of their Staf,e,by Creation. CHAP. 11. The Mutability of that ftrft Eflate. · By its conflitutian, and their own weaftneft, both Angels- and Men were liable to faD from it. Godwa~ not at aO obliged as Crea– tor, to preferve hi! Creaturet in that ftrft Condition ef feelually by hi! Grace. The Ca~tfes of their Mutabili– lj'· To be Changeable i! the Nature of a Creature, with difference from God; who only is 11Jlmutab!e. That the Creature being made out of Nothing, tendt to aDe– ficiency. ~ Chap. 2. ~ T Here needs no other, nor more certain proof, both of the foregone, and , of thofe following Alfertions, than the Event. . . '· Thauhefe two forts of Creatures,Aogels and Men, might fall from the1r Original efiare of perfect Holinefs; for, de fatlo, of both forts did fall; and t~e Angels that did nor, were of the fame frattu, of the fame brittle metal with the other of their Creation, and the dues thereof, were common to both: The A11gel1 thatjiunrd, (fays Peter, Epifi. 2. Chap,2. verfe 4-) The /111ge!S that ktpt not their firfl f/ate, but left their ow11 habitation,fays .1ude,ver(.6. How much more might this befall Man, whq dwtlh in houfes of Ctqy? a• it is argued in Job, f~om the fironger,the Angels, unt9 the weaker, Job 4.18,Ig. Behold, heput no trtJfl in hiJ ServantJ, m1d hiJ AngelJ he charged withjol– ly: How m11eh te[1 on them that dwell in houfes of Ctqy, who{e, fou1dario11 is In the duf/, which are crufhed before the moth? Ancithat,de fatlo,we are fain, we all, by fad and woful experience, have found, 2. The.fecond is, That no Obligation was upon God, to keep either ofthem from {o falling, by any Law of his having created them. This, the Event, alfo is afufficientdemonfiration of; for if there had been fuch ~n Obligation upon him, his faithfulnefs is fuch, and love unto his Greature is fuch; as ~e would then certainly have kept them: That title of Faithfulnefs is annexed ~o his being Creator, 1 Pet, 4· •9· Wherefore, ltt them that fuffer according to tbe will of God, commit the keeping of thtir SoutJ to him in we/1-doing,a!lm– to a faithjiJl Creator. The Ar11um~nt then, from that he did not kerp them, is invincible, That he was, as a Creator, abfoltitely free ahd difengaged frbm keeping them (without any breach of any due unto his Creature by the taw of hts Creation) and doth fufficiently confirm all that is foregone in the for• mer Chapter, concerning that Entercourfe fettled betwixt God and us, by Cre– ation : Nor would the holy God have put that high Sarcafm, or bitter, (yet juft) R.etortion upon man when he had finned, which !truck at the very Spi– rit of his fin, Man i< 6ecome like o11e of tu, which had been the very inward pith and fubfiance of his !inning, which compared together with the Tentari– on [ye fb,IJ 6t M Gods] lhews, that that was it had taken rhem: God, I fay, would not have upbraided them with that fev~re Sarcarm, if he had been engaged to preferve them from finning, and yet was wanting to do it. ~· Nor mufl we lay upon God, any influence of his, imo eirher of their falls: /11 God unot himfelf tempted with evil; fo, nor tempteth he his Crea– ture unto tvit, .1~mCJ •· q, 14- Let11o ma11 Jay whm he i; templfd, I am tempteiof God: forGod camwt6e temptd with evil, neither umpteth he E ~'IJ ..
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