114 Bowmay we be ro Spiritual, to Se 5. counter- working, and over-bearing God, whom they held theoppofire eternal principle of goodnefs. But lince the very formal notion ofGod, involveth infinite perfe tion,and that of fin, meet imperfection, is isa perfed contradi tion,that evil should be infinite,ifgood be fo ; Ir were to make imperfe6tion perfea,andmeer impotency Omnipotenr.There. fore there cm be but one God, who is Almighty goodnefs. And as ptf- iibleit is, that theSun fhould darken the would by thining,as Almighty goodnefs should do any hurt in theworld, dr make any evill.God is the Author of all the good in the world, but fin and rnifery art of our ma- king,Hof.r 3.9. Much wifer than either of the two former, was the conjedure of the Pythagoreans andPlatontffs, though 'Heathens, who having nothing elfe to consult ( as wanting the divine Revelation of holy Scripture ) but their own faculties embraced the conceit-, chat all humane fouls were created in the beginningupright, and placed' by God in happier manfi- ons, in purer and higher regions of the Univerfe,untill at length they did corpep6axe r7roTETh 'd<Á;ttt,,q 3tig ouyil ,as Hierocles phrafeth ir, i. e. till they fell from the divine life, and became inhabitants'o£ earthly Tabernacles, bringing their fallen and degenerate natures alongwith them. This opinion had of old the general confent of the 7eles, as appeareth and yet hath, as Men. Ben 'fuel in his Book De RefurreElioxe mortuorum, witnefleth. Among the Chrifiians Origen is in the number of its See aries,in his books criTeA áp v,and forte few of the Ancients. But as much as is rieceífary for us to know about this great enquiry, God hath (bleffed be his goodnefs) fui iciencly revealed in the three full Chapters of Gene/is, compared with Pfal.5 i.s. Ecclef.7.29. Rom. 12.. s.&c.And he is as wife as he need be in fo great a point, that knows how to underftand thefe Scriptures according to the Analogy of Faith, and confifiency with the divine perfetions,and that fobelievech them, as to put that and no ocher fenfe and interpretation upon them, which is worthy of the gloriousattributes, and excellent Majeliyof the living God : Although fome difficulties willremain perhaps infuperable cous, in this our prefent elate on earth. I havealready in forme meafure difcovered theMyfteries and fecrets of this bleffed art ofchecking fin in the beginnings of ir. Let we now perfwade the pratifeof thefe holy Rules, let us refolve in the ftrength of Chrifi to refit+ thefe luflings of the flefh. Take theexhortation of the Apoíile, Watch ye, find fall in thefaith, quityewfelves like men, T Cor.16.13. Let me prefs this with a few confederations, life 2. Exhortat. ''P,y`pes Tot,r.cvríaa.N d s pa®- G4rcrts, Hom, z , The
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=