Tbe Harmony of the Divine Attributes ~ God who is the living Fountain of all PerfeCtions, fpent an intire Eternity in the ConCh•]!: '· templation of his own Excellencies, before any Creature was made. In the moment ap· ~ pointed by his Wifdom, he gave the firft Being to the World. Three diltinet Orders of Natur~ he form' cl, _the one purely Spzntual, the other purely Matertal, am\ between both one Mzxt, which umtes the E}{tremes in it felf. This is Man , the Abridgment of the Uni· vcrfe, ally'd to the Angels in his Soul, and to mmria/ things in hiS Body, and capable of the Happincfs of bolh; by his Inte,na/ Faculties enjoying the fe/mty of the lnte/le[fua/ and by1bis externp/ taft1ng_ the Pleafures of the Senfttive World. Man's greateft Excell~ncy was•a perfeEt t€0n£o'i:m1ty t~the Dtvu~e Pattern·. God created Man m Ius own Ltkencfs, in the Image ofGod created he /Jtm. This mcludcs, Firjl,_ The natural Similitude_ of God in the Subllance of the Soul, as it is an intelftgent, free, fpmtua/ and Immortal Bnng. This is affigned tO be the Reafon of the Law, that Whofo fheds Man's Blood, by Man /ball his Blood be fbed; for in the Image of God made he Man, Gen. 9.6. Secondly, A mor~tl Retemblance in its ~alities and Perfeaions. Thirdi],_ That HappineiS and D\gnity of Man's State, whichwas the Confequent and Acce(/ion to hiS Holmefs. The natural Refemblance I fhall not mfift on. For the dillincr lllllfhation of the ot!ler, we muft .confider God in a .threefold refpeEt:. . 1. In refpeet of hiS abfoillle Holmefs, rmfpotud Punty, infinite Goodnefs, incorruptible Ju- . fhce, and whatever we conceLve under the notton of nwral Perft£\:i.ons. 2. With refpeEt to his compleat Bleffednefs, ( the refult of his infinite Ex~ellencies.) as he is perfeCtly exempt from all Evils which might allay and leffen his Felimy, and ~njoy thofc Pleafures wh1ch are worthy of Ins pure Nature and glonous State. Ea~;h~n N~~1n°:l~~s/:{~~ir'a~~m~f~h~f~v~~~~~:~~~f ~~~fd:~ ~;i~~\~~f~~nc~~~~n~~~~ . Hohnefs of Man was the Copy of the Divine Purity ;his Happinefs a Reprefentation of t'he Divine Felicity; and his Dominion over the lower World the Refemblance of God·s so.-c;raignty. ' , . I will take a part)cular S~rvey of them. A~ft~~~n;e~-~~;~'b:~n1ti~~~i:O ~:~~~t J1~~~htc~rl~eb!et:~~r~:p~~h~~e~~~~; ofhtm in l(porvled$e, Righteou[nefs and HolmejS, after the Image of the Creator. .The Renovation of things ts the reftoring of them to their Pnmitive State, and is more.or lefs perfeet, by its proportion to, of dillance from the Original. Holinefs and Righteoufnefs are the comprehenfive Sum of die Mora/ Law, which riot only reprefents the Will, but the Nature of God in his Supreme Excellency, and in conformity to it the Divine LikeneiS eminently appeared. Adam was created with the Perfettion of Grace: The Progrefs of the moll excellent Saints is incomparably fhort of his Beginning: By this, we may, in part, conjeCture at the Beauty of Holinefs in him, of which one fuint Ray appearin~ in renewed Perfons is fo amiable. This Primitive Beauty is exprefl in Scripture byReettrude : God made Man uprtght. There was an univerfal entire ReE!ttude in his Faculttes, difpofing them for their proper Operations. This will more fully appear by confidering the dtllincr Powers of the Soul, in their regular Con!Etuttons. • '•· The Underftanding was inrich'd with Knowledge. Nature was unveiled to Adam, be entred into its Sancruary, and dtfcover'd its myfterroru Operations. When the Creatures came to pay their Homage to him, whatfoM.Jer he called them, that tva~ the f\lame thereof; Gen. z. 19. And their Names exprefi theu· Natures. His Knowledg reach'd thropgh the whole Compafs of the Creation, from the Sun the glorious Veffelof Light, to the Gloworm that <hincs in the Hedg. And this Knowlc?ge was not a~quired by Study, 'twas J;J.Ot the Fruit of anxious Inquiry, but as the I!lummatiQn of the ,;llr is in an inftant by the Light of the Moming, fo his underllanding was enlightened by a pure Beam from the Father of Lights. . . . Befidcs, be had fuch a lmowledge of the Detty, as was fuffictent for Ius Duty and Felicity.. His Mind Cid not fiick in the material_part of rhmgs, but afcended. by the feveral Ranks of Btings to the univerfal Caufe. He dtfcover'd the Glory of tbe Divine E_/fence and .Attributes by their wonderful Ejfeffs. 1. Almighty Power. When he firft op.:n'd his Eyes, the llupendious F,brick of Hea- \1Cn and Earth prcfented it felf to h1s view, and in it the mofl exprefs and clear Cbartt[fers of that glorious Power wl~ich pro~ucc~ it. For what could overcome the infinite diltance between not being and bemg, but mfimte Power ? As there is no proportion between not being ~nd being, fo the C.tuje _which unites tl~ofe Terms, mufl: be ~'ithout Limits. Now the D1vine Wmd alone ( wluch calls the tlungs that are not, as if they wrre) caufed the VYorld to rife from the Abyfs of empty nothing. At God's Ca.mnwul the Hw~tP,s .<nd .<11 tbrir
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