Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

B. Even under the terrible Law at Mount Sinai, God proclaimeth his Name and Nature, As gracious and abundant in Mercy. This Glory of his which he showed to Moses, is more gloriously showed to the World in Christ. And this you study perversely to obscure. And when you have contracted Salvation it self out of our own brain, into a narrower compass than God in Scripture doth, (who in every Nation accepteth them that fear him, and work Righteousness,) then you devise false Decrees and Intents, and father them on God to obscure the rest. And ⟨p. 143⟩what do you by this, but seek to render God as little comely to his Creatures as you can. And if the love of God be Holiness and Happiness; If his Amiableness be his Goodness, even Himself; If it be Christ's great Work to reveal God in his Goodness, and by Faith to kindle holy Love. And if it be the Devils malignity and work in the World to counterwork Christ, and represent God as unlovely, judge whether you serve Christ or Satan, and whether it be not his chief work of enmity against God that you carry on? But that you may have the true prospect of Gods goodness in all this, you must remember that Gods Work as Creator goeth before his Work of Government, and his Work of Government in general before his Work of our Redemption; and his Work of Redemption and the Law of Grace before mens sin and Judgment. And 1. If God that hath diversified all lower Creatures as we see, did please in the Creation to make a rank of free-intellectual Creatures here on Earth, with power and help sufficient to attain to an Angelical Glory, if they would not wilfully prefer the way of misery, is there any want of goodness in making such a World? Are they not nobler than Brutes that have no such hope, though not than Angels that are confirmed. 2. And if he take pleasure having made such an Intellectual free Agent, to rule him morally by Laws, according to his nature, and to take it for his own great work to be his King or Rector in this sapiential way: That which much deludeth men in this, and wrongeth God, is that these foundations in Nature are not well considered. The issue of all the Atheists and discontented Unbelievers Accusations of God, is but this, That he made man but man, and nothing higher. A man is a mutable Intellectual free Agent, whose duty and happiness is left much to his own choosing or refusing.

B. Even under the terrible Law at Mount Sinai, God proclaimeth his Name and Nature, As gracious and abundant in Mercy. This Glory of his which he shewed to Moses, is more gloriously shewed to the World in Christ. And this you study perversly to obscure. And when you have contracted Salvation it self out of our own brain, into a narrower compass than God in Scripture doth, (who in every Nation accepteth them that fear him, and work Righteousness,) then you devise false Decrees and Intents, and father them on God to obscure the rest. And