73# 次日，昨日那群持预定信仰、归算信仰的灵中，有数位前来见我，开口言道：
“我等恍如醉酒之人，并非因酒迷乱，乃是为昨日那人之言心神昏沉。彼既论及神性全能，亦兼论秩序，并作出论断：全能既属神性，秩序自亦属神性，甚至上帝自身即是秩序。
彼又言道，秩序之法度数量等同圣言所载一切真理，此等真理何止万千，实为亿万之数；又言上帝受自身所立法度约束，人亦受对应自身之法度约束。
倘若神性全能被法度束缚，则所谓全能究竟为何？如此一来，全能之中一切绝对之权能岂非尽数消散？上帝之权能，岂不是反倒不及世间君王？
世间君王可轻易翻转公义之法度，行事全然随心，一如屋大维・奥古斯都，亦可如尼禄一般肆意妄为。
我等一思及一切权能皆受法度桎梏，便心神恍惚几近昏厥，若不能即刻得解惑之良方，恐难以自持。
依我等所持信仰，我等祈求父上帝因圣子之故怜悯我等；深信祂可随意怜悯心中所愿之人，赦免祂所喜悦者的罪，拯救祂心意所向之人。我等不敢自祂的全能之中削减分毫权能。是以我等认为，以祂自身法度之锁链束缚上帝，实为亵渎之举，此事与祂的全能相互矛盾。”
【2】彼等说完此番言语，便凝神注视于我，我亦回望彼等，见其神色惶惑、心神不定。于是我开口言道：
“我将向主祈求，借此为你等解开疑惑、阐明此理；此刻暂且借诸多事例加以说明。”
我继而言道：
“全能之上帝自其内蕴之秩序创造寰宇，即是将世界造于祂所居之秩序中，并依循此秩序治理万有；祂将自身之秩序置入整个宇宙，以及宇宙间一切存有、每一细微分殊：赋予人专属人之秩序，赋予走兽专属走兽之秩序，赋予飞鸟游鱼专属二者之秩序，赋予虫类专属虫类之秩序，每一株树木，乃至每一寸草木，皆各有其专属秩序。
为使事例足以阐明此理，我简举数端如下：
赋予人之秩序法度乃是：人当自圣言之中求取真理，依自然之理、竭尽自身所能理性思索此等真理，借此为自己习得自然层面之信仰。
自上帝一方而论，对应的秩序法度则为：祂主动亲近世人，以自身神性之光充盈此等真理；以此将神性本质灌注于人原本仅为知识与确信的自然信仰之中。能带来救赎的信仰，便是如此成就，绝无第二条路径。
仁义亦是同理；此处仅简列数条要义：
上帝不能依循自身法度赦免任何人之罪，除非那人依自身对应的法度止息一切恶行。
上帝不能于属灵层面重生一人，除非那人依自身法度先于自然层面修整己身。
上帝恒久不息地竭力重生世人、以此施行救赎；然此事终究无法独自成就，除非人主动预备自身为容纳器皿，为上帝铺平前路、敞开内心之门。
新郎无法进入尚未订婚女子的内室；女子必将门户紧闭，钥匙自留怀中。唯有女子成为新妇之后，方会将钥匙交付新郎。
【3】上帝无法仅凭自身全能救赎人类，除非祂降世为人；祂亦无法将自身人性升为神性，除非祂的人性先如婴孩之纯真，继而长成孩童之纯全；且祂的人性需逐步塑造成容纳器皿与居所，使父能够栖身其中。
此事乃是借着祂成全圣言所载一切内容达成，亦即成全其中所有秩序之法度。祂成全此等法度至何等程度，自身便与父联合至何等程度，父亦与祂联合至同等程度。
以上仅为少数用以佐证之事例，好叫你等明白：神性全能恒存于秩序之内；祂的治理，亦即世人所称之天命，全然依循秩序运行；祂自始至终、永永远远依照自身秩序之法度行事。
祂不能悖逆此等法度，亦不能改动其中一丝一毫，盖秩序及其一切法度，便是祂自身。”
【4】此番言语落定，金色光华穿透屋顶倾泻而下，于空中凝结为飞翔的基路伯；自光华之中透出赤红鎏金之光，映照在部分灵的两侧太阳穴，仅自后脑一侧发亮，尚未照透前额，盖彼等仍低声私语：
“我等依旧未能明白何为全能。”
我闻言答道：
“待方才所言事理在你等心中生出几分光亮，神性全能的真义自会向你等显明。”
73# 第二天，一些相信预定论和归算的人从这群灵人中来到我面前；他们说：“我们觉得自己好像喝醉了，不是因为酒，而是因为昨天那人所说的话。他谈到全能，还谈到秩序，并得出结论说，正如全能是神性，秩序也是神性，甚至神自己就是秩序。他还说，秩序的律法与包含在圣言里的真理一样多，不仅成千上万，而且是数亿万；神受圣言中与祂自己有关的律法约束，人则受与他有关的律法约束。如果神性全能受律法约束，那么它算什么呢？因为在这种情况下，全能就不是绝对的。这难道不是让神的权力还不如世俗的专制君主吗？他尚且能易如反掌地改变正义的法律，也能不受限制地行动，如屋大维•奥古斯都，或尼禄。一想到全能受律法约束，我们就觉得自己好像喝醉了，或快要昏倒了，除非立刻得到一些补救措施；因为根据我们的信仰，我们习惯祈求父神为了祂的儿子怜悯我们；我们相信祂会怜悯祂所拣选的人，赦免祂所喜悦之人的罪，拯救祂所愿意的人；我们不敢从祂的全能中减损丝毫。因此，我们认为用神自己的任何律法的锁链来捆绑神是严重的不敬，因为这与祂的全能是矛盾的。”
他们说完就看着我，我也看着他们；我看出他们的迷惘，就说：“我会向主祈求，从祂那里给你们提供补救措施，使你们清楚明白这个问题；但目前我只举几个例子。”我说：“全能的神出于祂里面的秩序创造了这个世界，也就是说，使这个世界服从祂所在，并照之统治的秩序；祂赋予宇宙及其每个部分以自己的秩序，赋予人以自己的秩序，赋予动物、鸟类、鱼类、虫子，每棵树，甚至每片草叶以各自的秩序。但为了举例说明，我简要提及以下秩序：为人类规定的秩序律法是，他要从圣言为自己获得真理，属世地反思它们，并尽可能地理性反思它们，从而为自己获得一种属世信仰。神那一方的秩序律法是，祂会以其神性之光接近并充满这些真理，从而以神性本质充满这人的属世信仰，属世信仰本身只是知识和说服。只有这样信仰才能成为救赎的信仰。仁爱也是如此。但我们要提一些细节。按照神的律法，神不能赦免任何人的罪，除非人遵守他的律法，停止这些罪。神也不能使人属灵地重生，除非人遵守他的律法，使自己属世地重生。神不断努力使人重生，从而救赎他；但祂无法做到这一点，除非人预备自己成为一个接受的容器，从而为神铺平道路并开门。在少女成为新娘之前，新郎不能进入她的寝室，因为她会关上门，自己保管钥匙；但当少女成为新娘时，她就把钥匙交给新郎或丈夫。
“神不能凭祂的全能救赎人类，除非祂成为人；祂也不能使祂的人身变成神性，除非祂的人身先是像一个婴儿的人身，然后像一个孩童的人身，也除非后来这人身形成它的父可以进入的一个容器和住所。这是通过祂应验圣言中的一切，也就是说，应验其中的一切秩序律法而完成的；只要祂完成这项工作，祂就与父合一，父也与祂合一。提出这几点是为了说明，以使你们能看到，神性全能在秩序的范围之内，它的治理被称为圣治，是按着秩序来的，它不断照其秩序的律法行动，直到永恒；它不能反对它们，也不能改变它们的任何一个粒子，因为秩序及其一切律法就是祂自己。”
说完这些话，一道明亮的金色光芒透过屋顶倾泻而下，形成在空中飞行的基路伯；它的红光照亮了一些人的太阳穴，但只照到后脑勺，还没有照到额头上，因为他们喃喃自语道：“我们还是不知道什么是全能。”我说：“当你们更充分地理解刚才所听到的话时，这一点会揭示给你们的。”
73. The next day some people from the main group came to me - the group that believed in predestination and God's assigning of spiritual credit or blame. They said, "We are drunk in a way, not on wine but on the things that man said yesterday. He spoke about omnipotence and also about the divine design. He concluded that the design is as divine as omnipotence is. He even said that God himself is the divine design. He said that there are as many laws of the divine design as there are truths in the Word - not just thousands but millions - and that God is bound by his laws in the Word as we are bound by ours. But what does that make divine omnipotence, if it is restricted by laws? It takes all the absoluteness out of omnipotence. Isn't God's power then less than the power of a monarch on a worldly throne? Monarchs can turn the laws of justice in another direction as easily as they turn the palms of their hands. They can have the absolute power of an Octavian Augustus; they can also have the absolute power of a Nero. After we thought for a while about omnipotence bound by laws, we felt drunk and likely to lose consciousness if we didn't find some remedy very quickly.
"Our prayers have been said on the basis of our faith. We have prayed for God our Father to have mercy for the sake of his Son, believing that he could have mercy on whomever he wished, forgive the sins of whomever he pleased, and save whomever he wanted to. We wouldn't have dared take away in the least from his omnipotence. Therefore binding God with the chains of some of his own laws seems unspeakable to us, because it goes against his omnipotence. "
[2] When they finished they looked at me and I looked at them. They appeared thunderstruck. I said, "I will take an appeal to the Lord and bring back a remedy to enlighten the issue. In the meanwhile, though, I'll resort to some examples.
"God Almighty created the world from the design in himself," I said. "The divine design in which he is and which he follows as he rules is something he built into the world. He endowed the universe and everything in it with its own design. Human beings have theirs, animals theirs, birds and fish theirs, insects theirs; every species of tree, even every type of grass has its own design.
"As examples to provide enlightenment, I'll briefly give the following. There are laws of the divine design imposed on human beings that indicate that we are to acquire truths from the Word for ourselves and that we are to base our thinking on them in an earthly way and, as much as we can, in a rational way. This is how we develop an earthly faith for ourselves. On God's side, there are laws of the divine design dictating that he is to come closer, fill those truths with his own divine light, take our earthly faith, which is only knowledge and persuasion, and fill it with a divine essence. This is the only way for faith to become capable of saving. There is a similar process for developing goodwill.
"Let's list some other points briefly. According to God's laws, he can forgive us our sins only to the extent that we follow our laws and stop doing them. God cannot regenerate us spiritually beyond the point to which we, following our laws, have regenerated ourselves in an earthly way. God makes an unceasing effort to regenerate us and save us, but he cannot do it unless we prepare ourselves as a vessel, leveling a pathway for God [] and opening the door [Revelation 3:20]. A suitor cannot enter his beloveds bedroom before she becomes his brides - he locks the door and keeps the key with her. After she has become a bride, though, she gives her bridegroom the key.
[3] Even for all God's omnipotence, he could not have redeemed humankind unless he had become human. He could not have made his human nature divine unless it was first like a human being as an infant and then like a human being as a child. Later his human nature also needed to form itself into a vessel and a dwelling place for his Father to enter, which he did by fulfilling everything in the Word, meaning all the laws of the divine design in it. The more he completed this process, the more he united himself to the Father and the Father united himself to him.
"However, these are just a few points I bring up for the sake of illustration, so that you can see that divine omnipotence exists within the divine design and follows that design in its governing called providence. Constantly and to eternity divine omnipotence acts in accordance with the laws of its own design. God cannot act against them or change even the tip of one letter of them, because he is the divine design along with all its laws. "
[4] After I finished speaking, a bright, golden-colored light flowed in through the roof and formed angel guardians flying in the air. The redness in the light lit up the temples of some of the people, but only toward the backs of their heads, not yet near their foreheads, because they were muttering, "We still don't know what omnipotence is. "
"It will be revealed," I said, "but only after the things I have already said gain more light in you. "
73. The next day some of the group who believed in predestination and imputation came to me and said: 'We feel as if we were tipsy, not with wine, but with the way that man talked yesterday. He talked about omnipotence and at the same time about order, drawing the conclusion that just as omnipotence is an attribute of God, so too is order; in fact he asserted that God Himself is order. He said that there are as many laws of order as there are truths in the Word, not merely thousands, but hundreds of millions; and that God is subject to His own laws in this respect, and man to his. What then is God's omnipotence, if it is restricted by laws? For in this way omnipotence loses all absolute power. Does not that give God less power than any king on earth who is a sovereign? He can turn the laws of justice upside down as easily as his hands; he can act with absolute power like Octavius 1 Augustus, or like Nero. Thinking about omnipotence restricted by laws has made us feel as if we were tipsy, and ready to faint if we do not get immediate help. Our faith has taught us to pray that God the Father should have mercy on us for the sake of His Son; and we believed that He could have mercy on whomever He chose, forgive the sins of any He pleased, and save whom He willed. We did not dare to detract in the slightest from His omnipotence. Therefore we regard confining God in any fetters of His own laws as sacrilege, seeing that it is a contradiction of His omnipotence.'
[2] At the conclusion of this speech we looked at each other, and I saw that they were perplexed. 'I will pray to the Lord,' I said, 'and bring you help from Him by shedding some light on the subject, but for now only by way of examples.'
'Almighty God,' I said, 'created the world out of order in Himself, that is to say, to be subject to the order in which He is present, and in accordance with which He controls it; and He has endowed the universe and every one of its parts with its own order. So man has his order, animals theirs, birds and fishes theirs, worms theirs; every tree, the very grass has its own order. To provide illustrative examples let me briefly suggest the following. The laws of order assigned to man are that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and think about them in a natural way, and, so far as he is able, rationally, thus equipping himself with a natural faith. The laws of order on God's side then are that He approaches the man, fills the truths with His Divine light, and so fills man's natural faith, which is merely factual knowledge and strongly held opinion, with the Divine essence. Thus, and only thus, does it become a saving faith.
'It is similar with charity; but let me briefly give some examples. God's laws prevent Him from forgiving anyone's sins, except to the extent that the person in accordance with his laws refrains from committing them. God cannot spiritually regenerate a person, except in so far as the person in accordance with his laws regenerates himself naturally. God is constantly striving to regenerate and so save people, but He cannot achieve this unless the person prepares himself to receive God, and so smooths the way and opens the door to Him. A bridegroom cannot enter the bedroom of a young woman who has not pledged herself to him; she locks the door and keeps the key herself inside. But when she takes the vows of marriage, she gives the bridegroom the key.
[3] 'God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed mankind, except by becoming a man. Nor could He have made His Human Divine, if His Human had not first been like that of a baby, then that of a child, and then formed itself into a container and dwelling into which His Father could enter. He did this by fulfilling everything in the Word, that is to say, all the laws of order it contains; and the more perfectly He did this, the more closely He united Himself with the Father and the Father united Himself with Him. These are merely a few illustrations which are offered, so that you can see that Divine omnipotence is subject to order; and His rule, which is called providence, is in accordance with order. It acts continually and for ever in accordance with the laws of His order; it cannot act contrary to them, nor can it change a tittle of them, because God is order together with all its laws.'
[4] At this speech a brilliance of golden light flooded in through the roof, and turned into cherubs flying through the air. A ruddy glow from them lit up the temples of some people, coming from the back of the head, but not at this stage from the forehead, for they were murmuring: 'We still do not know what omnipotence is.' 'That will be revealed,' I said, 'once what has been said so far has shed on your minds a little illumination.'
Footnotes:
1. The name of the first of the Roman Emperors before he took the title Augustus.
73. The next day some came to me from this crowd who had believed in predestination and imputation; and they said, "We feel as if we were drunk, not with wine, but from what was said yesterday by that man. He talked about omnipotence and also about order; and he concluded that as omnipotence is Divine so order is Divine, and even that God Himself is order; and he said that there are as many laws of order as there are truths in the Word, which are not only thousands, but myriads of myriads; and that God is tied up to His own laws in the Word, and man to his. What then is the Divine omnipotence, if it is bound by laws? For thus every thing absolute is withdrawn from omnipotence. Thus has not God less power than a worldly king who is a despot, and who can as easily change the laws of justice as he can turn his hands, and can act without restriction, like Octavius Augustus or like Nero? When we had thought about omnipotence being tied up to laws, we felt as if we were drunk, or ready to swoon unless we quickly got some remedy; for in accordance with our faith we have been accustomed to pray to God the Father to have mercy on us for the sake of His Son; and we have believed that He could have mercy on whom He chose, and forgive the sins of anyone He pleased, and could save whom He would; and we dared not take away the least iota from His omnipotence. We therefore regard it as impious to bind God in the chains of some of His own laws, because that would be contradictory to His omnipotence."
[2] Having said this, they looked at me and I at them; and I saw that they were bewildered, and I said, "I will pray to the Lord, and thence bring a remedy lay an inflow of light on this subject; but at present only by examples." And I said, "The omnipotent God created the world from the order within Him, that is, into the order in which He is, and in accordance with which He rules; and He impressed upon the universe and each and all things of it its own order, upon man his order, upon the beast its order, upon bird and fish and worm, and every tree and even every blade of grass, upon each its own order. But to illustrate by examples, I will mention briefly the following. The laws of order enjoined upon man are, that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and reflect upon them naturally, and as far as he can, rationally, and thus acquire for himself a natural faith. The laws of order on the part of God then are, that He will draw near and fill these truths with His Divine light, and thus fill the man's natural faith (which is mere knowledge and persuasion) with a Divine essence. In this and in no other way can faith become saving. It is the same with charity. But some particulars shall be briefly mentioned. God, in accordance with His laws, is able to remit sins to any man only so far as the man, in accordance with his laws, refrains from them. God able to regenerate a man spiritually only so far as the man, accordance with his laws, regenerates himself naturally. God is in an unceasing endeavor to regenerate man, and thus save him; but this He is unable to accomplish except as man prepares himself as a receptacle, and thus levels the way and opens the door for God. A bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a virgin till she becomes his bride; for she shuts the door and keeps the key to herself within; but when the virgin has become a bride she gives the key to the bridegroom.
[3] God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed men unless He had become Man; neither could He have made His Human Divine unless that Human had first been like the human of a babe, and then like that of a boy; and unless afterwards the Human had formed itself into a receptacle and habitation, into which its Father might enter; which was done by His fulfilling all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order therein; and so far as He accomplished this He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him. These are a few things, presented for the sake of illustration, to enable you to see that the Divine omnipotence is in order, and that its government, which is called Providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in accordance with the laws of its order; nor can it act against them or change them one iota, because order, with all its laws, is Himself."
[4] When this had been said a brilliant light of golden color flowed in through the roof and formed flying cherubs in the air; and with some of those present a glow therefrom was seen on the temples towards the back part of the head, but not yet on the front part, for they murmured, "We do not yet know what omnipotence is."
And I said, "That will be revealed when what has been already said to you has become somewhat clear."
73. On the following day there came to me several of the company who believed in predestination and imputation, and said: "We are, as it were, intoxicated, not with wine but with the utterance of that man yesterday, who spoke of omnipotence and also of order. He concluded that just as omnipotence is Divine so also is order: in fact that God Himself is order. He also said that the laws of order are as many as the truths contained in the Word, which are numbered not by the thousand but by countless myriads; and that God is bound by the laws therein relating to Himself, and man by the laws relating to him. What then is the Divine omnipotence if it is bound by laws? for in this case omnipotence would not be absolute. Does not this make God's power less than that of an earthly monarch who can turn the laws of justice to suit himself, and rule with absolute power, like Octavius Augustus 1 or Nero 2 ? When we thought of omnipotence being bound by laws, we became, as it were, intoxicated, and ready to faint unless some remedy be immediately supplied. For according to our faith we have been accustomed to pray God the Father to be merciful to us for the sake of His Son; and we believed that He can show mercy to whomsoever He will and remit sins at His pleasure, and save whomsoever He pleases; and we did not dare to detract from His omnipotence in the slightest degree. Therefore we regard it as gross impiety to bind God by the chains of any of His own laws, because that would be a contradiction of His omnipotence."
[2] As they said this they looked at me and I at them: and observing their perplexity I said: "I will entreat the Lord for you and offer you a remedy from Him by making this matter clear to you; but for the present merely by citing some examples. The omnipotent God created the world from the order which is in Himself, and thus in the order in which He is, and according to which He rules; and He has endowed the universe and every part of it with its own order, man with his own order, and beast, bird, fish, worm, every tree and even the grass with its own particular order. As examples will make this clear I will briefly mention the following. The laws of order have been prescribed for man to the end that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, consider them from his natural faculties, and as far as he is able, from his rational faculty, and so procure for himself a natural faith. On the other hand the laws of order as they relate to God are that He should draw near and fill those truths with His Divine light, and so fill with His Divine Essence man's natural faith, which of itself is mere knowledge and persuasion: for thus only does natural faith become a saving faith.
The case is the same with charity, some particulars of which we will now briefly review. God, according to His laws of order, cannot remit the sins of any one except in so far as he, according to his laws of order, abstains from them; nor can God regenerate man on the spiritual plane except in so far as he, according to his laws, regenerates himself on the natural plane. God is continually endeavoring to regenerate, and thus to save man; but this He cannot do unless man prepares himself to become a recipient, and so clears the way for God's entry by opening the door. The bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a maiden before she becomes his bride, for she closes the door and keeps the key herself; but when she becomes his bride she gives the key to her husband.
[3] God could not, by His omnipotence, have redeemed man unless He had Himself become man, nor could He have made His Human Divine unless His Human had first been like that of an infant, and later like that of a child; and unless His Human had afterwards formed itself into a recipient and abiding-place into which the Father of it might enter. This took place as the Lord fulfilled all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order in it; and as He completed this work, He united Himself with the Father and the Father became united with Him. These few things are adduced by way of illustration to show you that the Divine omnipotence is within the bounds of order, and that its government, which is called providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in conformity with the laws of its own order; moreover that it cannot act against them, nor change the slightest particle of them, because order with all its laws is Himself."
[4] At these words a glory of golden light streamed through the roof like flying cherubs in the air, and its ruddy glow lighted up the heads of some of those present backward from the temples, but not their foreheads as yet, for they murmured, "We still do not know what omnipotence is." However I replied: "This will be revealed to you when the words have just heard are more fully understood."
Footnotes:
1. Augustus Octavius, first and greatest of Roman Emperors, 63 B.C.-A.D. 14. He ruled as an absolute monarch although appearing to preserve the republican constitution.
2. Nero, Emperor of Rome, A.D. 37-68, noted for his indiscriminate brutality and cruel persecution of the Christians.
73. Postridie ad me venerunt aliqui, ex Cohorte, qui in Fide praedestinata et imputata erant, et dixerunt, sumus sicut temulenti, non ex vino, sed ex sermone hesterno istius viri; loquutus est de Omnipotentia et simul de Ordine, et conclusit quod sicut Omnipotentia est Divina, ita etiam Ordo sit Divinus, imo quod ipse Deus sit Ordo, et dixit quod totidem sint leges Ordinis, quot veritates in Verbo, quae non modo chiliades sunt, sed myriades myriadum, et quod Deus obstrictus sit ad suas leges ibi, et quod homo ad suas; quid tunc Omnipotentia Divina, si ligata est legibus, sic etenim ab Omnipotentia omne absolutum recedit, estne sic Deo minor potestas quam Regi Mundi qui est Monarcha; hic potest leges justitiae vertere sicut suas palmas, ac agere absolute sicut Octavius Augustus, et quoque absolute sicut Nero; nos postquam cogitavimus de Omnipotentia ad leges ligata, tanquam temulenti facti sumus, ac proni ad deliquium, si non subito medela affertur; nos enim ex fide nostra oravimus, ut Deus Pater nostri misereatur propter Filium suum, et credidimus quod misereri possit cujus lubet, ac remittere peccata cui placet, ac salvare quem vult, et non ausi sumus aliquod minimum subtrahere ex Omnipotentia Ipsius, quare obstringere Deum aliquarum suarum legum catenis aspicimus ut nefas, quia ut contradictorium Omnipotentiae Ipsius.
[2] His dictis inspexerunt me, et ego illos, et vidi attonitos, et dixi, supplicabo ad Dominum, et afferam inde medelam, illustrando hanc rem, sed nunc duntaxat per exempla, et dixi; Deus Omnipotens creavit 1 Mundum ex Ordine in se, ita in Ordinem in quo sit, ac secundum quem regat, ac indidit Universo et omnibus et singulis ejus suum ordinem, homini suum, bestiae suum, avi et pisci suum, vermi suum, cuivis arbori, imo gramini suum; sed ut exempla illustrent, breviter adducam sequentia; leges Ordinis homini indictae sunt, ut homo acquirat sibi veritates ex Verbo, ac naturaliter et, 2 quantum valet, rationaliter cogitet illas, et sic fidem naturalem sibi comparet; leges Ordinis tunc a parte Dei sunt, quod appropinquet, impleat veritates Divina sua luce, et sic fidem ejus naturalem, quae modo est scientia et persuasio, Divina essentia, sic et non aliter fit fides salvifica; simile est cum charitate; sed breviter recensebimus aliqua; Deus non potest secundum suas leges alicui homini remittere peccata, nisi quantum homo secundum suas leges desistit ab illis; Deus non potest spiritualiter regenerare hominem, nisi quantum homo secundum suas leges se naturaliter regenerat; Deus in perpetuo conatu est regenerandi et sic salvandi hominem, sed hoc non potest efficere nisi sicut homo parat se receptaculum, et sic applanat Deo viam, et aperit januam; non potest sponsus intrare thalamum virginis non desponsatae; haec occludit januam, et clavem intus apud se custodit, sed postquam virgo sponsa facta est, dat clavem sponso.
[3] Deus non potuit ex sua Omnipotentia redimere homines, nisi Homo factus sit; nec potuit Humanum 3 suum Divinum facere, nisi Humanum Ipsius primum esset sicut Humanum infantis, et postea sicut Humanum pueri, et nisi Humanum postea formaret se in receptaculum et habitaculum in quod Pater Ipsius intraret, quod factum est per quod impleverit omnia Verbi, hoc est, omnes leges ordinis ibi, et quantum hoc perfecit, tantum Se univit Patri, et Se Pater Ipsi. Sed haec sunt pauca, illustrationis causa adducta, ut videatis, quod Omnipotentia Divina sit in ordine, ac regimen Ipsius, quod vocatur Providentia, sit secundum Ordinem, et quod agat continue et in aeternum secundum leges Ordinis sui, et quod contra illas nequeat, nec illas quoad apicem mutare, quia Ordo cum omnibus ejus legibus est Ipse.
[4] His dictis splendor lucis in colore aureo per tectum influxit, et cherubos volantes formavit in aere, et rutilum inde illustravit quorundam 4 tempora a parte occipitii, sed nondum a parte frontispicii, murmurabant enim, ignoramus adhuc quid Omnipotentia; et dixi, revelabitur illa, postquam hactenus dicta apud vos aliquam lucem foenerata sunt.
Footnotes:
1. Sic Errores Typographici.
2. Prima editio: naturaliter, et.
3. factus sit; nec potuit Humanum ubi in prima editione factus sit nec potuit; Humanum.
4. Prima editio: quorandam.