202、主的圣治是普遍的，因为它关注最小细节，尤其是祂以这种方式创造了宇宙：来自祂自己的一个无限和永恒的创造能存在于它里面；这种创造通过主从人类形成一个在祂眼里如同一个人的天堂，也就是祂的形像和样式而发生。我在前面（27-45节）解释了，从人类形成的这个天堂在主眼里就是如此，这就是创造的目的。我还解释了，神性在它所做的一切事上，都关注无限和永恒之物（46-69节）。主在从人类形成天堂的过程中所关注的无限和永恒目标是，这个天堂要无限、永恒地保持增长，以便祂能以这种方式不断住在祂创造的目的里面。这就是主通过创造宇宙所提供的无限和永恒的创造；祂通过祂的圣治不断存在于这种创造中。
在基督教界，所有教会的共同教义是，圣父神，圣子神和圣灵神是无限，永恒，非受造和全能的（参看亚他那修信经）。基于该教义知道并相信神是无限和永恒的人，能如此彻底丧失理性，以至于一听说神在祂创造的伟工中只关注无限和永恒之物，就拒绝承认吗？当祂出于自己来关注时，能关注别的吗？祂在人类中也关注这一点，因为祂从人类形成祂自己的天堂。那么，圣治若不以人类的改造和救赎为目的，还能以什么为目的呢？但没有人能凭自己通过自己的谨慎被改造，只能被主通过祂的圣治改造。由此可推知，主若不时时刻刻，甚至每分每秒引导人，人必偏离改造的道路，并走向灭亡。
人类心智状态的每个转换和变化，都会在一系列现存事件，因而接下来的事件中产生某种转换和变化；那么，它为何不会持续如此，直到永恒呢？这就像离弦的箭，它若偏离瞄准的靶标一丁点，就会偏离一英里或更多。所以，若非主时时刻刻引导人类心智的状态，情况也是这样。主根据圣治的律法做这一切；包括这一律法：在人看来，他似乎引导自己。然而，主预见人将如何引导自己，并不断作出调整。下面（234-274，322-330节）我们会看到，许可的律法也是圣治的律法，即：每个人都能被改造和重生，没有其它预定。
202. The Lord's Divine providence, owing to its presence in the least particulars, is universal in this, that He created the universe in order that He might produce in it an infinite and eternal creation from Him; and the Lord produces this creation by His forming out of human beings a heaven which in His sight is like a single person who is the image and likeness of Him.
That that is what a heaven consisting of people is like in the Lord's sight, and that this was the end in creation, we showed in nos. 27-45. And that in everything that it does the Divine regards something infinite and eternal, in nos. 46-69.
The infinity and eternity that the Lord regards in forming His heaven out of people is its increase to infinity and to eternity, and thus His constant abode in the end in His creation.
This creating is infinite and eternal, which the Lord has provided by the creation of the universe, and He is constantly present in that creation by His Divine providence.
[2] When a person knows and believes from the doctrine of the church that God is infinite and eternal - for it is a teaching in the doctrine of all the churches in the Christian world that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are infinite, eternal, uncreated, and omnipotent (see the Athanasian Creed 1) - who can be so bereft of reason that he does not affirm when he hears it, that God could do no other than regard something infinite and eternal in the great work of His creation? What else can He do when He regards creation from His perspective? And moreover when he hears that He regards this in the human race, from which He forms His heaven?
What else, then, can Divine providence have as its end than the reformation of the human race and its salvation? Yet no one can be reformed of himself through his own prudence, but only by the Lord through His Divine providence. It follows, therefore, that unless a person is guided by the Lord every moment, even every least moment, he departs from the path of reformation and perishes.
[3] Every change or variation in the state of the human mind changes or varies something in the course of things at the time and so in the course of things that follow. How then not progressively to eternity? The case is like that of an arrow shot from a bow, which, if it should deviate in the slightest from the mark upon its being aimed, would at a distance of a thousand paces or more deviate immensely. So would it be if the Lord did not guide the states of human minds every least moment.
The Lord accomplishes this in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence. And it is in accordance with these laws also that it appear to a person that it is he who guides himself. But the Lord foresees how he is guiding himself and continually makes adjustments.
In subsequent discussions we will see that laws of permission are also laws of Divine providence, that every person can be reformed and regenerated, and that nothing is predestined.
Footnotes:
1. A profession of faith beginning with the words "Quicunque vult" and widely used in western Christianity. Attributed in earlier centuries to Athanasius (see note 1, number 46), it became known also as the Athanasian Creed; but modern scholarship no longer ascribes it to him but to some other, unknown, western writer.
202. The Lord's divine providence is universal by virtue of its attention to the smallest details, specifically through his having created the universe in such a way that an infinite and eternal process of creation by him could occur in it. This creation takes place by the Lord's forming a heaven from humans, a heaven that in his sight is like a single individual that is his own image and likeness. I have explained in 27-45 above that the heaven formed from humanity looks like this in the Lord's sight, and that this was the purpose of creation. I have also explained that Divinity focuses on what is infinite and eternal in everything it does (56-69 [46-69]). The infinite and eternal goal that the Lord focuses on in forming his heaven from humanity is that this heaven should keep growing without limit and forever, so that in this way he might constantly dwell in the purpose of his creation.
It is this infinite and eternal creation that the Lord provided for in creating the universe, and he is constantly present in that creation through his divine providence.
[2] It is common to the teaching of all the churches in the Christian world that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is infinite, eternal, uncreated, and omnipotent (see the Athanasian Creed). Can people who know and believe, on this basis, that God is infinite and eternal be so completely devoid of rationality that they will not agree on first hearing that Divinity must focus on what is infinite and eternal in the masterwork of its creation? What else can it do when it acts from itself? Must we not also agree that it focuses on this in the human race from which it is forming its heaven?
What other goal can divine providence have, then, than the reformation of the human race and its salvation? No one can be reformed by his or her own efforts and prudence, only by the Lord, through his divine providence. It follows that unless the Lord led us at every moment, even the very smallest, we would wander from the way of reformation and die.
[3] Every shift and change in the state of our minds shifts and changes a whole series of present and therefore of subsequent events--why not on and on to eternity? It is like an arrow shot from a bow. If the arrow were deflected the least bit from its aim at the target, the deflection would be huge at a distance of a mile or more. That is how it would be if the Lord were not guiding the states of our minds at every least moment.
The Lord does this in keeping with the laws of his divine providence, including the law that says it seems as though we are leading ourselves. However, the Lord foresees how we will lead ourselves and constantly makes adjustments.
We will see below [234-274, 322-330] that the laws of permission are also laws of divine providence, that everyone can be reformed and regenerated, and that there is no predestination.
202. The Divine Providence of the Lord is universal from the most individual things because He created the universe in order that there might exist in it an infinite and eternal creation from Himself; and this creation exists that the Lord might form from men a heaven which should appear before Him as one man who should be the image and likeness of Himself. It was shown above (n. 27-45), that heaven formed from men is such in the sight of the Lord, and that this was the end of creation; and that the Divine, in everything that it does, regards what is infinite and eternal (n. 56-69). The infinite and eternal that the Lord regards in forming His heaven from men is that it may be extended to infinity and to eternity; and thus that He may constantly dwell in the end of His creation. This creation which the Lord provided by the creation of the universe is infinite and eternal; and in this creation He is constantly present by means of His Divine Providence.
[2] No one who knows from the doctrine of the Church and believes that God is infinite and eternal (for it is in the doctrine of all the Churches in the Christian world that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, is infinite, eternal, uncreated and omnipotent, as may be seen in the Athanasian Creed), can be so devoid of reason as not to admit as soon as he hears it that God cannot do otherwise than regard what is infinite and eternal in the great work of His creation. What else can He regard when He looks from Himself? Moreover, it must be admitted that God also regards this in the human race from which He forms His heaven. Now what else can the Divine Providence have for its end than the reformation of the human race and its salvation? And no one can be reformed by himself by means of his own prudence, but only by the Lord by means of His Divine Providence. Hence it follows that unless man were led by the Lord every moment, yea, every minutest fraction of a moment, he would depart from the way of reformation and perish.
[3] Every change and variation of state of the human mind makes some change and variation in the series of things present and consequently of things that follow; what, then, must it not do in the progression to eternity? It is like an arrow shot from a bow which, if it made the slightest deviation from the target at the moment of being aimed would deviate immensely at a distance of a thousand feet or more. So it would be if the Lord did not lead the states of human minds every fraction of a moment. This the Lord does in accordance with the laws of His Divine Providence; and it is in accordance with these laws that it should appear to man that he leads himself; but the Lord foresees how he leads himself and continually makes suitable adaptation. It will be seen in what follows that the laws of permission are also laws of the Divine Providence, and that every man can be reformed and regenerated, and that no other predestination is possible.
202. The Lord's Divine providence is universal from the minutest particulars, in that He created the universe that an infinite and eternal creation from Himself might exist in it; and this creation exists by the Lord's forming a heaven out of men to be before Him as one man, which is His image and likeness. That this heaven formed out of men is such in the Lord's sight, and that this was the end of creation, is shown above (27-45); also that the Divine in all that it does, looks to the infinite and eternal (46-69). The infinite and eternal that the Lord looks to in forming His heaven out of men, is that it shall be enlarged to infinity and to eternity, and that He may thus have a constant abiding place in the end of His creation. This is the infinite and eternal creation that the Lord provided for through the creation of the universe; and He is constantly present in that creation by His Divine providence.
[2] Who that knows and believes from the doctrine of the church that God is infinite and eternal (for it is in the doctrine of all the churches in the Christian world that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, is infinite, eternal, uncreated, and omnipotent, as may be seen in the Athanasian creed), can be so devoid of reason as not to admit as soon as he hears it that God cannot do otherwise than look to what is infinite and eternal in the great work of His creation? For what else can He look to when He looks from Himself? This also He looks to in the human race, from which He forms that heaven which is His own. What else, then, can the Divine providence have for its end than the reformation and salvation of the human race? But no one can be reformed by himself by means of his own prudence, but only by the Lord by means of His Divine providence. Thus it follows that unless man were led every moment and fraction of a moment by the Lord, he would depart from the way of reformation and would perish.
[3] Every change and variation of the state of the human mind produces some change and variation in the series of things present, and consequently in the things that follow; why not then progressively to eternity? It is like an arrow shot from a bow, which, if it should depart in the least at its start from the line of aim, would at a distance of a thousand paces or more go far wide of the mark. So would it be if the Lord did not lead the states of human minds every least moment. This the Lord does in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence; and it is in accordance with these laws that it should appear to man that he leads himself; while how he leads himself is foreseen by the Lord with an unceasing adaptation. That laws of permission are also laws of the Divine providence, and that every man can be reformed and regenerated, and that there is no other possible predestination, will be seen in what follows.
202. Divina Domini Providentia universalis ex singularissimis est in eo, quod creaverit universum, ut in illo Creatio infinita ac aeterna ab Ipso existat; et haec Creatio existit, per quod Dominus ex hominibus formet Coelum, quod coram Ipso sit sicut unus homo, qui imago et similitudo Ipsius: quod Coelum ex hominibus in conspectu Domini tale sit, et quod illud fuerit finis creationis, ostensum est supra n. 127 ad 245: Et quod Divinum spectet in omni quod facit infinitum ac aeternum, 46-69 3. Infinitum ac Aeternum quod Dominus in formando suo coelo ex hominibus spectat, est quod illud amplietur in infinitum ac in aeternum; et sic quod in fine suae creationis constanter habitet. Haec Creatio infinita ac aeterna est, quam Dominus providit per creationem universi, et in illa creatione est constanter per Divinam suam Providentiam.
[2] Quis potest tam expers rationis esse, qui ex doctrina Ecclesiae scit et credit, quod Deus sit Infinitus et Aeternus: In Doctrina enim omnium Ecclesiarum in Christiano Orbe est, quod Deus Pater, Deus Filius et Deus Spiritus sanctus, sit Infinitus, Aeternus, Increatus, Omnipotens; videatur Symbolum Athanasianum, ut non affirmet 4cum audit, quod non possit aliter quam spectare infinitum ac aeternum in magno Opere suae creationis; quid aliud potest dum ex Se; tum quod illud spectet in Humano Genere, ex quo format illud suum Coelum. Quid nunc Divina Providentia potest aliud pro fine habere quam Reformationem Generis humani et ejus Salvationem: at 5nemo reformari potest a se per suam prudentiam, sed a Domino per Divinam Ipsius Providentiam; inde sequitur, quod nisi Dominus ducit hominem unoquovis momento etiam minutissimo, homo recedat a via reformationis et pereat:
[3] unaquaevis mutatio et variatio status mentis humanae aliquid mutat et variat in serie praesentium et inde consequentium; quid non progressive in aeternum; est sicut telum ex arcu emissum, quod si ex collimatione minutissime declinaret a scopo, illud ad distantiam milliaris et plurium declinaret immensum; 6ita foret si Dominus non unoquovis minutissimo momento duceret status mentium humanarum. Hoc facit Dominus secundum leges Divinae suae Providentiae; secundum quas etiam est, ut appareat homini sicut ipse se ducat; sed praevidet Dominus quomodo se ducit, et jugiter accommodat. Quod Leges permissionis etiam sint leges Divinae Providentiae, 7et quod omnis homo reformari et regenerari possit, 8et quod non aliquid praedestinatum detur, videbitur in sequentibus.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: u.
2 Prima editio: ap
3 Prima editio: 56
4 ut non affirmet ubi in prima editione et non affirmat
5 Prima editio: et
6 Prima editio: immensum;
7 Prima editio: Providentiae;
8 Prima editio: possit;