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 |
|
A35263
|
The vanity and impiety of judicial astrology whereby men undertake to foretell future contingencies, especially the particular fates of mankind, by the knowledge of the stars, i.e. the conjunctions, motions, positions and influences of the cœlestial bodies on the earthly / by Francis Crow.
|
Crow, Francis, d. 1692.
|
1690
(1690)
|
Wing C7366; ESTC R29289
|
8,654
|
37
|
most profitable Study of the Stars I take to be 1. A serious consideration of their Magnitude that so many Stars should be more than an hundred times bigger than all the Earth What a vast Body must the Heaven be wherein they all are if one of them so far exceed the whole Earth yea What are the Heavens we see to the Heaven that is unseen to which these are but a Pavement 2. Let us consider their multitude which cannot be numbred more than the Sand of the Sea-shoar yet God telleth their Number Psal 147.4 3. Their swiftness that these mighty vast Bodies should be carried every Day so long a Journey and never tire or are weary 4. The exact Order of their Motion so great so many so different Motions and yet never one to move out of their course The Stars in their courses or proper Paths or ranks are spoken of in Judg. 5.20 Now these things considered what can we do less than adore the Divine Wisdom and Power that made them and with Galen compose Hymns of Praise to the Honour of the Creator and especially with David wonder at that Divine Goodness and Bounty that made such great and glorious Orbs and Stars for the use of poor little mean Man for having mentioned the Heavens and Stars Psal 8. he breaks out with What is Man O then what greater and more glorious Provisions hath our God made for us above Moon and Stars Let not the pretended Masters of such an Art any more delude the World or themselves to think that we disown or deny the Divine Philosophy in Scripture that asserts the Influence and efficacious Virtue of the Stars in Job 38.31 The sweet Influences of Pleiades or the Constellation of the seven Stars but only we deny Mans knowledge of their particular Influences to be such as that thereby he can predict the future Events of Mens Lives and Actions And we further assert that to subject unto the Influences of the Stars the things that depend upon Contingencies and the Will of Man so as to make Predictions from them is a meer Folly founded upon fond suppositions that have no Being in Nature but are the Chymerical Fancies of addle-brain'd Astrologers For if they cannot tell what Weather it will be every day by all their Skill who will believe them in other things And because the Lord foresaw Men would dote much upon second Causes and venture to Prognosticate by the Heavens the Fates of Men and the fruitfulness of the Earth therefore in his wise Providence made he the Earth fruitful in all its glory before he put the Stars in the Heavens that we might see that the Earths fruitfulness depends not so much on second Causes as many vainly suppose as on Divine Benediction Gen. 1.12 compared with v. 16. And let me beseech such as these lines belong most unto to read and consider well that Passage in Isa 44.24 25. I am the Lord that stretcheth out the Heavens alone and that frustrateth the tokens of the Liars and maketh the Diviners mad From which observe First The Title Jehovah taketh to himself Secondly That the Lord seems to take special Delight to befool the Wisdom of such who would resolve future Events by the Conjunction of Planets as if they could spell the secret Providences of God out of the Book of the Creatures an end whereunto he never appointed them Thirdly That the God of Truth brands these Diviners for Liars And Lastly That such as pretend to such a kind of Wisdom may fear the Almighty may smite them with Madness which God in his Mercy prevent by turning them in time to the Wisdom of the Just FINIS Advertisement THE Present State of Europe Or the Historical and Political Mercury giving an Account of all the publick and private Occurrences in every Court to the Month of August 1690. With Reflections upon every State to be continued Monthly from the Original published at the HAGUE by the Authority of the States-General Printed for Randal Taylor near Stationers-Hall 1690.
Black Art of Hells help and Divination And it is often God's righteous Judgment on curious Wits that set themselves to the Study of things concealed and forbidden to leave them unto sinful and yet unsatisfying ways of ending the Tragedy Augustine in Tom. 5. c. 291. saith Astrologorum responsa ex malis esse Spiritibus The Answers Astrologers have are of the Evil Spirits 2. It 's the Hereditary and so the more dangerous Disease of our first Parents derived to us to know more than we need and to slight the needful revealed Points of Knowledge Deut. 29.29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things that are revealed belong unto us and to our Children for ever that we may do all the things of this Law Man â—y affecting Wisdom out of God's way saith a Learned Person got 〈◊〉 crack in his Head which hath conâ—inued above 5000 Years and ever â—ince our own Wisdom and Knowâ—edge hath perverted us Bernard â—aith it 's better Apca quam alta sapere 3. It 's an ungrateful derogating from Scripture sufficiency of imparting all things needful for Man to know especially having so great 〈◊〉 Prophet as Jesus Christ sent from the Bosom of his Father with all the Counsels of Heaven which greatly aggravates the Guilt of running into that Extravagancy of curious searching into concealed Trifles nay to take the Devil for our Teacher when the Tabernacle of God is with Men as appeareth clearly from Deut. 18 14 15. For these Nations hearkened to Observers of Times and unto Diviners but as for thee the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet in the midst of thee of thy Brethren like unto me unto him ye shaâ— hearken which passage being interpreted of Christ Acts 3.22 From alâ— which it's most clear that hearkening unto these Diviners is opposed to our hearkening unto Christ And having so excellent a Prophet raised up excludes all Applications unto â—uch pretended Prophets that the Heathens were seduced by and deâ—oted unto You shall likewise see â—sa 44.25 26. that the Word of the Lords Servants is put in opposition to the Lying Diviners That frustrateth the Tokens of the Liars and maketh Diviners mad That confirmeth the word of his Servants And Sooth-saying in Israel is not only opposed to a walking by the Light of God's Word but recorded as the Cause of his forsaking of them Isa 2.5 6. O House of Jacob come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord. Therefore thou hast forsaken thy People the House of Jacob because they are soothsayers like the Philistines 4. It takes Men off from Divine Providence attributing nothing to God and all to Fate and Destiny as if they would ease God of governing the World and ascribe all to the Government of the Stars Gualâ—her in Zeph. 1.5 saith Observent â—sta qui hodiè Astrologiam judiciariam profitentur subjecting Events to Stars that belong to the Eternal Providence alone 5. It taketh off from the Exercise of almost all Religious Duties and Performances For if the Stars and Constellations put us under a necessity of believing such Events of Good or Evil Life or Death will such a Person call on God and commend his Life to him or will he praise under prosperous Gales or impute any thing that falls cross to his sins that God is hereby calling him to Account in Judgment Jer. 10.2 Learn not the way of the Heathen and be not dismaâ—ed at the Signs of Heaven for the Heathen are dismayed at them Upon which Calvin saith this Divination oâ— Judicial Astrology extinguisheth all Godliness in that it brings all Daties of Piety to nothing as Prayer Praise and Repentance c. 6. It takes away one of the Flowers of God's Crown viz. to know things to come even the most contingent secret uncertainties which are denyed to Man to know as in Eccl 8.7 For he knoweth not that which shall be for who can tell him when it shall be And Ch. 10.14 again saith the Wise Man A Man cannot tell what shall be and what shall be after him who can tell yea the knowledge of these secret things to come is so inherent a Priviledge in the Crown of Heaven that if any of the Heathenish gods can claim it he is content they be owned for true Deities Isa 41.23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may keow that ye are Gods Now Astrologers pretend to know a Mans Thoughts long before he can know them himself which is proper to God alone 1 Cor. 2.11 Psal 139.2 7. God sets himself against such and glories in defeating and infatuating their Devices making the Diviners mad by making their presumptuous Predictions false Isa 44.25.47.13 8. When the Gospel Converted Astrologers they penitently and openly disclaimed their Art by burning their Books Act. 19.19 An excellent Pattern for such unlucky Students who would burn their Books of Magick that they might not hurt others and of their own accord did they bring them and burn them publickly to testifie their sincere Repentance to the World that they had so dangerously deluded And thô the Books were of great Price esteemed to be worth 5000 Crowns yet the Power of Grace and Truth prevailed over the Love of Money 9. This Coelestial Fate and Power of the Stars either can be hindered and so is uncertain or not and then takes away all Free-will in humane Actions and involves into many absurdities First Arguing the Soul of Man to be material and mortal that is so subject to created Bodies Secondly The Will of Man is hereby excused from doing evil by a fatal Necessity the Conjunction of the Planets layes on Men not to be avoided Thirdly It makes God the Author of Sin that sets the Stars in such Positions and gives them such Influence on Mens Actions that hath no Remedy or possible prevention on Mans part Wherefore Augustine brings in an Astrologer lying against God thus That Adultery was not committed by the Man 's own Will but Venus and Murder not by Mans Will but by Mars that angry Planet and that God did not do Righteousness and Justice but Jupiter the Planet 10. And a last may be added from Cicero that pretended Astrological Predictions for most part are evil and so their Ignorance is much better than their Knowledge And Seneca de Astris says Whether the Stars cause or signifie Events what profiteth it to see what cannot be evited Luther of the same says It is much better to be always in the Fear of God and Prayer than to be tortured with the fear of future Events by lying Astrologers EPILOGUE AND yet I would not make light of the superiour Coelestial Bodies of these heavenly Phoenomena so celebrated in Scripture and so beneficial to the World there being so much of God's Power and Wisdom attributed to his great and wonderful work of making the Stars of Heaven The