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| The Next Stage Occurs in the Creation of Man by the Eternal Word. Spiritual as Well as Physical Gifts to Man. The Blessings of Man's Free-Will.
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Chapter IV.—The Next
Stage Occurs in the Creation of Man by the Eternal Word. Spiritual as
Well as Physical Gifts to Man. The Blessings of Man’s
Free-Will.
The goodness of God having, therefore, provided
man for the pursuit of the knowledge of Himself, added this to its
original notification,2739
that it first
prepared a habitation for him, the vast fabric (of the world) to begin
with, and then afterwards2740
| 2740
Postmodum…postmodum. | the vaster one (of
a higher world,2741
| 2741 See Bp. Bull on
The State of Man before the Fall, Works, ii.
73–81. | ) that he might on a
great as well as on a smaller stage practise and advance in his
probation, and so be promoted from the good which God had given
him, that is, from his high position, to God’s best; that
is, to some higher abode.2742
In this good work
God employs a most excellent minister, even His own Word.
“My heart,” He says, “hath emitted my most excellent
Word.”2743
| 2743 “Eructavit cor.
meum Sermonem optimum” is Tertullian’s reading of
Ps. xlv. 1, “My heart is inditing a good
matter,” A.V., which the Vulgate, Ps. xliv. 1, renders by
“Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum,” and the Septuagint by
᾽Εξηρεύξατο
ἡ καρδία μου
λόγον
ἀγαθόν. This is a tolerably
literal rendering of the original words, בוֹט רבָרָ
יבִּלִ
שׁהַרָ. In these words
the Fathers used to descry an adumbration of the mystery of the
Son’s eternal generation from the Father, and His coming forth in
time to create the world. See Bellarmine, On the Psalms
(Paris ed. 1861), vol. i. 292. The Psalm is no doubt eminently
Messianic, as both Jewish and Christian writers have ever held. See
Perowne, The Psalms, vol. i. p. 216. Bishop Bull reviews
at length the theological opinions of Tertullian, and shows that he
held the eternity of the Son of God, whom he calls
“Sermo” or “Verbum Dei.” See Defensio
Fidei Nicænæ (translation in the “Oxford Library of
the Fathers,” by the translator of this work) vol. ii.
509–545. In the same volume, p. 482, the passage from the Psalm
before us is similarly applied by Novatian: “Sic Dei Verbum
processit, de quo dictum est, Eructavit cor meum Verbum
bonum.” [See vol. ii. p. 98, this series: and Kaye, p.
515.] | Let Marcion take
hence his first lesson on the noble fruit of this truly most excellent
tree. But, like a most clumsy clown, he has grafted a good branch on a
bad stock. The sapling, however, of his blasphemy shall be never
strong: it shall wither with its planter, and thus shall be manifested
the nature of the good tree. Look at the total result: how fruitful was
the Word! God issued His fiat, and it was done: God also saw
that it was good;2744
not as if He
were ignorant of the good until He saw it; but because it was good, He
therefore saw it, and honoured it, and set His seal upon it; and
consummated2745
| 2745 Dispungens, i.e.,
examinans et probans et ita quasi consummans (Oehler). | the goodness of His
works by His vouchsafing to them that contemplation. Thus God blessed
what He made good, in order that He might commend Himself to you as
whole and perfect, good both in word and act.2746
| 2746 This twofold virtue is
very tersely expressed: “Sic et benedicebat quæ
benefaciebat.” | As
yet the Word knew no malediction, because He was a stranger to
malefaction.2747
| 2747 This, the translator
fears, is only a clumsy way of representing the terseness of our
author’s “maledicere” and
“malefacere.” | We shall see what
reasons required this also of God. Meanwhile the world consisted
of all things good, plainly foreshowing how much good was preparing for
him for whom all this was provided. Who indeed was so worthy of
dwelling amongst the works of God, as he who was His own image and
likeness? That image was wrought out by a goodness even more operative
than its wont,2748
| 2748 Bonitas et quidem
operantior. | with no imperious
word, but with friendly hand preceded by an almost affable2749
utterance: “Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness.”2750
Goodness spake
the word; Goodness formed man of the dust of the ground into so great a
substance of the flesh, built up out of one material with so many
qualities; Goodness breathed into him a soul, not dead but living.
Goodness gave him dominion2751
over all things,
which he was to enjoy and rule over, and even give names to. In
addition to this, Goodness annexed pleasures2752
to
man so that, while master of the whole world,2753
| 2753 Totius orbis
possidens. | he
might tarry among higher delights, being translated into paradise, out
of the world into the Church.2754
| 2754 There is a profound
thought here; in his tract, De Pœnit. 10, he says,
“Where one or two are, is the church, and
the church is Christ.” Hence what he here calls Adam’s
“higher delights,” even spiritual blessings in Christ with
Eve. [Important note in Kaye, p. 304.] | The self-same
Goodness provided also a help meet for him, that there might be nothing
in his lot that was not good. For, said He, that the man be alone is
not good.2755
He knew full well
what a blessing to him would be the sex of Mary,2756
and also of the Church. The law, however,
which you find fault with,2757
and wrest into a
subject of contention, was imposed on man by Goodness, aiming at his
happiness, that he might cleave to God, and so not show himself an
abject creature rather than a free one, nor reduce himself to the level
of the other animals, his subjects, which were free from God, and
exempt from all tedious subjection;2758
| 2758 Ex fastidio
liberis. | but might, as
the sole human being, boast that he alone was worthy of receiving laws
from God; and as a rational being, capable of intelligence and
knowledge, be restrained within the bounds of rational liberty, subject
to Him who had subjected all things unto him. To secure the observance
of this law, Goodness likewise took counsel by help of this sanction:
“In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die.”2759
For it was a most
benignant act of His thus to point out the issues of transgression,
lest ignorance of the danger should encourage a neglect of obedience.
Now, since2760
it was given as a
reason previous to the imposition of the law, it also amounted to a
motive for subsequently observing it, that a penalty was annexed to its
transgression; a penalty, indeed, which He who proposed it was still
unwilling that it should be incurred. Learn then the goodness of
our God amidst these things and up to this point; learn it from His
excellent works, from His kindly blessings, from His indulgent
bounties, from His gracious providences, from His laws and warnings, so
good and merciful.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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