Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil And such according to the Opinion of Some Divines was the Precept of Sacrificing Beasts For that Sacrifices of that Kind were offered to God whil'st Man continued Incocent they think probable because God cloathed our First Parents with Skins immediately after the Fall which they think were the Skins of those Beasts that had been offered in Sacrifice to God Of the First of these Precepts there is no doubt but that it was made known by Supernatural Revelation But whether Beasts were offered in Sacrifice before the Fall seems very Vncertain if not Improbable and consequently whether there were any Precept concerning it till afterwards For the Reason of This Opinion I conceive is not Valid and other Accounts are given of the Skins where-with our First Parents were cloathed by Learned Divines and Expositors 4. Since the Fall of Man 't is Apparent that much of God's Will hath been made known to them by Revelation This no Man doth or can doubt that Reads and Believes the Holy Scriptures That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's Head was made known to Adam by Revelation and peradventure some other things not Recorded in the Book of God That the World was to perish by a Deluge if they continued in their Impenitency That God would no more Drown the World for its Wickedness was Revealed to Noah after the same manner Many things were so made known to Abraham and the other Patriarchs to Moses and the Prophets in succeeding Generations and after them to the Apostles of Christ Jesus 5. The History of the Creation was known to Moses either by Immediate Revelation or by Tradition from those that at first received it by Revelation For though the Creation of the World might be Collected and Gathered from the Things that do appear yet the manner of it could not possibly be Collected thence How could it be known that God Created the Heavens and the Earth and that the Earth was without Form and Void and that he said Let there be Light and there was Light and that he Divided the Light from the Darkness and called the One Day and the Other Night and that The Evening and the Morning were the First Day And so on according to the History and Account that Moses gives of it This could not be known otherwise than by Revelation There is nothing in the Frame and Fabrick of Heaven and Earth and the several Creatures in them that give us any notice of the Manner and Order of their Creation 6. To pass by many other things The Government and Policy of the Jewish Nation both Ecclesiastical and Civil was Established by Immediate Revelation from Above All their Laws were appointed by God himself He was their Legislator Their Government was a Theocracy God was their Supreme Prince and Ruled over them Whatever he required of them as a Common-wealth or a Church separate from all the Nations upon Earth to his peculiar Worship and Service was made known to them by Inspiration Their Laws and Methods of Government were not the Products and Effects of Reason upon the Consideration of the Nature of Things but of Divine and in many things of Arbitrary Will by Revelation 7. The Christian Church is also thus Established The great Author and Founder of it came out of the Bosom of God the Father and appointed the Laws by which 't is Constituted Ruled and Governed Tho' many of those Laws be of Natural Revelation yet even they were anew Revealed from Heaven and other Laws both for its Constitution and Administration were purely of Supernatural Appointment and Institution 8. The Angelical Host know much of the Will Nature Attributes and Perfections of God by Supernatural Revelation Thus they understand the Will of God concerning Man's Salvation thus they become acquainted with the Grace Mercy Pity and Compassion of God to wards Faln Man All that they know of these things is by the Revelations that God hath made to the Church and World concerning it Nothing thereof was or could be learned from the Book of Nature All the Knowledge they have concerning it is by Extraordinary Methods of Discovery 9. That God was Placable they might perhaps inferre from the Consideration of his Nature and his Works but that he would be Reconciled unto them they could not know till he Himself had declared it by Revelation The Will of God is secret and no Man or Angel can know or understand it till he hath by some Overt-Act discovered and revealed it That God would be reconciled to Sinful Lapsed and Faln Man was not discovered by Natural Revelation Therefore all that Angels know about it is from God and that by Supernatural Manifestation 10. If Man whil'st Innocent knew at least some Part of God's Will by Supernatural and Extraordinary Revelations if after the Fall God hath continued to make known his Will to the Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles after the same manner yea if the Angels know much by the same Method and Means of Discovery I see no reason why it may not be at least Probable that the Blessed may Increase and Advance their Knowledge in the Future State by the same Way and Method Though I doubt not but that very much of the Nature Will and Attributes of God will be exposed and laid before their Eyes in the Glorious Works of his Hands yet I am not sure that Supernatural Revelation will be of No Vse There 'T is not Improbable but something that may and shall be known of God may be Excepted from Natural and Reserved for Supernatural Revelation 11. As the History of This Worlds Generation was made known to Man by Extraordinary Revelation as I have observed already so 't is possible the History of the Generation of many Other Worlds may by the same Means be made known to the Blessed For although it will be abundantly obvious by Natural Evidence and Light that all Beings do proceed from the First Being and all Effects from the First Cause yet the Time and Manner of their Production is not obvious thereby If it may be supposed that there are Angels or Intelligences Younger than this World I think it may be said That they could not know the Time or Manner of its Generation unless it be by Revelation or the Tradition of such Intelligent Beings as were Pre-existent to it There is no Evidence in the Nature of Things that This World was made between Five and Six thousand Years ago nor that Light was one of the First Things that was made and other Things in that order in which they are described in the History of the Creation 12. As many of the Laws and much of the Policy and Government of the Church of God in This World is known both to Men and Angels by Revelation so 't is not impossible but some part of the Laws Government and Policy of Other Worlds may be known to the Blessed after the Same manner They may obtain
Light to the Bodily Eye which no sooner appears above the Horizon than all Eyes are enlightned thereby in a moment 30. I am prone to think This Knowledge Progressive and Increasing and that Mary Ages spent in the House of God will furnish the Blessed with More of the Knowlege of Him than they were endowed withal upon their first Admission and Entrance there I cannot think that the Millions of Ages pardon the Expression that do compound an Everlasting Duration will make no Increase in the Knowledge of the Blessed nor add no Perfection to their Vnderstandings 31. VVhether the Proofs that I shall make of this Probleme be Valid or Invalid the Reader must determine when he hath Weighed and Considered them I am content that they be esteemed as they are 'T is no part of our Creed that I am defending If my Arguments be thought invalid and my Opinion rejected 't will be no matter of Provocation to me If They be thought cogent and my Opinion worthy of Acceptation with Pious and Ingenious Men perchance I may be a little pleased therein But if it may advance the Love of God and make Heaven any whit the more acceptable to the Thoughts and Meditations of Christians I am sure I shall greatly rejoyce 32. These Things being premised 't will be adviseable to propose the Probleme Knowledge Eternally Progressive and give the Sense wherein I understand it 33. The word Knowledge I take in the largest Meaning and Signification I understand it not in the Strict Sense of Aristotle for the Knowledge of Things by their proper Efficient and Constitutive Causes but in a General and Vnlimited Sense for All Kinds of Knowledge by whatsoever means or after whatsoever manner it be obtained 34. By Eternally Progressive I mean Everlastingly Increasing it will Advance for Ever it will never arrive at that Perfection beyond which it can proceed no further The Visible World is Finite the Extension thereof is Limited and Determined The Waves of the Sea have their Bounds prefixed and set unto them Hitherto says God shall they come and no farther and here shall their Rage be stopped But Humane Knowledge hath No Bounds affixed unto it it may Increase to all Durations 35. By the Future State I mean the State of the Blessed after their Departure hence There is Another World and State Consequent and Future to This. Humane Souls do not perish when they leave their Bodies they subsist in Another State and do Advance in Knowledge There as well as Here Here 't is obviously Progressive and I see no reason why it may not be so There Here we proceed gradually in the Knowledge of Things and such is the Constitution and Nature of our Faculties that 't is in my Apprehension Impossible it should be otherwise And I cannot imagine that Death should make so great an Alteration in them that what was before naturally Impossible should become not only Possible but Necessary and Vnavoidable for such must our Knowledge be if it be Perfect Immediately upon our Dissolution and Departure hence 36. By the Blessed I mean such as God shall deem Worthy and Meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light such as having done his Commandments and performed the Terms of the Gospel-Covenant have Right to the Tree of Life and Admission Through the Gates into the City CHAP. II. The Probability of the Question argued from the Consideration of the Nature of God and Man THe Question being thus briefly stated I shall lay down such Propositions as shall render it fairly Probable to Persons of Free and Vnprejudiced Minds and will give themselves Liberty to consider Things without Byass and Partiality 1. God's Perfections are Infinite his Power hath No Limits of Extension He can effect all things that are the Effects of Power There is nothing Impossible unto Him His Wisdom is of Vast Extent and reaches all things There is nothing can escape the Cognizance of his Infinite Understanding His Goodness is of Equal Extent with his Power and Wisdom it touches all things that are the Proper and Congruous Objects thereof 2. Though Man receive Great Advantages immediately upon his Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven yet he still remains a Finite Creature His removal from this Howling Wilderness doth not make him a God nor endow him with Divine Perfections He remains There a Finite Essence and of Limited Powers Though he be Mightily Advanced and his Capacities Enlarged beyond our present Conceptions yet he is still a Creature and his Nature remains the Same invariably 3. A Finite Creature can never comprehend an Infinite Creator The Globe of the Earth cannot be contained in a Nut-shell nor the Waters of the Ocean in a Bottle or Tankard The Hills cannot be crowded into a Cottage nor the Mountains into a Shepherds Tent. There is no Congruous Proportion between the One and the Other And there is far less Proportion between the Understanding of Man and the Perfections of God The One is Finite the Other is Infinite and between them there can be no Analogy Whereas there is some betwixt all Created Beings though sometimes very small forasmuch as they are all Limited and Circumscribed 4. Man must Know though not Comprehend the Excellencies and Perfections of God or he cannot be Happy All Appetites have their Proper Objects and in the Knowledge and Fruition of them they find their Content and Satisfaction and in the Absence of them they find Misery and Torment This we find true in the Experience of every Day Men have Appetite and Inclination to a Sociable Life and therefore in the Company and Society of Seconds they find Pleasure and Repose and Solitude is Irksome and Vngrateful to them They have Appetites and Inclinations to Eat and Drink and Rest and in the Enjoyment of the Objects of those Appetites they are Pleased and Satisfied and if they be deprived of them in their Proper Seasons they are Troubled and Vneasie 5. Man hath an Inclination and Desire to know God 'T is Natural to him to proceed from the Effect to the Nearest Cause and from That to the Next and so in an Orderly and Regular Gradation till it ascend to God the Prime Cause of all Things and there it Rests and is Satisfied That 's the Proper and Terminating Object of all Humane Knowledge and Disquisition When we have pursued things thither were we sit down in Complacency and solace our selves in our Acqusitions 6. What the Mind of Man cannot receive of the Divine Perfections at Once it may receive at Many times and by Succession The Soul being a Limited Essence it cannot receive or know much of the Excellencies of God at one Single Grasp or Fathome but at several times and Successively it may know much and how much is not safe to say or determine Ten Thousand Men cannot pass the Gates of a City at once but in succession of Time Many Millions may do it All the Water in the Ocean
ought that I know And from this Diversity may proceed very great Difference in their Powers Capacities and Perfections the Knowledge whereof may Increase perhaps to all Durations 13. The Science of Theology will not only Continue but be very much Inlarged Much more of God will be Revealed in the Future State than ever was Revealed in This and our Faculties will be much more Capable of considering and understanding those Discoveries and Revelations I do not doubt but that Heaven will present to the Blessed far more Illustrious Demonstrations of the Divine Perfections than any that have been made here below The Creation Providence and Word of God I do acknowledge have unfolded much of God yet I do believe that Heaven will discover Much more For Here we See through a Glass darkly but there Face to Face Here we see Him very Obscurely and Imperfectly but There we shall see Him as He is And as the Revelations of Him will be more Clear and Full so will our Minds be More Capable of receiving and entertaining them 14. And who can guess what Abysses there may be in the Theology of the Blessed Who can imagine what may be the Treasures thereof And what Time may be spent to Exhaust them And whether after Millions of Ages there may not remain much Vnexhausted The Inquiries that Job makes Canst thou by searching find out God Canst thou find out the Almighty to Perfection It is as high as Heaven What canst thou do Deeper than Hell What canst thou know The Measure thereof is longer than the Earth and broader than the Sea may be as truly made in the Other World as in This And in my Apprehension the Perfections of God and the Knowledge and Theology of them are truly Inexhaustible in both 15. The Mysteries of the Sacred Trinity and Personal Vnion may afford Subject and Matter for Eternal Contemplations and it may be there may be those Depths in them which the Blessed may never be able to Fathome or Comprehend They are such things as in This World we cannot Vnderstand our Reason draws back at the Contemplation of them And had we not some Reverence for the Holy Scriptures that do Reveal and Propose them we should utterly refuse All Assent unto them They are Too Bigg for our Minds in the Present State and therefore we live under some Temptation to reject them and were we not awed by the Word of God we should certainly do it In the Other World these things will be more Clearly revealed and more fully Vnderstood But whether there be not something which after all Search and Inquiry will remain Vnknown even to the Blessed themselves I think very Probable if not absolutely Certain 16. The Perfections of the Person of our Saviour I mean of his Humane Nature are without all scruple exceeding Great and Large and there is not an Essence unless God himself Equal with it much less Superiour to it in the whole Vniverse of Beings The shining Lustre of his Body with the several Perfections of it will be exceeding Great but the Powers Excellencies and Capacities of his Soul will be much more Stupendious Admirable and Amazing And I see no reason why the Blessed may not obtain the Knowledge of them and other things before-mentioned by Ratiocination Why may not much of the Knowledge that they have there both of Bodies and Spirits be gotten by Inference and Deduction Why may they not argue from those things that are Plain to those that are Dark Why may they not argue from Causes to their Effects and from Effects to their Causes too 17. Here 't is the ordinary Method of proceeding Men argue from the Fabrick of Heaven and Earth and the several Creatures in it the Certainty of a First Cause of Infinâ—te Power Wisdom and Goodness and from the Immateriality of the Divine Essence its Incorruptibility and from its Spirituality its Simplicity with sundry other Inferences of like Nature And why the Blessed may not do the Same I cannot Vnderstand if their Reasonable Faculties Continue as Surely they do the Use of them may Continue If it be consistent with the Glory and Happiness of Heaven to Injoy them I see no Valid Reason why the Vse and Exercise of them may not consist with it 18. What hinders but that there may be such Effects and Images of a Trinity in Vnity and of an Hypostatical Vnion as may much Reveal the Nature of those Mysteries and make the Inference as Necessary and Easie as from an Effect to a Cause or from a Copy to an Original Some Images of them we do observe here In the Humane Mind there is a Trinity of Essential Principles and yet but One Soul In Man the Body and Soul do constitute but One Person But 't is not improbable but there may be more Perspicuous Images of them there and that those that here we do observe will be More fully understood And in consequence thereunto these Mysteries may be as Evident to the Blessed as that the Whole is bigger than any Part and that all the Parts taken together are equal to the Whole I do not mean they shall Fully understand them but they shall Clearly understand them and to the Satisfaction and Quiet of their Souls 19. The Reconcileableness of the Infallibility of God's Will with the Liberty of Man's is an Insuperable Difficulty Now but perchance it may be none Then The Blessed may possibly see and understand those Principles Premises and Suppositions from whence they may be easily deduced without any Inconsistency or Opposition The Difficulty of reconciling these things proceeds from our Ignorance of the Nature of God and Man and the Influence that the One and the Other hath upon Humane Actions Did we know what God and what Man is and what are the Operations Peculiar to One and the Other in the producing those Effects that are ascribed to Men probably much or all of this Difficulty would Disappear Now 't is not questioned but that the Blessed will very much Vnderstand all these and from them will argue and infer an easie and obvious Agreement between them 20. The Power Wisdom and Goodness of God are Infinite they are Oceans without either Bank or Bottom if I may so express it His Power is Omnipotent God can accomplish whatsoever he pleases No Opposition can be made to his Mighty Arm. If he will work none can hinder it His Wisdom is unsearchable the Depths thereof are unfathomable no Created Being can find them out unto Perfection His Goodness is of very vast Extension Who can take the just Measures of it 'T is wider than the Earth larger than the great Abyss yea more extensive than the Poles of Heaven And what vast Numbers of Inferences and Conclusions may be made from the Consideration of them How far may they be Propagated and where will they determine 21. From the Knowledg of the Divine Nature and Attributes the Blessed may 't is like infer and deduce the
Ways or Methods they may be Communicated unto it unless you will suppose it of very Large and Extensive Presence and Capacity 9. So that if the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus have any Knowledge of the State and Condition of the Church which is his Body as I think can't reasonably be doubted whether Mediately or Immediately in my Apprehension an Extension of Presence must be granted thereunto And if it be granted to Christ Jesus I know nothing that will hinder the same Concession to the Blessed tho not in the same Degree for in all things he must have a Supremacy and Advantage 10. But besides all this Christ Jesus is the Head of his Church and as an Vniversal Cause under God conveys his Grace and Spirit to all the Members of it As the Sun is the Vniversal Cause of Light Heat and Motion in Sublunary Bodies so is Christ of all Grace and Spiritual Influences and Virtues to the Souls of Men and there is no other means or way of Conveyance but by Him 11. The Humane Nature of Christ Jesus by its being Personally united to the Divine and exalted to God's Right Hand is by the Office of Mediator Authorized and by a Participation of the Fulness of the Spirit enabled for the Communication of this Spiritual Influx and Benediction to Humane Minds 12. Yet it is not to be imagined or do I affirm That the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus is any Cause of any Immanent Act of the Divine Spirit but He is the Cause of the Spirits Operation as that Operation signifies the Effect upon the Mind of Man And of this He is no Superiour but only a Ministerial Cause as a Prince rewards the Valour of his Souldiers as the General doth determine it 13. Christ Jesus is the Political Cause of this Spiritual Influence He as Mediator is authorized to determine of the Measure Time Conditions and Persons that shall partake therein Whether He be also a Physical Head and Cause of this Influence and Grace and by proper Efficiency do Communicate of this Spirit and by any Physical Operation of his Humane Soul He operate upon Our Minds is a Controversie that I am not obliged to determine my Cause not requiring it For if He be only the Political Cause of this Grace and Spirit He must have Knowledge of the State Case and Condition of Mankind and that in my Opinion will infer a Large and Extensive Presence which is all that I am concerned to prove AND now having annexed thus much to the Book in regard to one Particular Point I shall superadd no less in regard to the General Subject for the obviating some Objections and preventing Misunderstandings in what I have Asserted or rather Proposed to indifferent Consideration 1. I would not be thought to Place the Happiness of the Blessed in the Knowledge of Creatures Whoever should Thus understand me would Very much mistake and misapprehend me I Place the Happiness of Saints and Angels in the Knowledge and Love of God and being Beloved by Him The Knowledge of Creatures is only the Medium by which we come to the Knowledge of the Creator and by the Knowledge of Him we become capable of Loving Him and Rejoycing and Delighting in Him God is Vltimately the Object of Man's Felicity and Love Delight and Joy are the Great Felicitating Acts and both these Compleat and make it Perfect 2. One great Reason that inclines me to believe that Knowledge will be Progressive in the World to come is because I do suppose that Man will remain a Limited and Finite Essence There yea and Limited to that degree that he will not be Able at one Grasp to comprehend the Nature Qualities and Perfections of the Vniverse A great Enlargement of Capacity Immediately upon his Departure hence I do readily concede and if any shall please to call it Supernatural I will have no Contest with him about it But this Enlargement I conceive will not make his Capacity of Equal Extent with the Vniverse and consequently his Knowledge of it cannot be Simul and Semel but Successive 3. How Various the Limitations of the Essences and Capacities of the Blessed will be I will not affirm Peradventure they may be as Various and Different as their Rewards will be Those that have Loved and Served God in This World with the Greatest Sincerity and Vigour of Affection and Endeavour will have the Largest Capacities in the Other they will be capable of knowing Most of God and consequently of loving Him Most and being Most beloved of Him It seems to me I say probable that the Remunerating Grace of God will Diversify Men's Capacities in the Kingdom of Heaven according to their Works Here on Earth 4. If any Man should think that because I affirm an Alteration for the better in the Future State that therefore there may be an Alteration for the worse and to the Disadvantage of the Blessed I answer That I see Nothing in what I have Said that may give any Reason for Such an Inference or Conclusion For why Confirming Grace may not secure the Blessed from Any Defection on Supposition that Knowledge and consequently Happiness be Increasing and Progressive as well as on supposition that it be Instantaneously Compleat and Perfect I confess I do not understand 5. St. Paul I do acknowledge doth assure us That Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor hath it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive what God hath laid up for those that love Him 1 Cor. 2.9 Which words he transcribes from Isaiah the Prophet But how they are any Prejudice to the Doctrine that I have proposed I do not find For besides that the Words were spoken by the Prophet with respect to the State of the Gospel and the great Revelations and Discoveries that were to be made of the Divine Grace and Mercy at That time and in That State I shall readily grant that no Eye hath seen nor Ear heard nor hath the Heart of any Man conceived what and how Various how Great and Stupendious those Objects will be that the Future State will present unto our Thoughts and Contemplations Who can tell what Variety of Wonders the House of the Living God may set before us Who can imagine the Lustre and Glory of the Heavenly Jerusalem and what are the Beings that do Embellish and Adorn the Palace of the Great King Who can tell or who can conceive what Species or Kinds of Beings may be comprehended in the Whole Universe and of what Various and Amazing Natures Qualifications and Perfections 6. And as we cannot Vnderstand what will be the Number Kinds Nature nor Perfections of these things so we cannot Tell what will be the Joy Pleasure Satisfaction yea Extasies and Ravishments that we shall Conceive and have Experience of in the Contemplation and Knowledge of them Who can imagine what Joy he shall feel at the Sight and First Aspect of the Magnificent Structure of the Heavenly Palace At the Vision of those Holy Myriads that encompass the Throne of God At the Vision of the Holy Jesus that Prince of the Kings of the Earth At the Sight of all the Holy Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles At the View of all the Holy Confessors and Martyrs together with all the Holy and Good Men of all Generations Who can imagine what Pleasure and Joy every Object that is offered to our Meditation may Raise and Awaken in our Souls Who can Think what Joy we shall Conceive from our Exercise of Love to God and 〈◊〉 the Sense and Apprehension of our 〈◊〉 Beloved of Him and of the Eternal Dâ—â—ation of it 7. But though we cannot Conceive nor have not Seen nor Heard what are the Beings and Objects that the Future State will furnish to our View and Consideration and though we cannot Imagine what will be the Joys and Pleasures that they will introduce upon our Minds Yet we may know that there will be Objects of Various and Illustrious Qualities and that the Knowledge of them will make Very Great and Pleasant Emotions and Affections upon our Souls and that This Knowledge and These Affections may be of Progressive Nature and Increase to All Durations Which is all that I have Asserted and I think Sufficiently consistent with the Words of the Apostle in the Text above-mentioned 8. I know nothing Momentous that may be objected against what I have Said on this Subject which I have not Answered or Obviated in Some Place or Other of This Discourse Nevertheless 't is no Article of my Faith nor am I zealous to Proselyte any Man to the Belief of it I will Conclude with those Words where-with Cartesius concludes his Principia At nihilominus memor meae tenuitatis nihil affirmo sed haec omnia tum Ecclesiae Catholicae Anglicanae Authoritati tum Prudentiorum Judiciis submitto nihilque ab ullo credi velim nisi quod ipsi evidens invicta ratio persuadebit FINIS
Connexion among Beings and One follows upon and oftentimes derives from Another 't is very probable that such will be the Knowledge of them and that the Manner of understanding them will be such as is their Manner of Being i. e. One Thing will be inferred and deduced from Another which is an Exercise of the Discursive Faculty Besides if any thing be known by its Effects of which I think there is no doubt in the Future World there must be the Use of Ratiocination For from the Nature and Qualities of the Effects to determine the Nature and Properties of the Cause is to reason and argue from what is Obvious and Easie to that which is Dark and Difficult 29. Again Is it worthy or doth it become a Rational Creature to act or do any thing for which he can give no Account Is it congruous and decorous for Intellectual Essences to act like Natural Agents or like Brutes Such is their Manner of acting if they act without Ratiocination and Discourse Is that Obedience and Worship Worthy of God that is Irrational and performed without any Previous Exercise of the Reasonable Faculty Or is it possible that Worship Love and Obedience can be performed without it Is that Worship or Love is that Service or Obedience that hath no Consideration of the Excellency Goodness or Authority of God as the Cause and Foundation of it I know not what it may Seem or Appear to others but I must acknowledge I am of Contrary Apprehensions and do think that all Obedience and Love to God proceeds from Ratiocination and consequently that 't is of Use for the Increase of Knowledge as well as for the producing of Love and Obedience in the Other World 30. I have hitherunto supposed a Multiplicity of Worlds for the making an Eternal Increase of Knowledge among the Blessed a thing probable and such as hath some Appearance of Truth in it And I do confess I cannot possibly reconcile my Mind to an Opinion That from all Eternity nothing was made or produced by God till the Present World the Annals of whose Birth and Duration are left us by Moses and other Inspired Authors and since them by Others and the whole Period of its Continuation amounts not to Six Thousand Years 31. Nevertheless I will here add That I know not whether there be any Need of it Peradventure the History and Affairs of This VVorld together with the great Variety of Beings that are in it and that of the Kingdom of Heaven and the more Illustrious Creatures that are There may minister Matter for Eternal Contemplation and an Increase of Knowledge thereby For how Many and Numerous they are and what vast Systems of Science may be gathered from them who is able to inform us If the Conclusions that we make from some Few Principles in this State of Darkness and Imperfection be so Numerous and almost Infinite what may they be in that State of Light and very Great Perfection 32. For as I think it Probable that the Knowledge and Happiness of the Blessed is Progressive so I do easily and willingly grant that it Receives very great Advantage and Increase immediately upon their Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven And I do farther grant that their Powers and Capacities will be very much Enlarged and Perfected yea and made more Able and fit for Ratiocination They will much more Easily make Inferences from Principles and Premises than they would do as long as they were in this VVeak and Imperfect State and consequently enlarge the Bounds and Extent of Science exceedingly And how far they may be able to extend them I cannot conjecture but I think it may be done Indefinitely if not Eternally 33. These things I have suggested to make it fairly Probable that the Knowledge of the Blessed in the Future State may Increase by Ratiocination What Force or Weight there may be in them I must leave to the Judgment of the Reader and here Conclude This Chapter CHAP. VIII Objections against the Doctrine delivered in the Precedent Discourses briefly Answered 1. I Am not ignorant that the Opinion that I have asserted in the preceding Discourses is liable to sundry Objections And 't is no wonder for there is almost nothing in any Part of Science either Natural or Theological which hath not been assaulted by them Some Men have made Objections against the Being and Providence of God others against the Possibility of Motion and the Certainty of Sense And if Objections have been made against things so Plain to all the Reason and Sense of the World it may not be expected that a thing so much in the Dark as what I have discoursed should be Vtterly Free from them This Chapter therefore shall be imployed in making some Answer to them 2. 1. Object The Holy Scriptures speak of the Future State as a State of Great and Present Perfection and all Divines when they make mention of it represent it as a Glorious and Perfect State To which no Addition can be made but is at its utmost Exaltation as soon as ever we be admitted into it To this Objection I have sundry things to Answer 3. 1. I do easily grant that some yea many Divines may have spoken very much to the Sense of this Objection But among Protestants especially those that are of Free Judgments 't is not the Dogmatical Assertion of Divines but the Evidence and Proof of what they do affirm that doth Convince and make their Doctrine Worthy of Credit and Belief So that unless they have Proved as well as Asserted the Doctrine of this Objection I am not obliged to believe or give Assent unto it 4. 2. But I would distinguish of Perfection There is an Absolute and there is a Relative Perfection The Saints of God under the Gospel-Dispensation are Perfect in a Relative Sense and compared with those that lived under the Law and so are Grown Christians compared with those that are Weak and as the Apostle expresses it Babes in Christ And in one of these Comparative Senses must the word Perfect be meant 1 Cor. 2.6 Howbeit we speak Wisdom among them that are Perfect In an absolute Sense neither Christians compared with Jews nor Strong Christians compared with Weak ones are Perfect but in a Relative Sense they are so And so the Blessed as soon as they are admitted the Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven are Perfect in a Relative Sense and in comparison of those they have left Behind them in This World and of what they themselves were when they dwelt Here below And in this Relative Sense must we understand the word Perfect Heb. 12.23 And to the Spirits of Just Men made Perfect and others of like importance 5. 3. Perfection may be considered with Respect to Sin and it may be considered with Respect to all Attainable Excellencies that Humane Nature or Mankind are capable of In the first Sense the Blessed are Perfect as soon as they get to Heaven they are
perfectly Free from all Sin both of Inclination Habit and Act the Plague of the Heart is perfectly cured there remains not any thing of the Old Nature upon their Souls yea they are freed of all Sinful Ignorance they know all that is Their Duty to know and all that is Necessary for the Performance of it But whether they Know all that ever they shall Know or are Capable of Knowing is Another Question God made Man upright Eccles 7. ult That is He made him without Sinful Imperfection But that they knew as much the first Day of their Creation as they would have Known had they lived a Thousand Years in their Innocent State I do not believe Our Lord Jesus was Perfect with respect to Sin at his Birth yet He had not then Attained all attainable Excellencies for He increased in Wisdom and Stature and in Favour with God and Men Luk 2.52 And if our Blessed Saviour and our First Parents were Perfect before they had attained all the Wisdom and Knowledge they were capable of so may the Blessed in the Future State 6. 4. Those very Persons that do assert the Perfection of the Blessed immediately upon their Departure hence and Admission into the Kingdom of Glory do yet acknowledge that the Resurrection will add something to the Increase of their Knowledge yea and of their Happiness also And 't is a thing so plain that it cannot be denyed Will the Saints in Heaven know no more after the Resurrection than they did before Will those Works of Wonder add nothing to the Enlargement of their Vnderstandings Will their Knowledge receive no Advange thereby This were a manifest Contradiction in any Man that should affirm it So then I hope I may conclude That if Perfection be reconcileable with an Increase of Knowledge before the Resurrection it may be reconcileable with it afterwards 7. 5. To what hath been said I may add That the Angels of Heaven without doubt were made Perfect Yet surely the Creation Government and Affairs ot This World hath Added much to their Knowledge That they have been Imployed in them and consequently have had Knowledge of them the Scriptures do assure us and I am past all Scruple concerning it Yea I am inclin'd to think that this Inferior World was made for the Use of Angels as well as Men and in it they behold the Glory of God and the most Illustrious Perfections of their Maker an have Learned very many Things from the Contemplation of it Yea 't is my Opinion that they have ascribed much more of the Praise thereof to God than ever was done by Mortals The Creation and Providence of God are a very Clear Glass in which are discovered the Attributes and Perfections of God But since the Fall Man's Eyes have been so Impaired that they could not discern them nor give him the Praise of them But that which I would infer from this Paragraph is this If an Increase of Knowledge be consistent with Perfection in Angels it may be consistent with it in the Blessed Saints If the one were Perfect before they had obtained much of that Knowledge that now they are possessed with the other may be Perfect in the same Sense though they want much of that Knowledge that they may and certainly will obtain 8. 2. Object The Future State is a State of Rest and Fruition The Blessed are there said to rest from their Labours and their Works to follow them Rev. 14.13 which seems inconsistent with an Increase of Knowledge forasmuch as Knowledge is not obtained without Labour especially that which comes by Ratiocination and the Exercise of our Reason on such Beings as are presented to us To this Objection I reply as followeth 9. 1. The Soul of Man is a very Active Being Action is of the very Essence of it and can no more in my Apprehension be Separated from it than Heat from Fire or Extension from Natural Bodies If you separate Action from Humane Minds you Destroy them If they do Nothing they are Nothing Not to Act and not to Be are the same thing with them The Cessation of their Being is equipollent to the Cessation of their Action and Operation God is a Pure Act Souls are his Image and in the Activity of their Nature they are a Representation of Him 10. 2. The Rest of the Humane Soul therefore as I do humbly conceive consists very much in the Performance of such Actions and the Use of such Imployments as are congruous and suitable to its Nature and to the End and Intent for which it was made Man's Inferior Faculties and Senses have their proper Ends Actions and Operations and in the Exercise and Use of them on their own peculiar Objects they find and experience all the Content and Satisfaction that they are capable of And surely the Rest and Happiness of the Rational Soul must likewise Consist in the Exercise of its Active Powers upon Congruous and Suitable Objects And the Philosopher some where places Humane Felicity in Action and not in a Dull Inactive Stupor 11. 3. There is nothing more Suitable and Agreeable to the Humane Soul than the Exercise of its Intellectual Faculty on the Being Nature and Properties of things This is Wonderfully Congruous and therefore Pleasant to it It delights to consider the Nature of things and from those things that are more evident to Infer those that are less and also from the Effect to Infer the Cause and from the Intermediate Causes to Ascend by several Steps and Progressions to the First Primitive and Original Cause of all things This Labour is its Rest this Work is its Reward this Vse of its Powers is their Felicity and their Glory This is the Imployment which they do desire in which they are pleased and in which they will find Repose yea Ravishment and Extasies for ever 12. 4. Though the Mind of Man finds some Difficulty in the obtaining of Knowledge here Below and though it costs It much Painful Study to attain any considerable Degree or Measure of it yet I see no Reason to conclude or suspect any such thing in the Kingdom of Heaven It will receive so much Inlargement Perfection and Advantage by its Ascent thither that 't will be no more Trouble to advance in Knowledge than 't is for us to turn Our Eyes from one Object to another and to observe the Beauty and Proportions of them 13. 5. A Diseased Eye cannot behold the Light without some Trouble and Offence though it be the Proper Object thereof and the Medium by which all other things become Visible yet if it be Sore it becomes very Offensive unto it and if you can but cure or remove that Distemper Light becomes Pleasant unto it again Since Man became Sinful his Understanding Faculty hath suffered great Diminution 't is Indisposed and Vncapable in great degree of obtaining Knowledge though that were the End for which it was created and what it doth obtain is not without