A55305:31
The divine will considered in its eternal decrees, and holy execution of them. By…
The divine will considered in its eternal decrees, and holy execution of them. By Edward Polhill of Burwash in Sussex Esquire
London : printed, and are to be sold by Thomas Shelmerdine, at the sign of the Rose-Tree in Little-Britain, 1695
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.
1. That they are founded on infinite Wisdom. 2. That they are situate in Eternity. 3. That they are cemented with Immutability. 4. That they are crowned with Infallibility as to the Event.
1. The Decrees of God are founded on infinite Wisdom: God hath a Mass and Treasury of all Wisdom in himself, and from thence he draws out all those Orders and Series of things, which through his Decrees are poured forth into being. Extra Deum there is no Reason of his Decrees, but within there is Summa Ratio; God, even as decreeing, dwells in Light, though to us unapproachable: every Decree is irradiated with infinite Wisdom, though our eyes cannot enter into it. The Apostle calls the World the Wisdom of God, 1 Cor. 1. 21. and no wonder; for all the rare Artifices and Harmonies in the Sphere of Nature, are but the Shadows and Picture of his wise Decrees: all the excellent Shows in time, are but the Apocalypse or Revelation of the wise Co• trivances ⟨p. 10⟩in Eternity. God possessed Wisdom in the beginning of his way, even in the framing of his Eternal Decrees; not only when he prepared the Heavens in Creation, but also when he prepared all things in his Ideal Counsel; not only when he set a compass on the face of the Depth, but also when he set the Compass of his Decrees upon the face of all Futuritions. Every one of his Decrees is most wise and rational; hence 'tis called his Counsel, and the Counsel of his Will. In the Eternal Rolls, Causes and Effects, Means and End, Modes and Methods of Being are all set down, but not a tittle without the advice of an infinite Understanding; there is no such thing as mere Will in God; no caecus impetus, but a [Greek or Hebrew], a depth of Knowledge in every one of his Decrees.
1. The Decrees of God are founded on infinite Wisdom: God hath a Mass and Treasury of all Wisdom in himself, and from thence he draws out all those Orders and Series of things, which through his Decrees are poured forth into being. Extra Deum there is no Reason of his Decrees, but within there is Summa Ratio; God, even as decreeing, dwells in Light, though to us unapproachable: every Decree is irradiated with infinite Wisdom, though our eyes cannot enter into it. The Apostle calls the World the Wisdom of God,