A14095:917
A discovery of D. Jacksons vanity. Or A perspective glass, whereby the admirers of…A discovery of D. Iacksons vanitie. Or A perspective glasse, wherby the admirers of…
A discovery of D. Jacksons vanity. Or A perspective glass, whereby the admirers of D. Jacksons profound discourses, may see the vanity and weakness of them, in sundry passages, and especially so far as they tend to the undermining of the doctrine hitherto received. Written by William Twice, Doctor of Divinity, as they say, from whom the copy came to the pressA discovery of D. Iacksons vanitie. Or A perspective glasse, wherby the admirers of D. Iacksons profound discourses, may see the vanitie and weaknesse of them, in sundry passages, and especially so farre as they tende to the undermining of the doctrine hitherto received. Written by William Twisse, Doctor of Divinitie, as they say, from whom the copie came to the presse
Amsterdam: printed by the successors of Giles Thorp, 1631
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
And Bellarmine professeth, that it is good that evil should be by Gods permission. And yet herein we say no more then Austin professed 1200. years agoe, saying, Non aliquid sit nisi quod omnipotens fieri velit, velsinendo ut siat, vel ipse faciendo. 1And your self in this place join the doom of every man with the course of every mans life in good or evil, and suppose them to beforeset by the immutable and omnipotent decree of God. Wherefore it is not for your positive dictates and wild resemblances without all proportion that we do believe God to be eternally and immutably free; yet we do believe he is so, not to decree a new, (for Gods decrees are eternal, not temporary) but to do any thing that is possible to be done, and to bring forth some creatures, agents natural to work necessarily, others, agents rational to work contingently and freely. As for the resemblance of Gods freedom and immutability, your talk of it is like your other discourses; For what resemblance do you find of Gods freedom in the mutability of the elements, in the generation and corruption of mixed bodies? The best resemblance of Gods freedom is in the freedom of creatures rational, which are to be found as well in the superior, as in this inferior World. And why should any mutability be a resemblance ⟨p. 378⟩of Gods freedom, who is immutabile throughout? And as for the resemblance of his immutability in the Heavens, to make that good you had need devise a quintessence first, and deny all those appearances of comets, breeding and wasting in the Heavens, even in the firmament, the acknowledgement whereof is now commonly received by frequent observations.
And Bellarmine prof•sseth, that it is good that evill should be by Gods permission. And yet herein we say no more then Austin professed 1200. yeares agoe, saying, Non aliquid sit nisi quod omnipotens fieri velit, velsinendo ut siat, vel ipse faciendo. 1And your selfe in this place joyne the doome of every man with the course of every mans life in good or evill, and suppose them to beforeset by the immutable and omnipotent decree of God. Wherefore it is not for your positive dictates and wild resemblances without all proportion that we doe beleeve God to be eternally and immutably free; yet wee doe beleeve he is so, not to decree a new, (for Gods decrees are eternall, not temporary) but to doe any thing that is possible to be done, and to bring forth some creatures, agents naturall to worke necessarily, others, agents rationall to worke contingently and freely. As for the resemblance of Gods freedome and immutability, your talke of it is like your other discourses; For what resemblance doe you find of Gods freedome in the mutability of the elements, in the generation and corruption of mixt bodyes? The best resemblance of Gods reedome is in the freedome of creatures rationall, which are to be found as well in the superior, as in this inferior World. And why should any mutability be a resemblance