Jucundum Object. Anfw. ment, lum is thence. I come to jucundum for pleasure of the eye: It is our delight co behold hills and valleys fet orderly,with woods, fprings and rivers, Num. 24. 6, 7. and the Lillies for beauty exceed Salomon in his royaltie, Matth. 6. 29. as our eye doth more willingly gaze at nothing more then this, fo among our chief delights, we feek a pleasant scituation where we may have goodly profpects, orchards and gardens, Preach. 2. 5. all the pleasure and comfort we have in sweet fmells and odors come from the earth, 1'fal. 45. 8. as myrrhe, alloes and caẞia,camphire and pikenard,Cant.4.13.1or all come out of flowers and trees, &c. For the laft, it bringeth milk and honey, Exod. 3.8. wine and oyle, Pfal. 104. 15. the fat of the Earth, and the blood of the grape, milk and flesh, immediatly doe come from the earth, as fruits for us. Befides these things for neceffity, the earth bringeth forth manifold varieties of fruits for dainties and pleasure, in fo much as one faith, we fit longer and with more delight fecundis menfis quam primis, that is, at our banquet and junkets, than at our first part of our dinner for dyet, need and hunger, but all is from the earth. In one word, to conclude, goe to the goodneffe in Winter, and our fire and fuel is from thence, Efay 44.16.the good of the Spring, which is herbs and flowers; the good of Sommer, which is fhadows, the good of Harveft, all fruits; the good of Autumn, the feed which is fown: all come from the earth, which fheweth that it is good. As we con fider the parts of the year, fo if you marke the parts of every thing, you fhall fee them to be good: A goodneffe commeth from the Rofes; Herbs and all Plants are goodneffe from the ftalk, another from the leaf, flower, feed, and fruir, both for diftillation and other ufes; even the gummes which fweat and drop from them, are good and profitable, and nothing ill that God made, whether we refpe& the goodneffe feverally of every thing in his kinde, or of the goodneffe of every part of them being divided. Only one thing commeth croffe against this generality, For, feeing many things are unprofitable, many evill and hurtfull, how can all be counted good, annon Deus fpinas pungentes, neccon fuccos occidentes creavit for Thornes and Briers are an evill curse, and Colloquintida and many things growing out of the Earth are evill, poyfonfüll, and deadly. The ancient Fathers, entring into this discourse fay, That the Sunne it felf is not good to every one, for it hurreth ill eyes. There There are many things which are good only in their times and places, Preach. 3. 11. and in this refpect there is nothing in their particu lar place and time, but hath a good ufe, though generally at all times, and to all perfons it be not good, the barrenneffe and bareneffe of the earth God hath made to be good to us, and to a good end, namely, to be a whetstone to move us to induftry and diligence, and to keep us from idleneffe: though thornes and bryers be ill inter fruges, yet they be good circa fruges,thefe fpine are profitable and good in fape for defence, though in fulco they be evill, and doe hinder the Corne. Succas venenofus, & occidens are by the Art of the Phyfition and Apothecary made Theriaca mundi, the Treacle and purgation to expell and draw out all venome and poyfon. That Colloquintida which they said was death and deadly poyfon, 2 Reg. 1. 39,40. is medicinable with us and commonly used in purgations, fo is Vipers flesh, &c. But we stand not on this; but though they were not good for to fhew Gods mercy and love to the Godly, yet they are good to fhew his juftice and wrath to the wicked, Efay 10. 5. there are none but will fay that rods are good and neceffary in a school; fo are these things good to punish the wicked in the world, Joel, 2.25.So that if there were nothing but this which David confeffeth, Pfal 119. 67. Before I was troubled I went wrong, but now I keep thy Law; therefore it was good for me that I have been introuble, &c. It were enough to prove them to be good, because these Armies and Hofts of Gods difpleasure doe bring us to goodneffe, Joel 2. 25. But now for germinabit tibi spinas, Gen. 3. 18. that is, for thy finne and because of thy disobedience, the earth fhall bring forth to thee thou finner: fo that before we did finne there was none of these things that could hurt us, but were for our good; for, as God made us mortall and fubject to corruption, yet it was Gods prefervative grace, which keeping him from dying and mortallity, that his duft returned not to duft; fo the fame prefervative grace fhould have kept all Adams pofterity from any hurt of these things, if they had continued in integrity: Wherefore to conclude this, whether thornes and ve nomous herbs were created in principiis fuis or in femine, for we hold both Creations, it is certain that they had been good, and could not have been hurtfull to them, if they had not finned, which we see by warrant; for those men which were renewed to the Image of God, and were in Gods favour, all things did ferve to their good, and no ill thing could hurt them, Fam. 5. 17. Elias could command Heaven to rain & not to rain,Jam.5.18. Fofhuah might by Gods permiffion command the Sun and Moon, Joshuab 10. 12. The three Children could not be hurt in the fire, raging and flaming, Dan. 3 27. Neither could the Lyons be evill to hurt him, Dan. 6. 22. The Viper could not hurt Paul, Act. 28.3. If the faithfull drink deadly poyfon, it shall not hurt them, Mark 16.18.and many such examples are, Heb.11. 33. which shew that God giveth his prefervative grace to the Godly, by which they have fuch a prerogative as Adam had in his innocency, when his corruptible duft was kept from corruption, that it turned not to dust again. They fus Spiritua lis. afns duplex. They which have Gods eyes and Image fhall fee this to be true, that the thing which is deadly to fome, fhall not hurt them; So that as all things are clean to the Clean, fo all is good to the Good and Godly. Now for the fpirituall ufe And firft we are put in minde of our homage to God, in ferving and praifing him for thefe earthly and temporall bleffings, which we receive from him the only author and owner thereof; for many not knowing that their Wine, Oyle, and Corn, and other riches come from God, ofe 2. 8. did give the glory and praife of them to Idolls, afcribing the gift to others: If by thefe things we receive ftrength and continue in health, we must remember our duty to be thankfull, Ezech. 11. 16. to 21. for seeing God hath opened his mouth for our good, faying, Let the Earth be fruitfull, and if now he still openeth his hands and fill us with his blessing, it is our duty of gratefullneffe to lift up our hands and open our mouths to bleffe and praise his holy name; fo thefe earthly benefits must be keyes to unlock and open our mouths to fing fome praifeto him, Jer. 2.31. God hath not been a Lord of darkneffe nor a wilderneffe to us, therefore we must not be as barren and unfruitfull ground to him, but yeild fome fruit of our lives by obedience, and fome fruit of our lips by thankfullneffe. The use and profit of this, is firft in regard of Gods word to the Earth, and then in regard of Gods word in refpect of himself: For the first, we see that God fpeaketh but once to the Earth, and it is fufficient to move it to perfect obedience: But in the 22. Jer. 29. God is fain to fpeake thrice, terra, terra, terra, before we can be brought to heare and understand, for our eares are more deaf than the sense leffe earth. A WAY Gen. I. Poft dixit Deus, Sunto luminaria in Expanfo Cæli, ad diftinctionem faciendum inter diem noctem ut fint in figna cum tempeftatibus, tum diebus & annis. Sintque in luminaria in Expanfo Cali, ad afferendum lucem fuper terram: Nthis Chapter God created the World; and being created, he perfected it; and being perfected, he furnished it: Thus the Heavens and the Earth were finished and all the hosts of them, the first verse of the next chapter. Austin faith well, Creata ordinavit, ordinata ornavit, creata ordinata & ornata feptimo die perfecit, after the beginning was the perfecting, after the perfecting was the adorning, tenebras fugavit, abyfam exaltauit, terram difcooperuit: In thefe three following dayes is the beautifying of the Heavens, the Waters, and the Earth. God first began to create the Heavens; then he made the Waters, and laftly the Earth. So he first beautifieth the Heavens, then the Waters, Waters, and laftly the Earth, that is first beautified which was fitt created. Touching the Argument of this dayes work: The Heaven is as a Argument, Garden,the Fathers call the ftars cæleftes Rofas,heavenly Rofes: The Sun is as the general of the hofte of Heaven,the Moon is as the Suns Lieutenant. The Sun is as the Father,the Moon as the Mother,& the Stars are as the Children. When Jofeph dreamed, that the Sun and the Moon, and the eleven Starres did dee him reverence, and he told it his father, Jacob was angry saying, What ! Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren fall on the ground before thee? chap. 37.9. I he Sunne feemeth as gold, the Moon as filver, and the Starres as many pearls. God counteth the flarres, and calleth them all by their names, Pfal. 147. 4. and in Pfal. 19. 4. he hath fet in the Heavens a Tabernacle for the Sunne, which commeth forth as a Bridegrome out of his Chamber, and rejoyceth like a mighty man to run his race: His going out is from the end of the Heaven, his compaffe is unto the ends of the fame, and none is hid from the heat thereof. The Sunne, faith Austin, is a Bridegrome : all the ftarres with one confent doe fing praifes unto God, Fob 38.7. This is the fumme of the Argument. As for the words, in Dixit Deus is the Decree; then is the return; then the execution; then laftly, the approbation. Of Dixit generally. Some make this question, why the lights were Quest. not brought forth before the fourth day, the three first dayes were without Sunne? God commandeth the Sunne and it rifeth not, he closeth up the Starres, as under a fignet, Fob 9.7. The question is thus anfwered. Refp. F.rft he brings torth the things themselves, then the ordinary means; the Plant is first, then the feed, the means of the Plant ; the Earth is first, then is it furnished with herbs; the Heavens must be before the Starres; there was light the first day, but the Sunne was not before the fourth day. The Heathen faith,that Sol eft cor mundi; and the Phyfitions fay, the heart is not first framed in the body, but the liver, and after the heart. God, without any means, brought forth the fecond cause, and by his power he brought forth the effects of the second caute. Ambrofe faith, Sol eft mater, non author lucis. The Heathen faith, that deus eft Plantarum, the Sunne is the god. of Plants, but Rubus eft fenior Sole, the Sunne is not the god of the filly Bramble. The Perfians, feeing nothing more glorious, did worship the vifible Sunne. The Egyptians under orus, the Romans under Bacchus, did worship the Sunne. The very Jews did erea Temples, and doe facrifice to the Sunne and Moon and the whole host of Heaven; negle&ting the fervice and worship due to God, who is the cause of the Sunne and of the light. They be not Only his everlasting lamps; but, even as the Heathen say, they are his hammers to rarifie the Heavens: their influence is for the neration of Plants and Mank inde, they joyn Homo & Sel, Sol & Planta: The Sunne concurreth to generation, this Philofophic teacheth and Divinity confeffeth. Before God faid, Let there be, and Let there appear to be: He caufeth being; He caufeth the morning to keep his K ge place, 4 ters; place, Fob 38. 13. The Sunne makes not only things to appear, but even, as it were, to be. Spiritus incubans, the fpirit hatched the waand dixit Deus, the word of God, brings forth the light: The Sunne of righteoufneffe doth arife, and health fhall be under his wings, Malacht 4.2. He caufeth the visible Sunne to fhine upon the earth: Chrift is the fpirituall light, whereby the Heavens and all therein have their light, Chrift is the Bridegrome in his marriage chamber, Matth. 9.15. by whofe permiffion the Sunne commeth forth as a Bridegrome alfo out of his chamber, Pfal. 19. 4. These lights; though they have no tongue to fpeak unto us, yet by their beauty they poynt to our eyes, by their light they fing the glory and praife of God in our cars. 1. The Lights. Now of the tenor: Wherein we will confider three points, First,the things themselves: Secondly,the place: Thirdly,the ufes of them. Sunne and Moon. For the firft. There was light before; these are not lumina, but luminaria, they are not lights but lightners. Bafil, upon the 1 Ezech. 4. faith, That the fire which was wrapped in the cloud, and the brightnefs that was about it,was the light of the Sunne: And Mifcen, upon the 14. Exodus 20. That the piller of the cloud, which gave Light diftin- light by night, was as the Moon. I wish, as Chryfoftome, that you guished from. Would rather use things manifeft, than to be curious in things fecret; although the schoolmen doe fay, that the generation of these Creatures is a corruption of the former Creation, which cannot be; for corruption is a defect; and this is no corruption, but rather a perfection of the former Creation; and thefe latter lights are derived from the former. Light and day is not all one thing, and the Sunne is diftinct from them both, the difference of them all Paul theweth in one verfe, At mid-day he saw a light,paßing the brightnesse of the Sunne, Shining round about him, Acts 26. 13. This light was lux vita, there is lux diei, & fplendor folis. The day and the Sunne are not one, fo faith Chrift, the day is the durance of the light: luminare a lumine is there diftinguished, for the Sunne is but the carriage of the light. the light and the Moon are diftin&: the Moon every moneth leaveth her old light, and puteth on a new, after the conjunction. Neither the Sunne nor the Moon are light of themselves, but the Sunne is the Chariot of light: Paul, in the 2. Philippians 15. wifheth them to be pure and blamelesse, that among the wicked Nation they would shine as lights of the World. Fohn faith, He was not that light, but he came to bear witneffe of the light, John 1. 8. It behoveth that in them which witneffe this light, there fhould be light, though they are not the light it felf, for otherwife they be the blinde leaders of the blinde, Matth.15. 14. The Fathers doe call the Apostles Apoftoli lucis. Or is one thing in Hebrew, Maor is another; lumen is one thing, and luminare is another, light is one thing, and that which giveth light is another. Things not durable fhail be corrupt, and shall be brought forth : But when he purposeth a father matter, and a continuance as long as the world fhall continue; as when he made the Heaven and the Earth, the Sunne and Starres, God faith fit, let there be he faith |