there is no miraculous opening of the Heavens nor the glorious Scene withdrawn to discover the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God Farther At the Name of Jesus is not every knee to bow of things in Heaven and things under the Earth Are not all the Angels to worship him So that since nothing is to be worship'd but God and Christ is to be worship'd it follows that Christ is God But to make a short Reflection on what has been said on this Argument There is no occasion to prove to the strict Followers of Socinus that Christ ought to be worship'd for they are as zealous Patrons of his Worship as they are artificial Underminers of his Divinity For Socin ad Praefat. Vujek p. 8. Edit 1624. Socinus expresly Excommunicates all those who denied our Saviour's Worship He declares that If Christ is not to be invok'd then is he Christ only in Name That such Praefat. ad Respons F. David a Notion is a manifest tendency to Judaism and to exalt Moses above Christ That Tom. 1. pag. 656. they who are against the Worship of Christ cannot be Christians because tho' they dare not openly yet do they really deny Jesus to be Christ. But that which made it necessary in this Argument to insist on the Worship due to Christ is the Position of the modern Socinians who finding how hard it was to reconcile the Worship of a God Made with the Divine Prohibitions against Idolatry have thrown off our Saviour's Worship with his Divinity I shall only quote the words of one of their own Party There are says he no acts of Worship Answer to Milbourne p. 50. requir'd to be paid to the Lord Jesus Christ but such as may be paid to a Civil Power to a Person in high Dignity and Office to Prophets and Holy Men and to such as are actually possest of the Heavenly Beatitudes But to proceed Secondly Christ or the Word is God because of his Co-partnership with God the Father in those Actions which could only be perform'd by his Substantial union with the Divine Nature These Actions are the Creation of the World the Inspiration of the Prophets the Exercising all power in Heaven and in Earth Raising the Dead out of their Graves Judging them according to their Works the Destruction of the World First Christ is God because of His Co-partnership with God the Father in the Creation of the World For to Create is an act proper to the Deity For he spake and it was done he commanded and it stood fast He hath made the Earth by his Power he hath established the World by his Wisdom and hath stretched out the Heavens by his Discretion Nor had he any Creature to assist him in his miraculous Production for He is God even he alone he made Heaven and Earth But 't is very plain that all things were Created by Christ For all things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made He was in the World and the World was made by him and the World knew him not 'T is true the Socinians understand this Creation not of the Mosaick forming every thing out of Nothing but of the New Gospel-Creation by which the Reasonable World if we may so style it was put into a capacity of recovering its original Rectitude and Uprightness But this is a forc'd sence and quite different from what the ancient Fathers understood the words in Nay the very Arians themselves apply'd them to a proper Creation and to obviate the stress of them made Christ God's Instrument or subservient Power only in the Creation But as to the Socinian sence if Creation in these places is wholly Figurative and Metaphorical why may it not be so in the first Chapter of Genesis too Why may not the Creation of the visible Heavens and the Earth in the Old Testament be no more than the Foundation of the Jewish Common-wealth since it is own'd that by New Heavens and new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness in the New no more is understood than a renew'd state of things under the Gospel Why should the darkness which was upon the face of the Earth signifie more than that State of spiritual Darkness which blinded the whole World before the Mosaick Law Why might not the Sun be the Law the great Guide of the Jews the Moon and the Stars the Laws and Directors of other obscurer Nations Why may not the Firmament amidst the Waters be the Jewish Polity struggling with oppositions as the Earth appearing out of the Waters the settlement of that State since Waters in Scripture-Language often denote Troubles And thus a new Face might be put upon the whole Scripture But farther to overthrow this novel and over-refin'd sence of Creation St. Paul remarks to the Colossians that By Christ were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they are Thrones and Dominions or Principalities or Powers Where it is to be observ'd first That All in Heaven and Earth things void of Reason and so not liable to Error or Sin and so uncapable of this New Creation were made by Christ Secondly That Dominions and Powers Angels whether Good or Bad were form'd by him But the Good had no need of this New Gospel-Creation They never stain'd those Robes of Glory with which they were made and so had no need to be washed by the bloud of the Lamb. The Bad as falling from the very Throne of God and descending cheaply and foolishly into Darkness contracted such a Guilt as the greatest Mercy of the Gospel could not reach And so were unfit Subjects for this New Creation Thirdly That it was the aim of this Epistle to oppose the Heresie of Simon Magus Menander and Basilides v. Epiphan p. 56. Edit Pet. â— whose Error it was That the World was made by the Angels To confront which S. Paul not only shews that Angels themselves were created and so could not be Creators but that they and the whole World were made by God and Christ and the Holy Spirit Three Persons and One God So that this place can never be understood of this New Creation or Gospel Renovation As Christ is God because he Created the World so is he God Secondly Because he Inspir'd the Holy Prophets For he by whom the Prophets spake was God For the Word which came by them was the Word of the Lord and the Scriptures which they wrote is said to be given by Inspiration of God For Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost But he who speaks by the Holy Ghost speaks by the Spirit of God the Son as well as by the Spirit of God the Father 'T is true Schlictingius answers That the Holy Ghost is term'd the Spirit of Christ not because he proceeded from Christ but because he spake of Christ But in this sence the Holy Ghost might be call'd the Spirit
swerve For Justice and Judgment are the Habitation or as others the Basis or Foundation of his Throne As his own connate original Wisdom or the Rectitude of his own Nature is the Rule and Measure of his own Actions so is the Transcript of it if I may so speak the Rule for all other Agents to move by He has given the Sea his decree that the Waters should not pass his Commandments and if the proud tumultuous Waves move by his Divine Rules how much more has he settled a Rule for his Angels that excell in strength for those his blessed Ministers who do his Pleasure The very Title of Angel imports Duty and Obedience to that glorious Power from whence it receiv'd its Commission and Obedience implies some Rule by which it ought to be proportion'd As the Angels so the Saints in doe Subordination are in their several Stations rang'd under Rules and Laws For they are all Parts of the great Celestial Polity and all make up one Church Triumphant therefore must be subject to the same Heavenly Canons Laws and Constitutions For Thirdly This Rule is the same with that by which we ought to regulate our Actions therefore they are very fiâ—ly set out in â—hiâ— Prayer of our Lord's as a Pattern for our Obedience Now the Rule by which 〈…〉 ought to manage our Practice is that which is styl'd the Moral Law or that Law which first being stamp'd on Man's Heart in his Innocence notwithstanding what Mr. Hobbs * Human vnderstanding p. 366. passion Mr. Locke and others have said to the contrary was after his Fall retriev'd by Moses and the Prophets and lastly by Christ and his holy Apostles that Law which prescribes to us to entertain noble Apprehensions of God to worship and serve him which teaches us Moderation towards our selves and Justice towards our Neighbours which is comprehended in that brief Summary Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and thy Neighbour as thy self This is the Rule of our Actions on Earth â—and that it is the Rule of the Saints and Angels in Heaven may be thus prov'd 1st That it is the Rule of the Saints or of the Spirits of Just Men made perfect That Law which recovens in the Saints that Image of God which was defac'd by the Fall is the Rule of their Actions but the acting up to the Moral Law is a Recovery of this Image and so must be that Rule For Heaven is properly nothing else but a Recovery of that State with something more of Perfection from which Man by Transgression fell If therefore acting in conformity with the Moral Law in all its Points is a Recovery of that State and that Image it is probable to suppose that in Heaven this Law shall be the Rule of the Actions of the Blessed Saints but an acting up to the Moral Law in all its Points is a Retrieval of the Divine Image for the being made in the Image of God is nothing else but being made in conformity with the Moral Law and in a State of Legal Innocence For the Apostle speaking of the Image of God in Man says That it was nothing else but Man's being made in Righteousness and true Holiness which are the two great Points of the Moral Law the former denoting the Duties of the second Table and the latter of the first As long therefore as Man liv'd up to the Moral Law maintain'd Rightcousness and true Holiness so long was â—e to bear the Divine Image but Man being in Honour had no Vnderstanding but became like the Beasts that perish For when he once broke the Law of his Maker whatsoever the Nature of his Sin was he lost this Image and Likeness to God and resembled rather that Cursed Spirit who had Betray'd him than that Blessed God who had Created him And under this resemblance with the Apostate Angels had he continued had not God by an Effort of Goodness which excell'd even that by which he made him offer'd to retrieve him to his former Image and Likeness And this was by assisting him with his Grace to live up to the Moral Law which he had before broken to keep the Divine Commands which would so purify his Nature as to renew the Divine Image in some proportion till he should be receiv'd into Heaven which his Saviour had purchas'd for him where the Image of God should be renew'd with a Lustre surpassing that in which Man was at first created But the reason why the Image of God should shine with a peculiar Splendour in Heaven seems to be because Man is there put out of a possibility of sinning any more and of defacing this Divine Image And this Heavenly State being only a renewing of that Image of God which Man had shortly after his Creation lost if that Image did as was before shewn at first consist in Man's living up to the Rules of the Moral Law of Righteousness and true Holiness if this Image was forfeited by Transgressing these Laws if it is in some degree renew'd in this Life by acting up to them it seems to follow that it shall be totally renew'd and eternally preserv'd in Heaven by an everlasting Obedience of the Saints to these Laws of Morality of Righteousness and true Holiness This Law therefore is the Rule for the Saints to act by in Heaven And Secondly It is the Rule for the Angels to act by also which may be shewn from an Argument drawn from the Fall and Revolt of the Evil Angels and accuss'd Spirits The Argument is this If those Spirits which fell from before the Throne of God fell by their Disobeying that Law of God which is styl'd the Moral Law it follows that they were oblig'd to the Observance of this Moral Law For every criminal Disobedience supposes an antecedent Obligation But if these accurs'd Spirits were ty'd to the keeping of this Law we must conclude that all the rest of the Angelick Hierarchy wâ—â— under the same Allegiance For 〈…〉 ly there was not one Rule of Obedience given to one part of the Celestial Host and another to the Remainders So that the Point to be prov'd is That the Angels fell by Transgressing the Moral Law The Transgressing of the Moral Law was the Crime which banish'd them Heaven Whether their unpardonable Fault was Ingratitude towards God as some suppose or Infidelity as others or Pride and a Reflection on their own Perfections without considering God as the Author as most or Envy as * Chrysost in Gen. Hom. 19. St. Chrysostom and †Civit. Dei lib. 14. c. 11. St. Austin or whether it was as is most likely a Combination of all these some â—oul and dismal Sin form'd out of the Malignity and Venom of each one of them mixt together yet was it a Violation of the Moral Law It was an Injury offer'd to that Light which God had put within them as well as within Mankind They therefore who sinn'd against the Moral Law who
comfort it for the loss of that famous Man Your Learned Predecessor which that You may long adorn with those Virtues and Excellencies which shine in Your Lordship shall always be zealously wish'd for by My LORD Your Lordships Most Humble Most Obliged and Most Obedient Servant JA. BUERDSELL THE CONTENTS DISCOURSE I. Concerning our Saviour's Divinity On 1 Joh. ver 1. The Word was God pag. 1 DISC. II. Concerning our Saviour's Satisfaction On 1 Epist Joh. Chap. 2. V. 2. And he is the Propitiation for our sins p. 25 DISC. III. Concerning Miracles On Heb. 2. 4. God also bearing them witness both with Signs and Wonders and with divers Miracles p. 57 DISC. IV. Shewing that the Moral Law of Moses is the same with that of Christ against the Racovian Catechism and others On Luk. 10. 25. A certain Lawyer stood up and tempted him saying Master What shall I do to inherit eternal life He said unto him What is written in the Law How readest thou p. 83 DISC. V. Proving that the Celestial Law is the same with the Moral or that the Moral Law is a Rule for the Angels and Saints to act by in Heaven being a Sequel of the former Discourse On Mat. 6. 10. In Earth as it is in Heaven p. 110 DISC. VI. Concerning the Qualisications of Prayer or A Method to Pray in the Spirit against the Enthusiasts On Ephes 6. 18. Praying always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit p. 137 ESSAY I. Vpon Melchizedec or A Parallel between the Priesthood of Christ and Melchizedec p. 169 ESSAY II. Vpon the General Resurrection p. 185 ESSAY III. Against Scepticism in Matters of Religion p. 205 ERRATA PAg. 11. in the Margin join Tom. 1. p. 656 with Praesat ad Respons F. David p. 17. in the Margin join Edit Sylburg with Apolog. 2. p. 76. p. 51. l. 3. for eexcute read execute p. 86. l. 14 15. instead of the purport of the Lawyer 's Question a preparation to which Answer is made c. read the purpoâ—â— of the Lawyer 's Question and our Saviour's Answer a preparation to which Answer is made c. p. 92. in the margin for Mor. Nov. read Mor. Nev. p. 156 l. 21. for on read in p. 167. l. 22. dele Yet A DISCOURSE Concerning Our Saviour's DIVINITY 1 JOH ver 1. The Word was God WHERE Christ is not styl'd the Word purely in a Figuratiue Sence as the Door the Way Valentia Smalcius Paraphr in 1. cap. Job p. 107. because he discover'd to us the Will of God as Men by Words reveal their Sentiments one to another For at this rate the Prophets or Apostles or any Person who was ever furnish'd with God's Authority to make known his Will might be term'd the Word of God But since this glorious Character is not given to any but to our Saviour it seems to follow That it must be given to him in such an extraordinary manner as could not sute with any one besides must imply Christ Incarnate God made Man sutable to Plato in Philebo p. 30. c. the manner of speaking us'd by Plato and others who make the Divine Word to be the Former and Contriver of the World Tho's as to their making it a Person distinct by peculiar acts from the Nature and Mind of God seems only a new Fancy started by Modern Divines particularly by two excellent Persons of A. Bp. Tillotson p. 590. our own Nation the one the strongest as well as justest Reasoner the other the Dr. Scott Vol. 2. p. 51. Christ Life and in his Notes at the end most delicate Thinker which perhaps it ever produc'd For Plato makes the Wisdom Power and other Attributes of God to be as much personally distinguish'd as the Nature or Fountain of the Deity the divine Word and the divine Mind and from his Writings we may as well conclude That all the divine Attributes of which he had any Idea were personally distinguish'd as the three before mention'd This Divine Word or Christ Incarnate is by St. John call'd God not as Smalcius imagins because Eomil 1. in Joh. 1. 1. p. 12 13. all things which appear'd in his Prophetick Function were full of Divinity and far surpassing what was discoverable in the former Prophets For every Prophet who at any time produc'd the divine Credentials came into the World after an extraordinary singular and miraculous manner a divine Lustre spread it self through all their Actions and whether we regard the Will of God which they reveal'd or the Power of the Almighty by which they supported their Doctrin there was something Heavenly in both And according to this Standard of Divinity they too might put in their pretensions to it in some measure as well as our Saviour Nor is the Divine Word styl'd God because he was born after a Divine Val. Smalcius ibid. manner above the Laws of Nature of a spotless Virgin For then S. John Baptist who was born after as wonderful a manner in some sence as our Saviour might be said to be God For the Nativities of both being miraculous and Miracles as springing from an equal Power being equal it cannot be lookt on as a greater Miracle that Mary should Conceive than Elizabeth Nor is he God because he was Smalc Ibid. taught by God after a divine way For since God cannot be taught since infinite Knowledge can admit of no enlargement there can never from any communication of this kind between God and something else result a likeness to much less an equality with God Nor lastly is he God because He was endued with Divine Smalc Ibid. Innocence For from whence does this Innocence arise but from an uniform Obedience to the Will of God But now if to obey God makes the Person obeying capable of being call'd God the holy Angels who always preserv'd the most exact conformity to the divine Will may as justly challenge the divine Attributes as our Saviour So that by God is meant God by Nature and Substance God who had a Subsistence and that Subsistence from his Father of whom he was together from all Eternity and was Himself Eternal God So that the sence of the words will be that the Word the divine Word which assum'd Flesh is God not by Office or any other foreign denomination but by Nature Essence and Substance In order to prove which I shall First Shew that the Nature and Essence of Christ is truly Divine Secondly I shall reflect on the ill Consequences of any Assertion different from this The Nature and Essence of Christ is truly Divine 1 st Because he is justly honour'd with Divine Worship and 2 ly Because of his Co-partnership with God the Father in those actions which could only be perform'd by his substantial union with the Divine Nature First The Nature of Christ is truly Divine because he is justly honour'd with Divine Worship For if nothing can be honour'd with Divine Worship but God himself
of Abraham or of Lot as well as of Christ because he spake of them too Nay there is no Being so evil which is ever mention'd in Holy Writ but the ever-blessed Spirit might be said to be their Spirit according to this wild and uncouth Hypothesis St. Barnabas styles the Spirit of the Prophets the Spirit of God who should appear in the Flesh Justin Martyr says that the Prophets were not Self-inspir'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apolog. 2. p. 76. Irenaeus against Marcion as expresly that it was Jesus Edit Sylburg lib. 4. c. 21. Advers Haeres p. 337. Edit F. Ardent Christ who spake to Abraham and Moses If it was God therefore who spake by the Prophets and Christ was Co-partner with God the Father in this speaking Christ must be God of the same Nature with the Father Thirdly Christ is God because of his Exercising all power in Heaven and in Earth For the Government of the World is a Branch of the Divine Prerogative He rules over all Kingdoms of the Earth He whose Name is Jehovah is the highest over all the Earth But Volkelius himself as refin'd an Author De Ver. Rel. Book 3. c. 21. as any that Party can boast freely owns that Christ exercises Jurisdiction over all things to use his own words which are contain'd not only in the vast compass of the Earth but also of the Heavens Christ therefore must be God Fourthly Christ is God because He is to raise the Dead from their Graves to Life and a new State For none but He who breath'd a living Soul into us can restore it None but One whose Understanding is infinite who knows every Atome of our Bodies every Dust and Particle which belongs to us He who is conscious what Dust appertains to each Body what Body to each Soul None but One whose Power is as unbounded as his Knowledge in regard of whom all Creatures must suffer and do what he will have them Who can summon and re-assemble our scatter'd Atomes from the Earth and from the Waves and reconcile our long estrang'd Parts to their ancient familiarity Whose Voice can awake the sleepers of Thousands of Years some to Peace and Joy but some to Misery and everlasting Contempt But Christ is the Person who must raise the Dead For the Dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live All that are in the Graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done Good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done Evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation Fifthly Christ is God because He shall Judge the World For it is necessary for him who shall Judge the World that he should be intimately acquainted with the Consciences of all Mankind that all their Thoughts should be laid naked and open to his view and that all the devices of their Hearts should be manifest to him But none besides God can have such a Knowledge as this for Lo he that declareth unto man what is his thought that maketh the morning darkness the Lord the God of Hosts is his Name But Christ is ordain'd by God to be Judge of the Quick and Dead and to this end Christ both died rose and revived that he might be Judge both of the Dead and the Living and so for that reason must be God Lastly He who shall destroy and change the World who in the Prophet's Language shall roll the Heavens together as a Scrowl the Heavens which like a wide stretched Scrowl are written over with beauteous Characters by God's own hand he is God For this is one of the peculiar Actions of God that he shall destroy the Heavens For as a Vesture shall he change them and they shall be changed But Volkelius owns that our Saviour has such a power and that he shall roll them up together like a Scrowl and burn them And therefore on that account must be God which may be farther made out Secondly From the ill Consequences of the contrary Assertion For how open does the Socinian Christ lie to the Exceptions of the Jews or the more rational sort of Deists who own a God a Providence and a future State and to any who maintain the Unity of the Godhead yet deny the Divinity of Christ And is it not very sutable for the Jews to reason against Christianity from the Socinian Principles after this method We are convinc'd from Scripture that there is but one God we know that there is no other besides him or with him for Who is God save the Lord and who is a Rock save our God But now you introduce one Jesus as God who was neither God from Eternity nor by Nature and Essence This new this created God we look upon as a Fiction we can pay him no Homage no Adoration till we have renounc'd Moses and the Prophets and offer'd violence to the Principles of Reason and Natural Religion Farther our God has taught us by his Prophet Isaiah that He even he is the Lord and besides him there is no Saviour and this is spoken Prophetically with regard to the times of the Messias How then can we own this Jesus for our Saviour who is by Nature different from God We are commanded to worship the Lord our God and to serve him only How then may we worship and serve Jesus who is a God different from the God of Israel How can we give him equal Honour with the Lord Jehovah without provoking his Wrath and forcing him to repeat all those Inflictions on us which our Fathers justly suffer'd God has expresly declar'd that He withnot give his glory to another but by worshiping your Jesus is not God's Glory given 〈…〉 Object distinct from God The Scriptures solemnly inform us that God alone â—â—â—â—'s the Heart and the Reins and is conscious to all the Thoughts of Men If we as you do should apply these Actions to the Man Jesus we should be guilty of advancing a false God into the Throne of the Almighty and making a Creature rival the Deity Farther Has not God taught us to address to him alone in the time of our Distress and promis'd his succours to encourage our Prayers Can we then pray to your Jesus whom you your selves deny to be the true God of Israel The Scripture threatens that Gods which have not made the Heavens and the Earth even they shall perish from the Earth and from under the Heavens Can we then honour him for God who was so far from making the Heavens and the Earth that he himself had no Being when they were form'd Or can God at the last Day be angry at us for not receiving and worshiping him as God who according to Scripture was to perish from the Earth and under the Heavens Lastly The Idea which we have and always had of God represents him to our Minds as present every where Omniscient and Almighty If therefore he who is offer'd to us
World And this may obviate several of those â—â—oâ—e Notions which have been of late started by Ingenious Persons That 〈…〉 and Vâ—â—â— Good and Evil are laid in the Opinions and Idea's of Men or settled by some positive Injunction of the Magistrate and therefore variable with the Clime Nation Season or â—â—ace rather 〈…〉 arising from the Nature and Relation of Things And this Perfection of the Moral Law receives farther Advantage from the following * See the next Discourse on St. Matthew VI. ver 10. Discourse where is prov'd That the Moral Law obliges in Heaven an Hypothesis which has been little touch'd on and which deserves to be recommended to better Hands to be manag'd up to its due Worth But to return As our Saviour did noâ— thus impose more than what was commanded by the Moral Law so it was very far distant from the Design of the Gospel to exact less than what was written in the Law He did not make void any of the Commands of the Law nor warrant any Action that was not authoriz'd by it in its most strict Circumstances whatsoever the Antinomians and Libertines say For Fourthly There is no Privilege in the Gospel which makes void any of the Commands of God before given Because all Duties notwithstanding the wild Fancies of the Antinomians are equally enjoin'd under the Gospel as they were under the Law and every Conscience oblig'd to a Performance of them By all Duties I mean as in the former part of the Discourse things which the Holy Men of God perform'd in order to the attaining of Eternal Life Was Faith requir'd under the Law and was Abraham Justified by that So must we under the Gospel for without Faith it is impossible to please God Were good Works requir'd under the Law So are they under the Gospel too for our Light must so shine before Men that they 〈…〉 see our good Works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven Were a clean Heart and pure Hands necessary under the Law and are they not also under the Gospel For is there not a Blessing pronounc'd to the pure in Heart and are not they the Persons that shall see God Are not the Impure and Unclean those Acâ—urs'd Ones who without true Repentanceâ— must never see Him never inherit any Blessing with Him And in order to qualify us for this Beatiâ—iâ—â— Vision the Apostle is very urgâ—â—â— â—leaâ—se your Hands ye Sinners and purify your Hearts â—â— Double-minded And so concerning all other Duties and substantial Requisites of the Law which excepting the Ceremonies of iâ— are all still in force under the Gospel And tho' we have no Burnt-Offerings upon our Altars as the Jews had under the Law â— yet have we not Souls and Bodies which must be offer'd up to God as a lively Sacrifice holy and acceptable which is our reasonable Service Instead of Hecaâ—omâ—s are we noâ— to render up the Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving the Calves of our Lips not of our Folds and in lieu of a Propitiatory Oblation are we not commanded to do good and distribute for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased And assuredly we have the greatest Encouragement to this Observance of the Divine Commands because Fifthly This Observance shall be rewarded with Eternal Life as it is styl'd by our Saviour This Reward surely surpasses all the Hardships of our Duty in keeping the Commands of God as will fully appear if we briefly reflect on what is meant by Eternal Life This Life shall cause the noblest Change in both the Parts of the Saints Their Bodies shall be transform'd into spiritual and incorruptible Bodies fashioned like to the glorious Body of the Son of God Their Souls shall be highly exalted to the utmost Perfection in all their Parts and Faculties Their Understandings shall be rais'd to the utmost Capacity and that Capacity compleatly fill'd Now we see thro' a Glass darkly but then Fate to Face now we know in part then shall we know even as we are known for when God shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see him as He is in all his Robes of Glory In this Life the Wills of the Blessed shall be perfected with absolute and indefective Holiness an exact conformity with the Will of God and a perfect liâ—eâ—ty from the Sâ—avery of Sin In this Life their Affections shall be set to an unalterable Regularity and that Regularity shall receive absolute Satisfaction And as their inward Happiness shall be thus great so shall their outward Condition be answerable freed from all Pain Misery Labour and Want blest with an Impossibility of sinning and offending God any more full of Joy and Complaâ—â—ncy in the Vision of God This is that Life Thus shall it be done to the Men whom God delights to honour to those who have honour'd him on Earth by keeping his Holy Laws which are of Eternal Obligation But that which makes up the Perfection of their Happiness is That this their Life shall be Eternal and there shall be no fear nor suspicioâ— that it shall ever end For whosoever liveth and believeth in Christ shall never dye whosoever keeps his sayings shall never see Death A DISCOURSE PROVING That the Celestial Law is the same with the Moral or That the Moral Law is a Rule for the Angels and Saints to act by in Heaven being a Sequel of the former Discourse St. MAT. VI. ver 10. In Earth as it is in Heaven WHich Words as they are a Part of our Saviour's divine and matchless Prayer are a Parallel between the Performance of God's Will in Heaven and the Manner by which it ought to be comply'd with on Earth The Will the doing of which is petition'd for in the Will of God's Commands and not as some imagine of his Decrees or Providential Dispensations only as far as that may be discover'd to be a part of the Will of his Commands For the State of the Blessed who are here recommended as a Pattern to us is too happy to leave place for afflictive Providences which are the only Tryâ—â—â— of any one's Compliance with the Will of God's Decrees The Performers of God's Will in Heaven who are set forth as a Model to us on Earth are not the Persons of the Ever-blessed Trinity for God is not the Doer of that Will the Doing whereof we are to pray that ours may resemble because however a Superior may lay his Injunctions upon another yet he cannot because he is no other than the Person enjoining lay any Injunction upon himself As God cannot be looked upon as the Doeâ— of that Will the Doing whereof we are â—aught to pray that ours may be conform d with so neither can we look upon the Heavenly Bodies the 〈…〉 the 〈…〉 and the Sâ—â—rs as such which * As Lightfoot in his Hor. Hebr. seems to affirm 〈…〉 tho' unwarily enough have fancy'd to be here intended Because tho' these Heavenly Bodies are subject to Hiâ— Controul as all
other Creatures of God are yet are they noâ— in any capacity of paying Obedience to his Commands inasmuch as they neither have any Knowledge of God's Commands nor any freedom of Will to comply with them tho' they had From hence it follows that we must look out for other Agents as the Doers of the Divine Will here spoken of so that it is indispensably necessary to resolve the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nyssen in Orat. Dom Serm. 50. Holy Angels and the Spirits of Just Men made perfect to be they Those who ought to be Actors of God's Will in Earth and ought to follow the Doing of it in Heaven are Men who are the only Beings on Earth capable of a reasonable Compliance with it those who are strangers to that Will and Kingdom as well as those who are acquainted with it and are Parts of it So that the force of the Words is this That the Holy Angels and Blessed Saints are a just Pattern and an adequate Model for Man to form his Obedience upon insomuch that the Perfection or Impâ—â—fection of Man's Obedience may be duly measur'd by its approach to oâ— distance from that of the Saints and Angels To clear which Aâ—â—â—â—tion I shall First Shâ—w â—haâ— the Obedience of the Blessed is a just Rule for our Obedience as to the Matter about which it is employ'd because that their Duâ—iâ—s one towards another and their Religious Worship towards God as to the main and substance of them are the same with what we are obâ—â—g d to Secondly That their Obedience aâ— to the Manner Method and Circâ—mstances of performing them are the same with what we ought to do So that the Divine Will pâ—â—â—â—â—h'd in Heaven is a just Standard for the performing it in Earth And First That the Obedience of the Blessed is a just Rule for ouâ— Obedience as to the Matter about which iâ— is employ'd because that thâ—â—â— Duties â—nâ— towards another and their Religious Worship towards God as to the main and substance of them are the same with what we are oblig'd to And First I shall shew that the Blessed in Heaven practice the same Graces the same Religious Acts of Worship towards God and of Charitâ—â— one towards another which we are oblig'd to on Earth Secondly That they practice them by a Rule Thirdly That this Rule is the same with that by which we ought to regulate our Actions First That the Blessed in Heaven perform the same Religious Acts of Worship towards God and of Charity one towards another which we are oblig'd to on Earth Tho' some have faâ—cied that the Ever-blessed Saints and Angels employ their happy Eternity only in Admiring the Divine Perfections and in those Transports which rise from the Contemplation of so glorious a Being as the Deity Yet upon aâ—just Enquiry it will appear that their endless Life is spent in Action as well as Contemplation and that Heaven is a State of fulfilling God's Will in a vigorous Practice of those Graces which he has enjoin'd as well as in Adoring his Divine Nature For the Virtues and Graces which God has commanded here are not only Means to arrive at Happiness hereafter but to retain it also In this present Life they are suited to God's Obedience but in the next to his Enjoyment so that no Virtue is necessary to compleat a Christian which is not equally requir'd to perfect a Saint And tho' the present Necessiries and Imperfections of this Life demand the Exercise of some Actions which are useless in the next yet even those Actions shall not be so much abolish'd as chang'd into Graces of a nobler Extraction †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oecumen in 1 Cor. c. 13. v. 9. They shall be refin'd and exalted and apply'd to Objects of a purer Nature and shall sharâ— in the happy Change of that Creature to whom they belong Man advanc'd into Heaven shall retain his Virtues as well as his Nature but they too shall be made more pure more spiritual as well as that It must be confest that some of the * v. Gr. dâ— Valent â—om 2. disp 5. q. 7. puncto 4. Schoolmen are of a different Opinion particularly as to Faith and Hope These Virtues they banish from Heaven and exclude from the Practice of the Blessed Their Reasons are First Because these are imperfect Virtues and therefore are not suitable to a perfect State and when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away Secondly Because St. Paul when he draws his Parallel between Faith Hope and Charity says that the Last shall abide in a future State which he does not affirm of the Two former Thirdly Because these two Virtues are employ'd about Objects not yet seen or obtain'd when therefore their Object shall be seen Face to Face and when with these Eyes with which we now see thro' a glass darkly we shall view God even as he is in all his Robes of Glory then surely Hope and Faith must cease for that which a Man has why does he yet hope for And Faith since it is an Evidence of Things not seen must certainly be done away when the Vision of God is immediately communicaâ—â—ditous But none of these Reasons are truly Conclusive Not the First for if the Imperfection of a Virtue was a sufficient Ground to exclude it out of Heaven thâ—n even Charity it self would be exil'd thence for our present Charity is an Imperfect one The most spotless and pure of Human kind could never practice it up to that Height to which it obliges Nor is there more strength in the second Reason for tho the Apostle asserts that Charity shall abide in Heaven yet he does not deny but Faith and Hope may remain too â— nor from his Silence about them ought we to conclude the contrary As to the Third Reason Our Hope shall not be abolish'd in Heaven tho' we enjoy that there which we hope for here nor our Faith tho' our Eyes then behold that Glory which is at present only the Object of our Belief for our Faith shall be exalted into clear and distinct Vision and our Hope into full and firm Comprehension Nor shall they lose their own Natures by this exaltation any more than the first strictures of the Morning are lost in full Day or the light of a Man 's own Reason in that of Revelation For Faith and Knowledge are the same kinds of Acts in our Understandings Hope and Love are the same Motions of our Wills for what we hope for absent we love present If therefore we shall know God and love him in a future State our Hope and Faith by our Translation into Heaven shall not perish but be compleated For tho' the Gifts of Tongues and Prophecy those pompous Instruments of Religion shall be useless in a future State where theâ—e shall be but one Tongue tun'd to the Eternal Praises of God and Vision shall disappoint Revelation yet
every Virtue essential to Religion shall continue and as it was our Employment in this World so it shall contribute to make up our Happiness in the next Our Faith * Sanctus Paâ—lus dixit câ—teris evacuatis manere Fidem Spem Dilectionem Irenaeus lib. 4. c. 25. shall be Eternally exercis'd in adhering to God in believing in Him in entertaining the noblest Apprehensions of His Goodness Justice Wisdom and Mercy Our Hope shall be employ'd in Desiring Loving and Enjoying Him But to take a clear View of so nice a Subject I shall First enquire whether any Acts of Virtue which ought to be practic'd on Earth are useless and unpractic'd by the Blessed in Heaven Secondly I shall shew what Virtues which ought to be practic'd here on Earth are practic'd in Heaven in their greatest latitude in all their Acts and most material Circumstances Thirdly I shall give some Reasons why they a 〈…〉 First 〈…〉 shaâ—ll enquire wh 〈…〉 Acts of 〈…〉 which 〈…〉 be practic'd on Eaâ—â—h are 〈…〉 practic'd by the Blâ—ssed 〈…〉 It must be 〈◊〉 that the Actâ— of some instrumental and aâ—â—â—ticâ— Vi 〈…〉 are unnecessary in H 〈…〉 wh 〈…〉 Reason of theiâ— Obligation shall 〈◊〉 and the they may 〈…〉 abide in Charity 〈◊〉 in the 〈◊〉 co 〈…〉 Seminary 〈…〉 they 〈…〉 are here 〈…〉 in 〈…〉 to 〈…〉 in which 〈…〉 upon Earth yet the Paral 〈…〉 suppos'd 〈…〉 eve 〈…〉 and P 〈…〉 of 〈…〉 Virtuâ—â— are only 〈◊〉 to this 〈…〉 and therefore cease with our Relation to it 〈…〉 Patience must lose its Name in Heaven where there shall be no Misery to be 〈…〉 no Wrong to be endur'd Sorrow for Sin shall be no more w 〈…〉 all Pears shall be wip d away or else chang'd into those which rise from an Excess of Joy That Sagacity which is only a Defence against the Wisdom of the Serpent shall be utterly disus'd where nothing shall appear but the Harâ—â—lessness of the Doâ—e where all our Desires are squar'd by the Rule of Reason and the most refin'd Purity Temperance under its present limitation will have no Place nor Chastity enter there Where there is no Hungry to give Meat to â—â— Straâ—ger to be taken in no â—aked to be cloathed no Siâ—k to be â—ifited none in Priso 〈…〉 be relieved Merâ—y and A 〈…〉 will want a Subject and the they bring us into Heaven they themselves shall not pro 〈…〉 y only 〈…〉 they are 〈…〉 into oâ—â— habitual Piety and good 〈…〉 inations 〈…〉 Secondly There are Virtues which ought to be practic'd 〈…〉 which are practic'd in Heaven in all their most 〈…〉 Circumstances and so become an exact Rule for our Complying with the Will of God And these are those whose Act are agreâ—able to the State of the Blessed and which bear a just proportion with their glorious Condition such as are not prest with any Grievance nor have any ill or irregular Affection to restrain Temperance it self is even in some regarde practic'd by the Blessed foâ—â—ho in â—hose spotless Regions it is not employ'd in conquering any impure Passion yet it is advanc'd into a Virtue whose Nature consists in adhering to God â—s the purest and most inco 〈…〉 upâ— of Beings the most unstain'd and immaculate of Natures by such a firm Union as not to be parted from Him by the Prospect of the greatest sensual Pleasures if they could possibly be offer'd to a sâ—iritual Being Their Prudence is exercis'd in making God their only Choice and in 〈…〉 triving the fittest Means to please and serve Him in aâ— happy Eternity Their Fortitude in such a dependance on Him as not to be shak 〈…〉 by the greatest 〈…〉 Their Justice in a due Submission to Him as the only Lord to whom they owe their Homage And thus all other Virtues whether they relate to God to themselves or to acts of Charity one towards another are practic'd in compliance with the Exigencies of that Blisâ—â—ul State which I shall Thirdly Prove by some Reasons or Arguments drawn chiefly from the Holy Scripture And first The Blessed possess Habits of Virtue and secondly They discover them by outward Acts. The Fathers apply to the Saints all those Places of Scripture where the Queen is said to stand on God's right hand in Gold of Ophir where she is said to be all Glorious within and her Cloathing of right Gold These they understand of the Saints and the Ornaments with which they are Cloath'd they apply to that habitual Virtue with which they are adorn'd â—â— Chrysostom understands them not * In his Homily on the Text My Grace is sufficient for thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Aretaâ— Casarâ—ensis says that the Saints were not drest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But granting that this Sence of Habitual Virtue may be only a flourish of these Fathers or as some imagine that these Places only imply the glorious State of the Church Triumphant in general yet it may be clearly made out secondly That Acts of Virtue are perform'd by the Blessed and since these flow from Habits and are not really distinct from them we may suppose that they are endued with Habits of Virtue too since it is the most perfect Act of Virtue which flows from the most perfect Habit. The Saints practice the Acts of the first Table for they are before the Throne of God and serve him day and night And secondly Acts of Charity which belong to the second Table in rejoycing in one another's Happiness in their provoking one another to praise and glorify God The Angels that higher Order of bless Spirits perform God's will in the same Manner For first they act in conformity to the first Table in Adoring and singing * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Atnanas q. 30. ad Antiochum Praises to God for all the Angels stand round about the Throne and fall before the Throne on their Faces and worship God to the second by their Acts of Charity towards Men by their Guardianship over them by ministring to their Salvation by transporting them from this Seene of Woe and Vanity to Mansions of Bliss and Joy Thus the Blessed practice the great Duties of Virtue and Religion act above as we ought to do below in conformity to the Divine Will But Secondly As they practice these Virtues so they practice them by a Rule Which is very evident for every Agent which is whether it is the supreme Agent or an intermediate one whether it moves by pure Instinct or Nature or whether it acts by Choice or Election yet has some Rule of its Actions whether this Rule is planted in its Nature within or deliver'd to it from without God Himself the supreme Agent who acts sometimes without Instruments without the Interposal of Time without Matter or Principle yet never acts without Rule Tho' his Actions are free and uncontroul'd yet are they confin'd to a Standard by His Wisdom and Justice from which even His Power cannot make them