The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

First, there are some actions which do remain in God, which are confined within the compass of his own Counsel, and go no further, and they are immanent actions, they stay in God and go no further. A man may conceive in his mind what he resolves to do in his heart; whether he will do such a thing or no, and no man can tell what he intends to do but himself; but if a man will practise answerably according to his purpose, then he doth express the work outwardly, which he intended inwardly, and now he works upon the creature, and makes it to receive some impression of that good which he kept secretly in himself. There are some actions which remain in God, as the decrees and purposes of God, before the foundation of the world, and they ⟨p. 139⟩are confined within the high Council table of Heaven, Father, Son, and holy Ghost, and these never appeared to the eye of the world.

First, there are some actions which doe remain in God, which are confined within the compasse of his owne Councell, and goe no further, and they are immanent actions, they stay in God and goe no further. A man may conceive in his mind what heresolves to doe in his heart; whether hee will doe such a thing or no, and no man can tell what he intends to doe but himselfe; but if a man will practise answerably according to his purpose, then he doth expresse the worke outwardly, which he intended inwardly, and now hee workes upon the creature, and makes it to receive some impression of that good which hee kept secretly in himselfe. There are some actions which remaine in God, as the decrees and purposes of God, before the foundation of the world, and they ⟨p. 139⟩are confined within the high Councell table of Heaven, Father, Sonne, and holy Ghost, and these never appeared to the eye of the world.

Secondly, there are actions also which pass from God upon the creature, and do work a change and an alteration upon the creature; and these we call transient actions, or actions that pass, which are not only in God, but pass from God, and do frame, and order, and dispose of the creature, as God sees fit; and of this sort are all the actions that belong to a Christian, except predestination: for the Lord doth not reveal those secrets unto any by the work of vocation, which is wrought upon the creature, for there the Lord quickens desire, and stirs up hope, and kindles love and joy, and the Lord turns the face of the soul God-ward, and in adoption, regeneration, and all the works of grace and salvation, and of this kind is justification: and this is the reason why I call it a transient action, because it passeth upon the creature, but that must be warily understood with a grain of salt, as the Proverb is: now what change is this? I answer, the Lord works a change upon the creature two ways.