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,418    Præconio suo. that it first prepared a habitation for him, the vast fabric (of the world) to begin with, and then afterwards419    Postmodum…postmodum. the vaster one (of a higher world,420    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.421    Habitaculum majus. In this good work God employs a most excellent minister, even His own Word. “My heart,” He says, “hath emitted my most excellent Word.”422    “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, רָהַשׂ לִֹגִּי רָכָר טוֹב. 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;423    Gen. i. 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 consummated424    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.425    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.426    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,427    Bonitas et quidem operantior. with no imperious word, but with friendly hand preceded by an almost affable428    Blandiente. utterance: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”429    Gen. i. 26. 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 dominion430    Præfecit. over all things, which he was to enjoy and rule over, and even give names to. In addition to this, Goodness annexed pleasures431    Delicias. to man so that, while master of the whole world,432    Totius orbis possidens. he might tarry among higher delights, being translated into paradise, out of the world into the Church.433    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.434    See Gen. ii. 18. He knew full well what a blessing to him would be the sex of Mary,435    Sexum Mariæ. For the Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ, the Saviour of men; and the virgin mother the Church, the spouse of Christ, gives birth to Christians (Rigalt.). and also of the Church. The law, however, which you find fault with,436    Arguis. 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;437    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.”438    Gen. ii. 17. 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, since439    Porro si. 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.

CAPUT IV.

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Igitur, cum cognoscendo Deo hominem prospexisset bonitas Dei ipsius, etiam hoc praeconio suo addidit, quod prius domicilium homini commentata est, aliquam postmodum molem maximam, postmodum et majorem, ut in magna tamquam in minore proluderet atque perficeret: et ita de bono Dei, id est de magno, ad optimum quoque ejus, id est ad majus habitaculum promoveretur. Adhibet operi bono optimum etiam ministrum, sermonem suum: Eructavit, inquit, (Ps. XLIV, 1) cor meumsermonem optimum. Agnoscat hinc primum fructum optimum, utique optimae arboris, Marcion: imperitissimus rusticus quidem in malam, bonam inseruit; sed non valebit blasphemiae 0288B surculus , arescet cum suo artifice, et ita se bonae arboris natura testabitur. Adspice ad summam, qualia sermo fructificaverit: Et dixit Deus: Fiat; et factum est, et vidit Deus quia bonum (Gen., I): non quasi nesciens bonum, nisi videret, sed quia bonum, ideo videns, honorans et consignans, et dispungens bonitatem operum dignatione conspectus. Sic et benedicebat quae bene faciebat, ut tibi totus Deus commendaretur, bonus, et dicere et facere. Maledicere adhuc sermo non norat, quia nec male facere. Videbimus caussas, quae hoc quoque a Deo exegerunt. Interim mundus ex bonis omnibus constitit, satis praemonstrans quantum boni pararetur illi, cui praeparabatur hoc totum. Quis denique dignus incolere Dei opera, quam ipsius imago et similitudo? 0288C Eam quoque bonitas et quidem operantior operata est, non imperiali verbo, sed familiari manu, etiam verbo blandiente praemisso: Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram (Gen., I, 26). Bonitas dixit, bonitas finxit hominem de limo, in tantam substantiam carnis ex una materia tot qualitatibus exstructam. Bonitas inflavit animam, non mortuam, sed vivam. Bonitas praefecit universis fruendis atque regnandis, etiam cognominandis (Gen., II, 7). Bonitas amplius delicias adjecit homini, ut quamquam totius orbis possidens, in amoenioribus moraretur, translatus in paradisum, jam tunc de mundo in Ecclesiam. Eadem bonitas et adjutorium prospexit, ne quid non boni: Non est enim, inquit 0289A (Gen., II, 18), bonum solum esse hominem. Sciebat illi sexum Mariae, et deinceps Ecclesiae profuturum. Sed et quam arguis legem, quam in controversias torques, bonitas erogavit, consulens homini quo Deo adhaereret, ne non tam liber, quam adjectus videretur, aequandus famulis suis caeteris animalibus, solutis a Deo et ex fastidio liberis; sed ut solus homo gloriaretur, quod solus dignus fuisset qui legem a Deo sumeret, utque animal rationale, intellectus et scientiae capax, ipsa quoque libertate rationali contineretur, ei subjectus, qui subjecerat illi omnia (I Cor., XV, 28). Cujus legis observandae consilium, bonitas pariter adscripsit: Qua die autem ederitis, morte moriemini (Gen., II, 17). Benignissime enim demonstravit exitum transgressionis, ne ignorantia periculi 0289B negligentiam juvaret obsequii. Porro, si legis imponendae ratio praecessit, sequebatur etiam observandae, ut poena transgressioni adscriberetur; quam tamen evenire noluit, qui ante praedixit. Agnosce igitur bonitatem Dei nostri interim, vel hucusque ex operibus bonis, ex benedictionibus bonis, ex indulgentiis, ex providentiis, ex legibus et praemonitionibus bonis et benignis.