Ways or Methods they may be Communicated unto it unless you will suppose it of very Large and Extensive Presence and Capacity 9. So that if the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus have any Knowledge of the State and Condition of the Church which is his Body as I think can't reasonably be doubted whether Mediately or Immediately in my Apprehension an Extension of Presence must be granted thereunto And if it be granted to Christ Jesus I know nothing that will hinder the same Concession to the Blessed tho not in the same Degree for in all things he must have a Supremacy and Advantage 10. But besides all this Christ Jesus is the Head of his Church and as an Vniversal Cause under God conveys his Grace and Spirit to all the Members of it As the Sun is the Vniversal Cause of Light Heat and Motion in Sublunary Bodies so is Christ of all Grace and Spiritual Influences and Virtues to the Souls of Men and there is no other means or way of Conveyance but by Him 11. The Humane Nature of Christ Jesus by its being Personally united to the Divine and exalted to God's Right Hand is by the Office of Mediator Authorized and by a Participation of the Fulness of the Spirit enabled for the Communication of this Spiritual Influx and Benediction to Humane Minds 12. Yet it is not to be imagined or do I affirm That the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus is any Cause of any Immanent Act of the Divine Spirit but He is the Cause of the Spirits Operation as that Operation signifies the Effect upon the Mind of Man And of this He is no Superiour but only a Ministerial Cause as a Prince rewards the Valour of his Souldiers as the General doth determine it 13. Christ Jesus is the Political Cause of this Spiritual Influence He as Mediator is authorized to determine of the Measure Time Conditions and Persons that shall partake therein Whether He be also a Physical Head and Cause of this Influence and Grace and by proper Efficiency do Communicate of this Spirit and by any Physical Operation of his Humane Soul He operate upon Our Minds is a Controversie that I am not obliged to determine my Cause not requiring it For if He be only the Political Cause of this Grace and Spirit He must have Knowledge of the State Case and Condition of Mankind and that in my Opinion will infer a Large and Extensive Presence which is all that I am concerned to prove AND now having annexed thus much to the Book in regard to one Particular Point I shall superadd no less in regard to the General Subject for the obviating some Objections and preventing Misunderstandings in what I have Asserted or rather Proposed to indifferent Consideration 1. I would not be thought to Place the Happiness of the Blessed in the Knowledge of Creatures Whoever should Thus understand me would Very much mistake and misapprehend me I Place the Happiness of Saints and Angels in the Knowledge and Love of God and being Beloved by Him The Knowledge of Creatures is only the Medium by which we come to the Knowledge of the Creator and by the Knowledge of Him we become capable of Loving Him and Rejoycing and Delighting in Him God is Vltimately the Object of Man's Felicity and Love Delight and Joy are the Great Felicitating Acts and both these Compleat and make it Perfect 2. One great Reason that inclines me to believe that Knowledge will be Progressive in the World to come is because I do suppose that Man will remain a Limited and Finite Essence There yea and Limited to that degree that he will not be Able at one Grasp to comprehend the Nature Qualities and Perfections of the Vniverse A great Enlargement of Capacity Immediately upon his Departure hence I do readily concede and if any shall please to call it Supernatural I will have no Contest with him about it But this Enlargement I conceive will not make his Capacity of Equal Extent with the Vniverse and consequently his Knowledge of it cannot be Simul and Semel but Successive 3. How Various the Limitations of the Essences and Capacities of the Blessed will be I will not affirm Peradventure they may be as Various and Different as their Rewards will be Those that have Loved and Served God in This World with the Greatest Sincerity and Vigour of Affection and Endeavour will have the Largest Capacities in the Other they will be capable of knowing Most of God and consequently of loving Him Most and being Most beloved of Him It seems to me I say probable that the Remunerating Grace of God will Diversify Men's Capacities in the Kingdom of Heaven according to their Works Here on Earth 4. If any Man should think that because I affirm an Alteration for the better in the Future State that therefore there may be an Alteration for the worse and to the Disadvantage of the Blessed I answer That I see Nothing in what I have Said that may give any Reason for Such an Inference or Conclusion For why Confirming Grace may not secure the Blessed from Any Defection on Supposition that Knowledge and consequently Happiness be Increasing and Progressive as well as on supposition that it be Instantaneously Compleat and Perfect I confess I do not understand 5. St. Paul I do acknowledge doth assure us That Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor hath it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive what God hath laid up for those that love Him 1 Cor. 2.9 Which words he transcribes from Isaiah the Prophet But how they are any Prejudice to the Doctrine that I have proposed I do not find For besides that the Words were spoken by the Prophet with respect to the State of the Gospel and the great Revelations and Discoveries that were to be made of the Divine Grace and Mercy at That time and in That State I shall readily grant that no Eye hath seen nor Ear heard nor hath the Heart of any Man conceived what and how Various how Great and Stupendious those Objects will be that the Future State will present unto our Thoughts and Contemplations Who can tell what Variety of Wonders the House of the Living God may set before us Who can imagine the Lustre and Glory of the Heavenly Jerusalem and what are the Beings that do Embellish and Adorn the Palace of the Great King Who can tell or who can conceive what Species or Kinds of Beings may be comprehended in the Whole Universe and of what Various and Amazing Natures Qualifications and Perfections 6. And as we cannot Vnderstand what will be the Number Kinds Nature nor Perfections of these things so we cannot Tell what will be the Joy Pleasure Satisfaction yea Extasies and Ravishments that we shall Conceive and have Experience of in the Contemplation and Knowledge of them Who can imagine what Joy he shall feel at the Sight and First Aspect of the Magnificent Structure of the Heavenly Palace At the Vision of those Holy Myriads that encompass the Throne of God At the Vision of the Holy Jesus that Prince of the Kings of the Earth At the Sight of all the Holy Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles At the View of all the Holy Confessors and Martyrs together with all the Holy and Good Men of all Generations Who can imagine what Pleasure and Joy every Object that is offered to our Meditation may Raise and Awaken in our Souls Who can Think what Joy we shall Conceive from our Exercise of Love to God and 〈◊〉 the Sense and Apprehension of our 〈◊〉 Beloved of Him and of the Eternal Dâ—â—ation of it 7. But though we cannot Conceive nor have not Seen nor Heard what are the Beings and Objects that the Future State will furnish to our View and Consideration and though we cannot Imagine what will be the Joys and Pleasures that they will introduce upon our Minds Yet we may know that there will be Objects of Various and Illustrious Qualities and that the Knowledge of them will make Very Great and Pleasant Emotions and Affections upon our Souls and that This Knowledge and These Affections may be of Progressive Nature and Increase to All Durations Which is all that I have Asserted and I think Sufficiently consistent with the Words of the Apostle in the Text above-mentioned 8. I know nothing Momentous that may be objected against what I have Said on this Subject which I have not Answered or Obviated in Some Place or Other of This Discourse Nevertheless 't is no Article of my Faith nor am I zealous to Proselyte any Man to the Belief of it I will Conclude with those Words where-with Cartesius concludes his Principia At nihilominus memor meae tenuitatis nihil affirmo sed haec omnia tum Ecclesiae Catholicae Anglicanae Authoritati tum Prudentiorum Judiciis submitto nihilque ab ullo credi velim nisi quod ipsi evidens invicta ratio persuadebit FINIS
Light to the Bodily Eye which no sooner appears above the Horizon than all Eyes are enlightned thereby in a moment 30. I am prone to think This Knowledge Progressive and Increasing and that Mary Ages spent in the House of God will furnish the Blessed with More of the Knowlege of Him than they were endowed withal upon their first Admission and Entrance there I cannot think that the Millions of Ages pardon the Expression that do compound an Everlasting Duration will make no Increase in the Knowledge of the Blessed nor add no Perfection to their Vnderstandings 31. VVhether the Proofs that I shall make of this Probleme be Valid or Invalid the Reader must determine when he hath Weighed and Considered them I am content that they be esteemed as they are 'T is no part of our Creed that I am defending If my Arguments be thought invalid and my Opinion rejected 't will be no matter of Provocation to me If They be thought cogent and my Opinion worthy of Acceptation with Pious and Ingenious Men perchance I may be a little pleased therein But if it may advance the Love of God and make Heaven any whit the more acceptable to the Thoughts and Meditations of Christians I am sure I shall greatly rejoyce 32. These Things being premised 't will be adviseable to propose the Probleme Knowledge Eternally Progressive and give the Sense wherein I understand it 33. The word Knowledge I take in the largest Meaning and Signification I understand it not in the Strict Sense of Aristotle for the Knowledge of Things by their proper Efficient and Constitutive Causes but in a General and Vnlimited Sense for All Kinds of Knowledge by whatsoever means or after whatsoever manner it be obtained 34. By Eternally Progressive I mean Everlastingly Increasing it will Advance for Ever it will never arrive at that Perfection beyond which it can proceed no further The Visible World is Finite the Extension thereof is Limited and Determined The Waves of the Sea have their Bounds prefixed and set unto them Hitherto says God shall they come and no farther and here shall their Rage be stopped But Humane Knowledge hath No Bounds affixed unto it it may Increase to all Durations 35. By the Future State I mean the State of the Blessed after their Departure hence There is Another World and State Consequent and Future to This. Humane Souls do not perish when they leave their Bodies they subsist in Another State and do Advance in Knowledge There as well as Here Here 't is obviously Progressive and I see no reason why it may not be so There Here we proceed gradually in the Knowledge of Things and such is the Constitution and Nature of our Faculties that 't is in my Apprehension Impossible it should be otherwise And I cannot imagine that Death should make so great an Alteration in them that what was before naturally Impossible should become not only Possible but Necessary and Vnavoidable for such must our Knowledge be if it be Perfect Immediately upon our Dissolution and Departure hence 36. By the Blessed I mean such as God shall deem Worthy and Meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light such as having done his Commandments and performed the Terms of the Gospel-Covenant have Right to the Tree of Life and Admission Through the Gates into the City CHAP. II. The Probability of the Question argued from the Consideration of the Nature of God and Man THe Question being thus briefly stated I shall lay down such Propositions as shall render it fairly Probable to Persons of Free and Vnprejudiced Minds and will give themselves Liberty to consider Things without Byass and Partiality 1. God's Perfections are Infinite his Power hath No Limits of Extension He can effect all things that are the Effects of Power There is nothing Impossible unto Him His Wisdom is of Vast Extent and reaches all things There is nothing can escape the Cognizance of his Infinite Understanding His Goodness is of Equal Extent with his Power and Wisdom it touches all things that are the Proper and Congruous Objects thereof 2. Though Man receive Great Advantages immediately upon his Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven yet he still remains a Finite Creature His removal from this Howling Wilderness doth not make him a God nor endow him with Divine Perfections He remains There a Finite Essence and of Limited Powers Though he be Mightily Advanced and his Capacities Enlarged beyond our present Conceptions yet he is still a Creature and his Nature remains the Same invariably 3. A Finite Creature can never comprehend an Infinite Creator The Globe of the Earth cannot be contained in a Nut-shell nor the Waters of the Ocean in a Bottle or Tankard The Hills cannot be crowded into a Cottage nor the Mountains into a Shepherds Tent. There is no Congruous Proportion between the One and the Other And there is far less Proportion between the Understanding of Man and the Perfections of God The One is Finite the Other is Infinite and between them there can be no Analogy Whereas there is some betwixt all Created Beings though sometimes very small forasmuch as they are all Limited and Circumscribed 4. Man must Know though not Comprehend the Excellencies and Perfections of God or he cannot be Happy All Appetites have their Proper Objects and in the Knowledge and Fruition of them they find their Content and Satisfaction and in the Absence of them they find Misery and Torment This we find true in the Experience of every Day Men have Appetite and Inclination to a Sociable Life and therefore in the Company and Society of Seconds they find Pleasure and Repose and Solitude is Irksome and Vngrateful to them They have Appetites and Inclinations to Eat and Drink and Rest and in the Enjoyment of the Objects of those Appetites they are Pleased and Satisfied and if they be deprived of them in their Proper Seasons they are Troubled and Vneasie 5. Man hath an Inclination and Desire to know God 'T is Natural to him to proceed from the Effect to the Nearest Cause and from That to the Next and so in an Orderly and Regular Gradation till it ascend to God the Prime Cause of all Things and there it Rests and is Satisfied That 's the Proper and Terminating Object of all Humane Knowledge and Disquisition When we have pursued things thither were we sit down in Complacency and solace our selves in our Acqusitions 6. What the Mind of Man cannot receive of the Divine Perfections at Once it may receive at Many times and by Succession The Soul being a Limited Essence it cannot receive or know much of the Excellencies of God at one Single Grasp or Fathome but at several times and Successively it may know much and how much is not safe to say or determine Ten Thousand Men cannot pass the Gates of a City at once but in succession of Time Many Millions may do it All the Water in the Ocean
Diameter and 't is not done without some Toyl and Labour And much more must be imployed to view a Circumference or Space whose Diameter is Many Miles and of Large Extension 4. Two things will very much augment and increase the Intuitive Knowledge of the Blessed and those are the Extension of their Presence and a Facility of moving from Place to Place These I do humbly conceive will be very Great Advantages unto them therein Peradventure their Presence may be so Extensive that by Means thereof they may inspect and behold more things at One View than we can Successively and one after another in Many Years And it may be their Motion may be almost as quick as the Beams of Light and they may pass the Immense Spaces of the Universe in the Twinkling of an Eye or at least with Incredible Swiftness and in a Very Small Space of time But these things must be spoken to something More at large and something More particularly that they may appear a Little Probable if not Vndoubtedly Certain 5. Tho' the Presence of the Blessed in the Future World will be certainly Definite and Limited for their Advancement to Bliss and Glory will not make them so Many Gods their proper Natures will still remain They will be Men in Heaven as truly as they were on Earth But tho' they continue Men yet I do with Submission conceive that their Presence will be much more Extensive and Large than now it is And in all likelihood the Extension of their Presence may be Varied There according to the Variety of their Graces and Virtues their Faith and their Obedience Here. 6. Our Lord Jesus remains a True Man in his Glorified Estate and yet certainly his Presence is much More Extensive than when he dwelt upon Earth When he was upon Earth 't was as much Limited and Confined as that of Other Men But it seems to me utterly Improbable that it should continue or remain so now he is in Heaven Then he was able to inspect and view by Intuition no more than others that were of Humane Race for He was in all things made like unto them Sin only excepted But now perhaps he may as easily inspect the Whole Globe of this Earth and the Heavens that Encompass and Surround it as any of us can view a Globe or Circumference of an Inch Diameter 7. For he is the Soveraign of Mankind He is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth He is the Governour of the World The Laws by which they ought to Live and by which they must be Judged are his Laws Sentence will pass upon all Men at the Great Day of Accounts according to their Obedience or Disobedience to them 8. Besides He is our Great Intercessor with God Almighty But how can he Hear our Prayers and Vnderstand our Needs and Wants unless he be Present with us and do Inspect and Observe them Can he Intercede for what he Knows not Or can he Know what he doth not Hear Or can he Hear where he is not Present Or can he be Present with all those that call upon him unless his Presence be of Large and Extensive Nature Is not his Name called upon from the Rising of the Sun to the Going down of the same And can all those Prayers come before him unless his Presence be very Diffusive and extended with the Fabrick of Earth and Heaven 9. In the mean time I am not about to affirm the Vbiquity of Christ's Bodily Presence nor to determine the Manner of it I suppose his Presence of no greater Extension than his Government and his Government no larger than the Extent of his Redemption and what else may be Necessary for the Protection and Preservation of his Church and People And as to what concerns the Manner of his Presence I determine nothing 'T is but little that we know of the Nature of our Own Souls whil'st they are in the Body and therefore can pretend to know little of the Soul of our Saviour since it is cloathed with a Glorious Body What is the Nature of that Body and what are its Extensions how the Soul is Joyned to it and doth Actuate and Enliven it and by what Tubes and Opticks it doth View and take Cognizance of the Affairs of Men I cannot tell but that Jesus Christ even in his Humane Nature hath some Knowledge of them I think cannot be doubted 10. To say of Christ as the Papists do of the Saints and Angels to whom they address their Prayers gives me no Satisfaction They tell us That God Hears the Prayers that they present unto them and acquaints them with them that they may Again Offer and Present them to him This and some other Improbable Accounts do they give of their Praying to Saints and Angels when Protestants do tell them That they cannot possibly take Cognizance of them by reason that their Presence is of Limited and Determinate Nature 11. For what is the Advantage of the Man Christ Jesus above Angels and Saints if he Possess and enjoy no Greater Perfections than they do It cannot be doubted but that They may understand the Needs and Wants of Men if God will Reveal them unto them And if Christ Jesus come no otherwise by the Knowledge of them what is his Excellency and what are his Advantages at least in that Kind greater than Theirs And how hath he a Name above every Name not only in This World but also in That which is To come And how hath He in all things the Preheminence Surely these Expressions of Scripture do import Some Excellencies and Advantages Peculiar to the Human Nature of Christ Jesus which Saints and Angels are uncapable of 12. Moreover Christ Jesus is the Head of his Church even in his Humane Nature and from Him the Holy Spirit is communicated by the Means of his Ordinances to all the Members of it But how can this be without Knowledge Or how can he know the Vsefulness and Necessity of it to the Several and Single Members of His Body without Largeness of Presence The Reason of the Divine Omniscience is derived from his Omnipresence God knows all things because he is Present Every Where And I do humbly think that the Extensiveness of our Saviour's Knowledge bears proportion with the Extent of his Presence 13. In brief Christ Jesus considered as Man and as Mediator is the great and general Administrator of all the Affairs of this Humane World Whatsoever is done in it he does it for all Power in Heaven and Earth is given to him and God hath given him Power Over all Flesh all things are made Subject to Him and he is the Head over all things to the Church These things with many more of like importance the Holy Scriptures do assert concerning Him But how the Power thus given to Christ can be exercised without Knowledge of the Affairs of the World and of the Church I mean an Intuitive Knowledge of them nor how he
can have any Knowledge of them without great Extension of Presence is beyond all Imagination or possibility of Conception 14. Great is the Mystery of Godliness and certainly even the Man Christ Jesus is a far more Glorious Person than the most of Christians yea or of Christian Divines do conceive or apprehend He is called the Sun of Righteousness and compared to Light snd doth Enlighten all the Intellectual World He is the Express Image of his Father's Person That is perhaps the most Lively Character and Expression of the Deity that is among Created Beings He is Sat down on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High That is He is next the Pure Godhead the most Illustrious Essence in the World His Power Wisdom Goodness Presence and other Attributes are far Superiour to those of any other Creatures and they approach so near those of God himself as to be an Apt and Fair Resemblance of them 15. Let no Man misunderstand me in what I have said concerning the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus I do not assert the Vbiquity of it nor do I deny his Divine or the Vnion thereof to the Humane I Extend the Presence of his Humane Nature no farther than the Nature of his Mediatory Office doth require it He is the Great Prophet Priest and King of Humane Race And as far as the Exercise of these several Offices do require his Presence so far I Extend it and no farther Though I will not determine that these are the Bounds or Limits of it And touching the Doctrine of the Trinity and the Vmon of the Eternal Word with the Humane Nature I esteem it the Great Essential as well as the Great Mystery of the Christian Religion and do very heartily believe it 16. If any Man shall doubt the Truth of what I have said concerning the Presence of Christ's Humane Nature because he is not able to comprehend or imagine the Manner of it I answer The Existence of Multitudes of things is Certain though the manner thereof may be Incomprehensible The Existence of the Humane Soul in the Body is Certain and that it gives Life and Motion to it but how 't is Vnited and by what Ties and Ligaments 't is fastened there and how it gives Life and Motion to it no Man can tell That Children are Formed in their Mother's Wombs and that Birds and Fouls are Formed of Eggs is Vndenyable but how these things are done no Man is able to inform us 17. Besides we are ignorant of the Nature of Humane Minds and what Improvements they are capable of being advanced unto aster they are freed from their Gross and Heavy Bodies And we know as little of the Nature of those Spiritual Bodies where-withal we shall be invested at the Resurrection and which Christ Jesus is already cloathed withal in the Heavens Peradventure the Soul of our Saviour may be so far advanced and perfected as to be able to actuate a Spiritual Body of very vast Dimensions And this Body may penetrate all Gross and Material Bodies even as Light doth the Purest Christal So that to deny the Presence of Christ's Humane Nature because we cannot comprehend the manner of it especially since we know so little of the Capacity of a Humane Mind and such was that of Christ Jesus or of the Nature of that Spiritual and Glorious Body which is the Tabernacle and Habitation of it is I think Unreasonable 18. But after all that I have said on this Subject I shall add thus much I do not confidently affirm it I only propose it to the Consideration of Free and Vnprejudiced Minds and leave them fully the Liberty to Embrace or Reject it as they see caâ—se Only I would desire them well to consider how many and great things the Scripture speaks of the Man Christ Jesus In Him Dwells alâ— the Fulness of the Godbead He is filled with the Holy Spirit that he may be a Head of Vital Influence to all his Members He is the Universal Law-giver and Light of all Men and will be the Universal Judge of all the World Which doth imply great Largeness of Knowledge Wisdom and Power and by consequence a very Extensive Presence 19. But what means all this long Discourse Why this If Extension of Presence be Reconcileable and Consistent with the Humane Nature of our Saviour in his Glorified Estate it may be Reconcileable with it in the Blessed If he be a True Man notwithstanding his Presence is Extended to very vast Distances The Blessed may be so though their Presence be Extended in some Good Degree and Measure And if the Humane Nature in the Holy Jesus be capable of these Extensions and this Amplitude the same Nature is capable of it in the Blessed in their Degree and Proportion 20. And this Extension of Presence will very much increase their Intuitive Knowledge they will be able to see and observe at one View much of the Works of God and many of the Productions of his Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness By it they will be able to observe the Connexion and Dependance of things on each other and consequently the Beauty and Harmony of them which will very much Affect Delight them He that beholds one Piece or Part of a Curious Picture or Statue is not Moved or Delighted by it but he that beholds it altogether and observes the Relation and Symmetry of its Parts to and with each other is even transported with the Admiration of it He that Views only one Part of a Landskip finds peradventure but little Pleasure in the Prospect of it but he that Sees it altogether and in its whole Extent and Dimensions finds a Marvellous Complaisance therein 21. Though this Extension of Presence in the Future State should be doubted and consequently the Increase of Intuitive Knowledge thereby yet it may be very much increased by Facility of Motion from Place to Place which almost all Divines and Christians do acknowledge a Power of Property Inherent in the Blessed All confess a Power of removing themselves from one determinate Spot of the Vniverse to another with Incredible Swiftness For amongst other Properties of the Glorious Bodies where-with they will be invested at the Resurrection they reckon Quickness and Agility for Motion and Action And surely Spiritual Bodies are in their own Nature more Agile and Fit for Motion than these Gross and Earthly Bodies that we now bear about with us 22. The Blessed being thus Agile and Fit for Motion they may as easily pass from World to World or from One part of the Vniverse to Another as we do from Village to Village in the Country or from Street to Street in a vast and populous City Some Philosophers have imagined the Sun Moon and Stars with other Planetary Bodies to be so many Habitable Worlds and the Learned Hevelius hath lately given us a Map of the Moon in which he hath described and distinguished the several Seas and Countreys in it 23. And if
that forbids such Opinions or Apprehensions Though it Teaches no such Doctrine nor do I affirm it Certainly True or Necessary yet I find not any thing in the Contents thereof which is Opposite unto it or Inconsistent with it I do not affirm There shall be a Succession of Worlds equally Wicked with This and consequently such as shall need a Saviour and Redeemer But what hinders that there may not be a World yea Many Worlds that may retain Their Primitive Integrity and State and that God may Govern them by Natural and Revealed Laws since Adam whil'st Innocent was so Governed and after such a Part of Time as shall seem good to the Pleasure of his Will remove the Inhabitants thereof to Better and more Glorious Habitations 23. Yea let me add That I am not very sure that God Governs the Saints and Angels in Heaven by no other but Natural Laws The Service the they do to God Almighty either in the Protecting of Kingdoms Churches and Particular Persons or in Punishing his Enemies may in my Apprehension by performed in Obedience to some Positive and Particular Commands and Revelations For although Rewards and Punishments be of the Law of Nature yet the Time and of Measure them is not so What Law of Nature doth determine when and in what Degree and Measure the Enemies of God and of his People shall be Punished and Chastised What Law of Nature doth appoint when Kingdoms and Churches shall be protected or delivered out of the Hands of their Oppressors and such as seek their Ruine These things seem to me to depend on the Wisdom and Will of God and that there is no Possibility of coming to the Knowledge of them but by Immediate Revelation 24. And if in Particular Instantaneous Cases they are Governed by Revealed Laws what hinders but that in some other Cases they may be Governed by them through the vast Durations of Eternity Who knows but that there may be some Positive Institutions by which they may worship God and exalt his Praise And who ean tell how Various and Great may be the Number of them Or whether some of them may not be Temporary and Expire and others Succeed them of new Appointment and Command 25. If Innocent Adam were Governed by both Natural and Revealed Laws if it be not altogether improbable that the Blessed Saints and Angels are so Governed it cannot fairly be doubted but that the Inhabitants of Other Worlds may receive from God Both sorts of Laws for their Direction and Conduct and that the Knowledge of them that are Supernatural may Increase and Advance the Vnderstandings of the Blessed It being altogether as possible that they may arrive at the Knowledge of them as it is that the Angels of Heaven should partake in the Knowledge of the Christian Mysteries and Laws of which we are assured from the Sacred Volumes 26. Whether all that I have said on this Subject will render it probable that the Knowledge of the Blessed may Increase Eternally by Revelation I leave to the Judgment of the Reader I have suggested such Probabilities as occurred to my Thoughts Those that shall peruse them may Accept or Refuse them as they shall judge convenient or as they please CHAP. VI. Of the Increase of Knowledge by Historical Narration or Tradition 1. THat the Holy Saints and Angels are capable of Communicating their Thoughts and Sentiments to each other is not doubted by Divines nor is there any reason for it Man is a Sociable Creature 'T is a Property that seems to be Essential unto him And we have reason to think the like of the Holy Angels They are Vnderstanding Beings as well as Men and I believe they are endowed with the same Essential Properties with them And that Sociableness is as agreeable to the Angelical as to the Humane Nature and from both Equally inseparable 2. How they do Communicate with each other I do not Vnderstand nor peradventure Any Man living on the Face of this Earth He that will tell you how they do it must intimately understand the Nature of Spirits and whether they be Imbodied yea or no and what is the Nature of those Bodies and Vehicles in which they lodge or dwell But these are such things that no Man of Sound Sense can pretend unto And by certain Consequence no Man doth know the Manner how Saints and Angels do mutually Converse together and Entertain each other For whil'st we are ignorant of the Nature of things we must needs be ignorant How they produce their Effects We are very much ignorant of the Nature of our Food and Physick and therefore can't tell how they do perform their Operations on our Bodies Physicians are not yet agreed whether Purgatives do operate by Pulsion or Traction or meerly by Provoking Nature and they are as little agreed how our Meat and Drink are Digested Distributed and Turned into Blood and Humours and also into Flesh and Bones 3. Though we know not How very many things are done yet we are much assured that they Are. We know not How a Tree grows from a Seed nor a Curious Variegated Flower from a Slip that seems Simple and without any Diversity We can't tell How Beasts and Fishes are Formed nor how Vermine are Bred in a Carkass nor how Froggs are made of Spawn or the Mudd and Slime of the River Nile The Truth and Existence of these things is Vndeniable but How they are Made and Generated no Man is able to explain 4. If many things be Really Existent the Manner of whose Existence we can give no Fair Account of I see nothing that can reasonably hinder us from granting that Saints and Angels do Converse together and Communicate their Knowledge and Conceptions to each other ' This certain that They do many other things which we cannot Vnderstand or Comprehend They do or at least have often Appeared in Humane Shape and Conversed with Men. Whether they have become Visible by forming unto themselves Extemporate Bodies of the Matter of the Air and other Elements or whether they have condensed their Own Proper Bodies and made them Visible by Conspissating the Matter of them who can inform us Granting either of these Suppositions who can teach us how they do effect it These are Inquiries that the Wisest cannot Answer these are Problems that they cannot reach or fathome 5. Supposing then that Saints and Angels can Communicate their Knowledge I do affirm That the Knowledge of the Blessed may be very greatly Increased thereby For if there be or have been Other Worlds Existent besides This in which we live the Blessed may receive Information concerning them by and from the Angels of Heaven that have superintended them and by the Appointment of God taken Cognizance of their Affairs For it must not be doubted but that God exercises a particular Care and Providence over all the Works of his Hands and 't is as likely that he should make the Holy Angels the Instruments and
Superstitions and to recover a great part of the Christian World to the true Worship of God according to the Simplicity pf the Gospel This was a thing Totally improbable there was no appearance or likelihood of Success therein 16. Of these things we have Some Account in the Holy Scriptures and in Antient and Modern Histories The Scriptures give us some brief Reports of the Raising of the Christian Church and by what Means 't was done The Histories of the Antique Fathers and Writers report the Increase and Enlargement of it and by what Instruments 't was accomplished and with what Opposition And so do our latter Historians make Report of the Late Reformation and by what Agents and Second Causes it became successful But I do not doubt but that the Saints and Angels do and will give more Large and Perfect Accounts of these things 17. And how particular they may be in it who is able to determine But 't is my Opinion that they will be very Exact and Particular Heaven is designed for the Exaltation of the Divine Praise and for the Celebration of the Honour of God's Persections which cannot be done without Knowledge and the most Exact and Perfect Knowledge gives the Greatest and Best Capacities for it None are so fit to admire Praise and adore the Attributes and Perfections of God as those that have the Largest and Compleatest Knowledge of the Great and Stupendious Effects of them He is best able to commend a Learned Man that hath read his Books and hath the most Intimate and Perfect Understanding of his Accomplishments He is best able to speak forth the Praises of God that hath the Fullest and most Extensive Knowledge of his Providence and his Works 18. How can any Man Praise and Adore the Wisdom of God in the Raising Preserving and Defending his Church in despight to all the Craft Subtilty and Malice of the Enemies thereof without the Knowledge of the Divine Conduct in all its Affairs and Concernments How can the Blessed praise the Power the Wisdom the Justice and Goodness of God in the Government of the Church without an Exact Knowledge of God's Dealings with it And how can they have any Cognizance of them but by the Tradition and Discourses of Saints and Angels 'T is true God may give them the Knowledge of them by Revelation and I will not deny but that some of the Providences of God towards his Church may be so Made known unto them But 't is not God's usual Method in This World to do those things by Supernatural Ways and Means which may be done by those that are Natural nor do I believe that it will be his Ordinary Way in That which is to come Some Peculiarities of Dispensations perhaps he may make known by Revelation but the Ordinary Way of imparting to the Blessed the Series of his Dispensations towards the Church will be by Historical Narration and Tradition 19. There hath been a perpetual War between the Seed of the Woman and the Seed of the Serpent or which is all alone between the Subjects and People or Church of God and the Subjects and Vassals of the Devil And as the visible Contests and Battels that have been managed by these two Kingdoms under their Heads and Chieftains will be discoursed and related among the Blessed so I do not doubt but that the Invisible Wars that have been managed by Michael and his Angels in favour of the Church against the Dragon and his Angels in prejudice unto it will be very largely laid open there And how Large and Extensive the Knowledge thereof may be who can say And if the Sevenal Smaller Instances and Particulars thereof be made known as 't is probable they will how Numerous and almost Infinite will they be And how many Ages may be spent in the Communication of the Knowledge of them 20. Multitudes of very strange Events do happen and occur to Kingdoms Nations and Churches and particular Families and Persons of which we are able to give no Account because we have No Knowledge or at least very Little of them or their Affairs We know not what their Mercies have been nor what are their Sins and Provocations We know not what are their Qualities and Dispositions nor what are their Temptations and therefore can't reckon for the Various and Strange Providences that do betide them But in the Other World when we shall have an Historical Narrative of all those things 't will be easie to give a reason of all the Strange Events that did betide them If a Person should be taken out of a Cave or some Place of Secresie and Silence after many Years Retirement and Abode there and brought to a Place where Publick Executions are done and there see Men Hung by the Neck cut down ere they were Dead their Bowels taken out their Members cut off and burnt before their Faces and their Bodies cut into Quarters after the manner of Beasts 't is not to be doubted but that he would be Strangely Amazed at such a Procedure But when he should afterward be acquainted with their Natures and Dispositions their Actions and their Designs and receive a full History and Narrative of them he would be able to give himself a Reason of all these Severities and be abundantly Satisfied in the Wisdome and Equity of them 21. The Affairs of the World and the Church are so much Mingled and Confounded that the One cannot be known without the Other The Victories and Triumphs of the Church can't be mentioned or proposed to Consideration without remembring the Attempts and Assaults that were made upon them by the Men of the World The Triumphs of the Church over Judaisme and Paganisme can't be reported without mention of the Great and Furious Opposition that was made by the Jews and Pagans The Success and Conquests of the True Church of God upon the Apostate Romish Synagogue cannot be called to mind without a Rehearsal of its Great and Enraged Opposition unto it 22. And truly This World being a Stage or Theater and the several Revolutions and Changes in it being only so many Scenes and Parts of the Comedy or rather of the Tragedy and the Glorious Saints and Angels being the Spectators and they all being to give to God the Praise after the great Catastrophe and Conclusion of all things It seems to me very probable that they shall have a Very Perfect Knowledge of all the Affairs of it No Man can judge of the Skill and Contrivance the Wit and Ingeny of a Comedian that hath not a full and clear Knowledge of all the Parts of the Comedy And sure it is that no Man can reasonably and as it becomes a Man judge of the Infinite Wisdom and Curious Skill of God in the Various Changes and Mutations that are seen in the World unless he hath a Large and Comprehensive Knowledge of them No Man can give that Applause to the Wisdom Justice and Goodness of God as is Suitable
again When they call to mind that He Supports their Beings and Faculties and Furnishes them with Suitable Objects for their Imployment and Delight They do Immediately infer the great Necessity of Loving and Serving this Great and Good God 3. If the Vnderstandings of the Blessed were Infinite I think they would have no Vse of Ratiocination But forasmuch as they are certainly of Limited and Definite Nature I cannot understand how they will be able to perform that Duty and exercise those Affections upon God without it which all Men confess are the Imployment and Happiness of the Blessed Can they Love God without Consideration of his Transcendent Excellencies and Amiable Perfections Can they Obey Him without considering his Rightful Soveraignty and many and Great Benefactions Or is not this Consideration and Love and Obedience consequent sequent thereunto a manifest Ratiocination and Use of their Discursive Faculty and Power 4. That some things in This World are more Obvious and better Known than others cannot be denyed and I believe were so to Adam whil'st he remained Innocent I doubt not but that the First Principles of Things were more plain to his Vnderstanding than the numerous Conclusions deduced from them as well as they are to Ours 'T was more obvious to him that the Several Lines drawn from the Center of a Circle were equal among themselves than that all the Sides of an Aequilateral Triangle are the Radii of Equal Circles with many others that might be mentioned if the thing were not plain beyond all Reasonable Doubt or Scruple And if it be thus on Earth and were so even Before the Fall why may it not be so in Heaven 5. If from Moral Principles the Blessed do infer Morael Conclusions which I think cannot be denyed why may they not do the like from Natural If from the Being Goodness and Providence of God they do infer Love Fear and Obedience why may they not infer from such things as are Natural and Well Known those things that are Vnknown yet Naturally consequent unto them And indeed as I see no reason to deny it so I am much Past Doubt of the Truth of it I cannot but believe that the Blessed will Conclude that they are able to Move To and Fro with Incredible Swiftness because their Bodies are Spiritual and many other Conclusions of like Nature will they infer from like Premises 6. The Conclusions that in this weak and imperfect State have been made from some few Principles in every Art and Science are almost Infinite Who can number the Conclusions that have been made from the Principles of Natural Philosophy Metaphysick and Geometry How many vast and almost numberless Volumes have been written concerning them And when will they make an end ' Those Sciences have been studied and polished by Heathens and Chritians for well night two Thousand Years and yet every New Writer pretends to say something that was not said before and to add to the Advancement Increase and Perfection of them 7. Some think the Inferences and Deductions that are made from the Principles of Geometry alone may be capable of Everlasting Increase and Augmentation and truly he that considers the Numberless number of Propositions that are in the several Branches and Dependencies of that Science will find no great difficulty in believing it How numerous are the Propositions that are to be sound in Geometry properly and strictly taken in Astronomy Algebra Musick Opticks Dialling and the Art of Navigation And how Few and Simple are the Principles from which they have been Inferred and Deduced What daily Additions and Increases are made to them by Learned Men Every day almost Books are Published and Printed in which something is added towards the Perfection of those Sciences 8. And as Numbers may be perpetually and to all Durations Increased by Addition so I am very much inclined to believe that the Propositions in Mathematicks neither are or ever will be so Numerous but that they may be Increased And those that are Skilled in them and do observe how they Generate each other will I am perswaded think as I do and Modestly affirm That it may be continued to Infinity 9. In the mean time I will not affirm That the Study of Geometry will be any part of the Imployment of the Blessed Perhaps there will be NO Vse of it or Occasion for it There Some Arts and Sciences will expire with our Dissolution because the Vse of them will then determine All the Mechanick Artifices by which Men support Themselves and their Families will receive their Period with our Lives The Arts of Plowing and Sowing of Building and Planting of Passing the Seas and Navigating into Forreign Countries will end with This Life because there will be No Vse of them in the Other And perhaps so it may be with all Mathematical Learning and Science 10. But if the Principles of one Single Science may be Productive of almost Infinite Conclusions much more may the Principles of all Sciences And that some Science will be of Vse in the Other State few doubt or deny The Science of Natural Philosophy will remain There The Blessed shall understand the Nature of their Own Bodies and all Others that they Converse withal and are Presented to their View How can they give God the Praise of them if they do not Know them nor cannot penetrate the Abysses of them And how far this Knowledge may extend who is able to divine 11. Besides it is not improbable that the Future World may furnish many Species and Kinds of Bodies to our Contemplation The Earth and Sea and Air have their peculiar Kinds of Corporeal Essences yea every Climate almost hath something peculiar to it self And what hinders but that the Highest Heavens may have multitudes of Peculiarities the like whereunto our Eyes have never Seen nor our Ears Heard Yea give me leave to say That I am much past doubt of it Surely that Blessed State will present many Glorious Objects and Excellent Beings to our View and our Knowledge will be much Increased and Enlarged thereby 12. Moreover we cannot doubt but the Science of Metaphysicks will also be continued There The most Glorious of all Reasonable Creatures are of Spiritual and Metaphysical Nature Such are all the Holy Angels and Blessed Saints Whether there be any thing Material in their Constitution whether they be Imbodied in Pure and AEtherial Vehicles I will not here dispute but all do grant that there is something in their Essence that is Spiritual and without all doubt the Blessed will have some Knowledge of it They will not remain so ignorant of the Nature Powers and Capacities of Spirits as now they are Somewhat they will Vnderstand of them and the Manner of their Operations as also what Gradual Differences there are among them and what Diversity in their Accomplishments and Perfections For as there are very Many Differences I mean Gradual among Bodies so there may be among Spirits for