·.I Cafes of Confcience. z.Booke. · lion to faY,: It raincs , lt thunders , It A fnowcs, 1t ha1l es, For , faying tbis, one while they reioyce and are thankefull, and o:·herwhiles they feare and are drfmaied . "They fay not, Nature or Hcauen raines or mund<rs: for then they would neither re· •ioyce, nor.tremble. In that therefore they fpcak.c this co,mmonly, (orncn;nes reioy· c.mg, ·and fometimcs tearing, it may pro~ bably bee thought , .that they acknow· ledge a d10ine power 1 which caufeth the r•ine to fall, and the thunder to bee fo ter– nble, . Agame, for better proofc hereof, it i•-ro bee confidcred, rhat lince the world Ocg.:~nnc, there could not yet b"c fow1d, or btought foorrh , any man that cuc:r B \»'COte, or publlfhcd a d1fcourfe, cporc or le!Ie, to this purpofe, tllat there was no G.od. . . If. it bee faid, that Come hifiorics doe rn:1ke mention of fundne ,: ~bat haue in piainc tcarrr.es, dcni(d the~e is a God, and that th1s is no leife daungero~s, then if a trcadfe of that fubretl OJOuld be writ· ten' and fer forth to the open viewe of :rll. ' I' anfwcr, indccde in the writings of men . wee doe. rc;tde of fomc that did bla(j>hemc God,ond liucdas wirhputGod, and they baue alwoics beene properly and .dcfcrucdly r~armed Arber!ls. ·Others baue dcn.yed, that _mad~ and faigned gods, that C is, idols, arejlQds•. And a.mong£1 the Hea– then, that huedoncly by the light and di– i""eClion of;n"!wre, ~ll rbar can bee brought is rh1s, th.atd'o~ne men in their wr\tmgs hau• d0ub<ed whether there were a God or•no, but none did euer poGtruc.ly_fct downe reafons to prooue that thee~ was none. . . V. Tbclifth and t.!l a'rgument from nature, isthapvhiclliSvfcd by all Phrlofo– ploers. In the world there.. IS to bee feene an rexccllcnt.\\!ife. frame and Q[;dcrof all thipgs, ·_Q.ne creawre dependcth vpon ·anod1er by a.ccrrainc -order ot caufcs: m which, fome ar.dirClan~dabouein hrgher place, fomeare next andwfcriour,fome are the aafefiand the D 'luwdl. . . ,. Now thefe lowcClarc ·mooucd of thofe that are fuperiour to them, and a!waits the fupcriour is the Caufc of chc infenour, and that whereof the mferiour depends. Somc– ·thing then rhc.r;e)11UCI bee that isrhecaufeof a\lpuf.;s, that muCI b~ccau(ed by none, and ' mull be the caufccfall: For in things where– in t.hcrc is ordct;, there is afway fome firfi and foucraign,eC:J!.J(C: ::md where chcreis no firfi nor laH," ~here the Creaturesarc\nfinite. But fcemgallcrcaturcsarefinue, there mull bee fornewhat firCI,aswellos laC!. Now th.e firCland JaClcaufe of all is God, which moo– ucrh aiJ, and to whome all creatures doe rend, asto rhelr ende, and which Js mooucd of none, Notwith£landing all the(e reafonsgroun· dcd in nature it felfe , it may boe !ome man will fay, I ncucr filwe God, how then O~all I knowe that there is a God? .A>Ijwer. Why I wilt thou beleeue no mort then thou feeCII Thou neuer fawcCI thewinde or the aire,and yet thou beleeue£1 that there is both, Nay, thou neuer fawell thine owne face but 10 aglatfe,and neuer outofagJalfcJ and yet thiS conrcntcth th<e. Why then may notthiscontem thy hearc,and rcfoluo thee of the Godhead,in rhatthou fed! hrm io the gJatfc of thecreatures? True rt is, that Godisa SpiritinmGble, that cannot bee difcerned by the eye of Hen! and blocd, yet hee hath ·not lett vs wtrliom a meanes. whereby wee may be.. holdc him, For looke as wee are woont by l.legrces to goe from the pH~iurc: to rhe Pamter , and in the pitlure ro be· nolde the Painter himfelfe: euen fo by rhe image of God, which is wmten (a• 11 were) in the face, and orher parts of che crcacurcs in theworld, may wee take a view of the wifdome,power,and prouidence of the Creator of thewall, whoisGodhrm· lClfe. And thefe are the principall proofcs of the Godhead, which are reuealed in the boGkcof nature. Sefl. z~ The fecond Ground of proofes, is taken A r from thclightof Grace.. And1tis rhatlighr fr~~:n which God atfordeth to his Church In the J.ghrof wmingsof the Prophets and Apoilles, and Grace, rhis giues afUrther confirmatlon,thcn nat~Jre doth.For the lrght ofnature is onely a way or preparation to faith; But this light fetueHo beget faith, andcaufethvs tobeleeuethere rsaGod. Now in the holy Scripture$ ofthePro· phets and Aponies, wee 01011 fee amongfi the reil, three di!lin<l proofe• of thrs pomt, FirCl, expreifc te!lirnoni<s which doe in plaice tcarrnes, nnte vnro vs the God· head, Secondly,expre!Te Prophecies and reue– lauons of things to come, eucn maoy bun .. drcd and thoufands of ycares before they came topaife. Yea, thingsrhatarerocon~c are torc-toldc in theword of God,fo,and 10 rh:u very manner, rhat.thcy 11Jall bee in the time, wherein theyarc to bee fulfilled. Now there is no man able of himfel!e to know or fore.fee thefe thingsto come; therefore this knowkdge muCI refi in hrm alone, who is mofi wife, rhat perfetlly vnder£landeth and bcholdeth things that arenot,and towhome all fuwre t~ings are prcfenr, and therefore ccrcen. Th~tdly,
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