Temptation prevailed, the firft caufe of all the fucceeding Alterations, which brought it by degrees to diffolution. And as to Infirmities, whereunto add corporal Exuberances and Defects, do they not all come from an unequal Quantity and Difproporti on of Seed, or elementary Principles which befel Mans Body at firft, from eating of the Apple or Fruit? Grief then, together with Difcord, Damnation and Hell, remain only to be fpoken of, which when I have firft anfwered an Objection that here offers it felf, I fhall make known whose foul and curfed Off-fpring they likewise be.. Object. 3.Twas faid Sect.4. Par. 12, that Man was created to enjoy the Beatific Vifion, which how he could have done, if fo be our first Parents had continued innocent, and never have died, is not eafie to conceive. Solat. It is easier to conceive that, then how, if Mankind had been immortal, the Earth fhould have born them; for the Multitude of Men by a perpetual Generation would have exceeded the number of Atoms in the Universe. But in cafe we reflect how that the State of Innocency was not a State of Perfection, (Sect. 4. Par. 15.) and yet that Man was created to attain Perfection in the full Fruition of God by Intellectual Vision, (Sect. 4. Par. 12.) 'tis not difficult to gather, that Adam and his Posterity, if they had perfevered in Innocency, fhould have been exercised for a time in fuch Duties, Ways and Means, as would have only prepared them for the Everlasting Enjoyment of God, which because it is placed in the perfect Love of God clearly feen, (Sect. 4. Par. 13.) thofe Duties, Ways and Means must have been fuch, as would from time to time have excited and encreased their Affection to God, as namely obferving, admiring, and lauding his excellent, and wonderful Power, Wisdom, and Godness manifefted in the admirable Works of the Creation, and the continual Prefervation of them; which when they had fo long and effectually done, that they could have been no longer satisfied with beholding the Creator in the Glass of the Creature, their Defire of feeing him in Himfelf would have grown fo vehement, that they could have had no Rest without feeing him face to face; and confequently, fince the Almighty had made them for that End, and appointed thofe Means they had used to fit them for it, 'twould have been altogether becoming, and confentaneous to, his his unchangeable Goodness to translate them from the Earthly to the Heavenly Paradife, their Natural Bodies being changed into Spiritual Bodies, (and thereby made unmeet to live on the Terreftial Globe) like as St. Paul fays of those that shall be found alive at the day of Judgment, Behold t fhew you a Mystery, we shall not all fleep, but we shall all be changed. I Corinth. 15. 51. And again, Then we which are alive shall be caught up together with them (i. e. the Dead in Chrift, Verf. 16.) in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air, and so shall be ever with the Lord, i Theff. 4. 17. Why all this should not be rationally enough offer'd in answer to the Objection, I apprehend not. But yet if we seriously reflect that God is Omniscient, and knows at once and always e very thing, and by confequence had as primarily in his Knowledg the Fall of Adam as his Creation, we muft conclude that God from Eternity determined how Adam fhould be dealt with after his Fall, rather than what his Progrefs to Blifs fhould be in cafe he fell not, when as he inerrably knew he would certainly fall. And therefore he had no earlier Thoughts of creating Man; than he had of calling him to Repentance, and of providing him a Saviour, (the NeF 2 Eeffity ceffity whereof will be shown in the 9th. Section) there being no fucceffion of Thoughts in God concerning those things whereof there is a Succeffion in themselves; whence he at once eternally faw the Creation and End of it, with all the Means, whereby it was to be fucceffively brought to pafs, of which we have fome imperfect Refemblance in a skillful Architect, who about to build a ftately Palace, has the whole Model of the Building together in his Mind, although the Parts thereof be fucceffively framed, and the Materials fitted for the Work one after another. For the Omniscient faw together in his Thoughts the nobleft Univerfe of Creatures, which all Created Beings could poffibly constitute for producing the moft Excellent End that could be. (Sec. 3. Pag. 8.) Among those Creatures fome were to operate neceffarily, fome voluntarily, towards procuring the general grand Effect to be produced; of the latter fort of which, Man was ordained to bear a confiderable fhare; who, though by original Conftitution he might have kept his Native Integrity, yet our Bleffed Saviours Incarnation, Doings, and Sufferings occafioned by the Laps, were as primarily intended by God, as the very Creation it felf. felf. For the All-wife and All-good God infallibly knowing what Ufe Man would make of the Freedom of his Will, defigned his Creation no fooner than he did a Way, which should not only prevent the defeat. ing of the End for which he made mans but would also be a means to advance it to an higher degree of Perfection than it could have had without it; whilft nian has był the Bleffed incarnation of the Son of God, (of which hereafter in the 9th. Section) and the gracious Sequel of it, far greater Votives to the Love of God (in which Fe licity confifts, fect 4. par. 13.) than by the Creation, and all other things befides whatsoever and confequently a certain Means of augmenting the intenfness of hiso Affection to God, and thereby the greatnes of his eternal Blifs, as will hereafter be made out, fect. 11. 6. This occafional interruption over, I go on to fhew, that Grief, Fear, Difcord, Damnation and the Torments of Hell are. fo many feveral Branches of the Tree of the knowledg of good and evil. For as for Grief, it is a Paffion which arifes from the Sense of an incumbent Evil, and Fear from the apprehenfion of an evil approaching; fo that, in regard there could have no F 3 evil |
