Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

Fourthly, IV. The evidence of a God results from the vastness of desires in man, and the real dissatisfaction he hath in every thing below himself. Man hath a boundless appetite after some Sovereign Good: As his understanding is more capacious, than any thing below, so is his Appetite larger. This affection of desire exceeds all other affections. Love is determined, to something known. Fear to something apprehended; but Desires approach nearer to Infiniteness, and pursue, not only what we know, or what we have a glimpse of; but what we find wanting in what we already enjoy. That which the desire of man is most naturally carried after, is Bonum; some fully satisfying good. We desire knowledge by the sole impulse of reason; but we desire Good before the excitement of reason, and the desire is always after Good, but not always after Knowledge.

Fourthly, IV. The evidence of a God results from the vastness of desires in man, and the real dissatisfaction he hath in every thing below himself. Man hath a boundless appetite after some Soveraign Good: As his understanding is more capacious, than any thing below, so is his Appetite larger. This affection of desire exceeds all other affections. Love is determined, to something known. Fear to something apprehended; but Desires approach nearer to Infiniteness, and pursue, not only what we know, or what we have a glimps of; but what we find wanting in what we already enjoy. That which the desire of man is most naturally carryed after, is Bonum; some fully satisfying good. We desire knowledge by the sole impulse of reason; but we desire Good before the excitement of reason, and the desire is always after Good, but not always after Knowledge.

Now the Soul of man finds an imperfection in every thing here, and cannot scrape up a perfect satisfaction and felicity. In the highest fruitions of worldly things, tis still pursuing something else, which speaks a defect in what it already hath. The world may afford a felicity for our dust, the body, but not for the inhabitant in it; tis two mean for that. Is there any one Soul among the Sons of men, ⟨p. 37⟩that can upon a due enquiry say, it was at rest and wanted no more, that hath not sometimes had desires after an immaterial Good? The Soul follows hard after such a thing, and hath frequent looks after it,