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Qu. 57. Is there then no escape from this misery?
A. Yes, the same God that crea∣ted us at the first, had Love, Power, and Wisdome enough to help us, and hath devised and provided help for us.
This Answer is true, and without exception; save that here seemeth to be a reasoning, from the power
of God, to his act: he hath done it, because he can do it, which is not safe.
And considering the usual argumentations of this sort of men, I do suspect herein, a Dark, but Dan∣gerous insinuation, That God hath done for us all that he could do, and that Man thinks fit he should do. He that speaks but darkly, is oftentimes best understood, and made out by his companion; and that shall now be the Authour of 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, p. 33. How dwelleth the love of Man in God, if having means and opportunity in his hand to relieve the whole world of mankinde, without the least incon∣venience to himself, he yet shall suffer the far great∣est part of them to perish, without intending re∣lief to them.]
Which conceit, when it is once taken in, and while it is made use of, though not improved, doth una∣voidably expose men to Epicurcan Atheisme: for when they shall see in those things, wherein we walk by sight, and not by faith, as we do in the mysteries of faith; when they shall observe in the world, that God Almighty doth not do all the good that we may well think he can do; and that he doth not free the creature from the servitude that it yet groans under; and doth not put forth his helping hand, without the least inconvenience to himself, for the relief of man and beast, but suffers evils and miseries to continue and abound; It must needs follow, that being poi∣soned with this principle, they should hereupon be tempted, to doubt of, perhaps to denie, either God
himself, or his Providence, or his Power, or Wis∣dome, or Goodness. But the Prophet Malachi saith, God had residuum spiritus, yet he made but one: so hath he infinite treasures of power and goodness: yet it pleased him to deal according to his infinite wisdome, and not according to our thoughts. This is but a chip of the old Marcion: and when time shall come, God will be cleared and justified, in his sayings, and in his doings, and all his holy attributes, with little thank to the censorious.