Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A70732
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A discourse concerning God's fore-knoledge, and man's free agency wherein their seeming opposition is reconciled, and real consistency demonstrated from the Holy Scriptures, and arguments thence deduced.; Discourse, concerning God's fore-knowledge, and man's free-agency.
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1697
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Wing O123Q; ESTC R217857
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45,441
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power of determining the Events foreseen as well as Divine and what 's the reason that this foresight has not the least causality upon these Effects I suppose it will be answered because they depend upon certain regular and constant Motions of the Celestial Bodies which have been ever since the World began and the like Appearances that are now have been heretofore and will be again so long as the World shall continue so that this Fore-knowledge is little more than Recollection of what is past For as it would have been a rare thing to have foretold an Eclipse before ever there was any so would it be an easie matter for a Man of ordinary Skill to predict those that shall happen unto the Worlds end provided he were furnished with an exact History of all those that have been from the Begining Let us now examine whether these or the like Reasons may not be of force in the business of Divine Prescience and in order thereunto let us suppose some point of time like that of the Julian Period before the Creation wherein the World was not yet in being There was then in God 1. The Power and Vertue of educing this same World out of Non-existence into Being 2. A Will to do it in such time and manner as seemed good unto himself 3. A perfect Idea or Prospect of this great Work in all its parts and Succession and all this from Eternity This Idea or Eternal View of all Things and Actions that have been or ever shall be is what we call Divine Prescience it was antecedent to the actual Existence of the World but subsequent in order of nature unto God's Eternal Purpose of creating it Now I appeal to the Reason of Mankind whether it is the Platform that builds the House or whether we ought to refer the cause of the Worlds production unto this Idea or rather to the Concurrence of Divine Will and Power If it be still urged That God's Fore-knowledge of Events must of necessity produce the same since what he foreknows is sure to come to pass It may easily be answered that what God foresees is indeed certain but such certainty doth not consist in the foresight but in the causes foreseen and tho' the effect will surely come to pass yet not without its proper causes of which causes foreknowledge can be none at all unless it could be both the Cause and Effect of the same thing which is impossible Obj. But how can God's Fore-knowledge be called an Effect which doth ever suppose an antecedent Cause For since you grant it to have been from Eternity if it be an Effect it must be an Eternal One whose antecedent Cause must therefore be fetcht from beyond Eternity Nor have you yet sufficiently explained how far or whether you admit there may be such a thing as Fore-knowledge of what is already past which was objected before To this last part of the Objection I have already said if it be considered what amounts to a sufficient Answer but yet I shall endeavour to be a little plainer First then that God did foreknow the things that are now past as well as what are to come is by no means to be doubted but to say that he does now foreknow what is already past is Non-sense because it inmplies the futurity of what is elapsed as if I should say God fore knows the Deluge or the Building of Babel this would be contradiction in point of time as though the things were yet to come which are long since past but it 's proper to say God did foreknow them But Secondly the Notion I aim at will best be apprehended by remembring always to distinguish between the real and the vertual Existence of things the former is brought forth in time and therefore I say God did foresee from Eternity but I cannot say so of the latter which being it self Eternal can admit no priority in point of time As for instance 10000 years ago the World was not extant and something doubtless will be hereafter which is not now but there never was nor ever will be any thing extant but what is or was Virtually existant in God and clearly visible to his all-seeing Eye from all Eternity therefore God's Omniscient View or Idea of all things being antecedent to the Creation but subsequent in order of Nature to the Vertual Existence of the World is Foreknowledge with respect to the one but Contemplation or Intuition in respect of the other If we look forward to the Creation it is Prescience but if we look back upon Eternity it is the result of Divine Will and Power or it is God's beholding in himself the Platform of his Design which as I said before is an effect of the Divine Purpose to build a world which Purpose is the highest Link in the Chain of Causality even as the first step of Solomon towards building of the Temple was this * â— Rings 5.5 Behold I purpose to build an House unto the Name of the Lord my God It is true that God is infinite and Eternal in all his Attributes and so there can be no Precedence amongst them in order of time yet in order of Nature there must be Priority since God cannot be said to behold a pure Nothing to see know and behold are Relative Terms and do ever suppose something to be seen known or beheld Thirdly As for the other part of the Objection against an Eternal Effect it will lye as hard against our Blessed Saviour who is the Eternal Son of God the brightness of his Fathers Glory the Express Image of his Person and the Effect of his Love to Mankind These also are relative Terms a Son supposes a Father an Image or Copy supposes an Original yet none surely doubts the Eternity of him who laid the foundations of the Earth and whose Throne is for ever and ever I put the Question even now what the reason was that the Astronomers Skill and Fore-knowledge of the Celestial Phenomema had not the least influence to cause the same and I gave this Answer because these Phenomena did depend upon certain Motions of the Heavenly Bodies which were regular and had been from the beginning of the World and so it was but enquiring into these Motions and the Fore-knowledge of Eclipses Conjunctions and the like would follow by consequence Let it be now demanded why Divine Prescience had not any causality or influence upon the Creation * Hebr. 1. v. 3 8 10. and I shall answer this Question just after the same manner namely because the Creation did depend upon the Will and Purpose of God which is the first Mover the Fountain-Cause of all things and was from Eternity Omnipotence it self and even infinite Goodness would seem barren and unfruitful without a Will to Act for whatever God made in Wisdom and ruleth by his Power were wrought after the * Eph. 1.11 Counsel of his own Will nor is there any thing in
God in the best manner that may be thought and most worthy of so glorious a Being cloathed with all Perfection Beauty and Amiableness not to render him Monstrous like armed Power without Benignity nor Contemptible as an ignorant or defective Deity but especially to think of him according to the Notices he has given of himself in his revealed Will and not to imagine that either his Essence or many times his Operations can stoop to my little understanding And if I were fit to give Advice to others it should be this that no Man presume to demolish the Divine Attributes and out of the ruins thereof to erect unto himself some groundless Fancy which like a Castle in the Air hath nothing Solid to support it as if God could not be just to his Creatures without being imperfect in himself Neither let any Man stand dismayed at the Consideration of the Fatal Period as if God could not foreknow the Events of things but either Divine Justice must be Arraign'd or Man Degraded to a Machine for as he that doth Righteousness is Righteous and by perseverance therein shall undoubtedly be happy so he that wilfully persisteth in evil doing is Wicked and without Repentance must expect to be miserable But as the former of these will look upon Divine Prescience as the Cause of his Happiness so neither can the latter blame it as any occasion of his Misery Let no Man think to arrest Judgment by absurdly charging his own Prevarications upon Divine Perfection as if a Man should urge that because God is perfect in all his Attributes he was therefore obliged to be wicked in all his Actions Who would not blush at the Impudence and Absurdity of such a Plea Prescience is a Perfection which God cannot want and preserve his Divinity but to make it a Cause of Mans Misery were to make it an imperfection It is no less essential to the Divine Nature than Omnipresence and those that will dare to Retort their wickedness upon God may make this Attribute as Criminal as the other For if Men will not trust God with the Foreknowledge of evil Actions lest that should infer a necessity of sinning the next thing and with equal reason will be to seclude Divine Presence from the inspection of wickedness lest God should that way become accessary thereunto If a naked Foreknowledge of Evil be any cause of it why not actual Presence at the Evil committed But the Scripture doth better inform us concerning the Causes of good and evil and of Mans Happiness and Infelicity than the shallow reasonings of some Persons who yet pretend to be wise above others There we are taught that Man's happiness depends upon the Grace of God in Christ Jesus freely offered to reasonable Creatures and willingly accepted by them That the Soul not by any blind fatality but by rational inducements and the use of proper Means being convinced of the Evil and Danger of Sin and directed the way to Salvation is brought to such a Belief of the Gospel and such a voluntary Obedience thereunto as may render the Person acceptable with God through the merits of our Blessed Saviour * Eph. 1.7 In whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of his Grace And then the cause of Man's Sin and Misery doth consist not in Divine Prescience but in the Prevalency of Corruption and Temptation arising partly from an Original Taint and partly from a wilful Pursuit of irregular Appetite after the pleasures of sense by which means the Affections being besotted and the heart hardened against Reasons without and Motions within there is at last an inveterate and habitual Malignity brought upon the Soul * But let no man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with Evil neither tempteth he any man But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed Jam. 1.13 14. These are such causes of Good and Evil that a diligent observer may easily see and feel their Efficacy but how a naked Prescience should operate what others do I know not I can by no means understand But this I conclude for certain that God is Righteous in all his ways both with respect unto the causes of Good and Evil and their Rewards or Consequents His Judgments will one day appear to be according to Truth without the least diminution of his other perfections namely †Vnto them that are contentious and obey not the Truth but obey Vnrighteousness Indignation and Wrath but to them who by patient continuance in in well doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality Eternal Life Rom. 2.7 8. FINIS