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A Digest of Hooker's Treatise on the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity
A Digest of Hooker's Treatise on the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity Author:Richard Hooker General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1840 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: concert with some General System for the common good of Creation, taken as a whole. These natural agents, then, so admirably, exactly, and constantly fulfilling their parts, being at the same time unintel- lectual agents, are therefore but instruments in the hands of the God of Nature, who ordereth them severally after the counsel of His own will: and consequently the Law of Nature is but a branch, or emanation from that Eternal Law, which God hath appointed for Himself. IV. Of the Law by which Angels are governed. Henvenly Law is that influence which pervadeth angelic natures, the operation whereof is of a different description from Natural Law. For God, who moveth natural agents as an efficient only, doth move intellectual creatures, and especially angelic beings, after another manner. They are inclined to the pure and perfect obedience of the Most High by feelings of love and adoration, which prompt them to imitate the perfections they admire. And hence, not only do they rapturously proclaim His glorious attributes in Heaven ; but after the example of His ineffable goodness, are the ready and joyful ministers of His will to the children of men, with whom they do not disdain to consider themselves as conjoined fellow-servants of Jehovahl. V. Of the Law whereby Men are led to imitate God. We now come to the Law whereby Men are governed. And here we may premise, that God alone is supremely and immutably perfect; whilst in all other things there exists a sort of appetency, to assimilate themselves to that Eternal Perfection from which they sprung. Tiie modes in which this is exhibited, are, 1st, By ...« less