close a confinement takes its flight with the other two blended with it into the upper region of the Earth where they constitute Minerals Plants and whatsoever the earth we tread upon is adorned with This Hypothesis is no prejudice to us for it supposeth an intelligent Being as the first Creator of matter and Moderator of its motion And when it is managed with the greatest dexterity comes very short of giving true satisfaction about many terrestrial Phaenomena how they are produced in a Mechanical way In it no provision is made for any reasonble account of the variety of Plants how it comes to pass that out of one and the same soil should spring such great diversity as the earth is beautified with If these did originally emerg out of a combination of various Particles ascending from the interior region of the Earth there must be a continuation of the like emanations for the nourishing of them and if so it is unaccountable how the several streams of Particles should be able to find out amidst such great variety as is sometimes in a little spot of ground all those roots which they properly belong to Neither can any good reason be given in case all these should be pull'd up and Wheat or any other Grain sown in the room of them how all those Particles of which some are supposed inflexible when they miss of the roots they are accustomed to should presently change their figure and become as nutritive of the new body as they had been formerly of the old To say the Succus of the Earth is modified by the figure of the Root or Seed is contrary to the Hypothesis under consideration for it is supposed in it that the interior region of the Earth is the shop where all the Particles are forged But let it be so it is but necessary that those who say it should give some account in a Mechanical way how the Seed came to be in such a mode or figure This Hypothesis likewise leaves us as much at a loss about the curiosities which appear in the composure of Plants Whatsoever Particles may be drawn out of the bowels of the Earth and elevated to the surface of it yet it doth not appear by any Mechanical Law how they should fall into such exact order as to produce the elegant colours and curious proportions which are visible in them Were Archimedes present with his Compasses or Michael Angelo with his Pencil their imitations would fall very short of that exactness which is obvious to every eye There are as great difficulties about their various virtues Whatsoever Succus ascends to the exterior part of the Earth it is not conceivable how it should cause a Plant to spring up which is hot in its operation and within an inch of it another cold one astringent another laxative one poisonous another nutritive one grateful another displeasing to the palate If this variety were the product only of some juice modified within the Earth this juice must be Homogeneous or Heterogeneous NOt the first because it could not be the cause of so much variety Not the second because the soil many times where such Plants grow is found in every part of it to be of the same Nature as appears by its administring an equal nourishment when the Plants are rooted up to any kind of Seed which is sown in the room of them Lastly The Hypothesis we speak of gives no account how a little kernel comes to be improved into the vast body of a Tree How a grain of Mustard the least of all Seeds should become the greatest of Herbs Why the Thistle in Lebanon should not be as tall as the Cedar or the Oak in Bashan as low as the Hyssop upon the wall It has not yet been made to appear by what force the Succus ascends contrary to its own gravity How it comes to climb in some Trees a yard in others five by what Law it is engaged to spread it self into Arms and Branches and what Principle has set bounds which cannot be exceeded So inscrutable is the Wisdom of him who framed the Earth that the most profound inquiries into Nature are not able to discover all the methods of it Something is industriously concealed to teach us that the Wisdom which formed the Earth far transcends all finite capacities As the Earth so the Men which inhabit it declare the existence of a Deity in their Bodies and Souls 1. Their Bodies He who takes a deliberate view of the composure of them must necessarily be convinced of the interposals of Wisdom in the contrivance The usual indications of Wisdom are the aiming at some worthy design the election of congruous means for the accomplishment of it and the actual bringing to pass what is designed All these are manifest to any who consider the frame of a humane Body It is manifestly intended to be a convenient habitation for the Soul This immortal Tenant having a considerable term of time to spend in it and being of an active and vigorous nature delighted with variety of objects it is necessary that its dwelling should be repaired be moveable and furnished with avenues whereby it may entertain and perceive those objects it meets with In order to repairs there could not be a better provision of means contrived by all the Wisdom in the World Two rowes of Teeth are formed to prepare the nourishment by Mastication an acid humor in the Ventricle for the conversion of it into Chyle strait passages in the Intestines for the separation of the purer part from the excrementitious a conveiance for it to the common Receptacle Ductus to derive it from thence into the Veins where by the potency of the Blood it is converted into the same nature Ventricles in the Heart for the entertainment of it Valvulae to prevent the recess and the Hearts being charged with too great a quantity at one time which might occasion a suffocation a passage out of the Ventricle into the Lungs where the Air thro' the Larynk communicates a temper to it a passage out of the Lungs into the left and from thence by the branches of the great Artery into all the parts of the Body Anastomoses or pores for the transmission of it out of the Arteries into the Veins again that the circulation may be continued for the repetition of the same work That every part of the body may move there is likewise a wise and accurate provision The immediate instruments of motion are the Muscles Besides the Flesh which is predominant in their composition they have Filaments or Fibres which constitute the tendon or ligament whereby the Muscle is tied to the part which it is designed to move Besides the Fibres there are Nerves which serve as channels to convey the Spirits For the providing matter for the generation of Spirits a vast quantity of Blood is prepared far exceeding what is found in other Animals The Blood in the body of Man bears the same
is the Maker of them So he has impressed his Signatures upon his Word There are some particulars in it which are evident demonstrations That a Divine Hand is concerned in the composure of it In the Prophetical part we have manifest indications of Divinity It is peculiar to God to foretel things to come This in the most exact manner is frequently done Josiah and Cyrus are by name expressed many years before they appeared in the World Alexander's conquest with his miraculous expedition is described by Daniel with as much clearness as if he had been a Spectator of his Military Atchievements The time place and manner of the Birth of our blessed Lord is expresly foretold many Centuries before it came to pass In the Preceptive part Laws occur concerning the inward motions of the Soul with severe penalties to be inflicted upon transgressors which can be framed by none but God himself If by Men they must either be Wise and Good or Foolish and Bad. Not the first because it is not consistent with the methods of a Wise Legislator to make a Law and fortifie it with a minatory Sanction about things of which he is no competent Judge Nor of a good Man to ascribe a Divine Original to that which he knows has no other beginning than what it received from his own invention Not the second Because there is so much superlative Wisdom and Goodness resplendent in them as will not suffer us to suspect That they were the contrivance of ill Men or such as were defective in point of Understanding In the Dogmatical part The desire of all Nations together with the redemption of Mankind by him from that burden under which the whole Creation groaned is fully discovered Tho' the greatest Wits spent themselves in their inquiries about it yet they were as ignorant of the true Fountain of this Blessing as of the Head of Nilus They speak indeed in order to the atoning of the Supreme Being of the Sacrifices of Plants Beasts and Men but the Sacrifice of him who is both God and Man never entred into their thoughts After their best endeavours without that success which they hoped for a discovery was made by the Prophets and Apostles The wisest of Men did embrace it and made it their choice rather to lose their lives than to renounce the belief of it It is natural for us to conceive That to be True which such persons entertain with so resolved an assent and that Truth to be disclosed by Divine Wisdom which all humane Wisdom tho' engaged in a diligent inquisition after it could make no discovery of This great Blessing which God had prepared for them which love him no eye had seen nor ear heard neither had it entred into the heart of any man to conceive till a Revelation from Heaven was vouchsafed In the Promissory part We have a clear account of the Future State of Men. All the Heathens were very inquisitive about it Every one of them desired life and that their life might be happy and this happy life Eternal This put an edge upon them in their search and yet they did not arrive at any true satisfaction Socrates who was not inferiour in Wisdom to the best of them was very dark in his apprehensions as appears by his dying words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Mar. Or. Coh ad Graecos p. 33. c. But now is the hour of going away mine to dy yours to live which of us shall be most happy is unknown to all except God himself This which natural reason is so much puzzled about The Doctrin of Christ has made a full disclosure of Life and Immortality are brought to light by the Gospel and represented in such clear colours that many upon the discovery became impatient of a confinement in this sublunary State and earnestly covet their Martyrdom that they might be translated into an enjoyment of it It is very agreeable to us to conceive That where Reason did end in its inquiries about this matter Revelation began and that the Wisdom of Heaven is concerned in this acceptable disclosure The lineaments of it are as conspicuous in it as the cotrivance of Joab in the speech of the Woman of Tekoa As innate characters so external miraculous operations evidence the reality of the Word of God By reason of the slowness of Men to entertain it it was the Divine Pleasure to quicken their belief by Miracles Under the Old Testament supernatural works were done by Moses and the Prophets Under the New by Christ and the Apostles After their Preaching in order to the confirmation of it They did such things as exceeded all the productions of Nature There was no collusion in them They did not vanish so soon as they were done but by their permanence did demonstrate their reality They were not done in corners but openly in the presence of the most critical Spectators They were produced in an instant at the speaking of a word They were so evidently great That sublimated malice had not confidence to attribute them to any thing less than to him who has the regency in the Infernal Kingdom Which calumny was sufficiently refuted by the reply of our Saviour That no Man can with reason apprehend that the Prince of Darkness would be accessary to the production of such works as tend to the confirmation of a Doctrin calculated for the ruine of his Kingdom These Miracles were the Credential Letters whereby our blessed Lord did evidence that both He and his Doctrin came from God No Man can produce them without the influence of an extraordinary power and it is not congruous to the Veracity and Goodness of the Supreme Being to lend such a power to any person in order to the ratification of an errour It is vain to pretend That Miracles can be of no use in the present case because of the difficulty in discerning which are True and which are False It may be as well said That the Broad Seal is no certain evidence of the Royal Authority because there is a possibility it may be counterfeited A due consideration of all circumstances will quickly deliver us from the fear of being imposed upon A diligent circumspection doth often discover that to be Brass which is commonly received for current Coin If Miracles were not discernable from lying Wonders our Saviour would not so familiarly appeal unto them as he doth for the justification of his Doctrin Tho' there may be some difficulty yet not always a Miracle is a work that exceeds the bounds of Nature These bounds in many cases are not concealed but obvious to every capacity It is clear That a finite Being is so limited as not to be able by its own power to raise to life one that has been four days dead to give sight to one who is born blind to cure Chronical diseases in a moment at the speaking of a word Where the bounds of Nature are clear as they are in these instances
cast themselves down before the throne of the divine benignity and with all humility implore the communication of a higher assistance That they may be inabled to serve God with a Spirit of love and delight and with an Eye entirely fixed upon his Glory Those who have made by the help of this general grace so near an approach to the Kingdom of Heaven and have so far wrought out their Salvation with fear and trembling It is the usual method of the Divine Spirit to communicate unto them a more special aid to work in them to will and to do Whereas the proud who refuse to improve this talent are rejected these humble persons find acceptance and have a greater measure of grace communicated to them Jam. 4.6 1 Pet. 5.5 Is 57.15 They are in the ready way to be impregnated with a principle which is stiled a new heart Ezek. 36.26 the new creature 2 Cor. 5.17 the new man Eph. 4.24 the hidden man of the heart 1 Pet. 3.4 the divine nature 2 Pet. 1.4 the unction 1 Jo. 2.27 And likewise to be excited by a supernal influence to act according to this principle Tho' the habitual gift is perfect as it descends from the Father of Lights yet as it stands in relation to the Recipient out of which it does not expel all the remains of the Primitive Apostasy it being but imperfect it has need of fresh influences to quicken it Upon this account God is pleased not only to enkindle the sparks of grace but to prevent their decay by enlivening them with the breath of his Holy Spirit He not only enstamps a new bias upon the Heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but with his own hand puts it forward toward the mark This influence is that which David so importunately petitions for shew me thy ways teach me thy paths lead me in thy truth Ps 25.4 5. Open mine eyes Ps 119.18 make me to understand the way of thy precepts v. 27. Teach me the way of thy statutes v. 33. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies v. 26. Make me to go in the way of thy commandments v. 35. order my steps in thy word v. 133. This holy Man in these applications must aim at the obtaining of some thing which he was sensible of the want of At the time of this address he was invested with a Religious Principle and therefore must have his Eye upon a Divine Influence whereby his heart might be excited and drawn forth to action To this is consonant what is expressed in Ezekiel 36.26 27. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my ways The stony heart is not only removed and a tractable temper placed in the room which is stiled a heart of flesh but the Spirit is to be put into them in order to the stirring them up to walk in the ways of God The same thing is asserted in the Ep. to the Hebrews c. 13.20 21. The God of peace make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight thro' Jesus Christ That which is most pleasing is the Act of Religion it having a nearer affinity to the Divine Nature which is a pure act than the Power has The working of this by a Celestial influence is petitioned for Faith which is the spring of Religious Worship is represented in the very act to be the gift of God Bhil 1. v. 29. To you it is given not only to believe but to suffer as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports actual suffering So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 actual belief 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which denotes the Act of Worship is expressed as the effect of the Divine Donation Luke 1. v. 73 74. Parallel to all this are the words of the Apostle Phil. 2.13 It is God that worketh in you to will and to do It is not only the power to will and to do which is represented as the product of Divine Grace but the volition and action The influence is so efficacious That the acts which are freely exerted by Men are attributed to him from whom it proceeds as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not only signifie him that is able to work but him who worketh so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not import only a power to do but the doing or action it self Those who are thus dealt with are said to be drawn by the Father Jo. 6.44 After they have gone thro' the preparatory work by the help of his general grace This special effectually pulls their hearts and brings them over to Christ This is the usual method of God's proceeding with those who live under the Gospel He puts a Talent into the hand of every one and if it be rightly used he secures to the improver by promise the communication of a more powerful assistance So that if any want it none are blameable for the defect but themselves He who is unfaithful in the discharge of an inferior trust cannot expect to be imployed in a greater He who hath a stock of a hundred pounds and imbezleth it may thank his own folly That a greater sum is not committed to him It is no prejudice to what has been asserted That God deals sometimes otherwise with Men. S. Paul before his Conversion was so far from being under any preparatory disposition That he was employing his strength to destroy the Faith of Christ at that time when he was effectually called by him There is no rule but may admit of some exception God has his chosen vessels of Mercy The Captain General of our Salvation has besides his other Regiments Artic. 17. one peculiar to himself God hath chosen in Christ some out of Mankind Helps are vouchsafed to many which exceed the ordinary measures In the family in Heaven and Earth every Child's portion tho' it be sufficient yet is not equal S. Paul was a special object of Divine dignation and had extraordinary communications to secure his permanency amidst all the disanimating circumstances he was cast into He stiles himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one suddenly and not regularly brought forth as Abortives use to be The breathings of the Holy Spirit are like to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Winds which by Geographers are divided into two sorts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such are common to all places and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as are proper to some God having established Christ as a King for ever he doth ascertain to him a people to rule over by the most efficacious motions of his holy Spirit whereby their reluctancies are conquered and minds bowed into a resignation and submission to the will of Heaven As for those who have not the Gospel preached unto them the divine procedure with them is more concealed As the Scripture doth industriously give an account of the Holy Seed and but occasionally touch upon those generations which are out of that line So it gives a most distinct representation