er, Wisdom, and Goodness therein. (As fhall be further proved afterward.)

0.28. Any fignification of the will of God, that man shall be benefited on condition of his obedience, is the premiant part of his Law: And any fignification. of his will, that man shall be punished if he fin (or that punishment shall be his due) is the penal part of his Law.

If it only foretold that in a way of Phyfical efficiency, obedience will produce good, and difobedience hurt to himfelf, this were not properly, præmiant or penal; But when the Good is promifed upon the condition of obedience, and the hurt threatned upon condition of fin, as means to move a rational free Agent to obey, this is truly a premiant and penal act of Law: And this is fulfilled alfo in a phyfical way of production; the Law-giver being alfo the Creator and Difpofer of all the World, doth wifely order it, that Morall good thall be attended with Phyfical good, and Morai evil with Phyfical evil, first or last.

.29. The Immenfity (or Omnipresence) the Omnipotency, of this read Cicero's Omniscience, and infinite goodness of God, with his total Cau- 2.lib.de nat. Deor. fation in the fupport of all his Creatures, do moft undoubtedly

prove his particular Providence, in obferving and regarding all the actions of his Subjects in the World; and fo declare his actual government.

It is the grofs ignorance of the Divine perfections, which ever made any one queftion the particular Providence of God as extending to the fmalleft things and actions. 1. It is proved by his Immenfity (conceived of as without corporeal extenfion of parts as before faid): He that made and upholdeth all the World, did never make that which is greater than himself, and excludeth his prefence. Though being a Spirit he hath not Corporeal quantity, yet analogically and in a way of eminency and tranfcendency, we muft fay that he is Greater and Immenfe: And it is his perfection which denyeth extenfion and dimenfions; and therefore in a nobler kinde he is every where prefent. And if he be here as certainly as I am, and in a more excellent manner, he cannot but obferve all things and actions which are here.

2. He is Omnipotent and Allfufficient, and therefore as Able to observe and govern every the fmalleft Thing and

I 3

action,

action, as if he had but that one to look after in the world. And I think, if God had but one man at all to mind and govern in all the world, the Adverfary himself, that now denieth his particular providence, would confefs, that God doth obferve and regard that one individual. It is mens Atheiftical or Blafphemous diminutive thoughts of God, who conceive of him as finite, though they call him infinite, which is the caufe of all fuch kind of errors.

3. His Omniscience infallibly proveth alfo his particular cbfervance of all things and actions in the world: for His Knowledge being his natural perfection is neceffary: He cannot be ignorant of any thing that is. If I had but one thing juft before my eyes to fee, in the open light, I muft needs fee it, if it have the neceffaries of a visible object, unless I wink. If the Sun's illumination were an act of vision, (as its like it is nothing more ignoble) how eafily would it at once difcern all that is upon one half of the earth at once? All things are naked and open before the eye of the Omniscient being: He cannot but behold or know them, and therefore obferve them and regard them.

4. His Creation, Caufation and Manutetency alfo prove, that he both knoweth and regardeth all things: For can he be either ignorant, forgetful or mindlefs of that which he made, and ftill doth fo conferve, as to continué a kind of Creation of it? His Omnipotent Will which gave it a being, doth still continue it; fhould he withdraw his active fuftentation, it would turn all, not only to confufion but to nothing. And doth he not know and regard what is continually as in his hand, or by continual volition produced or maintained by him? He is the univerfal Caufe of all the agency and motion in the world; in him we Live, Move and Be: and can he be ignorant or regardless of what he doth? Why will he make, maintain, and move that which he doth not regard?

5. His Relation of Owner proveth his regard: all things are his Own.

6. And his Relation of a Governor proveth his regard and his final government of Man and all his actions. For he taketh not on him a vain Relation; and he that maketh Laws for every perfon and action, doth regard and govern every perfon and action: But fo doth God. Ergo.

1. 30. Those who think God doth nothing to all the rest of the world, but by thofe noblest creatures which are next him,.and that be bath committed the government of all the rest of the world to the Intelligences of the first Order; cannot without blindneẞ and contradiction deny, that he is ftill Himself no leßtbe actual Mover and Governour of all, than if he used no Officer or Inftrument at all.

For 1. God ceafed not himself to be Omniprefent, Omnifcient, Omnipotent, or moft Benign, when he gave that fuppofed Power to those Inftruments. 2. He made them and ordered them under Him, through plenitude of Goodness, delighting to communicate Power and Dignity as well as Being to his Creatures, and not through impotency or infufficiency, to fupply any defect in his own Government, and to help him: He ufeth them to honour them, and not to dishonour himself. He gave away from himself no degree of Perfection, nor deprived himself of the finalleft part of Honour, which he communicateth to them; but honoureth himself in the appearance of his Perfections by the faid Communications. As God can do that by himself without the Creature, which he caufeth the Creature to do; (as to move, illuminate and beat the lower parts without the Sun as well as with it, or any thing which importeth not impotency or contradiction) for he ceafed not to be omnipotent; fo that which he doth by any Creature is as truly and fully done by Himself, as if there were no created inftrument or cause in it. For that Creature which is nothing of it felf, and hath not any Being but in full dependance on its Maker, can have no action of it felf, but in full dependance upon him; what ever it doth, it doth by him: though as to the fpecifying comparison, why this rather than that, God hath given men a power with li berty, yet the Action as an Action, being from the Power which was totally from him, is fo it felf: There can be no lefs of God's agency in any action, because he doth it by a Creature, than if he did it without; though there be more of the Creatures, there is no leẞ of his: His communication of Power is not by difcerption, or divifion and diminution of his own. He that knoweth what a Creator and total first Caufe is, needs no other proof of this. Men indeed communicate power to their Officers, through their own infuffi

ciency,

Dii, qui quos velint, rolint lædere, nec quodam lædi viciffim, non nocent nifi improbis. Plut. in

Lacon.

ciency, to be their helpers, and fupply the want of their prefence or action; but fo doth not God. Therefore if Angels or Intelligences govern and move all inferiour things, they are all governed and moved no lefs certainly, proximately, honourably by God himself, than if he had never ufed fuch a fubordinate Agent; and that immediatione effentia & virtutis; immediately, though not fo immediately, as to ufc no honourary fecond caufe.

0.31. Justice is an Attribute of God as GOVERNOUR, ly which he maketh equal Laws, and giveth all their due according to them; (or judgeth them righteously according to his Law's) for the ends of Government.

*As Justice is conceived of in God according to the image in Man, which we call the Virtue or Habit of Juftice, fo it Hanc video fapien is his eternal Nature, being nothing elfe but the perfection of tiflimorum fuiffe fen- his infinite Wifdom, and his Will or Goodness, as refpecting tentiam, Legem neq; hominum ingeniis a Kingdom of Subjects as poffible and future. For he may fo excogitatam, neque be called JUST, that hath no Kingdom, because he hath that fcitum aliquod effe Virtue which would do Justice if he had a Kingdom. But as populorum, fed æter- JUSTICE is taken either for the exercise of righteous Gonum quiddam quod univerfum mundum vernment, or for the honourable Relation and Title of one regeret imperandi that doth fo exercise it; that is, of an actually Fuft Governour, Frohibendique fap fo formally and denominatively it is an Attribute of God, entiâ. Ita princi- which is not Eternal, but fubfequent to his Relation of a pem Legem illam & ultimam Mentem elle King or Governour. He that is not a Governour, is not a. just dicebant omnia ra- Governour. A negatione eft fecundi adje&i ad negationem eft tione aut cogentis tertii valet argumentum.

aut vetant's Dci.

The Law is Norma Officii & Judicii. He that maketh a Cic. de Leg. 2.p. 234. Law, thereby telleth his Subjects, that according to this they muft live, and according to this they must be judged. Indeed the immediate fenfe of the words of a Law, as fuch, is not to be taken as de Eventu, but de Debito: He that faith, Thou shalt not murder, faith not, [Eventually it fhall not come to paß that thou shalt not murder] but [It fhall be thy Duty not to do it.] And he that faith, [ If thou murder thou fhalt be put to death] doth primarily, in the fenfe of the words themselves, mean no more but [Death shall be thy due. But in that he declareth that he will justly govern according to this Law, therefore he meaneth fecondarily and confequently, that ordinarily he will give to all their due.

In what cafes the Letter and nearest fenfe of a Law may be -difpenfed with, or the Law-giver referveth a liberty of difpenfation to himself, belongeth not to this place to be difputed.

CHAP. IX.

II. of Man's Subjection to God, or Relation to him

as our Governour.

Seneca Epift. ad Luc. faith, Sic certe vi

1. 1. Mciable to be governed, and God being bis Rightful vendum eft, tanquam An being made thus a Rational free Agent, and fe- 83. P. (mihi) 711.

Governour, is immediately related to God as his Subject, as to in confpectu vivaRight and Obligation. mus. Sic cogitan

There is no Soveraign without a Subject: Subjection is dum, tanquam aliquis our Relation to our Governour, or elfe our confent to that poffet & poteft: in pectus infpicere Relation. In the former fenfe we take it here. A Subject is Quid enim prodeft one that is bound to obey another as his Ruler. He that is a ab homine aliquid Subject by Right and Obligation, and yet doth not confent effe fecretum. Nihil and actually subject himself to his rightful Governour, is a animis noftris, & coRebel. There cannot be greater obligations to fubjection gitationibus mediis imagined by a created understanding, than the Rational Crea- intervenic. ture hath to God.

. 2. All men are obliged to confent to this fubjection, and to give up themselves abfolutely to the government of God.

Deo claufum interest

Diogenes (in Laert.) faid to an immodeft woman, Non vereris mulier > ne forte God's abfolute propriety in us as his creatures, giveth him ftante poft tergum fo full a Title to govern us, that our confent is not at all ne- Deo (cuneta enim ceffary to our obligation and fubjection-relative; but only to honefte te habeas plena ipfo funt) inour actual obedience, which cannot be performed by one Primus eft Deorum that confenteth not. Therefore God's right and our natu- cultus, Deos credere; ral condition are the foundation of our fubjection to him,as to deinde reddere illis Obligation and Duty; and he that confenteth not, finneth by reddere Banitatem, Majeftatem fuam: high Treafon against his Soveraign. As God did not ask our fine qua nulla Maconfent whether he fhould make us men,fo neither whether he jeft. s eft: feire illos fhould be our Governour and we his Subjects as to obli- effe qui præfident gation nor yet whether he fhall punish the rebellious and Mundo, qui univerfa, difobedient. But he asketh our confent to obey him, and to be qui humani generis ut fua, temperant : rewarded by bim for we fhall neither be holy nor happy but tutelam gerunt.Idem,

K

by epift 91.