first infancie to the childhood and so on forward to mans estate instructing it in his will and as it were instilling his precepts into it by little and little and line after line as the â—apacitie of it would admit not regarding the time of their ignorance first by temporall blessings then by eternal promises first by sencible appatitions then by inward assurance more certaine then sence first by ceremonies then by the substance of his worship first by tipes then by the trueth first by the shadow then by the bodie it selfe first by prophecies then by accomplishments and lastly first by the image and counterfeit and then by the very personall presence of Christ himselfe bringing vnto vs in his Gospel that consummatum est that yea and amen euen all in all and all at once For who knoweth not that in the doctrine of the Gospell we haue vnfolded vnto vs such endlesse treasures of diuine wisedome that euen by the iudgement of those who are not affected with any loue towards it and therefore cannot be suspected of partiallitie all the religions of the heathen are in comparison of it most childish ridiculous and trifling toies The fourth meanes by the which God is reuealed and made knowne to man is proper to the faithfull to wit the inward and secret operation of his spirit renewing their minds and hearts to know and loue the trueth This light farre passeth all the other for that it not onely shineth in the eyes as the other do but also openeth them that they may see and beholde the trueth which thing the other are not able to effect For although wee cannot imagine any more plaine and euident proofes of the deitie then the three aforesaid meanes namely the creation and preseruation of the world the generall assent and voice of all the Nations vnder heauen in al ages especially of the lewes who doo generally abhorre this opinion of Atheisme and lastly the doctrine of the Gospell wherein the whole will and counsell of God is fully and finally reuealed by some or all whereof many are broght to acknowledge God and to haue although not a full sight yet a glimmering of him yet notwithstanding all these meanes wee see that many remaine in the palpable blindnesse of Atheisme neither knowing in minde nor acknowledging by word any other God then the ordinarie and set course of nature because as yet their eyes are fast shut and sealed vp so that they cannot see the light although it be most cleare But the spirit of God is that oyntment Ioh. 2. 20. which openeth our eyes and maketh vs cleare sighted so that now it fareth with vs as with that man Ioh. 9. 1. that hauing beene borne blinde had no doubt often heard men speak of the Sunne and the light thereof and did beleeue it to bee so yet not without some doubting not at all knowing what to make of it or wherunto to resemble it But assoone as his eyes being opened he did plainly beholde the Sunne with the light and beames thereof he did no more doubt of the Sunne then he did of himselfe and of his owne beeing so men before they bee enlightned by Gods spirit they see little or nothing of the glory of God which after regeneration is as cleare vnto them as the Sunne at mid-day euen as we read 2. Kin. 6. 17. that Eliseus his seruant could not see the huge armie of horsmen and chariots which was hard at hand till such time as God at the prayer of the Prophet opened his eyes The fift and last means by the which God is made knowne are his extraordinary and miraculous works by the which he hath reuealed himself not onely to some fewe of his seruaÌ„ts who haue bin the instruments by whom they haue bin wrought but also in the eyes of the world beholding them And without question when these are added to the former they bring with them to the true beleeuers euen a huge heape of faith and assurance howsoeuer to carnall vnbeleeuers they are often vaine and of no effect For if vnto that knowledge of God which we haue by the creatures and the light of nature by his word and spirit God should adde such immediate reuelations familiar conferences visible apparitions sencible visions such signes wonders as he wroght in olde times in and by his seruants we could not but by these meanes bee much more vndoubtedly perswaded of the power presence and prouidence of God then now we are howsoeuer the wicked did still continue in their vnbeleefe yea though one should rise from rhe dead and preach vnto them To speake any more of this matter to you were no otherwise then if I should light a candle to shew you who are sound and cleare sighted the sunne shining heere before vs. You see that the creatures and light of nature to the heathen the scripture and word of God to the Church the sanctifying and illuminating spirit of God to the faithfull the gifts of prophecie reuelation and other miraculous actions the which are not now needfull in the Church as they were before the comming of Christ and in the first publishing of the Gospell to all that either haue theÌ„ themselues or behold them in others are infallible demonstrations of the Godhead such against the which no exceptioÌ„ can be made yet not withanding al this it is a wonder but that it is so coÌ„mon to coÌ„sider how Atheisme doth daily preuaile among men yea far more then it did amongst eyther the superstitious papists or the idolatrous heathen of whom there were very fewe which had not their religion and Gods in great reuerence and most high estimation whereas now a dayes fewe do make any account of religion or of the worship of God but as of a formall and ordinarie matter of course which for order and fashions sake is to be performed And accordingly it pleaseth God to deale with them in his iust iudgement for the hardening of their hearts that for so much as they haue so wilfully reiected so many meanes of knowledge he doth wholely abstain from any further reuealing of himselfe by any extraordinary meanes but suffereth euery one to go on and to prosper in their owne deuises and wicked wayes that so their impunitie may confirme them in their ignorance and contempt of God the which is more to be wondred at and to be lamented many of them that haue had some knowledge and sence of religion reuealed vnto them and haue made conscience of it in their liues yet seeing no great matters or effects to come of it but the ordinary course fashion of the world they faint in faith by little and little till at length they become if not open yet secret contemners of God all religion And so is fulfilled the prophecie of Christ Math. 24. 12. 24. That in the last ages of the world iniquitie shall so abound that it shall coole the luke-warme loue of many in so much that
and mother-citie of the land where the kings Court is kept and where there is greatest concourse of people abundance of wealth and store of all things seruing either for the necessitie and vse of warre or the plâ—â—sure of peace then he saith thus vnto himselfe Surely now I see and knowe the very state and power of this Prince as well as I doo that man whose face I doo fully and stedfastly behold and yet all this while he neither is nor can bee admitted to see the very person of the Prince Euen so it fareth with vs in respect of nod for here on earth as it were in Dan or Bersheba or some other border-town of the land of Promise the happie kingdome of Chanaan wee haue a glimmering of the king But when wee come to the heauenly Ierusalem the Cittie of the great king there we see a thousand times mote then we did before and yet all that we see is but the riches power and glorie of the king as for his person and verie essence that is kept secret and shut vp in his priuie chamber or closet into the which none may or can enter for none but god knoweth God 1. Tim. 6. 16. the king of kings who onely hath immortalitie and dwelleth in light that none can haue accesse vnto whom neuer man saw neither can see yet although the nature of god be vnsearchable as a bottomlesse gulfe into the middest whereof whosoeuer plungeth himselfe in hope of sounding the depth of it wil without question be soon swallowed vp by it and confounded in al his imaginations yea thogh hee were indued with the wit of all the men and Angels in the world yet I confesse that as you say we may safely wade and swimme in the shallowe brinke of this great Ocean hauing the one hand on the shore or banke as a sure anchor to hold vs fast that wee bee not carried too farre into it by the violent blastes of presumption and curiositie and the other in the water wherewith to mooue our minds vp and down in a sober and modest contemplation of it Sect. 2. LEt vs therefore let loose into this deepe and bottomlesse sea of the nature of God not in any fond hope of attaining the perfect knowledge of it yet trusting in God that we shall not loose our labour and fish all night without catching any thing as on the other side it were madnesse to thinke of catching al the fish in the sea but rather returne to land with our vessels not emptie although not so full lade that they be readie to sinke by reason of the heauinesse of their burthen The knowledge therefore of the the natures of things is attained two waies to wit by sense and by imagination sense apprehendeth the qualities of things sensible by the which the minde is led to thenature and substance of the thing But as for those things which are not sensible wee must suppose imagine theÌ„ to be thus thus and so coine in our minds a forme and phantastical idea of them resembling them to something which wee haue sometime apprehended by sence and especially to that which is likest and commeth nearest vnto them Soh That to the searching out and the knowing of the nature of any insencible thing these three things belong must concurre First the obseruation of the effects or actions proceeding from it the which being sensible will giue vs some light to know the nature of the thing it selfe from the which they did proceed as we see the nature of the father to appeare in the sonne of the roote in the fruite and of the fountaine in the streams issuing from it Secondly when as by this and whatsoeuer other meanes we haue wee haue gotten some knowledge of the nature of it and to what kinde of things it iâ— to bee referred we must then as it were comming nearer to the purpose and bringing foorth into act the conceit of the minde resemble it to that thing the which of all other things in the world commeth nearest and is likest vnto it Yet wee haue not attained to that which we desire for we haue not the thing it selfe but onely a patterne or example a likenesse or resemblance of it and therefore in the third and last place we must adde to this example or patterne that which is wanting squaring it in all respects to the idea and conceit which we first had of the nature of the thing For example a man hearing much speech of y e Angels wold gladly know what and of what nature and essence they are to the effecting whereof he is desirous to see heare or feele one of them hoping by thiâ— meanes to know what they are as he vseth to bee by his sences taught the nature of other things But in the triall he findeth there can no good bee done by this meanes the Angelâ— being spirituall and insensible creatures â—nd that therefore hee must go some other way to worke and search out their nature by the eyes not of his bodie but of his mind and gesse at their natures by that which he hath heard and read of their effects functions and actions As touching the which hee findeth in scripture that they are Gods seruants continually attending his pleasure and praising him and readily performing whatsoeuer hee commaundeth Wherevpon hee inferreth surely the Angels liue for they mooue and they are not brute beastes but reasonable creatures yea not simple ideots but of great vnderstanding and wisedome without the which they could neuer dispatch those affairs aright about the which God imployeth them and further that they are not weaklings but of great strength for otherwise one of them could not haue destroyed in one night an hundreth fourescore and fiue thousand of the Assyrians as we read 2. Ki. 19. 35. and lastly that they are not base or contemtible but most glorious creatures fit to stand and serue in the presence of God Thus he conceiuing and imagining them to bee most mightie wise and glorious creatures to what thing in the world can hee resemble them more fitly then to the most excellent men in the world endued with the greatest measure of power glory authoritie knowledge and wisdome Now we are come as neare them as wee can in any one thing for there is nothing more like to an Angell then is an excellent man whereof it commeth that the name of an Angel is often giuen to men yet we haue not attained our purpose for there is yet great difference and oddes betwixt them therefore to make them euen wee must take from this excellent man this grosse body of clay and earth and giue vnto him a pure and spirituall body voyd of all mixture of elements and moysture the which debaseth and keepeth him downe beneathe the Angels who being not clogged and pressed downe with such heauie lumppes of clay nor hauing their cleare vnderstandings dimmed with soggie mystes of moysture excell him farre in
nimblenesse quicknesse of wit and in all other respects But what need we suppose this Angelicall man whom we haue truly existing for we know that in heauen the bodies of the Saints shall bee pure and spirituall free from all heauie lumpishnesse yet the faithfull being glorified shall not become Angels but still be men for neither in subtilitie of body nor yet in excellencie of inward gifts shall they bee made equall to the Angels Thus we haue with much ado make the humane and the Angelical nature meet togither and vsed the one as a Glasse to represent and make knowne the other vnto vs. Now then to apply all this to our purpose for the finding out of Gods nature wee must doo these three things first we must get an idea or conceit of it into our mindes by searching what manner of thing God is and so to what kinde his nature doth belong and is to bee referred in the second place we must get a patterne example or resemblance of it in some thing really existing and lastly we must by adding and detracting make them euen or equall For the first seeing that the nature of God cannot bee knowne eyther by any essentiall causes or by sensible qualities we must imagin it by the effects actions and workes whether they be ordinarie or extraordinarie Rom. 1. 20. The inuisible things of God that is his eternall power and Godhead are seene by the creation of the world beeing considered in his works For so it hath pleased God to the end he might make himselfe knowne to man and man happie by knowing him after a sort to take vnto this his inuisible and insensible nature this visible and sensible shape and to couer himselfe with the creatures as with a garment that so he might discouer and reueale his hidden nature to man as we know that both he himselfe as also his Angels haue shewed themselues to men by putting on the nature and shape of man Not that we imagine as some haue done that God is the soule or life of the world and the world the body of God for God is not in the creatures eyther as their matter or as their forme but onely is to them the efficient but because the creatures make Gods inuisible nature to be knowne therfore we call them the shape or forme of God For by this meanes it is broght to passe that althogh God Iehoua as he existeth in himselfe and as he did exist before the creation be inuisible yet God the Creator of heauen and earth is as visible as are the Starres by night or the Sunne at mid-day in the heauen and as palpable as is the grosse earth whereon we tread as it is Act. 17. 27. God hath made the world that in it men might seeke him yea grope after him and feele him Thus both the creatures and also the extraordinary workes of God done both within and also without the Church and recorded both in holy Scripture as also in other true Records and. Histories teach vs what God is yea thus they preach to the whole world as touching God their maker Author that he is a liuing and working yea a mightie and wise nature excellent yea infinit in all goodnesse to wit in knowledge and wisdome in truth and iustice in loue and mercie in power and strength in glorie and maiestie Thus hauing conceiued in our mindes an idea or imagination of Gods nature we are in the next place to bring it forth into the world by getting an example or resemblance of it in some thing not vnlike vnto it But against this patterne or resemblance it will bee obiected the which you touched before that both it is impossible to finde any thing in the world that is like to God or fit to be a resemblance and also that if there could any such thing be found yet it were Idolatrie to resemble God to any creature Whereunto we answere first to the former part of the obiection that although the vnlikenesse to God be farre greater in the creatures then the likenesse yet that there is no creature which is not more or lesse in one respect or other like vnto him for whatsoeuer is good commendable or excellent in any creature as all the creatures are good yea euery one of them endued with a proper and peculiar goodnesse that commeth from God who is the fountaine of all goodnesse and maketh the creature to bee like to God So then if the meanest and basest creatures haue some likenesse to God without doubt the excellent creatures cannot but haue a great likenesse and resemblance vnto him the which wee knowe that GOD himselfe in the Scripture doth graunt vnto them calling man his owne similitude God made man in the likenesse of GOD. Genes 5. 1. Yea although there were no manner of likenesse or resemblance betwixt GOD and the creatures but rather all contrarietie and flat repugnancie yet they might profitably bee vsed for the illustration of his nature as wee knowe that all contraries doo argue and illustrate each other The which way of teaching although it bee not the readiest to attaine the truth for that doctrine and knowledge are positiue not priuatiue consisting not in the negation of that which is not or is not true but in the affirmation of that which doth truly and really exist yet it is alwaies an helpe and sometimes the onely meanes To the other parte of the obiection wee aunswere confessing that it were flat Idolatry and vtterly vnlawfull to make or suppose God to be simply like or equall to any creature for that were to pul him downe from his Throne of maiestie and to place him among the creatures yet affirming it to be very lawfull to resemble him to any creature the difference which is betwixt them being obserued and mentioned Thus Act. 17. 29. the Apostle Paul resembleth the diuine nature to the humane proouing against the Idolatrons Athenians that God is not like to those stocks and stones wherin the heathen did worship him because hee is like vnto man who is of a cōtrary nature to sencelesse things We men saith he being the kind of God it cannot be that God being like vnto vs that he shuld be like to siluer gold or to any sencelesse thing where tho he make these two natures of God man like to each other yet he maketh them not equall but putteth the difference in that hee maketh man to come and flowe from God as a little arme or creeke of the sea from the great Ocean Yea thus God hath throughout the whole Scripture reuealed himselfe vnto vs in the forme and shape of a man ascribing to himselfe the parts of his body as his eyes and eares his hands and feete yea all the faculties affections and passions of his minde and will and that both seuerally sometimes one and sometimes an other and also al togither assuming to himselfe the whole shape and forme of a man as namely Ezech. 1. 26. vpon
diuinitie to be accounted of the same signification and compasse then he is a soule or a bodie what then may you say is the signification of these words Surely they are not positiue but priuatiue they shew not what God is but what he is not namely that hee is not a formall visible and sensible bodie For so they containe in them a refutation of that grosse opinion of the carnall and hypocriticall Iewes who thought that an outward and bodily worship voyde of the spirituall sinceritie of the heart would well ynough fit and please God as if a man hauing to deale with those heathenish idolators that thinke brute beastes or sencelesse stockes to bee Gods should say vnto them you are fouly deceiued in this point for God is not a dead stocke or a brute beast but rather to be resembled to a liuing man So then the meaning of Christes words is this God although in trueth hee bee not a spirit or an angell yet because that nature commeth nearer him and doth more resemble him then any other therefore hee may fitly for your capacitie be so called Sect. 4. YOu remember I doubt not that it was said that there are three things required to the searching out of Gods nature first a conceite of it in the minde gathered by the effects of it secondly a reall example or patterne wherein that conceit doth exist and may bee seene and thirdly the difference betwixt the conceite the example the one being in abstracto the other in concreto the one existing onely in the imagination of the minde the other in some creature and reall subiect The two first wee haue alreadie gotten the one out of the creatures which haue taught vs the nature of God in generall the other we haue found in the angels who are a liuely resemblance of the said diuine nature the third remaineth to wit the difference betwixt the patterne and the thing it selfe For although we haue alreadie ascended and come to the highest steppe of Iacobs ladder for that it is impossible to find any more of the diuine essence in any creature then wee haâ—e alreadie seene in the angelicall nature yet wee are not at our iourneyes ende nor yet halfe waye for although there be as great difference betwixt Angels and men as there is distance betwixt the heauen and the earth yet there is tenne times yea ten thousand times greater oddes betwixt the Angels and God and the space is infinitly greater from the heauen of the Angels and saints to the heauen of heauens where God dwelleth And therefore we are now in the last place to seeke out the difference which exalteth the nature of God thus farre or rather thus infinitly aboue the Angels this is the verie true essentiall forme of God the which if it could bee once named the matter were at an ende the case cleare much labor might be saued which must be spent or rather most profitably and happily bestowed in gessing coniecturing imagining that by many properties attributes actions and effects which by this meanes might be fully knowne all at once But it is not the will of God neither were it profitable for vs that so inestimable a iewell should bee so easily gotten who would esteeme the most precious pearles if so be that they lay in the streetes for the vptaking and if the nature of God were once fully known how could it afterwardes bee so earnestly sought and desired as is mâ—ete Yet we are not to thinke that this impossibilitie of finding out the true forme of God commeth of God as making daintie and daungerous of the knowledge of his nature to make vs eager earnest in desiring to know it although iâ— bee true that hath beene said that it is better to haue our appetite whetted and sharpned by the hardnesse and impossibilitie of attaining it then our stomackes cloyed with the full fruition of it neither are we to think that God doth enuie and grudge vs so great a good and so sweete a pleasure or that in pollicie hee keepeth himselfe close not daring to shew himselfe for feare of being censured or contemned by vs But this commeth of the shallownesse of our braines and the the weaknesse of out capacitie the which making it impossible for vs to conceiue it maketh it impossible for God to reueale it Gent. I was in good hope to haue heard at the next word the very true essential forme of God declared and indeed that had beene woorth the hearing but now I perceiue you will reserue that for another time or rather giue it ouer for euer wherin you deale wisely in my minde for what follie were it for a man to beate his braines in pursuing that which it were more then madnesse once to hope to attaine But I pray you how wil you do to make your proude Lucifer a God Sch. We will doo as we may sir and if all should faile I hope that you will helpe at a dead lift according to your promise but to proceed Seeing that the true forme of gods nature cannot be had we must take in stead of it some essentiall propertie flowing from the forme the which will make those things which are attributed to God differ from the same things as they are in the Angels For example knowledge wisedome might and maiestie haue place both in God and also in the Angels yet they are not alike in both for in the Angels they are although great and perfect yet finit but in god they are absolute and infinit So then if we adde this difference of infinitnesse to the Angelicall nature there will come forth a diuine nature which may not vnfitly be described an angelical nature euery way infinit and so God be defined an infinit Angell as an Angell may be said to be a spiritual man For as surpassing excellencie doth distinguish the Angelicall nature from the humane for although they bee both of one kinde to wit reasonable indued with wit knowledge wisedome and will yet they differ in that the Angelicall nature hath all these in farre greater measurâ— then hath the humane in like manner infinitnesse doth distinguish the diuine nature from the angelicall for they both being reasonable or vnderstanding natures indued with wit and will and with all things belonging there vnto differ in this respect that the one is excellent in vnderstaÌ„ding knowledge wisedome will power puritie and glorie but the other is infinit in all these respects the one hath all these things in an excellent measure the other hath them without measure the one hath much the other hath all And thus by gathering the nature of God out of his workes and word by finding out a patterne of it in the Angelicall nature and lastly by adding vnto this angelicall nature that wherein it commeth short of God we haue in some sort made vp the diuine nature or rather indeuoured to do that which it is impossible to performe for in this case the least
illocall simple one and omnipotent Gent. Now I do perceiue your meaning neither will I gainesay it or deny but that God is to be thought to be an vnderstanding nature or essence and that infinit hauing the aforesaid attributes belonging vnto it But whether shall the vnderstanding or the infinitnesse of God haue the first place assigned vnto it Sch. These two can no more be seuered then can the fire and heate neither is the one before the other in time nature or beeing both existing togither eternally yet in the order of logicall relations and respects as god is an essence before hee is an vnderstanding essence so is he an vnderstanding or reasonable nature before he is infinit Neither are we to thinke that the essence of God consisteth simply in infinitnesse but in an vnderstanding or if any other thing can bee named which commeth nearer to the essence of God in some other thing that is infinit for the essence of God is not priuatiue onely but most truly and properly positiue Sect. 2. Gent. YOu haue satisfied me fully and I thanke you heartily for your paines in explaining vnto mee that poynt of religion which of all other I haue alwaies desired to hauesom insight into nether do I know what now to desire of you vnlesse it please you to go on in the particular explication of these attributes of the diuine nature and to beginne with the vnderstanding which you make not an attribute bur rather the very essence of God or at the least that which commeth nearer vnto it then any other thing doth that we know Sch. Indeed the first place in the treatise of Gods nature is woorthily assigned to his knowledge or rather to his essentiall vnderstanding the which must either bee made Gods essence or else wee must confesse that we knowe not what itis or wherein it doth consist but to declare the true nature manner of it is as farre aboue my reach as the heauen is aboue my head Yet some little knowledge of it the scripture doth affoord vs to this effect that the knowledge reason or vnderstaÌ„ding of god is his infinit essence knowing all things actually alwaies Gent. Doo you make the knowledge and the vnderstanding of God to be all one or is there some difference betwixt them Sch. I doo meane but one thing by them both to wit that part for so I may speak tho improperly of Gods essence which in order hath the first place and I thought it best to vse diuers words to signifie one thing for plainesse and the greater euidence of the matter for the one to wit knowledge is the more vsuall terme and yet the other seemeth to be the more proper and significant For as in a man or Angel knowledge is one thing euen a separable or accidental qualitie which is often wanting as wee see in many men who are in a manner altogither destitute of knowledge and the minde vnderstanding or reasonable soule another thing to wit the very essentiall forme so in God we may say that the same thing is both his vnderstaÌ„ding as it subsisteth in it selfe and also his knowledge as it hath relation to other things namely to the creatures and so knoledge as it is in the creature a separable or accidentall qualitie so in God in whom there is no mutation it is an essentiall attribute arising from his vnderstanding which is his essence For if the world had neuer beene made nor to haue beene made wee could not in proper speech haue saide that God had the knoweledge of it for so he shuld haue known that which was not but that cannot be for things which neuer exist are neuer knowne in particular howsoeuer they might and should haue beene knowne in abstract and generall notions So that the knowledge of God properly taken precisely distinguished from his vnderstanding is his vnderstaÌ„ding actuated or broght into act yet not so large as is his vnderstanding which is infinit wheras gods knowledge of the world or of the creatures neyther is nor can bee infinit for that God neyther hath alreadie created infinite particulars neyther yet in trueth can doo it because so there should bee two infinits one created or made and the other the maker of it for howsoeuer to our weake vnderstanstandings not onely all the particulars which haue happened or shall happen in the world but euen a asmall part or portion of them seeme infinit yet to God they altogither are finite and numerable Gent. You seem to make the knowledge of God to be his vnderstanding not as it is subsisteth in it selfe but as it is actuated and hath relation to the things that are knowne But by this meanes you incurre two great inconueniences first in making it finite the which you confesse although in my minde it is not to bee admitted for all Diuines make the knowledge of God infinit and secondly in making it to bee accidentall and not of absolute necessitâ— in God This will plainly followe if the knowledge of God be limitted to the things in the world which are knowne for although it was necessary that the world should be created God hauing so decreed yet this necessitie is not absolute because God might haue existed though hee had neuer made the world and then hee should haue wanted this knowledge of things because the thinges themselues were wanting This supposall is not altogither vainâ— and friuilous for God as hee did exist without the world before the creation of it so wee cannot doubt but that hee might haue done so still and for euer otherwise wee should fall into that grosse absurditie of some Philosophers who to make the world eternall make it essentiall to God and to follow him as necessarely inseparably and as wee say as hard at heeles as the shadow doth the body the which I doubt not but you condemne as most absurd We are rather in my mind so others also thinke and write to acknowledge not oneâ—y the vnderstanding but euen the knowledge of God to be infinit in that it stretcheth it selfe not onely to the creatures but euen to God himselfe whereof it will followe that it is both infinit for whatsoeuer knoweth and comprehendeth that which is infinit is it selfe infinite and also essentiall to God because it is not onely eternall as is the knowledge of the creatures in God although it bee not of absolute necessitie but also absolutely necessary because it cannot bee supposed that God could exist without the knowledge of himselfe Yet I will not wholly reiect or deny this destinction which you make of the vnderstanding of God from his knowledge for although of all Gods attributes his knowledge doth most properly and immediately flow from his vnderstanding yet me thinkes that there is a difference to bee put betwixt God and his knowledge as well as betwixt God and his power yet for so much as through ignorance of Gods true forme wee are not able to declare the nature of
and not controlable by any other howsoeuer it may be hindered by a superior power from bringing it selfe into perfect act yea or from existing also yet as long as it doth exist in his place and subiect that it cannot be barred of free choyse in any thing that is propounded vnto it And that for this cause it wil not stand and therefore cannot be placed in any set and constant order it beeing so slipperie vncertaine yea as it were altogâ—ther lawlesse vnruly and exorbitant what thinke you of this poynt Sch. Surely I haue alwaies thought it to be very hard and intricate and that it was no maruell to see many so troubled and grauelled in it that they could not possibly see how the will of man could be yoaked by any necessitie of Godâ— decree and yet left in the naturall freedome But that whâ—ch is impossible with man is possible with God who hath taught vs in his word as touching the foreknowledge of things contingent as are the issues and elections of mans free will that not onely the sencelesse but euen the reasonable creatures with all their actions are ordered by him and that for that end and purpose not onely the persons wordes and deeds but euen the most secret thoughts of their mindes and inclinations of their willes are both seen and also foreseene of God who doth accordingly direct and dispose of them as seemeth best vnto him yet the freedome of the will remaineth as indeed it cannot bee taken away vnlesse the will it selfe yea the creature it selfe wherein the will resteth bee abolished not hauing any kinde of violence offered vnto it but moouing it selfe of it self which way it pleaseth euen as we see a man sitting on his horse doth not carrie the horse hither thither but is carried by the horse who goeth on by his own free wil yet guided and ruled by the rider and directed to that place which hee hath appointed As wee plainely see in Adam transgressing Gods commaundement giuen as touching the forbidden frute the action was voluntarye and contingent in respect of Adam who might haue abstained if hee hadde would for GOD did no way compell him or impell his will to eate the forbidden frute but did both by promises and by threatnings disswade him from it Yet there is no question to bee made of it but that GOD hadde as certainely foreseene and foreappointed it as if hee hadde resolued to compell Adam by outward violence or by inward compultion of his minde and will to eate it And so we are to thinke of all other the like cases that God doth plainly foresee that this or that without faile will be the issue and effect though the causes be ambiguous coÌ„tingent and as like in our eyes to bring forth the contrary effect for he seeth easily what motiues are in the minde to moue the will and what force each of them hath to sway it hither or thither Gent. Yet you haue not so fully resolued this doubt as I do desire For euen Cicero himselfe or whosoeuer other is most pereÌ„ptoric in exempting mans will from Gods prouidence will confesse that contingent things may bee foreseene in the causes thogh not in the effects themselues when they doo plainely preuaile and ouersway the one side the other yet they affirme that the will of man setting it selfe of purpose to the full vse of the naturall freedome nimblenesse may dispose it selfe to a meâ—e contingencie which cannot possibly be foreseene because it will chuse and worke not by the meanes or inducement of any motiue whatsoeuer which would bewray the intent and issue but freely of it selfe and to no other intent but to shew the absolute soueraigâ—tie of it owne power Sch. I haue already tolde you what I haue gathered out of Gods word as touching this point of his foresight of contingent things I for my part doo rest heerein and so I wishe that you would doo without any curious inquisition into their needlesse questioÌ„s wherof it is best to let them dispute while they list and to determine when they can In the meane time we wil proceed and speake somewhat of the wisedome of God the which is besides his knowledge vsually attributed vnto him Sect. 3. Gent. INdeed I haue often heard that in men knowledge and wisdome may be not onely distinguished but euen quite separated the one from the other as it is vsually said of you schollers that the greatest Clarkes are not the wisest men yet I thoght that in God knowledge and wisedome were all one and not to be distinguished Sch. I haue heard as much my selfe but I neuer thought him of whom I heard it eythe more learned or the more wise for saying so if he spake as he thought and yet I know that they are diuerse and different things as are speculation and practise But to come to the matter in God they are not two diuerse things but one and the same thing diuersely considered for knowledge is a generall notion and speculation which when it commeth to bee put in practise in the making ordering and disposing of the creatures is called wisedome to the which the counsels and decrees of God whereof hereafter are to be referred and so knowledge is of simple but wisedome of compound things ioyning togither in perfect order and agreement those things the natures wherof were before fully knowne Gent. You fall againe into the same error you did before in limiting and restraining the knowledge of God to the creatures which doth infinitly stretch it selfe abroad euen to God himselfe and so sheweth it selse to be infinit so now also you tie his wisdome which in my minde you may more rightly extend so as it may belong also to God himselfe For howsoeuer as he existeth eternally himselfe alone he needeth not to be ordered by any wisedome neither can properly bee said to be ordered by his owne wisedome for that order hath place not in one simple nature existing in it selfe both immutably and also immoueably without any possibilitie of variance discord or confusion but rather in diuerse things whose natures being different are by wisdome conioyned togither in good agreement yet in that it pleaseth God of his goodnesse so to debase himself as to haue any dealings with hiâ— creatures in this respect eueÌ„ God himselfe and his actions are to bee ordered disposed and guided that as the creatures are made to agree among themselues so they may agree with God also their Creator to their owne happinesse and his glory Sch. You are too curious to be pleased too cunning to be taught I speake of things after the common and vsuall maner according to the which the obiect of Gods wisdome are his creatures and not himselfe yet I confesse that this distinction which you bring is true and not to be reiected But as touching this wisdome of God shining euery where in the world it is highly extolled in the scripture as being most wonderfull and
counsell and acquaintance as men doo some speciall and approoued friends Thus wee reade that Enoch walked with GOD that Moses did ordinarely talke and conferre with him face to face as one friende doth with an other thus he did as it were in sporte familiarly wrastle with Iacob and continually both accompany and assist him thus he was to Dauid as a Counseller to direct him in all his affaires and thus hee tooke Paul vppe to heauen and shewed him things not to be vttered But of all other most notable in this respect was Abraham called often in Scripture by the name or rather by the most honourable and glorious title of Gods friend as 2 Chro. 20. 7. Es 41. 8. Iames 2. 23. And in trueth so might hee well bee called for God did both make and keepe with him very solemnely all the lawes of true friendship For first hee made a couenant of perpetualloue with him and with his seed for euer calling Abraham Gods friend and himselfe Abrahams God Secondly hee did bestowe vpon him all his blessings both temporall and spirituall yea the greatest honour that could bee namely to bee as it were the foundation of his Church and chosen people and the first of the progenitours of Christ And lastly hee did impart to him his purposes and counsels in all things that did any way concerne him or might make for his good Yea wee reade that God was so carefull in the performance of this dutie for so it pleaseth God to binde himselfe in duties to men of friendshippe that beeing about to destroy those wicked Citties of Sodome and Gomorra he thought it needfull to impart the matter to his friend Abraham yea to haue his assent for the doing of it Thus it pleaseth God of his mercie and goodnesse to exalt wretched men to this highest degree of honour which indeed is so high as that the Angels in heauen do seldome attaine vnto it So that in this respect and in many other heretofore mentioned wee may well burst forth with the Prophet Psal 8. 5. And say what is man that thou that art the great God of heauen and earth shuldest remember him or the sonne of man that thou shouldest thus visit him Sect. 5. Gent. I Am thinking with my selfe what facultie there is in the soule of man not yet mentioned for if there bee any I doubt not considering the great likenesse betwixt the soule of man the nature of God in those faculties common to them both which you haue already handled but that it is ether truly belonging to God or at the least will giue occasion to consider something in his nature You know that men conceiue things by imagination and retaine them by memory are these faculties in God likewise conscience in man is a distinct facultie or rather an act of the mind and there are in him diuers affections as ioy and greefe and diuers vertues not as yet mentioned what are we to thinke of these things Sch. I hope you do not looke to heare at this time whatsoeuer might be said of the nature of God you are not now so desirous but if that were taken in hand you would bee as wearie of hearing ere it were halfe done if the cheefe matters be declared they will giue sufficient light whereby the rest may be perceiued and so by those which haue beene handled you may easely vnderstand the nature of the rest of those good affections and vertuous dispositions which are in scripture attributed to God So for the essentiall faculties of the soule you say very truly that they are most like to the diuine nature and euen a plaine and expresse Image of it yet this difference must be noted that whatsoeuer thing is in them that argueth weakenesse or suture possibilitie that hath not truly place in the diuine nature which is a perfect and complete act As in these particulars which you haue named imagination is but a possibilitie or meanes of knowledge but the knowledge of God hath beene said to bee eternall and actuall It is hard I confesse and euen impossible for vs to see or imagine how all the particulars in the world should exist actually in any vnderstanding from all eternitie but wee must not measure the infinitnesse of Gods vnderstanding by our shallow braines But as touching the question which you mooue of imagination and the meanes and manner of knowledge in God how the ideae or notions of things enter into his mind or rather how they exist eternally in it without any entering in or beginning first it must bee helde that although they exist eternally in GOD yet they are not essentiall to him that is so naturall and necessary as that without them he could nor exist as is the knowledge of himselfe and the idea of his owne nature yea all the rest of Gods essentiall attributes of all which if wee should detract but one from God wee shuld quite destroy and ouerthrow his whole nature and essence But the knowledge of the creatures is not of that kinde for God beeing in himselfe absolute and all sufficient might haue if it hadde so seemed good vnto him existed without euer eyther making or knowing any creature and therefore the knowledge of them in God must be thought to arise not from the absolute necessitie of his nature but from the free libertie of his will moouing yet eternally his vnderstanding to this actuall knowledge of the creatures Yea that as the knowledge oridea of his own nature is according to y â— order of nature not any difference of time first in the essentiall vnderstanding of God and then in his will so the knowledge or idea of the creatures hath his beginning not in the vnderstanding but in the will of God This difference we haue and see more plainely in our selues for as we haue some general notions engrauen in our mindes by nature it selfe and so in a maner both bred and borne with vs without any helpe of our wils so the knowledge of other things hath the beginning in the will disposing and inclining the minde to this or that knowledge as it seemeth best vnto it Secondly as touching this in a manner accidentall knowledge of God it must bee held that God hath it of himselfe and not by the means or from the creatures as we haue that by sence and imagination get the resemblances of things into our mindes the which way of knowledge if it were admitted to bee in God it would follow that his knowledge of the creature doth not go before but followeth after it and so is not the cause but rather an effect of it and not eternall but temporall whereas wee holde that the will and eternall foreknowledge of God are the cause of all things Gent. I haue heard it said that the diuine nature is as it were a Glasse wherein al things that do at any time exist in the world may be seene and knowne and that by the Saints and Angels in
heauen much more then by God himselfe who knoweth all things by his owne essence it being the similitude of all things Sch. Some haue thought as you say but it is a mere fable to say that eyther the Saints or the Angels do or can see the essence of God much lesse all things in it It is true that God knoweth all things and that by his essence if thereby we meane his essentiall vnderstanding and that by the similitude which his essentiall vnderstanding hath to the creatures if thereby wee meane the similitude which is betwixt the generall idea or notion and the particular instance For as it is essentiall and naturall to God to know himselfe so it is essentiall and natural to him to know the generall differences of things without the knowledge whereof he could not knowe himselfe As namely it is essentiall to God to know what is reasonable infinit knowledge wisedome good and eternall for otherwise hee could not know his owne nature which consistesh in these differences By the same meanes also hee knoweth what is vnreasonable finite errour folly euill and time which are contrary to the other for one contrary cannot bee knowne without the knowledge of the other This is the essentiall knowledge engrauen in the very nature of GOD and as wee saye of our naturall notions both borne and bred with him but it doth not extend it selfe any further or descend into particulars for it is not essentiall to GOD to know Peter Paule or any other man nor yet to know the nature of man nor yet to knowe this worlde wherein wee liue for GOD might haue existed though none of these hadde euer beene But the knowledge of these particulars is by the free will of GOD deducted from those generall notions which are essentiall to God who hath thought good to make by the creation a particular instance example and as it were an experiment of his essentiall and vniuersall knowledge Gent. You seeme to bee of their opinion that thinke that God knoweth no particulars because there is no medium no means or way by the which the similitudes of them should bee carried from the things to the nature of God for that there must be a conuenience betwixt the things knowne and the minde which is not betwixt the creatures and the vnderstanding of God Sch. I am far from that absurd error and I hope from any such I do not doubt but that God knoweth euery particular thing in the world seuerally and distinctly from all other yea that hee hath in his eternall counsell distinguished them as namely men of whom he hath appointed some to glory and others to confusion yea that he knoweth euery particular thing farre more distinctly and truly then we do that see and feele them for hee knoweth them in their causes and essentiall formes the which only is the true knowledge whereas we do but gesse at their natures by their qualities and effects Gent. Yet perhaps you doo thinke that God knoweth the particulars of this world which now existeth more then he doth a 1000. other worlds which neuer did nor shal exist indeed altho they exist in the vniuersal notions of Gods vnderstanding and so may be as wel knowne to God as this particular world which is brought forth into act Sch. We cannot say if we speake properly that God knoweth any particulars but those which do sometime exist He knoweth himselfe able to make such particulars if it were his will but they are not particulars vntill his will do bring them into act for as vniuersall notions are in Gods vnderstanstanding as in their first fountaine or rather in their proper place so particulars come from the will of God And therefore wee must needs thinke that God knoweth those particulars which do or shal exist or haue existed otherwise then those which doo neuer exist for hee knoweth the one and not the other Gent. Let me trouble you once more and no more for this is a poynt that I could neuer vnderstand to wit how God getteth the knowledge of these things doo you thinke that he knoweth those things which hee hath decreed to exist no otherwise when and while they doo exist then he doth before and after or that the existance of them maketh some kinde of impression or alteration in his minde which was not before Sch. No surely the existence of things doth no way alter or affect God obiects do worke vpon our sences and minde but Gods vnderstanding is merely actiue not passiue yet wee cannot doubt but that as God maketh vs to perceiue things by sence and the Angels by some other meanes so hee is able by meanes to make himselfe capable of the qualities of particular obiects but of himselfe and in his owne nature hee is altogither vncapable of them or of any knowledge by them Gent. You haue no list to answere me directly to the question I do not thinke that God doth suffer from the obiects but that is all one I would know whether that hee doth not know and see vs as we go here otherwise then he did when we were in the loines of our first father Adam and whether that he doo not plainely see vs two particularly and distinctly whether he do it intromittendo as we doo or which is more agreeable to his nature being impassible extramittendo that is not the question but I cannot be perswaded but that although hee knoweth vs fully and certainely before we exist yet when once we do exist in nature he then doth see behold vs after an other manner Sch. You say true I haue no minde to wade farre into this matter for it is very hard yea impossible for vs to know the manner of the actual knowledge of God and therfore I did passe it ouer in the proper place neither wold I haue mentioned it but that you vrge mee so hard for I thinke it sufficient for vs to know that God knoweth all things euen the most secret thoughts of our mindes although wee be ignorant how he commeth to that knowledge But for your question I haue told you my opinion that howsoeuer you seeme to thinke that God knoweth things not existing and seeth thē as it were with eyes when they do exist yet it seemeth more consonant to the truth to say y ◠the creatures whither existing or desisting are all alike knowne to God and I pray you rest in this answere for this time Now as touching memorie as God hath no vse of imagination because he hath nothing to learne so he hath no need of memorie for that he cannot loose any thing by forgetfulnesse all things being present vnto him both past future Likewise for conscience which is the testimonie giuen by the minde in the presence of God of the innocencie and integritie or of the guiltinesse of this or that reasonable creature and so eyther of the want or of the desert of blame it may in some sort bee attributed to God
why I might not hope to haue as good a Chapman of you as of another So then both honestum and vtile haue giuen their voyces to this choice to the which if necessitie could be brought to giue his assent then it were done vnanimi consensu without any gain saying and surely in my minde he is not hard to be intreated Pompey surnamed the great for his great conquests and triumphs although hee might more truly be so called for the greatnesse of his minde and vertues being sent by the Senate into one of their Prouinces would needs take shippe and sea in a great tempest saying It is needfull that I should go because it is needfull that I should discharge my dutie but not that I should liue and so wee are to account it more needfull to auoyde the foule crime of ingratitude then to haue eyther our writings or persons safely protected I may not though I would trouble you any further it remaineth onely that I desire God to returne seuen fold into your bosome as I doubt not but that hee will doo eyther in this or in a better life all that good which you haue done vnto me and so leauing you in the most sure protection of God in whom I am perswaded that you trust I take my leaue till further occasion bee offered eyther of writing or of comming vnto you The Lord bee with you London this 7. of February 99. A TREATISE OF THE NATVRE OF GOD. CHAP. I. That there is a God Sect. 1. Gent. ELL ouertaken Syr. Schol. You are welcome Gentleman Gent. No great Gentleman sir but one that wisheth well to all that meane well I pray you how farre doo you trauell this way Sch. As farre as Yorke Gent. I should be glad if I might haue your company thither Sch. And I if my company might stand you in any steed but howsoeuer it be you may command it and by vouchsafing me the benefit of your company maketh me much beholden to you Gent. Not so sir but without question the company of men of your profession is both pleasant and profitable much to be desired for the attaining of knowledge wisdome Sc. I pray you sir whoÌ„ do you take me to be Gent. Surely it should seeme by your apparell that you are a Scholer or some Minister Sch. Indeed if you call a learner a Scholler I do confesse my selfe to be of that profession but if as I suppose you meane by a Scholler not a learner but a teacher or Doctor one able to instruct and direct others you take your markes amisse for as we sâ—y in the Schooles Cucullus nonfacit monac huum Gent. I meane by a Scholler not one that learnes his ABC or his Accidens but a Student one that hath bene brought vp in learning in some Vniuersitie able with a little labour and in a short time to do much good to vs that are ignorant In this sence I am perswaded that you are and may be both called and accounted a Scholler Sch. It pleaseth you sir of your gentlenesse to thinke and speake of me farre better then I do deserue but if it were as you do weene and wish yet I know no cause but that I both may and ought looke for profit and encrease of knowledge as well at your hands as you at mine Gen. Why that caÌ„not be you giue your selues continually to reading and all other meanes of attaining knowledge whereas we follow other matters and spend our dayes about worldly profits or pleasures as our callings places and degrees do require Sch. The more is the pittie if it be so you for the most part haue leisure inough to seek knowledge yea you are of abilitie to prouide for your selues all things belonging vnto studie the which Schollers do often waÌ„t to their great grief and hinderaÌ„ce And surely in my mind it were far more commendable and honorable for men of wealth place accouÌ„t to pursue and huntafter knowledge and wisedome by the which they might benefit much their countrey both Church and Common-wealth then to spend their time and goods in vaine and vnprofitable pleasures Gent. You say true sir in the opinion of the wisest but for this time we will rather take it as we find it theÌ„ dispute how it oght to be if you looke for any great learning at my hands you are deceiued and will in the ende be disappoynted Yet I pray you let vs passe the time and way in some good conference and giue me leaue to aske your opinion and heâ—p in some poynts of diuinitie whereof I either am altogither ignorant or else doo greatly doubt and would gladly be resolued It wold without question bee a great ease and make that wee should neither feeâ—e the wearisomenesse of our tedious trauell nor yet complain or crie out of the length of these Northumberland myles yea I do not doubt but it wil be profitable to vs both for I shall be instructed and you by calling to remembrance your former reading shall imprint it more deeply into your minde and haue it more readie against an other time Sch. Indeed conference is alwaies good and especially in trauell yea and for the matter of our conference you haue chosen the better part in that you had rather bestow the time in some poynts of diuinitie whereby we may be edified in religion and in the knowledge of God then spend it in other matters which are either vaine needlesse or at the least not comparable vnto it either in vse or excellencie Yet I must needs tell you plainly that you are too careful of your owne ease in that you would laye the whole burthen of answering all questions and resoluing all doubts vpon my shoulders and shift it wholly from your seâ—f You know that it is the custome and as it were a lawe among trauellers not to put any one continually to the trouble of seeking and leading the way but to do it by course And therefore I may not agree to this motion which you haue made vnlesse it please you to accept these two conditions first that you giue me the like libertie in propouÌ„ding to you those doubts which trouble me and be content to shewe mee the like fauour in helping mee out of the briers wherein I shall stick Secondly that in hard and intricate questions that answere bee accepted for the time which may bee had for it is a plain case that any one maÌ„ may moue moe questions in an houre then all the learned men in the world can aunswere and resolue all the daies of their liues Gent. Your conditions are very reasonable althogh my answering of your doubts wil be as the prouerbe is Sus mineruam in the which respect and not in any partiall fauour of my self as you do charge me I referred the matter wholly to your dispositioÌ„ yet for so much as you giue others beside Schollers leaue to haue knowledge I will doo my best to satisfie your desire
to comprehend the infinit and know the secret essence of God But by your patience a litle is it now become a fault to seeke the knowledge of God in the knowledge and contemplation of whom not only the scripture and as I haue heard all diuines with one assent but euen Plato an heatheÌ„ Philosopher although somewhat smelling of the truth of religion do make our whole happinesse to coÌ„sist the infinitnesse of the nature of God doth hinder the full comprehension but not the true knowledge of it selfe to be in the minde of man the sight of the eye no not the whole eye is able to containe the body of the Sun and yet by it we do plainly beholde and truly know the Sun Moone Starres yea the whole heauen What thogh it be not lawfull evher to make any Image or to imagine any similitude of God yet we may consider of the nature of God by coÌ„paring it to the nature of the creature though there bee neuer so great inequalitie betwixt them Yea the infinitenesse of Gods nature is most plainly seene when it is compared to a finite and meane creature as wee knowe that the chearefull lightsomnesse and fairenesse of white is best perceiued when a darke and sad backe is laid by it that the hugenesse of an Eliphant is most admired when wee thinke of he smalnesse of a flie and a crooked building is best knowne by the straight line The whole bodie and compasse of the sun and moone may bee behelde in a little dishfull of wateâ— and why not God in his creatures especially in those which hee hath made according to his owne image and that as I am perswaded for this very end and purpose But although the nature of god might be by some means in some measure conceiued and knowne yet you doubt of the lawfulnesse of the attempt but your doubting is without cause or rather as I am perswaded without trueth and in shewe onely The propitiatorie is now remooued and the Arke vncouered so that we may be bolde to looke into it the vaile of the Temple is rent a sunder yea quite broken downe and therefore wee need not any longer stand aloofe but may with confidence enter into the holy place approach vnto the throne of grace It is not with God as it is with mortall and sinfull men who of set purpose and in good pollicie doo in many cases withdraw themselues from the sight and view of others least that by bewraying their infirmities they shuld bring their persons into contempt but God is not ashamed of himselfe neither afraid of being knowne seene and censured Men the further they are off from vs the greater they seeme and the lesse they are known thâ— more they are esteemed the more familiaâ—ly that they are acquainted the more likely to bee contemned but it is not so with God who the more he is known the more he is admired the nearer he approcheth to vs the more he amazeth astonieth with his â—urpassing glorie and maiestie so that he may not vnfitly be compared to the cloude which the Prophet Elias or rather God himselfe raised out of the sea 1. King 18. 14. which a farre off seemed no bigger then the palme of a mans hand but when it came neare it couered the whole face of heauen I confesse indeed that the essence of God cannot be fully comprehended by any creature and that if God should shine vppon vs with the bright beames of his glorie wee could not but bee confounded as we see our eyes to be dazeled and our sight dimmed by gazing on the bright shining sunne For this the word of God is plaine Exod. 33. 20. where God saith to Moses My face that is my full glorie and maiestie no man can see and liue but as for my hinder partes that is some part or shadow of my glorie that I will shew vnto thee Yet the doth not proue that this great and greedie yea insatiable desire which this holy man of God had of seeing and knowing still more and more of God yea after that God had many waies reuealed himselfe more fully to Moses then euer hee had done or did since to any man liuing should bee condemned as rash and preâ—umptuous which rather is to be commended and imitated of vs by hauing a most earnest care and desire to know so much of Gods essence as may bee knowne yea much more and euen the whole nature of God if so it stood with his good pleasure For this is the onely happinesse which we aspire vnto hope for in the life to tome that whereas now we see God but darkly in part and as it were his image in a glasse theÌ„ we shall see him face to face 1. Cor. 13. that is in farre more ample manner then now wee doo although not so fully and amply as hee is indeede vnto the which absolute perfection of the knowledge of Gods essence I doo easily graunt you that neither the Saints nor the Angels in heauen can possibly attaine And therefore seeing that my request is no other then both I may wel and lawfully make and you easily performe I pray you doo not shift mee off with this excuse which I am perswaded you made thinking as it is indeed that you Schollers â—an by your logick and schoole-tricks perswadevs simple people to think what you list make vs beleeue that as the prouerb is The moon is made of green cheese but rather at my request take in hand the explication of this poynt which of all other is most needfull to be knowne and most woorthie to bee sought out with all care and diligence as beeing that wherevnto all our knowledge yea our whole life is to be referred Sch. I am glad sir that I haue by this means ferreted you out of this deepe dissimulation wheerin you haue hitherto so closely lurked although indeed I did thinke so much wheÌ„ I first heard you speake did suspect you to be the man whoÌ„ now I finde you to be I am perswaded that you who are so cunning in crauing could if you list bee as bountifull in giuing but seeing the bargaine is made it is now no going backe neither will I looke backe vnto the speech which you haue made of the lawfulnesse of attempting and the possibilitie of attaining the knowledge of Gods nature in some sort It was true and therefore cannot be confuted yet was full and sufficient and therefore need not bee enlarged You doo well to confesse that the infinit essence of god cannot be fully comprehended no not by the Angels in heauen yet that it may in some sort be knowne euen by men here on earth For euen as when a traueller desirous to see straunge countries and fashions arriueth in some coast towne of any forraine kingdome hee may euen there gather some coniectures and get some knowledge of the condition state and power of that Prince but when he commeth to the chiefe
his essentiall vnderstanding the which we are constrained to put in the place of his forme heereof it coÌ„meth that we are not able to distinguish this essentiall vnderstanding of god from his actuall knowledge And therefore leauing the knowledg of gods forme essence and as wee make it of his essential vnderstanding to himselfe who only eyther doth or can knowe it let vs I pray you proceed in considering this his actuall knowledge Sch. I like well of that you haue said and do thinke you for shewing me wherin I erre yet this I may say for my self that vnlesse you had in a manner compelled me to imagine or coyne this or some such distinction I should not haue mentioned it but to proceed It was said of God that he knoweth all things actuallly alwaies For the first it is plain and not greatly doubted of by any that all the actions of the creatures and whatsoeuer doth any way happen vnto them is as manifest vnto God as is the sunne at noone he doth see with eyes which need no light for darknesse and light are all one to him the heart of man is deepe and deceitfull aboue all things yet hee soundeth the depth of it seeing and perceiuing his most secret thoughts as plainly as if they were things done in the sight of the whole world the which thing although it seeme most impossible and bee incredible to many yet wee knowe â—ssuredly 〈◊〉 â—râ—â—h of it both by the word of God and also by manifolde experience and no maruell seeing that he hath framed and fashioned them hee hath made the eye and care and therfore must of necessitie both see heare Neither doth the infinitnesse as it seemeth to vs of the particulars which happen in the world hinder this vniuersall knowledge of God for they all are to him not onely not infinit but a fewe in comparison of those which he might should know if they were to be knowne that is if they did exist It hath be ene admired in some great men that they haue bin of such capacitie readinesse of wit as to be able at one instant to mind diuers matters and to endite to two or three Secretaries as fast as they could write for why as we our outward sences and inward faculties are not many but one particular so they cannot well stretch themselues at once to many diuers obiects for then Pluribus intent us minor ad singula sensus But it is not so with God who although in trueth he be but one particular nature and essence not many or diuers yet hee is more large vniuersall then the whole yea then a thousand worlds And so if we consider the proportion of his infinitnesse to all things existing wee shall finde that it is farre easier for God to know and minde at once all the particulars which eyther haue beene are or are to bee then for one of vs to thinke on any one particular thing or matter As if that wee may vse the similitude of the diuine essence which was brought before wee should suppose a man or an Angell to bee of so large a braine and vnderstanding as is the whole element of the ayre the which we know to be euery where if it be not kept out by some more solide bodie and that euery part of it were of sufficient vertue to conceiue and knowe we then should not mauell if at one instant hee did know and consider of all the things in the world and that without any confusion of wit how much more then shall we graune this vniuersall knowledge to God who is far more vniuersall theÌ„ the ayre he being not onely about things but euen in the middest also of the most hard and solide stone and not excluded by it or by any bodie out of any place yea hee being wholly euery where with euery man yea with euery piâ—e of grasse on the earth and with euery corne of sand on the sea and how then can wee maruell that hee should bee able to know all things at once In the second place we are to consider that God knoweth himselfe and also the whole course of all things actually that is hee doeth not attaine to the knowledge of it by doubtfull reasoning discourse and consequence of one thing froÌ„ another but seeth it existing as certainly as if it were actually existing and present with him Otherwise if God did attaine to the knowledge of things by way of vncertaine discourse it would follow that his knowledge is sometimes potentiall and imperfect not hauing as yet attained to the thing it aymeth but beeing onely in the way towards it whereas we are to thinke and hold for a most certaine trueth that the whole course order beginning progresse and end of the world is and hâ—th beene alwaies from euerlasting seene and knowne by him and that without successiue discourse by one perfect and compâ—eâ—e act of knowledge the which we say in the third place to be eternall in God not that he needed so long a time for premeditation how to deuise and dispose things so as they should all agree togither in tending to one the same end for the which he decreed them for in this respect y e whole frame and câ—uâ—se of the world may be said to be exteÌ„porall as we vse to say nasci sub stilo that is to be penned and made without any premeditation â—or to him the least time is as good as a thousand yeares for deuise yet we are to thinke that the frame of the world was not deuised when it was made nor a litle before but that the idea and patterne of it hath plainly fully existed in God from all eternitie as the spitit of God witnesseth almost euery where in the scripture speaking of the eternall loue and purpose of God toward his elect Gent. You say that god knoweâ—h all things actually alwaies and I thinke you say true yet I am sure you know the olde exception obiection which hath been alwaies made against this doctrine not onely by heathen Philosophers but also by Christian Diuines who graunt this to bee true in all those actions which God worketh eyther immediately by himself or by the means of those creatures which are not indued with libertie of will in all which they graunt that there may be an appoynted order course wich shal certainly come to passe because the things thus disposed are not at their own disposition so as they might break the order set by God but are wholly gouerned by God who neuer changeth his purpose or determination in any thing which he hath apponted but as for the will of man the which they say is in it selfe most free yea as free as the will of God himselfe because otherwise it is not wil that they say must be exeÌ„pted from the foreknowledge at least from the necessarie foreknowledge fore appoyntment of god for that it is wholly at the owne disposition