conformable to Order It is therefore necessary that he continually change desires infinite wisdom is only able to prescribe general Laws for executing his designs Now seeing the suture world must subsist eternally and be infinitely more perfect than the present World it was expedient that God should establish an intelligent occasional cause and enlightned with divine wisdom to the end that it might correct the defects which necessarily happen in works formed by general Laws The striking of Bodies upon one another which determines the efficacy of the general Laws of Nature is an occasional cause without Understanding and without Liberty Thus it cannot be but there must be Defects and Monsters in the World which Defects it would be unworthy of the Wisdom of God to correct by particular wills But J. C. being an intelligent occasional cause enlightned by Divine Wisdom and capable of particular wills as the particular necessities of his work require it is plain that the future World will be infinitely more Perfect than the present that the Church shall be without deformity as Scripture teaches us and that this work will be altogether worthy of the esteem of GOD himself After this manner it is that the Eternal Wisdom renders as I may say to the Father that which it had taken from him for not permitting him to act by particular wills it seems as if it rendred him impotent But being incarnate it left God to act as became him by the more simple and general ways Ut innotescat principalibus potestatibus in coelestibus per Ecclesiam multisormis Sapientia Dei 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and yet produced a work in which the most enlightned understanding shall never be able to observe the least defect XV. After having proved by the Authority of Scripture that the divers motions of the Soul of J. C. are the occasional causes which determine the general efficacy of the Law of Grace by which God would save all Men in his Son 't is necessary further in general to prove by reason that we ought not to believe that God in the Order of Grace acts by particular wills For tho by Reason without Faith it cannot be demonstrated that God has established the wills of a God man as the occasional cause of his gifts it may nevertheless be known that he does not distribute them to Men by particular wills and that by two ways a Priori and a Posteriori that is to say by the Idea which we have of God and by the effects of Grace for there is nothing but proves this Truth See the proof a Priori A wise Being must act wisely God cannot falsifie himself His actions must bear the Character of his Attributes Now God knows every thing and foresees every thing his understanding has no bounds Therefore his manner of acting must bear the character of an infinite understanding Now to chuse occasional causes and establish general Laws for executing any work denotes a knowledge infinitely more extended than to change wills every moment or to act by particular wills God therefore executes his designs by general Laws the efficacy of which is determined by the occasional causes Certainly it requires a more comprehensive understanding to make a Watch which according to the Laws of Mechanism shall go always and regularly whether a Man carries it about with him or hangs it up or gives it what shake he will than to make one which cannot go truly if he who made it does not every moment change something in it according to the different postures in which he puts it For surely when there are a great many relations to compare and combine with one another there needs a greater understanding To see all the consequences which may happen from a general Law an insinite understanding is requisite but nothing of all this is to be foreseen when one changes his wills every moment Therefore to establish general Laws and chuse the most simple and at the same time the most fruitful is a way of acting worthy of him whose Wisdom has no bounds On the contrary to act by particular wills shews a limited understanding and which cannot compare the consequences or effects of causes less fruitful The same truth may further be demonstrated a Priori by some Attributes of God as his immutibility by which Mr. de Cartes proves that every thing in motion describes a right line and that there is always an equal quantity of motion in the World and other Truths But these proofs a Priori are too abstract to convince the generality of Men of the truth which I propose It is expedient to prove it by the signs which I have heretofore given for discerning the effects which are produced by particular wills from those which are the consequences of some general Law XVI God being infinitely wise neither wills nor does any thing without end Now Grace often falls upon hearts so disposed that it is unfruitsul Therefore it does not fall upon hearts by a particular will but only by a necessary consequence of general Laws for the same reason that rain falls upon the Sand and on the Sea as well as on Sown ground Tho God may punish sinners or make them more miserable than they are he cannot design to make them more culpable or more criminal Now Grace sometimes renders Persons more culpable and more criminal and God certainly knows that according to their actual dispositions the Grace which he gives them will have this sad effect Therefore these Graces do not fall upon corrupted hearts by the particular will of God but by a necessary consequence of general Laws which he has established to produce better effects for the same reason that too much rain sometimes spoils and putrifies the Fruits of the earth tho God by his general will causes it to rain to make them grow and encrease XVII If God intended that certain Lands should be barren he need only to cease to will that the rain should water them In like manner if God would that the hearts of some sinners should be hardned it would suffice that the rain of grace did not water them he needed only to leave them to themselves they would soon be corrupted Why should we attribute to God a particular will to make so severe a use thereof and so irreconcileable with the price of the Blood of his Son But some may say God never had this design when he gave his Grace to sinners This doubtless will appear more reasonable but if God gives his Grace by a particular will he has a particular design Now seeing his Grace has this sad effect God is frustrated in his intention since he gave it with a particular design to do good to this sinner For I speak not here of the Graces or rather of the Gifts which St. Paul explains in 1 Cor. Chap. 12. Ver. 9. I speak of the Grace which God gives for the Conversion of him to whom it is given and not
God hath made the occasional causes of the efficacy of the general Laws of Grace For Faith teaches us that God hath given to his Son an absolute power over Men by making him the Head of his Church and this cannot be conceived if the different wills of J. C. be not followed by their effects For it is visible I should have no power over mine arm if it should move it self whether I would or no and if when I desire to move it it should remain as if it was dead and without motion XI J. C. has merited his Sovereign power over men and this quality of Head of the Church by the Sacrifice he offered upon Earth and after his Resurrection he took full possession of this right Ioh. VII 39. 'T is upon this account that he is now Sovereign Priest of future good things and that by his many intercessions he continually prays unto the Father in the behalf of men Heb. 7.25 Rom. 8.34 1 Joh. II. 1. Joh. XI 42. And seeing his desires are occasional causes his prayers are always heard his Father denies him nothing as the Scripture teaches us Nevertheless he must pray and desire that he may obtain For the occasional physical natural causes for all these words signifie the same thing have no power of themselves to do any thing and all creatures even J. C. himself considered as man are in themselves nothing but weakness and impotence Additions I don't think that hitherto there is any difficulty if it be not in this last Article where I say that J. C. prayeth unto his Father for there are some Persons whom this very much offends For I speak as St. Paul to the Romans and to the Hebrews and as Jesus Christ himself I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter which is to be understood of J. C. after his resurrection according to these words of St. John The spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified For the Spirit fell not upon the Apostles till Ten days after J. C. was entered into the Holy of Holies a Sovereign Priest of true good things In all these Articles I speak only of J. C. as to his humanity according to which he received all power in Heaven and Earth because all his prayers or his desires which certainly are in his power or otherwise he has no power are executed in consequence of his qualities as Sovereign Priest of the House of God King of Israel Architect of the Eternal Temple Mediator betwixt God and men Head of the Church or to speak like the Philosophers for whom I chiefly write this Treatise the occasional natural or distributive cause of Grace The cause which Determines the Efficacy of the general Law by which God wou'd save all men in his Son XII J. C. having then successively divers thoughts in relation to the divers dispositions whereof Souls in general are capable these divers thoughts are accompanyed with certain desires in relation to the Sanctification of these Souls Now these desires being the occasional causes of Grace they must pour it down upon those persons in particular whose dispositions resemble that upon which the Soul of J. C. actually thinks And this Grace must be so much the stronger and more abundant as these desires of J. C. are greater and more lasting XIII When a person considers any part of his body which is not form'd as it ought to be he has naturally certain desires in relation to this part and the use he desires to make of it in common life and these desires are followed by certain insensible motions of the animal Spirits which tend to give that proportion or disposition to this part which we desire it shou'd have When the Body is altogether form'd and the flesh firm the motions change nothing in the construction of the parts they can only give them certain dispositions which are called Corporeal habits But when the body is not altogether form'd and the flesh is very soft and tender these motions which accompany the desires of the Soul do not only give the body certain particular dispositions but may also change the construction thereof This sufficiently appears by Children in the Womb for they are not only moved with the same passions as there Mothers but they also receive the marks of these passions in their bodies from which yet the Mothers are always free XIV The Mystical body of J. C. is not yet a perfect man Eph. IV. 13. it will not be so till the end of the world J. C. forms it continually for it is from the Head the whole body joyned together receives nourishment by the efficacy of his influence according to the measure which is proper to every one to the end it may be form'd and edified in love These are the truths which St Paul teaches us Now since the soul of J. C. has no other action but the divers motions of its heart 't is necessary that these desires be succeeded by the influence of grace which only can form J. C. in his Members and give them that beauty and proportion which must be the eternal object of the divine Love XV. The divers motions of the soul of J. C. being the occasional causes of Grace we ought not to be surprised if it be sometimes given to great sinners or those who make no use of it For the soul of J. C. designing to raise a Temple of vast extent and infinite beauty may desire that Grace may be given to the greatest sinners and if in this moment J. C. thinks actually for example upon Covetous persons the Covetous shall receive Grace Or else J. C. having need of Spirits of a certain merit for the construction of his Church which is not ordinarily acquired but by those who suffer certain persecutions of which the passions of men are the natural principle In a word J. C. having need of Spirits of a certain character for bringing to pass certain effects in his Church may in general apply himself to them by this application bestow upon them the Grace which sanctifies In like manner as the mind of an Architect thinks in general upon square stones for example when these sort of stones are actually necessary for his building XVI But as the soul of J. C. is not a general cause there is reason to think that it often has particular desires in respect of certain particular persons When we pretend to speak exactly of God we ought not to consult our selves and make him act as we do we ought to consult the Idea of a Being infinitely perfect and make him act according to this Idea but when we speak of the action of the soul of Jesus we may consult our selves we may suppose it to act as particular causes would act which yet are joyned to eternal wisdom We have reason for example to believe that the calling of St. Paul was the effect of the efficacy of a particular
be a general Law that bodies should be moved according to the different wills of Angels or any other such like it is plain that this body might be moved tho it was not struck since the particular will of any Angel according to this supposition might determine the will of the general cause to move it Thus we may be often assured that God acts by general wills but we can never be assur'd that he acts by particular wills even in the best attested miracles VI. Since we don't sufficiently know the divers combinations of occasionalc auses to discover whether such and such effects happen in consequence of their actions since we are not for example knowing enough to discern whether such a shower of rain be produc'd by the necessary consequence of the communication of motions or by a particular will we ought to judge that an effect is produced by a general will when it is plain that the cause is not designed for a particular end For the wills of intelligent beings have necessarily some end general wills one general end and particular a particular end Nothing is more evident For example tho I can't discover whether the rain which falls in a meadow falls there in consequence of general laws or by the particular will of God I have reason to think that it falls there in by a general will if I see that it falls as well upon the neighbouring Lands or into the River which runs by this Meadow as upon the Meadow its self For if GOD caused it to rain upon this Meadow by a particular good will which he has for the owner thereof this rain would not fall into the River where it is useless since it could not fall therein without a cause or a will in God which necessarily has some end VII But it is still much more reasonable to think that an effect is produced by a general will when the effect is contrary or else useless to the design which faith or reason teaches us the cause proposes to himself For Example the end which God proposes in the divers sensations which he gives to the soul when we taste different fruits is that we should eat those which are proper to nourish the body and reject others I suppose this to be so Therefore when God gives us a grateful sentiment at the time when we eat poison or fruits that are poisoned he does not act in us by particular wills We ought to judge thus for this grateful sentiment is the cause of our death and God does give us our sentiments that he may preserve our life by a suitable Nourishment I say again I suppose it thus for I onely speak in relation to Grace which God gives us doubtless for our Conversion so that it is plain that God does not dispence it to men by particular wills since it often renders us more culpable and more criminal and God cannot have such a fatal Design God therefore does not give us a grateful sentiment by particular wills when we eat poison'd fruit But since poison'd fruits excite in our brain motions like unto those which good fruits produce there God gives us the same sentiments by the general Laws which unite the soul to the body to the end that she may take care of its preservation In like manner God does not give to those who have lost an arm sentiments of grief relating to this arm but by a general will for it is useless to the body of this man for his soul to suffer grief in relation to an arm which he has not The same may be said of the motions which are produced in the body of a Man which commits any crime In short supposing we are obliged to think that God sends rain upon the Earth to make it Fruitful we cannot think that he distributes it by particular wills since it rains upon the Sands and the Sea as well as upon Cultivated ground and it often rains so much upon sound Land that the Corn thereby is spoiled and Mens labours made useless Thus it is certain that the rain which is useless and hurtful to the Fruits of the Earth are the necessary consequences of the general Laws of the communication of motions which God hath established to produce in the World the best effects supposing that which I here repeat that God intended not that the rain should make the Earth to become barren VIII In short when any thing happens which is very singular there 's reason to think that it is not produced by a general will nevertheless it is impossible to be assur'd thereof For Example * Supposing there was any Reason for the Author 's high Esteem of that Ceremony the Example serves his Purpose well enough In a Procession of the H. Sacrament it rains upon the Company but not upon the Altar-Cloath or those that carry it there is reason to think that this happens by a particular will of the universal cause Nevertheless we cannot be certain thereof since an occasional intelligent cause may have this particular design and thus determine the efficacy of the general Law to execute it IX When the marks which preceed are not sufficient ground for judging whether any effect be or be not produced by a general will yet we ought to think that it is produced by a general will if it be evident that an occasional cause is established for such like effects For example it rains to very good purpose in a Field we don't inquire whether it rains upon the High-ways We know not whether it be hurtful to the neighbouring grounds or no we also suppose that it does nothing but good and that the circumstances which accompany it are altogether agreeable to the design for which God would have it rain Nevertheless I say that we ought to suppose this rain produced by a general will if we know that God has established an occasional cause for such like effects For we ought not without necessity to have recourse unto Miracles We should suppose that God acts by the most simple ways and tho the owner of the Field ought to give thanks to God for this favour yet it ought not to be imagined that God has vouchsafed it to him after a Miraculous manner by a particular will The Master of the Field is bound to give thanks to God for the good which he has received since God foresaw and intended the good effect of this rain when he established the general Laws whereof it is a necessary consequence On the contrary if rain be sometimes hurtful to our Lands since God did not establish the Laws which make it rain to render them unfruitful a great drought being enough to make them barren it is plain that we ought to thank God and adore the wisdom of his providence even then when we do not feel the effects of the Laws which he hath appointed for our benefit X. In short tho we should not be assured by the circumstances
infinite Wisdom of its Author Additions I use the example of the irregularity of ordinary rain to prepare the mind for another rain which is not given to the merits of men no more than the common rain which falls equally upon Lands that are Sown as well as those that lie Fallow I suppose it to be easily comprehended that it is because the rain falls in consequence of natural Laws that it is so ill distributed in relation to the necessities of the Earth But I think I ought to advise that they who don 't distinctly remember the proofs which I have given in the Search after Truth that it is God who does all that he does not communicate his power unto Creatures but by making them the occasional causes of determining the efficacity of the general Laws by which he executes his designs in a way worthy of him I think I say I ought to advise these persons to read and meditate upon at least the first explication which is at the end of the third discourse for to do it well recourse ought to be had to those places wherein I demonstrate my Principles XV. In truth I am perswaded that the Laws of motion necessary to the production and conservation of the EARTH and of all the STARS in the HEAVENS are reduced to these two The first that Bodies in motion endeavour to continue their motion in a right Line The second that when two Bodies meet one another their motion is distributed from one to another proportionably to their bulk so that afterwards they may be mov'd with an equal celerity These two Laws are the cause of all the motions which make that variety of form which we admire in nature XVI I confess nevertheless Search after Truth in the last C. of Method that the second does not always seem to be observ'd in the experiments which may be made upon this subject but this is because we see only that which happens to Bodies that are visible and that we think not at all upon the Invisible that surround them which by the efficacy of the same Law make the spring of visible Bodies thereby obliging them to recoil and not observe this same Law I must not in this place explain this any further XVII Now these two Laws are so simple so natural and at the same time so fruitful that tho there were no other reasons to judge that nature observes them yet we should have cause to believe that they are appointed by him who always acts by the most simple wayes in whose Action there is nothing irregular and who proportions it so wisely with his Work that he does infinite marvels by a very few Practical Resolutions Additions It would require a whole Book to prove that which I say here concerning the fruitfulness of these two general laws of the communication of motion It will be easily seen that I speak not at all adventures by those who are exactly well acquainted with the Physical principles of Mon. des Cartes But this is not essential to my subject It is sufficient that the Laws of Nature are general These three Articles may be looked upon as a kind of parenthesis XVIII We must not judge of the general cause as of particulars of the Infinite Wisdom as of limited understandings God foreseeing all that should follow the natural Laws even before their establishment could not have established them to overturn them The Laws of Nature are constant and Immutable they are general for all times and all places Two Bodies of such a magnitude and such a swiftness striking upon one another will be reflected after the same manner now as heretofore If the rain falls upon certain grounds and the Sun burns up others if a season favourable to the Fruits of the Earth be succeeded by a Prost which destroys them if a Child comes into the world with a monstrous and useless head which grows out of his breast and makes him miserable it is not because God intended to produce these effects by particular wills but because he has established the Laws of the communication of motions of which these effects are necessary consequences Laws otherwise so simple and withal so fruitful that they produce all that we see beautiful in the world and in a little time repair the greatest Mortality and Dearth XIX He that having built an house and then undermines the Foundation discovers his ignorance he that plants a Vineyard and immediately pulls up that which had taken root shews his folly Because he that wills and wills not wants either understanding or constancy of mind But it can't be said that God acts either by caprice or thro' Ignorance when an Infant comes into the world with superfluous members which hinder him from living or when an Hail-Storm destroys the Fruit almost ripe Thus if God makes the Fruit to fall by a Storm before it is ripe it is not because he wills and wills not For God acts not by particular wills as particular causes do He has not established the Laws of communication of motions with a design to produce Monsters or to make the Fruits Fall before they be ripe he appointed these Laws by reason of their Foecundity and not their Barrenness Thus that which once he willed he wills still and in general the world for which he made these Laws shall subsist eternally Additions I have not here proved a Posteriori or by the effects that the general cause acts by general Wills or Laws whose efficacy is determined by the action of occasional or particular causes tho' these sorts of proofs are very many and undeniable 1. Because I supposed in the Advertisement to the Reader that he had read what I have written against the pretended efficacy of second causes 2. Because none can want these sort of proofs for every one knows that a body is never mov'd before it be struck and that it is never stricken without being mov'd Every one knows it is day when the Sun is risen and that it is night when it is set and that thus God produces the motion and the light in consequence of the general laws of nature 3. To conclude because the proofs a priorit taken from the nature of the cause tho more abstracted appear to me clearer stronger and more proper to the subject I Treat of For if I had not proved only by the effects that God does all that we see in nature by simple general uniform and constant ways it might be answered 'T is true but in grace he does quite otherwise he there does all by particular wills Whereas having proved by the Idea of a Being infinitely perfect that he does all that we see by simple ways since God does not bely himself this proves that he does by the like wayes all that we do not see Thus men begin to reflect that God must act after such a manner as comports with his Divine Attributes Nevertheless at the end of this first Discourse
suffer all men to be engaged in Sin that he might have mercy upon them all in Jesus Christ XXXV Thus since the first man was able by the strength of his Love to persevere in original righteousness it was not necessary that God shou'd keep him to his duty by preventing pleasures he having no concupiscence to overcome it was not fit that God shou'd prevent his free will by the delectation of his grace In short having all that was necessary for meriting his reward God who does nothing that is useless ought to have left him to himself tho he foresaw his fall since he intended to raise him up in Jesus Christ to confound free will and to make his mercy Illustrious Let us endeavour at present to find out the ways by which God executes his eternal purpose of Sanctifying his Church XXXVI For tho in the establishment of the future World God acts by ways very different from those by which he preserves the present nevertheless we ought not to imagine that this difference is such as that the Laws of grace do not carry in them the character of the cause which has established them Since God himself is the Author of the Order of Grace and of that of Nature it is necessary that these two Orders agree with one another in respect of all that which they have in them relating to the Wisdom and other Attributes of their Author Thus since God is a general cause whose wisdom has no limits it is necessary for reasons which I have already mentioned that in the Order of Grace as well as in that of Nature he should act as a general cause that having for his end his own glory by the raising of his Church he should establish the most simple and general Laws and which compared with their effect have the greatest proportion of Wisdom and Fruitfulness XXXVII The more any Agent has of knowledge the more extensive is his will A mind much limited every moment takes up new resolutions and when he undertakes to execute any one of them he uses several means some of which are always useless In a word a stinted mind does not sufficiently compare the means with the end the strength and the Action with the effect which they shou'd produce On the contrary anextensive and penetrating spirit compares and weighs all things He does not take up his resolutions but by the knowledge which he has of the means of executing them and when he sees that these means wisely relate to their effect he employs them The more simple any Machines are and the more different their effects the more Spiritual they are and more worthy of Esteem The great number of the Laws of any State often shews the want of penetration and comprehension of mind in the Law-Makers It being rather experience of the want of 'em than a wise foreknowledge which has ordained them God whose Wisdom has no bounds must make use of the most simple and most fruitful ways in the formation of the future World as well as for the conservation of the present He ought not to multiply his wills which are the executing laws of his purposes but so far as necessity obliges him thereunto He must act by general wills and thus establish a constant and regular order according to which he foresaw by the infinite comprehension of his Wisdom that such an admirable work as his is might be form'd Let us see the consequences of this principle and the application which may be made thereof for the explaining those difficulties which may appear sufficiently entangled Additions I don't think that any one can read this Article and those which go before with attention without granting that seeing God cannot be false to himself nor act by those ways which do not agree with his Attributes he is obliged to perform his designs by the most simple means the most general uniform and constant ways Therefore I shall net spend time to prove this in particular by the Idea of a being infinitely perfect and by all the natural effects of causes which we know Besides all that I am to say I have proved this principle several ways in the Search after Truth by overthrowing the pretended efficacy of second causes in the Med. Christ from the fourth to the eighth inclusively and also in the Explications which are at the end of this Treatise But let us see if the use which I am about to make of this principle for explaining the truth which faith teaches us does not at once demonstrate both this principle and these truths XXXVIII The H. Scripture teaches us on the one side that God wills that all men shou'd be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth and on the other that he doth all that he wills and yet nevertheless Faith is not given to all the World and that the number of those who Perish is even greater than of the Predestinated how shall we make this agree with his Power Additions It is because his Wisdom renders him unable For since it is that which obliges to him to act by the most simple ways it is not possible that all men shou'd be saved by reason of this simplicity of his ways XXXIX God from all eternity foresaw Original Sin and the infinite number of Persons whom this sin wou'd carry down to Hell Nevertheless he created the first Man in an Estate from which he knew he wou'd fall and also made such a relation between this Man and his Posterity as must communicate to them his sin and render them all worthy of his Aversion and his Anger How does this agree with his goodness Additions It is because God more loves his Wisdom than his work For since his Wisdom prescribes unto him the ways which best suit with his Attributes and since his ways require that Adam being otherwise able to persevere should not have had preventing Grace that which did happen ought to have happened to him XL God often communicates his Graces tho they have not the effect for which his goodness obliges us to think they were given He makes some persons to encrease in Piety till towards the end of their life and then sin reigns over them to their death and throws them into Hell He makes the dew of grace to fall upon hardn'd hearts as well as upon prepared Souls men resist it and render it useless for their Salvation In a word God unmakes and renews continually it seems as if he will'd and will'd not the same thing How can this agree with his Wisdom Additions It is because since God ought not to Sanctify men by particular wills he does not give Grace to such an one upon such an occasion to the end that it should have such a certain effect and nothing more It becomes limited Vnderstandings to act after this manner But God having an infinite understanding it became him to establish general Laws for the executing of his designs This is what I have
already so often said and shall further say in the following Articles XLI Behold as I think the great difficulties all the Oeconomy of Religion the Idea which we have of a good wise and powerful God constant in his designs regular in his actions a thousand places of Scripture supplying us with many more against that which we see come to pass every day in the order of Grace and tho very able men have answered them yet it seems to me they cannot be so easily resolved by their principles as by that I shall lay down XLII As for my self I have always believed that God in truth wills in general that all men should be saved Both Reason and Scripture has always hindred me from doubting thereof And tho some Authors for whom I have a great respect have in the foregoing Ages publish't divers explications of this Truth I never could easily admit of those which seem'd without any necessity to set bounds to the infinite goodness and mercy of God Thus consulting the Idea which all men have of God I entertained the Sentiment which I at present expose to the censure of all those who examine it with Attention and judge of it with Equity Additions We tempt God when we desire him to do that which he ought not to do that is to say that he should act after a particular manner and not in consequence of general Laws otherwise what harm wou'd it be for one to cast himself headlong as Satan desired J. G. to do If it be as wise for to sustain an heavy body in the Air as to make it fall upon the Earth we should not tempt him we should not engage him to do a thing unworthy of him when trusting in his goodness we should throw our selves out of the windows In a word provided a man has always a good design he can never want prudence XLIII God being obliged alway to act as becomes him by simple general constant and uniform ways in a word such as are agreable to the Idea which we have of a general cause whose Wisdom has no bounds it became him to establish certain Laws in the Order of Grace as I have prov'd he has done in that of Nature Now these Laws by reason of their simplicity have necessarily woful consequences in respect of us but these consequences do not oblige that God should change these Laws for those that are more Compounded For these Laws have a greater proportion of Wisdom and Fruitfulness to the work which they produce than all those which he could ordain for the same purpose since he always acts after the most wise and perfect manner It is true that God might prevent these sad consequences by an infinite number of particular wills but his Wisdom which he loves more than his Work the immutable and necessary order which is the rule of his will do not permit it The effect which wou'd happen from each of his wills wou'd not be worth the Action which shou'd produce it And consequently we ought not to find fault because God does not confound the order and simplicity of his Laws by miracles which wou'd indeed be very convenient for our necessities but very much opposite to the Wisdom of God which it is not lawful to tempt XLIV Thus seeing we ought not to be displeased that the rain falls into the Sea where it is useless and not upon Sown-grounds where it is necessary because the laws of the communication of motions are very simple fruitful and perfectly worthy of the wisdom of the Author and that according to these Laws it is not possible that the rain should fall rather upon the Land than the Seas so that we ought not to complain of that apparant irregularity whereby Grace is given to men It is the regularity wherewithal God acts it is the simplicity of the Laws which he observes it is the wisdom and uniformity of his Conduct which is the cause of this seeming irregularity It is necessary according to the Laws of Grace which God has established in favour of the Elect and for the building of his Church that this Heavenly rain should fall sometimes upon hardned Hearts as well as upon prepared Souls If therefore Grace is given sometimes to no purpose it is not because God acts without design much less that he acts with an intention to render Men more culpable by the abuse of his favours It is because the simplicity of the general Laws permits not that this grace inefficacious in respect of a corrupted heart shou'd fall upon another heart where it wou'd be efficacious This Grace not being given by a particular will but in consequence of the immutability of the general order of Grace it is sufficient that this order shou'd produce a work proportionable to the simplicity of his Laws to the end it might be worthy of the wisdom of its Author For to conclude the order of Grace wou'd be less Perfect less Admirable less Amiable if it was more Composed XLV If God should have given Grace by particular wills without doubt for the Conversion of a sinner who had four degrees of Concupiscence he would not have resolved to have given but three degrees of Spiritual pleasure supposing that these degrees of grace had not been sufficient to convert him He wou'd have deferred his bounty till the sinner should not have been in the presence of the Object that tempted him Or rather he wou'd have given this same grace of three degrees of strength to such an one whose Concupiscence should have been less active For what an odd design would it be to give three degrees of Spiritual delight to one to whom four are necessary and refuse them to him whom they wou'd have Converted Does this agree with the Idea which we have of the wisdom and goodness of God Is this to love Men Is this to will that all shall be saved Is this to do all that can be done for them Yet God crys out by his Prophet Inhabitans of Jerusalem and men of Judah Isa V. 3 4. judge between me and my Vineyard What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it Wherefore had I not reason then to look for good Grapes when it brought forth wild Grapes What wisdom is it by particular wills to give so many inefficacious Graces to sinners supposing that God wills their Conversion as Scripture teaches us and that he has not that fatal design of rendring them by his gifts more Culpable and blame Worthy XLVI But if Grace be given to men by most simple and general Laws all these great difficulties vanish away The order of Grace which God hath establish't having more Wisdom and fruitfulness in respect to the work which it produces than any other God was obliged to chuse it for the establishment of his Church Thus we may be assured that God truly wills the salvation of all men that he hath done all for them that he
passages of Scripture which agree with this Idea we correct the sence of some other places which ascribe unto God members or passions like unto ours So when we wou'd speak exactly of the manner of Gods acting in the order of Nature or grace we ought to explain the passages which make him act as a man or a particular cause by that Idea which we have of his wisdom and his goodness and by other places of Scripture which are agreable to this Idea For in conclusion if the Idea which we have of God permits nay obliges to say that he does not cause every drop of rain to fall by particular wills tho this sentiment is authorized by the natural sence of some places of Scripture there is the like necessity to think that notwithstanding certain authorities of the same Scripture God does not give to some sinners by particular wills all those good motions which are of no effect to them and yet to several others wou'd be effectual because otherwise it seems impossible to me to make the Holy Scripture agree either with reason or with its self as I think I have proved LIX If I thought that what I have already said was not sufficient to convince considering persons that God acts not by particular wills as particular causes or limited understandings do I should proceed to shew that there are few truths whereof more proofs may be given supposing it granted that God governs the World and that the Nature of HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS is but a Chimaera For in truth nothing is done in the World which doth not prove this sentiment Miracles only excepted which nevertheless wou'd not be Miracles different from the effects which are called natural if it was true that God ordinarily acts by particular wills since Miracles are not such but because they happen not according to general Laws Thus do Miracles suppose these Laws and prove the sentiment which I have laid down but as for ordinary effects they clearly and directly demonstrate general Laws or Wills For example if a stone be let fall upon the head of one that passes by the stone will always fall with equal swiftness without distinguishing either the piety or the quality the good or evil dispositions of the passenger If any other effect be examined we shall see the same constancy in the action of the cause which produces it But no effect proves that God acts by particular wills tho men often imagine that God works Miracles every moment for their sakes Since the way by which they wou'd have God to act is agreable to ours since it flatters self-love which refers all things to its self since it comports well with the ignorance we are in of the combination of occasional causes which produce extraordinary effects it naturally enters into the mind when we do not sufficiently study Nature and consult with attention enough the abstracted Idea of an infinite Wisdom of an Universal Cause of a Being infinitely perfect Additions Let me be permitted to desire of the Reader that he do meditate some time upon this first Discourse before he reads that which follows The Second Discourse Of the Laws of Grace in particular and of the Occasional Causes which Govern and Determin their Efficacy First Part. Of the Grace of Jesus Christ Additions Before this 2d Dis read 3d. C. of 2d P. of Search after Truth and the Expli of the same C. where the Author opposes the Efficacy of pretended second causes I Have proved in the First Discourse the necessity of Occasional Causes in the Order of Grace as well as in that of Nature and I don't think that which I have written can be distinctly understood but it must be granted But now I am about to prove by those arguments which Faith supplies that Jesus Christ is this cause Since this is of the greatest consequence clearly to understand the principles of Religion and to make us draw near with confidence to the true Propitiatory or the occasional cause which never fails to determine the efficacy of the general Law of Grace I think I may require the Reader to Meditate upon this Second Discourse with all diligence and without prejudice I. Since there is none but God who acts immediately and by himself upon Spirits who produces in them all the different Modifications whereof they are capable it is he alone who enlightens our minds and inspires us with certain sentiments which determine our divers wills Thus there is none but God who can as the * By the true cause I understand the Cause which Acts by its own strength true cause produce grace in our Souls For the principle of all the regular motions of our love is necessarily either knowledge which teaches us or a sentiment which convinces us that God is our happiness since we never begin to love any object if we do not either clearly see by the light of Reason or confusedly feel by the taste of pleasure that the object is good I mean capable of rendring us more happy than we are II. But seeing all men are engaged in Original sin and all even by their nature infinitely below God it is only J. Christ who by the dignity of his Person and the holiness of his Sacrifice could have access to his Father reconcile us to him and merit his favours for us Thus it is J. C. only who cou'd be the Meritorous cause of Grace These truths are agreed on But we do not seek after the cause which Produces Grace by its proper efficacy nor that which merits it by his sacrifice and good works we seek after that which regulates and determines the efficacy of the general cause that which may be called the second particular and occasional III. For that the general cause may act by general Laws or Wills and that his action may be regular constant and uniform it is absolutely necessary that there be an occasional cause which determines the efficacy of these Laws and serves to establish them If the percussion of bodies or some such thing did not determine the EFFICACY of general LAWS of the Communication of motions it would be necessary that God should move bodies by particular wills The Laws of the union of the Soul and Body are made efficacious only by the changes which happen in each of these substances For if God should make the Soul feel a pungent pain tho the body was not pricked or if the brain shou'd not be moved as if the body was pricked he wou'd not act by the general Laws of the union between Soul and body but by a particular will If it shou'd rain upon the Earth any other ways but by the necessary consequence of the general Laws of the communication of motions the rain and the fall of each drop that composes it would be the effect of a particular will Insomuch that if order did not require that it should rain this will would be altogether unworthy of God It is therefore
desire of J. Christ We may also look upon the desires of the soul of J. C. which generally relate to all the minds of one certain character as particular desires tho they comprehend many persons because these desires change every moment as those of particular causes do But the general Laws by which God acts are always the same because his wills must be firm and constant seeing his wisdom is infinite as I have shewn in the first Discourse Additions I think I have demonstrated that J. C. as man is the occasional cause of Grace Now since God acts not if Order doth not require or some occasional cause determine him thereunto and that in respect of Grace altogether free Order never requires that God shou'd give it seeing it cannot be merited 'T is evident that all the difficulties which we find in the distribution of Grace must be ascribed to J. C. as man This is that which I have already done in a general way for it was not at all necessary that I should particularly justifie the wisdom and goodness of God which was my only design in the construction of his Church as I did at first advertise But that the minds least able to discern the usefulness of the principles laid down may not fail to apprehend it I shall endeavour as clearly as possibly I can to shew the consequences which may be drawn from these principles There are many difficulties in vindicating Gods Conduct in his way of distributing the rain of Grace as well as in that by which he sends down the ordinary rain the chief of which are that it is not always proportioned to the need of sinners and that even in respect to the just tho it answer their necessities yet it does not always hinder them from falling into disorder God is wise he wills the conversion of sinners he has sworn so by his Prophet A Being infinitely wise proportions the means to the end How then can it be that the Grace which the sinner receives shou'd not be strong enough to make him quit his sin Or to take away all equivocation Why shou'd not such an Infant be Baptised Why should there be so many Nations who know not J. C. It is easily comprehended by what I have said in the first Discourse that this is a consequence of the simplicity of Gods ways and must proceed from the occasional cause which God has established for the executing his design after such a manner as best resembles his Divine Attributes For if it rains upon the High-ways upon the Sand upon the Sea as well as upon the Sown Lands it is because these rains are necessary consequences of the simplicity of those ways which God has established for making the Earth Fruitful But whence does it proceed that J. C. who is an intelligent occasional cause abandons so many sinners and so many nations Or to come to the greatest difficulty Whence is it that J. C. forsakes even the just the members of his body who are straight united to him by charity For as to sinners and they who do not call upon him it may be said that he neglects them as unworthy of his care But whence comes it to pass that he gives to the just exposed to temptation such a Grace which he well foresaw notwithstanding his assistance wou'd be overcome This Grace was altogether sufficient I grant and that it only depended upon the just to make it efficacious But why did not J. C. give it more force since he foresaw the fall of one of his well-beloved Children If my principle can clear up these difficulties without injuring the love of J. C. towards men as well as it defends the wisdom and goodness of God against the reasonings of Libertines certainly the consequences thereof will be very advantageous to Religion This is that which I am about to examine J. C. may be considered according to two respects one as Architect of the Eternal Temple the other as Head of the Church I have partly explained the manner after which J. C. acts as Architect because this manifested the fruitfulness and necessity of my principle But I wou'd not speak of the way by which he acts as Head of the Church by reason of the difficulty of the fall of the just which supposes certain things whereof I thought not then to speak That I may explain more particularly the manner after which J. C. acts as Architect upon the materials which do not as yet make part of his Temple and as Head in respect of the Just who are members of his Body I am obliged to say what I think concerning the holy Soul of J. C. which regulates all his desires with respect nevertheless to the divine Law the immutable and necessary order for the wills of J. C. are always agreeable to those of his Father Tho several of the * Athan. Orat. 4. in Arianos S. Iren Lib. V. S. Basil Ep. 391. ad Amphil. S. Greg. Naz. Orat 36. S. Cyr. of Alex. Thres lib. 9. C. 4. Theod Tom. 4. p. 731. Fathers and those especially who wrote against the Arrians as Athanasius were contented to attribute to Jesus Christ as God the knowledge of all things and expounded concerning J. C. as man that which St. Mark reports The Day of the Lord knoweth no Man no not the Son of Man himself and some of them feared not even to say that Ignorance is one of the defects of Humane Nature which J. C. took for our sakes Nevertheless I am far from this thought For I am perswaded that J. C. as man knows all Sciences and hath a perfect knowledge of all things that he not only knows all the Beings which God hath created with all their Modifications and all their relations but also upon much greater reason all those which God can create In a word all that which God contains in the immensity of his Being I say that J. C. knows upon much greater reason all possible Creatures than the existence and relation of those which God hath made because he knows the first by the right which his union with the Word which contains them as the Word gives him whereas he knows not the other but by a kind of a Revelation as I shall shew hereafter I believe then that J. C. as man knows all things but it ought to be observ'd that there is a great difference between knowing all things habitually and knowing all things actually between knowing all things and thinking of all things which is almost always confounded There is no man but knows that two and two make four and yet there are but few who actually think of it A Geometrician knows his Enclid but he is often a long time without thinking of any of the propositions of this Author A man knows a truth or Science when by his Labour or otherwise he has gain'd a right thereunto insomuch that he can no sooner think of these things but they immediately present
wherein he finds the Work he is to build according to the designs he continually forms according to the beauty wherewith he intends to Adorn his Church Now this way after which I suppose J.C. might act wou'd be sufficient to justifie Gods Conduct and make it in general comprehended whence it is that the rain of Grace is sent down without effect upon hardned hearts at such unseasonable times after such an unequal manner and almost always so little answerable unto the concupiscence of those who receive it For this reason I ought not to enter particularly upon the fall of the Just under an Head who has so much love for sinners Nevertheless I shall at present endeavour to explain it to satisfie the most difficult Whilst J.C. acts as Architect he only regulates his desires according to his designs It is indifferent to him to have in his Temple Paul or John if both the one and the other resemble the Idea which determines his desires As it is indifferent to an Architect who needs only a square stone or a pillar to have that which is on the right hand or on the left if they be altogether alike Thus the desire of J. C. bestowing Grace which moves men to come unto him and cast themselves in his hands those who come first and are most watchful are they whom he employs in his building But men having once followed the motion of Grace I think it is certain that J. C. is advertised of their dispositions and that when he has plac'c them in his Temple or made them parts of his Body no need no temptation happens to them which he has not notice of and which he doth not provide for When Bread is once become part of our flesh it cannot be touched without hurting us When a stone is wrought and laid in the building it cannot be broken without offending the Architect J. C. considered as Head of the Church is therefore advertised of all our necessities even before he particularly desires to know them Herein his Father prevents his Charity It seems to me that order requires this Perhaps he may even actually know the effect which the assistance he gives us will have even before it be given and this is that which makes all the difficulty For J. C. loves the just he tenderly cherishes those who are united unto him by Charity Now he has notice of a Temptation which solicits one of his Members and he may give him Victorious Graces If therefore he foresaw that with such assistance the Just tho he might have overcome would nevertheless be vanquished Why did he not augment this assistance He desires the just should be Victorious Why therefore doth he not proportion the means to the end if he actually knew the relation of the means to the end For my part I had rather believe that J. C. as man or the occasional cause of Grace doth not actually know the future determination of the will of the just to whom he gives assistance than think that he in any sense wants Goodness and Charity for his Members I grant that J.C. as man may know all the future determination of our wills as I know that two and two are four But I doubt whether he actually thinks thereon and I do not believe that he always thinks thereon that he may regulate the distribution of Graces according to this knowledge These are my Reasons J. C. does not see in the Word precisely as the Word whether the just will follow or will not follow the motion of his Grace He cannot know it unless God discover it to him by a sort of revelation as I have already said Now it seems to me that he ought not always to demand what effect his Grace will have because it seems clear to me that Order which is his Rule and his Law doth not require that he shou'd proportion his gifts to mens future negligence but only to their necessities for his own proper designs J.C. must act as man or as the occasional cause that God may build up his Church by the most simple ways Now none but God can dive in mens hearts and see the free determinations of their wills J. C. therefore before he acts ought not to desire of his Father to reveal to him whether the just being tempted will or will not be vanquished by such or such a degree of Grace For thus his action would not bear the Character of an occasional cause If God should by himself give unto the just Grace to vanquish Temptations being by nature Searcher of Hearts his Conduct ought to comport with this Character and if the just should be vanquished it might be believed that God designed to forsake him But Order requiring that J. C. as Man should act as Man his action is not to bear the Character of Searcher of Hearts For God intending to make his wisdom his fore-sight the infinite extension of his knowledge to appear in the construction of his great work he was obliged to form it by the most simple ways For in conclusion what marvel would it be if J. C. should make a beautiful work and save even all men if on the one side he acted by particular wills and on the other his action did not carry in it the character of an Occasional cause but of an infinite Wisdom certainly GOD ought not to appoint an Occasional Cause if this Occasional cause must act as God and not as man He ought to do all immediately by himself But how shou'd we have justified his wisdom and goodness seeing so many Monsters among Bodies so many irregularrities among Spirits so much disproportion in his action in relation to his Attributes so much rain upon the Sand and in the Sea so many Graces given to hardned Hearts Graces which serve only to make them more culpable and more criminal Ezek. 33.2 Eccles. 15.12 which yet cou'd not have been given with a design so unworthy of Gods goodness who desires the Conversion of sinners and to whom the wicked were never necessary If that which I have said of the fall of the just and the manner after which Jesus Christ forms his Church be clearly understood perhaps it would be found to be probable enough But I think I ought to say that this is no ways necessary in order to defend my principles and the manner by which I have justified the wisdom and goodness of God For it may be that God has given to J. C. as man a particular kind of knowledge and power in relation to his design by establishing him the occasional cause of the general Law of Grace To make my thought understood by a comparison let us imagine that as soon as Adam was formed God acquainted the Angels that he had united a Spirit to a Body to the end that it might take care thereof without informing them any thing of the Laws of this union According to this supposition the Angels reasoning according to their
motions of the Soul of J. C. in their behalf since these same motions never fail of giving it Thus the desires of J. C. alone have infallibly their effect as occasional causes because God having made J. C. Head of the Church it is only by him that the Grace which sanctifies the Elect ought to be given XX. Now we may consider in the Soul of J. C. two sorts of desires actual transient and particular desires the efficacy of which continue but a little time constant and permanent desires which consist in a firm and lasting disposition of the soul of J. C. in relation to certain effects which tend to the execution of his design in general If our soul by its different motions did communicate to our bodies all that which is necessary to form and make it grow we might distinguish therein two kinds of desires for it would send into the Muscles of the Body the Spirits that give it certain dispositions in respect of the present Objects or actual thoughts of the mind by actual and transient desires But it would give to the Heart and the Lungs the natural motions which serve for respiration and circulation of the Blood by stable and permanent desires It would also by such like desires digest its nourishment and distribute it to all the parts which have need thereof because this sort of action is at all times necessary for the preservation of the body XXI By these actual transient and particular desires of the soul of J. C. Grace is given to persons who are not prepared and after a manner which hath something singular and extraordinary in it But it is given regularly by permanent desires to those who worthily receive the Sacraments For the Grace which we receive by the Sacraments is not given meerly by the Merit of our Action tho we receive with fit dispositions it is because of the merits of J.C. which are freely applyed to us in consequence of his permanent desires We receive by the Sacraments much more Grace than our preparation can deserve and it is even sufficient for the receiving some influence thereby that we do not put any impediment But it is also to abuse that which is most holy in Religion to receive them unworthily Additions Since J. C. as man does not act but by his desires and the Grace of the Sacraments is permanent it is evident that the Grace which he communicates to those who receives them worthily comes not from J. C. as the occasional cause If there be not in J. C. a permanent desire or a constant will to do good unto those who come unto the Sacraments there would be no great mistery in them XXII Among the actual and transient desires of the Soul of Jesus there are certainly some which are more lasting and frequent than others and the knowledge of the desires is of very great use in morality Doubtless J. C. thinks oftner upon them who observe his councels than on other men The motions of love which he has for the Faithful are more frequent and lasting than those which he hath for the Libertine and the Wicked And since all the Faithful are not equally disposed to enter into the Church of the predestinated the desires of the Soul of J. C. are not in respect of them all equally lively frequent abiding Man more earnestly desires those fruits which are more proper to nourish his Body he thinks oftner upon Bread and Wine than on those Meats which are difficultly digested J. C. having a design to form his Church ought therefore to concern himself more for those who may easily enter therein than for those who are very far from it Thus the H. Scripture teaches us that the humble the poor the penitent receive greater Graces than other men because they who dispise Honours Riches and Pleasures are much fitter for the Kingdom of God They who according to the example of J. C. have learnt to be meek and humble in heart shall find rest to their souls The yoak of J. C. which the Proud can't bear will become easie and light by the assistance of Grace For God hears the Prayers of the Humble he will comfort them he will justifie them he will save them he will heap Blessings upon them but he will bring down the Haughtiness of the Proud Blessed are the Poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven But Cursed are the Rich for they have received their Consolation in this World How hard is it says J C. for the Rich to enter into the Kingdom of GOD It is easier for a Camel to pass thro' the eye of a Needle Which cannot be without a Miracle As for them who like David humble their souls with Fasting put on Sack-cloath In a word afflict themselves at the sight of their Sins and the Holiness of God will become fit objects for the compassion of J. C. for God never will dispise an humble and a contrite Heart We always disarm his wrath when we prefer the interests of God before our own and take vengeance upon our selves XXIII Since the will of J. C. is altogether agreeable to Order of which all men have naturally some Idea it may further be discern'd by Reason that the soul of J. C. has more thoughts and desires in respect of some Persons than others For Order requires that J. C. should bestow more Graces for example upon those who are called to H. Orders than those whose vocation necessarily engages them in the business of the World In a word upon those who make the principal parts of the body of the Church Militant than they who have not the oversight of any or are engaged in the Ecclesiastical Function and raise themselves above others by ambition or interest For if it be fit that J. C. give Graces unto these in respect of the Persons whom they govern yet they don't deserve such as may sanctify them in that state which they have chosen by self-love They may have the gift of Prophecy without having that of Charity as Scripture teaches us XXIV We have proved that the different desires of the soul of J. C. are the occasional causes of Grace and we have endeavoured to discover something of these desires Let us now see of what kind of Grace they are the occasional causes For tho J. C. be the Meritorious cause of all graces it is not necessary he should be the occasional cause of the graces of knowledge and certain outward Graces which prepare the heart for conversion but cannot effect it for J. C. is always the occasional or necessary cause according to the order established by God in respect of all Graces which conduce to men salvation XXV Distinctly to understand what is the grace which J. C. as Head of his Church bestows upon his Members we must know what is the concupiscence which the first man has communicated to all his Posterity For the second Adam came to cure the disorders which
natural strength or by the ordinary graces for in short Nature may be made serviceable to Grace a thousand ways THE SECOND PART Of Grace XVIII THE inequality which is to be found in the liberty of different persons being clearly understood it will not in my opinion be difficult to comprehend how Grace acts in us if to the word Grace we joyn clear and particular Ideas and if the difference between the Grace of the Creator and the Grace of the Redeemer be observ'd I have already said in the foregoing Discourse that there is this difference betwixt Knowledge and Pleasure that Knowledge leaves us intirely to our selves but Pleasure makes an attempt upon our Liberty For Knowledge is without us it does not touch or modifie our Souls it does not push us on towards the Objects it discovers it only makes us capable to determine our selves or to consent with freedom and reason to the impression which God gives us towards Happiness The knowledge of our Duty the clear Idea of Order separated from all sentiment the dry abstracted altogether pure and intelligible sight of good that is to say without taste or foretaste leaves the Soul in a perfect liberty But Pleasure is in the Soul it touches and modifies it Thus it lessens our liberty it makes us love good rather by the love of Instinct and unaccountable Passion than by the love of Choice and Reason it transports us as I may say towards sensible Objects Nevertheless this is not to be understood as if Pleasure was the same thing with Love or the motion of the Soul to good but because it produces it or determines it towards the object which renders us happy Since none but those Truths whereof we have clear Ideas can be demonstrated and since we have none such of our inward sentiments it is impossible that I should demonstrate that which I here maintain as the consequences which depend upon common Notions are demonstrated Every one therefore must consult the inward sentiment which he has within himself if he would be convinc'd of the difference there is betwixt Knowledge and Pleasure he must also carefully observe that ordinarily Knowledge is accompanied with Pleasure from which nevertheless it ought to be separated that we may judge solidly thereof XIX If then it be true that Pleasure naturally produces Love and that it is as it were a weight which makes the Soul incline to the good which causes it or seems to cause it it is visible that the Grace of J.C. or the Grace of Sentiment is efficacious in its self For tho the preventing delectation when it is weak may not wholly convert the Hearts of those who have very lively Passions nevertheless it always has its effect in that it always carries Men towards God it is always efficacious in some sense but it has not always all the effect which it might have because concupiscence opposes it XX. For example In one of the Scales of a Balance there is a Weight of ten Pounds and a Weight of six Pounds only in the other this last Weight truly weighs for if enough be put therein or taken out of the other Scale or lastly if the Balance be hung nearer the Scale which has more weight in it this weight of six Pound will turn the Balance But tho this Weight weighs it is plain that its effect always depends upon the Weights which resist it and the manner after which they resist it Thus the Grace of Sentiment is always efficacious in its self it always lessens the effort of Concupiscence because Pleasure naturally excites Love for the cause which produces it or seems to produce it But tho this Grace be always efficacious in its self it depends or rather its effect depends upon the actual dispositions of him to whom it is given The Weights of Concupiscence resist it and sensible Pleasures which tie us to the Creatures which seem to produce them in us hinder the Pleasures of Grace from uniting us strictly to him who is only capable to act in us and render us happy XXI But it is not the same of the Grace of Knowledge or of the Grace of the Creator It is not efficacious of its self it does not transport the Soul it does not give it any motion it leaves it freely to its self But tho it be not efficacious of its self it fails not to be attended with many effects when it is great and animated with some grace of sentiment which gives it vigour and strength or else when it finds no contrary pleasure which do much resist it This is the difference betwixt the Grace of the Creator and the Grace of the Redeemer betwixt Knowledge and Pleasure betwixt the Grace which doth not suppose Concupiscence and the Grace which is given to counter-balance the Pleasures of Concupiscence The one is sufficient to a Man perfectly free and fortified by Charity the other is efficacious in a weak Man to whom Pleasure is necessary that he may be drawn to the love of the true good XXII But the strength and efficacy of Grace ought always to be compar'd with the action of Concupiscence with the light of Reason and especially with the degree of Liberty that Person hath to whom it is given And it ought not to be imagined that God dispenses it by particular Wills with a design it should produce in us certain effects and nothing more For when it is said that Grace always produces in the Heart the effect for which God gave it we are deceived if we suppose that God acts like Men with particular designs God dispenses his Grace with a general intention that it may sanctifie all those who receive it or as the occasional cause determines him to dispense it nevertheless he sees very well that in some Persons it will not have all the effect it will have in others not only by reason of the inequality of strength in respect of Grace but also the inequality of resistance in respect of Concupiscence XXIII Since Concupiscence has not altogether destroy'd Humane Liberty the Grace of J.C. as efficacious as it is is not absolutely invincible Sensible Pleasure may be overcome whilst it is weak The judgment of Love may be suspended when a Man is not hurried along by some violent Passion and when he yields to the courtship of this false Pleasure he is to be blamed for the ill use of his liberty In like manner the delectation of Grace is not ordinarily invincible the good Motions which it inspires and which separate us from the false good we love may be oppos'd This Grace does not so sill the Soul as to draw it along towards the true good without choice without understanding without free consent Thus when a Man resigns himself to its motion when a Man goes faster as I may say than it invincibly drives when he sacrifices the pleasures which lessen its efficacy or in short when he acts by reason or loves the true
which accompany certain effects that there is an occasional cause established to produce them it is sufficient to know that they are very common and relate to the principal design of the general cause to judge that they are not produced by a particular will For example the Rivers which water the Earth relate to the principle of Gods designs which is that men should not want necessaries for life This I suppose Moreover Rivers are very common therefore we ought to think that they are formed by some general Laws For as there is more wisdom required in executing designs by simple and general ways than by ways compounded and particular as I think I have sufficiently proved elsewhere we ought to give this Honour to God as to believe that his manner of acting is general uniform constant agreeable to the Idea which we have of his infinite wisdom These are the marks by which it may be judged whether an effect be or be not produced by a general will I shall now prove that God dispences Grace to Men by general Laws and that J. C. was the occasional cause of determining their efficacy I begin with the Proofs drawn from H. Scripture XI St. Paul teaches us Col. 2.19 that J. C. is the Head of the Church that he continually dispences to her the Spirit which quickens her that he forms the Members thereof and animates them as the Soul does the Body or to speak yet more clearly the H. Scriptures teaches us two things First That J. C. Prays continually for his Members Heb. 7.25 9.24 John 11.42 Second That his Prayers and Desires are always heard Whence I conclude that he is appointed by God the occasional cause of Grace and also that Grace is never given unto Sinners but by his means Occasional causes do always and very readily produce their Effect The Prayers or divers Desires of J. C. relating to the formation of his Body do always readily obtain their Effect God refuses nothing to his Son as J. C. himself has taught us The occasional causes don't produce their effect by their own efficacy but by the efficacy of the general cause It is also by the efficacy of the power of God that the soul of J. C. operates in us it is not by the efficacy of the humane will For this reason 't is that St. Paul represents J. C. as Praying continually to his Father for he is obliged to Pray that he may obtain The occasional causes are established by God to determine the efficacy of his general wills and J. C. according to the Scripture was appointed by God after his Resurrection to Govern the Church which he had purchased with his own blood For J. C. was the Meritorious cause of all Graces by his sacrifice but after his Resurrection he enter'd into the H. of Holies a Sovereign Priest of good things to come that he might appear in the presence of God and shed upon us the Graces which he had merited for us Thus he himself applyes and distributes his gifts as the occasional cause He disposes of all things in God's House as a well beloved Son in the House of his Father I think I have demonstrated in the Search after Truth that God only is the true cause or acts by his own proper efficacy and that he doth not communicate his Power unto Creatures but by making them the occasional causes of producing certain effects I have proved for example that Men have no power to produce any motion in their bodies but because God hath made their wills the occasional causes of these motions and that fire has no power to cause pain in me but because God hath made the striking of one body upon another the occasional cause of the communication of motions and the violent shaking of the nerves of my Flesh the occasional cause of my Pain I may here suppose a Truth which I have largely proved in Chap. III. Part 2. of Book IV. of the Search c. And in the Explication of the same Chapter and which they for whom I chiefly write do not deny Now 't is certain by Faith that Power is given to J. C. for forming his Church Mat. 28.18 Data est mihi omnis potestas in Coelo in terra This cannot be understood of J. C. according to his Divinity for in this respect he never received any thing 'T is certain therefore that J. C. according to his humanity is the occasional cause of Grace supposing it proved that God only can act upon Minds and that second causes have no efficacy of their own which they who would understand my Sentiments and judge of them ought first to examine XII I say moreover that no Person is sanctified but by the efficacy of the Power which God has communicated to J. C. by establishing him the occasional cause of Grace For if any sinner was Converted by Grace of which J. C. was not the occasional cause but only the meritorious the sinner having not received his new Life by the influence of J. C. he would not be a Member of the Body of which J. C. is the Head after that manner in which St. Paul expresses it Chap. 4.16 See Col. 11.19 in these words of the Epistle to the Ephesians That we may grow up into him in all things who is the Head Christ from whom the whole Body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which which every joynt supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh encrease of the body unto the edifying it self in love Which words do not meerly say that J. C. is the Meritorious cause of all Graces but do more distinctly express that Christians are the Members of the Body of which J. C. is the Head and that it is in him we encrease and live a life altogether new and that it is by his inward operation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that his Church is form'd that he was appointed by God the only occasional cause who by his divers desires and applications distributes those Graces which God as the true cause sends down upon men 'T is for this reason St. Coloss 2.7 Paul says that Christians are united to J. C. as to their root Radicati super aedificati in ipso 'T is for this reason likewise that J. C. compares himself to a Vine and his Disciples to the Branches who receive their life in him Ego sum vitis vos palmites 'T is for this reason that St. Paul assures that J. C. lives in us and we in him that we are risen in our Head that our Life is hid with God in J. C. In a word that we already have eternal life in J. C. These and several other Expressions clearly shew that J. C. is not only the meritorious but also the occasional physical or natural cause of Grace and that as the Soul informs animates and perfects the Body so J. C. as the occasional Cause
an invincible manner by particular and practical wills to the end that he may leave to him more of the glory of his work and make the infinite Wisdom of his Father shine more brightly as he is the Searcher of Hearts that glorious attribute which no spirit can comprehend Now if God acts by general Laws it is visible that we ought to ascribe unto occasional causes to the limitation the dispositions and sometimes the malice of Creatures all those mischievous effects which Piety and the Idea we have of a good wise and just God oblige us to say that he rather permits than has any design to effect For example if a Woman brings forth a Monster or a dead Child or if she lets her Child fall and kills it carrying it to the Church to make it a Christian it is because God observes the general Laws which he hath prescribed We ought to ascribe this dismal effect to natural or occasional causes Super defectum causarum secundarum says St. Thomas God hath permitted this evil since there is none but he can be the true cause of it it may be said in some sence that he hath not done it because it is not for such like effects but for better that he hath established natural Laws and if he follow these Laws it is because he owes this to himself that his Conduct may be uniform and carry the character of his Attributes This is not in the least to blaspheme against the Divine Power as some ignorantly object but it is rather to blaspheme against the Divine Wisdom and Goodness of God to maintain that he wills directly and positively these dismal effects A Man whose Arm is cut off feels grief in his Arm We all of us sleeping have a thousand thoughts in relation to objects which are not at all before us This is because God always acts in consequence of his Laws and gives to the Soul the same thoughts and the same sentiments when there are the same motions in the brain whether we have an Arm or no whether objects are present or absent The DEVIL tempts just Men the wicked solicite good Men to evil Thieves and Soldiers Pillage and Massacre the innocent as well as the guilty God permits this this therefore ought to be attributed to the malignity of occasional causes For tho God doth often from thence draw great advantages by the Grace of J.C. since injustice it self enters into the order of his providence Ordinat peccata says St. Augustine yet these sad effects considered in themselves are unworthy of his goodness There is nothing but good which he wills positively and directly And if he makes use of the injustice of Men to speak as Scripture doth it is because it becomes him to obey his own Laws which were not at first established for such effects In short the greatest number of Men are damned and yet God would save all for he would and can hinder them from offending him God wills the conversion of sinners and certainly he can give them such grace that they shall infallibly be converted Whence is it then that sinners dye in their sin Infants without Baptism whole nations in the ignorance of truths necessary to their Salvation should we rather maintain that God would not save all meerly because of these things Or rather should we not in general seek out the reason in that which he owes to himself to his wisdom and his other attributes Is it not visible or at least is it not a sentiment agreeable with Piety that those ruful effects ought to be attributed to the simplicity in a word to the divinity of his ways and limitation of occasional causes For seeing that God acts by general Laws since he makes use of his Creatures in bringing about his purposes and that he doth not communicate to them his Power but by the establishment of his Laws it is clear that all this proceeds from the nature and action of occasional causes But why has not God established other general Laws or given to the finite action of J.C. an infinite Virtue The Reason is he ought not because his Wisdom exacts from him that he do great works by the most simple ways and that he proportion the action of causes to the beauty of the works And I fear not to say that the Eternal Temple which is the great design of God and the end of all his works is the most beautiful that can be produced by ways so simple and so wise as those are which God makes use of to effect it For I am certain that God loves Men that he would save all and therefore if he doth not so it is because he loves all things in proportion to their amiableness it is because he loves his Wisdom more than his Work 'T is because he does more honour to his attributes by the divinity of his ways than the Perfection of his Creatures In a word 't is because he has the Reason of his Conduct in himself for there is nothing out of God which can hinder him from executing his will And if he should have a will absolutely to save all Men without having respect to the simplicity of his ways 't is certain that he would save all because it is certain that there is an infinite number of means to execute all his designs and that likewise he can execute them by the absolute efficacy of his will without the help of his Creatures I thought my self obliged to represent in few words the Idea which I have of the Divine Providence to the end that it may be easily judged whether it is not more worthy of the Wisdom of God more agreeable to all that experience teaches more useful to answer the Objections of the Libertines better fitted to make us love God and unite us to J.C. our Head and Lastly more according to the Scripture taking it in its full meaning than that humane providence which supposes that God acts always by particular wills and would only save the lesser part of mankind and this simply and precisely because his will is so Objections against the foregoing Discourse With the Author's Answers Objection I. THat cannot evidently be seen in the Idea of GOD which has no necessary relation to him Now there is onely an Arbitrary and not any necessary relation betwixt God and the observation of the general Rules of nature This is one of the Author's Principles Therefore it is not evident that the general cause ought not to produce its effect by particular Wills Now according to this Author we ought not to believe any thing that he says if evidence doth not oblige us thereunto Therefore we may stop here This overturns his new System Answer 'T is true I have said that the general Laws by which God executes his designs are Arbitrary and this is true in two senses First Because God might have produc't nothing For the World is not a necessary Emanation of the Divinity Secondly