Selected quad for the lemma: body_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
body_n nature_n soul_n unite_v 6,882 5 9.6339 5 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A27051 A treatise of knowledge and love compared in two parts: I. of falsely pretended knowledge, II. of true saving knowledge and love ... / by Richard Baxter ... Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. 1689 (1689) Wing B1429; ESTC R19222 247,456 366

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

in a lower sort in the Soul that is Gods Image That is that the understandings most internal act viz. the knowing or perceiving when it knoweth any thing that it knoweth It is not really compounded of an act and an object as the knowledge of distinct objects is but that either its act is not properly to be called its object or that act and object are not two things but two inadequate conceptions of one thing And how doth the Soul perceive its own Volitions To say that Volitions which are acts of the Intellectual Soul must be sensate and so make a Species on the phantasie as sensate things do and be known only in that Species is to bring down the higher faculty and subordinate it to the lower that it may be intelligible while it is certain that we shall never here perfectly understand the solution of these difficulties is it not pardonable among other mens conjectures to say That the noble faculty of Sense because Brutes have it is usually too basely described by Philosophers And that Intellection and Volition in the rational Soul are a superior eminent sort of sensation transcending that of Brutes and that Intelligere Velle are eminenter sentire and that the Intellect doth by understanding other things eminently see or sense and so understand that it understandeth And that the will doth by willing feel that it willeth When I consult my Experience I must either say thus or else that Intellection and Volition so immediately ever move the Internal sense that they are known by us only as acts compounded with that sense But I am gone too far before I was aware IV. The Soul thus knowing or feeling its own acts doth in the next place rationally gather 1. That it hath power to perform them and is a substance so empowered 2. That there are other such substances with the like acts 3. And there is one prime transcendant substance which is the cause of all the rest which hath infinitely nobler acts than ours And thus Sense and Reason concur to our knowledge of God by shewing us and perceiving that Image in which by similitude we must know him The Fiery Ethereal or Solar Nature is at least the similitude of Spirits And by condescending similitude God in Scripture is called LIGHT and the FATHER of LIGHTS in whom is no darkness allowing and inviting us to think of his Glory by the similitude of the Sun or Light. But Intellectual Spirits are the highest Nature known to us and these we know intimately by most near perception By the similitude of these therefore we must conceive of God. A Soul is a self-moving Life or vital Substance actuating the Body to which it is united God is super-eminently Essential-Life perfect in himself as living Infinitely and Eternally and giving Being to all that is and Motion to all that moveth and Life to all that liveth A reasonable Soul is Essentially an understanding power And God is super-eminently an Infinite understanding knowing himself and all things perfectly A reasonable Soul is Essentially a rational Appetite or Will necessarily loving himself and all that is apprehended every way and congruously good God is super-eminently an Infinite Will or Love necessarily loving himself and his own Image which yet he freely made by communicative Love. All things that were made by this Infinite Goodness were made good and very good All his works of Creation and Providence however misconceived of by sinners are still very good All the good of the whole Creation is as the heat of this Infinite Eternal Fire of Love. And having made the World good in the good of Nature and the good of Order and the good of mutual Love he doth by his continual influx maintain and perfect it His Power moveth his Wisdom governeth and his Love felicitateth And man he moveth as man he Ruleth him by Moral Laws as man and he is his perfect Lo●er and perfect amiable Object and End. As our Creator making us in this natural capacity and Relation as our Redeemer restoring and advancing us to blessed Union with himself and as our Sanctifier and Glorifier preparing us for and bringing us to Coelestial perfection And thus must God be conceived of that we may love him And false and defective conceptions of him as the great impediments of our love And we love him so little much because we so little know him And therefore it is not the true knowledge of God which Paul here maketh a competitor with love II. And as we know God by ascending from his Works and Image in the same order must our love ascend The first acts of it will be towards God in his works and the next will be towards God in his Relation to us and the highest towards God as Essentially perfect and amiable in himself I will therefore now apply this to the Soul that feareth lest he love not God because he perceiveth not himself either to know or love him immediately in the perfection of his Essence 1. Do you truely love the Image of God on the Soul of Man That is a Heavenly Life and Light and Love Do you not only from bare conviction commend but truly love a Soul devoted to God full of his love and living in obedience to his Laws and doing good to others according to his power This is to love God in his Image God is Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness or Love To love true wisdom and goodness as such is to love God in his Works Especially with these two qualifications 1. Do you love to have Wisdom and Goodness and Love as Universal as is possible Do you long to have Families Cities Kingdoms and all the World made truly Holy Wise and united in Love to one another The most Universal Wisdom and Goodness is most like to God and to love this is to love God in his Image 2. Do you love Wisdom and Goodness in your selves and not in others only Do you long to be liker to God in your capacity and more near him and united to him That is Do you long to know him and his will more clearly and to enjoy a holy communion with him and his holy ones in the fullest mutual love loving and being beloved and to delight your Souls in his joyful praises in the communion of Saints This is certainly the love of God. Our union is by love he that would be united to God and his Saints in Jesus Christ that would fain know him more and love him better and praise and obey him joyfully in perfection doth undoubtedly love him And here I would earnestly caution you against two common deceits of men by counterfeit love I. Some think that they love God savingly because they love him as the God of Nature and cause of all the Natural Being Order and Goodness which is in the whole frame of Heaven and Earth This is to love somewhat of God or to love him secundum quid in one respect But if
the better lest they hinder nature that would Cure the Disease If you dislike my counsel you may be shortly past blaming it for though their successes have Tongues their miscarriages are mostly silent in the Grave O how much goeth to make an able Physician But enough of such instances III. But though Errors in Politicks the World payeth yet much dearer for I must not be too bold in talking here But I will confess that here the uncertainties are almost all in the Applicatory part and through the incapacity of the minds of men For the truth is the main Principles of Policy are part of the Divine Law and of true Morality and in themselves are plain and of a satisfying Certainty could you but get mens heads and hearts into a fitness duely to consider and receive them IV. But to come nearer to our own profession there is much uncertainty in those Theological Conclusions which are built on such premises where any one of these Physical Metaphysical or Logical Uncertainties are a part yea though it be couched in the narrowest room even in one ambiguous term of Art and scarce discerned by any but accurate observers With great pomp and confidence many proceed to their Ergo's when the detection of the fraud not only of an uncertain Medium but of one ambiguous syllable will marr all And the conclusion can be no stronger or furer than the more weak and doubtful of the premises V. When the Subject is of small and abstruse parts far from the Principles and Fundamentals of the Matter usually the Conclusions are uncertain Nature in all matters beginneth with some few great and master parts like the great boughs or limbs of the Tree or the great Trunks and Master Vessels in our bodies and from thence spring branches which are innumerable and small And it is so in all Sciences and in Theology it self The great Essential and Chief Integral parts are few and easily discerned But two grand Impediments hinder us from a Certain knowledge in the rest one is the great Number of Particles where the understanding is lost and as they say seeketh a Needle in a bottle of Hay or a leaf in a Wood and the other is the Littleness of the thing which maketh it undiscernible to any but accurate and studious minds And therefore how much soever men that trade in little things may boast of the sublimity of them and their own subtilty their perceptions usually are accompanied with uncertainty though in some cases an uncertain knowledge known to be so is better than none VI. Yea though the Matters themselves may be more bulky yet if in knowing and proving them we must go through a great number of Syllogisms and Inferences usually the conclusion is very uncertain to us whatever it may be to an extraordinary accurate and prepared mind For 1. We shall be still jealous or may be lest in so many terms and mediums some one of them should be fallacious and insufficient and weaken all And we are so conscious of our own weakness and liableness to forget oversee or be mistaken that we shall or may still fear lest we have mist it and be overseen in something in so long a course and series of arguings VII Those parts of History which depend meerly on the credit of Mens Wisdom and Honesty and so are meerly of Humane Faith must needs be uncertain For the conclusion can be no surer than the premises All men as such are liars that is untrusty or such as possibly may deceive 1. They may be deceived themselves 2. And they may deceive others where they are not themselves deceived Every man hath some Passion some Ignorance some Error some Selfish interest and some Vice. This age if we never had known other instance is so sad a proof of this that tears are fitter than words to express it most confident reporters totally differ about the most notorious matters of Fact. I must not name them but I pity strangers and posterity If it come especially to the characterizing of others how ordinarily do men speak as they are affected And they are affected as self-interest and passion leadeth them with Cochlaeus Bolseck and such others what villains were Luther Zwinglius Calvin c. with their faithfullest acquaintance what Good and Holy men saving Luthers animosity If the Inquisitors Torment Protestants or Burn them is it not necessary that they call them by such odious names as may justify their fact If they banish and silence faithful holy able Ministers they must accuse them of some villanies which may make them seem worthy of the punishment and unworthy to Preach the Gospel of Christ what different characters did Constantius and Valens and their party on one side and Athanasius and the Orthodox on the other side give of one another What different characters were given of Chrysostom How differently do Hunnerichus and Gensericus on one side and Victor Uticensis and other Historians on the other side describe the Bishops and Christians of Africk that then suffered They were Traytors and Rebels and Rogues and Enemies to the King and Hereticks to Hunnerichus But to others they are Holy blameless Men and those were Tyrants and Hereticks that Persecuted them What difference between the Histories of the orthodox and that of Philostorgius and Sondius What different Characters do Eusebius and Eunapius give of Constantine and Eunapius and Hilary c. give of Julian What different Characters are given of Hildebrand on one side and of the Emperours Henrys on the other side by the many Historians who followed the several parts How false must a great number of the Historians on one side be I know that this doth not make all Humane Faith and History useless It hath its degree of credibility answerable to its use And a wise man may much conjecture whom to believe 1. A Man that like Thuanus sheweth modesty and impartiality even towards Dissenters 2. A man that had no notable interest to byas him 3. A man that manifesteth otherways true honesty and conscience 4. Supposing that he was himself upon the place and a competent Witness But there is little or no Credit to be given 1. To a factious furious railer 2. To one that was a flatterer of Great Men or depended on them for preferment or lived in fear of speaking the truth or that speaketh for the interest of his Riches and Honour in the World or for his engaged personal reputation or that hath espoused the interest of a sect or faction 3. There is little credit to be given to any Knave and Wicked Man. He that dare be Drunk and Swear and Curse and be a Fornicator or covetous Worldling dare Lie for his own Ends. 4. Nor to the honestest man that taketh things by rumours hear-say and uncertain reports and knoweth not the things themselves But how shall strangers and posterity know when they read a History whether the Writer was an honest Man or a Knave