Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	work_v	world_n	worthy_a	22	3	5.7646	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70182	Two choice and useful treatises the one, Lux orientalis, or, An enquiry into the opinion of the Eastern sages concerning the praeexistence of souls, being a key to unlock the grand mysteries of providence in relation to mans sin and misery : the other, A discourse of truth / by the late Reverend Dr. Rust ... ; with annotations on them both.	Rust, George, d. 1670. Discourse of truth.; More, Henry, 1614-1687. Annotations upon the two foregoing treatises.; Glanvill, Joseph, 1636-1680. Lux orientalis.	1682 (1682)	Wing G815; Wing G833; Wing M2638; ESTC R12277	226,950	535

and supposeth a conflict Therefore we say that God is good and holy but not vertuous Take away a possibility of evil and in the Creature there is no moral goodness And then no Reward no Pleasure no Happiness Therefore in sum 5ly The divine Goodness is manifested in making all Creatures sutably to those Idea's of their natures which he hath in his All-comprehensive Wisdom And their good and happiness consists in acting according to those natures and in being furnisht with all things necessary for such actions Now the divine Wisdom is no arbitrary thing that can change or alter those setled immutable Idea's of things that are there represented It lopps not off essential Attributes of some Beings to in●culate them upon others But distinctly comprehending all things assigns each Being its proper nature and qualities And the Divine goodness according to the wise direction of the eternal Intellect in like distinct and orderly manner produceth all things viz. according to all the variety of their respective Idea's in the divine wisdom * Wherefore as the goodness of God obligeth him not to make every Planet a fixt Star or every Star a Sun So neither doth it oblige him to make every degree of Life a rational Soul or every Soul an impeccable Angel * For this were to tye him to contradictions Since therefore such an order of Beings as rational and happy though free and therefore mutable creatures were distinctly comprehended in the Divine Wisdom It was an effect of God's Goodness to bring them into being even in such a condition and in such manner as in their eternal Idea's they were represented Thus then we see it is not contrary to the infinite plenitude of the Divine Goodness * that we should have been made peccable and lyable to defection And being thus in our very essential constitutions lapsible 't was no defect in the goodness of our Maker that he did not interpose by his absolute omnipotence to prevent our actual praevarication and apostasie Since his goodness obligeth him not to secure us upon any terms whatever but upon such as may most promote the general good and advantage And questionless 't was much better that such as would wilfully depart from the laws of their blessed natures and break through all restraints of the divine commands should feel the smart of their disobedience than that providence should disorder the constitution of nature to prevent the punishment which they drew upon themselves Since those apostate spirits remain instances to those that stand of the divine justice and severity against sinners and so may contribute not a little to their security And for that long night of silence in which multitudes ofsouls are buried before they descend into terrestrial matter it is but the due reward of their former disobedience for which considering the happy circumstances in which they were made they deserv'd to be nothing for ever And their re-instating in a condition of life and self-injoyment after so highly culpable delinquencies is a great instance of the over-flowing fulness of the divine compassion and benignity Thus then we see That Gods making us lapsible and permitting us to fall is no prejudice in the least to the infinite fecundity of his goodness and his making all things best So that mine Argument for Praeexistence bottom'd on this Foundation stands yet firm and immoveable notwithstanding the rude assault of this objection From which I pass to a fourth CHAP. IX A 4th Objection against the Argument from God's goodness viz. That it will conclude as well that the World is infinite and eternal Answered The conclusion of the second Argument for Praeexistence THerefore fourthly it will be excepted If we may argue from the divine goodness which always doth what is best for the Praeexistence of Souls then we may as reasonably thence conclude that the world is both infinite and eternal since an infinite communication of goodness is better than a finite To this because I doubt I have distrest the Readers patience already I answer briefly 1 Every one that believes the infiniteness of Gods goodness is as much obliged to answer this objection as I am For it will be said infinite goodness doth good infinitely and consequently the effects to which it doth communicate are infinite For if they are not so it might have communicated to more and thereby have done more good than now 't is supposed to do and by consequence now is not infinite And to affirm that goodness is infinite where what it doth and intends to do is but finite will be said to be a contradiction since goodness is a relative term and in God always respects somewhat ad extra For he cannot be said to be good to himself he being a nature that can receive no additional perfection Wherefore this Objection makes no more against mine Argument than it doth against the Infinity of the Divine Goodness and therefore I am no more concern'd in i● than others Yea 2 ly the Scripture affirms that which is the very strength of mine Argument viz. That God made all things best Very Good saith our Translation but the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a particle of the Superlative And therefore every one that owns its sacred Authority is interested against this Objection For it urgeth it had been far more splendid glorious and magnificent for God to have made the universe commensurate to his own immensity and to have produced effects of his power and greatness where ever he himself is viz. in infinite space and duration than to have confined his omnipotence to work only in one little spot of an infinite inane capacity and to begin to act but t●other day Thus then the late creation and finiteness of the World seem to conflict with the undoubted oracle of truth as well as with mine Argument and therefore the Objection drawn thence is of no validity 3 Those that have most strenuously defended the orthodox doctrine against the old opinion of the eternity and infinity of the world * have asserted it to be impossible in the nature of the thing And sure the divine benignity obligeth him not to do contradictions or such things as in the very notion of them are impossible But in the case of Praeexistence no such thing can be reasonably pretended as above hath been declared and therefore there is no escaping by this Evasion neither Nor can there any thing else be urged to this purpose but what whoever believes the infinity of the divine bounty will be concern'd to answer And therefore 't will make no more against me than against a truth on all hands confessed Let me only add this That 't is more becoming us to inlarge our apprehensions of things so as that they may suit the Divine Beneficence than to draw it down to a complyance with our little schemes and narrow models Thus then I have done with the Argument for Praeexistence drawn from the

follows NOw because inability to apprehend the manner of a Thing is a great prejudice against the belief on 't I find my self obliged to go a little further than the bare proof and defence of Praeexistence For though what I have said may possibly induce some to think favourably of our conclusion That the souls of men were made before they came into these bodies yet while they shall think that nothing can be conceived of that former state and that our Praeexistent condition cannot be represented to Humane Understanding but as a dark black solitude it must needs weaken the perswasion of those that are less confirmed and ●ill the minds of the inquisitive with a dubious trouble and Anxiety For searching and contemplative Heads cannot be satisfied to be told That our souls have lived and acted in a former condition except they can be helpt to some more particular apprehension of that State How we lived and acted of old and how probably we fell from that better life into this Region of misery and imperfection Now though indeed my Charity would prompt me to do what I can for the relief and ease of any modest Inquirer yet shall I not attempt to satisfie punctual and eager curiosity in things hidden and unsearchable Much less shall I positively determine any thing in matters so lubricous and uncertain And indeed considering how imperfect our now state is how miserable shallow our understandings are and how little we know of our present selves and the things about us it may seem a desperate undertaking to attempt any thing in this matter Yea when we contemplate the vast circuits of the Divine Wisdom and think how much the thoughts and actions of Eternity and Omniscience are beyond ours who are but of Yesterday and know nothing it must needs discourage Considence it self from determining how the Oeconomy of the world of life was order'd in the day the Heavens and Earth were framed There are doubtless infinite ways and methods according to which the unsearchable wisdom of our Maker could have disposed of us which we can have no conceit of And we are little more capable of unerringly resolving our selves now how it was with us of old than a Child in the womb is to determine what kind of life it shall live when it is set at liberty from that dark inclosure Therefore let shame and blushing cover his face that shall confidently affirm that 't was thus or thus with us in the state of our Fore-Beings However to shew that it may have been that our Souls did Praeexist though we cannot punctually and certainly conclude upon the Particular State I shall presume to draw up a conceivable Scheme of the Hypothesis And if our narrow minds can think of a way how it might have been I hope no body will deny that the divine wisdom could have contriv'd it so or infinitely better than we can imagin in our little models And now I would not have it thought that I go about to insinuate or represent any opinions of my own or that I am a votary to all the notions I make use of whether of the Antient or more modern Philosophers For I seriously profess against all determinations in this kind But my business only is by some imperfect hints and guesses to help to apprehend a little how the state of Praeexistence might have been and so to let in some beams of ancient and modern light upon this immense darkness * Therefore let the Reader if he please call it a Romantick Scheme or imaginary Hypothesis or what name else best fits his Phancy and he 'l not offend me Nor do I hold my self concern'd at all to vindicate the truth of any thing here that is the fruit of mine own invention or composure Though I confess I could beg civilities at least for the notions I have borrowed from great and worthy Sages And indeed the Hypothesis as to the main is derived to us from the Platonists though in their writings 't is but Gold in Oar less pure and perfect But a late great Artist hath excellently refined it And I have not much work to do but to bring together what he up and down hath scattered and by a method-order and some connexions and notions of mine own to work it into an intire and uniform mass Now because the Frame of the particular Hypothesis is originally Philosophical I shall therefore not deprave it by mingling with it the opinions of modern Theologers or distort any thing to make it accommodate to their dogmata but solely and sincerely follow the light of Reason and Philosophy For I intend not to endeavour the late alteration of the ordinary systeme of Divinity nor design any thing in this place but a representation of some harmless Philosophical conjectures In which I shall continually guide my self by the Attributes of God the Phaenomena of the world and the best discoveries of the nature of the soul CHAP. XIII 7 Pillars on which the particular Hypothesis stands NOw the Fabrick we are going to build will stand like as the House of Wisdom upon seven Pillars which I shall first erect and establish that the Hypothesis may be firm and sure like a House that hath Foundations Therefore the first Fundamental Principle I shall lay is this First Pillar 1 All the Divine designs and actions are laid and carried on by pure and infinite Goodness AND methinks this should be owned by all for a manifest and indisputable Truth But some odd opinions in the world are an interest against it and therefore I must be fain to prove it Briefly then Every rational Being acts towards some end or other That end where the Agent acts regularly and wisely is either some self-good or accomplishment or 't is the good and perfection of some thing else at least in the intention Now God being an absolute and immense fulness that is incapable of any the least shadow of new perfection cannot act for any good that may accrue to his immutable self and consequently whatever he acts is for the good of some other Being so that all the divine actions are the communications of his perfections and the issues of his Goodness which being without the base alloy of self-interest or partial fondness and not comprised within any bounds or limits as his other perfections are not but far beyond our narrow conception we may well call it pure and infinite benignity This is the original and root of all things so that this blessed ever blessed Attribute being the Spring and Fountain of all the Actions of the Deity his designs can be no other but the contrivances of Love for the compassing the good and perfection of the universe Therefore to suppose God to act or design any thing that is not for the good of his Creatures is either to phancy him to act for no end at all or for an end that is contrary to his benign Nature Finally therefore the very notion of