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wife in other parts of the World: Doth therefore he that fays there are Cities in Europe to rule the Neighbouring Countries and Cities in other parts of the World, alfo fay, That the Cities of Europe are greater than any Cities in the rest of the World? Or if any one should fay, God made four great Rivers to water Paradife, and Rivers in other places alfo, would he thereby affirm, that the Rivers of Paradise were larger than all the Rivers in the World befides?

V. 1 Sam. ii. 8. We read of the Pillars of the Earth; but this is fpoken metaphorically, and by Pillars of the Earth may be meant the Power of the Princes of the World, mention'd but just before. In the like fense it is faid, Pfal. lxxv. 3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are diffolved: I bear up the pillars of it. * Maimonides styles Abraham the Pillar of the World; and the Humble and Poor in Spirit are by the Jews faid to fupport the World. We find mention made of the Pillars of the Earth, Job ix. 6. which is to be understood of the Earth's unmoveable Stability, as St. Jerom obferves, and fo the other Texts may likewife be understood. Thou hast established the earth and it abideth, (Pfal. cxix. 90.) or, as in the Hebrew, it ftandeth; and to exprefs the durable Firmnefs of the Earth the more emphatically, it is faid to stand upon Pillars. By the Pillars of the Heavens, Job xxvi. 11. we are to understand that Power which fupports and upholds them.

VI. Job xxxvii. 18. The Sky is faid to be strong, and as a Molten Looking-glafs, that is, to be durable, and resembling a molten Looking-glafs. Lookingglaffes in ancient times being made of Brafs, or other Metal, Exod. xxxviii. 8. But however they be taken,

De Idololatr. §. v. c. I.

Queft, in Lib. Reg. inter Hieron. Opera, ad 1 Sam. i. 16.

• Columnas hoc loco pro ftabilitate terræ intelligamus, quam Deus fuper femetipfam immobiliffimâ mole fundavit. S. Hieron. ad Job ix. 6.

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these are the Words of Elihu: And Job's Friends fin'd in what they charg'd him withal, and therefore he may be fuppofed to make fo innocent a mistake, as to think the Heavens folid, or at least, he as well as the reft might speak the Language of thofe that did think fo.

VII. Job fpeaks ftri&ly according to Philofophy, when he faith, that God hangeth the Earth upon Nothing, Job xxvi. 7. And we read, Pfal. xxiv. 2. that the Lord hath founded the Earth upon the Seas, and established it upon the Floods, and, Pfal. civ. 5. that he hath laid the Foundations of the Earth, that it should not be removed for ever. All which is as exactly exprefs'd as any Philofopher can speak. For the Foundation of a pendulous Globe can be nothing but its Center, upon which all the parts lean and are fupported thereby. And the Waters continually flowing through the Bowels and Concavities of the Earth from the Depths of the Sea, by a conftant Course and Circulation, constitute an Abyfs of Waters in the lowermoft parts of the Earth. All the rivers run into the fea; yet the fea is not full : unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again, Ecclef. i. 7. So that with great Propriety of Speech, the Terraqueous Globe is faid to hang upon nothing, and the Earth to be founded upon the Seas, and established upon the Floods; and, Pfal. cxxxvi. 6. to be stretched out above the Waters.

Thefe are the places of Scripture, which as far as I have obferv'd, have been moft excepted against in this particular; and yet there is nothing in them but what may be accounted for upon the Principles of Modern Philofophy.

CHAP.

CHAP. XII.

Of Man's being created capable of Sin and

Damnation.

T is fufficient to prove the Reasonableness of God's Proceedings with Mankind, if none are punish'd, but those that deserve Punishment, and none punish'd more than they deferve; and all are rewarded, who by a faithful and fincere, though but a very imperfect Obedience are become qualify'd for a Reward. God can do nothing but what is perfectly juft, and infinitely merciful; and we must be very unreasonable, if we cavil at his Proceedings, which are confiftent not only with Juftice and Equity, but with Mercy it felf. For where neither his Juftice, nor his Mercy and Goodness interpofe, we muft furely acquiefce in the Divine Pleasure, unless we can think that God himself should be more confin'd in his Actions than Men are: For within the Limits of Juftice and Mercy, it is certainly left at the liberty of every Man in any Office or Authority, to do as he thinks. fit. Yet as God is pleas'd in his dealings with Men, to appeal to their own Reason for the Equity of them, fo there is nothing in all his Proceedings with us, but it may be made appear to be more reasonable, even according to the Notion that we have of things, than the contrary would have been.

It must be confider'd, that no created Being can, in its own Nature, be uncapable of Sin or Default: Because it cannot be infinitely perfect; for it is infeparable from all Creatures to have but finite Perfections; and whatever has Bounds fet to its Perfections, is in fome refpect imperfect, that is, it wants thofe Perfetions which a Being of infinite Perfections alone can have. So that Imperfection is imply'd in the very Effence ESTER

Effence of created Beings, and what is imperfect may make Default. All inanimate things may deviate from the regular Courfe of their Natures, as they would certainly do, if the Divine Wisdom and Power did not guide and maintain them in it.

And every rational Being must naturally have a liberty of Choice, that is, it must have a Will to chufe, as well as an understanding to reafon : For we have no Notion how there can be Reafon without Choice. A Faculty of Understanding without a Will to determine it, if left to itself, muft always think of the fame Object, or proceed in a continued Series and Connexion of Thoughts, without any Aim or End which would be a perpetual Labour in vain, and tedious Thoughtfulness to no purpose: But, if it fhould be fometimes determined by fomething External to new Objects; yet, what Ufe of Reafon could there be in Contemplations, which were merely obtruded and forced upon the Mind?

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And because rational Creatures must have fome prefcribed Rule of their Actions, from which being free Agents, they may depart; they muft in their own Nature be capable of Sin. God is infinite Perfection, and therefore is a Rule to himself, and his Effence is uncapable of any other Rule of his Actions; he only acts according to his Effence, from which it is impoffible for him to vary. But the most perfect Creatures must act by a Rule, which is not effential to them, but prefcribed them by God, and is not fo intrinfick to their Natures, but that they may decline from it, for a Free Agent may follow or not follow the Rule appointed, or elfe it would not be free.

The Difficulty therefore is not, why Man was cre ated capable of Sinning; for he could not poffibly by his Creation and in his Nature be uncapable of it; this is peculiar to God, who is infinite Perfection that all Sin should be a Contradiction to his very Nature and Effence. But the Question which has been

started

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started by fome Men, if they state it right, muft be this, How it came to pafs, that God did not fuftain and preferve Men by an irrefiftible Power from falling into Sin, when Damnation was to be the Confequence of it? In answer to which, it might fuffice to fay, that in the Creation God must be fuppofed to act by His Divine Prerogative, and by His arbitrary Will and Power; He giveth not account of any of his Matters, Job xxxiii. 13. but it is enough for us to know, that he made Man happy, and capable of continuing happy, and that there could be no necessity why he should force him to continue fo. Though we want not in the mean time Reasons to prove, even to our weak and imperfect Understandings, that it was expedient that the Happiness or Mifery of Man fhould depend upon his own Choice, rather than that he fhould be kept unavoidably from all Sin, and be placed out of all poffibility of Punishment and Mifery. I. Becaufe the Glory of God is hereby more advanc'd, and all the Attributes of his Wifdom, and Juftice, and Goodness are more display'd, than if Men had been inevitably reftrain'd from finning. II. Because this conduceth more to the Happiness of the Blessed, than a Neceffity of not finning could have done.

I. The Glory of God is more advanced, and the Attributes of his Wisdom and his Juftice, and of his Goodness it felf are more display'd by leaving Men to a Freedom of acting, than they could have been by imposing an inevitable Fate and Neceffity of not finning upon Mankind. It is for the Glory of God to be obey'd by his Creatures acting according to their Natural Powers and Capacities, rather than to create them with a Faculty, which would never have been enjoy'd, but would have always been under fuch a Reftraint upon Humane Nature, as must have been, if Men had never been fuffer'd to have any Ufe or Trial of their Freedom of Will. And unlefs Man had been left capable of finning against God, he could not have

been

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