The portraiture of the image of God in man: In his three estates, of creation. Restauration. Glorification. Digested into two parts. The first containing, the image of God both in the body and soule of man, and immortality of both: with a description of the severall members of the body, and the two principall faculties of the soule, the understanding and the will; in which consisteth his knowledge, and liberty of his will. The second containing, the passions of man in the concupiscible and irascible part of the soule: his dominion ouer the creatures; also a description of his active and contemplative life; with his conjunct or married estate. Whereunto is annexed an explication of sundry naturall and morall observations for the clearing of divers Scriptures. All set downe by way of collation, and cleared by sundry distinctions, both out of the schoolemen, and moderne writers. The third edition, corrected and enlarged. By I. Weemse, of Lathocker in Scotland, preacher of Christs Gospel.

An Advertisement to the Reader for the right using of School-divinitie.

IT is a question that hath beene much ex∣agitated in the Schools, how farre Philosophy should have place in the Church of God and in Divinity. Some have gone so farre upon the one ex∣tremitie, that they have advanced her in the Church, above Divinity it selfe, and they have framed the whole platforme of their religion as Philosophy hath taugth them; others againe bending the sprig other way, would altogether have Phi∣losophy banished out of the Church. But wee are here to follow a middle course, neither to seclude her out of the Church, neither to suffer her to advance her selfe above Divinity; shee is but the hand maid to her mistresse Divinitie: therefore shee must not take upon her to rule in the house, and to over-rule her mistresse, as Hagar would have usurped above Sara: if she have any charge, it must be over those who are under her; she must then submit her∣selfe as a dutifull hand maid to her mistresse.

There is in a man sense, imagination, reason and faith: sense cor∣rects imagination; as when the Disciples saw Christ they thought he had beene a spirit: But Christ corrects this wrong imagination by sense, saying, Touch me, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones. When sense is deceived, reason corrects it; When one puts a staffe in the water, to his sight the staffe seemes to be broken: but yet reason corrects his sight, and teacheth him that the water cannot breake

the staffe; so when a man is in a feaver, sweete things seeme bit∣ter to his taste, yet this reason teacheth him that the fault is in his taste, and that the things are sweete in themselves.

When reason erres, shee cannot cure her selfe, but her mistris Divinitie must come in and teach her. Sara, when she was old the Lord promised that shee should have a childe, she did laugh at it, her reason thought it impossible, that a woman stricken in yeares should have a child: but her mistresse faith corrected it, and shee beleeved by faith, that which her reason could not take up. Philo∣sophy is but a hand-maide to Divinity, therefore shee must bee 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that is, she must hold herselfe within her owne bounds and not transcend them. Nicodemus reasoning against regeneration failed in this point when he reasoned thus: He that is borne againe must enter into his mothers wombe againe. But no man can enter into his mothers wombe againe: This principle is wrong applyed by him in Divinity, for wee are borne againe as Christ teacheth, Iohn 3, by the water and the Spirit; and not by entring into our mothers wombe againe. This vaine excesse of reason and fleshly wisedom, is that which the Apostle condemnes, 2 Cor. 10. so 1 Cor. 3.19.

Againe, when by naturall reason and Philosophy, we take up a thing; and by faith wee beleeve the selfe same thing, if reason claime the first place here, then she is not a dutifull hand-maid.

There are some things in Divinity which are mixtly divine: there are other things meerely divine: these things which are mixtly divine, in such reason may serve but onely in the second place; primo creduntur, & postea intelliguntur: as a man beleeves the immortality of the soule: then he begins to take up the same by reason; must reason here advance her selfe as farre as faith? or must reason come here before faith? God forbid: for that which I beleeve, I beleeve it, ex authoritate dicentis, relying upon the truth of him that saith it, and al the evidence which I get by reason is nothing to this certitude: if reason should goe before like an usher to make way to faith, we should never beleeve. The School∣men say well, Rationes praecedentes minuunt fidem; sed rationes sub∣sequentes augent fidem Reasons going before faith weaken faith, but reasons comming after faith strengthen it: reason makes not the matter more sure, ex parte veritatis dictantis, sed ex parte intel∣lectus assentientis: in respect of God the speaker, but in respect of the weakenesse of our understanding, for by this accesse of fur∣ther

knowledge it is more canfirmed. A gardiner when hee is a∣bout to plant a tree, first hee digs the earth and makes an empty roome in the bosom thereof for the planting of the tree: then after he takes the same earth (which if it had not beene digged up, had stayed the planting of the tree) and casts it about the roote of the tree againe, for the fastning of it: hee takes also the stones which he had digged up with the earth, and kills the mole which would have beene hurtfull to the tree: so, first the Lord empties our soule of all naturall reason; and this heavenly gardiner makes a roome, wherein hee plants this supernaturall grace of faith by his owne hand; but when he hath planted this heavenly plant faith in the soule, reason will serve for two uses; first, for the confirmation and establishing of our faith new planted: ano∣ther for killing of all contrary heresies besides which might hurt our faith: But in things which are meerely divine, & quae cadunt directè sub fide, and fall directly under faith, as the mysterie of the Trinitie and the incarnation; what can reason or Philosophy doe here; but admire these hid mysteries which she can never reach unto? if reason the hand-maid have alwaies her eyes towards her mistresse, then we may make good use of her in the Church.

The Vine-tree of it selfe bringeth forth the most comfortable grape for our nourishment, and chearing of our hearts; but yet if we set a Mandrake by it, and then drinke of that wine, that wine will make us sleepe the better. The knowledg of Divinity is the on∣ly comfortable knowledg, but yet Philosophy as the Mandrak being set by it, may have the profitable use also. Schoole divinity hath most incroched upon the truth and obscured it; framing all religion according to the platforme of Philosophie. There was one Demo∣nides a Schoolemaster in Athens having crooked feete, hee had his shooes made according to his feere: one stole his shooes from him; but he wish: that the feete of those who had stolē his shooes, might become like unto the shooes. This was a foolish wish to desire the straight foot, to be made conforme to the crooked shooe, whereas the shooe should be made conforme to the straight foote. What is Schoole divinity, but a crooked shooe? therfore to conforme divinity to it, where to conforme the straight foot to the crooked shooe. Divinity must be the square to correct that which is not straight.

Although this schoole divinity hath beene mightily abused, yet the abuse takes not away the use. For the right using of the school∣men wee must remember, that there is a threefold judgement,

1. the judgement of verity, the second is the judgement of pru∣dency, the third is the judgement of charity.

The judgement of verity is onely to be found in the Scriptures, and all other writings should bee tryed by them, as the canon and touchstone: but the church of Rome would have the Scriptures to be tryed by the Fathers and Schoolemen.

Secondly, the judgement of prudencie is requisite in reading of them; men should not dote upon them: for this is generally the fault of most of them, that yee shall finde little pietie or matter of holinesse in all their writings. Bucer said well, that there is more holinesse to be found in Seneca than in most of them: if men con∣verse too much with them, they shall finde but little sanctification by them, but having their mindes inlightened by the holy Scrp∣tures, and their affections sanctified, they may make use of them Some of them we may reade distinctly and judiciously; some of them we are to reade cursorily; and some of them we are but to looke upon here and there: some meates we cut first, then we chew them, then we digest them; other meates we swallow them; and other meates wee taste onely of them. So wee should use these Schoolemen: some of them we should reade distinctly: others of them we should swallow as it were, and run over lightly and o∣thers of them wee should tast and looke but upon them here and there.

Againe, prudency should teach us, what wee should observe as impertinent in them, and what to reject; their questions for the most part are idle and curious, as the most of their hypotheticall propositions, and the manner of their disputations; for other times they dispute ex alienis principijs, out of the grounds of other sciences: they confound Divinity and Philosophy: and the Me••••s which they use oftentimes are impertinent. They bring innume∣rable arguments and disputations oftentimes probable on both sides, and they trust too much to the testimonie of men; they goe very rashly many of them, and speake not soberly enough of the great mystery of the Trinity, and Incarnation; bringing in philo∣sophicall reasons: whereas these mysteries should rather be ado∣red than searched after: and herein Athanasius sayd well, Eti•••• verade Deo loqui est periculosum.

And last of al, they distinguish where the law distinguisheth not.

The third judgement is the judgement of charity; when wee reade them and finde many grosse errours in them; wee are not

for that to reject them, for we shall finde sometimes points nota∣bly well cleared in them. The Iewes have a proverbe, Comede dactylos, & projice foras duritiem; Eate the Date, and cast away the stone; so should wee in reading of them, take that which is good, and cast away their errours. The Toade, although it bee a loathsome creature, yet we will take a stone out of the head of it, and use it: the Muske-kat is an il-favoured creature and yet we will take the muske of it to perfume things with: The Raven was an uncleane creature under the Law, yet Elias was fed by it: so wee may get many profitable helpes by these Schoolemen, al∣though they have great errours: but we must take heed, that we fawningly flatter them not.

The flatterers of Dionysius were so grosse, that they would licke up the spittle of Dionysius, protesting that it was sweeter than nectar; we must not so doate upon them, as to licke up their excrements, but onely follow them in so farre as they follow Christ. We must not give to them glorious titles, for then as Iob saith, We must give titles to men, as Jacobus de Voragine, as though he had eaten up the whole Booke of God in reading it; and to Thomas Aquinas, they gave the name doctor Seraphicus & angelicus: to Scotus, doctor subtilis; to Durandus, doctor irrefragabilis; to ano∣ther, venerabilis incoeptor; to another, doctor fundatissimus; to ano∣ther illuminatus; to another, doctor resolutus: and a thousand such.

Among the Iewes, when the holy Ghost was not revealed unto them, then they tooke glorious titles upon them, as one was cal∣led 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 lux mundi, R. Iude, his title was, Rabbonu 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 doctor noster sanctus; Saddaas was called, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 illustris; Aben∣ezra was called, lapis auxilij; they were also called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a∣perti, the men that saw; for they reckoned the people but blinde, Rom. 1. and the leaders of the blind; then they disdained the people, Joh. 7.49. this people who know not the Law: they called also the people populus terrae. So when these glorious titles were given to the Schoolemen, then the holy Ghost withdrew his presence mightily from his Church.

Wee should in charity judge their errors, for they lived in the houre of darkenesse, and few these were then to oppose against them, and what marvaile if they did oftentimes stumble; so that this was but infirmity in them, and not malice.

But if they could now behold from heaven the Church of Rome (who brags that shee succeeds to them) with her new plots, as her

equivocations, mentall reservations, allowing the killing of Princes, absolving subjects from loyaltie towards their Prince; wives from their husbands, children from their parents; and giving to ima∣ges not onely cultum respectivum, which the schoolemen gran∣ted to them, but also cultum conjunctum, or coadoration; would they not bee ashamed of these their children, and blush if they could behold them?

A Cardinall upon a time caused a Painter to paint the twelve Apostles; the Painter painted them looking somewhat reddish; the Cardinall asked the Painter whether the Apostles looked so when they were here alive? no said the Painter: why dost thou then so paint them said the Cardinall? the Painter replyed, They blush so now when they behold the corruptions of you who take upon you to bee leaders of the Church. If the Schoolemen could behold the grosse and innumerable corruptions which are main∣tained now in the Church of Rome, which were not then, would they not blush and be ashamed, and disclaime them for their chil∣dren?

When Moses was upon the mount, hee brought a patterne of the whole frame of the tabernacle from the Lord, and erected it according to the patterne received, but the Church of Rome hath erected another patterne, framing religion by the mould of hu∣mane reason.

If ye will take a view of severall points professed in Poperie, ye may easily perceive whence they have taken the patterne of them, not from Moses on the mount, but from scholasticke speculations.

First, because the Mathematickes consider lines, figures, circles, points, abstracted from bodies, therefore they gather, that acci∣dents may be in the Sacrament without the subject.

Secondly, because morall Phylosophy establisheth neyther pu∣nishment nor reward, unlesse the free will of man goe before; hence they inferre, that there is free will in man: againe, because morall Philosophy knoweth no vertues, but inherent habites and vertues; therefore it is that they set themselves so against the in∣puted righteousnesse of Christ: the morall Philosopher cals vice a voluntary evill, therefore they inferre, that concupiscence is not sin, because it is not altogether voluntary.

Thirdly, from the Politickes, in policie, the best sort of govern∣ment is monarchicall, therefore the Popes government must bee monarchicall. Againe, in Princes Courts, men use mediators to

goe to their Prince, therefore they conclude, that we must use the intercession of the Saints to God. In policie, no lawes are given, but which the subjects may fulfill, therefore man is able to fulfill the law of God.

Fourthly, from the Physickes; Physicke teacheth us that the bo∣dy turnes to corruption, and dissolves; upon this they inferre, that man before his fall his body should have dyed naturally, as it doth, if supernaturall righteousnesse had not kept backe corruption; so that they make God as well the author of death; as well as of na∣ture, considering man here onely after the principles of nature, and not according to his first creation. Againe, Physicke teacheth us, that the blood alwaies followeth the body, therefore they have taken away the cup from the people in the Sacrament, be∣cause (say they) if they get his flesh, they get his blood, per conco∣mitantiam.

Fiftly, the Metaphysickes teach us, that every positive thing is good, therefore they define originall sinne to be a meere privation.

Sixthly, the Platonickes were mightily deluded by the appariti∣on of spirits, hence they have borrowed their apparition of spi∣rits.

Seventhly, from the Poets fables they have taken their Pur∣gatory.

Last, from the incantations of the Gentiles, they have borrowed their exorcismes. Thus wee see that they have not taken their platforme from above in the mount with Moses, but from below, from humane reason and Philosophie: and here they ought to have remembred that of the Apostle, Take heede that no man spoile you with Philosophie. Curteous Reader, if there bee any thing here that may serve for the good of the Church and your edification, give the glory to God, and reape you the fruits: if there bee any thing that seemeth not correspondent to reason or the word of God, reprove me for it, and it shall be like a pretious balme unto my head. So recommending you to the grace of God, I rest,

Your ever loving brother in Iesus Christ, IOHN WEEMSE.