A Complete History and Mystery of the Old and New Testament, Biblical tract · Volume 1 · Chapter 1

A Complete History and Mystery of the Old and New Testament · Biblical tract · Volume 1 · Chapter 1

p. 1CHAP. I. The Hiſtory and Myſtery of the Worlds Creation.

THE Creation was Gods firſt Emanation, flowing forth, or going out of himſelf, giving the firſt Being and beginning to Time, Place, Perſons, and Things: till then, God was (as it were) Deus contractus, containing all in himſelf; now, Deus expanſus & explicatus, ſpreading his hand (which had hitherto been as contracted) to create the World: not becauſe he was now weary with doing nothing, as Atheiſts ſay, but he did it when it pleaſed him to manifeſt his own Wiſdom, Mercy, Power, and Glory; as Auguſtine ſaith, Nec ceſſando torpuit, nec operando laboravit; Auguſt. cont. Adverſ. leg. lib. 1. cap. 2. God (who is the moſt pure Act) is neither idle in Reſting, nor weary in working. Hereupon 'tis ſaid, what God did, or how he employed himſelf before the Creation, is a Sea over which no Ship hath ever Sailed; is a Mine, into which no Spade hath ever delved; an Abyſs, into which no Bucket hath ever dived: our fight is too tender and ſlender to behold this Sun. 'Tis Humane folly to ſay, there was a World before Adam, (then he is falſely called the firſt man, frequently in the Scripture of Truth) this is to be wiſe above what is written: but 'tis Divine Faith to ſay, that this World was created [foreign, Affabrè factum, neatly made up] by the word of God, Heb. 11.3. and then Time, Place, &c. had their beginning, Gen. 1.1. If ſo, there could be none before it. As we know not what God did before, neither what he will do after the world. Auguſtine ſmartly anſwers this ſawcy Queſtion, That God was making an Hell for ſuch over-curious Buſie-bodies: the Philoſopher reading this firſt of Geneſis, was heard to ſay, [Egregiè dicis, Domine Moſes, ſed quomodo probas?] Excellently ſaid, Sir Moſes, but how will you prove what you ſay? Auguſtine anſwers, Credo, non probo; I believe it, I need not prove it. Theologia non eſt Argumentativa, Alſted, Divinity doth not uſe to prove her Principles; the Myſteries whereof are better underſtood by Believing, than believed by underſtanding: 'tis the nature of Faith to believe God upon his bare word, and that againſt Senſe in things Inviſible, and againſt Reaſon in things Incredible. Senſe corrects Imagination, Reaſon corrects Senſe, but Faith corrects both. Aufer Argumenta, ubi …ie p. 2quaeritur, &c. ſaith Ambroſe. Away with Arguments; 'tis enough I believe, though I cannot prove every Principle and Fundamental of Faith, as this of the Creation.

The word Creation (according to the Criticks) comes from the Greek word foreign, to effect or perfect: and 'tis taken in a double ſenſe. (1.) Proper and literal; ſo 'tis a making ſomething out of nothing, Gen. 1.1. (2.) Common and Myſtical, ſo 'tis a making ſomething out of that which is worſe than nothing, Eph. 2.10. All Creatures were made at firſt without praeexiſting Matter; but when we come to be made New Creatures; though there be a praeexiſting, yet there is a ſtrongly Reſiſting Matter, which is far worſe, and no leſs requires the All-creating power. As the former is call'd Creatio tranſiens, ſo this is, Creatio continuans; we can bring nothing to this glorious work, except Oppoſition. Yea, when we are once created in Chriſt, we can (indeed) do ſomething to uncreate our ſelves, were it not that Creating power comes to renew our decayed grace and Spiritual Witherings, Pſal. 51.10.

Creation here treated upon, is taken in the proper ſenſe, and is the External Efficiency, Act or Operation of God, whereby be made the world in the beginning of time out of nothing, very good, and for his own glory.

There is a concurrency of four Cauſes in this (as in other) act conſiderable. (1.) A quâ, the Cauſe Efficient. 2. Ex quâ, the Matter. (3.) Per quam, the Form. And 4. Propter quam, the End. Yea, all thoſe ſeven circumſtances (contained in one Verſe) [Quis, Quid, Ʋbi, Quibus, Auxiliis, Cur, Quomodo, Quando] concur here in this Divine Action of the Creation. Bereſhith Bara Elohim Eth Haſhamajim veeth haerets. In the beginning God Created the Heavens and the Earth, Gen. 1.1. Sundry Enquiries are here to be anſwered.

The firſt Enquiry is, Who is the Efficient cauſe of the Creation?

Anſw. 'Tis God the Creator, call'd alſo Lord the Governour. The External Efficiency or operation of the Divine Being is twofold. 1. Creation; 2. Providence: in reſpect of the firſt, he is called God the Creator; and of the ſecond, Lord thè Governour. Thoſe two are called Relative Attributes, as they do clearly hold forth a Relation betwixt the Maker and the Matter made: And thoſe two Titles [God and Lord] are firſt conjoyned in Gen. 2.4. As ſoon as the Univerſal Creation had attained to an Abſolute perfection, then ſtood it in need only of a continued Suſtentation, as Lord ſignifies a Suſtainer; 'tis now added to the Name God, which had been uſed ſingly about thirty three times before: now he is firſt called [Lord God] that as his Work was perfect, ſo his Name might be perfect alſo. Thus likewiſe the Prophet couples thoſe two Names together for the Churches comfort, Iſa. 40.28. ſaying, the ſame God-Creatour is ſtill Lord-Governour, or Suſtainer, who will not caſt off the care of his Church, as one toiled or tired; for he Governs now (as he did Create) without either Toil or Travel, and not ſubject to wearineſs as Man is. The Hebrew Text is, [Elohim Bara] Dii Creavit, as being of the Plural number, which holds out the Myſtery of the bleſſed Trinity, called by Elihu [Eloah Gnoſhai] God my Makers, Job 35.10. and by David, the Makers of Iſrael, Pſal. 149.1. and Soloman ſaith, Remember thy Greators, Eccleſ. 12.1. This word Elohim ſignifies Almighties, or Almighty powers; yet is this Noun plural joined with [Bara] a Verb ſingular, becauſe God is but One, Deut. 6.4. although in power Infinite. There be three which bear witneſs in Heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and theſe three are one, 1 Joh. 5.7. yet all three are called Creators: 1. the Father is ſo, Eph. 3.9. &c. 2. the Word (or Son) is ſo, Heb. 1.8, 10. Col. 1.16. &c. and the Spirit is ſo, Gen. 1.2. Pſal. 33.6. & 104.30. Job 26.13. & 33.4. The Pſalmiſt ſaith, By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made, and all the Hoſt of them by the Breath (or Spirit) of his mouth; that is, God the Father by the Son, through the Spirit, Created all things, 1 Cor. 8.6. Prov. 8.24, 27, 28. Joh. 1.3, 10. Heb. 1.1, 2. Revel. 3.14. Iſa. 40.12, 13. &c. All which do declare, that Three in One, and One in Three, wrought in the Creation of the world, as afterwards they did in the formation of Man, Gen. 1.26. and in making Borders of Gold with ſtuds of Silver for the Church, Cant. 1.11. Rab. Solomon Interprets [we] there [I and my Judgment-Hall] which conſiſted at leaſt of Three. So by [we] is meant (in the Hebrew ſuccinct Speech) God Three in One, and One in Three. Opera Trinitatis ad extra ſunt indiviſa; All the Three Perſons are undivided, all concur in External Actions. Hermes (that antient Aegyptian who flouriſhed before Pharaoh) did acknowledge ſomething of this Great Truth, from whence he had his Name of Triſmegiſtus for owning the Three great ones: And the Heathen Sages (after him) had ſome blind Notions hereof, as appeareth by Plutarch, who reporteth, that in Thebe (a Town of Aegypt) they worſhipped a God (whom they acknowledged to be Immortal) and painted him in the likeneſs of a man blowing an Egg out of his mouth, to ſignifie that he made the round World by his Word and Breath of his Mouth. But Chriſtian Faith reacheth farther than Heathens Reaſon, for by Faith we underſtand that the World was made by the Word of God, Heb. 11.3. foreign, by Chriſt, who is the Eſſential Word, and the flowings forth (as the word ſignifies) or lettings out of Divine Wiſd… Power, and Goodneſs: for God was (as it were) contracted and contained all within himſelf p. 3from all Eternity; but now in the Creation he becomes Deus expanſus & explicatus, letting out himſelf to the Creature. Thus Chriſt is called the Manifeſtation of God, and the Declarer of the Father, Joh. 1.18. John Baptiſt is called foreign [a voice] but Chriſt foreign [the Word] by which the world was made. As Verbum eſt animi Index, the Speech diſcovers the Spirit; ſo Chriſt unboſoms the Father, and the Creation is nothing elſe but the Creator unfolding himſelf, and diſperſing his Divine Eſſence into ſeveral Veins and Channels of the Creature, Mundus Ʋniverſus nihil aliud eſt quàm Deus Explicatus, the world is onelyonly God expreſſed; the Inviſible is clearly ſeen (as in a Mirrour, or on a Theater) in things that are viſible, Rom. 1.19, 20. as the Sun is beheld in the waters, ſo is God in his works, either by way of Negation, Cauſality, or Eminence, per ſpecies Creaturea.

The ſecond Enquiry is, What is the Material Cauſe out of which all things were Created? Anſw. God made ſomething out of nothing, and out of that ſomething all things. Nothing here is not taken privatively, as 1 Cor. 8.4. an Idol is nothing, to wit, privatively, as having nothing of a Divine Eſſence in it, yet poſitively it is ſomething, that is, Wood, or Stone, &c. Nor (2.) is it taken Comparatively, as Iſa. 40.17. All the world is nothing, to wit, in compariſon of the Great God. But (3.) 'tis taken negatively, and ſimply, God having no praeexiſting matter to work upon, as the word [Bara] created ſignifies, being a word in its proper ſenſe proper and peculiar to God himſelf, ſo ſhould not be paraſitically Attributed to the mightieſt of men, as too oft it is, in Creating Earls, Marqueſſes, Dukes, unleſs the Creators and the Created were both holy, as God is, and Man was. There was nothing from Eternity beſides God, neither is God the Matter or any part of the Creature; therefore the world was made out of nothing. This puts the difference betwixt Creation and Generation; this latter is a production of ſomething out of ſomething, but the former of ſomething out of nothing.

There be three principal Operators; Art, Nature, and God. That worker which needeth the feweſt helps, is the moſt perfect worker. 1. Art needs many helps. 2. Nature needs but few. But 3. God needeth none at all. God is the firſt Cauſe, and the World was the firſt effect. 'Tis a Rule or Maxime, Inter primam Cauſam & primum effectum nil intervenit: Nothing can come between the firſt Cauſe and the firſt effect; therefore in the Creation there could neither be any praeexiſting Matter, nor any Coaſſiſting Inſtruments. God himſelf was both the Father and Mother of all Created Beings. God was the Father of the World, begetting it by his Word, and both bringing it out, and bringing it up in ſix days, by the overſhadowings of the Spirit, Gen. 1.2. All this ariſes from the Efficiency of God, who is a moſt pure Act, and is Omnipotency it ſelf: is there any thing too hard for the Lord? Gen. 18.14. Job knew that God could do every thing, Job 42.2. All things (but Lying, Dying, and denying himſelf) are poſſible with God, Matth. 19.26. his counſel ſhall ſtand, and he will do all his pleaſure, Iſa. 46.10. What God pleaſeth to do (without all peradventure) he is able to do, as he is Omnipotent; yet may we not argue from his power to his will, but from his will to his power. Though God be Omniſcient, Omnipreſent, and Omnipotent, yet is he not Omnivolent, he can do more than he will do: he can do whatſoever he pleaſeth, yet he is not pleaſed to do whatſoever he can. God by his Abſolute power is able to do all things that are poſſible, though he never do them; he can by this unlimited power make a World, and unmake it again in a moment; he can of ſtones raiſe up Children to Abraham, Matth. 3.9. &c. but by his actual and ordinate power, he doth that onelyonly which he willeth to do; whatſoever he willeth, that he doth, both in Heaven and Earth, Pſal. 115.3. & 135.6. This power God hath limited by his own will & wiſdom, and having freely limited himſelf according to his own Decree of Secret will, and according to his word or revealed will, he changeth not, becauſe he is unchangeable, Jam. 1.17. Some things God can and will not, as Matth. 3.9. & 26.53. Rom. 9.18. &c. And ſome things God neither will nor can, to wit, ſuch as contradict his Eſſence, and import Impotency: 'tis ſafer to ſay ſuch things cannot be done, than that God cannot do them; but whatſoever he willeth, that he without impediment effecteth, as he did the Creation of the world out of nothing. Why therefore ſhould it be thought a thing incredible, either that God ſhould raiſe the dead to life, Act. 26.8. or that God ſhould make world of nothing? 'Tis a received rule, [Quicquid eſt in Deo, eſt Deus] whatſoever is in God, is God; and ſo is that [Eſſe, poſſe, & operari, non diſtinguuntur in Deo] Gods Eſſ…nce, Omnipotency, and Efficiency, are not to be diſtinguiſhed in God, ſave only as to our capacity. Divine Eſſence being Almighty, and a moſt pure act, doth neceſſarily infer a Divine Efficiency, which made the world (of) nothing, the word (of) ſignifying not any Matter, but only Order.

Creation was in Matter, but not of Matter; not of Matter praeexiſting before, but of Matter coexiſting in the act of Creation. The firſt Matter (God made out of nothing) was that Rudis indigeſtáque Moles, called the confuſed Chaos; a rude Draught, and an undigeſted lump at the firſt, as the Matter of all things that were afterwards to be Created. This firſt Matter was all p. 4things in power, yet nothing in act; this was the common ſtock out of which the following days works were deduced, having its Original from God alone, without any concurring power, or foregoing Matter, as the word [God created] noteth. Whatever is, or exiſteth beſides God, muſt proceed from God, who is the Original of all. All Creatures were in God before the Creation, as effects are in the cauſe, as the Roſe before the Summer (when it is neither ſpread nor ſprung) is in the Root: the Idaea of all was in his underſtanding and will. Thus David ſaith, Thine Eyes did ſee my ſubſtance yet being imperfect, and in thy books all my members were written, which in continuance were faſhioned, when as yet there was none of them, Pſal. 139.15, 16. God had all the Names and Number of every part of the Creation (as it were) writ down in his Common-place-book, like a curious workman that works all by the book, and by a Model ſet before him; he draws firſt a rude Draught, then poliſheth and perfecteth all.

The Third Enquiry is, What is the Form of the Creation? Anſw. God having made this rude Maſs or firſt Matter of nothing by his Almighty Creating power, in proceſs of time, and by degrees, this Tohu Vabohu, or Material Maſs without form and void hitherto, the Lord gave every part a proper and particular Form and perfection both in the higher and lower world, beautifying Heaven with two great Lights, and beſpangling it with a numberleſs number of Stars, ſo it became a ſtately Star-chamber for glorious Angels and glorified Saints to dwell in; though that ſtupendious Arch-work of Heaven be not born up by props and pillars, yet falls not upon our heads to the earth; and clothing the earth with graſs, garniſhing it with Flowers, and furniſhing it with Fruits. This is called Creation-Mediate, becauſe her Matter praeexiſted, as Plants and Animals were Created out of the earth, and out of the waters, Gen. 1.20, 24, 25. but the production of that Matter out of which they were Created, is called Creation-Immediate, as it was made of nothing ſimply: yet inaſmuch as this Matter was a ſubject that had no Hability (in it ſelf) to produce any thing, the earth (a dead lump) had no power (of it ſelf) to produce Plants or living Creatures, no more than the Rock in the Wilderneſs had power to produce Water, Exod. 17.6. Hence Gods producing all ſorts of Creatures out of the firſt Matter, is call'd Creatio Mediata, as Gods making the firſt Matter out of nothing is call'd Creatio Immediata. Theſe two are call'd the primary and ſecundary Creation.

The form of the Creation is twofold. (1.) That which is common to all Created things, was the Exiſtency of all things (which Exiſted not before) that God gave to them in one moment by his Almighty Word, and All-working command; yea, a moſt perfect Exiſtency, all his Creatures were very good. Dei dicere, eſt efficere; God ſpake the Word and it was done; ſo that Creation was no Motion, but a ſimple and bare Emanation, which is, when without any Repugnancy of the Patient, or toilſome labour of the Agent, the work doth freely flow from the action of the Working Cauſe, as the ſhadow doth from the Body. This wonderful work of the great World, (made by Gods Irreſiſtible Word) is the ſhadow and obſcure Repreſentation of his unſearchable Wiſdom, Power, and Goodneſs. (2.) That which is proper and peculiar; To each Creature (both Coeleſtial and Terreſtrial) God gave a diſtinct and differing Form, making the Stars above, and all things below, to differ (in their kind) one from another. This Formation of all things in differing Species out of the firſt Matter, without either Succeſſive Motion, preceding Mutation, or gradual Alteration, no Created Being could poſſibly effect: but God the Father (alone) by his Eternal Word and Spirit, made all out of the firſt Matter, and gave to all their ſeveral Form, which was not in the firſt Matter, but was Created out of nothing: perfection was the Form and Beauty of the World, and of every Creature in the World. All the works of God are perfect works, Deut. 32.4. Nothing could have been made more perfect eſſentially, though God could have made ſome things better (than he made them) accidentally, as he could have made Worms to be Angels, and he could have given more excellent endowments to every Creature, reſpecting the parts of the world; but in reſpect of the whole, the World was perfect both in reſpect of Degrees and Parts, Every days Work was good, Gen. 1.4, 10, 18, 21, 25. in reſpect of the parts ſeverally; but when the whole is ſpoke of all together, 'tis ſaid, They were (all) very good, v. 31.

The Fourth Enquiry is, What was the Final Cauſe or End of it? Anſw. The End of the Creation is twofold. (1.) The Supreme End. (2.) The Subordinate. The firſt is, the Manifeſtation of Gods Glory; the ſecond is, the Inſtruction and Comfort of Man, Gods Maſter-piece.

1. Of the firſt. God (who is the moſt pure Act, as before) may be conſidered under a twofold Act. 1. Internal. 2. External. (1.) The Internal, or inward Act, was not onelyonly his actual enjoying of himſelf, and ſolacing himſelf (in himſelf) from all Eternity: (thus God was happy in himſelf, and was an Heaven to himſelf, and needed no Created thing to make him more happy; he was God bleſſed for ever, without and before the Creation) but alſo his Decree, which was one eternal voluntary conſtant Act of God, abſolutely determining the Infallible future Being of whatſoever is beſide himſelf, unto the praiſe of his own glory. Eternity is an Everlaſting Now. p. 5whatever God thinketh or willeth, he always thought and willed, and always doth and will, both think and will: there can no more be a new thought or a new purpoſe in God, than there can be a new God. Gods thinking or determining, is God himſelf: whatever is in God, is God, as before. God decreed the Futurition of the Creatures freely, not from any neceſſity of Nature, but only from his meer good pleaſure, Pſal. 115.3. Iſa. 49.3. Dan. 4.25. Eph. 1.11. &c. God had no need of the things decreed, had he ſo pleaſed, they had never been, but continued for ever in their Nothing-ſtate; yet God might have been without them, and happy without them, though they had never been, he being Eternal, All-bleſſed, All-glorious light, life and love all in himſelf. This Divine Decree gave not only a poſſibility that all Creatures may be, but alſo a futurition or certainty that they all ſhall be, they ſhall have an Exiſtence, an actual being in time, according to Gods determination before time.

(2.) The External or outward act of God, is his Efficiency, or working, all that he decreed according to his Decree. Gods Decree was the great deſign of future Action, and Gods Efficiency is the execution of that deſign: thoſe two anſwer each other, as the pattern and Tabernacle, Exod. 25.40. and as the pattern and Temple, 1 Chron. 28.12. As the actual framing of Davids Body anſwered the Idaea or Platform thereof drawn in Gods Book, Pſal. 139.16. Not unlike to the Letters printed upon the Paper, which do anſwer the Printing Type. The Divine Efficiency doth anſwer to an hairs-breadth the Divine Decree, both in Creation and Providence: Gods Decree is the ſtanding Rule of his Efficiency.

Thoſe exact ſlingers, Judg. 20.16. could not hit the mark ſo well, as God doth by his External Efficiency his own Internal and Eternal Decree. There is no variation of the Compaſs in this caſe at all. The ſupream end hereof is the manifeſtation of his own glory, more particularly of his wiſdom, power, and goodneſs, Pſal. 8.1. & 19.1. & 103. laſt, & 104.31. & 145.10 & 148.5. Prov. 16.4. Iſa. 43.21. Rom. 11.36. Revel. 4.10, 11. & 5.13. 'Tis true, God had a complacency in the work of his hands, when he ſaw it was all [Tob Meod] ſuperlatively good, Gen. 1.31. The Lord rejoyced in his works, Pſal. 104.31. It did God good (a… it were) to ſee all good, and very good. It was a delight to him: but God ſaw this long before, even from Eternity. Non datur prius & poſterius in Deo. The phraſe imports, God would have Man to ſee the wiſdom, power, and goodneſs of God in all, which he thus commends to our conſideration, a curious and glorious frame, full of admirable skill and variety.

2. The Subordinate or Subalternate End is for Mans Inſtruction and comfort. (1.) For Mans Inſtruction. Hereby Man learns that there is a God, Iſa. 40.26. Rom. 1.20. there is a [foreign] ſomething knowable to Natural Reaſon concerning a Deity: the World could not make it ſelf, neither could it be made by Chance, or by a Concuſſion of Atoms, &c. The print and Character of the God of Heaven, is legible upon every pile of graſs growing on earth. Praeſentem Monſtrat quaelibet Herba Deum. Ovid. Let no man ſay he is not Book-learnt, for every one may read the Book of Nature, (though he cannot read the Book of Scripture) and learn thence the knowledge of God the Creator, (though not God the Redeemer) and ſo abhor Atheiſm, Ignorance and Idolatry. Curſed be that God which made not Heaven and Earth, Jerem. 10.11. This verſe (ſpoken at Babylon, and therefore writ in the Chaldee Tongue, whereas all the reſt of the Propheſie is ſet down in the Hebrew) was given to Gods people to make uſe of (when the Babylonians ſollicited them during their Captivity to worſhip their Idols) in the Babylonian Language, as a deteſtation of their Babel Idols, ſaying to them, Curſed be your Gods, for they made neither Heaven nor Earth. The ſame we may ſay, of all the Idols both of Pagans and of Papagans. (2.) For Mans Comfort: the Maker of Heaven and Earth may be hoped in for help above all Mortal Princes, for he is a King Immortal, and he is the all-powerful Creator, and therefore can help without a peradventure, Pſal. 146.3, 4, 5, 6. Let Iſrael rejoyce in him that made him, and new made him too, Pſal. 149.2. or Hebr. in his Makers, implying the Trinity of perſons (concurring both in Creation and Re-Creation, or Regeneration) which while Olymphus (the Arrian Biſhop) denyed, he was ſtruck dead with three Thunder-bolts in a Bath. How ought we to hang our Hope upon this great Creator, that did hang the (heavy) Earth upon nothing! Job 26.7. and yet it remains for almoſt ſix thouſand years unmovable; he commanded, and it ſtood faſt, Pſal. 33.9. The whole Order of Nature remaineth, as he firſt ſet it firm, faſt, and unmoveable, though it hang on nothing but upon Gods precept: how much more ought we to be ſteadfaſt, unmoveable, 1 Cor. 15.58. having the ſure word of Gods promiſe to hang upon? 2 Pet. 1.19. The Devil and his Imps would overturn the comely Order of Nature; they would (as it were) mingle Heaven and Earth together, and ſo ſoon mar all; but God confounds the Counſels, and diſappoints the Attempts of thoſe tumultuating trouble-States, and maugre their malice, he preſerveth Polities, Laws, Judgment and Equity, without which Humane Societies could not long ſubſiſt: God hath decreed to maintain Civil Government amongſt Men, to relieve the oppreſſed, to puniſh the wicked, to uphold his Church (which hath ſo few friends on earth, and ſo many p. 6Enemies both there and in Hell) in deſpight of all. This Decree of God (not onelyonly for her preſervation in the world, but alſo for her Exaltation above the world) ſtands firm and inviolable as a Mountain of Braſs, Zech. 6.1. This ſhall bring her higheſt Adverſaries into the loweſt place, even to that place which is fitteſt for them, to be the footſtool of Chriſt. The Churches help is from the Lord that made Heaven and Earth, Pſal. 121.2. and he will rather unmake both again, than his people ſhall want ſeaſonable help; her help is in the Name of the Lord, who hath made Heaven and Earth, Pſal. 124.8. Gods power is the prop of her Faith, and pricks her on to Prayer; therefore we may commit our ſelves to him as to a faithful Creator, 1 Pet. 4.19. a God of infinite might and mercy: The Lord that made Heaven and Earth (and therefore hath the bleſſings both of his Throne and of his footſtool in his own hand) will beſtow his bleſſing both on and out of Sion, Pſal. 134.3. God hath hitherto been our Eben Ezer.

The famous particular Remarks of the Wiſdom, Power, and goodneſs of God in the Creation, (written as with a bright Sun-beam upon a Chryſtal-wall, for our more particular inſtruction) doth here follow.

(1ſt.) The unchangeable Wiſdom of God is made manifeſt, (1.) in the exact correſpondency betwixt Gods Eternal Decree and his Temporal Creation, which was the execution of it, as before. He is eſteemed a fooliſh Builder or Workman, who draws a better Mould in his mind, and erects a worſe with his hand: but this Divine Artificer doth moſt dextrouſly accompliſh by his wiſdom in time, what he had moſt wiſely deſigned before time, even from all Eternity: (2.) In the Curioſity of every Created thing; there was both the heighth and depth of Divine Wiſdom in every Creature: hence David cryeth, In wiſdom haſt thou made them all, Pſal. 104.24. Every part of the Creation was performed in the perfection of Wiſdom. If God hath given man ſuch wiſdom as to contrive ſo many curious Engines and Artificial Inſtruments for meaſuring time, (almoſt to a perpetual Motion) and Lands, (almoſt the whole Earth) for all ſublunary ſervices; how much more of wiſdom hath the God of Wiſdom, (who is wiſdom in the Abſtract, wiſdom it ſelf) that inſtructs man in all his Arts, Iſa. 28.26. even in that plainneſt of Husbandry, and is call'd [foreign] Hebr. 11.10. which ſignifies the moſt Exquiſite and Artificial Artiſt. The lending power muſt needs be a more exact Artificer than the borrowing power: man borrows all his power from God, and all his Art and skill from him; therefore muſt God needs be a moſt skilful Operator, infinitely tranſcending the moſt ſublime contrivances of men: every Creature may ſay with David [I am curiouſly made] Pſal. 139.15. The choiſeſt and completeſt accompliſhments of men, ſerve only to commend the wiſdom of God, who is the Author and Giver thereof. When Obſtructions are in Mans moſt curious Maſter-pieces, they moſt uſually muſt be taken in pieces before the obſtructions can be removed; but how many obſtructions (of Liver, Spleen, Reins, Bladder, &c.) are removed in Man, (Gods Maſter-piece) without taking his work in pieces! Man can imitate the form and faſhion of all Gods Creatures, but he cannot the Life and Motion of them. How did God put Job to a Non-plus, with the Great Folio's of the Creation, ſuch as Leviathan the Whale or Sea-Monſter, and Behemoth the Elephant or Land-Monſter, Job Ch. 40, 41. yea and the Decimo Sexto's, or little Volumes of the Creation, hath been matter of amazement to the Naturaliſts; they have ſtood aſtoniſhed to conſider the Ant, the Bee, &c. that Life, Motion, and ſo much Ingenuity ſhould be couped up in ſo narrow a compaſs, in ſo little a Corpuſculum.

Pliny wondred at the Gnat, that ſo ſmall a Creature ſhould make ſo great a Buzzing, and that her Noſe ſhould have a double faculty, being both (acuminoſum & fiſtuloſum, as his phraſe is) ſo ſharp to pierce the Skin, yet ſo Spungy as to ſuck the Blood. Oh how many curious Contrivances there be on earth below; to ſay nothing of Rational Creatures, (each of differing voice and face) and no more of Senſitive, (as Beaſts, Birds, and Fiſhes) what a curious piece of Divine work is that vegetative life of Plants, to which every Spring-time is a new Reſurrection! who can truly underſtand the Aſcending and Deſcending of the Sap in them in its ſeveral ſeaſons? wh… can throughly admire the Beauty and Bravery of many Flowers, eſpecially that of the Tulip, (call'd the Lilly) whereof Chriſt ſaith, Solomon in all his glory was not aray'd like one of them, Matth. 6.29. Much more curioſity is there in Heaven above, as the ſeveral Motion of the Orbs, the increaſe and decreaſe of the Moon, the Eclipſe of it, and of the Sun, which maketh all the world ſtand at a gaze and amaz'd; the glorious Canopy over our Heads ſo beſpangled with glittering Stars of ſeven ſeveral magnitudes. How can we but conceive, if the outſide and under-ceiling of Heaven, (that Star-chamber) be ſo beautiful, the inſide (where God, Chriſt, Glorious Angels, and Glorified Saints dwell) muſt needs be more Deſirable, Glorious, and Beatifical. (3.) Divine Wiſdom ſhines forth moſt ſplendidly in the variety of Creatures: David cryes alſo, How manifold are thy works! Pſal. 104.24. he could not recount or reckon them, but was plainly ſwallowed up with wonderment at them: who can but wonder at the wiſdom of God in Creating ſo many Stars to ſhine in the Heavens, One ſtar differing from another in glory, p. 71 Cor. 15.41. So many Fowls to fly in the Air, ſo many Fiſhes to ſwim in the Sea, ſo many Beaſts to walk on the Earth, and all differing in kind & form one from another, v. 39, 40. Variety of works, ſo they be curious as well as various, doth much commend the skill & dexterity of the Workman. 4. The Wiſdom of God ſhines forth in the Magnitude (as well as Multitude) of Creatures both above and below. (l.) Above. Of what a vaſt circumference is the Circle of the Heavens, eſpecially that of the higheſt Heaven! ſome do curiouſly calcutate it to be five hundred years Journey from Earth to Heaven; others ſay, if a ſtone ſhould fall from the eighth Sphere, and ſhould paſs every hour an hundred Miles, it would be ſixty five years more before it came to the ground. The ſeveral Orbs of that Coeleſtial Fabrick (ſtretched forth and ſpread round about the lower world like great Curtains, Pſal. 104.2. and Iſa. 40.22. yet not one hole worn in them for above five thouſand years, all covering one another like the ſeveral pills or parts of an Onion. Of what a vaſt bigneſs are thoſe Stars of the firſt Magnitude? Inſomuch that ſome have conceived, a ſeveral World may be contained in each of theſe Stars, beſides the Sun and the Moon, (call'd the two great Luminaries or Lights, Gen. 1.16.) are eaſily demonſtratred to be vaſt Bodies; the former much greater, and the latter not much leſs than the whole Globe of the Earth. (2.) Below on Earth is Behemoth, that Beaſt of Beaſts, ſo big, that (as the Hebr. Foemin. plural ſignifies) he ſeemeth to have many Beaſts in his Belly, and as if he were made up of many Beaſts, Job 40.15. and for his hugeneſs and bulky Body, he is call'd the chiefeſt of the ways of God, v. 19. Gods Maſter-piece among all Beaſts, Thoſe mighty Mountains (not caſt up by the flood, nor by the Subterraneal Spirits, as Ants and Moles caſt up their Hillocks a little above the Surface of the Earth, as ſome ſay, but brought forth by the great God at the Creation, Pſal. 90.2.) do bring forth food, yea food enough to this Bulky Beaſt, v. 20. No Engine (except Faith) can remove a Mountain out of its place, Matth. 17.20. & 21.21. 2. In the Sea is Leviathan, that great Sea-Monſter, that moving or floating Iſland, ſome of ſuch bigneſs, as to cover four Acres of Ground, and of ſo wide a Mouth, as to ſwallow up a whole Ship, as Pliny writeth: Divine Wiſdom is much ſeen in making the Whale ſo compleat in all its parts, which all have their ſeveral uſes, and, all which are noted and numbred, Job 41.2, 7, 12. to 2…. Ʋpon Earth there is not his like, v. 33. he is far beyond the Elephant both for Strength and Magnitude, &c.

(2ly.) The Infinite power of God is made manifeſt in the Creation, as well as his unſearchable wiſdom: As (1.) That God ſhould Create all things out of nothing, whereas the Rule of Reaſon is, Ex nihilo nil fit, nothing is made of nothing: This Rule holds good in Generation, and in the Secondary (not in the primary) Creation. (2.) That all things ſhould be made out of nothing, in a moſt marvelous and magnificent manner, every thing in its proper beauty, peculiar property, and unutterable neatneſs and perfection; all things at their full ſtature and maturity, as the word [Bara] ſignifies. (3.) That all this ſhould be done by a bare Dixit, He ſpake the word and the work was done; Verbum Dei eſt factivum, there was a potent efficacy went along with the Word for the exiſtency of all things: where the Word of this (great) King is, there is power, Eccleſ. 8.4. & Matth. 8.9. It was as eaſie a work for Almighty God to make a World, as to ſpeak a word, and to ſay, Let a World be made. (4.) That the World ſhould be made without either Tool or Toil. The Heathen Atheiſts of old uſed to ſcoff at the Doctrine of Creation, asking Quibus Machinis, &c. with what Ladders and Scaffolds did your Jehovah erect the High Roof of the Heavens? what Engines and Inſtruments had he to lay the Foundation of the Earth? Alas, they were ignorant of the Scriptures, and of the power of God, Matth. 22.29. God made all things, Solo m…tu & Mandato ſuo, by the Word of his power or his powerful will, Heb. 1.3. no other Tool was needful, but the Breath of his mouth, Pſal. 33.6. foreign, Ipſe Dixit, was enough: He commanded and they were Created, Pſal. 148.5. Gods Fiat effected all; his Will was his Word, and his Word was his Deed, without any Tool, and without any Toil too. The Creator was not weary, nor tyred with his work, Iſa. 40.26, 28. (5.) As without Inſtrument, ſo without Aſſiſtant; God had neither Men nor Angels to be Coadjutors in the Creation. 1. Not Men. God ſaith to Job, Where waſt thou when I laid the Foundation of the Earth; Job 38.4, 5. Alas, Man was then a mere Non-Ens? he was no where at that time; he was neither Counſellour to it, nor Companion in it, no nor ſo much as a looker on in this mighty work. 2. Nor Angels. God Created all, this excludes Angels, God was alone and by himſelf in making the world, Iſa. 44.24. that is, without the help of any perſon or thing: and leſt Man ſhould imagine otherwiſe, the Creation of Angels is not ſo much as mentioned by Moſes, unleſs it be tacitly in thoſe words, [the Heaven and the Earth] which the Apoſtle explaineth, [the world and all things that are therein] Act. 17.24. Things viſible and inviſible, whether they be Thrones or Dominions, &c. Col. 1.16. which are call'd [The Angels of Heaven] Matth. 24.36 Gal. 1.8. becauſe (probably) they were Created with, and in the Higheſt Heaven. No mention p. 8is made of Gods Creating the Air, no more than of Angels, for both are Inviſible: only viſible things are upon Record by Moſes.

(6.) That God made all things in one moment by his Almighty Mandate, without either Motion or Mutation of himſelf, or any ſucceſſion of time in the firſt act of Creating the Heavens and the Earth: he was not Tyred or Toiled in bringing one part of his work after another, as Man is, but immediately upon his meer Mandamus, the word and breath (or Spirit) of his mouth, inſtantly made all things by the greatneſs of his might: for he is ſtrong in power, to muſter up his Hoſt in a moment, Iſa. 40.26, 28.

(7.) Another Beam of Almighty power was this, that God Created the Graſs, Herbs, and Trees, before the Sun and Stars, which in the courſe of Nature have the force of Cauſes in their production, Gen. 1.11, 12, 14, 15. that it might not be attributed to the power of ſecond Cauſes, (either Heavens Influence, or Mans Culture) but all to God onelyonly.

3ly. The Immenſe goodneſs of God is manifeſtly ſeen in the Creation. (1.) Becauſe God was all-ſufficient in and to himſelf, from Eternity to Eternity; he was altogether happy of himſelf, ever ſolacing himſelf in himſelf, and never wanting any thing to make him more happy: yet would he have other things to be beſide himſelf, that he might communicate his goodneſs to them, Act. 17.24, 25, 26. God is ſelf-bleſſed, and needs neither us nor ours, Pſal. 50.8, 9, 10. &c. Yet he made the World out of his own free-will and good pleaſure, not from any conſtraint or natural neceſſity. 'Tis a Moral Maxim, Omne bonum eſt ſui Diffuſivum, All good is of a Communicating Nature. God (who is Summum bonum, the chiefeſt good) doth diffuſe his goodneſs to the Creature in the work of Creation, calling all that he had made good and very good. Ens unum, verum & bonum Convertuntur: that goodneſs which was one in God, was communicated diverſly to the Creatures, they were all partakers of Gods goodneſs, yet in a differing degree, for all were not capable of the like goodneſs; all were made after a perfect manner, according to their kind. God gave to ſome Creatures Being, to others Senſe, and to others Reaſon: to ſome he gave ſuch a Matter and ſuch a Form, and to others another, 1 Cor. 15.39. (2.) Becauſe God made Houſes before Inhabitants, Paſtures before Cattle, and all things [ad eſum & ad uſum, pro Victu & Amictu] for Mans Maintainance and comfort, before Man was made; 'twas Gods goodneſs that Meat ſhould be before Mouths, and that Man when he was made was not brought into an empty houſe; the world was well repleniſhed with all its excellent Accoutrements when Man was brought into it. (3.) Gods goodneſs was moſt ſplendid in this alſo, becauſe the things for mans Accommodation, were not few, but many: God (the great Provider and Purveyour for Man) gave him plenty and variety of Creature-comforts: Dr. Hall hath an excellent Notion upon this, ſaying, Stars and Spirits (the Inhabitants of Heaven) are like one another: but Meteors and Fowls are in as many varieties, as there are ſeveral Creatures: why? is it becauſe Man, for whoſe ſake they were made, delights in variety, God in Conſtancy and Ʋnity? or is it becauſe that in theſe God may ſhew his skill and their imperfection? To this I add, God knows that Mans Nature [Novitatis avida] being deſirous of Novelties, will ſoon nauſeate upon any one enjoyment. If Man be bound up a while to Angels food onelyonly, as Iſrael was in the wilderneſs to Manna, a loathing ſoon followed: hence God out of his goodneſs to Man, hath adorn'd the field of the world with various flowers, that when Man (as the Bee) is wearied out with ſucking out of one flower, he may fly to another. 1. There is variety of food for Man out of Gods three Store-houſes; Fowls of the Air, Fiſhes of the Sea, and Beaſts of the Field. 2. Of Raiment, as Wool, Flax, Silk, Leather, &c. that when tyred with one, another may be freſh and pleaſing to his ſhallow capacity.