Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A07825
|
A treatise of the nature of God
|
Morton, Thomas, of Berwick.
|
1599
(1599)
|
STC 18198; ESTC S101314
|
111,319
|
258
|
as in inflicting the deserued punishment vpon offenders so is the iustice of God whereby he administâ—eth the Kingdome or Common-wealth of the world of two sortes the one in Paenâ the other in Praemio the one in due punishment the other in meete rewards For the first kind the lawes which concerne the punishing of sin are not many for they are but one giuen to all mankind in the person of Adam Gen. 2. 17. In the day that thou shalt eate thou shalt die And Rom. 6. 23. The wages of sin is death The which is the onely punishment yet diuersly inflicted according to the diuersitie of sins appointed for al sins and offences committed against God as well for the least as for the greatest This death beginneth with our life during y â— which God layeth vpon the sinner many euilles and miseries all which are forerunners of that eternall death and miserie which abideth in the world to come And that meÌ„ shuld know and acknowledge that these temporal euilles come from God as punishments of their sinnes hee doth vsually punish them in the same kind wherein they haue sinned that so the likenesse which the punishment hath vnto the sinne may shew it to bee the sonne of that father and the frute of that tree Gen. 2 17. Because thou hast eaten of the forbidden frute thou shalt all the dayes of thy life eate in toile and in the sweat of thy browes And Gen. 20. 8. The Lord had shut vp all the wombes in the house of Abimelec because of Sarah Abrahams wife And Iud. 1. 7. And Adombezek said seuentie Kings hauing the thumbes of their hands and of their feete cut off gathered vnder my table as I haue done so God hath rewarded me And 1. Cor. 1. 21. After that the world wold not by the wisedome of God knowe God it pleased God as a iust punishment by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue the beleeuers All which actions of God as wel in his temporal as in eternal punishmeÌ„ts we are not to doubt but that they are squared according to y t rules of iustice from the which it is impossible that God would swarue Gent. It were impietie to thinke and blasphemie to speake the contrarie and yet to tel you plainly I haue been more troubled with doubts about this point of Gods iustice then in any other and but for troubling and hindering you in your course I would declare them vnto you in hope to bee more fully resolued in this Sch. You shall not hinder but further mee I will willingly doo my best to satisfie you Gent. I haue often thought vpon occasion of heating this doctrine that the punishment due vnto the least sinne is by the iustice of god eternal death that some Atheists might say of Gods lawes as it was saide of Dracos laws giueÌ„ to the Athenians y t they were written with blood wold accuse God of crueltie for infflicting so great or rather so endles and infinite a punishmen vpon small sinnes yea vpon those which may be doubted whither they be sins or no as namely to let passe the inward thoughts and desires the which although they bee actuall yet they are in the lowest degree of act that can bee originall sinne in infants the which is eyther alienum another mans and therefore not iustly imputed to theÌ„ or if you take it as it is inherent in themselues it is but an inclination to sinne not sinne indeed and in act Besides how should wee thinke that so greeuous a punishment as is eternall death can without extreame rigor bee inflicted vpon many thousands of men that did neuer heare tell of god or of his word eyther in the lawe or in the gospell as are those poore Indians which haue in this last age beene discouered whom in all reason ineuitable ignorance should excuse howsoeuer wilfull ignorance bee made damnable These doubts and diuers other wherewith I will not trouble you haue often runne in my minde yet I doubt not but that God is iust in all actions or rather I doubt whither God can bee said to be vuiust whatsoeuer hee doth to his creatures yea though he should inflict extreame punishment vpon the most righteous man in the world for hee hath absolute power ouer theÌ„ all as the potter hath of his claye to dispose of it as hee list himselfe and wee know that it is lawfull for a man to do to his owne what he will Sch. I am not of your opinion or rather that opinion which you name that it were not iniustice in God to punish a righteous man altogither voy de of sin for not to alleadge the promise and couenant of life which god hath made to man beeing righteous but to suppose that God had not bound himselfe by any such promise the absolute power of God ouer his creatures will indeed bee a warrant vnto him not onely to dispose of them according to his own pleasure but euen to consume theÌ„ al to naught as in the beginning he made them all of naught but yet not to inflict extream punishments where there is no sinne for so God should doo that which is contrarie to his owne nature the which doth necessarely incline it selfe towards the goodnesse of the creature by doing to it not euill but good and therefore hee should doo euill and that which is vniust or rather hee should do that which it is impossible for him to do But as touching your obiectioÌ„s against the iustice of God I answere that wee must not thinke sinnes committed against God to be so small as they seeme in themselues and when they are committed against men for the greatnesse of the maiestie of god makeâ—h the least sinne to bee most hainous euen as wee knowe that the least indecent behauiour towards a Prince is thought woorthie to bee punished with death and not onely outward actuall rebellioÌ„s but also the very thoghts and purposes of the mind tending to treason are accounted most hainous crimes yea so hainous as for them not onely the offendant himselfe but also all his posteritie for euer are thought worthie to be depriued of all those dignities and commodities whatsoeuer they did enioy by the liberalitie of the Prince or yet within his dominions Yet wee need not say that God doth punish infants for Adams sinne for they haue in themselues sufficient matter of damnation their whole nature being actually corrupted in respect of y â— image of God for the which cause it is woorthely loathed and abhorred of God As for the infidels which haue not the word of God whereby to learne and know God you may remember how the Apostle Rom. 1. in the latter part or half of the chapter doth plainly prooue that they do wilfully sinne against the light of nature shining in the creatures yea that they do obstinately contemne god whom they might learn out of the creatutes to be most maiesticall woorthie to whom all obedience honor and
and not controlable by any other howsoeuer it may be hindered by a superior power from bringing it selfe into perfect act yea or from existing also yet as long as it doth exist in his place and subiect that it cannot be barred of free choyse in any thing that is propounded vnto it And that for this cause it wil not stand and therefore cannot be placed in any set and constant order it beeing so slipperie vncertaine yea as it were altogâ—ther lawlesse vnruly and exorbitant what thinke you of this poynt Sch. Surely I haue alwaies thought it to be very hard and intricate and that it was no maruell to see many so troubled and grauelled in it that they could not possibly see how the will of man could be yoaked by any necessitie of Godâ— decree and yet left in the naturall freedome But that whâ—ch is impossible with man is possible with God who hath taught vs in his word as touching the foreknowledge of things contingent as are the issues and elections of mans free will that not onely the sencelesse but euen the reasonable creatures with all their actions are ordered by him and that for that end and purpose not onely the persons wordes and deeds but euen the most secret thoughts of their mindes and inclinations of their willes are both seen and also foreseene of God who doth accordingly direct and dispose of them as seemeth best vnto him yet the freedome of the will remaineth as indeed it cannot bee taken away vnlesse the will it selfe yea the creature it selfe wherein the will resteth bee abolished not hauing any kinde of violence offered vnto it but moouing it selfe of it self which way it pleaseth euen as we see a man sitting on his horse doth not carrie the horse hither thither but is carried by the horse who goeth on by his own free wil yet guided and ruled by the rider and directed to that place which hee hath appointed As wee plainely see in Adam transgressing Gods commaundement giuen as touching the forbidden frute the action was voluntarye and contingent in respect of Adam who might haue abstained if hee hadde would for GOD did no way compell him or impell his will to eate the forbidden frute but did both by promises and by threatnings disswade him from it Yet there is no question to bee made of it but that GOD hadde as certainely foreseene and foreappointed it as if hee hadde resolued to compell Adam by outward violence or by inward compultion of his minde and will to eate it And so we are to thinke of all other the like cases that God doth plainly foresee that this or that without faile will be the issue and effect though the causes be ambiguous coÌ„tingent and as like in our eyes to bring forth the contrary effect for he seeth easily what motiues are in the minde to moue the will and what force each of them hath to sway it hither or thither Gent. Yet you haue not so fully resolued this doubt as I do desire For euen Cicero himselfe or whosoeuer other is most pereÌ„ptoric in exempting mans will from Gods prouidence will confesse that contingent things may bee foreseene in the causes thogh not in the effects themselues when they doo plainely preuaile and ouersway the one side the other yet they affirme that the will of man setting it selfe of purpose to the full vse of the naturall freedome nimblenesse may dispose it selfe to a meâ—e contingencie which cannot possibly be foreseene because it will chuse and worke not by the meanes or inducement of any motiue whatsoeuer which would bewray the intent and issue but freely of it selfe and to no other intent but to shew the absolute soueraigâ—tie of it owne power Sch. I haue already tolde you what I haue gathered out of Gods word as touching this point of his foresight of contingent things I for my part doo rest heerein and so I wishe that you would doo without any curious inquisition into their needlesse questioÌ„s wherof it is best to let them dispute while they list and to determine when they can In the meane time we wil proceed and speake somewhat of the wisedome of God the which is besides his knowledge vsually attributed vnto him Sect. 3. Gent. INdeed I haue often heard that in men knowledge and wisdome may be not onely distinguished but euen quite separated the one from the other as it is vsually said of you schollers that the greatest Clarkes are not the wisest men yet I thoght that in God knowledge and wisedome were all one and not to be distinguished Sch. I haue heard as much my selfe but I neuer thought him of whom I heard it eythe more learned or the more wise for saying so if he spake as he thought and yet I know that they are diuerse and different things as are speculation and practise But to come to the matter in God they are not two diuerse things but one and the same thing diuersely considered for knowledge is a generall notion and speculation which when it commeth to bee put in practise in the making ordering and disposing of the creatures is called wisedome to the which the counsels and decrees of God whereof hereafter are to be referred and so knowledge is of simple but wisedome of compound things ioyning togither in perfect order and agreement those things the natures wherof were before fully knowne Gent. You fall againe into the same error you did before in limiting and restraining the knowledge of God to the creatures which doth infinitly stretch it selfe abroad euen to God himselfe and so sheweth it selse to be infinit so now also you tie his wisdome which in my minde you may more rightly extend so as it may belong also to God himselfe For howsoeuer as he existeth eternally himselfe alone he needeth not to be ordered by any wisedome neither can properly bee said to be ordered by his owne wisedome for that order hath place not in one simple nature existing in it selfe both immutably and also immoueably without any possibilitie of variance discord or confusion but rather in diuerse things whose natures being different are by wisdome conioyned togither in good agreement yet in that it pleaseth God of his goodnesse so to debase himself as to haue any dealings with hiâ— creatures in this respect eueÌ„ God himselfe and his actions are to bee ordered disposed and guided that as the creatures are made to agree among themselues so they may agree with God also their Creator to their owne happinesse and his glory Sch. You are too curious to be pleased too cunning to be taught I speake of things after the common and vsuall maner according to the which the obiect of Gods wisdome are his creatures and not himselfe yet I confesse that this distinction which you bring is true and not to be reiected But as touching this wisdome of God shining euery where in the world it is highly extolled in the scripture as being most wonderfull and