Gods Love to Man and Mans Duty Towards God, Part 1 · Section 17 – Section 18
Sect. 17. PROP. XVII. God was under no tye, or Bond, to make Man immutably holy.
IT is very unjuſt, and unreaſonable, for any to complain, that God did not ſet Man in ſuch a ſtate at firſt, from whence he could not fall. That Man was endued with ſuch power at firſt whereby he might have ſtood, and had ſtood (had he not been ſhamefully wanting to himſelf) this is, (no doub… ſufficient to vindicate the honour of his Make… though he gave him not that ſpecial grace, fro… which one cannot fall.
It is too much for a creature to be immutable … its own Nature. To ſuppoſe ſuch a thing of Man, … far as this property and perfection reacheth, is … make Man equal unto God. Therefore though Ma… was created holy, yet was he mutable, his holine ſuch as might be loſt.
Now when God made Man upright, and then p… him upon the tryal, whether he would ſtand upright he did no injury to man at all, Quum Deus homine permiſit ſibi, injuriam non fecit homini, ſed gloria… ſuam aſſeruit ſibi. Jun. Surely the Lord had do… his part, enduing Man's ſoul with knowledge, right… ouſneſs, and holineſs, engaging Man to himſelf b… ſo many favours, as by ſo many ſtrong Band which his goodneſs and bounty had laid on him promulging, and making known his Law, the R… Man ought to live and walk by, backing the ſam… with a dreadful commination, to warn and deterre hi… from ſin, and with a very ample promiſe to exci… and encourage him to obedience. Thus no mor… means were wanting, or denyed to Man's preſerv… tion; what could Man reaſonably have deſired th… God would do more for him; If now man miſca… rieth, the fault cannot be in his Maker, but in himſelf. Had he uſed that power, and thoſe means give him, as he might, and ought, he had been for eve… happy. God did not deny him any thing, which was congruous to his preſent ſtate. I know not ho… we can ſay that there was Gratiae ſubſtractio… [nam, ut vellet conſtanter non peccare, Nulla… Adamus acceperat, Lapſus deſertionis, non deſertio lapſus cauſa fuit.ut autem poſſet non peccare ſi vellet vel nullâ indiguit, cum peccandiratio in volendo ſita ſit, vel eâ non ſubſtract à potuit peccare. Theſ. Salmur. de laps. Ada. Sect. 25. p. 203.] God did not take from Man any ability to perform obedience, given him in his Creation; but only gave not in (as he was not bound) a new ſupply of further grace.
Certainly, it was no hard or unjuſt thing, that God ſhould try his Creatures obedience, who ſtood obliged to him by ſuch wonderful tyes and engagements: and if God would try Man's obedience, Man is ſuppoſed not to be in a ſtate of Impeccability: It would not have become the Divine Wiſdom to give Man a Law purely for trial whether he would obey, if it was impoſſible for him to diſobey.
Thus indeed while Man was Viator, in a probation ſtate, we muſt grant, he had a power to obey God in all things, and it was alſo poſſible for him to diſobey.
Yet obſerve this, there was no evil inclination, no propenſity to ſin in Man before, as is found in him now ſince his fall. That pronity, which is now in us all, to what is forbidden, is certainly ſinful: that ſhould we ſuppoſe any inordinate concupiſcence natural to Man at his firſt Creation, it would infer, that he came ſinful out of Gods hand. This would be to impute folly to our Maker, and make God the Author of Sin. In the regenerate there is a luſting of the Fleſh againſt the Spirit; but in Adam there was no ſuch luſtings, and contrary inclinations (while he kept his innocency & integrity) But his natural inclinations were in an abſolute ſubjection to right Reaſon, and the Rule which God his Creato… had given him. As Aquinas ſayes well, the Act o… the concupiſcible faculty is only ſo far to be accounted natural, as it is ſubject to right reaſon, whe… it rebels and tranſgreſſes the bounds of reaſon, the… it is contra naturam, and Vulnus naturae. So thi… was not in Man before he ſinned. That natural in clination in Man to eat of the fruits in Paradiſe was Phyſically or Naturally Good, morally indiffe…rent, neither good nor evil. It was in his Natur… as convenient to it, being to live on the fruits of the Earth. But when God by a ſpecial poſitive La… had reſtrained Man's Natural liberty, forbiddin… him to eat of ſuch a fruit, what might have bee… deſired Naturally, and innocently before, canno… be deſired now without ſin; becauſe Man is boun… to ſubject all his deſires to the Divine Will an… Law. That he had a natural power of eating th… forbidden fruit, was no way culpable, or ſinful but that he exerted this power againſt God Law.
Now though a good account may be given, wh… Man was not created immutably good, he being a… firſt in Statu viatoris, non comprehenſoris, a pr… bationer for Heaven. And therefore his obedien… being to be tryed; (though he had power to pe…form ſinleſs obedience, yet it was alſo poſſible for hi… to diſobey) yet it will not follow, as (Corvin… would have it) that glorified Saints, who are con… prehenſors, becauſe they are fully confirmed in good cannot properly be ſaid to obey, or to be under an… Law. [Ʋt verò liberum arbitrium tollatur ab eo, c…lex praeſcribitur, etiam fieri non poteſt, quia ubi ill… non eſt legi locus non eſt, Quare etiam ſequitur, i… qui jam in bono ſunt confirmati, proprie Legem ferri non poſſe, neque item eos Deo obedire propriè dici poſſe, &c. Corvin. Cenſur. Anat. c. 6 Sect. 1. p. 101.]
This is ſtrange Divinity ſure; though it would ſeem needleſs that ſuch as are confirmed in a ſtate of …appineſs and perfection, ſhould be under any Law …eerly for tryal. (It would be Actum agere, to give them ſuch a Law, which the wiſdom of God would not do.) Yet it will not follow, …hat therefore they are lawleſs. *Ergo, inquam, is non vult qui non poteſt non velle; tu ergo, ne vis quidem tibi eſſe bene, quia non potes velle tibi eſſe Male. Nam quae voluntatis eadem eſt obedientiae ratio, &c. Camero Defenſ. c. 12. p. 205.And if they cannot …e ſaid properly to obey, … why are we directed to …ray, that the will of God …ay be done on earth, as … is in Heaven? why are …ey made patterns of obedience to us? But ſup…oſe that Angel, who was ſent Acts 12. to deliver Peter out of Priſon, had refuſed (Jonahs like) to go, when God ſent him; would it not have been proper …iſobedience? And what reaſon can be given, but …hat his going upon Gods errand was an Act of Obe…ience?
And this further, Jeſus Chriſt who was anointed …ith the oyle of gladneſs above his fellows, to whom …od gave not the Spirit by meaſure, was certainly …s much confirmed in Good, as any Saint or Angel … Heaven can be; yet who can have a face to deny, …at he truly obeyed? Obedientia non eſt neceſſitatis, …d libertatis. ſays Corvinus. We ſay though obe…ence cannot be both free and forced, yet it may be …ee and neceſſary too. It may be in ſome reſpect …ceſſary, and yet moſt free. Saints and Angels in …eaven cannot but love God, they ſee ſo much excellency and amiableneſs in him, for which they m… love him to eternity; and yet they love him m… freely. As on the contrary, the Devils ſin nece…ſarily, can do no other, through that inſuperab… Malice and Wickedneſs which acteth them, y… they ſin freely. According to Corvinus his way reaſoning, the weak, imperfect, obedience of b…lievers, ſhould be more perfect obedience, and mo… worthy to be called obedience, than that of Ange… and Spirits of juſt men made perfect; which ſounde… ſtrangely. As if that obedience was not moſt p… fect, that had moſt of the will in it. But I for… my ſelf.
Sect. 18. PROP. XVIII. God (as he was not bound to prevent Ma… fall) had holy, wiſe, and good ends permitting him to fall.
THus he takes occaſion of manifeſting his pu…tive justice, holineſs, and hatred of ſin; as a… of diſplaying his rich, and free grace, his wond… ful mercy and compaſſion towards ſinners, up Man's breach of the firſt Covenant. He bringing a new and better Covenant, God hath concluded under ſin, that he might have mercy upon all. … the Creation he ſhew'd his power, in bringing ſo…thing. Yea, a world of Beings out of nothing; here manifeſts his wonderful goodneſs, in bringing g… out of evil; yea, the greateſt good out of the great evil.