juice retire into the Earth, fortifies Plants, and fixes their Roots: It moyſtens the Earth that was dried before by the heat of Summer, and cleanſeth and prepares it for a new fruitfulneſs. The Spring calls out the Sap in new Leaves and Fruit: The Summer conſumes the ſuperfluous moiſture, and produceth Nouriſhment for the Inhabitants of the World.

**Daille melang. part. 1. p. 477, &c.The Day and Night have alſo their uſefulneſs: The Day gives Life to Labour, and is a guide to Motion and Action. Pſal. 104.23. The Sun ariſeth, man goeth forth to his labour until the Evening. It warms the Air, and quickens Nature; without Day the World would be a Chaos, an unſeen Beauty. The Night indeed caſts a Vail upon the bravery of the Earth, but it draws the Curtains from that of Heaven; though it darkens below, it makes us ſee the Beauty of the World above, and diſcovers to us a glorious part of the Creation of God, the Tapiſtry of Heaven, and the Motion of the Stars, hid from us by the eminent light of the Day. It procures a Truce from Labour, and refreſheth the Bodies of Creatures, by recruiting the Spirits which are ſcattered by watching. It prevents the ruin of Life, by a reparation of what was waſted in the Day. It takes from us the ſight of Flowers and Plants, but it waſheth their Face with Dews for a new Appearance next Morning. The length of the Day and Night, is not without a Mark of Wiſdom; were they of a greater length, as the length of a Week or Month, the one would too much dry, and the other too much moiſten; and for want of Action, the Members would be ſtupified. The perpetual Succeſſion of Day and Night, is an Evidence of the Divine Wiſdom, in tempering the travel and reſt of Creatures. Hence the Pſalmiſt tells us, Pſal. 74.16, 17. The day is thine, and the night is thine; thou haſt prepared the light of the Sun, and made Summer and Winter; i. e. they are of God's framing, not without a wiſe counſel and end.

Hence let us aſcend to the Bodies of living Creatures, and we ſhall find every Member fitted for uſe. What a Curioſity is there in every Member? Every one fitted to a particular uſe in their ſituation, form, temper, and mutual agreement for the good of the whole: The Eye to direct, the Ear to receive Directions from others, the Hands to act, the Feet to move. Every Creature hath Members fitted for that Element wherein it reſides: And in the Body, ſome parts are appointed to change the Food into Blood, others to refine it, and others to diſtribute and convey it to ſeveral parts for the maintenance of the whole: The Heart to mint vital Spirits for preſerving Life, and the Brain to coin Animal Spirits for Life and Motion; the Lungs to ſerve for the cooling the Heart, which elſe would be parcht as the ground in Summer. The Motion of the Members of the Body by one act of the Will, and alſo without the Will by a natural Inſtinct, is an admirable Evidence of Divine Skill in the Structure of the Body; ſo that well might the Pſalmiſt cry out, Pſal. 139.14. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

But how much more of this Divine Perfection is ſeen in the Soul? A Nature furniſht with a Faculty of Underſtanding to judge of things, to gather in things that are diſtant, and to reaſon and draw Concluſions from one thing to another, with a Memory to treaſure up things that are paſt, with a Will to apply it ſelf ſo readily to what the Mind judges fit and comely, and fly ſo ſpeedily from what it judges ill and hurtful. The whole World is a Stage, every Creature in it hath a part to act, and a Nature ſuted to that part and end 'tis deſign'd for; and all concur in a joint Language to publiſh the Glory of Divine Wiſdom, they have a Voice to proclaim the Glory of God, Pſal. 19.1, 3. And it is not the leaſt part of God's Skill, in framing the Creatures ſo, that upon Man's Obedience, they are the Chanels of his Goodneſs; and upon Man's Diſobedience, they can in their Natures be the Miniſters of his Juſtice for the puniſhing of offending Creatures.

p. 3514. Fourthly, This Wiſdom is apparent in the linking all theſe uſeful parts together, ſo that one is ſubordinate to the other for a common end. All parts are exactly ſuted to one another, and every part to the whole, though they are of different Natures, as Lines diſtant in themſelves, yet they meet in one common Center, the good and the preſervation of the Univerſe; they are all joynted together, as the word tranſlated framed **Heb. 11.3.Heb 11:3ſignifies; knit by fit Bands and Ligaments to contribute mutual Beauty, Strength and Aſſiſtance to one another; like ſo many Links of a Chain coupled together, that though there be a diſtance in place, there is a unity in regard of connexion and end, there is a conſent in the whole. Hoſea 2.21, 22. The Heavens hear the Earth, and the Earth hears the Corn, and the Wine, and the Oyl. The Heavens communicate their qualities to the Earth, and the Earth conveys them to the Fruits ſhe bears:††Dalle 15. Serm. p. 17…. The Air diſtributes Light, Wind and Rain to the Earth; the Earth and the Sea render to the Air Exhalations and Vapours, and all together charitably give to the Plants and Animals that which is neceſſary for their nouriſhment and refreſhment. The Influences of the Heavens animate the Earth, and the Earth affords matter in part for the Influences it receives from the Regions above. Living Creatures are maintain'd by Nouriſhment; Nouriſhment is conveyed to them by the Fruits of the Earth; the Fruits of the Earth are produced by means of Rain and Heat; Matter for Rain and Dew is raiſed by the heat of the Sun; and the Sun by its motion diſtributes heat and quickning vertue to all parts of the Earth. So Colours are made for the pleaſure of the Eye, Sounds for the delight of the Ear: Light is formed, whereby the Eye may ſee the one, and Air to convey the Species of Colours to the Eye, and Sound to the Ear; all things are like the Wheels of a Watch compacted: And though many of the Creatures be endowed with contrary qualities, yet they are joyned in a Marriage-knot for the Publick Security, and Subſerviency to the Preſervation and Order of the Univerſe: As the variety of Strings upon an Inſtrument, ſending forth various and diſtinct ſounds, are temper'd together, for the framing excellent and delightful Airs. In this univerſal conſpiring of the Creatures together to one end, is the wiſdom of the Creator apparent; in tuning ſo many Contraries as the Elements are, and preſerving them in their Order, which if once broken, the whole Frame of Nature would crack, and fall in pieces; all are ſo interwoven and inlaid together, by the Divine Workmanſhip, as to make up one intire Beauty in the whole Fabrick: As every part in the Body of Man hath a diſtinct Comlineſs, yet there is beſides, the Beauty of the whole, that reſults from the union of divers parts exactly faſhion'd to one another, and linkt together.

By the way,

Uſe. How much may we ſee of the Perfection of God in every thing that preſents it ſelf to our eyes? And how ſhould we be convinc'd of our unworthy neglect of aſcending to him with reverent and admiring thoughts, upon the proſpect of the Creatures? What dull Scholars are we, when every Creature is our Teacher, every part of the Creature a lively Inſtruction! Thoſe things that we tread under our feet, if uſed by us according to the full deſign of their Creation, would afford rich matter, not only for our heads, but our hearts. As Grace doth not deſtroy Nature, but elevate it, ſo neither ſhould the freſher and fuller diſcoveries of Divine Wiſdom in Redemption, deface all our thoughts of his Wiſdom in Creation. Though the greater Light of the Sun, obſcures the leſſer ſparkling of the Stars, yet it gives way in the Night to the diſcovery of them, that God may be ſeen, known, and conſidered in all his Works of Wonder, and Miracles of Nature. No part of Scripture is more ſpiritual than the Pſalms; none filled with clearer Diſcoveries of Chriſt in the Old Teſtament; yet how often do the Penmen conſider the Creation of God, and find their Meditations on him to be ſweet, as conſider'd in his Works? Pſal. 104.34. My meditation of him ſhall be ſweet. When? why, after a ſhort Hiſtory of the Goodneſs and Wiſdom of God in the Frame of the World, and the Species of the Creatures.