d* /? PRESENTED TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINHRY BY |VIps. Rlej^andeP Pfoudfit. SIX I S C O U R S E S, CONCERNING I. © IV. ELECTION and REPRO-Z LIBERTY of the WILL. BATION. ^ y II. >DEFECTIBILITY of the EXTENT of CHRIST'S £» SAINTS. REDEMPTION. , ^^ ANSWER to THREE OB- III. The GRACE of GOD. JECTIONS. T^ BY DANIEL WHITBY, D. D. LATE CHANTOR OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SARUM. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. PRINTED AT WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, AT THE rRE:.S OF AND FOR ISAIAF^ THOMAS, JUN. February 1801. PREFACE.' X HEY who have known my education may remember, tliat T was bred up feven years in the Univerfity under men of the Calvinijlual perfuafion, and fo could hear no other Doiflrine, or receive no other inftrudions from the men of Ihofe times, and therefore had once firmly entertained all their doftrines. Now that which firft moved me to fcarch into the foundation of thefe doctrines, '!>/«. The Imputation />/ Adum's Sin to all its pojlerity, was the Grange confequences of it j this made me fearch the more exadlly into that matter, and by reading Jojhua ?laca:us, ivith the anfwer to him, and others on that fubjeft, 1 foon found caufi? to judge that there vas no truth in it. Section I.— After fome years ftudy I met with one who feemed to be a Bcijl, and telling hira that tiiere were arguments fufficient to prove the truth oi ChrijUan Faith, and of the holy Scriptures, he k: rn- fuUy rephed, Tes : And you "will prove your DoSJrhie of the Imputation Hf Original Sin from the fame Scripture •, intimating that he thought that doftrine, if contained in it, fufficient to invalidate the truth and the authority of the Scripture. And by a little reflexion 1 found tlie lirengthof his argument ran thus: That the truth oi holy Sctiptureco\;\d no otherwife be proved to any man that doubted of it, but by reducing liim to fome abfurdity, or the denial of fome avowed principle of reafon. Now this imputation of AdsinCs fin to his pofterity, fo as to render t!iem obnoxious to God's wrath, and to eternal damnation, only becaufe they were born of the race oi Adam, feemed to him as contradisitory to the common reafon of mankind, as any thing could be, and fo contained as flrong an argument againfl; the truth oi Scripture, if that dottrine was contained in it, as any could be offered for it. And upon this account I again (earched into the places ufually ailed ged to confirm that dodlrine, and found them fairly capable ot other in'erpretations. One doubt re- mained flill, whether Antiquity did not give fuffrage for this doctrine ; and here I found the words of Vofftus very pofitive, tliat Ecclefa Catkol- ica fie femper juJicanjit, the Catholic Church altvays Jo Judged : which he endeavors to prove by'teitimonies from Ignatius to M. Auf.in. This fet me on the laborious talk of perufing the writinjjs of antiquity till that time, and upon an impartial fearch, I found thai all the pa(rj;^,e»' Jie had colleited were impertinent, or at leaft infufficicnt to prove tlu; point; yea, I found evidence fufficient of the truth of that which Peter flu Moulin plainly owns, that from the time of the Apcjlles to St. Auiiin'i} time, all the Bcclefiajiical Ifriters feem to "write incautioujly of this flat- ter, and to ending to luhat he calls Pelagianifm. And yf iliis having made a colleiftion, I fini/hed a treatife of Original fin, in Latin, which hath been compofed about twenty yeais, though I have not thought it advifable to publifli it. Another time I difcolirfed with a Phyfician, wh ) faid, there was foing Caufc to doubt the truth of Scripture ; i^)T, faiji hf, it iecms i^lainly ijj IV PREFACE. hold forth the do6trine of abfoUite eleftion and reprobation, in the ninth chapter to the Romans, which is attended with moie evident abfiirdities than can be charged on them who queftion the truth of Scripture : And alfo feemeth as repugnant to the common notion which mankind have received of divine juftice, goodnefs and fincerity, as even the faying that God confidering man, in mafia perdita, as loft in Adam, may delude him with falfe miracles, ftemeth repugnant to his truth. And reading in (a} Mr. Dodioell, that bold ftroke, that St, Paul being bred a. Pharisee fpake there, and is to be interpreted, ex mente Pharifaeorum, according to the Doclrine of the Pharisees concerning, Fate, 'which they had borroixed from the Stoics ; I fet myfelf to make the beft and exacteft fearch I could into the fenle of the Apoftle in that chapter, and the beft help I had to attain to the fenfe of that chapter which I have given in my pa.a- phrafe, I received from a manufcript of Dr. Patrick, the iate worthy Bifhop of Ely, on that fubjedl. Thence I went on (o examine all that was urged in tavor of thele doi5lrines from the holy Scripture, and this produced one confiderable part of thefe difcourfes. And it was no fmall confirmation of the fenfe both of the places here produced again ft, and refcued from the fal'e interpretations'ot the adverfarie's of this doctrine, (ift.J that I found I flill failed with the ftream oi Antiquity., feeing only one, St. Aujlin, with his two Boats'voaias, Prosper and Fulgentius, tug- ging hard againft it, and often driven back into it by the ftrong current of Scripture, reafon and of common fenfe. Section II.— 3^(>'. I alfo found that the Heretics sf old, ufed many of tbe fame texts of Scripture, to the fame purpoles as the patrons of thefe doctrines do at prefent ; as hath been oft obferved in thefe difcour/es. . Zdly. That the Falentiniani, Marcionilss, Basilidiaas, Manichees, friscilUanifts and other Heretics were condemned by the ancient cham- pions of the Church upon the fame accounts, and from the fame Scrip, iures and reafons, which we now ufe againtl; thefe Decrctabfts ; and thp principles on which they founded all their confutations of them, were thefe. ^fi. That it is not our nature, but otir will, and choice of that from which we might abflain, which was the root and fountain of all our wickednefs ; for otherwife, fay they, tS 7roi^cra»TOf ^» lyy.'h.tiaot,, that God, who is the author of our nature, mnft be the author of our fin ; this doflrijie they unaniraoufly teach from Juftln Martyr and Irenaus, to St, Auftin, who declares, {b J natura malas anitnas nullo modo efie pofle, that it is impoffible,^ according to the Dcjinitionf be bad ^tven ofjin, that Souls Jhould he e-vil by Nature. idly. That we do not become finners by- out birth, and that they who fey we are by nature Children of Wrath in the moft dreadful feufe, make God^tlte author, of our fin, it being God who hath eflablifhed the order, in the generation of mankind, which ncitlier he that begets, nor be that is begotten can corretSl, and by whofe bcnedidtion mankind encreafe and multiply. An infant tl^erefore cannot, fay they, be a finner by his fa- ther's fault, ( c } Tt%ic, yip Itto t5 'not.T^''o/&# are thus threatened, (gj Theodoret saith it nuould be, ^voaQ\^, a tvick', ed thing to adhere to the Letter, God himsef hanging pronounced that the Son Jhould not die for the Iniquity of the Father \ bat every one JJjould die for his oiun Sins. And fhj Cyril oi Alexandria faitji, This tunijh. ment ivould much exceed, to» me ciy-uiu Gict^aov, the La'rv of Jujlice. And hence they both agree in this fenfe of the cominandinent, Ihat though God long deferred the Parents Punifbrneut^ yet ivould he do it in the third and fourth Generation. And on thefe words, The Fathers ba've eaten sour Grapes, and th$ Childrens Teeth are set on edge, .St. Jercm taking notice of the objcftioa of the Marcionites and Cerdonians againR God's goodnefs and jiifHce, iji that he, ivinking at the Sins of the Fathers, punifhed them in their ChiU dren. he anfvvers that the fenfe of thefe words is this ; That as it :s ri^ Hiculous, and inc«nsequent to say the Fathers have eaten sour Gratei therefore the Childrens leeth are set on edge ; So is it unjuji and peru. *verse to say, the Father finning, the Chifdren Jhould be punified . Laftly, Whereas the Heretics objefted, Ihat it 'zvas cruel for t'it eating of a little Meat to inflid such Punifbinent, not only upon Ada^m (e) Soldnt nos Haeretici fugillarc, quod non fit boni Dei fprmo, qui pro yiccratii alterius atium plefliclicat,fcd fecimdiim ipfoniin ratiomnjqui dum leg, licet non boouin, juftum tamen dicuiu, nc ipli (juidrm pod'jint oiferdere qi.onjodo fccundum lenfani luum juftitiaj i-x. convenirc videtiir, fi aiii;s.alio p(:cc;'nic. puniavur, Ham, 8. in Exod. f. 44. lit. f. ^ai ya.^ su ky-a^atn^fro^ Iri^d ko^i»^ic&(m ii'ti^ov, Chryf. ibid, iai, StKUtov tr' ctijuc^riai ruy iia.rr,f!i)t 7ta.T,.;t f^xjg» u^ix.ua'niKif* ti^KJ^cti) Tlieopliylaft, ibid.Similia habt: Cyrillus lu locum. (f) Injuftum vidctiir ut alius pecret, & aliui puiviatur, feJ illiid qaod Ceouiiur his qui me odcruBt, fcandalum folvit, non ciimi ideo iuniuimr ci'iia de'irjurrupl. Palrcs corura — fed quia pairiim cxtiterunt amiilaiores. Si odcrunt D>um H3ei(--dita- rio malo, &c impietate ad ramos quocj ; dc radi'-c crcfcente, ^'icicif,in Esct. i. 19^4. III. i. J.ftque loci iftius is fcnfii> (juoinodo fi quis vt'lit diccK- Panes iiv;iin accibaia comedeniiit, & dcntcs filior»itn obftopoeniiit, ri.licu'noi < fVfi & nitlian) k^'irni coiifcquentiam, fic iniqiuim eft, (Sc pciverfe peccait Pities, c< filios ncpoiclq. , eiu. ciari, ibid lit. I, (g) "Ort yet^ tu yvy.toj w^so-j'-^bv tu, y^xufjiuri ^'jaxioli; i &iai iiyaa-^w t*« nAn'iii. i'a^oS&ra!i(, in Exod. qu. /|0. ( h) Com. in Joh. 9 i, a, 3. vi PREFACE. and'E^t, fi) aror? tifX^^TAy-oGi y.dvovt a».u xa» Tor^ ef ix.mciv j?£^X»nSKO^I| ^K/ p« /^oj^ also nvho proceeded from their Loins : The Fathers who gen* erally held that the piinifhmetit of that (in was only mortality, and the want of that which Adam liaving loft, could not derive on his pofterity, declare that God fubjeCled them to this mortality, iiot out of anger, but out of wifdom and clemency, to beget in tl)em an hatred of fin, and that iin might not be eternal in them. Againfl the doctrine of the Falentini* an -At d Bafdidian Heretics that some Men "were (pvctiCpuvXoi. e'vil by Hature, or ihat matrimony was evil, becaufe itproduceth leed polluted, %y. ytivtryji;, from the birth, we have produced tlie tcftimonies of fkj lrenxus,ClemensoiAlexandriayZndiOt\\ers : Towhich add, That the doc- trine which taught that men were finners from the birth, isexpefsly con- demned by (I) Crysojlom, Cyril of Alexandria, and TheophylaSl in Iheir commentaries O' the ninth chapter of St. John's Golpel, wliere they teach, (i ft.) That the queftion of the difciples, IVhether he that njuaf born blind had JinnedyWZS, if-^nat; «»c»to; x«* £cripa7i|Litnj. a foolijh S^ueS' lion grounded upon Error, it being therefore not to be laid' that rii^cc^Tit fcTo; t>tyinrri(; ycc^ tfi TiJipXo;, he had Jtnned because he tuas blind from his Birth, (^dly y Becaufe as it was abfurd to imagine that the child who had done no evil ftiould be puniftied for the fin ot his parents, fo was it to imagine that he could be either a finner before he was born, or from his birth. In tine, that the doftrine of thefe Manichces was an- ciently confuted upon the lame principles by which thedoftrine of thefe men is equally confuted, hath been abundantly made good in our fourth difcourfe, Chapt. the 4/A and the 6th. Nor feems it eafy to difeern any advantageous difference betwixt the doiftrine of thefe Decretalijls, am\ thofe condemned He fetics ; or how it would be worle with thofe who lie under their abfolute decree of rep- robation, if it indeed were with them, according to the doctrine of thofe Heretics. . For, if. Are they not as certainly wicked by the fall of Adam, and as cer- tainly damned after God's decree, De non dando auxilium neceftarium Tyj uaapTiav ruv ctv^pu'Kuii 70 yivo^ wgatTiw* 9avaT« yfytm/xenji/ p,£la t»;» Tra- Theodoret. in Gen. qu. 37. fkj Ejccit eum de Paradifo, & a ligno vifse longe tranllulit, non invidens ei lig- «um vita, quein^dmodiim quidamd'cunt, fed miferans ejus ut non pcifeveraret fcmper tranfgrcflor ncq, immortalc effet quod effct circa cum peccatum, &. malum iiueiminabilc, &, inlanabile, prohibuit auiem eju&tfanfgicnionein.iriterponensmor- tcm, & reffare facicns peccatum. hen. 1. 3. c. 37. 'O Seo?^ ^xlya>^r^f ive^yeTlai vra-c^iyj tw iv^uvru to jArt o'ta^eiwt a.vrav tl<; rov ocuJi/ix t» ufAtteTict. o»t«. 'fheophy'l. ad Auiol. 1. 2. p. JO3. TlvBavaTov Seo; -r^o? av«l^ic-tv t5« i(.j/.apT'ia,» ^w ycntc^ >c«7va;3'9i;i'«».— Chryio;t. ibid. PREFACE. vU ftcl ^iMndum peccatiim, of not affording to thern the Help neceffavy to a- *tioid that Jin to 'which he hath threatened Damnation, as they would be by being left under the power of the heathen Arimanius^ or of the anti- god of Manes t which by the Fathers are pronounced blafphemous doc- trines ? ^dly. Are they not as certainly wirked, and de mafla perdita, by be- ing born of ^^aw, and being left rcnredileily in that ftate of perdition^ as they would be according to the do(^lrine of the Stoicks, and Origeniftst the Marcionites and Falentinians, by being compounded of that flefhot' matter which did neceflitate them to fin? Or is there any great differ- ence betwixt being ^vuu (pav^oi,. naturally e'vily which jvas the doclrine condemned by the Fathers in thofe Heretics, and being (pCan Tiy.vx o^y^i, try Nature Children of eternal iVraih, as being born of human nature lapfed, which is their fenfe of (he Apojlle^s words ? Section III.— It alfo may de(erve to be confidered that the mod ftiff and eager patrons of thefe do(5lrines, bid the foundation of them Rot in holy Scripture, which is our only rule of faith, o- in the dodtrine of Chrift, our only teacher and our guide in matters of faith, but rather in thofe impure tireams ot the Schclajiical Di'vines, who had but little knowledge of the text, and lefs on the fenfe of Scripture ; or in tlie doc- trine of St. Aujiin who writ much and faft, and oft againlt his former, and his better felf. Of this (not to mention Dr. Tiviss and Rutherford J the good BiHiop ^mj Da'venant is a remarkable inliance j for when he comes to lay down the imputation of original fin, we hear of little or no'hing from the holy Scriptures, but his whole fcheme is borrowed from the Schools. Thus when he tells us of God's imaginary compatl with Adam, That If he pre'varicated be f}}ould pi ocure not only to himself but to all his Pos-^ ferity, the Death both of the Body and the Soul, a& he attempts not to prove this from Scripture, (o doth he in it manifeftly contradift the ex- prefs words oi God, In the Day that thoucaicjl thereof, thoufJjalt die the Death; for that phrafe, Thou fbalt Die the Death, frequently occurs in the law oi Moses, and always fignifics death temporal, as the /^«y places below cited fhew. Moreover God gives this reafon of that threat, for DuJ} thou art, and unto Dujl fl:alt thou return, which cannot in Xht Icall relate unto the foul. I conclude then with ( o ) Origtn, i hat that fentence, o"i'/itaTo?x«T«i5'»x»iy i^ 4I»ct«« of Rof »«k.tion. hut only to Cod'c difapproving of the coriupi'"" «^ men's faith or manners, Sefiion i. This pretended decree of Reprobation is not proved (id) from thofe words of Siilomon, That G.id made all things for him.- felf, even the wicked for the day of wraib, Prov. xvi.4. Scftions, Nor (adiy) from thofe words of St. John xii. 38. therefore they could not believe becaufe £jaiat faid, lUhatk blinded tknr eyes. See. Section 3. Nor (jdly) from thofe words, They Jlutnhle at the lueni b:iitg difobedUnt, whereunto atfo they mere appointed, i Pet. ii. 7, S, Seaion 4. Nor (4thly) from thofe words, Men 0/ older- dained to this condemnation, Jude iv. Section j. An anfwcr to lomc other texts producecl by Ora Tuiifs in favor of this doctrine, Scftion 6. CHAPTER ir. This doQiine is contrary to the perfeSions of the divine nature, viz. if. to hit natural defire, (hat all men IhouM love, fear und obey bim, Section t. sdly. To the linccrity aiid wifdosiof Cod, Scftion g, CHAPTER III. What abfolute elcflion doth import ; and that the eleOion mentioned in fcripturc , 17?, ii not ef particular perfons, but of whole cAiircAi'/ and iiationi, idly. That it importi, rather an elettion to enjoy the means of grace tendered in the gofpel, than to a certainty of falvation by thofe means, grf/y. That it is a conditional cleilior. to be made (ure Oy good works, Section i. This is proved, ij), from the inipoit of the word throughout the whole C'W 7"<"y!cmirnf, Section 2. ^dly, From the places where the word is ufcil in the New TeJIament, Scftion 3. The import of the words t and that they do not prove an abfolute elcttion, Seflion 4. Ananfwcr t) all the other places produced to prove it, as v.g. \Ji, Alt that the t'other givrth rne Jhall come to me, John vi. 37, 39. Scttion 5. idly, .Is many as were ordained to eternal li/e beliei'cd, AHs x.u'\. ^^. Scftion 6. Sdly. That all that iove God are called according to his purpn/e, jujlijied and glorified, Rom. viii, 28,1)9,30, S££tion7. ^tA/^f.That God knoweth who are his, Settiun 8. CHAPTER IV. The dofirineof abfolute cleftion confuted, tjl. From Cod's will, that all to whom the gofpel li fevcalcd Ihould repent and believe t« the falvation of the foul, and yield fincere obedience to the will of God, Seftion 1. The anfwer to this argument is confuted, ibid. td/y. From the falfehood of the foundation of it, viz, the imputation of the fin of .Idawi by Cod's arbitr.iry will to hispoftet- ity. Section 2. This imputation is noi proved from thofe words. In whom all have /nncd, and by theai/nb-dience 0/ one many were made /inners, ibid. sdly. From the falfehood of this decree, as to the parts of it, abfolute elctUon and rcprobdtion, and as to the end of it, the manifcftation of Ck)d's glory ii) his atts of grace, merry, and of jiifticc, ScSion 3. The immanent a6U of God's vill may have refpeft untu the aflions of men by way of motive or condition, ibid, CHAPTER V. That the doOrineof abfutute clcflion and reprotiation is contrary to the fcntlmentt of the fjlhcrs, is proved, tjl. From their unanimous declarations, that Cod bath left icin our power to * «0(;x»^oj,— — — + vr^oyvayi;} crgoSj^tjj crgowaKr^oj. Jcii C q JJ T S N T S, le good Or tail, vcffels of honor or dinionor, wrath or mercy, ©"c. Seflion j. ti/y. Tren the ex> jiofitlonthey all gave before St. Jujiinof the 8th ard gth chaptert of the Romans, Section a.— , Sdly, From their declarations that God predeftinates men to life or death from a prefcience of what ?hey would be, SeAion 3. ^thly. From the confetUori o{ Prf/per, that all the ancifnt fathtrs wer* agiinfttbedoariiie of St. ^uyti'n, Seclion^. ' ' DISCOURSE n. Cs^ncerning the Extent of Chkist's REDikPTiok, CHAPTER I. Jt HE fcr'pturc frcqnently . and exprefsly faith Chtitl died for all, and nfvcr faith any thing to the contrary, not when it faith, He gave himfelf a ran/dm far na\iy, and he hid down Ms life f.)T his jheep. Sec. Seftion u This is proved, 1^, From thofe wordt. As by the offence of one, j'ldgmei.t cotne upnn all men to andemnation, jo by the righteoiifnefs of one, the free gift came upon ail men to jujlification of life, Rom. v. 16. Seftion 2. tdly. From thefe words, iff died for all, thatthey luiio live mig'it not htncefoilb live to tkemfeluei, 2 C6r. v. I5. Seftion 3. sdly. Ood would have all men to be favcd, Chrilt gave himfelf a ranfom for all, SefUon 4. i^thly. From thofe words, The faving ^raceofdod hath appeared to all men, Tit. ii. 1 j, 12. Settion .5. 5t*/v, From thofe words, Chriji Juai made a little lower than the_ Augeis, that by Ih^ grace of God h( might tafte . 4tathfoi every man, Heb. ii, 9. Stclion 6. bthly. From thefe words, God is tong/ujfertxg to u/ward, tut being willing that anyjliouUpen'/li, &c. 2 fet. iii. 10. where the afual anftyer^ l^'all 0>ofc places are conlidcred and confuted. Settion 7. ■ '' "' ■ .'''. ' CHAPTER II. The feconil ccncTa!argijAT?nrtorirti» c^trt,t«f CK,i(i., fj,iut„v pajRon i, t^t„ „<■,»„ ,11 t],e places where Chrifl is regVefeuted as the faVtpr of the wrorld, Hcftion 1. The abiitrdttT. o£ tUe^¥> fttjai'ohj coittuionl^ jiut upon thofe teiti, SeiUoh e-^— ^5. v- -l.^.^ , . :< 1 jjll- C H A P T E R III, This doflrine is farther proved, «fl, Becaufe he died for tlrem that petUh, Section i, s^lj. ^or them who being.fantHhed bji the blood of the, new (:ovenant, did after count^if.^s^u unboly lii^oi, and did defpiie to the fpirit of grace, Settion 2. gdly. Becaufe he t>busht ^bcp^ y^o dcQica himt £cttion 3. ' ' " " . CHAPTER ly. . Ttd» doOrine is roofirmed, sft; From' theqbHR<(tion jijf all.to ^y.honJ,thc gpfEel wai jreaf^ed t? believe in Chrilt, Section 1. All the places produced by the Synod of iJ^ againft this do£trlQe arcv plain confirmations of it. CHAPTER y, This chapter contains an anfiver to the'argiimcnts prodoted from fciipture to prove Chrill died not for all, ift.Becaul'e thoy for wbom Chrill died may fay, ti/hojhait condemn in? Kon>. viii. 3^. vhich yet all. men cannot do, Seftion 1 . edly, Becaufe to all for whom God delivered up his Hon he will freely give all things, Rom. yiii. g'l. which yet he will not give to all, Seftion 2. sdly. Becaufe they who by Chrill's death are reconciled to God, JkoUbe fave.d tff his. life ^^ Koin..V< ja- which yet? II men fhall not be. Section 5. 4thly. Becaufe thofe for whom ^hmft.iAied, lAc tvue'^ tvi>A : .• ...,,,% H. A^.P',T/E..R VIJ. This Seflion contains ar» anfwer to fix objeSlions Ffolh i-eaTonagainh the dofl^^rine of nniverfa' tj'.leiiiption, ;■. g. ill. That it is uolrealonabie to conceive that Clrifl (houM die iti vain vtith re(- yea to any. Seflion l. sdty. That a general will that^I menfhould be Tave J, orrUi font niark* •f imperfeaion in itai reprefcnting God wilhing fomewhat, which he would not accomplUh, Ser- tioo t. 3dly, That if Chrift died far all, and all are not Tavcd, th^wiTdom ef Cod muft be defc^- ivc and imperfect ; for to fall fiiort of our. Intentions iliews a deficiency in pui/it of wirdom, Ser- tion 3. 4thly. That then God ii not omnipotent, Seflian 4. 5thly. That then the great love of God ia fending hi» Son thus to die, is ufelefs and unprofitable to many, SeSion 5. 6thly. That rtien Chiift paid a price of redemption foi theqi who will never be the better for it, Setiion 6. All which objeaiont art faUj aiifweteil in iUc iiii feaions. D I^ C O U R S E III. 0/ S\jftitiziiT and Effectual, Common and Sft.^ ciAL Grace. The State of the ^ejiiotu q H A P T E R I. . X HE true import of the woi-i ^rdr^ !n foriptiirfr, Siftioo i. »dly. Thai beftdit IM vouehrafement of the golpel as 1 niie of lifi, it fecths ncceliary f6 Slftrt thit Ood voochfafes fomk inward operations and. airidances of his Holy Spirit to iridine us to what ii goid, and to wbrk ^nverfion in us ; this is proved by many aiguiricnts, Stftion i>. 3dly. The manner in whicK Cod's grace or fpirit works upon the heart and ijiind of man for (iroducing the fruits of the gOoK fpirit, or tha preparatory difpofitions towatrft «J»t"»» •• <»'*'»'''«^ •«>»'>' "ifrtn and the faculties oiT man, his undcrftandios -»» Tine truths more clearly to our urideiiUnding^. sdly. In bringing the divine motives to our re- Jnctabranre, that they may be prelcnt to bur minds when this is neceflary to engage us to the per* formaiice of eur duty, Se6lion j. In what fcnfe a phyfical operation of the Holy Spirit on us may lj« allowed, hO«r they are exciting, rcthraining, prevetiting, affiftiag and fubfequebt grace, and of the dtltinflibn oT grace Into fafHcient and eflicacioat, comoiob and fpedal graces iicttion 6. Me tieceffity of fupernaturdl infufcd habits, Scttion 7. CHAPTER. II. This chSpter contitiifc argninentsagainft thencceflilyof air. irrefifliWf and unfninrable operation Tnordier to the converflon of a fnner', ift. From thetonceilions of our adverlaries.Seftion j. »dly. From G<)d's declaration that he had done all that was fulTicicHt, and could be reafonably expected in order to that end, when that «(Tef,l did not follow, Scttion 1, i'dly. From his earneft dciites of the obedience and reformation of his people, Seflion 3. 4thly. Becaiile this renders vain (ilt) Alt the commands and exhortations direfled to the wicked to tmn from the evil of their ways. (?dly) All the threats denounced agaynd them who go on in them. And, (3dly} All the promifcs of par- don and life to them who turn from them, Section 4. 5thly . Bccaulc then it coold not he rightcoi'* to punilh them with eternal mifotency or di!- Ability, Iiut u))on liieir wilfulnefs, Section 1 1. l.aflly, our opinion tendeth moll to the j^loryof the divine attributei, Settion !•.>. And is mofl conlonant to the judgment of antiquity, iettion 13. C II A P T iE R III. This chapter contains an anfwcr to the arj^umcnts pioduced to prove that man is purely pirfTv* in the whole work of his convcrfion, th.it bein;; wrought by Cod nlone without his cooperation. Some general obfervations are premifed at a foundiition of an anfwcr to thcfe arguments, Se£llon ». Which arife, ill. from tlie rcprefentation of this work, as a rctuiicHion, a creation, a rtev* biith, ScHron 1. adly. hiom thofe friipturcs which leprelcnc the iinregenerate as dead in finn, aad unable lodifcein thething* of Cod, to think any thing as of themfclvrs, to ilo any thing lili they be in Chrift, torome to him till they be drawn, to brii.g forth good fruit, or to he fiihjeft t» the law of Godj ScSioii 3, gdly. Krom thofe foriptmcs which fav. That Cod gives faith and re- pentance, and openeth the heart, Sc6iion 4. 4thly. From thofe which fav Cod nrrumcifcs, Riies a new hcait and fnirit that we may fear him, and write? Iiis l.iw in our iicatts, Sc3ion i,. ^thly, That he wcrkcth in us to will and to do. Section 6. 6thly. That according to this doftrinc, ift, one man makes himfelf to differ from another, Seflion 7. adly, M.in will have caufe of hoalting. Sections. 3dly.Thc glory of our converlion v^ ill nut be of Codalouc, i^iJ. 4thly, !t will fe tixcertaia whether any one will be convened or not. «W CONTENTS.' DISCOURSE IV. OJ the Freedom of the WiLt oj Man. The State of the ^ejl'ion. CHAPTER I. ^ , ' , ' * HAT the fl^tc of man in this world is a Rate of Trial and Probation, it preveij by fiVc arguments, Seftion i. And henc« it follows, that the liberty belonging to this qvcftioh i> only that ot" a lapfed man in the ftite of trial, probation and temptation ; fo that all the arguments t»- hen from the freedom of God, of good or evil angels, or of Chrift, to prove that liberty of freedom jiiay confill with a ncccfllty, or a determination to good or evil mult be impertinent, they being not in a ftate of Triaf, Section 2. This freedom of the ■will.in a ftdte of trial, cannot confift with a determination to one, whether it be to goocl or evil, ScSion 3. The free will of man being a faculty or power, which hath for its objeft in moral aflions fomtthing morally, in fpiritual aclicns fomething fpiritually good cr «vil to b^chofen or avoided j that which difabUs a man from rhooC> ing what is morally or I'piiituuUy good, or tefufing what is thu$ evil, mufl alfo take away his liber- »y to choofe the good or refdfe the evil aftion, Seftion 4. It is abfurd to fay that men thus difabltd may deferve punifhnient for whit th«y do, though they cannot do oiherwifc, hccaufc they difobey willingly, and choofe to do fo, Seftion 5. Or to fay that laen under an uuftuftrable operation »fc fliU fiee, becaufc what they are moved thus to do they will to do, and do it with complacency, Se^ion 6. That opinion which teacheth that man by the fall batk contrafled fuch difability, thai he n«t only can do nothing whicli istrulv good, but alfo lies under that fer\itude to fin which makes it neceOary for him tobe Hill doing, evil, hath no foundation in the holy fciiptures, with an ani fwej- to all the fctipturcs aliedged to that purpofe, Scfiion 7. That thefe new notions of liberty »re repugnant to ilie renfe an4 <,6mmoHr«afoSo( mankin oftne Epiftle to the Hebretut.ibid. 7thly. From thccommlnds and cKhortJtio"' diretted to tiue believers to continue to the end, and to feat left they fliould fall away, and the cautions to prevent their doing fo, the promifes made to them if they continue fted- faft, the threats againft them who did not fo ; of which in general, Sc£)ion 7, In particular this is proved, ift. From the commands, Seftion 8. The exhortations to perfcvere, Jeflion 9. And to fear left they Ihuuld fall away, Sc£)ion le. Particularly from the fcais of the apolUcs left it (hculd be fo. Section 11. The piomifes made to them that do not, Section 1-2. The threats agaiiiftthem that do thus fall away, Section 13, X.aiily, This is proved from many places which fupf sfe tbkt true believers may thus fall, Section 14. . ; , CHAPTER III. In this chapter is contained an anfwer to the arguments produced from fcripture to p/ove tha perfeverance of faints to the end, as v. g. ift. From Mat. xxiv. 24. ThtyJhaU deceive, ijittuere pojfibte, the very eA^, Section i. sdly. From John vi. 39, 46. It is the will of the f.ither that every on: who is given to Chrifl and bclieveth in him Ihould not pcrifli but have evcrlafting life. Section 2. adly. Betaufe the Lord hath not caft oft his people whom he foieknew, Rom. xi. a. Section 3. 4thly. Becaufc whom God juftifies them he alfo glorifiei, and none can feparate then from the love of God, Rom, viii. 29, 35. Section 4. ^thly. Becaufctriie believers have that fpiric «f God who feats them up tu the day of redemption, and is the earneft of their future inheritance, Eph. i. 13. iv. 30. Section 5. 6thly. Kecaufe the Lord knoweth who are his, 2 Tim. ii. 18, 1$. Section b. 7thly. Becaufe they ate kept by the power of Gpd through faith to falvation. Section 7, 8thly. Becaufe they who go out from true believers were not of them, 1 John ii. ig. Section i. no juftcaufe of trouble or anxiety, when I am allured 1 cannot do fo unlets I will and choofe to du fo, and cannot do fo but by acting againft the clrareft rules of rcafon and difcrction, and the highcft motives 10 the con- trary. 3dly That the doctiine of the faint's perfeverance cannot be truly comfortable, or give any advantage above the other in the point of comfort. Section 1. 2dly. As to their tendency to pro. mote holinefs, where it is fticwed that our doctrine hath the advantage on fevcral accounts, Section a. 3dly, That it hath the fuffraje vf «U Iht »«cicn;s, »nd wai Uc doctrine cf the whole Church »f <.nrle ; what may be done by them who will not do it, and may be left undone by them »iho do not fo. He forefees alfo after what manner they will te performed, that free actions wi]i be done freely, that is when we might abliain from doing thein, and omitted fieely, that it, when we-might perform them. 6thly. That this argument only propofcth a great diSii ulty arifing froili a mode of knowledge in Cod, of which wt have no idea, agjii.fl the plain dcclatationi of bit re- vealed will, and is anfwered by the dvftinqtion between God's incommunicable anij his communi- cable attributes ; of the firft we have no iilt as, as to the " and fo are only bound to believe they are in God, but not to imitate them. In his coniniunlcabie^xtrjbutes, we ate bour.d to refembie hiio, or follow his example, and fo muft have a true, though not a perfect knowlodgc of them, Section 4. Objection 2. That by our arguments we weaken the providence of God ; for if he doih not e^ec- tually move the wills of men, he cannot compafs the defigns of his providence. Anfwer i ft. tlu* argument is attended with this great abfurjity, that it makes God as much the author of all the evil &s of all the good that isdonein Ihc world, adly. All that is necelfary to accomplifh the defigiit of providence, may be done without laying any iiecefiily upon human aflions. jdly. The juflScet wifdom, holinefs, the goodncfs and finccrity of ptovidence, are a^t entirely overthiown by liic Joe- trfnes we write againll, Section 3, 4. CHAPTER 11. The objeGtia)!, that God feems to have dealt as feverely with the heathens, t<> Tvhamtt^e J(n6wU •ledgeof his will and gofpel never was revealed, as we can imagine him to have dealt with rue* according to the doctrine of abfolule election ami reprobation, and the denial of grace fuSicient \ii the greateft part of mankind, is anfwered. ift. By fhe wing, that it cannot be applied to the chief arguments producedagainft thofe doctrines,.Se6ion I. adly. That what God hath pbinly and fj;t- quently levealed in the fcripturcs concerning his goodnefsand kindnefsto the Pons of men, oujght firmly to be believed ; though we are not able to difctrn how it comports, with his provideatial difpenfationt in tlie world, therebeing greater depths in providence than we can fathom, Sec- tion s. 3dly. Becaufe we know fo little of the (\itBre ftate of heathens, that we cannot pafs any certain judgment concerning their future (late, ibid. 4thly. Tliis objection fuppofeth it the fame thing to be without a gofpcl revelation, and to be withoutany means of grace at all, and that with* ottt a revelation no man can do anv thing which is well pleahng to God or acceptable in hi* light; the falftiood of which fuppofition is proved by fix arguments from fcriptnre. Section 3.— And by two arguments from rcafon. Section 4. 5ihly. It fcems.not well confiftent with divine e- ouity and goodnefs, to make that a condition of any man's happinefs which he cannot know to be hisduty,or knowing is not able to perform, Section ,5. Othly. That God will only judge inen.at (helaft, for finning againft the means he hath vouchfafcd them to know and perform their duty ; ind fo will only judge the heathens for fins committed igainft that liglit of nature he had given them. Section 6. jthly. That CoJ having laid down this mc-ti-od in (he difpcnfatlon of his gifts, th^the who IS faithful + in the improvement of the kali t ilcnt (hall have a fuitable reward and /hattoluin that fo hath (hall more be given ; it is reafor.ablc to conceive, he will deal with the heathens according to this rule, Seition 7. tidlv, Tli.it wc may reafonably conclude God wriiU <}eB4 with them hoai in lefpect to the acceptation and reward of their good, and his difpleafyre againft, and vuni(hHicnt of their evil actions, according to the mcafures of their ignorance &nd knowledge, the abilities, motives and inducement* fttfordcd fathem to d ■• or to avoiduhclti. And therefore"]!*, That their good actions done upon left motives arid convictions, inav he more accept- able to God than the like'actions done hv chtiftians. upon much greater e idence and higher motives and more powerful alfiftances. adly. That they may cxpea a rew.ird upon paformanc* pf Icfs du- ty, becaufe lefs will be required of them. .3dly. That t'.od (hon'd be morr ready to pardon and pafsbvtheir offcnres.as having in them more of ignorance and Icfs of con:ei:.vpt. 4thly. That he Iho.ild be more patient, and loncfulfcring toward them, before he puni(h, becaufe th- lefslhe light is they enjoy, the Icfs is theiroffcnce againft it. Laftly, That God may be more gentle in punilb- ing their iniquities, and lay the fewer ftripes upon tl.ein, becaufe they did not Know Ihcif Mufttl f Will, StaioQ 8. • WHITBY'S ISCOURSES. DISCOURSE L Concerning ELECTION and REPROBA- TION. The State of the Qiiefiion concerning God's Ahfolute De* crees of EkHion and Reprobation, ET it be obferved froth faJ'Q\(hopDave'- '\ nant, *'That nomediumcan be afligned, either on God's part, betwixt the decrees of predeftinating fome menjand not pre* deftinating fome others; or on mens part, betwixt men abfolutely predeftinated to the attainment ot life eternal, and abfo- lutely pretermitted, and left infallibly to fail of the obtainraent of eternal life ; which we call Abfolute Reprobation. As for example : Let us fuppofe the number of mankind to be two millions of men, if out ®f thefe, one million only, by the Decree of Eleftion, hi infallibly appointed to eternal life, and thefe certainly and ab- folutely dillinguilhed from others, not only as to their number^ but their perfons alfo j who can deny but that one million alfo, Ca) Animad, on Hord» p% aoj. c i8 EkBion and Reprobation. &nd thofe certain as to their perfons, are as abfolutely eomprif- ed Under the Decree of Noneleftion or Reprobation, as the others ■were under the Decree oi Eleftion or Predeftinatipn ?" So that there is no poflibility oi afferting one of thefe Decrees without owning the other alfo ; and fo whatfoever argument holds good againll an abfohite Decree oi Reprobation^ muft certainly deftroy the oppofite Decree of Abfolute Eleftion. Now, is there any need of arguments to confute fuch a fup- pofed Decree as this ? I behold, through the fall of Adam-, (by my mere pleafure imputed to his whole pofterity yet unborn, as if it wefc their aftion, and they had perfonally confented to it] the whole race of mankind obnoxious to my eternal wrath, and utterly unable to recover from it ; and though they be all the fouls that I have 7nade, all equally wanting, and equally ca- pable of my iavor ; nor have I any reafon fo extend it t® apy ot them, rather than to all ; yet do I abfolutely Decree to vouch- fafe this favor only to feme few of them, leaving the far great- eft part of them under a fad neccfTity of perifhing everlafting- ly, for the offence of their forefather Adam, committed long before they had a being ; fo that they fliall be as fure to be damned eternally as they are to be born in time, and yet I will proclaim myfelf unto them, (2 God merciful, and gracious, long- Juff^ring, and abundant in goodnefs, on purpofe that they may not perilh, but be led by it to repentance, and declare to then* that my delight is in Jltewitig mercy. I will entreat them with the greateil earneftnefs, and even hefeech them to be reconciled t® me, as being fo far reconciled to them in Chrifl Jefus, as not to impute to them their tranfgreffions and fins : I will fend to them all my mejfengers and prophets, declaring that I do it, be- cauje I have compajjion on them : I will allure them to repent- ance with the promife that all their Jins JJiall then be blotted out, and not one of them remembered againft them : I will tell them that / would have purged them, but they would not be purged : I would have gathered them ^ hut they would not be gathered: I will afk them, Why ivill you die ? and inquire of them what / could have done ?n0re to prevent it which 1 have not do7ie ? Yea, I will ferioufly, and folemnly protell and fwear unto them by the greateft oath, even that of my own life, that / would not the death of him that dies, but rather that he Jliould return and live. But after all, I will be true and conllant to that abfolute Decree of Reprobation, which muft render their damnation uafruftra- ble, and to the negative decree of withholding from them that gracewhich can alone enable them to efcape it, or to receive any advantage from all thefe declarations. Flexion and Reprobation. 19 And hence we learn the falfehood of that aflertion of the fame good fbj Bijhop, That Reprobation is not a denial of fufficunt grace, but a denial of Jiichfpecial grace which God knows would infallibly bring them to glory ; and that we cannot thence coii" elude, (c) that being not eleded they are left without all remedy or fufficient means of falvation ,• or that being reprobated they are luithoiit fifficient remedies or means to efcapc damnation, zvere not their own wicMd will the only hindrance : For can meri be left infallibly to fail ef eternal Ife, and yet not be left xoithout all remedy or fiifficient ?neans of Jalvation ? If, as he fays, (d) God leaving them under the want of that [pedal grace, and effic-. tual guidance proceeding from Divine P redejliyiation, they never Jail of running thcmfelves wittingly and willingly upon their own damnation ; have they notwithftanding fufficient remedies, or means to efcape damnation^ ? Sure it is, there can be no falva- tion, and no efcaping of damnation, without converfion oi the will from fm to God, and a continuance in this eftatc unto the end. II then thefe Reprohates have no fufficient means to turn their wicked and perverted wills from fin to God, they caa have no fufficient means either to obtain falvation, or efcape damnation. It they have fufficient means to convert their wicked wills from the love of fm to a prevailing love to God, the pravity of thefe wills can never be the caufe why they are left infallibly to fail of life eternal, or why they never fail of running on wilfully to their own damnation ; feeing they have means fufficient to reftify the pravity of their wills. Again, either thefe means are fufficient to render them truly v/illing to believe and repent, or they are not ; either they are fufficient to remove the defeftivenefs and difability of will they have contrafted by the fall of Adam to thefe faving aftions, or they arc not: If they are not, how are they means fufficient for the attainment of the falvation which belongs only to the believer arid the penitent, or the efcaping tliat damnation which necef- farily follows upon the difability and defeti for which no fuf- ficient remedy is by grace provided ? and then how have they grace fufficient for thefe ends ? If tlicy are thus fufficient, then may they truly be willing tp believe and repent; and then this fufficient grace being vouchfafed to them, there can be no ob- ^lru6tion in their will which rieceflarily hinders their believing and repenting ; and then they on whom God hath paffed thi& att of ileprobation, or of prcterition, may believe and repent, aiid iherelore may be favcJ, as well, though not as certainly, 3i (hj Corol. ^.24. CcJ P. 30. C(^J ^» =8, «o JSkSiion and Reprohation, they who are elefted to obtain falvatlon ; and fo all to whom the gofpel is vouchfafed raay lie faved. Suppofe a man hath broken his leg by a fall, hath he therefore fufficient means to walk, becaufe he might have done fo, had not his leg been broken by that fall ? If then the will of man by his fall be as much difabled to walk in the ways ©f God, as this man's body is to walk at all, can it be truly faid he hath fufficient means to •walk in thofe ways, becaufe he would hpifve had them, had not his will been thus difabled ? fe) Adam indeed, as the Bifhop faith, though not predejlinated to Jiand in the fiate of innouncyy had yet Jiifficient means of J^anding, becaufe he had no defec- tivenefs or difabillty in his will to do fo ; but what is this to the cafe of thofe Avho are fuppofed to be fo difabled ; that, if they be left to their own wills as Adam was, are fo difabled that they cannot ftand ? When therefore this good (fj Bifhop proceeds to fay, that they who are paffed by in the Eternal Decree of God, are not by ijiny force of that Decree left without the benefit which the fcrip' ture promfes upon condition of repentance, but the Evangelical Decrees jiand in full force ; ;/ Judas believe and repent^ hefJiall Ife faved', ifY^Ksx do not believe and repent, hefhallnot be fav- ed ; and by this thin piece of fophiftry the good man attempts to Ihew that God is ferious and in good earneft in all the offers lie makes to Reprobates of mercy ^nd falvation apon their re- pentance, and all the threats he hath recorded in the Holy Scrip- ture againfl all, and therefore againft the Elefl;, it they do not repent and perfevere to the end ; and all the other motives an4 inducements to engage both of them to do fo : How unfucceff- fuUy he hath performed this, will in the fequel be demonftrat- ^d ; at prefent therefore I fhaU only put thele two Decrees one under the other, that they may blulh at one another. 1. Abfolute Eleftion contains an eternal, abfolute, infallible Decree, that Peter fhall believe, repent, perfe-qere imto the end, and be faved. The Evangelical Conditional Decree is this, That if Fcter do ^ot believe, repent, and perfevere unto the end, he fJiall not be faved, but fhall infallibly be damned', and therelore God in it {peaks to Peter thus, Except thou repent thou flialt perifh ; pafs, therefore tlio time of thy fojouming here in fear ; work out thy falvation zvithfear, and trembling , continue in the Faith, for if ft) P. 30.. (f) Corol. 2. /I. 29, 30. EleBion and Reprohation, 21 thou drawefl back, my foul JJiall have no pleafure in thee, ; yea, give all diligence to make thy Calling and Rletiionjure. s. Abfolute Reprobation is an abfolute, infallible Decree, That V, g. Judas fkall unavoidably fail of obtaining life eternal ^ that this event Ihall be fo certain, that hejhall never Jail to run himfelf wilfully vpon his damnation, Th« Evangelical Conditional Decree is this, That t/" Judas will repent, believe and perfevere, hejfiall befaved ; and in pur- fuanceof this Decree, God lovingly invites and calls upon him t© believe and repent, exhorts, and even entreats him by his ambafTadors, to be reconciled to hitn, to turn from his evil ways and live, alluring hira to do fo by the hopes of pardon and fal- vation, if he will hearken to God's calls, and perfuading him by the miferies which he will then incur, not to negleBJo great falvation, expoftulating the cafe with him, why after all thefe methods to prevent his ruin, he will die and not live ? Why he will not be purged and made clean, and how long it will be ere he will hearken to his inviiaiions ; declarmg that he doth all this, becaufh he hath compaffion on him, and is longfuffering to hint becaufe he is not willing he Jhould perijki butjhould come unto repentance ; though his Decree of Reprobation hath rendered his damnation a certain mnd infallible event, ^dly, Obferve,That though the greateft part of them who af- fert an abfolute Eleftipn and Reprobation, or Pretention, make the objeft of them not man as man, but as fallen, and therefore fmful man ; yet is the difference betwixt them, and thofe who are called Supralapfarians, very little ; for the Sublapfarians fay, God decreed that Adam fhould be the head of all mankind and therefore to impute his firft fm, and that only to his pofleri- ty, and not to impute t© them his repcntanse for it, though there was equal reafon to do bofh, or neither ; and forefeeing that he would fall, and render his pofterity obnoxious to his eternal difpleafure, he defigncd to glorify his free grace and mercy in faving fome of them, and fo in bellowing on them in- fallibly that grace which fliall unfrullrably bring them to falva- tion : Others he abfolutely decrees to pafs by, and not beftow that grace upon them without which they cannot obtain Salva- tion, or avoid eternal mifery. Now 1//. Seeing it is certain from the event, That God abfolutely decreed to bring all men out of the loins of Adam, and that they therefore become the pofterity of fallen Adam, and fo are born fmners and chiMren of wrath, purely by being born, an4 (q by abfolute necellity proceeding from this Decree of God^ 2i Decree of Reprobation. who could have made them otherwife, and brought them into the world from another head. Again, zMy. Seting nothing makes the cannexion betwixt the per- fonal fin of Ada7ii and the fall of all men in him, or their guilt by reafon of his fall, but God's arbitrary imputation of it to them ; their being then in his loins, or his pofterity, making them no more guilty of his firft than of all the other fins com- mitted by him before they had a being, and of which it is con- felled they are not guilty ; nothing can make this connexion betwixt their being born men and finners, children oi Adam^ and children of wrath, but theie arbitrary and inevitable De- crees. And 2idly> Adain being as much in nature our common head and root, and we being as much in his loins when he repented to falvation, as when he finned to condemnation, there is no other reafon, befides God's arbitrary will, can be aUigned, why God fiiould impute his fin to us to condemnation, and not impute unto us his repentance tu falvation, or for the pardon oi it ; for if his perfon was our perfon, his will our will in finning, why were they not fo alfo in repenting ? If then according to this hypothefis, there is no pofiible difference betwixt being a man and a finner, and God's Decrees alone have made this necelTary connexion ; why might he not as equitably have paifed thefc Decrees upon men as man, as upon mejp made finners by his mere arbitrary Decrees ? efpecially if M^e'confider that the fins of all men, befides Adam, are as inevitable, and as much 4?^ creed by this hypothefis, as by the other. '^^^ CHAPTER I. Concerning the Decree of Reprobation. I SHALL endeavor to make it appear, i/i. That it hath no foundation in the Holy Scriptures, 2dly. That it is contrary to the plain declarations of fcrlp- ture. Section L — And i/I I obfcrve that the word aSoV.tfAo?, which xve render Reprobate, but might have as well been rendered Decree of Reprolation, 23 difapproved, hath no relation in Scripture, to any Decree, ei- ther abfolute concerning the damnation of men as the end, and confequently denying or withholding from them the means by vrhich alone they can efcape that damnation, or oi doing this on the account of the fm of Adam ; but only doth denote fuch aftions of men corrupted, as to faith and manners, which being done, will certainly be difapproved by God and man. Thus thofe Jews, who, through the prejudices and corruption of their minds were indifpofed to receive, and therefore did refift the truth of the gofpel, as Jfannes and Jamhres did of old God's mcflage by his fervant Mo/es, are ftiled aJox»M.ot ir^\ nrnt -rrirify (a) Reprobates concerning the faith ; i. e. men indifpofed to re- ceive, or approve it, and therefore difapproved by God. And thofe Gentiles, who, (b) when they knew God, did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful, but changed the truth of God into a lie, by worfhipping the creature inftead of the Creator, and liked not to retain God in their hearts, are faid to be given up £K»S» aSaxj/^^ov, to a reprobate mind', i. e. a mind that could not be approved of, but abhoired by God and men, as prompting them to do, Ta (Mi na^Uonx, things not agreeable to nature, or to rea- fon. Thus thofe jfezvs zvhofe minds and confciences were defil' ed, are ftiled Reprobates, becaufe fcj though in words they prO' feffedto know God, yet in works they denied him^, being abom' inable, dif obedient, and to every good work, «Joxi//o», repro- bate-, that is, void not only of judgment to difcern what was good, but alfo of affeftion to approve of it: And that earth is ftiled aJoxi|!xo?j reprobate, or Te}e£ied, which, after all thefhowers which fall tipon it, fdj brings forth only thorns and briars ; and that filver, afyvfio» aSoyAiJt,ov, (e) reprobate fiver, which being falfe ftamped, or coined, will not be received, but rejefted. And in this fenfe ffj St. Paul faith, he kept under his body, lef, zuhil/i he preached to others, he himfdf fhould be, aJo'xj^o?, dif- oioned, and rejeded, by God. Now all thefe Reprobates being either fo ftiled, not becaufe God was unwilling to have any fa- vor for them, or had any antecedent purpofe to rejeft them ; but becaufe their prejudices and corruptions caufed them to rejeft him by difapproving of his truth and ways ; or becaufe the aftions they in time did in oppofuion te his truth revealed to them, and his holy word which he had given them to direft their aftions, were rebellious ; they cannot poflihly relate to a {a J 2 Tim. iii. 8. C^J Rom, i. 20 — 28. fcJ Tit. i. 16. fdJ Heb. vi. 8. (ej Prov, xxv. 4. J fa. i. 2^. ffJ » Cor, ix, 37. 24 Decree of Reprohatiott, Decree of Reprobation, or Preterition, in God, refpeQing tlieria before all time. Section II. — ^dly. As the word «5o)t»Mo?, tranflated i?^/?r<7- bale, cannot at all concern this pretended Decree of Reproba- tion, which the Jc/iool divines have invented, and others from them have embraced ; fo, Secondly, is there nothing relating to it, or from which it can reafonably be inferred, in the Jcrip^ iures, either of the Oid, or the New Tejia?nent. From the Old Tejlament they urge thefe words, viz. That God made all things for khnfelf, even the wicked for the day of evil, Prov. xvi. 4, Now what is it that they would infer from thefe words ? Is it that God made men wicked? this dbubtlefs is blafphemy; much more to fay, He made them wicked for his glory, as if he had fgj need o/thejinful man for that end ; or is it with (h) Dr. Tzuijfe, That all, bejides theeleSi, God hath ordained to bring forth into the world in their corrupt mafs, and to permit them to themjelves to go on in their own ways, and Jo Jinally to per/e- vere in Jin ; andlajily to damn them for their fin, for the man' ifejiation ojhisjujlice on them ? This for my lifp I am not able to diftinguifli from making them wicked ; for to bring them forth into the world, and to make them, is the fame thing ; and by the fame aft by which they are made, they are made of the corrupt mafs ; that only fignifying that they are made of the race of Adam : And therefore, by the very fame aft by which God made them, he muft make them finners. Moreover, what God ordained to do before all time, he in time did ; therefore in time he brought thefe men forth into the world, in the cor- rupt mafs ; i. e. He brought them into the world finners, that is, hateful to himfelf; for ^ij the Moji High hateth Jinners : Whereas that of the book of (kj Wijdom is as true as Gofpel ; Thou (O Lord) loveji all the things that are, and ahhorreji netk" ing that thou hafi made, for neither wouldejl thou have made any thing if thou hadjl hated it» See what hath been further faid againft this hypothefis in the ftate of the queftion, and in the noteson/?ow?.v. 13, 19. Eph.vS..^. Or laftly, they only mean that God for the glory of his juftice, had appointed that wicked men perifhing impenitently in fin fliould be obnoxious to his wrath ; and then they aflert a great truth : But then it is a truth which gives not the leaft advantage to their doftrine, nor is founded on this text. For, C^) Eccluf. XV. t2. (h) Againft HQxd^ p. ^Q^-'^CiJ Ec- cluf, xii. 6. <^A^ Ch.xi, 24. Decree of Reprobation, 25 ^dly. The text faith God made all things, lamaanby, from injiT, to anfwtr to themJUves, or aptly to refer one to another. (I J He hath made the wicked ior the evil day, i. e. to be the executioner of evil to others; on which account they are in fcripture called God's rod, and faid to be zjword of his. SECTION III. — A fecond text cited to prove this Decree of Reprobation, or Preterition, runneth thus ; (m) Therefore thry could not believe becaufe that Ifaias faid, again. He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, that theyJJiould not fee with their eyes, or underjland with their hearts, and be converted, and Iflwuld heal them. Like to which are thofe words of ^uMark and St, Luke, fnj To you it is given to know the myfleries of the kingdom of God, but to others (who are without the kingdom) Ifpeak in parables, thatjeeivg they may fee and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not underjland, lefi at any time they Jkould be converted, and their fins Piould be forgiven them. From which words the inference they make contains this firange and uncomfortable doftrine, viz. That the infidelity even of God's own people is to be refolved, not into the perverfensfs oi their wills, or the evil difpofrtions of their hearts, but Into the divine preditHonSjOr into a judicial bliadnefs and cbduration wrought by God upon them, which renders it, though not naturally, yet morally, impofTible for them to believe ; therefore for explica- tion of them, and to demonflrate the falfehood and abiurdity of this inference, let it be noted, ■ ifl. That our blelTed Lord, in the immediate precedent ver- fes, doth pallionafely exhort thefe very perfons to foj behave and walk according to the light, that they might he children of the light ; which is a certain evidence that he well knew his Father had not by any of his aftions, predi6fions or Decrees, made it thus impofTible for them to believe on him, or walk according to his do^lrine : For if God had fo blinded their eyes that they could not fee the light, or fo hardened their hearts that they could not embrace it, Chriji would not, or rather could not have exhorted them to believe, or ferioudy require them, thus difa- bled, to walk according to the light, miich lefs to do it fo effec- tually, that they ?night become the children ef the light ; for ev- ery exhortation to do a thing we know men cannot do, muft be vain ; and he who by it feems to be defirous we fhould do that which he knows we cannot, muft delude us ; and it he knows flj Ifa. X. 5. Pfalm xvii. g. fmj John xiii gg, 40. O' .■ Mark iv. ui, 12. Luke viii. g, 10. — — fo I V'er. 35, 3O. D &$ DecrH of Rtprahatiofl. that God hath by fome antecedent purpofe, will or Decrecj re- folved to withhold that aid by which alorae we can be in a ca* pacity to do it, it muft alfo be an exhortation repugnant to the will of God ; it being in event, and in efFefl: the fame, to will that any perfon Ihould not do the thing which he requires, and to will he fljould not have the means by which alone he can perform it. Now it is blalphemy to fay the exhortations of the Son of God were vain, delufory, and contrary to his Father's will. Moreover^ our Savior knew thefe Jews were capable of mercy and falvation by him ; for he exprefsly fays, fpj God Jtnt him into the ZL'orld that the world by him might bejaved: He makes this declaration to them, fqj Thefe things I fay unto you that you m'ight be faved\ and this inquiry, frj Hozu often would / /lave gathered you as a hen doth her chickens under her wings, and you icould net be gathered i and pathetically faith to the in- iubitants of fcrufalein, (f) that thou hadji known in this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace I but now they are hid from tkin^M^.^Now, therefore they were not always fo. Chnfi then her«Hfeth it for granted, that the peopleot feiufaUm,\\x the day oi^in^r vifitation by the Me/Jiah, might favingly have known the things belonging to their peac^. Now eiiher this £iTertion, That they might favingly have known thefe things, was according to the truth ; or his wifh, That they had thus known the things belonging to their peace, was contrary to his Father's will and Decree, which is palpably abfurd. And fee- ing the will of Chnjl was always the fame with that ot his JFa^ ther, it follows alfo that God the Father had the fame charita- ble afteflion to them, and fo had laid no bar againft their happi, nels by his decrees, nor withheld from them any thing on his part necelTiry to their everlafting welfare. 3^/')'. God himfeU Would not have his words fo underflood, as it he were unwill- ing that the Jews fhould believe, or had by any of his pur- pofes or aftions rendered it not pcfTible for them to do fo ; for (t) this was his commandment, that they Jliould believe on him zohom he had fen t ; And why fent he his fon to feek, andjave that which was lojl, even the Ic/ifheep of the hoiifc of Ifrael, had he not been truly defirous that they fhould believe } or how could either Chrfi or Mqfes accufe them to the Father for their Unbelief, had the Father himfelf refolved from all eternity to withhold from them that affiftance without which they could not believe. And lallly, the Evangehjl, and that good fpirit (P) .I"lin '"". t7.-- — /'^y John V. 34. (r ) L-j.kc xiii. 3.^.'~r--«. (f) Luke xix, /^2, (tj John vi. 2^, Decree of -Reprobation. 27 by which he did indite thcfe words, did not thus underfland them ; ior he in the immediate, toregoing verfe objeOs this to the Jews as their great crime, that fuj though Chrijl had done Jo many m'xracks among them, yet they believed not on hm ; whereas it can be no man's fin not to do what he cannot do purely by reafon ct the a£l of God ; tbefe words can thcreiare never bear that fenfe on which this inference is grounded. 2^/y.Obferve, Tliat God's iorekowledge, fayings and predic- tions have no fuch influence on the will ot rr.an, as to lay on him a necefhty to do what he foreknows, and hr^h foretold he will do ; for were it otherwifc, ijl. All human actions muft be necelTary ; ior to that God uho is omnifcient, all things pad, prefent and to come, are known ; if then this kno\A« ledge of men's aftions, which the fcripture doth afcribe to God, did make them neceflary, all hu- man anions muft be neceffary, and fo the freedom of them muil be overthrown, zdly. Then vice and virtue muft be- empty names, we being capable of doing nothing which is blameworthy, or defervetli praife, (which yet the fcripture plainly, and trequentiy afferts we may) for who can blame a perfon for d©ing only what he coald not help, or judge that he deferveth praife only for doing what he could not avoid ? And 3^/y. Then mufl all future recompences be difcarded, it being fenfibly unjull to punifh any man for doing that which it was never in his power to avoid, and as unreafonable to reward him for that aflion which cannot be praife worthy. "When then it is here faid, Therefore they could not believe U'. c-aufe \{a.\z% faid, &c. thefe words mufl bear this fenfe. Therefore they could not believe becanfe [that wasjulfdled upon them zuhich) Udhs faid, or it had happened to them as he had loretold. Ex- emples of fuch an elipfis we find frequently in this gofpel : So Chap. ix. 3. Neither hath this man jinned nor his parents, aM' i»a, but (this blindnefs hath happened to him) that the xvorhs of God might be made mamjeji in him. Chap. xiii. 18. / knouj whom I have chofen, «>.>>' ;»<», but (this nath, happened to Judas J that the fcripture m^ght ke fulfilled, xvkich faith, lie that ealetk bread with me hath bjt vp his heel againji me. Chap. xiv. 31. ^ixx' Wa. y>5, but fthis I doj that the world jnay knoio that I lovt the Father. Chap. xv. 25. e.?.^ iVa TjAnfwOri, but fthis hath hap. penedj that the word written in their law vvght be fuljdLd. I John iii. 19. «m' !'►« (paitpwj^. bvt (they went cut from us) that it might appear they were not all of us. And this expofiiion ij» ^,t)ycr. 3;. aS Decree of Reprohation. confirmed by the Holy Glioff, who Mat. x'lli, 13, 14. faith from the mouth oi" Ckrijl, Therefore I /peak to them in parables, be- caufi they Jeting fee not, &c. and when it is faid. ver. 40. Ue hath blinded their eyes, Sec. obferve that the word He, is not in the original, which only faith thus, rirvip7MKtt Ivruv ra? o;p9 Anfwer. To take off this pretenfion, it is fufficient to obferve that the words in St. Mark and St. Luke are only an "abbrevia- tion of what St. Matthew faith was fpoken by our Lord more fully ; for Chrif might fay what St. Mark and St. Luke relate, and yet fay more than they relate, as St. Matthew doth affure us he did ; but then St. Matthew could not have given us his difcQurfe more fully, unlefs our Lord had fpoken it more fully than it is related by St. Mark and St. Liihe : whence it mufl follow, that the relation of St. Mark and St. Luke mufl be de- ficient ; that is, that they do not contain all that our Savior faid on this occafion, and therefore muft be filled up, or rendered entire by the addition of the words recorded in St. Matthew, Since then St. Matthew doth exprefsly tell us from the mouth of C/^ny?, He therefore fpake to them in parables, bscauje they Decree of Reprolation, 29 feeing would not, or did not fee, and hearing did not underjland \ and that they therefore did not fee, hear and undcrftand, be- caufe their heart was waxed grojs, and their ears heavy, and they had clofed their eyes lejl they Jliould fee ; it feemeth evident that the words of St. Mark and St. Luke mull be filled up, or made intire thus ; to ethers (of the Jews, who will not own my doclrine, or believe in me, as you my Dxfciples do) [peak I in parables, becaufe they feeing fee not, and hearing do not under^ Jiand, for their hearts are waxed grofs, and their ears heavy ^ and their eyes have they clofed, that feeing they may fee and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not underjland. Thefe words are therefore nothing to the purpofe for which they are produced, they faying nothing of God's decree, or purpofe, anticedently to their being, to deny them grace fufficient to fee, or underftand their duty taught them by our Lord in plain words as well as parables; for why then doth Chriji aflc with fuch feeming indignation, (x) Why is it that you do not underfand my faying? (it only is) becaufe ye cannot fendure io)hear my wcrds i. e. becaufe your prejudices and lufts will not permit you to receive it ; this, doubtlefs, was the great fin of the Jews, and fo they wanted not either natural power or aid fufEcient on God's part fo to do, but only a moral power or a mind well difpofed to obey his word; it being only of the wickednefs and pcrverlenefs oi the Jews, who would not fee, or come unto the light lefl their deeds fiould be reproved ; that they loved darknefs more than light ; that they were even unwilling to be healed, or converted from their evil ways j and this will fUll appear more evident, if it be further noted, That thefe words. They feeing fie not, and hearing do not hear, or underjland, area proverbial exprelTion concerning men fo wicked and fo flothful, that either they attend not to, or will not follow the cleareft intimations and conviftions of their duty. Thus to a revolting and rebellious people which had caft off the fear of God, the prophet Jeremy faith, (y) Hear now thii, foolifk people, and loithoul underflanding, which have eyes and fee not, which have ears and hear not ; and God fpeakS to Ezt' kiel thus, (z) Son of man^ thou dwelUfl in the midjl of a rebell- ious hoife, which have eyes to fee and fee not, they have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious houfe. This is a fre- quent form of fpeech in (a) JPhilo, who faith of men addicted to wine and fenfual pleafures, ofw>T£? a;c o^wai, x»» «V.ao»Tf{ wnaxW* (x) John viii. 43. ^ (y ) Jcr. v, 21.— —/'zy' Chap. xii. a. (aj AUc^. h. 2. p. 7a. L. 3. p. 850. go Decree of Reprohation. that fhey ftdng fee not, and hearing do not hear, and (bj DC' ?nofihenes mentions this as a proverb ; thefe words do manifeil:- ly thereiorefliew, That it was the wickcdnefs and perverlenefs of the Jews that indifpofed them to receive profit by Chiifl's plain difcourfes, which caufed him thus to fpeak to them in parables. Lajily. Obferve that they thus fhut their eyes, and made their hearts grofs, faith God and Chrifl, le/i theyjkould be con- verted and I Jliould heal them ; fo that the defign of God in lending of his Son was their converfion, and the remifiion of their fins ; and hence St. Peter faitli to them, (cj repent ye therefore and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out, for God having rafedup his Son Jefus,fmt him to blefs you in tarn- i^g every oneoi yo\x from your iniquities ; exprefsly teaching that God font his Son to procure mercy and falvation to every one of them ; and that they by their wickednefs and pervcrfe- nefs obftruded thefe his gracious defigns upon them, left they fhould be converted from their evil ways, and God fliould heal them. For albeit this fad efFeft was not intended by them, yet fjnce it was the natural refult of their fhutting their eyes againft the light, it fitly is afcribed to them, as when the prophet Ho^ fta faith ( d ) of their Jilver and gold have they made them idols, that they might be cut ojj- ; and the prophet Micah, (e) The jlat- vtes of Oinri are kept, and all the works of the houfe of Ahab, and ye walk in their couvfds, that I piould make thee a defolaticn, Thefe words are thereiore fo far from ellablifi^ing, that they do evidently deftroy the dodrine they were produced to con- firm : In fine, let it be noted. That thefe were the very texts produced by the Heretics of old to deftroy human liberty, and to prove that there were fome natures that could not be faved, and others v/hich could not perifl) ; as you may fee in Origen's Philocal, C. 21. p. 60, ar>d ^rigi 0.^%. L. 3- C. 1. F. 14O. Section ly. — A third text u fed to this purpofe are the \yords of St. Peter ^ ffj To you that believe he is precious : but la them which be difobedient^ the Jlone which the builders rejufed is made, the head of the corner, and Jlone of Jl ambling, and a rock if t>§^evce, even to them who fiuviblc at the word, being difobedient, iL'hcreunto alfo they were appointed ; from which lad words they argue, that fome of the Jetus, even all that believed not in Cl»rift, this corner Hone, were appointed by God to be difo- bedient. (b J o^uilac (t/>3 o^uv. >^ ocyMovlxq {j-r, unaeiiit Orat, in Arijiog, §• l 23. -——fcj Atls lii.jg, e6. (^flfy' Chap, viii, ^. /^ey Chap. vi.j6. .. (fj I Pet. ii. 7, 8. Decree of Reprobation, 3 1 Anfwtr. The meaning of thefe words, faith Dr. //aw- mond is th'S, that they who difobey the gofpel, (landing out obflinately againfl: it, were apppointed by God to ftum- bb and fall at tl>at Hone ; that is, to be bruifed by it, and by that means to be deftroyed among the crucifiers of the Mfjfiah, and condemned with them hereafter; it being juft with God that they who will not retor.-n and amend at the preaching of the gofpel, and fo receive benefit by it, fiioulA by their obitinacy be condemned, and fo the worfe for it, Chrill being fet fg) for the fallings as well as the rifin^ of many in Ifrad ; and the gofpel being a (hj favor of death to them that perifli, and they being thofe whom fij God hath appointed for wrath J and to be fure it cannot fignify that God ablohitcly ordained the unbelieving yezos »*« aVe'iCfiaf, to difokdienc^, when as yet they were not, and therefore were not difobedient; for then their future dlfabedience was purely acompliance with the Divine ordinance, or will, and io could not dcfcrve the name of difobedience, becaufe it could not be both a compli- ance with, and difobedience to the will of God ; nor co-uld this dilobedience be objefted to them as their crime, unlefs compliance with the will ot God be fo, and it be a fault to be fucii as God by his ifnmutable council and decree hath ordain- ed we fliould be, or it Ihould render men criminal and obnox- ious to puniihment that they have not made void God's abfolutte decree, or have done what that made it neceflary lor them to do ; wherefore this paffage cannot iigniiy that the unbelieving "^ezos were appointed to difobedience, but only that being difobedient tosthe gofpel fo clearly revealed, and by fiJ-many miracles and dillribuiions ot the Holy Ghoft confirmed to ihcni, they were appointed, as the punifhment of that difobedience, to tall and perifli ; tor fo the Hebrew word Chafil, and the Greek r^w'j'.of/./xw and o-it^'oa^oy import, viz. the ruin and (he fail ot ihetn who flumble at this (lone. See the note on Rom. xiv. 13. Or, £ecret of Reprooation, ilones belongs this preface, Behold I lay in Slon ajlone ; to the corner ftoneeleft and precious here, and t® the /one of Jlum- biing, Rom. ix. 33, andfo this agrees with the words o{ Simeon^ Behold this child is placed for the fall and rifing of many in If- rael, Luke W. 34. In either of thefe fenfes the words afford no countenance to this do£lrine of Reprobation. Note, ^dly. That, as Oecumenius plainly fliews, this was the old Ecclefiaftical interpretation of thefe words ; fo doth he as ap- parently rejeft the fenfethis argument puts upon them, in thefe words, i»s o x«i Iti^ricuv, ax wj aTro t5 SeS e»; tSto utpu^iai^ivon; {i'pT«», t*tfEjM.i« yaf alriet u'jrii\uoi(; vru^a t5 TruvTUi avfigi'Tra; OiAo^To; (roO-zjea* ^|«€- Kui E(;:!y 7rccp»a-tiivuffa.t eccvr^i Ta|np sTi9»jca"'» — Vide rdiqua. Section V. — A fourth fcripture fpeaks of men fkj before ordained to this condeynnadon ; here therefore feems to be an appointment of men to damnation, oi old plainly afTerted, ot which God only can be deemed the author. Anfwer. The verfe in the Greek runs thus, Some ungodly men iurmng the grace oj God into laj'civiouj'nejs have entered into fthe church) Ok nra.'Kax 'iT£oyiyga,\x\f.ivis and Gentiles, Ver. 2x, 22, 23. they tcho are hardened, Rora. ix* 18. are thevejfels of wrath Jitted for dejlruclion by their own wickedncfs, completed by their infidel- ity or want of faith, which made Chiift preach to them ajione c,f Jiumhling, ver. 32,33. To proceed to thofe places which may feem to require a more particular notice. ijl. The phrafe o'i being written in the Book of Life is Jcwifh, and doth not fignify the Abfolute Eleftion ol any perion to e- ternal life, but only the prefent right ol the juft perfon to life, and thereiore it is called the Book of Life written for the juji, Targum on Ezek. xiii.9. tke-book ofthejuf, Targ. Jon. on Ex- od. xxxii. 32. in which fay the frj apojlotical injlitutions wc come to be written t? r-.j/.tii^a, ivto'in, xa» c-ttsJ?, by our good affediun. end indiijlry : and from which men, as they may be written in it when they are converted from vice to virtue, fo may they be blotted out when they backflide, fays ffj St. BafLfrem vir- tue to iniquity, according to that faying of the Pfalmilt, ft J Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not rvritten with the righteous ; i. c. fays Aivfworth, let them be cut offrorr. being, any longer counted thy people, 'or regifiered in the writing of the hovfe of Ifrael: And faith/^z'^ St. Jerom, they were written in the book of God, who in the days of Ar.tiochus Epiphanes, le- gem fortiflimc defen'derant, /»TO(y con/iMwf J 2« the law j and they v/tTfi blotted out ef~it,-qxx\ legis prrevaricatores cxtitcrant, who were deferters ofit\ according-ly Chrift threatencth to fome, that, He zaouldblot their navies out of the Book ofLife,Kcv. xxii. 19. and pfomiTeth-^o him th^at 'ovrrcometh that Fie would not blot his name out of' that book, Rev. iii;-5. And God himfelf faith to Mof£s, whofoever hathftnned -againji me, him zcill I blot out of ihe book -of iije which I have, written. This book is faid to be w'viitca from the foundation of ihe- world, God having, from the beginning, Jdam and others who are fliled the fons ef God ; /qJ.]ohn iU. 36. frJ L. 8. c. 1. ffJ In Ifa. ffJ Pfalra fux. 28 fu } In D^n, xii. 2. Decree of Reprobation* 35 and not to have a name written in it, is not to be owned a, xvhat do zee fay then, i. e. what is the fubflance of what I have intended in this whcle difcourfe? it is even this. That the Gentiles zi'hich (before the preaching ot the gofpelj followed not after righteoitjnejs, have yet f through faithj attained unto xrghteoufnejs ; but they^wsjollozving after the lazo ofrighteoiijnefs (or after rightcoufnefs by the lawj have not ob- tained unto rtghteoufnefs, becaiifc they fought it not b\ faith (in ChriltO 9.dly. This is apparent from the apo/lle'.s prayer and vehement dffire that all Ifrael might be Javed, Chap. x. 1. for upon fup- 3 6 Dfcree of Reprobation. pofuion of fiich a Decree of Reprobation concerning them, this miift not only have bpen a vain prayer, but even an op- pofinpf of his will, and Ev^oxix, io the good pltafure of God, re- ve^l]ed to him ; fince it is evident he prays here/<7r thtjalva- hon of all Ifrael, of them whofe zeal to God zvas not acrord^ I'jg to knowledge^ and who were ignorant of God's righteoiif- n^fs, ver. 2, 3'» and not for thofe only who were predellit;ati84 to falvatiunV *■ «^^^^ CHAPTER II. Containing Arguments againjl this AhfohUe Decree of Reprobation or Pretention of Fallen Man, I COME now to fliew that this doftrine is plainly contrary both to the nature and the will oi God. To the perfeclions of his nature, for, Section J. — \Jl. God doth immutably, unchangeably, and from the necefTary perfection of his own nature, require that we fhouid love, fear and obey him j were it not fo, the Ji^a-e thens who can only know this by the light of nature, or by confideration of the divine perfeftions, v/ould lie under no ob- JijTations to love, fear ©r ferve him ; whereas among the Hea- then fages, I'mo^oci and 'nix^is^i r^ SjJj, to obey God, diV\^jollow hif diredions, is reprefented as the perfeftion, aiid the chief end of man : Again, his moral apd imitablc perfcflions, vi^, }us holmefs, juftice, truth, goodneis, mercy, being eU'ential perfe6lions flowing from his nature, r^iufi; alfo be tlie rule of the exercife of his will and power ; and as God, whilft he is ■what he is, cannot but be the proper ohjefi of our love, fear and our obedience, even fo by the complacency he hath in thofe moral perfeciionsjhe cannot but be defirous that all men fhouid imitate them, and refemble him in them as much as they are able, and therefore hath required his people to be holy, becaufe the Lord tlieir God is holy Jo be merciful os their heavenly Father 7S }n,erciful, to he kind tq the unihankj'id and the wicked that they may he his children, to be righteous as he is rigkieous, and to put on the neio mxn which is created after God :n righteoufntfs and true holmefs. Hence the philofo- Decree of Reprolaiion. 37 phers have, by the light of nature, conipired in this truth, that man then walks moll fiutably to his nature and his dignity, when he walks after the example of God, that tl>e veiy end of all pliilofopky y.a.\ riXos rov av^pwiTH, and the ptrf^Hion of hu- man nature, confifls in being like to God.; and that we then hell glorify him when we refemble him in thefe perfeftions ; that it ought to be his chief care fft'^77v, to live the life oj God, cufj^JirjXiriv cestui to converfejiill with him ht^oicuQr.yxi to be like him, and hijL,oyycjp.ovviaa.i to ve oJ the fame mind, will and ajftc- tions to him, and, lalUy, to be (fco(popH/w,Hvoj poffejfid and aEled by him.. He therefore cannot have decreed, that is, have will- ed, that the greatefl: part of men Ihould be for ever lett under an incapacity ol loving, fearing and obeying him ; and feeing He mull earneftly defire that all men Ihould he holy, right- eous, kind and merciful, He cannot have ordained they Ihould be otherwife for want of any thing on his part requifitc to make them fo; much lefs can he command them under the penalty of his fevere difpleafure fo to be, arid yet leave them under an incapacity of being fo. And does he think worthily of God, who knowing that all the lapfed fons ol Adam were equally the objefls of his pity and comraiferation, equally ca- pable of his mercy, and equally his offspring, and lo no more unworthy of it than the reft, believes that his decrees of gov- erning and difpoling of them are wholly founded on fuch an abfolute will as no rational or wife man atls by ; fo that he determines of the everlafting fate of the fouls he daily doth create after the tall of Adam, without refpeft to any good or evil done by them, and fo without refpe£l to any reafon why he puts this difference, or any condition on their parts ; and yet attcrwards in all his revelations made in order to the reg- ulating of their lives, fufpends that everlafting flate upon con- ditions ; or that he hath placed the far greateft part of them under an Abfolute Decree of Reprobation, which leaves them nncapable of falvation,and then not only bids ihemjavethem- Jdv'-s, invjtes, encourages, and fends mefTengers to entreat them to be reconciled, knovving he doth all this in vain, when lie does no more, and then eternally torments them for neg. {eciing ijjat falvatlon, though he knows they never can do oth- erwife without that grace which he hath abfolutely purpofed for eve;- to deny to, or withhold from them? Surely bethinks more worthily of the God of love and mercy, who looks upon him os'an unlverfal lover of the fouls of men, who therefore would have all men to be faved, and gives them all things ne- ccjfciry unto life and godlinejs, draws them to him with the cords oJ a 7nan, the cords of love, and by the moft alluring proinifes, and by the ftrivings of hisvhinJy fp'irit ; fwears to them that he icould not they Jheuld peYiJli; \varns them of. 38 Decree of Reprobation. and conjures them to avoid the things which tend to their c- . ternal ruin ; dircfts theni to the means by which they may mo/l certainly efcape it ; rejoiceth more at the converCon of one (inner, than at the righteoufnefs of ninetynine perfons who need no repentance ; and when all the methods of his grace are loft upon them, breaks forth into compafTionate and melting wifhes.that ihey h^iA kncxvn the things ictuch do belong to their eternal peace. Again, confider whether he conceives more truly and honorably of God, who tliinks he choofes his favorites without reafon and rewards them without any qual- ifications, but thofe he irrefiftibly works in them ; or he who looks upon hiiTi as one who dealeth with all men not accord- ing to his hut their own works, as they are willing and obedi- ent, as they render theinfelves fit objects of his love, and re- wards them as they ufe duly, or receive his grace in vain, as they improve the talents he hath given them, or hide them in a ■napkin? Whether, lalHy, he reprefents God honorably, who believes that God by his revealed will hath declared he zcoiild have all men to be faved, and yet by an antecedent fe- cret will, would have the greateflpart of them to perifh ; that he hath Impofed a law upon them which he requires them to obey on penalty ot his eternal difpleafure, though he knows they cannot do it without his irrefiftible grace, and yet is ab- folutely refolved to withhold this grace from them, and then to punifh them eternally for what they could npt do without it'; and after all inquiries, Why wUl you die? koiu long zvill it he ere this people obey me ? when xvilt thou be made clean ^ u-hat could J have done more for their zceljare xvhich I have not done ? Or he who believes it more agreeable to the truth, and the finccrlty of the divine nature, to deal plainly with hi& creatures, and mean what he fays ; and therefore not to feem very defirous they fliould do, or avoid, what he knows they never could do or avoid, and he will not enable them to do or avoid, and then complains that they have not done it, and in- quires M'hat was wanting on his part to enable them to do it ? Section' II — ^dty. This will be further evident from ihofe ytr?y;/y 77f.f which declare God is longfuffcring ions ward, not being zvitling that any Jliould perijh, but that oil .JJwuld come to repentance ; and that he lent his prophets to prevent their ruin, hecanfe he had compajpon on them : That he commands his prophrts on peril of contraBing the guilt of their blood, 10 warn his people, that without repentance and reformation they mini die, and to let them know, that as hire as he lives he nould not the death oj hi%i that dies, but rather 7vould have him turn and live \ and that therefore they could have no reaibn to fay his ways were not equal, or that they fufFcrcd for their fathers fins. For, Pccree of RfprobatioH* 39 tjl. Doth it become the wifdom of God to ule, or to ap~ Jjoint thofe means for t!ie attecling v/hat he wouhl have done, which he knows to be no nipans, becaufe no ways fufficient to produce the affigncd end -and to withhold, yea. to decree to withhold that which ahme could make them i"o ? And yet if he ufed only his lon^Juffcring to lead men to repentance^ Tent only prophets and 7nejfe7]frers to warn them to turn Iroia the evil of their ways ; and this longjujfering, and ihefe zcarn- ings mufl be incfFfrfttial to ihefe ends, where that 2t/ijrujl ruble grace which he did not vouch fafe is wanting ; he uled only means which he knew never could produce thele ends, and withheld that which could alone produce them* 2dly. Doth it become the fincerity and wifdom oi God to declare he did thefe things out of compajjion to his people, till they fo far defpifed his mcircngers,and rcje6ted their warnings and admonitions, that there was no further remedy tor them, 710 healing of them, faith the Hebrew, when he himlell beheld them in their Eutopian majfa pcrdita, without the leafl. com- panion, never defigning them any remedy ; or, which is in c- vent the fame, not any that could be eftedual, but even then decreeing to withhold from them that grace, without which there could hz no healing by zxij rnejfenger ox prophet fcnt unto them ? Does it become either his wifdom or fincerity to quarrel with his people for faying the Jathers had eaten four grapes and the chilurens teeth were Jet on edge ; or that they died for the fins oj their Jorejuthers,.oi. tor inquiring thus, f our tranfgrejjions and our fins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, can we then live? when his decree had made it the fad doom, not of them only, but even of the greateit part ok mankind, to die eternally lor the fin 61 their forefather .i/^^ffi, and the apple he had eaten fo long ago, fet all his childrens teeth on edge, and made fo many precious fouls lo pine azvay in that iniquiiy, fo that they could apt live ? Or could he hope to manitelt the equity oj his ways by faying, all fouls are mine, if he was not only' like the bfirich to the greateit part oi them, (a) hardening Mmjelfagainfl his (fw a. off spring, •nade alter his own image, as if they ivere not his., but even making the mod of them, after the fall of -'id^^?«, under that previous aft of Preteriiion, u'hich rendered their damnation unavoidable? Is he fo concerned to jufiity the Equity of his- proceedings by declaring that the Jonfhall not, die a temporal death for the iniquity of his father, but the Joul that perlonal- \)' finneth hefialldie; when this more obvious exception lay againft the equity of his proceedings with the fons of men, that molt ot the fons of Adan. lay under death eternal by hie peremptory decree for the fin of their forffither, committed {a J Job xxxix, i5. ' 40 Decree of Reprohation, long before they had a being, and fo before they were in a ca- pacity of any perfonal offence ? Does it become hi« fincerity to feem fo earneil in his calls to them to repent, and turn themfelves from their tranfgrefllons, and to inquire with fo much feeming concern/^^ /'^/^)' wUl yoiidie? and to ftrength- en his invitation with an oath and foiemn declaration, (cj I have no pica Jure in the death of hiw that diefh, therefore turn yaurfelves and live ye ; and an m<\nn'y. Halo Kaphatiti B^- fliab, am I not inuch delighted in that that the Jinner turnetk from his evil ways, and liveth^ when he himfelf haih pad that a6l of Preterition on them, which renders it impoffible Tor them to repent, or turn from the'evil of their ways, and there- fore impoffible that they fhould liVe? J'^''"' To fay that God is ferious, fjhcer«, and in good earneft in tl>efe declarations and inquiries,- although (d) revera decrevit Gratiam necejfariarn ad ilia prajlanda exsnon indulgere, and eos ad pernicient prafcripfit. He hath decreed not to vouchfafe them grace necejfary to pcrjorm theje things, and hath ap- pointed them for dejlruflion, or\\y becaufe the thing corn- Branded, though it be inipofhble to be done by them, would be gratekil to him it it were done, and therefore may be faid to be willed by him, voluntate fimplicis complacentnf, by a will of complacency ; is moil apparently to put a force upon the text, to delude men with vain words, and to make the great and good God fpeak fo to his people in the concerns ot their faivatjon, as a vvife, hotieft and fmcere man would be afliamed to fpeak to his neighbor.* And ifi. It puts a raanifeft foi;ce Upon the text; for in what propriety of fpeech can he be' laid to be raore defirous that lapled finners fi7ould' return frdrti the evil of their ways and live, than that they ihould continue in their hns and die, who feeing them under an abfolute necelTity ot dying without grace neeetfary to avoid it, leaves them under that fad necef- fity ? And who feeing them under an equal incapacity at living without' the fame grace, .decrees that they Ihail never have it, and therefore in effe^. faith, they fhall die and not live !* Surely when that which they fay would be grateiul to God, is by him left under a known impoflibllity ot being done, he can not properly be faid to will it at all, becaute voluntas non e/l nnpojjibilium, a true will only refpeds things pofjible ; much lefs can he be faid to will it, rather than that death, which by his own decree, i. e. his will and rule oi ail- ing, he hath made impothble to be avoided. Again ; Doth he not delude men with vain words, who teacheth that a God of truth and fincerity, and of great goodnefs, (b) Ezek. xviii. 33, 31,32. (cj Vcr. 23. [dj Mavef. contr. Socin, To. i. p. 669. Decree of Reprobation, 41 doth with much feeming ardency and compafTion, inquire of perfons abfolutely doomed to death by his own prcfcription, Why mil you die? and faith unto ihem with fuch f)niptoms of a pafTionate concern, turn ye, turn ye from your evU xuays^ ■why will you die? repent, and be converted from all your tranfgrejjions, fo iniquity fliall not be your ruin ; when he himfelf had from eternity appointed them to ruin; arid pur- pofed to ^v'ithhoUl from them that grace without which, it was impbfTible they fhould repent or be converted ? and that he calls upon them to cajl away from them all their tranfgref~ fons whereby they have tranfgrefjed, and make thempdves a nerjo heart, and a nezv fpirit,jor I have no pie a fur e in their death ; when he himfelf only propounds the way of life unto tlreni upon impofTible conditions ? Did ever any honeft man fincerely thus attempt to tngz^o. another to that which he beforehand knew was impoffible for him to do, without that help he had determined to deny him ? or inquire why he would do what he well knew he never could avoid ? Did ever any wife ph) fician, oculiff or chirur- geon, fay to the blind, the deaf and lame, I am not v,'illing yoii fhould ftill continue under thefe diltempers, put away there- fore your blindncfs, deafnefs and lamenefs, and it fhallbe well with you J when they well knew it was impofTible for them to do it without their art, and that they were refolved it ftould afford them, no afTiTiance in fo doing ? If then the cafe he per- feftly the fame, in reference to all to whom God hath decreed not to afford fufliclent grace to enable them to repent, and turn to him, or to obtain a neio heart ^n^fpiril^ and more ef- pecially to them, quos ad pcrdilionem prajcrip/il, whom, he hath ordained to die eternally ; who can imagine a God of wafdom and fincerltv, not to fay goodnefs, fliould fo deal with the generality of lapfed men, as no good, wife, honeft or rrue hearted man, could have the face to deal with one like him- felf ? Infini-te are the demanflrations which might he produced againft this tremendous decree, but I fhall wave them all at prefent, intending in the feftlon containing arguments againll an Abfolute Elc6'tion, to confute both thpfe decrees togetl^er, 4 a Decree of EkHian, CHAPTER III. Concerning Predeftination, or the Ahfolute EleBion of feme particular Perfons to Eternal Life, ^ IJ" C T T O \I T I ■ X HIS with refpeft to the end, is an Abfolutc Decree and purpofe of bringing a certain number of perfons to eternal life, without refpeft to their forefeen faith or perfe- verance. zdly. As it refpefls the means, it is an eternal Decree and purpofe of giving to thefe men, and thefe alone, that efFeftual grace which fliall infallibly, and infruftrably, produce in them faith, fanftification and perfeverance to the end. And here note. That this Eledion or Predejlination confid- ereth all men in the fame condition, alike miierable and dam- nable, alike impotent, and wanting effeftual grace, and alike meet to be the objefts of his eternal love, and partakers of tf- fc£lual grace ; fo that as in two apples of equal goodnefs, no reafon can be given why I fhould choofe one, rather than the other, fo neither can any reafon be afligned why all or any of thefe perfons are thus elefted to falvation, rather than all, or any that are not elefted. In oppofition to this dotlrine I alTert, \Jl. That the eleftion, mentioned in the kolyfcriptures, is not that of particular perfons, but only of churches and iia- tions. 2.dly. That this ele6^ ion doth import rather their being cho- len to the enjoyment of the means of grace, than to a certainty of being faved by thofe means ; that it is only thatwhich puts them in a capacity of having all the privileges and blefTings which God hath promifed to his church and people, rather than under any ahfolute affurance of their falvation, or of any fuch grace as fhall infallibly, and without any pofTibility of fruftra- tion, procure their falvation. ^d/y. That the ele£lion to falvation mentioned in the holy feripiures is only through faith joined with holinefs, according to thofe words of St. Paul, (a) God hath eleHedyou (Theffa- lonians) to Jalvation, h uynxa^^u, by the Jan^-ifi cation of the fpirit, and the belief of the truth. That it is only a condi- tional eleflion upon our perfeverance in a life oi holinefs, and faj iTheflT. ii. 13. Decree of EleUion. 43 Is to be made Aire unto us by good works, according to that exhortation of St. Peter, (b) give diligence to make your call- ing and tleElion Jure, Sja t<2v y-ccXSiM gjjywv, by good works, as both the fathers, the Syriac, the vulgar, the ^Etkiopic, and many ancient copies read, and as the text requires, the words immediately following being thefe (cj for if you do theje. things you fliall never fall ; plainly declaring, that both the makmg of their calling and eleflion fure, depended on their doing of thofe works of virtue, godlinejs, temperance, patience, brotherly kindnefs and charity, mentioned ver. 5, 6, 7. of that chapter. Now that, the whole fociety, or all the members of the church of God and Chrift, are in the fenfe o{ fcnpture, the chofen and ele6l of God ; or that the ele£iion mentioned in the holy fcriptures is not an Abfolute Ele6lion of particular perfons to falvation, but rather of whole nations and focieties to be his church, and his peculiar people, will be made fully evident from an impartial view of all thofe places of the Old and the New Teftament, where this phrafe frequently occurs. And, Sfxtion II. — tfl. In the Old Teflament it is moft evident that not the righteous and obedient perfons only are flyled the eleft, but the whole nation of the Jeius, good and bad, were the eleft of God ; for in the books of Mofes this phrafe is ftill applied to the whole nation of \}n^Jews, as in thefe words, (d) becaufe he loved thy fathers, therefore I'ic'Ki^a.ro to a-A.sfy.cc. oivTwM, He chofe their fed after them, and brought them out of Egypt by his mighty power; where it is evident that the whoh feed ot Abraham, Jfaac and Jacob, even all that came out of Egypt, are the eled. Again, (e) Jehovah thy God hath chofen thee to be a peculiar people to himfelf above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not fet his love upon you, and chuj'e you, becaufe you were more in number than any people : But becaufe the Lord loved you, and becaufe he would keep the oath zvhich he had Jworn to your fathers, hath he brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out tf the houje of bondmen, from the hand ^Pharaoh king of \L- gypt ; where alfo evident it is, if. That their being chofen before other nations, to be God's peculiar people, is their cle6lion. zdly. That all who were brought out of Egypt, were thus beloved and elected. 3^/y. That to his beloved and elefled people, God only promifeih to keep covenant and merty, provided they would (b) 2 Pet. i. 10. fcj Ver. ii. fd) Deut. iv. 37. (e) jz ?rfo?^^alo x) TTfoiXi^ulo, Deut. vii. 6, 7, 8. 44 Decree of EleBion. love him, and obey his precepts ; ^nd that he thfeatencth ttt dellroy them, and to repay them to their face, it' they negleft- ed fo to do. In the tenth chapter, he fpeaks thus, (fj The Lprd had a delight in thy fathers to love than, kxI iz^oAzjxro, and he elctled you their feed after them above all people ; cir- cuvicf therefore the forejlin of your hearts, and be no more fliff necked. Where again evident it is, that the whole feed of Abraham by Ifaac, even the fliff necked of them, were the e- le6]; of God. Chap. xiv. he faith to all to whom the followrJ^' ing precepts did belong, and tlierefore doubtlefs to all Ifrael, (g) thou clrt an holy people to the Lord thy God, xxl al IgsXs^- aro Q 'A.-JPQIS, and the Lord hath chofen thee out to be a peculiar people to hivifelf above all nations'. And with this notion of the v.'ords accords the conftant ufe of the fame phrafe in all the prophets and facrcd writings of the Old Teflament. Thus Solomon faith, fhj Thy fervant is in the miclfl. of thy people', ov i^eXs'^ii;, zuhich thou hajl elctled, a great people that cannot be numbered, nor couhted for multi. tude. In the book of 'Pfulms the Jezos in general are ftyled fij the feed of If rael his fervant, the children of Jacob, skXeh- Tol dvTH, his elefl ; there it is faid, tov 'lajta'C ixvr"o s^eyJ^xrOf (k) the Lord hath chofen Jacob for himjelf and ifraelfor his own inheritance ; that the flJ Lord brought forth his people with joy, y.xl rov? iyckz-nrovs dvrov, and his eled With gladnefs ; there be defires of God to fee the good, t»v l>iK£xra'v,'of his e~ IcEl, and to rejoice in the gladnefs of his nation, and with his inheritance : So that throughout the book of Pfahns God's people, his fervants, his nation, his inl>eritance, and his eleU, are the fame perfons. In the evangelical prophet we find God fpea]iing o{ Jacob, ov iii\-Jtai.[x.'r,^, (m) whom, faith he, / have chofen, and Ifrael zuhom I have loved ; and to whom he fpeaks thus, fnj thou art my child whom I have chofen: There G'od declares he will make waters in the wildernefs, and rivers in the defart, ito-viaoci royivos ^.ov to sjcXektov, foj to give drink to my chojen genera^ tion, my people zvhom I have chofen to fet forth my fraife ; there we read o^ fpj Jacob my fervant, and Ifrael mine eleB^ and of a mountain zohich his elcBfiall iniicrit, and in which ■his fervants fia.ll dwell. In the prophet Jeremy we find God is difpleafed with therri who faid, (cj) the two families im Ti?s whom the Lord hath chojen he hath even cajl them off. The prophet £2ciz<:/ fpeaks of the day frj when the Lord chofe Ifrael, and lifted up Ins CfJ Ver 15, 16. fg) Ver. 2. (h) i Kings iii. 8. (i) VL cv. 6, 43. jfk) Pf. cxxxv. 4. (IJ Pf. cvi. 5.- (mj Ifa. xli. 8, 9. fnJ xliii. 20. 21. fe) xlv. 4, (pj Ixv. 9. (qj Jer. xxxiii. 24. frJ £2ek. xx. 5. Decree of EleHion. 45 hand to the feed of the houfe of Jacob, or engaged himfelf by covenant to be their God. The prophet Zechanah ftyles God, ffj the Lord zvho hath choftn JerufaUm, and fpeaketh of a time when he fhlill yet comfort Zion, andJJtall yet choofe Jerufalem ; and Darnel of a time when, o* exXektoi avTw, (tj his ekclfhall not bt able to /land before their enemies. And to carry on this phrafe through the times of the Old Tefiament, in the book of Eflher we are told of a time in which TO yivoi exXcxrov, (uj the chofen generat'ton fhould have perifhed, i. e. in which the wicked Haman defigned to cut off the Jews. And in the book of Ecclejiafiicus we are informed i\\'dX fx) Jojhua zvas made great, s'nl aurvipix rZv h.Ksx.rwv av-' roD.forfaving the eled of God, that he might fet Ifrael in their inheritance. Thus have I traced this phrafe through the Old Tefiament, and lliewed that it belongs not to particular perfons but to the whole Jcwifh nation ; to the bad, as well as to the good a- hiong them ; to them to whom he threateneth the worll ot e- vils, as Well as them to whom he promifes the greateft blef- fings. Section III. — When in the Ntzo Tefament it is applied to chrif'ians, it plainly doth include as many as were convert- ed to the chriflian faith. For, 1. When it is applied to the Jewifli converts it plainly fig- nifies all that had been converted to the chriflian faith; thus when St. Peter writes to thofe of the difperfion (who.had ob- taihed like precious faith with them) living in Pontus,Galatia,^ Cappadocia, Afa (minor) and Bithynia : He faith to thera all, (yj ye arc yivos sxXsurov, an elecl generation, a royal priefi- hood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye might JJiew f(frth theprnifs of him that hath called you from dar/inefs i-nto k'l's marvellous bght ; all which are the very titles given to the whole Jew fit nation in the Old Tefiament. Now fincc St. Peter could not affirm of all thefe chrif'ians, without a revelation, that they \vere ekB, according to that fenfe of the woi-d, which makes it to import, men abfolutely defigned for eternal happinefs, lie only muft affirm this of them all, becaufe they all protelfed chrifLanity,^nCi. fo were vifible members of the church oi Chrif; as will be farther evident if we confidcr thefe particulars. (1. That lie exhorteth thefe eleEl (z) not to fafiion thrm- felves according to the lufls of their former ignorance ; (a) to lay afide all wickednefs, deceit, envy, hypocnjy, and evil Ipeahing ; as flrangers and pilgrims to ahftain from fefhly (fj Chap. iii. 2. (t) Dan. xi. 15. (u) Efth. xvi. 21. (x ) Chup. xlvi. I. (y) i I'd. ii. 9. (r.) i Pet. 1. 14. (a) Chitp. n. I, u. 4 5 Htcrtt of Election. lufis which war againjl the foul / (b) not to fpend the refi of their time according to the lujis of men ; (c) to be careful thai none of them didfuffer as a murderer or thief \ which are of- fences not incident to men elefted to falvation, whilll they continue fo to be. ^dly. That the apoflle affirmeth the fame thing of the whole church of Babylon, faying fdj the church which is at Babylon^ ovvixXEKTYi, eleded together with you^ faluteth you. Now that all the members of that great church at Babylon, be it eaflern or weftcrn, were chofen out of the world to the profeflion of chnfliamfy, and in that fenfe elefted, he who was with them could n6t be ignorant, but that they all were abfolutely ele6l- ed to falvation, was more than he could know. g(//y. That whereas this epijlle is infcribed to the eleEl \ the fecond epijlle, fent to the fame perfons, beginneth thus, (ej to them who have obtained like precious faith with us ; and it not only fpeaks of fome who had for/ahn the right way, and had gone afl ray, turning with the dog to the vomit ■, but alfo prophcfies that thofe falfe teachers who brought in damnable doSlrines, even denying the Lord that bought them,fhould make merchandize of f one of them. Lajlly. Thefe words are plainly taken from Ifaiah xliii. 20, 21, where we read thus, 1 gave waters in the wildernefs to water tcj yivas /AOy to IxXsxtov, my chofen generation, my pecuU iar people, purchafed to fhew forth, rxs dpsxeis, my praife, which are the very words mentioned 1 Peter ii. g. Now though it be unqueftionable that the whole jfewifit nation are ftyled God's chofen generation, and \ns peculiar people, it is as fure they were not all elefted to falvation ; we then may rea- fonably conclude, that the fame words applied by St. Peter to all thefe feveral chrifiian churches, do not imply that all their particular members were elefted to falvation, but only that they were all members of the church of Chrifl. And thus we read of the eleft lady in St. John Ep. ii. ver. 1. and the eled fijlery ver. 13. that is, the chrifiian lady^ zndi fifler ; and when St. James hkh e^sXi^xro 6 Seor, God hath chofen the poor of the world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom ; his meaning is, that they were called out of the world to the profeffion of the faith, which, if they lived ac- cording to it, would make them heirs of his heavenly king- dom ; for the apo files in thefe epiflles writing to thofe nations which had been flill accuftomed to this notion of the word, and were all ftyled the elctl, mud be fuppofed, when they wrote to them, to ufe the words of the Old Teflament in the fenfe in which they always underftood them. /^3yChap.iv. 2,3.-—— /'ry Ver. 15. (d)Q\\\^, v. 13. /"^^Cliap. Decree of EleBion, 47 And in like manner when Chriji faith, (f) many are called hut few chofen : thefe parables plainly relate to the Jezos, as TheopliylaSi well notes, and the import oi thofe words is this, that though many of them were called by Chrift and his apof- ties to faith in him, both in Judea and in the difperfions, yet few of them did or would accept of him as their Savior, or embrace the faith of Chrift, as hath been fully proved, note on Mat. XX. 16. xxii. 14. fo that here the eleil, and the believ- ers of the ckrijlian faith are the fame perfons. When he faiih Mat. xxiv. 22, \\vaxJor the eled fake thofe daysfliall befliortened : He flyles roiis a'iVwf towj- sv (juiaois a'jroXsXt)[j,iMiv»s avrois, the faith" ful left in the viidjl of the unbelieving }g\^$, the eleB {^nhChryf- oflom : for the eted fake thefe days JJiall be fhortened, that is, faith jferom, ne temporum mora fides concutiatur credentium, lefiby the length of thefe tribulations the faith of believers fhould be fhaken. See the note on the fame words, Mark xiii. 20. When he adds, ver. 24. that the falfe Chrifs and falfe proph^ etsfliould do as much as in them lay by figns and wonders to deceive the eletl ; there alfo are we to underftand the perfever- ing chriflians. See the note there. And when he faith, ver. 31. that then God fiould fend his angels to gather his ele&. from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other ; the meaning may be either that he would fend his angels, as Eufe- . bins and Epiphaniits fay he did, to warn the chriflians in all quarters of Judea to gather themfelves together, departing from the unbelieving Jews, that they might be preferved from their ruin ; or that he would fend his meffengers with the found of the gofpel to gather together as many as did or would believe the gofpel from among the nations of the earth. The eleEl, Luke xviii. 7. are alfo the whole body of tru2 be- lievers ; for otherwife, God's readinefs to hear the prayers of his elcEi, could be no argument to chrifians in the general to pray always and not faint, ver, 1 . moreover, that inquiry, when the fon of man cometh fliall he find faith on the earth, ver. 8. fhews that even the faith of many of thefe eled would fail. The eledion according to grace mentioned Rom. xi. g. doth in like manner fignify the whole body of the Jewifi converts, even all that did embrace the chriflian faith, and were not hardened in, or blinded by their prejudices and infidelity ; as is apparent from the following words, ver. 7. y^ Vi k/Oj^yri litirv/jiv the eledion hath obtained but the refi were blinded / and as it is not eafy to conceive how the npojlle fhould know how all the Jewifh converts fhould be abfolutcly eleftcd to falvation, fo is it evident from the epfllcs that he and others of the apofles knew the contrary ; for they contain plain inti- (J) Matth. XX, 16. xxii. 14, ^8 DecYu of EkBion. hiations and frequent declarations that a great number of tbefe Jewifii converts turned afterwards apofiates and renounced the chriltian faith : That St. P«w/ was afraid that lome of thefe tied ' would afterwards draw back unto perdition, and never doubt- ed but they might do fo, is evident from all thofe exhortations he direfteth to them in his epiftle to the Hebrews, not to do Jo, and from the direful judgments he threateneth to as many of them as fhould apojlatize ; for thus he fpeaks, fg) fee to it brethren, lejl there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief tn departing from the living God ; but exhort one another day by day that none of you be hardened through the deceit fulnej s of Jin ; for we are made partakers oj Chriji, only on this condi- tion that we hold the beginning of our confidence feadfafl to the end. Again, (h) Jeeing there remains a reft for the people of God, let us labor to enter into that refl, lefi any man Jail af- ter the fame exaw.ple of unbelief ; for (i) it is impojjible to re- new the?)i to repentance who have been once enlightened, ana have tafted of the fpiritual gift, and have been partakers oJ the holy ghof, and have tajled the good word of God, and thi powers of the world to come, and yet fall away ; (k) look therefore diligently, lefl any man fall from the grace oJ God, leji there be any root of bitternefs fpringing up among you whereby many be defiled \ (I) cafi not therefore away your confidence zohich hath great recompence of reward ; forthejitjt JJitill live by faith, but if any man draw back, my Joul, faith Ged,fiall have no pleafure in him. Moreover that many of them would do fo, our Savior prophefied, faying, ^;«^ becaufe iniquity fkall abound, the love oJ many will wax cold; even that love which was once fervent, and in which, enduring to the end, they would befaved; and that many of them did thus apoflatize, or fall away to perdition, hath been fully proved, note on 2 Theff. ii. 3. From all which things it is extreme<- iy evident that the apofile neither did nor could fpeak of this remnant according to the eledion of grace, as perfons abfolute^ ly elected to falvation. The purpofe of God according to eUBicn, mentioned Rom. i.x. 11. refpefteth not the perfons of Jacob and Efau, but their whole nation and pofterity, according to the note of Irezneus, (n) partum Rebecca prophetiam Juiffe duorum populorum. This is plain, iji. From the vv^ords of God to Rebecca, tzoo nations art in thy womb, and two manner of people fiall be fparated from thy loins, and the one people fnalt be fronger than the other ^ and the elder fiiall ferve the younger. (g) Heb. ill. 13, 13, '14. fh) Wch. iv. 9. 11. — -^zV Heb. vi. 4, 5. <5. (kj Heb. xii. 15. (I) Heb. x. 35,38. (m) Mark xxiv. 1^,13. —'—(n) L- 4. c. xxxviii. Decree of Ekclion, 45? iidly. From this obfervatlon, that as to the persons of Efau snd Jacob this was never true, that tks elder did Jhrve the youniJcr, but only as lo their pofterity ; when the Edomites became tributar.es to Ddrnd. 9. Sam. viii. 14. And, 3ry/y. Becaufc what is hcie ofFored as a proof or confirma- tion of this, is cited from the prophet Mafachi, who prophe- fied long after Jacob and Ejau were dead perfonally, and fpeaks exprefslv ot the nation of the Edomites. Now hence ic clearly follows that the apofde cannot here difcourfe of any pcrfonal eleftion of them to eternal life, or ynv abfolute love or hatred of thorn with refpeS to their eter- Jidl interelts ; for if fo, feeing he nianifcilly fpeaks ot the whole nation of Ifrael, they nnift, according to this opinion, be all eJeHed to eternal life ; whereas the apoflle informs us, that God was net v:tll pleajed with many oj them, and thfr; whule jfezvifk hiilory fhrws the contrary. Again, then mu't the whole poilerity of EJau be the objefls of God's hatr<:d «nd his reprobation ; which is fo far from being true-, that ho- iv Job and all his friends appear to have been of the pollen- ty o\ Efau. It is therefore certain, that the opo/ile here only Ipeaks of ihe elci^lion of one feed and nation before anothrr, to be accounted and treated by him as the feed of Abraham, or owned for his peculiar people. ^ And whereas xXit apofile alio f peaks of vpjjels of vitrcv, pre- pared J or glory ; as they were thns prepared by their taith, fo were they vefleis of mercy, even both Jews and Gentiles by" being called, ver. 24. and by their being made his people, his beloved, iter. 25. When then the fame apofile faith, who Jliall lay any thing to the charge oJ God's ckci \ here again the elefl and true br- lievers are the fame ; and God having juftified thern Ihrong'i faith in him that died tor thein, who can charge' them with guilt in order to their condemnation ? And fuitable to this notion of the word clefiion, "where 5t refpecis. the Jewijli nation, or the Jewifi converts, is the iu'i- port of it in thole cpi/iles ; wheie whole nations, communi- ties or churches are ft vied the ele^f. Thus, V. g. aJl the faithful brethren in Colore, are fiyled the cleft of God foj and yet to thefe eleft he promt feth ihi blelTings ot chriJitanUy, onfy if they coniinued fp) rooted and grounded in thejatlh^ and lotre not moved away from, the hope ef the go/pel ; j^^y and he exprelfeth both his care and fear, left they Ihould be deceived and robbed of their reward, and calls upon them to frj mortify their flcfhly lulls, as being things which would pull down the wrath of God upon them. fo) Chap. iii. »a. — '-(^) Col. i. 23. (q) Cbiip. ii. 4, 8, iZ.—~frJ Chap. iii. 5, 7, S. G 50 Vecree of Ek^ion. The fame apo/lle faitli to the whole church of Thejfalonica, . {\.y led the c/iurc/i in G&d the Jathe.r, and z« our Lord Jcfui Chrxjl (f) I knozu your eMlion of God. Now he knew well that God defigned them to be his church and people, and therefore gives this reafon of his knowledge, Jor our go/pet came not to you iri word only, but in power ; but it is not eafy to imagine how he fliould know that all the members of that church fhould be abfolutely eleQed to falvation without a fpe- cial revelation ; and that he did not know this he fufficiently declare* by ex prefhng afterwards his itztsftj lejl Satan Jhould have, tempted them, and his labor Jliould have been 7n vain. la his fecond epijlle (u) he faith, we ought to give thanks for you, that God hath eled.ed you from the beginning to falvation^ by Jandification ofthefpirit, and belief of the truth; and yet he there calls upon them (v) to depart from every brother who walked diforderly, and not according to the tradition he had received ; and Ho'^t to fwj mix thefnfelveslw'nh them who would not obey the words of the apofile. In his fecond epiftle to Timothy he faith, ^x) he fuffers all things for the elect' s fake : but then if you compare this with the parallel place of the fame apofile, in his epiftle to the Co. lofians, fyj you will find the elccl to be no other than the whole church of Chrifl ; of which he was a 7ni?iijler. In his epiftle to Titus he ftyles himfelf fzj an apofile ac- ' cording to the faith of God's eleH : But having proved that all chriflians are ftyled the eleft, we may well interpret this of the faith of chriftains in the general, he being an apojile in reference to them all, even to them to whom his gofpel was a (a) favor of death, as well as to them to whom it was di favor of life. Laflly. Whereas the ftrength of their do61rine feems to be placed in thofe words of the apo/lle, fbj he hath bleffedus with all fpiritual bleffings in Chrfl Jefus, according as he hath £hofen us in him from the foundation of the zuorld; thefe words are plainly fpoken of and to all the faints in Ephefus, and to the faithful in Chrifl Jcfus, who were all chofen out of the world to be God's church and people ; but doubtlefs were not ajl infallibly predeftinated to falvation ; but only to the adoption of children, ver. 5. which is the immediate fruit of faith, we being all the children of God through faith in Chrifl Jefus. This is exceeding evident, ifl. From this very epiftle, in which- he exhorts them ^c^ that they henceforth walk not as other Gentiles in the vanity of ffj ' Th^dly. This calling is bv God dtTigned ettI T^-Tft', that they who are tku.^ called, might ohtain jalvation through farMiJica- twn of the fpirit,and beluj of the truih,z'The^. i:. 13. through Jarid-ification cj thej'pint to obedience, and thrugh thcfprittk- hn,g of the blood of Jef'us ; all chrftiuns being chofen to this end, that they might be hoty and unhlameable before God i7i /i?:'c^, Eph. i. 4. But hence it cannot reafonably be argued, that tliis ele6lion is no larger than the holinefs defigned to be produced by it ; for the riches of God's goodnrfs, patience and {ongfuffermg was certainly defigned to lead ail thoie to whom it was vouch fafed to repentance ; but can it be Ik nee argued, that this gondnefs, patience and longfuffcring is exerciled to none but thofe who truly dr>- repent ? Why then doth the cpojlle con^plain ot thofe who delpifed thefe means, and after ihe vouchfafement of them llill conilnue (^/^^ /o treafure up wrath againfl the day of wrath f The milhon of the Baptfi was (i) to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, znA to ■make ready-a people prepared for the Lord i but it was far from having this effefet on all to whom he preached. The end of the Meffiah' s coT!\\\\^ to the Jezvs was that he might fave his people from their fins, and might engage them fjj to ferve him zn holinefs and righteoufnefs all the days of their life ; but it ■was far from having that etfe6t upon them. T ho. faving grace cf God appeared to alt men to teach tJiem, denying all ungodli- iiefs and worldly lufls, to live righteoifly, Jbberly and godly in this prefcnt world ; but it is too fadly evident it hath not this good etfe£t on aU to whom it doth appear. ^thly. As men were appointed to be called from the begin- Hmg, and the gofpel is the wifdom of God through faith to jal- xiation, and Was that, ^'v ■Tii.oojpiniv, winch God had foreappoint- ed to be preached to them for that end, 1 Cor. ii. 7. the worct,- of God givuig the hope of that falvation rohich he had proinf- ed before all ages. ; fo by virtue ot this purpole and toreap, poiutnient men were in time called by the gofpel to the faith in Chrift : Whence they, who were thus called, are faid to he called according to the purpofe of God, Rom, viii. 28. and (k) according to his purpofe and grace given us in Chiijl Jefus : 'J he knov/ledge and purpofe from the foundation of the world, ct fending Chrift to die for the reiuiiTiou of (ins, being the ground ot this calling ; whence he is idi.i to lie given up 10 the dcrith according to the foreknowledge (f God, and his foreap- jpointed caun/itl, A.tif^ i\. Q,'^. Myd. \.\\cy who tie w iiim are faid ;/V J^^m- i' 4- (ij Luke i. 17, 76, 77, ?<)■—- fj) Luke i. 7^^. — -. ( Kj i. fei. 1 20. Decree of ElcBion, 53' to have done only what his c.ounfd had forcappointed to be dode, -.16^ iv. 28. And though thefe gblervatioiis will dire6^t us hov\' to anfwcr what is argued irom thefe and inch like places in favor of this abfolute ele£iion, I fiiall proceed to a pirticular conHderation of what is iaither oliered to th'cx!i,Lord to whomfaould we go, thou hafi the zvords cj eternal life ; and we believe^ and k4iow that thou art the . Chriji, the Son oj the living God. Now it is evident that they who have this ilrong convitHon tiiat our Savior came Irom Go-f, and this concernment for'fhat eternal life he promifed as theii: eripouragement to come to him, will believe on him, becaufe fuch perfons can neither want aifurance that thev ought to do fo, nor the moft prevalent motives fo to do, as having that eternal life betore their eyes, which they more va- lue than all worldly things, and for which they are willing,, and pr':pared to quit ail their lower interefts. For a concliv- fion of this anfwer, let it be noted trum Chryjojlom (x) ore the place, thtois- kyt'.rr^iuni Mavix,a(o: XeyovrEr otj «d£V l(p rt/^Tv 7Ci"rai, the Mcmich^es ufed thefe words to dejlroy mans free zeUl ; and therefore he, and St. Cyril, Euthymius and Theoph- ylail here note, that Chrill fpeaks thefe words, hjc duni^y.aiov' avxifuv, a-TTa-y?, not taking away our Jree zoill ; far be it Jrvm u:iTpoai^iai\i a7rir7)55torv)T« lyi- fxj Tern. 3. Horn, 46. p. 744. Decree of EUBion, 5^ ovra.f, them who by their inclinations have a filnefs to coryie to Chriji : with many things oi: a like nature. See alfo St. AuJ~ tin there. Section VI. — Arf^umevt 2. If all that believe are or- dained tp eternal life, then do none believe but they who are thus ordained. But the firft feenis to be affcrted in thefe Words, as many as lucre ordained to eternal life belifned. Atts xiii. 48. i:./,{,'^\ Anjiver. 1 anfwer, that thcfe words cannot fignify that there is a fixed number of perfons abfolutely by God 01 dained to eternal lite, fo that they, and they only fhall obtain it, and all others be excluded from it, as upon this fuppofition they muft be : As will be evident from thefe confiderations. \Jl. That if the rcafon why thcfe men believed were only this, that they were men ordained to eternal life, the reafon why the rell believed not, can be this only, that they were not by God ordained to etethal life ; and if fo, what necefhty. could there be, that the word of God Jhould be fr[l preached to them ? as we read I'er. \{i. Was it only that their damna- tion might be the greater.!* This feems to charge the lover of fouls, \fhofe tender mercies are over all his works, with the grcateft cruelty ; feeing it makes him determine^ not only that {o many fouls, as capable of falvation as any other, fhall per- iHi everlaflingly ; but alfo to determine that the difpenfations of his Providence fliall be fuch towards them as neceffarily tends to the aggravation of their condemnation : And what: could even their nioft malicious and enraged enemy (^ more? What is it that the very devil aims at by all his temptations but this very end ? viz. the aggravation of our future punifl^- ment. And therefore to aUert that God had determined that his word (hould be fpoken to thefe Jtzvs for that very end, is to make God as inflrumental to their ruin as the very devil. idly. The apojile gives this reafon why he turned from the yews to the Gentiles, becaufc the" Jews had thrujl away the V)ord oj God from them, and judged themjelves unworthy of e- ternal life; ver. 46. whereas, according to this fuppofition, that could be no fufhcient reafon of liis going from them xo the Gentiles ; for it was only they among xhejtzvs whom God had not ordained to eternal life who thus retuled to believe, and to obey the word of God ; and as many among the Gen- tiles as were not thus ordained to eternal life mull neceffarily do the lame ; and fo there could he no fufiicient caufe why be fhould turn from the Jtios to the Gentiles upon that ac- count. And, ^dly. Were this the rcafon why the ^^f; believed not, that they were not by God ordained to eternal life, \Vhy doth St. Paul^ bv God's comrniiUon, fpcak here to them thus. Be it H 5^ Decree, of Electiottf inotvn to ypu^ hrdhren, that by this Jfefus is declared to you re- ■Hiijlion of Jiiis f why cloth he add, and by him every one that believeth is jufified, &c. Why doth he vehemently exhort ihem to beware, Icjl that faying of the prophet (y) Eabakkuk Jhould be verified of them, you xvill not believe though one de- clare it to you ? for could God have determined that thefe very perfons fhould not believe to life eternal, and yet com- miliionate his apoftles to tell them, that renujjion of fins, and jufiification to Ife, was propofed to them ? Could it be re- vealed to St. Paul, that they could not believe to life eternal, z^ bein,^ not by God ordained to it, and yet would he fo paf- ftonately exhort them to that faith in Jfefus, which he well knew, by virtue of this revelation, belonged not to them, nor could they pofhbly exert ? Thefe things feem clearly to evince this cannot be the proper import of the words ; but they will very well admit of thefe two fenfes. ijl. As many as were difpofidfor eternal life, believed ; for the word T£Tay,u.ivof , which we here render ordained, is ufed in this very book, to fignify a man not outwardly ordained, but inzuardly difpofed, or one determined, not by God, but by his own inclinations, to do fuch a thing ; as when it is faid, fz) St. Paulzvent onfootfirom AJJos, htw yap ^v SiarsTav/z-ivoi-, for fo he, zcas dfpofed ; the fon of (a) Sirach fays, that the conduft, or government of a wile man is rsTa-yv^s'vr,, not or- dained by God, but zvell ordered ox difpofed by himfelf. Thus fb) Philo faith to Cain, thou needeji not fear being killed by them xoho are, h a-n. raTayptivoi au(j^(jLx%ix, ranked on thy fide, or ot the fame difporuions and inclinations with thee ; and he fai th to thole children who having had vicious parents, were themfelves virtuoufly inclined, that they are (c) aVs/vw reray- iKi^m rxtziy placed in a better rank ; and fpeaking of Efau and Jacob, he repicfcnts EJau as fierce, fubjeft to anger and other paflions, and governed by his brutilh part, but Jacob, as a lover of virtue and truth ; and fo (d) ev psXriovi Taray/xivov rxhi, placed in a better rank, or of a better temper and difpo- fition ; and adds, that (ej Samuel was rzra.y(xi:ws ru 9s<^, zvell difpofed tozvards God. So ffj Simphcius imerprets t^iis word; .for when Epiiletus had faid, If thou defirefl to be a philofo- pher,fo retain the things that jetm hefi to thee, w< u7:o 0£a re- ray/xc'vor els- rxurriv rriv rcc^tv, as being by God placed in that rank; that is, laith he, (g) ws vno 9sh 'nporps'Tiofjiivoi ettI rziirxt as being by God incited to thcf things : And to this fenfe the context leads ; the perfons oppofite to thofe difpofed for eter- (y) Ver. 38-41- (^) Ads xx. 13. (a) Ch. x. i. (b) L. qux)il deter, p. 144. (cj De Nobilit. p, 702. C. fdj De pramJis and piEnis. p. 7I2. B. (eJ De Temul, p, 203, C»—-lfJ Encbir. C. »9- (gj Simp. p. 139- Decree of 'EUBion. 59 rtdil i}/e^ telng tliofe who tlirough their indifporition to em- brace the offer of it, were unworthy vf eternal lije. 2'."The fecpod fenfe of which thefe words are cap^hle i« thiF, Tha'f as many as were zuell difpofed^ ( h ) beUevtd to eter.^ nal l\fe ; accordingly we are faid to believe, in Chrift to eter- nal life, and fi) to the favivg oj the foul, becaufe we by be- lieving do obtain a full right to that life of which we cannot fail, but by departing from the faith, or fi^fi'eriftg it to become unfruitful in thofe works of righteoufnefs which make us rneet to be partakers ot eternal life. . , Section VII. — Argument^, If all that Jove God at-ls called according to his purpofe, then hath he no purpofe of calling them that do not love him: If they \f\\o^re.foreknozoH are predejliimtcd to be conformed to ihh image: of lux Son,\X\ty who are not conformed to it are not foreknown: If they who are called (effe61ualiy} are jufified in^.glo.rifed, then all that are not juflified, and will not be glorified,, are not called ac- cording to his purpofe, or effeflually, Anjwer. This text ex,prefsly fpeaks of tliofe who aftnally love Cod, not ot thofe whom God hath loved with this fup* pofcd difcriminating love; cmd to love God and to he called according to his purpofe, are words put by way of apportion, to fliew they are both of the fame import ; that which God purpofed in calling us by Chrift, being that zue might he holy, and unhlameabh before hivi in love, Eph. i. 4, 9. So that the wbole of this Argutnent may be granted ; they who by God are permanently juftified, and who will be glorified, being fuch Only who do love God, and are conformed to tliC image of his Son, and who are called according to his purpofe of making them holy before him in hve^zx\6. called efieilually, z. e. fo as that God's calling hath its defigned eSefl upon them. And let it farther he obfervcd, that v.'hen the apofiU faith, oTi >if '7Tf'oiy\w,for zvhotn he forehiiru- ; the particle or» is conne61ive, and this verfe giving the rcafon or confirmation of what was fpoken in the fcumer, it feems tiecefTary to inter- pret thefe words thus, Whom he foreknew to be perfons call- ed according to his purpofe, and therelore qualified for this adoption, vtr. 23. them he predcflinated to be coniormcd io the image of his Son, And ii deferves to be confidered, that all antiquity, till the time of St. Auf.in, do with one Confcnt concur in the interpretation of the PJcud. Ainbroftus on the place, quos prcefr.ivit fibi fore devotos, ^pfos elegit ad proviijfa praeinia ; inofc zvhom he fureknexo zuonld be devoted to hisjcr-' vice, he chofe to the reward pro mi fed to them : Thofe wliom lie iorcknew to be rAf aHitJ r'r,s kXtjjcwj, worthy to be called^ fo (hj 2 Tim. i iC. (i) Heb. x. 39. 6o Decree of Lk^ion, TJieodoret and Thcophylacl. Some of them in their defcants on thefe words, Tor*- xara 7rpo6'£(r«v' x>.r,roiV, called according to purpoje, expound them of the purpofe or irce will of man, 'de- claring that a man is called by God, fjj Kiriyrt'^/Ar^i/ tJtoj mp- alpestVy according to his counjtl, or Eliition ; (k) o-iihx. ri yCKr,- Jbr it is not the calling only\ hut the purpoje oj tlioje. that art called, xvhich works Jalvatidn ; for who, faith ,'/y' Origen^ Jkould be called to fitfiification. but thoje God Icvcs, and that Tr,v Ta e^' riUAV diriicv ''nafl<^r,6i rris 'Trpo^iiosus kal rr/f irfoy^wocw^t the apoflle fhews, that the free will of man was the caufe of God's purpofe and jercknowledge, by laying, we know that all things work together' for good to them that love God, ot» «^jo» tiffj TOVEp/rjffg&iy, 'becauft they that love God' are worthy oJ his cooperation. And, in his Latin Commentary, he faith he ufes the word foreknew,- to Jkew they were foreknown by God, In quibus fciens quales efTent amorem fnum Deus affc6tLunq; pofuifl'et, on xohoni God placid his affeUion, as knowing what they zoould be. But, ■ '2.dly. Saith he, if you will refer this purpofe to God, we are then called according to the purpofe of him, qui fciens in eis religiofam mcntem ct faliatis ineile defidcriui)!, zvho knoxo- ing they had a rei:gious mind, and a dfire cffalvation, called thein ; and in this fenfe neither the cgiufe ot our perdition, or falvation will be placed in God's foreknowledge, nor our juf- tification, only in our calling : Neque glorificari de noHra. penitus potcftate fublatum eft, nor will our glorification he ex- tmpted from our own power. Moreover lie adds, that by em- bracing this ablurd opinion, as he calls it, which faith, a man therefore is not jultified, and fo not glorified, becaufe he is not predeflinated, and that he is not piedeflinated becaufe not foreknown ; Ingentera feneftram apericmns iis qui negant in hominis poteflate effe ut falvus fiat, xrefiall give gi eat ground to them who deny that it is in the power of a man to befaved; whence they injer, that they are guilty of no fault zoko are not juflfed, becaufe they are not called, are not predeflinated, are not foreknozun. And Oecumenius faith, the apoflle mentions being called accordmg to purpofe, "va ij.rt arcrov aVavrx si 6 Sec? raas iu £7ioir,a£ ri'Jxs Se «, y.x\ 7rfOiy:-JV>}.T,-^izf d7i:cc7.7.y,'mi tov 6cov, that he might not fall into an alfurdiiy, zvhich w^uldfoL low if God fliould do good to fame peifons and not to others, and that he might free him from being an accepter of perfons wherefore, according to the received interpretation of the an- cie7it fathers, the import of thefe words is this. (j) Occum. (k) Chryfojl. (I) In Ep. ad Rom. Ed. lluet. Tern. 3. p. 4i4. pecree cf EieEion. 61 Thofe whom God forefaw would be true lovers of him, sy- ^£To» sly TY.v ^oins fit to be received into his favor (which fenfe of WjpoEyvfc, hath been eilabliflied by Origen^ and in my note on the place) he foreappointed to be confoiTned to th6 image of his fon ; that is, to be like him in fufFerings, r. il that be necelTary to be proved, becaufe that is xnj'cripture ilyled, the doing of the zvill of our father which is in heaven.. And feeing, iht apofiles were fent to preach falvation to every creature that believed, to call all men to repent for the remilEon of fins, and to bring forth fruits meet for. repentance, that they might efcape the wrath of God ; how can we reafonaBly think that the fame words fpoken to all that heard them, as God's meffage to them, and t7,y if God d':d befcech them by their mouth, fhould not be looked upon as God's commands to- all to whom they fpoke, 2. e. totUe whole world, to every rational creature ; and why clfe do they fay fcj he that defpfeth uj, thus fpeaking, defpiftt'fi not man, hut G-od'f Doth- not the whole chrifUanr world agree in this, that it is the will of God' that they fhould do what he commands ? Do they not look, upon his precepts as a fuffi- eient indication of his will and pleafur-e ? Are not all men o« bliged to believe God would have them do what he requires of them ? And can they be obliged to believe this if it be not true ? Do not all nations conclude from the commands of their fuperior.s, that what they require they would have done, and what they forbid they would not have done ? And Ihali it only be otherwife in the commands of the great rialer of the world ? Deny this to be any certain declaration of God's will, and you can never fhew that even the ele6l can know it is God's will they fhould- repent, believe and obey him; fince they can never know they belong to the eleftion of God, but from their faith, repentance and obedience. If then by doing- of thefe things, the wic lied' would perforin the will- of God, muft it not follow diat he is willing they fhould believe, re- pent and obey ? Would not God approve their doing of thefe ' things,, or can he be fuppofed to approve what he would not {al John vi. sq. (^} Afts xvii, 30. (c) i Theff. iv, S Decree of EkUion, " 67 liave done ? Doth he not fay exprefsiy concerning the wicked -and impenitent, that they fclj do the things which he would not have done ? And why are they fo oft faid to Jet at nought and reje& God's counjcl, will and good intentions toward them, if it were not his will they fliould believe and aime to repent- ance ? Why doth the wifdom of God- fay of them of old, that fej thev had Jet at nottght his counjels ; and of the Scribes and Pharijies, that ffj t'liey rcjeEled the counfd of God con- cerning them, .being not baptifed with the baptjm of John ; which was the haptifin. oj repentance for the remijjion oj fins / and of the unbelieving Jecvs that they did (g) put Jalvation from them, and judge themfdves unworthy oJ eternal Ife ? Surely from ail theie places it is very evident that it was pri- marily the counfel, and the will of God, that even they who would not turn, would not repent and accept of falvation, iliould have repented and have been made partakers of it ; and ^ere it otherwife, it follows, that by their unbelief and their impenitence, they did not really refijft his will and counfel, but comply rather with k. Moreover, thofe vhom God calls to faith, repentance ' and •obedience, he is truly willing that they fhould repent, believe and be fayed ; for what is it to call a man to fuch a thing, •but to declare that you are truly willing and defirous that he fhould he partaker of rt. Now it is certain that God calls and invites all thofe to whom his word is preached, to faith, re- pentance and falvation ; aiTd thereiore it is certain that he is truly willing they fhould believe, repent and be faved. To this effect are thefe exprefTions fhj repent and believe the goJ~ pet i (i) whofo IS Jim pie Id him turn in hither ; let him fr- fake the fooiijh and live ; (jj tvhofoever will, let him come and drinh of the waters of life Jreely. To omit many other places of like nature. Again, the end for which God fends his mef- fengers is to invite all perfonsto faith, repentance and falva. tion; the bnfinefs of his watchmen is (k) to warn the wick- ed to turn from his iniquity, that he may not die ; (I) in meek- mjs to inflruci them that oppoj'e themfelves , ij God peradventvre Willi give them repentance ; (mj to zi' am every rnan, and tj teach every man in all loijdom^that they may prej'tnt every man pcrfeEl in Chrjt Jefus. Mou' are they not commanded to \\{r. thefe exhortations, calls inftru6lions as means conducive to thefe ends ? And to all thofe whom God doth require to ufe thefe means muf}. he not will the end defigned by them ? Do not niiniilers befeech men in the name ot God to repent, and (d) Ifa- Ixv. ::. Ixvi. 4. (e) Pro'.', i. 1^. (f) Luke vii. ■^3. (g) Aits xiii. 46.- (h) M-uk i. i-. (i) Prov. ix. i, 6.— (i) Rev.xxii.i;. (k) Ezek.xx xiii. X.-^ ,''/,' 2 Jliin. ii. aj. ■[.m} Col. i. 18. 68 Decree of EleHion. to be reconciled to him ? Muft tbey not pray that Cod would blefs their labors, and render them fuccefstul to thefe ends, ia all that hear them ? And can they, in the name ot" God, ex- hort unto, or pray in faith U>r that effetl ol: their labors, which is not fultable to the decree, or vyill of God ? Was not the gofpel of Chrift writ, that they who read it (nj mr^ht believe, and believing might have life through hrs name ? And nr.uil it not be preached for the fame end Tor which it was writteti ?. Doth not Chriji plainly tell the Jtws this was the end of all his preaching to them in thefe words, fo) thefe things / fay unto you, that ye might be Javed ? And yet he of thofe very perfoHs, faith, (p) you, will not come to me that you, might have, life. He therefore ferioully intended their falvation, who would not come unto him for it. To think to folve all this, as fq) Bifljop Davcnant in his anfwer to Hoard doth, by faying there is in God a true will revealed in the gofpel, of faving all men that fhall believe, and a true will liking, embracing and rewarding faith, holinefs and perfeverance in all men whatfoever, without dillintlion of perfons ; and this is the will called Voluntas fimplicis Com- placentice, or a will of complacency. And that when the apof tie iziih, God will have all men to be faved, the meaning only is, if all men fJiall believe in Chriji ; and that to believe in Chrifl is an a£l fo agreeable, and fo well pleafing to his will, that wherefoever it is found, it will be rewarded. 1 fay it feemeth ftrange to me, that any man ftiould think this a fuftir cient anfwer to this Argument, For, xfi. How incongruous is it to afcribe fuch a will to God as this ? viz. Holinefs is a thing fo agreeable to my nature, and my elTential attributes of purity and rlghteoufnefs/ that it is abfolutejy necelTary for me to like and be well pteafed with the holinefs and perfeverance of all msn in it; and theretore to reward them for it with the enjoyment of myfelt ; hut yet I abfolutely purpofe not to afford to the greatelt part ot man- kind, that aid which I fee to be abfoiutely neceliary to enable them to be holy, or to perfevere in it : And my will is to leave them, though they equally want, and equally are capable of it, and equally fit to be the objeds of iny grace and tivor, under an abfolute incapacity ot bemg holy, and by my Decree of Reprobation make their want of holinels arj event untruf- trable. No man can think that man liath a true love for 'holi- nefs, who will do nothing which is in his pou'er to m^ike oth- ers fo, as far as he is able, and it is fit for him to do it. Can then that GoJ, whole love to holinefs doth inimitely tranfcend fnj John XX. 3'«— — /^^z' Jo'ifi V. 34. [<>) Vcr. 43. (^c/Pag. 220^221. Decref oj EkUlon, $3 ♦h€~love wliich tbemoft holy man bears to it, andl who cora- niands us to be koh, as he is koly, have pafTedl a deciee troiu all eternity, ^vhich renders the- Kant -©f.. holiiie^ in laofl mea an uiifruftrable event ? 2i//v. If this be all intended, hLy.t^ofev/9ir,ds, Cod n'oidd, have all men to be Javcd, Why may it not be faid, he woulcj, i;iave all the fallen angels to be hycd? liecanjc Jait/i and h/i- linej's, were it found in tJuui, would be^n ad fo ioell pltajing, unci Jo agreeable to God's will, thai wherej'acver. it is found it. 7ju\ll be rewar did by lam : but yet-becaiile tjiey, fi nee their iall, are in no capacity of believing, or ot being holy, no man hath ever dared to fay, (r) God would liav^ all the Jallen an- gels to be faved. If then the abioiute decree of God, not to give faith, repentance, and eternal Jile to any that ai-e not e- Jffted., is^ as he faith, that which the^y under ftand by repro- bation j and this a6l renders all thofe fallen men, who are ihe objefts of that blaci decree, as incapaWe of having faith and holinefs as the very Devils, why is it faid, he "would haye thefe fallen men, rather than fallen angels, to b,e faved ? 3^7)'. Be it as he faith, that the final obdurction aridjji-m' ^enite^ncy of reprobates is not a fort/ien antecedent ccndltit'T^^ but a following event oj negative reprobation : yet if that e- vent follows neceilarily upon that eternal aft qt God, to what end'ootTi he after it command all men every where to repent, or excrcifc the riches of his goodnefs, patience and forbear- ance towards them /j'7 ^^ lead them to repentance, or fay ftj he is longjii^ering towards them, becaxfc he. 7S net wxlUng. they JJiould per fh, but ftiould come to repentance; when this decree of not giving that repentance which can alone refcu<* them from penihing, hath left them in that utter incapacity of repenting which no k)ngfufrering of God can, or ever V^-as in- tended to remove ? Why doth he fend his ainbaffadors to (u) befcech them to be reconciled to him, becaufe he hath made \\\> fon to be a fucrficefvr fin, thai they might i>c made r'tglUeoui Xinth the n^hteou/rytfis of God in hi in? Why doth he call thcni to repent, iliat ikeir fins may he blotted out, and encourage them to d-o fo by this gracious promife, that (vj then ail their iniquities JJiall not he remtnibered ag^infi them any mor(,f,. Why doth God, as he fays, fwj patiently ^xpcd thar coni'rr- fon, when he hath decreed to deny them thofe nutans which can alone eifeft it, or uje thofe means and nK'ihods to thate, njade clean ? H'/icnjhall it once be Y How long JJiall vain thoughts' lodge ■ X J Pldlit-). ii. ?!. (y ) 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15. (x) Ifai. v. 4 ~ Decree of Election. 71 zjitkin thee ? Or with his vehement defires tliat it might be otherwife ? For to fay, {dj Oh that there were juch an heart in them that they would fear me I (e) Oh that my people had zvalked in my ways, is, f Jo, in effctl, to with that they had fruftrated the event which his decree, from all eternity, had made inevitable. Section II. — -Argutienti. — idly. This decree is abfolute- ly falfe in the foundation of it ; that being laid in the fin of Adam, imputed by God's arbitrary will to his pofterity. For, \jL It is confeifcd bv thefe men that it was- not by any nat- ural neceffity that (f) Adarii falling. Ins pojlentyjhould be either univerfally tainted zuith original Jin, or liable to death, but that both tnefe depended a libero Dei decreto, from the free decree or compaB of God : that if Adam perjevered in his righteouf- nej's, he JJwuld tranfmit it to his pojlenty ; if he rebelled, he- Jhould make his poflerity liable both to the corruption of fin, and danger of punifliment : For if it be 7>Sk'idi,(g)how it comes to pafs that the fn of Adam, fo unavoidably and generally lay- tth hold upon all the fans of Adam ? They are driven to con^ fefs^that this dependeth Upon a Jree conjlitution or decree of the divine will, becaufe natural propagation would not have f.npped Adam's pojferit'y of any habitual righteoifnfs which God had befiowed upon him ; (h) or charged them with the guilt of any fn perfonally committed by him, had not God enatled and conftituted a decree that fo it fiould be, zvhen it flood in his bow ir and pleafure to have ordered it otherwife. They adi, that fij therfore are me 7iot guilty oj any other fn of Adam, becaufe, though naiural propagation be the means of conveying Adam' s f/i. to us, yet it would not have donefg had there not been a Jree decree ejiablified by God to that purpofe ; a-nd therefore Adam' s fn can no farther concern his poflerity^ than it is regulated by God himfelf- Now the divine decree, or confitutian, did not fo order it, that any fn of Adam flwuld be imputable fo all that were virtually in his loins-, but that his firjl fn only in zuhich he did, fuftinere perfonam generis hu- mani, fufiain the perfon of all mankind, fiould be imputed. And again, (j) Adam's frjlftn committed in the fl ate of inno- cency, zvherein, by God's appointment, he bore the perfon of all mankind, was every man's perfonal fin, and was confented (^ by every man' s perfonal will, becaufe in Adam there was not only the will of one fngular man, but the univerjal will of all' mankind, and of every fngular perfon. Now, (d) Dent. V. 29.. (e) Pfal. Ixxxi. 13. (f) Bi/bop DavenantV Animadvers. p. -.14. (gJP^g.24s. O'J^^S- 246. /'i; Pag. 249. 72 Decree of EleStmr, iji. The tioly fcripture is perfectly filent in every part and tittle^of thh Jcnooi dnnniiy ; it hath not one word of this "frc^e decree, or this dilmal compatl ot" God with Adam, or I know rot who ; not or»e Jola o{ our propagation from th« loihs o\ Adavi more than from the womb of our mother Eve,. (kj thernother of ail living ; or that he bore the perfon of all 'mankinn, more ilian Ihe bore the perfon of aii womankind;, or oi any decree that Adam's pofierity fcould be charged wuh. the gJjilt oi any fin perfonaPly committed by him, rather ihaii" the woman with the (in of Eve ; or that they fhould be charg- ed only with his firft, not with his following tranfgreffions ; or that his guilt Hiould rather be imputed to them, than bis repeptance ; Nor, laftly, is there one fhadow of a proof from fcripture ot that felfcontradiftion, that Ada/ns perfonal iin w;!s every man's perfonal (In, when he only was a perfon, and they wete not ;. and was confented to by every man's will^ before any njan elfe had a will ; or that the univerfai will of all mankind -(which is no belter than an univerfai figtree) and of every fingie perfon, was in Adam. 2di)i. It carinot fruly be affirmed t!iat Adam^s fin wzs every inaths perfiialjiii, and zvas confented to by every man's perforin hi z:.iill, and therefore all men were made finners by it; for i\ien it was not flj 'by the df obedience of one, but of all, that tnany were hiad^ Jiniiers, whtt^-ds the apojlle plainly afferts the contrary, exprefsly faying, that by the fin of one ma7iy died : That the fentence 'was jrom one, and by one man^s finnivg to coyidemnation ; and that by the fin oj one, death reigned by one ; therefore the apollle doth exprefsly teach, that this death, this tondenjnation to it, came not upon us for the fin of all, but for the fm of one^ i.e. of one Adam, in whojn all ifien die, 1 Cor. XV. 2 2. zdly. Then all men'mufl have 5nned after the fmilitude of 'Adam's trail fgrefji on ; for if he bore our perfon, and the con- fent oi his wjll was the perfonal confent of ours, then the fame perfon by an aft of the fame will finned againfl the fame law ; and fnrely they tfiat thus fm muff fm after the fimllitude of Adam's tranfgrcilion ; for what difhmilitude can there be in fm committed by the fame a6t, of the .'"ame will, ot the fame peribn, as^ainft the fame law. But of the pofterity of Adam theapoflie I'aith, exprefsly, fmj they finned not after the fumU itiide oj AdanCs tranfz'rejfion; therefore they were not fmners by the fame aii, and'will, of the fame perfon againft the fame law. Moreover, it all the pofterity of Adam, (inned in Adam, they finned againfl a law given to them, \orfn is the tranfgrej^ Jion oj law, and rohcrc there is no lazo there is no trdnfgrejjion; ('<) G-n. iii. 20. — (I ) Rom, v. 15, i$, i7i 18.— (m) Vcr. ia. Decree of EleBion. jrg. \ffhtrt there is no law given to me, there can be no tranfgref- fion therefore by me. Now they could fin in Adam fo as to def'erve death for that fin, only by finning againft the law re- quiring Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit ; for Adam himfelf became guilty of death only by tranfgrefling that law ; but all the pofterity of Adam cannot be faid to have finned a- gainfl that law, becaufe it was not given to them, but to Ad- am and Eve only ; unlcfs they will feign another decree, that the law given io Adam perfonally, fhould be the law giveo- to all mankind. And laflly. If we finned formally in Adam, we finned by the fame numerical fin which he committed, or only by the fame fin in kind ; i. e, by a fin like to his. We could not fin by the fame numerical fin, for all man- kind being not the fame in number, but in fpecie, or kind on- ly ; and having not the fame numerical will, but tlie fame in kind only, he could no otherwife bear the perfon, or con- fent with the will of all mankind, that by bearing a perfon, and having a will common to him with all mankind, which he bad not numerically, but fpecifically. Again : Vv'^e could on- ly fin in him, in or by the nature we derived from him, which. is not the fame with his, numerically, but fpecifically only: And yet if vve finned by the fame aft, of the fame will, of the fame numerical perfon, we muft be guilty of the fame numei* ical tranfgreflion. ^dly. It cannot truly be affirrried that we all Jinned in Ad" tnn, and by his dijobedience ivere made Jinners ; becaufe, his fn and ufobedience was by God's arbitrary will imputed to us;' for, if. The fcripture no where maketh mention of anjr thing of another's imputed to any man for reward, or guilt, but only of fonie peribnal thing or aftion gf his own, as hath been fully proved, Note on Rom. v. 13. zdly. Either this imputation makes the fin of Adam truly ours, or it doth not : If it doth not, how can we be made firmers by it ? If it doth, then death came upon us for our fin, and fo not for the fin of one, but for the fin ot all ; which is the thing difproved already. %dly. I afk, whether this imputation made the pof- terity of Adam finners ? Or, whether it found them fo be- fore ? It it found them fo before, it was plainly needlefs, for they might have been condemned to death without it : If it made them fo, then fincc this imputation is the aft of God and not of man, it plainly follows that God muft be the au- thor ot this fin ; becaufe this imputation flows iminediately hom him, without the intervention of any aftion of any of thofe men to whom it is imputed. • Moreover, then the im- putation mull be falfe, as charging them with fin whom hd did not find finners, but only by his arbitrary decree and im- putation made them fo ; Now iar be it from any Chriftiaa t» K 74 Ddcyee of Ele^lon. affertj that God can falfely impute fin to any man. In a word, X^yi^sa^at, and Zfnpuiare, is to reckon, or to account a thing to any man, or to charge him with it, or lay the charge of it upon him ; this a6lion therefore on God's part muft fuppofe in the very nature of it, foirie a£lion done by the pofterity of Adam which is blameworthy, and may be juftly charged up- on them, before there can be any ground for imputation of it ', and this (hews that it is impoffible that the imputation fliould be the very thing that renders them blameworthy, or perfons worthy to be charged with guilt ; and yet, if the fin oi Adam becomes ours only by imputation, it mud be ours oniy becaufe it is by God imputed to us, and not imputed becaufe it is ours ; that is, God by this imputation muft make us Tinners, and not find us fuch ', for this imputation is the a6lion of the Judge, and not of the fuppofed criminal ; remove, or takeaway this a61ion, and no crime can be charged upon him. In fine ; if tbe fin of Ada?)i becomes ours only by imputation, it deferves condemnation only by the fame imputation, that is, by the aftion of God ; that therefore we deferve condemnation for it, is to be afcribed direftly to the aftion of God, and only by accident to the aftion ol Adam / whence then, according to this opinion, is our deftruftion, but of that God who makes us worthy of condemnation, by imputing to. us that fin, which by his imputation only we ftand guilty of ? j^^k/y. We are not guilty of any other fin of Adam ; there- fore we are not guilty of the firft fin of Ada?n. For anfwer to this, they are driven to confefs, faith Bifhop Davenant, that this depends on the free conflitution oj the divine zoill ; for (virtual inclufion in, or) natural propagation (from the loins of Adam) zuould not have charged us zvith the guilt of any fin , ferfonally committed by him, had not God enatled and conjli-- tuttd a decree that it fiould be fo, when it food in his power and pleafure to have ordered it othcrwife ; therefore this firi of Adam is not ours becaufe he committed it ; but becauf«J God of mere will decreed and conflituted it fhould be fo, when he might have ordered it otherzvife ; and fo there is nothing that makes thi§ fin ours, but the mere will of God ; and furelv then God muft be the author of it, becaufe it is the will of God alone which makes the firft fin of Adam ours, more than the fecond, of which it is confefied we are not guilty ; nor is there any other reafon why we are more guilty of if, than of his other fins, but this will of God. As then we become finners in our om'U perfons only by willing that aflion which Is evil, Ihould be ours, fo we become finners in the perfon of Adam, only by the will of God, that his evil aftion fhould be ours ; and had it not been his pleafure fo u» Decree of Eleclioiu 7^ H'ill, it had not been ours. To make this ftill more evident, Jet it be noted that in every fin of commiflion, there is re- quired not only the will of the Creator forbidding that atlion, but alfo the will ot the creature choofing to do what is forbid- den ; but in this fuppofcd original (in, there is no will ot ours choofing this forbidden aflion more than any other fin of Aila?n ; it was not therefore upon tliat account our fm ; it remains then that it was only fo by the will of the Creator. Jf it be replied, that the atVion and will of Jdam was ours al- fo, I afk whether it was fo by its own nature, or only by the free decree and will of God ? If only by the latter, it clearly follows that his aftions are made and accounted ours by the mere will of God, and fo that only renders it our fin ; if from its own nature, then all his other finful wills and aftions mull be ours alfo i for what agrees to the will and aftions of Adam, from the nature of them, muft agree to every will and atlion of Adam at all times : Now this being confeffedly klfe, it remains that it is folely from the arbitrary will of God that we are guilty of this, and not of any other fin of Ada7n. Lajl/y. The compaft they have forged betwixt God and Adu7?i, to juftify this imputation of his fin to his poUerity, and the decrees enfuing upon that imputation, as it is forged out of their own brain, fo it is a compaft exceeding cruel, and plainly inconfiftent with the juftice, wlfdom and goodnefs of our gracious God. For furely, a good God, in all his com- pa£ls with the fons of men defigns their good, or their ad- vantage ; for fo it is v.'ith all the other compa£ls God ever made with nian ; but God could not defign the good of man by that comp^fl upon the lorefeen event, of which he had before made his abfolijte decrees of eleftion and reprobation. udiy. As for the other part of this compaft, that Adam continuing innocent, fliould have begot children in his own likonefs, that is, partakers of his own original righteoufnefi, that could produce no pioportjonable advantage to his pof- terity ; for his rightcouinefs being defc6>ible, he could have only derived upon them 3 defettible rigbtcoufnefs, which xnufl have left them ftill as liable to fall as he himfclf was ; ynd then their poHcrity mnlf have been in' the fame fad cafe in which Ada??i's fall had placed his poHerity. And ^diy. — His fin, had he fallen after he had begotten ten children, niuft have involved all the reft in this fad doom ; fo that lijs whole righteous life could h:ive only procured to his pofleriiy a dcfetliblc righicoufners, liable, - contmually to interruption by the fin of any one of his pcllerity ; and that throughout all times and ages of the world ; whereas, one fingle tranfgref- ^q.n of his, was, by this compa61, to render his whole race «5 Decree of EleBion. obnoxious to eternal mifery, and by tbis eternal decree of reprobation, upon this forefeen tall, to render the far greatell part ol them inevitably fubjeft to that mifery. Acrain, this compact plainly feems to have been invented to excufe God from cruelty, in fubje6iing myriads of men and infants to the moll direful and lalting torments ; which with- out this imaginary paft, he could not with the leaft pretence of juftice do. Moreover, did not God know, belore this compatl, it would only tend by the fall of Adam to the una- voidable ruin of myriads of fouls, which otherwife would have contra£ted no fuch guilt, and therefore would have been obnoxious to no fuch milery, had not this compa6l and decree been made ? What therefore did he, by making this decree, but fubje£l fo many precious fouls to an inevitable ruin ? — ^ How therefore could he contrive and make fuch a decree and compact, without being willing that fo many men and infants fhould be forever milerable by it ? Since he who wills the; caufe, wills alfo the effefcl:, which certainly and inevitably, without their aHion, follows from it. If in favor of thefe imaginations it be faid, that \\\efcripture cxprefsly teacheth that?/? Adam allhavcjinncd ; and by the dij~ eb-tdier.ce of one ^ many zoere riadc ftnners : To this 1 have giv- en a fufiicient anfwer in the note upon thofe words, fhewing that thefe words may and mult have a metonyraical fenfe, be- caufe of the abiurdities which follow from the formal accept- ation of them. And, 2dly. Becaufe the comparifon made betwixt the firll Adam, and the effefts of his difobedience, and the fecond Ada??i, and the efFetis of his obedience to the ^eath, require it ; the Holy Gholl Itiil fpeaking of his fuf- fering lor our fins in this metonymical fenfe ; as it is, i/i. When he is faid to bear our fins, only becaufe he bore the punifhment due to them. ' 'zdly. When he is faid to he made Jin for us : he being made fin for us, not by contratling the guilt of it, but only fuffering punilhment for it in our Itead. %dly. When he is {ead. (n) to appear a fecond time %CAjp\s dy.- uprlas, without fin, i. e. without another facrifice, in which he was to fuffer tor it ; and foj that by fin, i. e. b)' what he fuf- fered when he made himfelt a facrifice for it. He condevined- fin in the Jlejli. And ji^thly. When he is laid to be (p) made a curjejor us ; he being only fo by fuffering that death which the law flyled accurfed, and not as being fo, in the fight of God. And ga'/y. Becaufe the oppofite phrafe, ^Uaioi x.aTa- ^adriiyoi/roci, required that the words dfj.xprcv'kol' )Ci'.ras-aOr,ffav, fhould be njed in thisjcife ; lor when the Apojlle faith, by the (nji Cor. V. 20. — [Jeb. ix. 2?,.~—feJ Rom, \n'u ^.— fpj 0\\ iii. 13. Decree of EleBion. 7^ ihediaice of one JJiall many be viads righteous, it Is evident in itfelf, and proved by three arguments, that he Ipcaks not oi Chrift's aclivc, but of his pafiive obedience, or Inffering death for us ; now by this padive obedience we cannot be made formerly righteous, but orily raetonymically, by being jnade partakers ot that freedom from condemnation and the guiit of fin, and the reconciliation which Ckrijl purchafed by his meritorious deaih and paflion. Section III. — Argiunent'^. — 3<^6'- This decree is falfe both in the parts, and the end of it. 1 he parts of it arethefe two : ijl. That God hathJro?n eternity eletled a certain number of per/ons to Jalvatton, leaving the rejl under an ahjolute decrte oj reprobation or prc.ieritinn, and that of this elcdion or repro- Dation there can be no other cauje hut God's ozun Jree will / Jor predejiination, fay they, being an immanent aft of the di- vine underjianding cannot be conceived as dependent upon any Jorefeen aBs of man'' s -wiU, and therefore his forejeen faith, re^ pentance and perfeverance cannot, in any goodjenfe, be iviagin^ ■ ed antecedent caufes, conditions or motives to the divine pre- deflination ; and that is Metaph^fcs, and the jargon of the fchoolmen, entirely ignorant of the true fenfe of jcripture^ made to countenance a decree reflecting fo unworthily upon the honor of our gracious God, that it is not eafy to conceive what could more vifibly tend to the difhonor of his glorious name and attributes. 2dly. That in order to the accomplijhing the falvation of his fled, he hath decreed to afford them that grace, which fhail in- falkbly andinfru 'frahly bring them to falvation ; whereas they who are comprifed under the decree ot reprobation, are left^ fay they, infallibly to fail of eternal life, and fo are left to fail of means which may bring them to eternal life, or to efcape cverlafling death ; for they can only infallibly tail of the end, by failing of the means which may produce it; for fince he that hath means by which he m^y be laved, may be faved ; and he that hath means by which he may efcape damnation, jnay efcape damnation ; he who by God's decree of reproba- tion, is left infallibly to fail of falvation, and confequently to be damned, mufl as infallibly be left without the means by which he may obtain falvation or efcape damnation. 3^/v. In the abfolute ele6tion of tljole whom God hath thu^ appointed to falvation, he decreed (q) fay thev, to glorify hii mercy ; and in the reprobation and tiie prcterition of the rclt, |ie decreed to glorify his fovereignty and juflice in their dam- nation ; the rnanifellation, therefore, of his grace and mercv m the falvation of the one, and of his juftlce and fovereigniy (l) Bijhop Davcnanr, ]i. 27, iS. 78 Decree of Ek^ion. in the clamnatlon of the other, muft he the two great ends of God in thefe decrees. Now the falfehood of thefe two decrees, touching the abfo- lute ele6lion of fome perfons to falvation, is fufficiently argu- ed in the fifth Difcourfe. ijl. From God's command to all chriflians to make their calling and ele£lion fure. 2dly. From his frequent exhortations direfted to them to continue Jledjajl in the faith, and to keep themfelves in the love oj God, and t» work out their falvation with fear and trembling, '^dly. From the cautions direfted to good chriflians, not tojalljrom grace, trjrom their own Jledjaflnefs. ^thly. From threats denounced again ft the righteous man who turneth away from his right- ^oufnefs, and the juft man who living by faith draweth back, zdly. As they refpe6): thofe that are fuppofed to lie under an abfolute decree of reprobation ; the falfehood of them hath been fully proved in the fecond Difcourfe. xfl. From God's ferioas and earneft invitations of them to repentance. idly. From his vehement 4efires of their reformation and obedience. ^dly. From his declarations that he had done for them what was fuQicient to produce it. ^thly. From his promifes to ex- cite them to it ; his longfufFering defigned for that very end ; and from his dreadful threats intended to deter them from perfifting in their evil ways. And, laftly, From the manifold demonftrations he hath afforded us in holy fcripture, that he doth not look upon wicked men as under an utter difability of being reformed by his judgments, or his mercies, or of hearkening to his calls and invitations to return and live. And, ^dly. Such a decree as this being a fecret of God's eounfel, no man can know that God hath made it, but from the exprefs, and the clear revelation of the holy fcripture ; and fo no perfon can have any reafon to aflert it on any other ac- count. Now as I have fhown already, that iht fcripture hath faid nothing of thefe decrees ; fo will this be more evident by a rcfleflion on every part of them. ijl. The decree of ele6lion fay they, is ahfblute^ and with- out rcfpecl to mans faith^ repentance or p erf eve ranee. Now Xhit fcripture faith exprefsly, frj he that believeth Jliall be fav- ed: ffj he that endureth to the end Jliall be faved ; ft) re/pent, ftnd be converted, and your fins fall be blotted out r'fnj to them zoho by patient continuance in welldoing, look for glory, God will give eternal life. So that they who fpcak thus, fpcai^ the con Rant language of the holy fcriptures ; whereas they who affirm that he hath abfolutely decreed eternal life to any, without refpe61; to any atl of man's will, or any condition t^, (r) Markxvi. 16. Cf) Matth. xxiv, 13. CO A) Luke xii. 3a. (7 f»hn vi. 37. 8o- Decree of Elecliom and is not this decree an immanent, eternal acl of God^ t^fpecllng the afts of men's will as the condition of, or mo- tive to it ? Yea, did he not decree from all eternity to offer to tnan a new covenant of grace, promifing pardon and falvation. to him upon condition ot his faith, repentance and fincere o- bedience ; and do not thefe decrees render the pretended de- crees of abfolute ele£lion and reprobation needlefs ? Yea, are not thefe things inconfiftent with each other, viz. the ab- jTolute ele61ion of man to falvation, and the decrcje to offer and fufpend the fame falvation upon thefe conditions ? For in ail conditional promifes betwixt man and man, the thing prom- ifed is fufpended on the performance of the condition, and the enjoyment of it is uncertain, till the condition be perform- ed ; and if it be not fo alfo in refpeft to the conditions of the covenant of grace, what mean the exhortations direfted to men in general, to fzj fear lejl a pronnft being made of enter-' ing into rejl, any of them fioulcl fall fliort of it ? The cautions to them that ftand by faith, to take heed left they fall under the fever icy of God for not (a) continuing in his goodnefs ; and the threats of perdition to him that (b) livcth by faithi provided he draw bach ? '^dly. Did not God decree from, eternity, that he that bcliev- eth in his Son fJiould have eternal hje, and he that believed not his Son fliould not fee life ? and had thefe decrees no refpeft to the temporal afts of man ? It were eafy to multiply inltan- ces of this nature, to fhew the vanity of the foundation oi thefe abfolute decrees. And therefore, ^thly. When it is faid, that an immanent aB of the divine mind (or will) cannot depend on any foreften ads of man's zuill, I grant that it cannot depend on them as the caufe pro- ducing fuch an afb, but purely on his Own attributes and per- i'eftions, v. g. he muft decrci'e to eleft man as fallen, or a fin- ner, becaufe he is gracious and merciful, and to reprobate him^ becaufe he is juft ; but then the motive or inducement to both thefe decrees is the forefeen a61ion ot man,, rendering him an obje61; of his mercy, or worthy of his vindiftive juftice. A- gain, thefe immanent aftions of the Deity either refpeft himfelf only, as the love and knowledge of himfelf, and then it is certain that they can have no caufe, motive, condition, or refpetl to any thing but himfelf; or elfe they refpeft, or have for their objeft the tuture flate or condition of man ; and therl it is as certain, that though they flow from the divine perfec- tions, the inducement to them, is always man, and his forefeen aftions, v. g. he from the divine goodnefs, grace and mercy,- decrees to lave man, or to offer to him terms on which he may {zj Ileb. iv. 1. fdj Rom, xi, 20, ". fl>J Heb. x. 38. Decree of EkElion, 81 obtain falvatlon ; the inducement to it is the fin of man, which hath made this grace and mercy necefTary to his I'alvation. He from his juflice hath decreed from all eternity, to caft fome men out of his favor; the inducement to it is that fin wliich hath rendered them iniworthy of it, and rendered it inconfiftent with his hoHnefs and jullice to admit them to it. He trorai that goodnefs and love to Iioliticfs, which is efTential to him» hatli decreed to reward fome of them with eternal life, or the enjoyment of himfcit ; the inducement to it is thofe actions W'rought by the afBftancc of his grace in them, which have made them like unto him, and therefore meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the fatnts in light. And all this is de- monflrably certain Irom the perfc8ion of the divine nature ; lor God being infinitely perleft, he muft be infinitely happy within himfelf, and fo can dcfign no felt end without himfelfp and confequently the end for which '.ic requires any thing from us, or decrees any thing concerning us, is not, and can- not Jbe any advantage or good he expefts 10 reap from it, he being from all eternity paft as completely happy as he can be to eternity to come ; and therefore what other end can he be fuppofed to aim at in thefe things but our good ? If it be faid, that God may aft to manifeft his glory, viz. the glory of his mercy, jullice, holinefs and truth : True ; but then he mani- fefts it cither tor no good, or for his own good, or for our good. To fay he doth it for no good, is to impeach his wifdom ; to fay he doth it for his own good, refletis on the perfeftion of his nature ; it remains then that he muft do this alfo for our good, which is the thing contended for. It there- fore is a vain imagination, that the great defign of any of God's anions, his glorious works and difpenfations, (hould be thus to be atlmired, or applauded by his worthlefs creatures, that he may gain efteem, or a good word from fuch vile creatures a'^ We arc. We take too much upon us, if we imagine that the all wife God can be concerned whether fuch blind creatures as we are, approve or difypprove of his proceedings ; or that he really canfufferanydiminutionof his glory by our difl ike, oris advanc- ed in honor by our approbation of his difpejjfations. We thinL too meanly of, and detraQ from his great Majefty, 't^ we cou- ceive he can be tickled with applaufe, and aim at reputation Jirom us in his glorious defign ; that therefore fuch as wc Jhould think v/ell of him, or have due apprehenfions of thofe attributes, by the acknowledgment of which we arc faid to* glorify him, can be no farther his concern than as it fervcs the noble ends of his great goodnefs, viz. that thefe conceptiona may engage us to that afteftion, to that imitation of him, and that obedience to him, which tends to the promotion of our nappinef?. 8^ Decree of ElcBion, God therefore a£ieth for his glory when he difcovers to tlic world thofe excellencies and perfe6lions of his nature which are juil motives to the performance oi that duty which we owe unto him ; or when he doth difplay before us his imitable perfe61i"ons, that we may be like him, defigning ftill the bene- fit and happinefs of man in thefe difcoveries. For when he difcovers ail thofe attributes which reprefent him good and raerciful, kind and obliging to the fons of men, he doth it %vith defign, and in a manner very proper to lay the higheft abligaiions on us to returns cf lovie and gratitude, and to en- fvage us to that imitation of his goodnefs and mercy to our fel- low creatures, A'^hich renders us partakers of the divine nature, and helpful to others in all their exigencies. When he gives iignal demon flrations of his almighty power, and of his great wifdom, he defigns by this to teach us that he is able to fore- fee and to div.ert thofe eyij^ which may at any time befal us ; to refcue us from all our miferies, and to confer the greateft ^leffjugs on his fervants, that fo he may encourage us to place our truft in him at all times, to repair by humble fupplications to the throne of grace, arjd to ferve him faithfully, in e'xpeft- ation of his favor and prote6lion. WHien he manifefls him- felf to be a Godof truth and faithfulnefs, one who will pun6iu- ally performhis promifes to,' and execute his threats upon us, he doth this chiefly to affright us from thofe fins which make- it necefTary for his juitice to be fevere upon us, and to pro- voke us to the performance of thofe duties to which he hath annexed the g/eatefl bleflings. When he informs us that his holinefs audjuflice cannot permit the wicked to efcape his vengeance, or any upright foul to want the tokens of his love, or the reward of bis firioere obedience ; his great defrgn in all this is, that fin, which is the rife of all our miferies, may be a- voided ; and halinefs, which is the true advancement and befl accompliilimeiu of human. nature, may be more earneftlypur- fued bv us.. So that God^s acting for his glory is indeed his atling for the good of his moft noble creatures, and only rec- ommendino- of himfelf to their goodlikbg and affeftion, that ib he may the more efTeBiially promote their happinefs. It is indeed in our translation faid, Godhatk 7nade all things for himjtlf, even the zoickeijofthe day of wrath, Prov. xvi. 4. but in the Hebrezo the Vyor'4is Lamaanhy from njy, and fo the words may be thus rendered, //z« Lord hath made all tjungs to anfiuer to' ihemfdvts, or aptly to refer to one another, even the wicked for the day of.wrath ; according to thefe words of Croiius,fingula Dcus ordindtadidquodfnguliscQmpetit, or- dill at impium ad diem calami tof urn. The Bifhop of Ely renders them thus, the Lord dfpojdh all things aecording to Decree of Ehclion. 8 3 ids wiil, even the wicked for the day of wrath, i. e. to be then the executioners of it. And whereas thefe men tell us, that God clefted a certain number to be faved for the manifeftatlon of the glory of hif; grace, [i>^-] According to this hypothen*, the glory of his grace mufl confifl in elefting fo many to falvation and no more ; for it the decree to fave more would more have tend- ed to the manifenation of his glory, tlie fame motive rnuft have induced him to fave more. Now to affirm that it is for the glory of his mercy to fave the eleft only, and no more, feems contrary to common fenfe ; for the more are benefited, the greater is the glory of the bcnefaQor ; if it then tendcth to the glory of his mercy abfolutely to decree to fave fome no more fitted to be objefls of his mercy than the reft, it rauft h(t more for the glory of his mercy to decree thus to favp more, and mofl of all to decree to fave all. Again, if it be for the glory of his grace to prepare faving ^race for any, and to give them that affiftance which will un- truftrably procure their falvation ; would it not be more fc^ the glory of the fame grace to prepare it for, and afford it to rnpre, and to leave none under a neceffity of perifhing for want of grace fuflicient to work out their falvation ? Is grace the more magnified for being reftrained to fome iew, when all do equally need, and all are equally capable of it ? Nor is there any reafon in the objefts of it, why it fhould not equal- ly be vouchfated to them. The other black part ot this decree, which faith God left the greateft part ol mankind in a ftate in which they muft in- fallibly fail of ohtaiyixng Jalvatwn, or the means of falvation, Jmth and perjcverance, they being the confequents andjruits of ■that eledion, out of which they are excluded, is itill more Iporrible in its immediate confequenccs ; fox, -iji. It makes God to create innumerable fauls after the fall of Adam, to be inevitablv damna^d without the leaft. compalTion for them, or will to afford them means fuflicient to exempt them from that dreadful doom ; for if faith and perfeverance be the conf'e- cuents and frmts of God's cIe8ion, then they who :ye not c- lefted cannoi have them ; if they ?.nuf}fail of ohtaining falva- tion, they mtilt in<.'"vitably incur damnation. idly. It makes him, in profecution of this end, having created them pure and mnocent'as they came out of his hands, to put them into bod- ies, that fo they may be made or deemed the offspring of Ad- am, and by being fo made be fit objcfts of his eternal wrath ; xvhich they could nevei" be by his creation of them, did he not thus nniie fhem t p. llieN bodies geuera'.ed by the pofteriiy oi Adam. . • > " • ^ ' 84 Decree of EleBion. CHAPTER V. J. SHOULD now for a clofc, demonftrate the contradiftion which this do£lrine of abfulute eleftion and reprobation bears to the fentiments of the ancient fathers ; but thii is fo evi- dent, that (a) Calvin, Beza, and rtiany other patrons of the contrary doftrine do partly confeft it. I therefore fliall con- tent myfelf with three or four plain demoullrations of this truth, viz. Section I. — ijl. That they unaninioufly declare, that God hath lelt in the power of man, lit' dixtpoxcpa. TpiTrstT^ai^ to turn to vice or virtue, faith (b) Juflin Martyr ; to choofe or to refufe faith and obedience, to believe, or not, fay (cj Irena:- ■ tts, (d) Clemens Alexandnnus, (e) TertuUian, and St. (j) Cyp^ nan : That every one is knu /elf iho. caufe why he is mddejru" mentum, aut palea^, h'lth. fgj IrcncEus : Ev^ry one, I^vtov h- xajMVTor, ^ "e'po'TraXtv ixurov ccfin^ri y.a.ra,(;KcUQi^ovroi, rendering kirn- Jelf either righteous or difobedient, faith (hj Clemens oi AlcX' andria : That God hath lelt it in our own power, tt^Ij ra xar- >.oi VEJEJV, xai ru. v-oXa. aw^of/ripscrQa*, to turn to, or from good: That he hath put it into our power, ths dyx^ns 'hy^xs cTvaj >} xr.-- xAr, 'jrpuTTciv fxcv Tx ^iKccioc -^ rci aJiJtar, to be good or bad, to do what is righteous or unrighteous ; fo (i) Athanqfius, fj) £- piphanius, (k) Macarius, (I) St. Chryjoflom, (m) Theodoret^ and fnj Cyril of Alexandria. That our happmefs or punifJi^ inent, in t5 iif)' ti/xVv aj/jxriraj, depends on our own choice ; thai it is in our own choice, v aTtipij^v. aynv £azi yi to iv&vn'ov, to be an holy feed, or the contrary, to fall into hell, or enjoy tho kingdom ; i

. 95. Tliat Unufquifque ex feipfo caufis et occafiouus pricftitit coin (a) Inftitut. 1. 3. c. 23. Beza in Rom. 9. fb) Al>. ^. p. ^. — - (c) L. 4. c. 72. (d) Stro. I. p. 314. 7. p. 7'7. (f) i>- adCaJi. c. z. (f) Ten. ad ^ur. 1. .^ c. sx.-— [gj L. 4. c. .^ (hJ Stro. 3. p. 453. ( ij (Jontra Gent. p. 5. f;} H;er. 16. p. 4- f^J Ho. 27. p. 166 fij 'lo. 6. p. 863. fmj Jl--v.Gr^c. Serm. 5. T». 4- P- 543. /"nj CiTitra. Jul 1. 3. p. l<).-—{oJ Catech. 4. j^. 31. (}■ } in 14. F-J. To. 3. p. 2J5. (q) To. 2. li. 14. in i Cor. y. ;. j^^ Dtcru t)j Elc^im. 85 4itori, that every one gives occafion to his Maker to render him a iii'Jfcl oj honor or dijlionor ; £t pro meritis fuis unufquifque a Deo vel honoris vas tfficitur, vel contumeUac, God having p^ivm manpower to make himjelj a vejfd ofeleition or oJ zurath : ihat we arc velfels oi wrath or ot mercy, awo it^QxicAchua oixc- i:x.s,froni our own choice, every one, xara^TxEya^wv luvrov crsvi^ ofyr,Sy y.a^d'Kcp xal <7Xci/oy (^(Kxvhfwr.isis, preparing himjelj ic be a zjrffd 0/ wrath, ouo6jv xal i^ k%vr», from his own wicked incli- nation ; or to be a vejfel of divine love, ^ta -riVewr, byfarith, S/otj pi^iMj- tayTwi" sXewy kitoWtixM, becaufe they have rendered ihe.mf elves ft for mercy. So (r) Origen, Macarius, (f) Chryfofom, Oe- cumenius and TkeophylaB:. And this faith Ongen, is, jufta fententia, et cum omni pietate concordans, ut ex priEcedenti- bus caufis unumquodque vas s'el ad honorem vel ad contumel- iam praeparetur, ajiiji fentence, and in all things agreeable td piety, that every one fliculd from preceding caiifs be made a vcffil of honor or difhcnor, Peri Arch. L. 3. F. i^ji. And fure thefe things muit be fufficient to convince us, tliat thefc fathers believed nothing of the doftrine of abfolute eletlion or reprobation ; which will be further evident. Section II. — uia Deus fcit cnjus debeat mifereri, becaufe God knew who zvere fit ohjetls of his mercy ; becaufe he knew, r/vas «^joi aan-npia.^ xxl UK a.z,iot, zvho zuere worthy of prejcrvatwn, and who were 7iot. So Chryfofiom and Oecumenius. £^thly. On Ver. 16. They defcant thus, It is not of him that wills, or runs only, but of God that fieweth fnercy, and crowns the work by his ajTiJlance ; for otherwife, fay they, it cannot be our duty, either to will or run. So Origcn, Chryfofiom, Oeciancnius 2iX\A TheophylaB ; fee this, and their anfwer to the objeftion of St. Aufzin againft this expofition, in the note upon that verfe. Cfthly. On thefe words, Ver. 18. He hath mercy on zohom he will have mercy, and zuhom he zoill lie hardeneth, Origen defcants thus ; that zvhich he fays is th^s, that we are good or evil, depends upon our will ; but luJiat flripcs the wicked man (liall fuffer, and what glory the good man is defigned for, de- {icnds upon the zvill of God ; tov «;;iov B}^::£7aBua eXceT, He hath raercy on him who is fit for mercy, joy Ss aVajS?/ aA.\£poM ilvcci avyyjop-cX, hut he. permits fK^ difobcdieitt to be Jiardened. Moreover they all note, that the apofile here fpeaks o\ Vha- lauh, and tliat him God hardened, not by laying on him any i>ece ffj ty fo to be, but only by his uaticnce and lenity, in Decree of Ele&ion, Sf withdrawing his plagues which (hould have led him to re- pentance ; as a kind mafter makes his fervant worfe by his lenity ; and it is obferved by VoJJius, that before St. Aujl'in wrote againft Pelagius, be agreed with thera in moft of thefe expofitions. Vide Ihjlor, Felag. 1. ,5. Theff. viii. p. 545. bthly. On Ver. 21. Hath not the potter pozuer over the clay\ &c. Tkeophy/a^ notes, thai as it is not the mafs itjelj that makes one veJfeL to honor, and another to dijhonor, but the uje of it, »p^ 9? (pvais rus [msv 'KOisT x.o7^'J.f7scus aiins, tits Ss fE^avi^v, oiW' n'jrpoaipsaisyjb it is not the natvre, but the choice of men that makes Jo me worthy of punifiment, and others of reward. God makes fome veflels of honor, others of difhonor, faith Chryjojtom, becaufe he knows, tjj ptev tiioi, ris II [j-ri roiovro^^ who IS worthy fo to be, and who is not. He juflly punifheth Jinners, faith Theodoret, ws yva/pt'/i toi'to TroitTv To?v/xft?vTay, as dartng wittingly to do thus ; and his philanthropy conjers mercy, receiving -Trpo^aai^j iiap tj^uv, »n occa/ion jrom us to dofo. Lajlly, I have fhewed, that In their notes on Ver. 22, 23 ; they fay that man is made a veiTel of wrath or mercy, Jrom his own choice. Skction III. — 3^/y, (w) Voffius declares, that all the Fathers before St. Avjiins time, think that God predeftinat- €d men to life from aprefcience that they would live pioufly, or would believe, and perfevere to the end ; and this, from what hath besn difcourfed, appeareth to have been the doc- trine of all the commentators upon the 8th and 9th chapters to the Romans, till St. Aufin's time, and of the Greek com- mentators after his time ; to whom you may add from him the teftimony of (x) Irenceus, that J'ojne co?ning to the light, and (Others refvfing fo to ff. V. i6, 17. fl} 2 Cor. v. 1,5. fm) 1 Tim. ii. 6. (n) Heb. ii. 9. [oJ Ma;th. xx, 28, xxvi. :S. (tJ Kom, v. 19. —~f5ts iv. 9, Rom. viii. 31. and here; for from afuppujition of tlat iv/tnh is not, no Juch inference can ke made. J 00 Mxtcnt of Chrljl's Redemption, of thofe nations from living to Cht-ifl upon this account ; and to fay he died for all the cleft, that they ot them who li%'e might not live to themfelyes, is' to fuppofe that forne ot the cled might livenot to Chrift but to themfelves ;; which can- not truly be.inidgined of the elecl of Goci. Moreover he de- clares that the fenie oi this lov.e of Chrillpicvciiicd upon them to perfuade men to believe in hitn ; now t4iis pierfuafiou they ilfed to every man, to whom they preached, and therefore they perluaded all men to believe that. Chrift died ior them; for fej iv^, faith he, preach this Ghrift who is to you, Gentiles, ike hope gJ glory ; admomJJiing irdw^x avOpc-j'irov, every man, nnd teaching every Man in all tuh/tJi'v/K, that zve^ nifty prefent every man perjeti in Ckrijl Jffus. ; See another falfe interpretation pf thefe words cbntuted, note .fcrii s Cor. v. 15.; - Section IV. — o^dly.W'h^n the apoftie faith, ("/) I exhort f/^(fr^£'r~ ers and infer£tjji,vns, and givmg of thanks he madejor all men (particularly) /or hngs and all -lliat are in authonty, &c. he nuift exhort them not only to pray for fome men, fome kings, and fome in authority in all nations ; for then we could not know bo^v to obferve this precept, becaufe we could not kiiow what men bcjuiers we were to pray Jor, and whatnot, Whei'i then he adds by, way o{ rt■^So^^,' for this is good and acceptable in the fight of God, zvho roil I -have all men to be faved ; tiiis iesfon why we. are to pray tor all inen in genei'al,^ and for all rulers iri particular, .muft ei'ther be a falfc and uhconciuairig ieafon, or muft import thus much : He would have all men, and all rulers to be faved, whom he would have us pray for. Now the do£lri,rae and practice -of the whole.- chn£i,ah wcrid ■attcfis that thify wefe all me^n, and rulers in particular, as iwe learn rro;m the exp'rcfs teftimonies of fgj Projper, and of Ihc -author (hj Vocatione Gentium. Moreover that God wouid •have all men to be faved the apfUe proves, I '{e) Col. i. 27, ;S. (f) I Tim. ii. i. (g) Sineerifliuje crcd;'ndiini gitcfiie profitendii\n e-ft, Deum vrlle, ut miies homines faivi fiant, liqi:l(I,ejii Apoltolus. ciijiis ifra fcnfentia eft^ blicitinimfe prarcipit, quod in o'ltiliib'.is EccIeHis piiffiine cuftoditiir, ut Deo pro omnibu'G hottiiliibus fvi|if^li<-c'tur. Proff. Resf. ad OijeiJ. 2 I'/ncent. •ir'r.xGtpit Appltpkis> iiiinncv i\e:i; AriJ-^oUni?. '-(hj t)i>i'ninus vitk fieri obfecraiiror.;^^ et poftalalioncs, et gratiarura 'a'5llovjCS pro irMnrbiis honiinibni, pro Rcgihus, et pro his qui in fiibli- iiiitate funt : Q^nflm legem fupplicntiohis, ita onjnium facertionim, et omnium (iJeliiuu devotio cor.corditcr tenet ut nulla pars niundi lit in qua hujyfaiodi i^rationes non celcb^'jiintur a populis Chriliranis. Suppli- 'rat crgoAibiqUe Ecclefia Deo non > foljun pro (anciis, et CJiriito jam re- •^'ci^e'r.^ti!;, Tea etiam pro omtiifeus hifidelibus, et inimici's crucis Chriftij, 'ike. ci£ Vecxt, Qcnt, i. i. c, 4. • . Extent of Chrift's Redemption, loi. ift. Becaufe he is the God of all, the common Father and Creator of all men, Ver. 4. Eph. iv. 6. Now thus he is the God of all men In particular, and fo this argument mufl fhew he would have all men in particular to be faved. And as the apojlle argues for God's readinefs to jullify the Gentiles by faith, as freely as the jfews by alking (ij Is he the God of the. Jews only ?, Is he not alfo of the Gentiles ? And by anfwer- ing that there is, as to this 710 difference betzuixt them; the fame God being rich unto all that call upon hi?n ; for zvhofo^ everJJiall call upon the name oj the Lord JJiall be faved; fo may we argue in this cafe by a like inquiry, /.; he the God of a f mall remnant of the Jews and Gentiles only? Is he not thi Savior oJ them all ? Chap. iv. 10. 2dly. He would have all men to be faved, faith the apoJllc ; for there is one mediator betwixt God and man, the man Chrijl jfos, who gave himfclf a ranfom for all. Now if the argu- ment trom one God was defigned to prove he was the God of all men in particular, as hath been fliewed already, the argu» ment from one mediator mufl alfo prove Chrill the mediator ol all men in particular, and confequently that he gave him- felf a ranfom for ail men in particular. Hence is he fo em* phatically fly led, the man Chnjl jefiis, to intimate to us, that having taken upon himfelf the nature common to us all to fit him tor this office, he mufl defign it for the good of all who were partakers of tliat nature ; for as he w?s a man, he furely was endued with the bell of human aficftions, univerfal char->- 2ty, which would excite him to promote the weltare of all ; 3s he was a man, he was fubjeft to the common law of human- ity ; which obliges us to endeavor the common benefit of men ; and that good will which he requires us to bear to all men in- ^iff'^'rently good and bad, friends and enemies, he queftionlefs did bear hitnfclf in the higheft degree, and to the utniofl extent, and therefore doubtlcfs m his fufterings for men, which are acknowledged to bo fuihcient for all, he had regard to the good pfall. Section Y,—^^thly, When the fame apoflle faith, fjj the foving grace of God hath appeared to all men, teaching them, denying ungodlmfs and worldly lujls, to live righteoiify, and' foberly, and godly in this prefent world, &c. he plainly feem- eth to ftrengthen this aflertion ; for here it is obfervable, \f;. That the grace here mentioned, is the, grace of God, e- '. en ol that God who (k) fpared not his Son, hut freely gave nun up for us. adly. That it is flyled, ri yjif'ts ri ocorripios, jav- 'iiig grace ; as being apt in its nature, and by the God of all grace defigned for the falvation of them for whom it wa^ (I) Rom. iii, 30,-- — (j) Tit. ii. ii, iz,~ — C'^J Rom. viii. 32. 102 Extent of Chrijl's Redemption, vouchfafed. ^diy. This grace, faith the apoftle, hath appear- ed to all men ; an3 if the apoflles did in their preaching ten- der it to all without exception, they either tendered it to them to whom by God's intention it did not belong, and fo exceed- ed their commifTion ; or elfe it did belong to all men ; and fince it only could belong to them by virtue of Chrift's paf- fion, it follows that the benefit of his paffion muft belong to all. ^thly. This grace appeared to all men to teach them^ de- iiying all ungodlintjs and worldly lufls, to live righteoujly, fo- berly and godly in this prefent world ; and therefore to teach them that which will mofl certainly conduce to their falva- tion, fmce all who learn this leffon will undoubtedly be faved, and that by virtue of our Lord's falutary paflion ; fince, as it follows, they may expecl the blejfed hope and glorious appear- ance of our Lord Jefus Chrijl, who gave hijnjelffor them. In a word, either all men are obliged on the account of this grace of God, and thefe fufferings of Chrifl for them, to deny un- godlinefs, &c. and to live righteoufly, foberly and godly in this prefent world; and then this grace, and thefe fufferings mufl be intended for their falvation ; or it muft be faid, that there are fome, yea, the greateft part of chrijiians, who are not on the account of this grace appearing to them, or of thefe fufferings obliged to the performance of thefe duties. Section VI. — ^thly. When the fame apoftle informs us that Chrift was flj 7nade a little lower than the angels, for the fuffering of death, that he by the grace of God, might tafie death Jor every man ; he clearly doth exprefs the fame after- tion ; for here is no reftraint at all, nor any feeming limita- tion of that comprehenfive phrafe, he tajled death ■arsp Travroj-, for every man, diftributively taken (for diBum de omni, fay the logicians, diftributes the fubjeft.) But there is fomething w^hich doth feem to ftrengthen the general intendment of the phrafe ; for this is faid to magnify the grace of God in fend- ing his fon to die for man : Now fure the grace of God will be more magnified by this general extent of our Savior's death, than by contracting the intendment of it to a few ; for if the grace of God be great in fending his fon to die for a few chof- en perfons, it muft be greater in fending him to die for many, and greater ftill in giving him up to die for us all ; and this would be more fenfibly perceived by all men, were it their own Ciife ; for were they in the number of condemned rebels by their Prince, who only fliould afford an aft of grace and in- demnity to others, but leave them under condemnation, they would affurcdly conceive his grace and favor would be greater, were it extended to ihem alfo, and would not think his grace r/;Hpb.ii.9. Extent of Chrijl*s Redemption, 195 was magnified the more for being fo difcriminating, as to ex- elude them from any fhare or portion in it. Section VII. — 6ihly. The apoftle St. Peier faith, fin J God is longfuffering to ufward, not being willing that any JJiould penjhf but that all Jhould come to repentance ; jxri (?». Xo/joEvof rhas dTToXiaQxi, d'k'ka. itdvra.s c\s /y-sravojav -/^Jipriisxi. Now Ti'vsr thus oppofed to 'nhns is a diflributive of all, and therefore fignifies God is not willing that any one of the whole rank of men fhould perifli. Moreover, when it is faid, God would have all men come to repentance, it is certain that this will refers to all to whom the preaching of thegofpel isvouch- fafcd, yea to all whom in the times oj ignorance, God winked at ; for fo the fcripture fpeaketh, faying, fnj the ti?nes of ig- norance God winked at, butj now he commandeth all men every where to repent. When therefore it is faid, he is not willing any one fhould perilh, but come to repentance, he mufl be fuppofed at leaft to mean, he would have no man perifh to whom the gofpel is vouchfafed. To fay with EJlius, by- way of anfwer to this argument, Argument i. ''God would have none to perifli, becaufe he gives toallfomegeneral means of converfion to God, though they be not fufficient to that end without thofe fpecial aids he will not give them ;" is to delude us with vain words. Reply. For it is felievident, that he who wills not the means necelfary to bring them to repentance, wills not that they fhould come to repentance ; and that he xvho determines to withhold the means, which being withheld, they mull perifli, wills they fhould perifh. Argument 2. When he faith thefe general words are to be reflrained to the eleft, and only fignify God would not that any of them fhould perifh, becaufe the apojlk in his firfl ,epif- tle writes to the elect. Reply \. I anfwer \fl. That the apoflle by the eleil doth jiot here mean n\en abfolutely defigned for eternal happinefs, but only men profelTing chriflianity, or fuch as were vifible members of the church of Chrift, as will be evident from thefe confiderations ; \ft, That he calls upon them to fo) make their calling and eleBion Jure, that they may not fall (from it ;} for faith he, if ye do thefe things ye Jhall never fall ; plainly de- claring that the making their eledion fure depended on their (p J adding to their faith, virtue, knoxol edge, temperence, pa^ ttence, brotherly kindnefs, charity ; and fo was only a condi- tional ele6lion upon their perfeverance in a life of holinefs. 2dly, He exhorts them to (qj be fober and vrgil&nt, becaufe fm) I Pet. iii.g. fn) A£ls xvli. 30, (0) i Pet, i. 30. (P) — ~-^ Ver. 5. 6, 7. (qJ i Pet. Y. 8, Ib4 Exient of Chrijl's Redemptianl their adverfary the devil goes about feeking whom he may de- vour : and to (r) beware lejl being led aioay by the error oj the wicked they Jliould fall from their ozun Jleadjaflnefs ; where- as it cannot be fuppofed of perfons thus abfoluiely eleQed to falvation, that they ilaould be devoured by Satan, or fall froni their fteadfaftnefs. Yea, ^dly. He not only fpeaks of fome of them who had (f) Jorjaken the right zoay, and turned with the dog to his vomit ; butalfo prophefies, that thoje falfe teachers who brought in damnable doSlrines, even denying the Lord that bought them, Jtiould make merchandize of Jome of them^ ■which they could never do of perfons abfolutely elefcled to falvation. /^thly. The apojlle affirmeth the fame thing of the whole church of Babylon, faying, (t) the church which is at Babylon tryvExXaxT'/i, eltEied together with you, faluteth you* Now that all the inembers, either of the eaftern or the weflern Babylon, were chofen out of the world to the profcfhon of chrijliamty , he who was with them could not be ignorant ; but that they all were abfolutely elefted to falvation, was more than he could know, and therefore more than he would fay. Reply 2. — idly. Though both this and the former epiflle were written to them who were eleEled through fancliji cation to obedience, and to them who had obtained precious faith, and fo to them who were already come unto repentance ; thcfe words cannot refpeft the fame perfons, becaufe they fpeak of perfons to whom God exercifed longfuffering, that they might come to repentance, and might not penfJi under their prefent want of it ; and fo they are direfted to the unconverted Jews, to whom St. Paul fpeaks thus, {uj defpifefi thou the riches of the goodnefs, patience and longfuffering oj God, not knowing that the goodnefs of God leadeth thee to repentance ? And to whom this apofilt fpeaketh, Ver. 15. faying, count the longfuf^ fering of aur Lord falvation. Now fure, it is not reafonabie to conceive thofe Jeius, who lay then under a fpirit oi flum* ber, were abfolutely chofen to falvation. (r) 2 Pet. iii. 17. (fj 2 Pet, ii. 3, 15, 22. ft J i Pet. v. 13.^ — XvJ Rom. ii. 4. 'Xxtent of Chrijl's Redemption* 205 CHAPTER IL Section I— A SECOND general argument for this extent of our Lord's falutary paffion, arifes from thofe fcrip-* tures which reprefent him as the Savior of die whole world j as when the Baptifi ftyles him, (a) the Lamb of God that iaketh away the Jins of the zoorld ; when the Samaritans fay, fbj we have heard, and know this is the Chrifl, the Savior of the world ; when he himfelf faith, fcj he is the bread cf God which came down from heaven, and giveth life to the world ; and that this bread is las flefh which he will give for the life of the world ; when St John faith, fdj we have feen and do teflijy, that God hath fent his fan to be the Savior of the world. If all thefe general expreflions feem not fo fully to confirm this truth, it is done beyond exception by thofe texts which fay, (e) fo God loved the world, that he fent his only bcffottcn fon into the world, that whofoever believeth in hiin might not perijk, but have everla/ling life : for God fent not his fon int(P the zuorld to condemn the zoorld, but that the world by him might be faved i and introduce Chrift making this declara- tion, (f) I came not to condem.n the zcorld, but that I might fave the zoorld ; and by the apoftle Paul, faying, (g) God was in Chrifl reconciling the world unto himfelf, not imputing to them their fins : And laflly, by St. John, laying to believers, of this advocate with the father Jfus Chrifl the righteous, that (h) he is the propitiation not only for our fins, but for the fins of the whole world. Now in the general obferve, \fl. That all thefe places, fave one, are cited from the writings of St. John, and fo the fenfe which the world bear- eth in St. John's gofpel and epiflles, niufl be efteemed in rea- fon the proper import of the word. Now this term occurs almoft a hundred times in St. Johns writings, twice fignify- ing the multitude, and frequently tlie habitable world, in which laft fenfe it is certain that Chnlt died not for it; but jnollly the men of the world, and then it fignifies, 1. That world which knew not Chrifl, John i. lO. and would not know his fervants. 1 John iii. 1. [«) John i. ig . — ^(b) John iv. 42. (c) Chap. vi. 3:5. 51. — -(d) » Joha iv. 14. (e) John iii. i6, 17. (f) Chap. xii. 47.— -/"l^ a> Csr. V. jg, (h) \]Q\i\\\\.z. o ij6§ £xleni (f (ffmjl*5 kedempUmt: 2. That world which hated the apojlles, John xv. 18, 19. and would afRlQ them, John xvi. 33. xvii. 14. and good men. 1 John iii. 13. . , 3. That world of which the wicked Jezus were a part, Ch, viii. 23. 1 John iv. 5. of which Satan was the Prince, Ch. xii. Qi. xiv. 30. xvi. 11. which was to be judged and con- vinced by the Holy Ghojl, John xii. 31. xvi. 8. and of which Chri/i and his apojiks were no part. Ch. viii. 23. xv. 19. xvii* i6. that world which lies in'wichedntfs, 1 John v. 19. and which cannot receive the fpirit, Ch. xiv. 17. And yet, ■_ 4. That world of which Chrijl was the light, Ch. iii. 19. ix^ 5. xii. 46. and which he prayed might believe ihoit opqf~ tUs he vvas fen^dlng to them, and might know him to be the Prophet and 'MeJJiah fent by God, Ch. xvii. 21, 23. Noiw when the world is fo conilantly ufed in the ill fenfe, in all thofe other places where it fignifies the men of the world, can it be reafonably thought, that in all thefe places it fhould fjgriify the eie&, that is, men that are not of the' world, but called out of it ; that when elfewhere it fignifies fo oft the fervarits of 5z, the enemies of Chrijl ■At\A chrijlians, the wicked of the world, and men uncapable of receiving tli'e fpirit, it Ihould in all the places mentioned in this argument fignify the fervants of C///?/?, the true lo^>crs of Chrijl zvi^ chrijlians, and thofe in whom the Jpirit dwells ? Seeing then the whole world is divided into good and bad men, arid it is on all hanc^s granted, that Chrijl died for good men, and here fo often faid that he died alfo for that world which ftands in oppofitlort to them ; is it riot reafonable to conclude ■hence, that he died both for the evil and the good ? Obj. But doth not Chrijl fay,- (x) 1 pray not for iheworl-d^ hut for them that thou hajl given vie out of the xdorld ; ated would he die fbr them, for whom he would not pray ? Anfo. This fobjeftion is contrary both to realon and the holy J'criptufe s To feafort, for can it rationally be imagined, that he who was perfe6l in charity, fhould be wanting in this higheil aft of charity ? That the beloved fon of God fhould charge this on us as our duty to pray for our enemies, that we may be the Jons oj our heavenly father, and he himfelf negleft to do it ? Moreover, how often doth he fay of the Jews, yie are cj the worlds and of his apcflles chofen out of them, that they were chofen John xii. 47. (f) I John ii. 3. $tO Mf^te^of Chrlfi* s Redemption] Norisit lefs abfufd to fay tjie import of tljefje. words is thiisi he died for, or he is the propitia|:ion UiV tli^ fin& of, tihe. eli^Q of the: whole world. For,. xjl. 1 have already file wed that in ihs fer I pi ure, ar^l ijx^re eXpecially in the writings of St. John, the world, or the whoile world, doth never fignify the ele£l only in oppofuion ft* the wicked of the world, but ftill the w.icked of the world, iaoppofition to the faithful chrijlian. Q.dly: Would it not be ftiyange, and alien from the mind of Jcripture., to fay the whole w^rld, is elpfted to falvation ?—< The whole world ftia.U be juftifted by iAXihivi Chnji, and truly fanftified by his fpirit ; the fpirit oi God dwells in the whole lararfd, and tlie whole world fhall be vaifed by Chrijl to eter- xial bappingfs ? And yet all this is certainly true of the whole world of tire eled : Why therefore is it not equally affirmed oi the whole world, if they be words of equaj latitude and iruth ? Section V.-rrAnd having fo fully evidenced that the Xforld in thefe three places fignifics not only theele£l, but the whole world, we are fufficiently afTured that the fan^e word in the fame EvangcUJl bears the f4me fenfe in all the other places mentioned, v. g. When the Bapii^ hhh (q) behold ike lamb of God who takctk aioay tht fins of the world ; doth he not fpeak this in aliufion to the lambs daily offered up for the fms of the whole Jszofli nation, and therefore intimate that as they were offered up to expiate the fms of the w'hole nfition, fo was this lamb of God offered to expiate the fms of the whole world in gen- eral ? When Chrft faith, (rj he is that bread zvhich canit dozvti from heaven to give life ufito the zvorld, and then tells the un» believing Jews, who w^re of the world, and fo continued, juy father giveth you this bread frota heaven ; and that this w^s the work God required of them to bdieve in him : is it not ev- ident that thefe unbelievers, thefe men of the world, in oppofi- tion to the eleft out of the world, mult alfo be the men whpm he came down from heaven to give life unto ? Or could he reafonably fay to them for whofe falvation he was never fent, (f) thefe things I fay unto you that ye might be faved ; ox complain thus of them to whom he n;ver was defigncd to give life, ye will not come unto me thcit ye might hav£ life ?— When he adds, Ver. 51. 'J his bread is my fkfi which I will give for the life of the- world ; and then faith to the fame Jews, if ye eat not my f eft, i. e. believe not in me crucified, you have no life in you ; mufl it not be their duty to believe C^J Johni. 29 ft- J John vi, 32'^-^ f/J John v. 34, 40, ialiimtliat they ftiight live ? And could they do tlib ff 'ha died not for them ? - In a word ; to be the C/iriJl, and to be the Savior oi'tht world, are in two of thefe places fet by way of appofitionto fiffnlfy they as words of the fame latitude; as when the Samaritcins fay we knozu this is truly-, h ffcorrip t« xo^ju-h 6 X.pt- ^os, thai Chrifl who is the Savior of the world ; and the ^p of. tie, (t) we have fee n and do tefify that God hdtk fetit tov t'iov tswrrrpx TH-no'yiJ.H, his fhn,i.e. the Savior of the world. Now Would the apOjUe have given this defcription of the 6'A>-?)?,'?7;)' fon of Gad, had he believed that he xvas not defigned to be fire Savior of the world, but only of thofe elefl: whom, faith he, (u) the world hateth ; bccaufe they are not of the zoorld'f Did he not come to feek and fdve that which was lofl,?i& all wen \vere ? And to fave /inner s, which is the condition of all men? Thefe places therefore, though they be indefinite in words, are yet equivalent to univerfais ; for wherefore caine he to fave that which was loft, but becaufe it was loft ? or to fave Tinners, but becaufe they were Tinners ? And if that be the rcafbn, hc^muft come to fave all fmners, all that wereJoft; the reafon being equal as to all that are fo. Section VI.— Moreover, when the apofile {aiih,{'vJGcfd was in Chri[l reconciling the xvorld unto hivfelf, 7iot imputirtg 'to them their fns ; the import of thefe words is plainly this, ^e Was offering through Chrift a reconciliation to the world, and promifmg to them who would believe in him an abfolu- tion from their paft offences. This is evident, \fl. Becaufe he was doing this not by himfelf immediately, but only by the miniftry of his apojlles ; for ib the words run. He hath given us the jniniflry of reconciliation, viz. that God zvas in Chnji reconciling the World to hi?nfelf, not imputing to them their trefpaffes, xal Se/xevo? Iv vi^xXv, and placing in (or commit- ting to) us the word of reconciliation. Now did they make a declaration to the impenitent,' unbelieving world, that God was a61ually Kconciled to them, and had forgiven their in- iquities : No, they exhorted them (w) to repent and be bap' tifed, in the name of the Lord jfefus, Jor the remifjion of fins ,• (x) to repent and be converted that their fins might be blotted out : (y } to believe in Chrifl that they might be jtflified^ i. e. abfolved from the guilt of fin ; fz) to repent and turn to^ the ■Lord that they might receive remifjion of fns, 2 a'/y, Becaufe they in purfuance of this commillion entreated all to whom they preached to be reconciled to God ; which being only to be done through faith in Chnfl, they muft entreat them to bc- (t) r John iv. 14, fu) i John iii. '!■%•'•''— ('V ) i Cor. v. 19.— ~ C'lu) Ads H. 38. (^nj Afti iu. 19. b) Aas xiii. ,38, 39. C^) Actsxxvi, ig, 20, f 1 1 'Extent of Chrift's Redemption* lieve in him that they might be juftified, i. e. obtain reconcit-^ iation through his blood (hed for the remiflion of fins ; and this the apojlk's reafon fhews, viz. fajwe pray you be you reC" onciUd to God, vnp XP^'S, by Chrijl ; for he hath made him (a facrifice for) fin for us that we might be made the righteouj- ■jiefs of God (i. e. might by God be accounted righteous throuo-h faith) in him. This being fo, they who were fent to (b J preach the go/pel to every human creature^ and in purfu- ance of this commiffion (cj warned every man, and taught every man, in all wifdom, that they might prejait every man ferjecl in Chrijl Jejus, praying all men to be reconciled to God through ^'/zr?/^ becaufehe had made Chrift a facrifice for their fins, ^c they, 1 fay, who preached thus, and yet did not exceed their commifiTion, muft believe that God was ready to be reconciled to every man through Chrifl ; and thereiore that his facrifice was offered to procure reconciliation for all mankind. As therefore Chrif is ftyled the lamb of God that taheth away the fins of the world, and faid to be the propitia- tion for the fins of the lohole world, not by a61ually removing the guilt of all men, or rendering God aftually reconciled to them, but by dying to procure thefe bleflings for all that would believe in him ; fo God is faid to be in Chrifl recon- ciling the world to himftlf. Sec. not becaufe he aftually did fo, but becaufe by thefe ambaffadors he offered reconciliation and remiflTion of fins through faith in Chrift to all that would believe in him. CHAPTER III. i\ THIRD head of arguments, to confirm the generality of Chrif's redemption, arifeth from thofe places which either exprefsly fay, or by plain confequence aflert, Chrifl died for them that perifh ; for hence the argument runs thus : Section I.— If Chnf died tor them that perifh, and for them that do not perifli, he died for all ; but Chnjl died for them that perifh, and for them that do not perifh. Ergo, he {a J Sec the Note ihcre,—- -f^; Mark xvi. s^.-^fcj Colofl". i. a8. Extent of Chrijl's Redcmptmi, i 1 3 died for all men. That he died for them that do not perifh, is confefled by all, and it' he died for any that may or fhall periih, there is the fame reafoil to aflirra he died for all that do fo. Now that he died for fuch, the fcripture faith ex- prefsly in thefe words, faj and through thy knowledge Jhall thy weak brother perijh for iohom Chriji died ; and it doth intimate as much in this injunftion, fbj deftroy not him with thy meat for whom Chrijl died. In both which places the a^ pojiie exhorts thofe'to whom he v/rites, not to fcandalife their weak brethren, by art argument taken from the irreparable mifchief they might do them, viz, the eternal ruin they might bring upon them by fo doing. Now if the apojile knew and taught that none could be deftroyed or perifh for whom Chrijh died, they to whom thefe exhortations are direfled, muft be fuppofed to know and to believe it ; and then St. Paul niuft, in thefe places, exhort them to avoid the fcaudalifing of their brother, by fayihg that elFecl might fellow from their fcandal which he before had told them was impoflible. Now is it ireafonable to believe that one afTiftcd by i\\& holy ghojl, (hould ferioufly and folemnly admonifh them not to deftroy thofe fouls for whom Chrfl died \ who by his doclrine were o- hliged to believe that they for whom Chriji died could never be de/lroyed ? Anfw. 1. Some anfwer, that the offence confifts in lhis» that though the perfon who thus perifheth carinot be one for whom Chriji died, he may be one for whoth they were in char- ity to believe he might die. Reply. But this anfwer ciats off the whole ftrength of the apojlle s argument or motive to abftain from fcandalifing a' xveak brother, fince if I know this never can be done, 1 know I am fecure from ever running fuch an hazzard ; for if I really deftroy or give occahon to his ruin, I mull be fure on that account Chriji died not for him, and that he fuffers noth- ing by my action, but that without it his ruin was inevitable ; but if my judgment of charity concerning him was true, I know I cannot do what the apojlle here enjoins me to be care- ful to avoid. It is therefore certain from this dofcirinc, that they mull either be affured this jLid;j;ment of charity muft be falfe, and then they could riot be obliged to acl by it ; or that their brother could not periih, and then they could not ration- ally he moved by this impoflible fuppofitiori to abftain front fcandalifing him. Anj'w. 2. Others anfwer, that they may be faid to deftroy or caufe him to perifli for whom CAny/ died, though his de- ftruflion doth not follow j becaufe they do that which in its (a) I Cor. viii; ii, fb) Rom. xlv. r;, P 114 Exterd of Chrijl's Redemption, own nature tends to his deftru£tion, and might have that eF- fe£^, had not God determined to preferve all for whom Ckriji died, from perifhing. Reply. Should this be granted, the force of the apojlle's ar- gument will IHll be taken off; for it I am infallibly affured, God will prevent this ifTue in all for whom Chriji died, the fear that they Ihould aftually die, can be no proper motive to abllain from the commiffion of that aftion which may fcan- dalife them ; thus, though an arrow (hot out of a bow might kill my father, yet if I am affured he ftandeth where my arrow cannot hit him, it would be tolly to exhort me not to flioor, left 1 fhould kill vay father. If then 1 am as certainly alFured that none for whom Chrifl died can perifli, it muft be as unreafonable to exhort me not to fcandalife them left by that a£tion they fhould perith. Moreover, the apojlle adds, that by thus offending our weak brother, wtjin againji Chrifl^ i. e. by caufing them to perifh whom he had purchafed with his blood, and died to fave. Deny this intent of Chrift's death, and you can never Ihew how by offending them who never did or could belong to Chnji as members of his body niyftical, we are injurious to ChriJl. i>ECTiON II. — A like argument arifes from the defign of the apoflle in the epijUe. to the Hebretcs, who to deter the ./(fi^'j frorti neglefting the great faivdtion offered to them by ChriJi^ and ti-om apoltatifing from the faith they had received, faith, (c) that if they fltoidd fin wilfully after they had re- ceived the knowledge of the tiuth, there would remain no more f'acrifce for their fin, feeing they would be guilty of tramp- ling under foot the fan of God, and counting the blood of the covenant, by which they were fantlified an unholy thing. Now in what tolerable fenfe can it be faid, that no farther facri- fice for fin remains to them for whom no facrifice was ever offered or intended ? And who were by God's own decree excluded from any intereft in Chrffs death betore they came into the world ? How were they fandifed by the blood of that covenant from which they were inevitably ex- cluded from the beginning ot the world ? Or how do they neglecl this great fa Ivation for whom it never was intended ? To ftrengihen this argument, let it be confidered, i//. That it is evidently the fame perfon who tramples un- der foot the Son of God, and doth defpite to the holy gho/l, who is here faid to have been fantlfud by the blood of the covenant ; for this paragraph lies betwixt the other two, and is connected to both by the copulative jcai and, which fhews «hat thefc three things belong to the fame perfon ; and this (c) Heb. X. 26, 29. Extent of Chrijl's Redemption. 1 1 5 (Jcftroys the fubterfuge of them who refer this pafTage to Chrifi fanftifying himfelf, or offering himfelf as a piacular vi6lim for us. Moreover though Cknji is faid to fanciiiy himfelf, John xvii. 19. yet is he never faid to be fanctified, and much lefs to be fan&ijied by his own blood ; but only aV'a^EJv Tov Xaov io Jandijy the people by his own blood. Chap. xiii. 12. i.dly. Obferve, that to fanftify, and to be f<:n£lified, in this epiJlU, doth never fjgnify to be purified from the power and dominion of fin by inward holinefs, but always to be purged from the guilt of fin by the oblation of a facrifice, as appears from Chap. ii. 11. See the note there ; and from this very chapter where it is faid Ver. 10. that we are %yioi.nixiovi, fa7}fli- Jied by the oblation oj the body (or as it is in other copies, by the blood] of Chrift. See the note on Ver. 14. and on Chap, ix. 13. idly. Becavife he is here faid to have been fandijud by the blood of the new covenant which was (hed for the re- miflion of fins, and in which God promifes to be merciful to our iniquities, and remember our fins no more, Chap. viii. 12, X. 17. In fine, this argument begins thus, having then bold- nefs (or liberty) to enter info the holiejl by the blood of J<^Jus Ver. 19. let us hold fajl our prof ejfion without wavering ; for if zue apoflatize from it, there remains no more facrifce to ex- piate our fin. it is therefore evident, that even thofe perfons who by their apoftafy from the faith became obnoxious to the foreft punilhment, had once, by virtue of their faith, obtained a remiffion of their fins, and loft it by making fiiipwreck of faith, and drawing back from that faith, by which they once lived, to perdition. Ver. 38, 39. Section III. — -Moreover, St. Peter informs us of fome falfe teachers who fliould ( d) bring in damnable herefics, (i. c. fuch as would render thofe who abetted and embraced them, obnoxious to damnation) even denying the Lord that bought them. Now to thefe words the anfwers are fq many, and fo extravagant, that it is as eafy to confute as to recite them. One faith, Chrijt indeed bought thefc perfons, but that he on- ly bought them to be fl;ives ; and then for any thing I can fee to the contrary, they might have reafon to deny him. Another, that he died to refcue them from temporal, but not from eternal punifiiments : Now where doth holy Jcripturt intimate that Chrifi died to refcue any one from temporal judgment whom be referved to eternal, efpecially, if they were fuch as by den)-ii)g of him did bring upon themf elves fwift deflruB-ion ? A third tells us that he died for thern, be- caufe, he gave a price fufficient for them ; as ii the giving \ ' i) z Pet. ii. I, ti6 Extent of Chriji' s Redemption, price fufficient to redeem fix captives, without the leaft inten- tion of redeeming any more than two, were the redemption ot the fix. A fourth faith, that they denied that Lord whom they profefTed to have bought them. And a fiith, that they denied him who in the judgment of other men had bought them ; but where is the offence of this, if that profeffion was their own miftake, and fo was that which they fhould rather have denied than. profefTed, and if that judgment of others was not according to the truth ? In fine, the plain intent oi the a- poflle is to aggravate the fin of thefe talfe teachers, that he whom they denied had bought, or died lor them. "Now if he did this really out of good will to them, and with intent to free them from the mifery to which they were obnoxious by fin upon the terms on which this favor is propounded in the gofpel to any others, the words are of great force to fhew the horrible ingratitude and impiety of thefe ialfe teachers ; but if it be fuppofed that he intended not to buy them, or to do anything to Ireethem from their mifery, IduI in the cov- enant v/ith his Jatker eftablifiied in his blood, excluded them from any interefl in his death, and did that only which might occafion others through miftike to think be died for them; this manifeftly tends to lelFen, if not juflify their denial of him who had before denied them any benefit from his redemption, and therefore plainly is repugnant to the fcope of the apojlk. ■ ' CHAPTER IV. Sf.ction i.~A FARTHER enforcement of this ex- tent of the death ot Chnjl arifeth from the obligation, which is and alwa)s was upon all pcrfons to whom the gofpel is, or was rt-vealed, to believe in Chrijl ; for if it be the duty not only of fome few of every fort, but even of all and fingular to ivhom the gofpel is revealed, to believe in Chrijl, i. e. to own him as their Savior, or as that Jefus who came to favc them irom their fins ; it muft be true that he came into the world to be the Savior of all men, and to be the propitiation for the Extent of Chnfi'% Redc7npimn, iiy fins of the whole world, as holy fcripture doth exprefsly teach. Now that it is the duty of all to whom the gofpel is revealed thus to believe, is evident ; for thus Chrijl fpeaks to the unbe- lieving Jews, fa) lilts is the work (i. e. the will) oj God that you JJiould believe in him whom he hathjuit; for fbj 7J you believe not that I am he, youjhall die in your fins i for (cj ke that believeth not is condemned already, becauje he bdievtth not in the Son of man. The bufinefs of the Baptijl was to bear witnefs of light, fd) that all men might bcbeve- in him^ and therefore he declares that (e) he that believes not in himJJiall not feelije, but the wrath oJGod abidetk on him. And the work of the good fpirit was to ffj convince the world of Jin, becaufc they believed not in him. The commiffiou to preach faith and repentance for the reraiflion pf fins, is given to the apojlles in thefe comprehenfive words, (g) go into all the world, and preach the gojpel to every creature ; he that btlicvcth and is baptijed Jliall be Javed, he that believeth not Jizall be damned. Ail which things, and many more of a like nature difperfed through the holy Jcriptures, are moll plainly inconfiftent with the doftrine ol a reftrained redemption to fome few chofen perfons. For, ijl. Whofoever is obliged to believe in Jefas Chriji, is o- bliged to (h) believe to the j'aving of the foul, fince they who preached the gofpel faid, (i) believe in the Lord Jefas and you Jhall be faved, and promifed that he that believed and zvas bap- tized JJiould be faved ; and they who writ thegofpels, writ them to this end, that we might believe fk) that JJus is the Son of God, and believing might have eternal life through his naine. Now it it were the duty, even of them who perifh under the preaching of the gofpel, to own Chrijl as their Savior, and to believe to the falvation of their fouls, it follows either that it is, and in all generations fince our Savior's coming, was their duty to believe a lie, and to apply that to them which belong- ed not to them ; or that Chrijl' s death might truly have been applied to, and therefore was mod certainly intended for, the falvation of thofe fouls that perifli. v>.dly. To fay it was the will, or the command of God, that any perfon fhouid believe a lie; that the Eaptiji's tefli- mony was defigned to teach men lies ; or that the Holy Ghojh was fent to convince any man of iin becaufe he believed not what was falfe, is blafphemy ; and yet this mufi be true, or elle it mull be God's command, that thev of the Jems who believed not in Chrijl Ihould believe in him, and that all men (a) John vi. 29. (b) viii. 24.. (c) Ch. iii. 18. ( d ) John i. 7. (e ) John i. 36. (f) Jolui xvi. ^.-^—(g) Mark xvi, i^, 16. (hj Jlcb x» 39. (ij Acts xvi. 31. (k)\Qi\\\ xx 31, 1 1 8 Extent of Chrijl*s Redemption. who heard the Bapti/i's teftimony ought to have believed in him, though tew of them a6lually did to ; and that all who faw the miraculous operations of the holy fpirit in the apojlles and primative profeflors, and believed not in Chrijl, were guilty of fin, becaufe they believed not in him ; and if fo, Chrijl mull have died for their falvation, and Ihed his blood lor the remiihon of their fins. '^dly. To promife generally, and vi^ithout exception, falva- tion to men upon believing, muil be a promife made to moft men upon an impoflible condition, or elfe all they to wbom the gofpel is revealed may believe to falvation, and fo Chriji muil have died for their falvation. To fay God promifeth falvation to moll, only on terms which he himfelf knows are jmpofTible, becaufe they neither can do it without him, nor ivill he enable them to perform them, is in efFe£l to fay, I promife, you never fhall be faved; and is not that a flrange promife from a God rich in goodnefs to the fons of men ? Surely a promife upon condition, in the mouth of any good and honell man, is intended as a motive and encourage- ment to him to perform the condition that he may enjoy the good thing promifed. Now where the condition annexed to the promife is impoffible, if 1 know it, it can give me no en- couragement to fet about it, if he who promifes knows it fo to be. As he indeed promifeth nothing, becaufe nothing that I can obtain, or be the better for ; fo he alio deludes and puts a cheat upon me, pretending kindnefs to me by making me the promife, and intending none, by making the obtainm.ent of it to depend upon that which he knows 1 never can, or fliall be able to perform ; and therefore, to reprefent God as promif- ing falvation to thegreatell part of mankind only upon an im- poifible condition, is to reprefent him as a deluder, and one that puts a cheat upon them, and a6ling with them fo as no good, wife or honeil man did, or would aft towards his fellow man. ^thly. To fay that men fhall die in their fins, fhall be con- demned to abide under the wrath of God, and be excluded from eternal life, becaufe they believe not to falvation ; i. e. becaufe they do not apply Chriji's merits to them, or believe he died for them, is either to alfert Chriji died for every unbe- lieving ChnJHan, or to alfert they fhall hereafter be exclud- ed from eternal life, and condemned to everlalHng pun- ifhments for not believing what is falfe. ^thly. Were any CkrTjlian under fuch a condemnatory de- cree as that he could not believe, he would not be condemned becaufe he believed not, but he would not believe becaufe he was condemned ; and whenfoever punifhment is duly threat- ened for the omifiion or nonperformance of an aft, it mull be Exteni of Chrijl's RedeMptionl il^ fuppofed both that the aft might not have been omitted, and that the punifhment would not have followed, had it been performed. To conclude, it is never faid in Jcripiure that the devils fhall be condemned for not believing in C/^rzy/, of which no reafon can be given but this, becaufe he died not for them. Section II. — It therefore cannot be fufficiently admired, that the grave Synod of Dort fhould urge fuch texts as thefe again ft this do6trine, viz. that ("Ij through his name whofoeV' tr Jliall believe in him Jhall receive remijfion oj fins, (m) God hath fet forth him to be a propitiation throughfaith in his blood : and Chriji is the end oj the law for juflifcation to eve-, ry one that believeth ; it being demonftrable that either all men are not obliged to believe for the remiffion of their fins, or for juftification, or to have faith in Chriji' s blood, although the gofpel be revealed and preached to them, and then they cannot be condemned for not believing in Chriji; or that be- ing thus obliged to believe, it muft be true, that all to whom the gofpel is revealed are enabled to believe that Chrifi died and Ihed his blood for them, tor the remiffion of their fins, and for their juftification upon that condition which God re- quires them to perform under the higheft penalty imaginable. (71) Whilji you have the light, faith Chriji^ believe in the light, that ye may be the children of the light, left darknejs come up- on you. Where obferve, ifi. That fo) to believe in the light, is to believe in Chriji ; for fpj I, faith he, a?n the light oj the world, idly. Obferve, that he exhorts them to believe in him, that by this faith they might become children of the light : i. e. might be juftified and reconciled to God by the bloed of his fon, as are all the children of God, or of the light; for (q) if we walk in the light we have co?7imunion with God, and the blood of Chriji cleanfeth us from all fin, (r) we being all made the children of God, through faith in Chriji Jefus. 2,dly. Obferve, that Chrifi fpeaks this to thofe Jews which then believed not in him, and to the generality of that nation, and fo to thofe who, when he fpake, continued unbelievers, and remained under that darknefs which after came upon them for their unbelief; therefore our Lord exhorted them to be- lieve in him that they might be juftified and faved with the children of light, whoperifhed in their infidelity; which jufti- fication they could not obtain, or rationally be exhorted to be- lieve that they might attain, unlefs Chrifi died for them. Moreover, a brief infpeftion into all thefe places will be fuffi- cient to difcover, that they are fo far from faying any thing that (I) Acts X. 43- C"fJ Rom. iii. 25. x. 4. fn) John xli. 35, 36. "——fo) John ix. S'---^(t) — — viii. 12. tiJ i John i. 7. (rj Gal. iii. 26, 126 Extent of Chrijt's Redemption* is not well confiftent with this extent of our Lord's falutar/ pafiion, that they do manifellly eflabliOi it. Thus when St. Peier faith, io Chrijl give all the prophets witnefs , that through his name whofocvcr hdieveth in him Jhall receive remijjion oj jins ; is not this a teftimony of a promife of remiffion oi fins unto every one to whom the gofpel is preached on the condi- tion of faith in Chrill ? Is then this a promife made upon a condition pofhble to all to whom the gofpel is revealed or not? If it be made on a condition poflibleto them all, then all to whom the gofpel IS revealed may receive remiflion of fins through faith in Chrill ; and fo Chrill rnufl have died for them all. If only upon an impofiible condition, then is it in the mouth of all God's prophets, a pretence of the kindnefs to the moft he never intended they fhowld have ; fof then he v/ould not have fufpended it on an impoITible condition. Yea then, is it a promife only in name and (hew, but in reality none at all i* For the CivTllians tell us, with the higheft reafon, that an im- poflible condition is as none at all. And here obferve, that it is the fame thing as to the future ftate of all men ; whether the condition be naturally impofhbie, or through lapfed na- ture ; whether it be fimply imnoffible, or to corrupted nature 5 for feein8. (t) Ifa. Ixv. 2. (k) t John iv 14- — ^/yRom, ii. 4, (m) Mich. yii. 18..: (n) ier, \\. 24. ■ (0) Ezek. xxiv. 13. Extent of Chrijl's Redemption. itg ed us, and toe would not be cleanfed, when he never intended us any intereft in that blood of Chrift which alone cleanfeth from all fin ? Why doth he fay and fwear, he hath no pleaj- ure in the death of him that dies, but rather taketh plcafure irt this, that they fhould turn and live, when his mere arbitrary pleafure hath left them under a necefTity that they ihould die and not live, and put this unanfwerable queflion into their mouths, fpj if our tranfgrefjion and our Jins he upon us, and no Savior was by God intended to redeem us from them, hozo fliould we then live f Why, laflly, doth he fay, (q) Ifrael, thou ha/l dejlroyed thyfelf but in me is thy help f For be it this refpefts their temporal condition in this world, and the concernments of the bodv, there is no thought more difhon- orable to the Father of fpiritSj afld the lover of fouls, than that he fhould be helpful to men in temporals ; but when he fees their fouls finking into eternal mifery, intend them no help, and put them under no pofTibility of efcaping it ; or that lys providence fliould be llill employed in making pro- vifions for the bodies even in the wicked and unthankful ; but that when by the fame power, and the fame fufferings of his Son, he could have made the fame provifion for the fouls of others as he is fuppofed to have done for his elect, he fliould by a mere arbitrary aft of preterition eternally and in- evitably exclude them from itj and leave them under a necef- fuy of being the everlafling objefts of his wrath. Section II. — 2dly. Hence it muft follow, that Chrift never died with an intetition to fave them whom he doth nob aftually fave, and deliver from the wrath to come : And why then doth he fay, (r) that he came doxon from heaven to givf. life unto the world, and that his Father (fjfent his Son into the world, that the world through him might have life ; and that he loill give his fejk for the life of the world : I am the bread oj life ; if any ?nan eat of (his bread he flioll live forev- er : (t) Verily, verily, he that believeth in me hath everlafling life ; plainly encouraging all to do fo ? Why doth he fay to them, fuj who would not come unto (i. e. believe in) him that they might have life, thefe things I fay unto you that ye might be faved ? Yea, why doth hf inquire, how oft would I have gathered ye as an hen doth her chickens under her wings, and you would not be gathered, and fo pathetically wifli that they^ from whofe eyes thofe things were after hid, had known in their day the things belonging to their peace ? You may as well hope to reconcile light and darknefs as thefe words of Chrifl^ fP) Ezek. xxxiii. xo. fq) Hof. xili. ^,—-^fr) John vi. 33, 35.— -• l/j John iii. 16. CtJ John vi. 47, fuJ John v. 54—40. R igQ Extent of Chrijl^s Redcmpticn, with his intention to die only for them whom fliouM actually befaved. - SECTiOJi III. — 3^(>'. Hence it muft follow that none of thofe to whQm God never intended falvation by Chrift, or ■wijo fhall not be atlually faved by him, are bound to. believe in him ; for had not this Savior come into the world they could not have been- obliged to believe in him, and is not it to them all one to have no Savior come at all, and none come for them ? Moreover, if he died not for them, they cannot believe in his death ; if there be no falvation for them ill,. Chrift, they cannot believe he is their Savior ; fhould they believe, muft not their faith.be in vain, feeing it cannot alter the- intentions of God in delivering his Son up to the death, or of Chrift in dying for the eledt only, and why then do the minifters of the gofpel promlfe falvation to all men provided they believe, when no falvation is provided for all ? And fo none can be tendered by them to all on any condition whatfoever ? Since God himfelf never intended falvation fhould, be obtainable by all, and therefore never could give thenli commifBon to tender it to all on any condition whatfo- ever, why doth Chrift fay to all the Jezcs that came to him (vj this is the co?nmand of God that ye believe in the name of the Son of God ; fince this command muft be a declaration of God's will that they fliould all believe, and his intention that the generality of the Jews fhould not have falvation by Chrift, fliews his contrary will ? And, laftly, why doth he promife falvation to all if they believe, by faying, (w) he that believeth fliall be Javcd ; (xj whofoever believeth in him fliall have ev- erlajling Ufe ; and then inquire thus, if I fay the truths why do you not believe me ; feeing he died not with an intention to purchafe falvation to many of them whom he would not actually fave ? /^thly. Hence it clearly follows that no man can be con- demned hereafter tor final impcnitcncy and unbelief, feeing, he tranfgreffeth no law of God by his unbelief ; for furely God commandeth no man to believe in Chrift for falvation, , for whom he never intended falvation by Chrift, or to repent for falvation whom he intended not to fave by Chrift ; (ince .therefore where there is no tranf2:re{rion there can be no con- dcmnation ; why doth Chrift threaten to the Jews, (y) that if they did not believe he was the Chrifl, i. e. the Savior of the world, they fhould die in their fuis ? Why doth he declare thpm who believe not in him fz) inexcvfcabk and without all cloak for their fns, and why doth the apoftle fay, how fhall (v) John vi. 19. (^Tf^ Mark xvl. 16. fx) John vJ. tfi. viii. 46. {yj John viii. 24. (x) John xv. 22, 24. Extent of Chrijl' 5 Redemption. J31 Z0£ efcapc if zve nrgleEl fo great falvation ? Since iMat can be no falvation at all to them for whom it never was intended, and it nuift be all one to them to negle^^ and ufe the grcatcil diligence abotjt it. In a word, either it was poffible tor the-Jii who die in their impenitence and unbelief to believe and re- pent to falvation, or it was not fo ; if. it were paffible, then either Chrift mufl have died for them, or it mull be poiTiblc for them to be faved without a Savior ; if it was not, the\ cither mufl not be obliged at ail to believe and repent, o: they mufl be obliged to do what it was impoflfible for lhe:;i to do; yea, feeing this impoffihility arifeth only irom God".; denial of that grace to them ivhich he vouchfafes to his clc^i (fgr had they tlic fame grace, it would or might have the fame cffeft upon them} it follows that God mufl both wi|l they fhould repent and believe, becaufe he commands and obliges them fo to do, and yet will they fhould neither repent nor be- Ijeve, becaufe he wills the denial of that grace without, whicji it is impofTible they fhould do fo. Section V.^ — ^My. Hence it will follow that neither the ele£l, nor uoneletl. can rationally be exhorted to believe,; not they who ar.e not eletted, becaufe Chrifi died not. -for them ; not the elect, for he that knows himfelf to be one of that number haih believed and repented already ; if he do not know this, he cannot know that Chrifi died for him, and fo he cannot know it is his duty to believe in him for falvation. Whereas if you aiTert Chrifi died for all, then may you ra- tionally exhort all men to believe, fince every one mufl know that he who died for all, died for him alfo, and therefore that ')\ is his duty to believe in him for .falvation. ,'.^SECTiOiN 6. — dlhly. Hence it mu ft follow that God hath not vouchfafed fufhcient means of falvation to all to whom the gofpel is revealed ; for feeing there is no pardon, no juf- tification, no peace with God, no deliverance from the wriuli to come» to be obtained but through faith in him, no (a) olh- er name given by which ive can be faved ; they who have no interell in Ins death can have no means of obtaining pardon and falvation. Now as all were not IfraCl who were c^lfrael, fo all are not of the number- of the elefl to whom the gofpel is revealed ; fo that if falvation by Chrifi cat: be obtained only by the cleft, the refidue of thofe to whom the gofpel is revealed can have no means lufTicient tor falvation. But this is contrary \fl. To the whole tenor of the gofpel wliicli is, f.iitli the apajlle, (b) the power of God throupfn fnth to the falvation fif every one that hehevctk ; ( c) the zcord of grace wh>ch is a- [a) Adslv, 12.- — (h) Rom. i, 16. (c) Actsxx.j::. i32 Extent of Chriji' s Redemption. bit to build us up, and give us an inheritance among thofe that are fanclijitd : fdj The faving grace of God which hath ap' psared to a'J ?nen ; thoic fcriptures which are able to make us wife unto Jalvation ; that gofpel which was written that we vught believe that Jejus is the Chriji, and believing mighi have lije through his najne. John xx. 30. ^dly. If men have not fufficient means to be faved by the covenant o\ gracp, then have they only means given them to increafe their condemnation, yea, fuch means which they cannot but ufe to their greater and more heavy punifhment ; fince (e) he who knows his majlers will, as all to whom the gofpel is revealed rnay do, and doth it not, Jhall be beaten with more ftripes ; and fo it had been better for ihem not to have known the way of |ife, or to have had no covenant of grace tendered to them. For if they be not able by the aflift- ance pt that grace which God is willing to vouchfafe them, to repent and believe the gofpel, they muft lie under a necef- fity of being dan^ned fpr not receiving the truth in the love of it, and ot that negleft of this falvation, which renders it ira- pofTible they fhould efcap.e the wrath of God, and under a neceffity of periihing, for ffj if we repent not we mujl all per- ■iJJi ; and this impenitency and unbelief muft be more crimi- nal for being committed under the gofpel difpenfation, than otherwife it would have been ; fo that the revelation of the gofpel mufl be the foreft judgment to them, feeing it muft in- creafe their damnation without apoflibility in then^ who want- ed means fufficient to procure pardon and falvation, or of ob- taining any blefiings by it ; whereas it is certain, that this Fa- ther of fpirits cannot be fo unnatural to his own immediate offspring, as to defjgn theif greater mifery by his moft gra- cious difpenfations ; fince, as our Savior argues, ('gj if earth- ly parents being evil, will not be fo unnatural to their chil- dren, much !efs a;?// ^i:r heavenly Father be fo to his ; and that this lover ot fouls, who hath declared his ways cannot be unequal to them becaufc^/i^ all fouls are his, can dcfignnoth- in^T, much lefs aft any thing on purpofe to increafe their con- demnation, and their inevitable ruin. o^dly. If all men under the gofpel liave not means fufficient to repent and believe, fo as they may be faved, vouchfafed by God, then muft he ftill withhold fomething from them, with- out which they cannot repent and believe to falvation, t^/z. fpecial grace, fo called, bec^ufe it is peculi^irly granted to the pled ; an irrefiftable impulfe, with which the converfion of the fmner, faith and repentance will certainly beproduced, and \.'ith- (d) Tit. ii. 11.^ (e) Luke xii, A^.—ffj Luke xiii. 3. f§j IVl^t vii. II. /'/•y iizck. xviii. 4. Extent of Chrijl's Redemption, 135 out which they neither will nor can be wrought in us ; a divine energy, or an almighty power like that which God exerts in the creation, or the raifing ot the dead, we being by it made new creatures, and vd\itAJrom a death in Jin, to a life of right - eoufnefs. Now if the want of all, or any of the things be the reafcn why fo many, who live under the gofpel difpenfation, do not believe and repent to falvation ; and upon this account it is that they continue in their impenitence and unbeliel, be- caufe they want this fpecial grace, and divine energy to do fo ; thcfe great abfurdities will follow. iji. That God condemns them to deftruftion for that which is BO fin ; for fure it is no fin in the creature not to do that which can alone be done by the almighty power oi God, and which cannot be done without that proper aft of God he never would afford to them ; for then it mull be the fin of man not to be God ; if therefore God Ihould punifh men for not doing that which therefore is not in their power to do, be- caufe it requires a divine energy which he will not exert on their behalf, he mufl puniih them for not being equal in pow- er with God himfelf. o.dly. Then muft every impenitent and unbelieving perfon have a juft excufe, and a fufficient plea why he Ihould not be punifhed, or condemned for his infidelity and unbelief, and they might cry to God as did the officers of the Jezos to Pha- raoh, fij wherefore dealejl thou thus with thy fervants ? There is no jir aw given to us, and thoujayejlto us, make bricks : no fpecial grace, no divine energy afforded us, and thou fayeft to us, do that, which can no more be done without it, than men can make bricks without ftraw, and thy Jervants are beaten, but the fault is in him who denies us Itraw, and yet requires bricks ; yea, who requires that faith, and that repentance which he never would afford us means fufficient to perform ; for the plea of infufficicncy, or want of llrength for the doing that which is commanded, is an excufe fufficient in the judg- ment of all mankind where it is truly pleaded; I could not help, or I could not avoid it ; I had no means, and no ability to do it, is an apology fufficient in the mouths of all men, nor fcarcely can a man be found fo barbarous as to condemn and punifh, when he is alfured this is indeed the cafe ; and ftiall we then afcribe greater feverity to a righteous God ! If not, it muft be certain men cannot appear incxcufablc for their im- penitence and unbelief, unlefs God had vouchfafed them mreans fufficient to repent and believe. Section VII. — Reply. Here it is fa id we all had ftiength fufficient to believe in our firft parent Adam^ and tiierelore (ij Exod. V, 15,16 134 JExknt of Chrifi's JicdempUm. jfi^yhp de^lf wUh as if we had ix ftUJ. Tq this ianwa[\tabl^ pi-etence, fo weak, faith the judicLaus Dr. Cia^.ct, that n.otlung hut a defperate caufe flioiijd force aoy man to take (helter iu it, J.anfwer, ij^. That it pwa,s the trjith of the o.bj.e£lion, vi^. that tp re- quire of men what was ever impofTible for them to do under the l^igheft penalties, and to pnnifh and condemn ,,t.he^ ff)rnof 4pfng it, is evidently unjuft and cruel. ,,., |, ., j. . . ^diy. It is evidently falfe that Adam in the ftate or inno. cency, that is, before he had finned, had power to repent of his iniquity, and to believe in a favior not yet revealed for the rc- fnilfion of fins ; thefe are the powers of a lapfed finner only, and theretore could only agree to Adam in his lapfpd ll^te, or when he was as impotent as we now are ; lo that if he then, who was become as one of us, was able to repent and believe \vithout fpecial gr^pe, fo was his poflerity; if he had no abiU jty, in c^fe he fhould fall, to rife again by faith and repent- ance, we could have no fuch power in him. 2.di)\ They who thei;i were not, were not in Adam, for Non otitis nulla funt prcedicata, and that which is not, hath no power, that being flvyays in a fubjeft, and a confequent of the effence, far Fo^ tejiqtes fequuntur ejjtntiam. To fay our nature was in Adam, ^n4 f"^ oiir power and pur will might alCo be in him, is alfa fi^lfe; ^r Ada??i wa> a pa^'ticnlar man, an Individuum, 2^nA therefore could have only an individual and particular nature, and therefore only a particular will and power. To fay he had a nature like to that of purs derived fronj him, is to fa^ he had not the fame numerical or individual nature, for Nul- lumjimik ejl idem, tjence, whereas that which is faid of hu- man nature in comn^pn, agrees to every human nature ; many; things may be faid pi the human nature oS. Adam, which agree to the human nature of none pf his pofterity, viz, that it was the firlh human nature that was in the world; that it was, en" tirely and immediately created by God, andxame not into the world by generation ; that it was free from fin, and made up- right ; that it was able to perform perfeft obedience ; that it dwelt in paradife, and was call out thence for eating the forbid- cleii fruit ; and laftly, the nature oi Adam had a power to c,on» tiaue innocent, and without fin, whereas it i&certajn our nature never had fo ; for we could never hinder the fin of our nature, nor the influence which the fin of Adam had upon it to make us finners. In a word, the queftion is not concerning the juftice of condemning the nature oi Adam, but concerning the jullice ol condemning our perfons to eternal punifiiment for not doing that which it was always impoflible for th«;ui to do. Extent of Chrijl's Redeinption, i^g ^dly. Admitting this' abfurd imagination, that we had this power in our firft parents, and that we lofl it by the fin of our nature in them, what is this to the import ot" all thofe texts of fcripture which exhort all men to repent, and proffer life tor them that do fo, and command all men to belieVe, and prom- ifc falvation to them upon that condition, threatening at the fame time damnation to the impenitent and unbeliever, fince all thefe things are fpoken to the fallen race of man ; and fo, if God be ferious in them, declare his great unwilllngnefs that fallen man fhould periflb by his impenitence and unbelief, and his paflionate defire that he fiiould believe and repent ; and fee- ing he' that wills the end, muft alfo will the means abfolutcly neceffary to the obtaining of that end ; he cannot be fuppofed wanting at the fame time in affording means fufficient to ob- tain the end, and fo cannot have left even lapfed man under an impofTibility of obeying his commands and exhortations to repent and believe. Moreover the law of repentance, and faith for the remiflion of fins was not, nor could it be in force till we had lapfed, and fo it was by this hypothefis impofTible to be fulfilled before it was in force ; the exhortations to re- pent and believ^c, the promifes of pardon and falvation to the penitent believer, and the threats made to the impenitent, and him that is not jullified by faith in chrift, mufl be all given to fallen man ; and fo, according to the fame hypothefis, mufl be promifes on a condition impoffible to be performed, and threats upon a default impoffible to be avoided. They are declarations of the will of God, and fo mufl be commands and exhortations to perform it ; and fo, fuppofe God willing that he fliould perform what he commandeth and exhorts us to perform, and yet by leaving him under an impoffibility of doing that which he commandeth and exhorts him to, and peremptorily denying that aflTiflance, without which it mufl always be impoflTible, he fhews he is not willing he fliould do what he commandeth and exhorteth him to do. Again, to deter men from doing fuch an a£lion by the feverefl threats, is to pretend a great unwillingnefs that a6lion fhould be done ; and yet to leave them under an impoffibility to avoid it with- out that afli fiance which he will not yield, is to be both will« ing and refolved it fliall be done. To promife pardon to a lapfed pcrfon upon condition, is in effeft for God to fay he will not impute to him his formei- fault, but will deal with him according to his future carriage, to which a conditional promife always hath relation ; but if he requires what he knows that firfl: fault hath rendered utterly impoffible to be done by him, he flill imputes that fault, and puniflies him at the fame time for it as he pretendelh to remit it ; and furely it 136 ExUnl of Chrijl*s Redemption^ is no fmall matter to render God fo deceitful and delufory, Co infincere and hypocritical as this opinion makes him. Should a phyfician come to a patient, whofe ftomach was fo weakened through his intemperance or lull, that it could bear no ftrong meat, and his feet fo infeebied that he could fcarce walk from his couch to his bedfide, and profefs an ear- ned: defire to cure his diftempers, and promife him recovery, provided he would follow his prefcription, might it not rea- fonably be expefted he fhould prefcribe fuch means for his recovery, that it was pofiTible for him in this condition to make ufe of I* If then he fliould enjoin him to eat, and to dijeft the ftrongefl meats, and walk fome hours in the fields, becaufe he formerly could do fo before he fell into this difability and fee- blenefs, would not all men pronounce him a deluding cheat, and one that hypocritically and infincerely pretended his re- covery, and promifed it with equal vanity and folly, intending only to infult over his prefent mifery ; and yet this is the rep- refentation of our gracious God in this affair which thefe men offered to us ; for the bleffed _Jfus is the phyfician which God fent to heal our natures of the difability we had contraft- ed by the fall, and to promife us a remedy, which if we would ufe, we fhould recover that, or a better life than that from which we fell, and to threaten the fevereft judgments if we negleft fo to do. But then, if only he doth promife this re- covery on fuch a condition as that very fall hath rendered us unable to perform, and which he never will enable us to per- form, mult he not be guilty of the like hypocrify and infin- cerity in propounding to us an impoffible remedy, and infult only over the mifery of his creatures whilfl he pretendeth kindnefs to them ? And how unrea.fonable is it to impute fuch deceit, falfehood, infincerity and injuftice to a good and right- eous God, which we cannot but abhor in man ? For fure, moft graciouflv to exhort, moll affeftionately to invite, raoft earneiily by the greatefl promifes and threats to move us to repent and believe, when he at the fame time is firmly pur- pofed to withhold the means by which alone we can do either, is to infult over his mifera-ble creatures in the higheft manner ; and to deal thus with myriads of myriads for the fin of Adam, is, as it were, to meditate revenge upon the greateft part of his pofterity to the world's end, for what was only done by the firft man ; yea, it is to do this under pretence of love and kind affeftion, and a vehement defire and concern that they fhould efcape the mifery that very fin had brought upon them, and recover the felicity they had loft by it, by thofe very means he doth prefcribe ; and yet to leave them under an utter in- capacity to perform thofe means ; which to conceive and to aifert of our moll gracious God, is highly to difhonor and Extent of Chriji's Redcmptiorii i^f tlafpheme his facred Majefty, and reprefent him fo unto the world, as even the worfl of men would not endure to be rep- refented. Section VIII. — 'We find our blefTed ^^t^/or marvelling at the unbelief of his own people ; for fjj he ?narvelkd at their unbelief. Now, can he who knows they could not believe by reafon of the difabiiity they had contra6led by the fin of Ad- am^ wonder that they did not what it was impoffible for them to do ? Again, when he heard the anfwer of the centurion^ fkj he marvelled, faying, verily I have not found fo great faiik^ no not in Jfrael ; but if this faith, whenever it is wrought in any, is the cfFeft of an almighty power, what reafon could he Iiave to marvel, that it was found where tliat almighty power was exerted, or that it was not found where the fame power was withheld ? To clear this by fome few inftances from fcrip- ture, ifL St. Matthew informs us that Chrift upbraided the cit- ies in which mofl of his mighty works were done, bccaufe they repented not, faying, flj wo unto ye, Chorazin and Beth- faida, and to thee Capernaum, who fJiall be brought down to hell ; it f mil he ?nore tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judgment than for you ; for if thefe mighty works had been done in them, they would have repentf^ in fackcloth and afies, and have remajned to this day. Now not to difpute whether the repentance of Sodom and Gomor- rah, Tyre and Sidon, would have been fincere, or only exter- nal and hypocritical (though it is not reafonable to conceive that fuch repentance would have caufed them to remain to that day, or that Chrift would upbraid them for want of a fin- cere repentance produced in them by thofe mighty works, which doubllefs he required by faying to thefe very perfons, (7nJ repent you, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand J by an example of an hypocritical repentance which only would have been produced in others by the fame works, (I fay not to in- fift on this) why fhould our Lord denounce thefe woes upon them, and declare their future punilhment more intolerable in the day of judgment than that of thofe unnatural finncrs, and moft vile idolaters, for want of that repentance which, not- withftanding all the mighty works which lie had done among them, he knew it was impoffible for them to perform ? He might, according to the vain hypothefis confuted, have faid to them, wo to you that the fin of Adam hath difabled you from repenting; but could not with any fliew of juflice pro-' nounce fuch dreadful woes and judgments on thtm for net (jj Mark vi. 6. (kj iVlauh. viii. lO. (l) Maitli. xi. 20,. sf •— ' 8 i 38 Extent cj Chriji's Redemption'. ^ doing that then, which they fo long ago were rendered whol- ly unable to perform, and that upon a reafon which did not in the leaft remove the difabihty. zdly. (n) The men cJ Nineveh, faith Chrift, Jhall rife up in judgment with this generation, and Jhall condemn it (for its impenitenceycTi^Ai?}' repented at the preaching of Jonas (though lie did no miracle among them) and behold (though) a greater than Jonas is here (calling you to repentance, you do not re- pent.) Now if the men ot Nineveh only repented by virtue of that divine affiftance, which God would not vouchfafe to the Jetos ; if notwiihftanding all Chrijl's exhortations lo re- pentance, it was impoflible they fhould repent for want of like afTiftance ; why fhould they be condemned at all, or why for want of that repentance, which Nineveh only performed by that afiillance which they could not have ? 2)dly. Our Lord upbraids the Scribes and Pharifees for not repenting, and entering into the kingdom of God as the very Publicans and Harlots had done before their eyes, faying, (0) verily I Jay unto you, that the Publicans and Harlots go into the kingdom oj God before you : Jor John came to you (to in- ilruftyou) mihezvay of rightcoiifnefs, and ye believed him not i but the Publicans and Harlots believed hi?n ; and ye, when ye. have fee n (them do) it, repented not afterwards that ye might believe him. Now is it matter ot reproach and fhame to any perfon that they do not what another doth, unlefs it be fup- pofed that they have, or at Icafl might have had the like pow- er and abilities to doit; this paffage therefore fliews (i//.) That the 6'cr/^« and Pharifees, and other Jews, might and ought to have been moved by the admonitions ot the BaptiJl^ and the example of the Publicans, to repentance and faith ; for why elfe doth Chrijl here upbraid them that they after- wards repented not.^ that they might believe ? Qdly. That there- fore an internal, irrcfiflable force of power cannot be necefTa- ry to produce this repentance and this faith ; for if the Pub- licans and Harlots were thus moved to repent, what wonder is it that they went before the Scribes and Pharifes, who hav- ing nofuch impulfe, were left under an impoflibility of repent- ing that they might believe ? "Why is it reprefented as their crime, that they repcmed not at the preaching o^ John, or did not follow the example of the Publicans, fince the event fhews that no fuch irrcfiftible motive to repentance was contained either in the preaching of the BaptiJl, or the example of the Publicxins ? ^thly. In the parable of pcrfons invited to the wedding fup- per, we find, that fpj he who came, not having on a wedding (nj Matth. xii, 41. (0) Matlh. xxi. 31, 32. fpj Malth. xxii. 15"; l^xtentof Chrijl's Redemption. 1.39 garment was fpeechlefs, as being felfcondemned, tm yap {MVioh 'i%ii-i oi^r-^i-nH-j x-xrixprnv layr-jv, tor having nothing to fay againfc the fentence to be palled i^on him, he condemned himfeli, faith Chryjojlom : but why fhould he be fpeechlels, it he could have pleaded with truth and a good confcience, that he never had or could have means to procure fuch a garment, and therefore ought not to be caft out into outer darknefs, lor that which he could never help? ^thly. In the parable of the talents^ he who improved not his fingle talent is declared to be ( q) a wicked and Jlothjul Jervant, and that becaufe he did not what he ought fo have done. Now there can be no obligation lo impofhbilities, no iniquity in not doing what he could not do, and no punilh- ment due on that account, this being to punilh him becaufe he did not an impoffibility ; and Chrijl by faying to all who had received talents (r) ncgociatc tilt I come^ demonllrates he conceived they all had power fo to do. Section IX. — jthly. That which doth render this doc- trine moft worthy to be reje^ied by all who truly love their God and Savior, is this coiihderation ; that it unworthily re- flefts upon our good and gracious God, our bleffed Lord, and merciful higk priejl, who is in fcripture often faid, but by this dodrine is denied, to be the Savior of tJicworld. For xji. It in effeil declares, that he who is in fcripture ftyled love., hath from eternity hated the greateft portion of mankind, fo lar as to leave them under, and even condemn them to, a ftaie of everlalling and inevitable mifery. For, if he himfelf faith, (f) Jacob have I loved, and Efau have I hat- ed, only becauf'i he laid the viountains and heritage of Efdu wafle, is there not greater reafon to fay, he hated all thole fouls whom he hath utterly excluded from any intereH ill that Jejus who alone delivers hom the wrath to come ? U he is faid to (t) hate his brother in hn heart, who luficrs him to go on in his (in without reproof, nmfl not he hate thofe fouls much more, who by his decree ot preterition concerning them, when he \ii&% defigning the great work of man's redemption, hath laid them under a fad necefiity of iinnaiig, fo as to be obnoxious to Hill greater mifery ? Our Lord makes it the particular cafe of Judas, that (u) it had b':en better Jor him he had not been born : whereas this dottrine makes it the cafe of all, fave only the clett. Now can we imagine, that t!;at God who will require the blood of fouls from every XL\it:k- man ^vllo doth not warn the fiuncr to turn trom his ir;!i;!';v that he die not, Ihould himfelf leave them inevitably tt v :i;;i ('j) Matrh. x'cv. 2^, 27. (r) Luke xix. 13.- — [fj Mai. i. :, 3. ( t J Les'. xix. 17. (u J MatUi, xxvi. 24. 140 Exteiit of Ckrijl's Redemption, in it ? So that what he doth threaten to him only, fvj whe being often reproved hardeneth fus heart, fliould be the ftate and cafe of almoft all men before they came into the world, VIZ. to be dejlroycd without remedy. zdly. It reprefents that God, who is continually declared mjcripture to be a God rich in goodnefs, plenteous in mercy^ and of great pity towards all his creatures, as having no bow- els of companion, no drop of mercy, no inclination to do good to the generality of his moft noble creatures, obnoxious to death and endlefs milery ; and therefore as proper objefts of his mercy and compaflion, as thofe whom in his love and pity he redeemed ; but rather an unmoveable refolution before tiiey. had a being, to withhold from them h'^ lovingkindnefs and mercy, and to fhut his bowels of compai. .on up againfl them. And is not this to reprefent our God and Savior more un- compaffionate to the fouls of men, than were that priejl and Levite to their brother's body, who feeing him ready to peri£h by his wounds, fw) paffed unconcerned by another way ? When this great lord faith to his fervant, to whom he had forgiven the great debt, fx) oughte/l not thou to have had (ompajjion on thy fellow fervant, even as I had pity upon thee ? Would not this doclrine teach him to anfvver, Lord, I have chofen to deal with hjm as thou dealefi with the greatell part of mankind, tp whom thou never intendeft to forgive the leafl nnite, and on whom thou wilt never have the leaft compafTion ? And when the apoftle inquires, fyj if any ?nan fee his brother in tieed, and Jhuttelh up his bowels of compafjion from hnn, how dwelleth the love of God in him ? Would not this do61rine teach him to reply, even as it dwells in God hirafelf towards the generality oi mankind ? To make this more apparent, let us confider thefe four things ; \fl. That God by fending his Son to be the Savior oi the world, or in giving him up to the death, had no other prima- ry end than the glorilying himfeli in the falvation of menj fzj he fent his Son to be the propitiation for our Jtns, that we might live through him; (a) that the world through hini might be faved; had therefore dcfigned his death for the fal- vation ot all men upon conditions poUible to be performed by them, he rpufl have glorified himfelf more, than by rellrain- ing- the defign of it only to the falvation of a fe\y. zdly. That the death of Chrifl was a fufjicient facrince for the fins of the whole world, and fo might have procured a conditional pardon for all men as well as for the elc6r, had God been pieafed to give Iiim up to the death for us all. f'vj Prov. xxix. I, (nu) Luke x. 31. 37-.- — fx) Mattli xviii. 33. (y) 1 John iii. '7. (i^J i John iy. 9. 10. (aj John iii. 57. Extent of Chrijl's Redemption. 141 3c//y. That it could be no ways more diflionorable to God, or more inconfiftent with his jullice, wifdoin, hatred of fin, or any other of his attributes, to have defigned Chnji's death for the faivation of all men, than to intend it only tor the falva- tion of thofe few whom they ftyle the eleft. 4M/)'. That they who are fuppofed to be excluded by God from any benefit by Chriji's death, were as much the offspring of the Father of /pints, and the fouls that ht had niade^ as much partakers ot the fame nature in which our Savior fuf- fered, and every whit as miferable, and as much wanting an intereft in our Lord's falutary paflion, as they who are iup- pofed to be the objeils of the pardon and faivation purchafed by our Savior's blood. Can it be then co'ifiUent with the grace, goodnefs ana-mercy ot the divine nature, and of the lover Of fouls, and the relation which this father of f pi r its beareth to them, to confign the death oiChrift to procure par- don and faivation only to a few, and to fuffer the far greater part of fouls which were equally his offspring, as capable of faivation by the very fame means, as miferable, and lo in the fame need of pardon and faivation with the reft; to remain inevitably miferable only for want of God's deligning the. fame facrifice for the procuring mercy to them as well as others ? If it be faid God doth this to declare his fovereignty, or prerogative over his creatures, in (hewing and denying mercy to whom he pleafeth : 1 anfwer, God never exercifeth any fovereignty, or prerog- ative over his creatures, which is repugnant to his rich grace, /joodnefs, love, mercy and compallion to the fouls which he hath made ; and therefore never fo as to leave the greaieft part of them obnoxious to eternal and inevitable ruin, when he hath a remedy provided fuSicicnt to prevent it, if he diid not arbitrarily exclude them from it. When under the Ro. man and the Grecian government the Father had an abfclute power over his children, and in the Eafcrn nations the Prince had abfolute power over his fubjetts ; would thi.s prerogative and fovereignty excufe them from a feverity and rigor unworthy ot a Father or a Sovereign, in leaving molf ot their fiibjecls and their children under the cxtremell mif- ery, when by the very fame means that a few of them have been refcucd from it, they might all have been fo ? And fliaU we then impute that rigor, want of natural affection and com- panion to the lover ot fouls, and the benign government of our heavenly Father, which we could not but condemn and abhor in earthly governors, and in {he fathers of our fefi ? And ',^dly. This opinion reiidcrs the God of truth and of fmcerity, and who hath magnified his (ruth abovn all his name. 142 Extent of Chrijl's Redemption, fo full of guile, deceit and infincerity, diflimulation and hy- pocrify, that he ^ho doth conceive God may addrefs himfelf to his creatures without diftinfclion, as in the fcripture he continually doth, and yet hath left them deilitute of a capacity of mercy, and of all ability to help themfelves, may doubt of his fincerity and truth in all the declarations contained in his f acred word. For, ijl. It reprefents that God who declares exprefsly and z{- firn\dii\\ ely, ihdii he would have all men to be faved, all mea to come to repentance, and fwears that the converfion of a fin- ner from that iniquity in which he may die would be highly pleafing to him ; and negatively, that he would not that any one JJiould perijh, (hzl he delighteth not in, would not the death ot him that dies ; denying to fend his Son to die for their falvation, or to vouchfafe them means fufficient to re- pent and turn to him ; and fo rendering it impofTible they flaould repent, or avoid peirlflilng in their iniquity. 2dly. It reprefents him who declares, /ze would have pureed them who would not be purged, he would have gathered thejn who zuould not be gathered ; and inquires what could he have done more to enable them to bring forth good grapes, who only brought forth fouer grapes ; denying them any intereft in the blood of cleanfing, or any fufficient means to enable them to bring forth good grapes. 3///)'. It introduceth that God, who, according to the\vhole tenor of the fcripture, calls upon men without exception to repent and be converted, that their fins may be blotted cut, and they may not die in them, fending all his prophets to re- duce his people from their finful courfes, hecavje he had co?n- pojjion on them, inquiring of them. Why will you die P Will you not be made clean ? When Jiiall it once be ? Yea, waiting that he might be gracious, and Ji retching out h-is hand all the day long to a rebellious people, and exercifing the richncfs of his goodnefs, patience, and long fuffering, to bring them io re- pentance ; denying to the mofl of them to whom he thus af- ie£lionately fpeaks, any pofTibiiity of being made clean, of turning to him, or repenting, or efcaping death. j^thly. It reprefents him who faith ^vlth the greatcll paf- fion, (bj Oh that they were wife, that they would con fider their latter end I fcj Oh that my people had hearkened to me, and Ifrael had walked in my way ! (d) Oh that thou haclf heark- ened to my connnandments ! fej Oh that thou hadji knoxvn in this . thy day the things which belong to thy peace ; and in- quireth in the moll aflefting manner, ffj How fall I give ft'jDeiit. V. 29, /^cy Pfal. Vxxxi. 13. fdj Ifa. xlviii. iS. (^J Luke xjv. 42. — ffj Hor. xi. 8. JExtent of ChrijVs Redemption. 143^ thee up, Ephraim ? How Jhall I deliver thee, Ifrael ? How Jliall I make thee as Admah ? HozvJIiall I fet thee as Zeboim ? My heart IS turned m vie, my repentings are kindled; after all thefe feeming tranfports of affeftion and defire of their welfare, and yearning bowels of compaflion, refufing to have the leaft compaflion for them, and decreeing to leave them without a Savior, without means of being fpiritually wife, truly obedient, or having any faving knowledge of the things belonging to tjjeir peace. ^ihly. It reprefents him as one encouraging the foolifii, an3 the fcorner, fgj to turn at his reproof, by a proniife oi pour~ ing his fpirit on hi?n ; the fimple fhj to forjake the JooliJIt and live ; the wicked man (i) to for fake his way, and turn to the Lord that he may be abundantly pardoned ; (k) to ceafe from evil, and learn to do well, that though his fins were as crimfon he might be white as zuool ; yea, more concerned to find the loft fheep, than for ilie ninetynine that went not a- ftray, and rejoicing more at the return of his prodigal Son, than in him who never wandered from him ; yet leaving the generality 01 men under an incapacity to return froia their iimplicity and folly, or to ceafe to do evil ; leaving the prod- igal to familh on his hufks, and the loll flieep without ability to return to the fhepherd of his foul. Section 10. — Lajlly. This doftrine is vifibly deflruftive of almoft all the atts of piety and virtue. And, \Ji. All prayer and fupplication is the duty of all chrif- tians ; (I J it is to be performed by them in every' place, and at all times fmj without ceafing ; it is to be offered up for all chriflians, and all men, and this in faith, believing that we fhall receive our petitions ; fiij and all thefe prayers are to- be put up in the name of Chrifl, imploring all mercies and blcflings for his fake, and through his meritorious paflion, which how can we do ferioufly, and in faith, if we may rea- fonably qucftion whether Chrift's merits do refpcft us, or are available in our behalf ? How can we do this for all men, pro- vided God himfelf hath taught us that his Son never died for all, nor did he defign his paflion for the benefit of all, but only for the benefit ofhiseleft; for whom alone we cannot pray, becaufe we cannot know them ? Moreover, we have no accefs to God the Tatherhxix. by him by whom (0) wc are brought nigh to God i it is through faith in fpj him we have tins freedom oj accejs with confidence ; it is only through the blood of Jefus that we can come to God with full affurance of J ait h ; how therefore (g) Prov. i. 2-5. (h) Prov. ix. 6. (i) Ifa. v. 7. fk) Chap. i. 16, i«. flj Eyh. vi. 18.. (m) i Their, v. 17. {n) i Tim. ii. X, 8. (oJ Kpli. ii. 13, i8. {f)l\th. x. 19, 20. 144 Hxtent of Chrift's Redemption, can we hzve accefs to him in our prayers for pardon, or for any other fpiriiual bleflings for all men through him, or through the blood of Chnit, if he did not (hed his blood for all ? f<^J I exhort, faith the apojtle, that prayers and intercef. Jio7is \or fpiritual bleflings, deprecations for the averting of thofe judgments which our fins deferve, 'Andi giving of thanks for the bleflings whicti they have received, he made for all men. hlow it, as there we read, God would have all men to be faved, and Chiiil hath given himlejf a ranfom for all ; it is eafy to difcern how we may pray in faith for all tliefe blef- lings to all men ; but if, according to the doctrine maintained in exprefs contradi6tion to thefe words, Chrill did not give himfelf a ranfom for all, but for the ele6l only, who are known to God alone ; and if God intended not the falvation of all men, but of his eleft only, it is hard to conceive how Ve fhould thus pray for all in faith, fince it mull then be cer- tain that we cannot put up our petitions for thtm in the name, and througli the merits of that Jejus who never died for the rnoft of them, or have a freedom oi accefs to the Father for them through that blood which by him never was intended to be fhed to procure pardon, or any other fpiritual bleffing for them, (r) I will, faith the fame apofle. that men pray every where, lifting up pure hands without doubting : Which pre- cept how can any man obferve ? i. e. How can he pray with confidence, who is not alTured that Chrift. is his and their Savior for whom he pra3's ? Or that God, for Chrifl's fake, isdifpofed togrant his requefl ? It is a great encouragement to pray for pardon, and for the faving grace ot God, to believe that God is truly willing and defirous to aflbrd them to all that do thus afk and feek them, and are ready to ufe the means prefcribed by him to enjoy them ; and that his Savior died to procure this pardon, and thefe bleflings to all men thus defir- ous of them, thus willing to do all they can to have them. Whereas the contrary apprehenfion muft needs damp devo- tion, and render us unable to come to God with that faith he lo exprefsly doth require, and without that doubtfulnefs and doubleniindednefs he as exprefsly doth forbid \ for whea a man mull thus concc^ive within himfelf, perhaps God hatb loved me ; perhaps he from eternity hath palled an aft of preierition on me, and fo can never have any regard to my welfare ; perhaps Chrift died to procure pardon and falvation for me upon poflibie and reafonablc terms, if 1 be willing to perform them ; perhaps he never intended to procure any ble fling for me by his death ; furely he can apply himfelf to God for any of thefe blefhngs but faintly and diflruflfully, (^) I Tim, ii. J. (r) Vcr, 8, Exttnt of Chrifis Redemption. 145 who is thus taught to doubt whether he hath any redeemer or mediator, or not. zdly. It is the duty of all chriftians (fj to give thanks aU ways for all things to God in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrifi, ft) to offer the facrifce of praife continually by him, (u) to give thanks to God the Father by him. fwj In every thing give thanks, faith the apoflle,for this is the will of God in Chrifi yv oar love to him again hy that obedience which is tlte only teft of our fincere afiection ; if Chriji hath bought us with the price oi his own precious blood, we ought to glorfy him with our jouls and bodies which arc his. But how can he be moved to ferve God in confideration of thefe benefits, who is ignorant that they were intended for him ? How can any man apply himfelf cheerfully to ferve that God, whofe favorable incli- nation towards him, whofe readinefs to accept his fervice he doubteth of. It is partly the benefits we have received, and partly the advantages we may receive from a fuperior, which are the prevailing motives to ferve him. If then God never intended any benefit to the grcatefl part of mankind, if they have no beloved through whom their perfons and performan- ces can be accepted, if through the want of an intercft in Chriji they never can have any advantage by him, or any fpiritual blefling ; muft they not be entirely deprived of thefe prevailing motives to the fervice of their God and Sav- ior ? Cjthly. The doftrine of univerfal redemption tends highly to the promotion of God's glory, it gives him the glory ol his free love, rich goodnefs, great mercy and compafTion to the fons of men, far above the contrary doftrine ; tor if to re- deem any doth magnify his goodnefs, to redeem many doth incrtafe it, to redeem all doth advance it to thehigheft pitch ; for the more are benefited the greater is the glory of the bcn- efaftor. For fliould a King finding five thoufand o\\\\i fub- jccts under miferable thraldom redeem one hundred oi them^ fjj Pfal. ciii, 1, 2, 3. Extent of Chrijl's Redemption. 147 leaving the reft, as worthy of his favor, and in equal need of it, to perifh in their mifery ; would he magnify his love, goodnefs, his pity and compaffion to them as much as if he had extended his love and goodnefs to them all ? Had they all forfeited equally his favor, would his mercy be as much magnified in pardoning a hundred of them, as in pardonino them all ? if the King fliould declare that now was the time his love unto his fubjetls JJiould appear^ that he would JJiczv kimjclf gracious to them all, and that he delighted in exeraf- ing loving hindnefs to them all, and was unwilling clny one oj them Jliould perijli, that he had tender bowels of compaffion for them, and that whofoever of them was not redeemed and faved, were dejpijers of his rich goodnefs, and negleftors of \ih great ftlvation : would it not highly tend to his difhonor, that after all rhefe declarations he intended not his favor to any more of them ? Would not all men think he a£ied infin- cerely, and very unfuitably to thefe declarations of his lov€ and kindnefs to them all ? And fhall we then impute this to the great God of love, our heavenly Father, and benign gov- ernor, which in an earthly Prince, we fhould account delufory and infincere, inhuman and unmerciful ? 6tJily. This doftrine of general redemption do th beft in- ftrufl us how to imitate the goodnefs, mercy and compalTion of our God, even by being kind and merciful to all, and ready to procure, as much as in us lies, the welfare of all men. We are called (z) to love our enemies, and to be kind to them that hate us, (a) and to do good to them, that zve ?nay be the children of our heavenly Father, fbj may be merciful as our Father is mercful, he being kind' to the unthankful and the e-- viL : and are thus taught of God to love one another, and to abound in love one to another^ and to all men, (c) to be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another even as (rod for Chrijl's fake hath Jorgiven us ; and that no for- givenefs is to be expe6>ed from God's hands, (dj if zve do not every one from his heart forgive his brother's trefpajfes. Now if God's love to men be not as large as the affection and defire of doing good m.uft be in us, if he be not as ready to forgive every one that repents their trefpaffes, as wc are bound to be, how can we be obliged to this extenhve charity and mercy by his example, and bound to exercife it that we may be like him ? And not rather bound to contra6l our love and rnercy, left; we fhould exceed our pattern, and fhould oveiaft him ? Should we imagine that the bowels of God's love and mercy weie confined to fome few, and all that Chrif did and- (z.) Matth. v. 44, 48. (a) Luke vi. 3c, 56. (b) x TliefT. iii. u. iv. 9. ('t-y fCph, iv. 33. /(^y Mattii. xviii 35. J 48 Extent of Chrijl's Redemption. fuffered was only defigned for the good of a fmail remnant of mankind, to imitate this God \v'ould be, for any thing I can difcern to the contrary, to pretend kindnefs to mankind, in general, but only to intend it to fome few^; whereas if God is truly willing to have mercy upon all, if he delivered up his Son for us all, our love and mercy, would we be imitators of bini, muft be truly general. Anjwer, Nor is it a fufficient anfwer to this argument ta fay that God is kind to all in temporals, by fej giving unto all men fruitful feafons, (J) caujing his fun to fJnue, and his rain to Jail upon the evil and the good. For, Reply. — ifl. If all thefe temporal enjoyments without that grace and interell in Chrift which is denied them, can only be abufed to the aggravation of their guilt and punilhment, what kindnefs is it to enjoy them ? 2dly. This is a farther confirmation of our doftrine ; for if God be fo bountiful to all men in things temporal, if he preferves their lite from deftruftion, if he freely openeth his hand, and flleth all thi?igs living with plenteoufnefs ; can we think that he fiiould altogether negleft their Ipiritual eftate, and leave their fouls to ftarve and perifli everlallingly without ufing any means for their recovery ? Doth God take care for oxen more than men, faith the apojlle ? Doth he, I fay, who takes fuch care of human bodies, make no provifion for their fouls ? He that giveth to all men life, breath, and all things^ will he withhold from any the heft of gifts, and moft worthy qf him to give, that grace by which alone they are enabled to ferve and glorify him, and do what is well pleafing in his fight ? fgj They think unworthily of God, faith the Pagan phi- Icfopher, who reprefent him liberal in giving leffer matters^ •npos ^£ ri xpHTTu ditopov, but fparing tn the gfts oj piety and virtue, efpecially feeing he hath declared that he confers thefc temporal enjoyments on them* on purpofe to engage them to feek and ferve him, and to be thankful to him, expelling they fhould iiave thefe fpiritual effefts upon them, fhj that they feioidd fear the Lord their God zvho giveth them ram, thefor- vier and the latter in his feafon, and referveth to them the ap- pointed weeks of harvefl ; and fij to inflrud them that they fio.uld feek the Lord fo as to find hivi ; where to feek the Lord is fo to feek after him that they might truly know and worihip him as God, To find him is to obtain his grace and favor, and to find him good and propitious to them, o-nd a re- 'j.'ardcr of them who diligently feek him : as hath been largely proved. Note on A6ls xvii. 27. and on Afts xiv. 17. (e) Aflsxiv. 17. ff) Matth. v. 4.5. (g) M. Tyrliis, Differt, xxti. p. aj6. (h)]tv, v. 24. ('i; Ads XvU. 25,27, ExUnt of Chrijl's Redemption* 149 ■jtkly. This truth adminifters juft ground of comfort to the greateft fmner, when through the terror of God's threats, and the conviflions of his confcience, he is forced to cry out, miferabU vian that I am ! It is indeed but little comfort that we can adminifler to him upon this fuppofition, that Chri/l only died for, and that- God will only give fufficient grace to, a fmall remnant of mankind ; fince then it is great odds againft him, that he is not oi that little number, and fo his hope can be but little ; but if we can allure him that Chrift tajled death Jor every man, and intercedeth now in heaven lor every penitent believer, and that God will gra- cioufly admit of the return of every prodigal to him, that he delights to fee it, that he exceedingly rejoiceth at the return of every loft (heep, that he has told us, as he lives, he takes the greateft pleafure in it, and that he hath been thus long- fuffering to him in particular, becaufe he is not willing he Jliould perT-Jli, hut rather Jhould come unto repentance ; he can have no juft reafon to continue in a defponding ftate, but thankfully admiring the greatnefs of his patience, to refolve now to be led by it to repentance, and to fet cheerfully upon the means prefcribed for his reformation, as knowing that thi Lord will be with him. Lajlly. This do61rine gives life and energy to all our ex- hortations to the finner to return and live ; whereas the con- trary perfuafion robs them of their ftrength and virtue. For were not God willing that all men JJioula be faved and come to repentance, or had not Chrift died for them, our exhorta- tions to our whole congregation to believe and repent would be vain and finful ; for then we Ihould exhort the greateft part of them to do that which God was not willing they fhould do, and Ihould inform them that he wills what he doth not. We know not how to put the queftion to them ferioufly, why they will ^die? If we know nothing to the contrary but that it is the will, and the decree of God that they fhould die ; or to inquire, how they willejcape, ij they negUEl Jo great falvation? If it might never be defigned lor them, or if they had no pow- er to help it ; but we may brifkly put the queftion, how Jliall we ejcape, if we negled that great falvation which is treely lendred to, and was certainly defigned for us, and which we cannot mifs of but by our vile negleft of grace, vouchfafed on purpofe that we might obtain it. We may inquire boldly, ti'hy diifpijejl thou the riches of that goodnefs which was vouch- fafed on purpofe to lead thee to repentance ? And th^t long fuf- fering which was defigned to prevent thy ruin ? IP^hy wiii'^rcu. die, when God is fo unwilling you (hould perifh, and is fo pafQonalely defirous you fhould be forever happy ? Why, af- ter all his great compaflions for you. will you have no pity ou 150 Extent of Chrift's Rede^npiion. youiTelves ? Why will you choofe to be the objects of hi? wrath, when there is nothing wanting on his part to make you objefts of his everlaftinglove ? If fo, muftnbt ourmouths eternally be flopped when God (hall plead in fury with us, or only opened to confefs zxr ^at;^ dejlroyed ourjtlvcs, wfim of him would hava been our jafcty ? '-'^ ^■■■'^'^■ Seciion' XI — Now from thefe confiderations we fhall difcern an eafy anfw^er to an obje6Hon levelled againft the torccof them, viz. that after all our quarrelling about this af- fair, we feem both at laft to fay the lame thing ; the one that Chrill will fave none but the ele£l •■, the other that he wili only fave thofe who perform he conditions of the nezc covenant. No-w thefe are the fame men both for number and quality. And the aftual falvation of men being not en- larged by this dbftrine, it feems not to be much more worthy of God, or to reprefent him more a lover of fouls, or more concerned for thtir welfare than the other. To this 1 anfwer, Anfwer. Thai though the perfons faved, be eventually the fame, yet the do^irine is by no means the fame ; nor is the honor of God as much confulted, or his love to fouls as much demonftrated by the one as by the other. For, tjl. Is it the fame thing to fay falvation was by God's gra- cious promife intended even for them that pcrlfh, fo that thev could not have mifled of it, but by faftidious contempt of God's rich grace vouchfafed to prevent their ruin, and by a£l- ing in plain contradiftion to the reafon, confcience, and natural defees of mankind ; and being deaf to all thofe powerful mo- tives to repent and live, the gofpel offers ; and to fay that no falvation ever was by God defigned for them, nor any grace afforded which could make it polfible for them not to perifli ? 2(i/)'. Is it of the fame import to fay the greatefl part of the world cannot be faved, becaufe that God, oj zchom ccmeth fal- vation, defigned no falvation for them, and the Savior of men died not for them j and fo if they are damned for unbelief, lliey mull be damned for what they neither could do, ncr were by any law of God obliged to do, that is for no tranf- greflion ? Aiid to fay they cannot be faved becaufe thev would not come to that Jefus who died for them that they uiight have life; they would not obey the commands of that God, who, out of love to them, fent his Son jiifo the world, that the zvvrld Ir^ him might bcjaved ? No, not when he con- defcendcd to befeech them to be reconciled to him, and gave them ail tlie necelfary means of falvation, and all the incite- ments that could be offered to reafonable creatures to improve them Jo that end. 3efore me, my mind could not be towards this people ; and the prophet, that ftj the Lord could no longer forbear, becaufe of their abominations ; as then Chrill (uj could do no mighty zvorks in his own country, becaufe of 'heir unbelief ; fo here the benefit which by the death of Chrifl is procured for all who do believe in him, cannot by God be applied to men ob- flinately rejefting Chrlft, and refufing to own him as their Savior, becaufe of their unbelief. Anjzuer zdly. According to this way of arguing, it follows, that if all men do not aftually enjoy what God is willing they fliould have, or be partakers of all the benefits condition- ally intended by him, or by his Son procured for them, he cannot be omnipotent ; and why then doth he fay, fv) Wc would have healed Babylon, and jlie would not be healed ; ftoj I zvould have purged jeruj'alem, but Jhe would not be purged f Why doth Chrifl fay unto the fame Jerujalem. how ojt would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathereth her chickeiis under her zvmgs, and ye would not ? In a word, do jrfl men aftuallv enjoy thofe bleflings, temporal, fpiritual, or eternal, which God conditionally hath, or did ever promife to them ? Or is it for want of ability in God that they do not enjoy them, or want of will in God that they fhould have what he thus prcmlfeth ? Or is it not wholly from the unwillingnefs of men, to perform the conditions upon which only they are promifed ? How oft doth God declare, that fxj he Jent te them all his Jervants the prophets, rijing up early, and fend- ing them, faying, return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not ajter other Gods, and you Jliall dwell in the land which I have given you, and I will de you no hurt ? This he did, 1. fyj Becauje he had compaffioxi on his people, and was very unwilling they fhould penlh in their hns. o.dly. This he did with the grcatcft foliciiude and care, to prevent their ruin, as that phrafe, he Jcnt his prophets, rifing up early, and fending thcvi, plainly imports ; Sfl'/v. The reafoM why all thefe exhortations of God by \\\s. proph- ets became ineffe£lual, and had not the defired effe6l, was this ; l>) Ifa. V. 4. (l)]t\-. xw. I. (t) Chap. xliv. 22. (11 } Mark vi. 5,6. (ifj ]cv. li. 9. (ivJV.ztk. xxiv. 13.—— f'.vy Jer. xxxr. 15.— Chap. x\y. $^6.- (y) 2 Chron. xxxvi. ij, 16. Extent of Chrijt's Redemption* 159? liccaufe Mi;;/ inclined not the ear, and hearkened noi to his word, but faid, fzj We zvill walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart, /^thly, Obferve that therefore the wrath 0/ God arofe againjl his- people, fo that there was no remedy, Heb. no healing ; not fure becaufe an omnipotent God was not able to heal them, or a good God, who out of compallion to them, and folicitude for their welfare fent all his prophets to reclaim them, woulti not heal them ; but becaufe they defpifed his words, and would not be healed, but would every one do the imagination of his evil heart. Section V. — Objedion ^. The ffth objeftion is but the^ fir/i in other words, viz. That if Chrifl died for all men, and all men come not to be faved ; then the great love of God in; giving his Son to men is ufelefs and unprofitable, for to what purpofe, or of what ufe is the love of God, and the gift of his Son to men, if he doth not withal give them faith in his Son ? Anfwer. As if all God's afts of grace and favor to men, which are not efFeftual, through mens pervcrfenefs and the ftubbornnefs of their wills, to obtain his gracious purpofes, mufl be vain and fruitlefs on his part, it he alfo giveth not that grace which will make them efFe6lual to his ends ; and we might reafonably inquire, to what purpofe was that riches »f God's goodnefs, patience and longfuffering to the Jews which did not lead thtm to repentance ? Or of what ufe was it if he did not give them repentance unto life ? To what purpofe was it that the grace of God, which brings falvation^ kath appeared to all men, if all men were not aftually taught and engaged by it, denying all ungodlinefs and worldly lujls, to live righteoufly, foberly and godly in this prcfcnt- world? To what purpofe are all God's prohibitions and, revelations from heaven againfl all unrighteoujnefs, andiin- godlinejs if he doth not by his grace efFetlually reflrain them from thefe things ? Or of what ufe are his commands, if he doth not by his grace conftrain men to obey them ; or all his gracious calls, if he doth not efFe(5^ually engage men to anfwer them ? Section VI — ObjeBion 6. No man wittingly pays ^ price of redemption for a captive, which he certainly knows this miferable man will never be the better for ; Chrift there- fore paid no price of redemption for any man, who will never be the better for it. Anfwer xfl. To (hew the abfurdity of this objeflion, let it be confidercd, that it depends entirely on this foundation, that (x) Jer. xvili. j». t6o Extent of Chrifi's Redemption: God and Chrijl never did, or could do that to any ptrfons which they knezv they would never be the better for ; which that it is extremely falfe, all his difpenfations from the beginning of the world do teftify. For, Did he not fend bis fpirit to Jlrive with the old world ? Did he not allow them the fpace of an hundred and twenty years to repent in, though he knew they would not be the better for it ? Did he not fend to the Jezos his prophets, rifing up early, and fending tJiem to admonifh them to turn from their evil way, that they might not be carried away captive ? Did he not chaflife them when they refufed to receive correftion ? Did he not ufe the greatefl diligence to make his vineyard bring forth good grapes, when it brought forth only four grapes ? Did he not ufe means to purge them when they vv^ould not be purged ? W^re not all his promifes made to encourage them to the performance of their duty, that it might be well with them, and all his threats to deter them from their iniquity ? And fliall we deny that God did thefe things to theie ends, becaufe his wifdom knew they would not have thefe falutary effecls upon them ? Again, doth not God reveal his gofpel, offer his grace, and fend his ambafiadors to call them to faith and repentance, whom he knew would never be the better for thefe things ? Did not Chrift come to his own, who received him not ? Did he not fpeak to them that they might be faved, who would not come to him that they might have life? Did he not fay to them, who would not be gathered, how oft would I kaue gathered you ? &c. And did he not know what would be the illiie of his coming, his fpeaking to, and his endeavors to dcr them good ? Wherefore in all exhortations and perfuafions, and all moral means whofe effeft depends upon the will of man, it is fufficient that they are proper means for producing the defigned end, and that Gdd knows they may be, and if they aft according to that reafon and difcretion he hath given them, they will be better for them ; otherwife we may argue, as this objeftion doth, no good man would put another into a flate in which he knows he will be miferable, and therefore a good God would never make thofe men he knows will finally be fo. No good prince would have anv fubjefts he fliould be forced to cut off; ard therefore a good God would not give being to thofe men of the old world, which his vindift- ive juftice forced him to deflroy. Anfzcer 2. — zdly. I anfwer, that this objeftion is built upon a talie fuppofiiion, viz. that Chrift paid no fuch price for them that peri fh, as for them that will be faved ; the price lor both was* one and the fame, his fyfferings on the crofs, hi»- Extent of Chrift's Redemption. ilgi- Diood died for the remiflion of fins ; and thus he equally mull have fufFered ior the redemption of any finner from death, as for the redemption of all, as under the old law the lame fac- rifice was offered to make atonement for a fingle perfon, and for the whole nation ot the Jews ; that any receive remiffion of fins by virtue of his death, is, becaufe they, through faith in hi^ blood, are juftified, and fo have peace with God ; and that all do not fo, is not for want of an atonement made for them by the fame blood, but for want of that faith and thofc conditions of the new covenant, which can alone give th«ai ad intereft in that atonement. %. DISCOURSE III. Of sufficient and EFFECTUAL, COM- MON AND SPECIAL GRACE. CHAPTER L The Stale of the Quejlion, '^^^S^j^M^^P R. the right ftating of this queftion it will be requifire to fhcw, I. What is the fc7ipture import oi the word Grace. II. What is the manner ot the ope. ration of this Grace upon the foul, to convert, or to difpofe it to what is fpir- itually good. III. What renders it efficacious in fome, and not in others to produce faith, repentance and converfion of the foul to God, and what is the account ihefcripture^ and our blejfed Savior giveth of this matter. Section I. — To begin with the firft pariicular, Grace in the Jcripture^ when it is flyled the grace of Gsd imports his EJfeBual and Special Grate. 1^3 favor, and his kind afFe£lion to us, as bath been largely prov- ed in the note on 2 Cor. vi. 1. Accordingly, ijl. The gofpel preached to jfezo and Gentile, Is ftyled faj the grace of God which brings falvation ; (b) the word of his grace which is able to build us up^ xxl Snvaj, and to give us an inheritance among them that are fanElified. This alfo mufl. be the import of the word when it is laid fc) that the law came by Mofes, but grace and truth by Jfus Chrifi ; when the opoflles exhort their converts to (d) continue in the grace of God; when they fay that God confirmed the word of his grace by doing figns and wonders ; when the gofpel is ftyled fej the word of grace, and the gofpel of grace. And this is probably the import of the word in many other plafCes cited hy Dr. Hammond, note on lieb. xiii. g. where, faith he, they that believed through grace, A£ls xviii. 27. are they that be- lieved through the preaching of the gofpel ; and in this fenfe the grace of God is abfolute ; there being nothing either in ^ew or Gentile which made them worthy o,f this revelation, nor any condition required on their part that it might be preached to them,. 2dly. This grace which thus appeared to all 7}ien, being n Xxpts ri auTrtpioi, i. e. in its defign, and in its influence (where it was not obftrufted by men's infidelity, and love of dark- iiefs more than light) Javing grace, the calling of men by the preaching of it to the faith, is fometimes faid 10 be the calling them by grace ; and when they embrace that call, the faving them By grace, as when it is faid, (f) we are faved by thi grace oj the Lord Jefus Chrift : by grace ye are faved, not of works. For feeing this is fpoken to men yet alive, and fo o- bliged, fgj to work out their falvation with fear and trcmb- ting ; it cannot mean that they were aftually faved, but only that they were called to a ftate of falvation, enjoyed the means and were put in the way of falvation by grace (of which im- port of the word faved, fee the note on Eph. ii. 8.) Hence \.\\& apoflle faith, (h) he hath faved us, and (or that is) called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but the grace given us in Chrijt Jejus / and to be thus faved by grace, is to be faved by the mercy and favor ot God to us, accord- ing to thefe words of the fame apofllc. (i) when the kindnefs and love of God our Savior to man appeared, net by works of righteoujnefs which we have done (before taith)^^; by his mer- cy he f IV id us ; and this grace is again abfolute, it being puix' ly ol the mercy, and the tree grace of God that any nation i , (a}i:\\..\\. II, /'*; Arts XX. 31. (c) lohni. 17. (d}^.^^ xiii. 43.-3jiv. 3. (e) Ads xx. 32, ^^. (f) Ads xv. xi, ( g')\ I-ph. II. 8^, 9. (h) 2 I'im, i. 9 (i) Tit. iii. 4, 5. 04 EffcBual and Special Grace. by the preaching of the gofpel to them, called to the knowl- edge of falvation by Chrift. o^dly. When men thus called embrace the gofpel, and be- lieve in Chrill, and fo obtain the pardon of their pall fins, this alfo is faid to be done by grace, we being juflified ('kj by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Jejus, and obtaming the forgivenefs of fins according to the riches oj his grace; and though this grace be not abfolute but conditional, we being juflified by faith, yet fince that taith is not of our- felves, but is the gijt of God, and it is of mere grace that this aft of faith, which deierves nothing, is imputed to us for right- eoufnefs ; it is certain that we zxtjujlijicd by the grace oJ God. ^thly. The gift of the fpirit, is in the fcr^pture flyled the grace of God, efpecially his extraordinary gifts, as when St. Paul faith, flj having gfts differing according to the grace that IS given to us ; zchether prophejy, let us prophefy accord- ing to the proportion oJ faith. Sec. To the Corinthians he fpeaks thus, fmj 1 thank my God for the grace which is given to you, fo that you come behind the other churches in no gift. And again, fpj not in fflily wifdom, but by the grace of God' we have had our converfation iti the world, and more efpecially towards you. To the Ephefians thus, (ci) to every one of us is given grace according to the meafure of the gift of Chrifl. And St. Peter fpeaketh thus, (r) as every one hath received the gift, fo minijler the fame one to another, as goodficwards of the manifold grace oJ God. On which account they who iell off from the faith, after they had tafted of thefe gilts, and were made ffj partakers of the Holy Ghofl, are faid to have defpifed the fpirit of grace. Now this grace being peculiar to the iirft agcs of the church can have nothmg to do with this controverfv, unlels by way of proportion and analogy, in which the ordinary gilts and alTiftances of the /zo/vj/^znV deriv- ed from the fame God, may alfo be called the grace oJ God. Now this being ail the fenfes in which the word grace, or the grace of God is ufed in the holy fcripture, we may hence difcern how in the Jcho.ols, and in our common language, the word grace hath been abufed and wrefted from its proper fenfe ; for, whereas, both in the Old and the New Teflament, it fignifies the favor, gopdnefs and mercy ot God to us in giving us fuch and fuch bleffings, they have made it com- monly to fignify feme fupernatural arid injuftd habits, or chrftian virtues, which in \he fcripture are never flyled grace, but the fruits of the fpirit ; as Gal. v. 22. Eph, v. 9. fkj ACts^v. 17. Rom. iii. 24- Eph. i. 7. flJ Rom. xn. 6. fmj I Cor. ). A. 6. fpJ 2 Cor. i. iz. — Sc-e the note there, fqj ,*iph. iv. 7, 8. frj I Pet, iv. JO, (/J Hcb. vi. 4.— X. 29. EffeHual and Special Grace. 16^5 Section II. — I add that befides this calling of men to the profelTion of the chrijltan faith, and this vouchfafement of the gofpel to them as a rule ot life ; it feems necefTary to' af- fcit that God vouchfafes fome inward operations or aflillan- ces to incline them to what is good, and work converfion in them. For were it otherwife, t/l. Why is i\n^fpirit flyled a quickening, or (tj lifegiv- ing /pint ? Whv is he faid to fuj Jlrive loith man P Why are wicked men faid to fwj refijl the Holy Ghojl ? And why are they who are converted faid to (xj be born oj the fpirif^ and to be enabled (yj through the Jpirit to mortify the deeds of the flefJi ? For how can he be faid to ftrive with men, or they to refift his motions, if he makes no imprelTions on our fpirits ? How can he quicken, work in us the new birth, or enable us to mortify the deeds of the flefli without fome vital energy, fome renewing operations or powerful af- fift-iaces to fubdue thofe motions of the flefh which fzj lull againft the Tpirit ? 2d/.y, Wiiy elfe is it exprefsly faid that faj God xvorks in us both to will und to do of his own good pleafure, and fbj doth within us what is acceptable in his fght. For fure he cannot properly be faid, ivspvsTv y.a\ tfAi^^ h rj/xVv, to ad and work within us, who docs, and worketh nothing in us ? How doth the word iifeU when heard or read work on us, but bv makuig impitflions on our minds ? And fhall that be denied to God himfelf, which we allow to his word ? Or fiiallhe not be believed wiicn he faith, he worketh in us both to will and 4o, he doth within us zohat is acceptable in hu fight? And, '>,dly. Doih it not feem unreafonable to deny that influence to God and his ^oiA [pint to incline men to goodnefs, which generally is, and muit, according to iht fcripture, be allowed to the evil fpirit tempting men to wickednefs ? Now thoU"-K this evil fpirit cannot lay us under a necefTity of doing wick- edly, yet is he rcprefented in \\\t fcripture^% the great tempt- er to fin, which he can only be immediately by raifing fome ideas in our brain which do excite, difpofe and move us as our own thought? or ir^ward fentiments at other times are wont to do, to what is evil ; he alfo is flyled (c) that fpirit which, svjp/sV, works inwardly m the children of dif obedience ; Avhich words feem plainly to import fome inward enfergy of Satan to excite thein to this dilobedlencc ; feeing then (d) flronger is he that is in us, than he that is in the world, i. e. thdi good /pint who dwells in pious men, is more powerful /^/^ Rom. I'iii. 2. fi^J Cen. vi. 3. faoj Aib vii. 5r. fxj John iii. 5, 6. 8. fyj Rom. viii. 13. {zj Gal. v. 17. (ajPh\hu. h. 13, (6j Heb, xiii. ii.^^(cj Lph. ii. 2: (ii/>ta^£iv, that you may di/ccrn and approve what is according to the good, andacceptible, and pcrjeil zuill oj God. Again, what makes the will choofe, is fometlung ap- proved by the underltanding, and confequcntly appearing to the foul as good ; and whatfoever it refufeth, is fomething reprefented by the underflanding, and fo appearing to the will ias evil ; whence all that God requires of us is, and can be on- ly this, to refufe the evil and to choofe the good. Wherefore to fay that evidence propofed, apprehended and confidered, is tiot fufficient to make the underflanding to approve ; or that ihegreatefl good propofed, the greatefl evil threatened, whea fr'.J Philip, i. 9, 10. (0) Rom. xii. 3v Effcdual and Special Grace. i^a equally believed and reflefted on, is not fufficlent to engage the will to choofe the good and refufe the evil, is in effctl to fay that wliich alone doth move the will to choofe or to refufe^ is not fufficient to engage it fo to do ; that which alone is re- quiliie to make me underftand and approve, is not fufficient to do fo ; which being contradiflory to itfelf, mull of neccf- fity be falfe. Be it then fo, that rve have naturally an averfion to the truths propofed to us in the gofpd, that only can niake us in- difpofed to attend to them, but cannot hinder our conviftion when we do apprehend them and attend to them ; whence for removal of it, tlie apoille only prays, (p) that the eyes of oar under fliinding may be enhyjitenccl that ice may know them ; adding, that vyrheire the light of the knotbiedge of the glory of God was revealed, il, after this, fqj their go [pel was hid from any, it was only fo, becaufe the God of this world had blinded their eyes, or the conceptions of their minds, that the light of the gofpel might not fmne into them. Be it that there is in us alfo a renitency to the good we are to choofe, that onlv can indifpofe us to believe it is, and to approve it as our cliiefeft good. Be it that we are prone- to the evil that we fhould de- cline, that only can render it the more difficult for us to be- lieve it is the worft of evils ; but yet what we do really be- lieve to be our chiefeft good, will flill be chofen, and what we apprehend to be the worllol evils, will, whilfl we do con- tinue under that conviflion, be reiufcd by us : It therefore can be only rcquifite, in order to thefe ends, that the good fpirit Ihould fo illuminate our underilandings, that we attend- ing to, and confidering what lies before us, fhould apprehend, and be convinced of our duty ; and that the blefTings of the gofpel fliould be fo propounded to us, as that we may difcern them to be our chiefefl good, and the miferies it threatenath, fo as we may be Convinced they are the worft of evils, that we may choofe the one, and refufe the other. Now to confider in order to approbation and conviftion, to clloofe in order to our good, and to refufe that we may avoid mifery, muft be the anions not of God but man, though the light that doth con- vince, and the motives which engage him thus to choofe, and refufe, are certainly from God. Section IV. — To illullrate this by a familiar inllance taken from ourfelves, or our deportment towards others ; when a man in words plain and intelligible fpeaks to another^ if he will hearken to what he fays, he mufi underftand his mind ; for by that very impreffion the words make upon his brain, he immediately perceives hjs mind ; and cannot the (p) Eph. i. i8. fq) 2 Cor. iv, ;,, 4. 170 Effectual and Special Grace* divine impreffion on the mind, which is God's fpeaking in- wardly to man, do the fame thing ? This a6tion is indeed fo neceffary, that, as it is not virtuous or praifeworthy in any man to underftand the mind of him that fpeaks to him, fo neither feemeth it praifeworthy in us to underftand the mind of God thus fpcakmg to us. Again, thefe words of man con- tain fometimes an exhortation to another to do Vv^hat he de- fires he would do, taken from the propofal of fome advantage, or the promife ot fome good he fliall receive by complying, with his exhortation ; or they contain fome dehortation from doing what he would not have another do, becaufe it will be- hurtful to him, or will be certainly attended with fome eviJ- confequences ; Is not this the method ufed by all the world in dealing with another ? And do they not all do this witb , hopes and expeftation of fuccefs ? And is it not a great dif-i'i paragement to the word of God to fay, or think that all hi*, perfuafions, admonitions, exhortations, promifes and threats,^, ihould be infuSBcient to prevail with us to turn from our fia- ful courfes, and turn to him, when men who ufe thefe meth- ods towards their childrerf, fervarrts, friends or relations-, do, it in hopes that they fhall be fuccefslul by thefe means l-rrt Moreover, if the perfon they addrefs to, be flow of under.-i ilanding, do they not hope to overcome that difficulty by the clearnefs of their difcourfc, and by reiterating the fame thing in fuch variety of expreffions as he is befl able to perceive ?< It he be averfe from doing that which is defired, do they not hope to overcome that averfenefs by repeated exhortations and vigorous imprefhons of thofe encouragements they ten- der, to prevail upon him to comply with their dcfire ? If he flrongly be inclined to that from which they vehemently dehort him, do they not endeavor to turn the bent ai]d current of his inclinations by the like repeated exhortations and lively repre- fentations of the evils he will be certainly expofed to by fo doing ? All men are therefore of this opinion in their prac- tice, that afling with men by convincing reafon, and bv mo- tives and perfuafions, is afting with them fuitably to their faculties, and fo as that they may prevail. And is not God himfelf of the fame mind ? Hath he not revealed his will on purpofe that we may know it ? Hath- he not direfted his let- ters and epi files to us, that by reading we may underliand them, and knoxji) the things which do belong to our peace ? Did not our Savior utter all his difcourfes to the fame end ? Why clfc doth he inquire (r) Why -is it you do not under/land my Jpreech ? (f) How is it that you, do not underjiand^ Why doth he preface them with this inftruBion, (t) hear and under-^ (r) John viii. M>'—~(f) Mark viii. 2j ,-~^(t) Matth xv. 10. EffedvAl and Special Grace, 17 j Jiaiid? Doth not God call upon us to fuj to confidcr of our ways, antl lay to heart his fayings and his difpenfations ? — Dotu he not prefcribe this as a remedy to prevent his judg- ments, when he fays, (v) Oh confidcr this^ ye that forget God : and of being wife, by faying, fwj Oh that they were wi/e^ that they zoould con/ider their latter end ? Doth he not repre- fent this~"as the fource ot all the wickednefs and idolatry of his o'.vn people, fxj that they would not confidcr in their heart ? Doth he not make converfion the efFe£l ot this confid- eration, when he faith, (y) becaufe he conjidereth and turneth away from all the tranjgrejjions that he hath coynmitted, hr. Jhall furely live f Yea, dotli he not reprefent this as a jufl ground oi hope, that even the moft ftubborn finners may be reformed, when he faith to the prophet, (zj remove by day in. their fight ^ it may he they will confidcr though they be a rebel- lious people ? Does not God require his people to faj choofc life, pronouncing a bleffi ng upon them who (bj choofc the things that plcafe him, and threatening deftruftion to them who /^cj would not choofe the fear of the Lord, but fdj chofe the things in which he delighted not f Now doth he any thing more to prevail with them who do not choofe the fear of the Lord, and do not do the things that pleafe him, to engage them fo to do, or not to do the contrary, but teach them his ways, and perfuade them to walk in them ? Mud it not then be cer- tain that either he tranfd(f;b with them as men, who notwith- flanding any a6ls of preterition on his part, or any difability or corruption of will on their part, might by thefe things be induced to choofe to fear him, and do the things that pleafe him, and might abllain from the contrary ; or threateneth to deftroy them for not chooling what they could not choofe, for doing what they had not means fufficient to avoid, and for not doing what it was not pofhble for men fo vitiated and fo deferred, to perform ? Again, doth not God exhort the Jews to be (e) xvilling and obedient, promifmg a full pardon, and a blefTing to them that do fo ? Doth not Chrijl refolve the dedrutf ion of the Jews into this, ('fj You will not come un- to me that you might have life ? Declaring this to be the rea- fon whv they were not gathered, becaufe he often fgj would, have gathered them, but they would not be gathered; becaule being fo gracioufly invited to the marriage, fhj thty would, not come. Now what did he to engage them to come to him, to gather them, or prevail on them to come to the marriage /■«/ Hag. i. 5, 7. ('V ) Pfal. 1. 31. ('w) Dent, xxxii. 29. (x) Ifa. i. 3. xliv. 19. '(y) Ezek. xviii. jq. — Pfal. cxix o(). (x.) E/.ek. xii. ■},. /'a) Deui. xxx. 19. (h) Ha. Ivi. 4. (c) Pror.. >• 20- (d) Ha. )vi. 4. (c) Ha. i. 18,19. ('/^ Jolin V. 40. (g) Lukexiii. 3Jr-—^(l>J Matth xxii. 3. 172 EffeHual and Special Grace, feaft, but fliew them the way of life, exhort and invife them to come to that feaft ? Either then he tranfa6}ed with them, as one who knew this was fufficient to thefe ends ; and that ihcfe things might have prevailed with them, notwithftanding any decrees of God's preterition, or any diiability through the corruption of their wills, to be willing and obedient to his in- vitation ; or elfe he refoived on their exclufion from the mar- riage feaft, and their not tajlivg his Jup-per^ for not doing what, in that ftate, they could not do ; and condemned them for not com.irg to him when they could not com.e, becaufe (ij tlte. Father did not draw them, or give thcvi to him ; and for not being gathered, when he would not do that lor ihem M'ithout which they could not be gathered. Doth noi God earneftly exhort and perfuade men to repent and turn from the evil of their ways ? Doth he not fay, (k) Oh that my peo- ple would have hearkened to ?nc, that IJrael xvould have walked 771 ray ways J (I) that they were wije, 'that they zcould un- der/laud this ! fm) Jervfaltvi, zoilt not thou be made clean, when Jliall it once be ? (nj that thou hadji known m this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace ! Now either in thefe exhortations and perfuafions made to men, vitiated not only by original, but many a6lual corruptions, God dealt with them fuitably to their faculties, that is abilities, exhorting them to do, and pathetically wifhirg they had done, what he faw they might have done, though they, for want of due at- tention, confideration and reflefetion, did it not ; or called them to repent that they had not done what they never could do, or that they did not avoid what it was not pofiible under their circumftances they fhould avoid ; and feiiouily and paf- iionately wilhed they themfelves would have done, what it it ever had been done, muft have been done by himfelf, and t'.iercfore was not done, becaule he did not untruftrably work the change in thtm ; that is, he paOionately wifhed they had been of the number of his elecl, when he himfeli by an abfo- kite decree from ail eternity had excluded them out ot that, mimber. In fine, doth not God encourage men to repent and believe, to be willing and obedient, by great and precious promifes of the moft excellent and lafting bltfiirgs ? Hath lie not threat- ened foj eternal dajnnation to tliem that do not believe ? — Hath not he told us that fpj Chriji xoill come m Jlaming jire^ t(iking vengeance on all that obey not his go/pel ^ And muft not all thefe things fi.fhciently convince us, that God a6is (i ) Jolin vi. 37, 44.- — (k J Vi»\. Ixxxi. 13. fl) Dent, xxxii. 29. r — (vt) )er. xiii. 27. (nJ Luke xix. 42. (oj f^/Iark xvi- 18. //; 2 Their, i. 7, , Effectual and Special Grace, 173 with men as one who doth indeed fuppofe that men may hearken to his exhortations, and comply with his perfuafions to believe, and to obey hisgofpel, may be prevailed on by his promifes to the performance of their duty, and terrified by his judgment threatened, from their difobedience ? Why elfe is it faid that God hath given us thefe fq J great and prcciovs promifes, that by them zve may be made partakers of a .divtne nature ? Why are we exhorted, frj having thej'e projnifts, to clean fe ourjelves Jrom all jilthinejs of Jlcjli and Jp7rif , perfeB- tng holinejs in the fear of God ? Or why doth the apoflle fay, (f) knowing then the terror oj the Lord we perfuade men ? If beyond all this, there be fome phyfical and unfruflrable oper- ation on God's part requifue to make men know, and know- ing, choofe the good and retuie the evil ; this being not vouchfafed to, or wrought in them who are not born anew, why is the want of this new birth, and this fpiritual regenera- tion fo often imputed to the voluntary want of their confider- ation, and their ft J not laying to heart the things propounded to them ? To their not applying their heart to wfdom, not applying their minds to undtrfianding,^n^\\\(i\x (iij net fram- ing their doings to turn to the Lord ? Admit that defperate refuge which the alienors of the contrary doflrine are here forced to fly to, viz. that thefe exhortations and perfuafions may be yet made to us, though we are utterly unable to com- ply with them, and by God's aft of preterition, are left under that difability, becaule we once had grace and ftrength fuffi- cient to pertorm them, though wc have loft it by the fall. What is this to the import ot all the exhortations, perfuafions and motives contained in the gofpel, which are all direfted to fallen man ; and fo, if Gud be ferious in them, declare his great unwillingnefs that fallen man fhould pcrifh, and his paf- lionate defirc that he lliould be faved ; and if he fpeaketh in them fuitably to the capacities and faculties of fallen man, plainly fuppofes him in a capacity, by the afilllances which God is ready to afford him, and by the confideration of the motives which he offers to him, to underfland his duty, and to choofe the good and refufe the evil. Section V. — Wherefore, to give to outward means, and inward aflillances, their due refpe^tive energy : ifl. That honor muft be d>ie to God, and to his word, as to aflert that the motives there offered, muft be fufticient in the way oi motives to produce the ends lor which they were dc- fjgned. Seeing then the motives contained in the fcripture to engage fallen man to turn from the evil of his ways, were (q) 2 Pet. i. 4- (r) 2 Cor. vii. i. (f) i Cor. v. 11. (t ) Piov. i. 14, 50. (uj Hof. V. 4. 1 74 Effectual and Special Grau, certainly defigned for that end, either they mufl be fufiBcient to engage him to turn froRi the evil of his ways, or elfe the higheft motives that can be offered muft be infufficient for that end, all other motives to deter us from any aftion as dif- advantageous and pernicious to us, being as nothing when compared to that, depart from me, ye wicked, into everlajling fire : all evils we can fufFer from the hand of man, being little in refpett of that we mufl have caufe to tear from him who can dejiroy both foul and body in hell jire. Seeing, again, the promifes of eternal happinefs recorded in the fame Jcrip- tures, as the reward of our obedience, were certainly deiigned to render us obedient, either they muft be fufficient to engage us to yield that obedience to the good and holy will of God, or no inducements can be fuHicient for that end ; feeing this motive eminently contains all other motives in it, there being in thofe few words the enjoyment of God and everlajiing hap- pinej's, more than kingdoms and treafures, and all that can exprefs the good things of this world import ; and therefore a more vehement conltraining power in them to the perform- ance of our duty, than in the united flrength of worldly great- nefs, honors, pleafures ; and that which reprefenteth to our defires, and hopes what far excecdeth all we can hope for, or defirS befides. But then, zdly. Becaufe- the ble flings and miferies of another world are things invifible, and are difcerned only by the e)e of faith, they being; moral and fpiritual motives, which only work up- on us as they are prefent to our minds by a£lual confideration and refle'fion on them, which naturally we are not inclined to do ; feeing they are not always preicnt with us, when the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flefJi, by fenfual objecis vi/^hich we much afFetl, are thus prefent with us ; it is therefore neceilary, that at all times when they are not thus prefent with us, and therefore cannot operate upon us, the ho- ly fpirit flioiild, either by reprefenting to us Irom the Jcrip- iures thofe divine truths with which our underflandings have not been fufficiently enlightened or inftrufled, or elfe by re- viving and inculcating on our fpirits thofe motives and in- ducements to refift thofe temptations, and to perform thofe duties of which we are convinced by the word, alTift us fo to do. I therefore humblv conceive, that inward operation of xhch-oly fpirit lo confift iq theife two things : iji. In reprefenting the divine truths whxchhoW fcriptures CO contain, and prefs upon us, more clearly to our underfland- ings, that we may have a fuller evidence, ftronger conviction a;id alTurance of them : ("wj The eyes of our iinderfandrnjr ('vj) Eph. i. ifJ. EfftBual and Special Grace, 175 oeirig thus enlightened to know what is the hope cj our callings and the glorious riches of the inheritance oj the faints ; and this is ftyled the illumination of the mirvd. 2.dly. \.x\ bringing thefe truths to our remembrance, that fo thev naav be prefent with us when this is requilite to enable us. to re fi ft temptations, and to encourage us to the perform- ance of our duty ; and upon fuppofition of thefe two things, that God acts with us fuitabiy to the nature ot our faculties, on our underftandings by reprefenting the light to it, and on our wills by motives to choofe the good and relufe the evil; and that the higheft motives and . inducements pofTible offered to. us in the n ime of the great God of heaven, when firmly believed and prefent to the mind, muft be fufficient to pro- duce thein ends ; it can be only requifite to our converfioa and fincere obedience, that ihz good fpirit ftiould afTift us in this work by that illumination which is fufficient to produce in us this ftrong coriviftion, and (howld prefent thefe motives to our memories, and make a deep imprefTion ot them there; which being prefent, will be fufficient to move our wills and our afFetlions to profecute the ends for which they are defigned. Section VL-^-I know there be many who, beyond all this, require ^ phyfical and irreiillible motion of the holyfpir- zV, in • which we are wholly pafTive, to the converfion of a linner, which alTertion Ihall be afterwards confidered ; at prefent 1 only fhall endeavor fairly to compound and ftate this matter. \fl. Then, I fay, that it muft be granted, that in raifing an idea in my brajn by the holy Jpirit, and the impreffion made upon it there, the aftion is truly phyfcal. Q.dly. That in thofe anions I am wholly paflive ; that is, 1 myfelf do nothing formally to produce thefe ideas, but the goodfpirit, without my operation, doth produce them in me. And S^/y. That thefe operations muft be irrefiltible in their produttion, becaufe they are immediately produced in us with- out our knowledge ot them, and without our will, and fo with- out tliofe faculties by which we are enabled to a6L But then I add, that as tar as they are fo, they cannot be imputed to us ; that is, it cannot be praifeworthy in u^, or fewardable, that we have fuch ideas raifed in us, but only that when they are thus raifed in us we attend to them, comply with them, and improve them to the ends for which they were defigned by the holy fpirit. To make this evident by an exam- ple, it is generally granted, that Satan can fo work upon the brain as to raife up in it impure and vile ideas ; but then it is as generally held, that the thoughts they immediately produce, will never be imputed to us as our fin?, nor will God bedif 176 ZffcBual and Special Grace* pleafed with us for tliern, if we do not after fhewany good liking to them,orGonlentto them but manfully refifl andiiie up in de-- teftation and abhorrence of them,and that becaufe the raifing thefe' id:as}.siht devil's attion, not our own ; and we are purely pafhve in thetn till we confent to, or fliew fome liking of them ; and they are alfo inevitable and irrefiftibie, it being in the power of no man to help them, to prevent their being raifed in his brain, or any ways to fupprefs them, tiH he perceives them raifed there. And therefore for the fame reafons thofe ideas which are obje^ively good, being thus raifed in us, cannot be imputed to us for reward, nor can God be ys^ell pleafed with us for them till we cooperate with them, becaufe the raifmg of them is properly God's, not our own atfion, and weare purely-- palhve in it, nor is it in our power to prevent or refift them'; but then God having planted in us a principle of reafon and difcretion, we can attend to them when they are raifed in us, and fo improve them to the illumination of our underffand- ings, and to the approbation of them in our minds ; he alfo having given us a will to choofe the good, and to refufe the evil, we may confent to the good fuggellions and purfue the good motions thus raifed in us ; for to what other ends can they be raifed in us by the holy /pint ? as therefore our at- tending and confent to the fuggefiions of the cinl J'ptnt being free, and avoidable, is culpable, fo our attendance to and com- pliance with thefe motions of the holy fpirit, being things in which we are free and aclive, and that upon deliberation, and fo in them we do perform the free and proper a£lions of a rnan, doing that willingly which we ought to do, and refufing to do that which we have both power and temptations to per- form, thefe things mull be praifeworthy, and acceptable in the I'ight of God. I alfo add, that thefe ide^aa being thus raifed up in us by God alone, and even the power oi attending and confeniijig to them being, together with our nature, entirely derived trom him, and all the inducements which we have to attend to them, and comply with them, being properly of divine exter- nal revelation, or iuch divine internal operations, as if they had not intervened, we fhould have had none of thefe good efFe6)s produced in us ; thefe efFefts are properly to be af- cribed to God, and all the praife and glory of them muft be due to him alone, becaufe the principle of afting, and the in- ducem.ent fo to aft, is folely from him. ^loreover, (1.) As thefe ideas raifed in us are powerful in- ducements to the performance of our duty, as alfo all the oth- er motives contained in the gofpel revelation are, and as they all proceed from the free grace of God, they may be properly called exciting grace. EffeBual and Special Grace, 177 zdly. As they tend to reftrain us from that fin, to which ve naturally are too much inclined, and to baffle thofe tempt- fations which the world, Sata?i, and our own evil hearts fug- ^eft unto us, they are as fitly ftyled rejiraining grace. o^dly. As they are given before we defired them, and thefc ideas are often raifed up in us when we think not of them, they are properly preventing grace. j^thly. As they help us. in the confideration of, and our en- deavors and inclinations to perform our duty and refift tempt- ations, they may be ftyled ajijling grace. And, ^thly. As they continue to do this more and more, e- ven after the firft turn of the heart from fin to God, and after fome prevailing difpofitions to love, fear and ferve God with Sincerity of heart, they may be called the Jubfequent grace of God. 6tkly. The diftinftion of grace into fufficient and efficatious grace is not, as Pctavius well obferves, Generis infpecies, fed tjujdcm fpeciei fecundum accidens dr/lindio, a diftinftion of grace into different kinds or fpecies, but only a diftinflion of the fame kind of grace, according to its accident- ally different effefls, all efficacious grace being fufficient, and all fufficient grace being fuch as would be efficacious, did not the indifpofition of the patient hinder the effeft of it. And Lajlly. The dilf inftion of grace into common and fpecial may be underftood two v,'ays, viz. that grace which is afford- ed without any condition required on our part, as the vouch- fafement of the knowledge of the gofpel, and the calling m.en by it to the faith, may be called common grace, becaufe it is common to all who live under the found of the gofpel ; but that grace which is fufpended upon a condition, as the receiv- ing the afliflance of the holy Jpirit upon our afking, feeking, knocking for him, or receiving more upon the due improve- ment of the talents received, the remiffion of fins upon our faith and repentance, may be {i)'\Qd fpecial grace, becaufe it only is vouchfdfed to them who perform the condition ; and fo it is the fame with grace abjolute and conditional : oi elfe that may be ftyled common grace by which we are led to the faith of Chrijl, and fo it includes all thofe good defires which are excited in us, and all thofe good difpofitions which are produced in the minds of men before they believe, all this grace being common to men before they are admitted into the nezv covenant ; and that will be fpecial grace which is given to believers only, for the Itrengthcning of their faith, the en- creafing of their good defires, and the enabling them to live according to the gt^fpel. Section VII. — That any fupernatural habits muft be in- fufed into us in an inftant, and not produced by frequent ac- 'lyS EffcBual and Special Gract^ tions, or that any other fupernatural ^id is requifite to the converfion of a (inner, befides the foreinentioned illumlnatipa of the holy fpirit^ and the impreffion which he makes upon our hearts by the ideas which he ralfcs in us, is that which my hypotkejis by no means will allow ; which ideas, though they are raifed by a phyfual operation, yet are they moral in their operations ; even as a man's tongue in fpeaking to per- fuade, or to diffuade another, performs a phyfieal operation, though the efFeft of it is only moral. Some remonflrants, by granting this neceflity o{ JupemaU ural and infufed habits, feem to have run themfelves into this dilemma, that either thef'e Juptrnatural habits , viz. of faith and charity, may be wrought in men, and yet they may not be converted ; or elfe that all who are not converted, arnr- therefore not converted, becaufe God's fpirit hath not wrought thefe habits in them, which is the very abfurdity they labor to avoid. C H A P T E P. II. Propofing the Arguments which feem to overthrow this AJertion, of an Irrefiflible or Unfrufirable Grace, neceffary to the Converfion of a Sinner, jnLND this I fhall begin with fome general confiderations, as V. g. Sect I O!^ l.—^i. That which is fufficlent to caufe any man to diflruf!, if not entire'y to rejetl this doflrine, is this, that the defenders of it are forced by the evidence oi truth, to grant what is inconfiftent with their doctrine, and to aflert aii' univerfal grace, which to all, excepting the cleft, is really no grace, as o.g. \jl. They grant, "that preventing grace, as it is given t- rehllibly, fo likewife is it given univerfally to men, and that this initial and exciting grace being once granted, is never taken away by God from any man, unlefs he firll ot his own a^rcord rejefts it ;" and yet they refolve the nonconverfion, Hffe^nal and Special Grace. 179 «r not believing of all thofe who arc not effeQually converted info the want of means fufficient for their falvation, or, which is the fame thing, into God's dereli6Hon of them in that ftaie of difability into which Adanis fall had call them ; and what Grace is it then, to have that initial and exciting grace wliich they cannot but rejefcl, and which can never work taith and repentance in them for want of that iariher and effeftual grace which God will not vouchfafe to them, or that they have a talent ptit into their hands which they cannot but a- bufe to their great condemnarion, for want of-farthcr talents which he is refolved to withhold from them ? 2dly. They grant, "that there are certain inward workings and effects wrought by the word and fpirit of God precediiig converfion and regeneration in the hearts of perfons not 'yet juftified, which God ceafeth not to promote and carry on to- wards converfion, till he be forfaken of them by their volun- tary negligence, and his grace be repelled by them ;" and yet that he intends to reflrain his faving grace to his eleft, and to afford means fufficient for falvation to them only; and why again then are thefe inward workings and efFefts wrought in them by the word and fpirit, from whom God intendeth to retrain liis faving and converting grace, without which thev cannot -but negle6l and repel his former grace? Or how can he properly be faid to carry on Ms work towards the comicr- Jion of them, whom he hath decreed to leave in an utter difa- bility of being converted, or recovered from their undone con- dition ? 3f their reformation and obedience as to do all that was requifite on his part to procure it, and fo to give them means fufficient for the performance of their duty, when after all his unfuc- cefsful labors that it might be fo, he breaks forth into fuch ardent wiflies, {dj Oh that my people had hearkened to me and \{)i'xi(t\ had walked in my ways! Even that I/rael vfhom for reietf ing me, 1 have now given vp to her own heart's liijls ; Oh that thou hadjl hearkened to my commandments, faith God to that obftinate people, whofe neck was an iron Jinezo, and their hrozo brajs. Now can thefe cxprefTions come from one who had from all eternity decreed their reprobation, and con- (h) Deut. V. S7, 2g, 29. (c) More AV'y.Tart. 3. ch^p. xxxii. r r a.y Ifa. xlviii. iS, I, 2, 3. " t82 EffeBual and Special Grace, (equently the denial of means fufficient to enable them to do what he thus wifiics they had done ? Can there be any doubt of the fincerity or ardency of Chrift's defire of the welfare and falvation of the Jews when his eyes firft wept over jferu- Jalem, and then his mouth utters thefe words, happy hadjl thou been hadjl thou known in this thy day the things belong- ing to thy peace ; but now they are hid from thine eyes ; they are fo now, therefore they were not always fo. For Chriji here plainly taketh it for granted that the people of Jerufalem in this day of their vifitation by the Mejfiah^ might have fav- ingly known the things belonging to their peace ; fince other- wife, I know not how our Savior's tears could be looked on as tears of charity and true compaflion ; and either his aflfer- tion that they might have been happy would have been con- trary to truth, or his trouble that they had not known the things belonging to their peace mufl; have been trouble con- trary to the decree of his Father ; both which are palpably abfurd. And feeing the will of ChriJi was always the fame with the will of the Father, it follows alfo that God the Father hath the fame charitable aflfeftion to them, and fo hdd laid no bar againft their happinefs by a decree ofpreterition, or been wanting in any thing on his part requifite towards their ever- lalling welfare ; and then it mud be certain that an unfruftra- bie operation being not vouchfaled to convert them, it was not neceffary to that end. SectiO>j IV. — Argian^nt 3. — '^dly. If conveiTion be wrought only by the untrulhable operation of God, and man is purely palTive in it; vain are, iji. All the commands and exhortations dire6led to wick- ed men fej to turn from their evil ways, to put away the evil of their doings, to ceafe to do evil, and to learn to do well, to wajli and make themfdves clean, (f) to circumcije their hearts^ and be no rnorc fljjf necked, (g) to circumcife themjelves to the Lord, and take arvay the forcfiini of their hearts, to wafJi their hearts from wickednejs that they may be faved, (h) to put off the old man and put on the new, fi) to lay afide all filthinefs and fuperf,uity of naughtinefs, and to receive with meeknejs the xngrajted word ; for to fuppofe that God commands the duty, or impofes that as our duty under the penalty ot everlalling wrath, which he both knows, and according to this hypothefis hath declared we never can do without that mighty aid, which he neither doth nor ever will vouchfafe to the greatell part ot thofe to whom thefe precepts are directed, is to require ihem in vain te do thefe things, and in effe6i; to declare they are to (e) Ifa. i. 16. (f) Deut. x. 16. (g) Jer. iv. 4, 14. (h}Y.^\\. |v. 22, ( t ) 1 i'ct. li. X, 2. EffeBml and Special Grace, 183 look upon them fclves as inevitably damned, and that even for not doing that which it is no more in their power to do, than to create- a world. To fay here that the end of thefe comrriands and exhorta- tions is to declare not what we can do, or God would have us do, but what we ought to do, is, ijl. To fuppofe we ought to do what we cannot do, yea that we ought to do what God would not have us do, which is a manifeft contraditlion, fee- ing we only ought to do it, becaufe his will requires it. itdly. It is in exprefs terms contrary to the tenor of thofe numerous fcupturts which fay, he hath commanded men to do his com- mandments, and given them fuch precepts that they may keep and do them ; and 3^/)'. It is repugnant to the plainell reafon, for that one end of the precepts, prohibitions 'and exhor- tations contained in God's law is obedience, is therelore evi- dent becaufe they are there inforced with promifes to the obe- dient, and threatnings to the difobedient ; the only end of which is to move us to obedience by the inducements of hope and fear. Now obedience is one thing, and knowledge another; therefore knowledge is not the only end of God's precepts and exhorrations, and lo the only end of them is not to declare to us what we ought to do. Moreover that is to be deemed the principal end of the law, and of exhortations grounded on it, without which all other ends ot the law being attained, do not profit, but do rather hurt. Now thus it is with refpeft to )f.V{Q^\t&gi) 23, 24, 27, 2S. EffcBual and Special Grace, 191 God himfclf reprefent them as means proper and by him de- figncd, and fometimes efficacious 10 produce thefe ends ? — > Why doth he Tpeak as if they certainly would do it ? Why doth he complain fo much againft them, and denounce fucli dreadful judgments on them, who were not thus reformed by them ? Seeing thefe things without that aid he was not plcaf- ed to vouchfafe, were as unable to produce thefe efFefts as to make a blind man fee, or a deaf man hear ? Why is the one more punifhable on this account than the other ? Why, laftly, doth he reprefent them as incorrigible who were not thus re- formed by them, fince it was impoffible they fhould be fo without that fupernatural aid he was not pleafed to vouchfafe ? Surely thefe things are demonflrations of the falfehood ot this vain opinion, •^dly. God doth continually reprefent his calls and invita- tions, and his meffages fcnt to them by his prophets, as fuU ficient inducements to procure their reformation and repent- ance, and looks upon them as incorrigible and paflall remedy, and worthy of his heavieft judgments, when thefe things could not engage them to return to him ; fo we read, 2 Cbron. xxxvi. 1^, 16. Hefent to thtm his mejfengers, rifing up betimes and fending them, becauft he had compajjion on his people, and on his dwellingplace, but they mocked his mejfengers, defp-ijed his ZLwrd, and mijufed his prophets, till the wrath oj the Lord came upon them, and there was no remedy. So Jer. xxv. 4, 5. The Lord Jent to you his prophets, rifing np early and fending them, but you have not hearkened, nor inclined your car to hear (when) they fat d, turn ye again every otie jrom his evil zuays. Hence God fpeaks thus of them, Jer. xxix. 18, iq. / will perfecute them with thejword, thejarnine, and the pejli- Unce, and will deliver them to be removed to all the Ja?niiies of the earth, becaufe they hearkened not to tny words, when I Jent to them by my Jer v ants the prophets, rifingup early and Jendivg them, but ye would not hear. See alfo Jer. vii. 13. xxxv. 15. Again, / will bring upon jfudah, faith God, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerufalem all the evil that I have threatened, becaufe I have fpoken to them, but they have not heard, I hate called unto them, but they have not anfwered, Jer. xxxv. 17. So alfo Ifa. Ixv. 11. Ixvi. 4. Wifdom is alfo introduced by the preacher crying in the chief places of concourfe, turn ye at my reproof, (and) faj I zuill pour out my fpirit upon you, I will make known my words to you : and at laft thus conclud- ing, becaufe J have called, and ye refujed, I haveflrctched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have fet at nought all my counfel^ and would none of my reproof ; I alfo vnll laugh (a) Prov. i. 23, 2*?. igsf Effe^ual and. Special Gracel at your calamity, I zuill mock what your jear cometk. In 3 word, all thefe thiniJs feem to be put together, in thofe words of the prophet Ezefvel, (b) becaufe I haxje purged thee (i. e. I have done what was fufficient to have purged thee by my mercies and judgments, my calls, my threats, my promifes and by my prophets, and what fliould have purged the.) and thou zoajl not purged, thou /halt not be purged from thy Jilthi'. nefs any more, till I ha.ve cauftd my jurv to rejl upon thee. Now could that God who fent thefe miffengers to his people becaufe he had compajjion on them, have decreed from eterni- ty, never to have compaflion on them in reference to their e- ternal interefts ? Could he fee them under an utter difability through the fall of Adam to comply with the requefts of his mejfengers and prophets, and not vouchfafe that aid without which he well knew his mffengers and prophets muft be fent in vain ? And when after all that they had faid, there was no remedy of this fatal difai)ility afforded, did the good God threaten thus to perfecute with [word and faynine, and ban- tjhment, his own beloved people, for not hearkening to his words, and not turning from their evil ways, when they were no more able fo to do than to i-emovc a mountain ? Might he not as well have threatened thus the man who by intemper- ance had loft his fight and limbs, becaufe he did not fee and walk !* Efpecially if W3 confider that he contra6led this difa- bility by his own perfonal fin, they only had theirs by the tranfgrefTion of another long before they had a being, and fo before they could be capable of any perfonal tranlgreflion. To what purpofe did wifdom fay to them who were thus dif- abled, turn you at my reproof ? Or could fhe, without infult- ing over the mifery of fallen man, thus laugh at the calamity they never could prevent ? Or laftly, could God truly fay he xuculd have purged them, when he withheld that aid, without which it v.'as impoffible they fhould be purged ; or threatenr that they fliould be purged no more, who never were in a capac- ity ol being purged at all ? /)^thl\. God throughout the whole book of the law, and our bJelfed Savior in the gofpel, ftill reprefent the mighty works^ done for, and before the eyes of the Jews, as ftrong and fuffi- cient obligations to believe and obey him. AJk now of th6 days of old, did ever people hear the voice of God out of th6 midf}. of the fire as you have heard, and live ? Or hath God af- Jayed to go and take him a nation out of the midfi of another nation, by temptations, by figns and by wonders, and by a mighty hand, and by a firetched out arm, and by great terrors as the Lord did for you in Egypt before your eyes^ Deut. iv, (!>J Cliap. xxiv. 13, EffeBual and Special Grace. 1^3 32, 34, 34. Thoujliult keep therefore his jiatutts and khtoik- mandments, wh'ch I command ye this day, \fcT. 40, and Chap. xi. 2. You have Jeen the cha/iifemtnts of the Lord, h:s great* ntfs, his mighty hand, and his /iretcked out arm, and his mir- acles, and his a&s which he did in the mid/i of Egypt ; your eyes have Jeen all the great ads oj the Lord that he aid, thert' jorejkall ye keep all the commandments which I connnand you this day, Ver. 8. and Chap. xxix. 2, 3. Ye have Jeen all that the Lord did before your eyes tn the land of Egypt-, the great temptations which thine eyes have Jeen, the figns and the great miracles: keep therefore the words oJ this covenant, and do them, Ver. 8. So alfo our Lord proves the obligation the Jews had to believe in him, becaufe of the nnghtv works which he had done among them, faying, the works that 1 d» bear witnejs oJ me, that the Father hath Jent me, John v. 36. and ye have not his words abiding in you, Jor whom he hath Jenf ye believe not, Ver. 38. See alio John viii. 18^ 24. And when the Jews came to him faying ij thou be the Chrijl tell us plainly ; his anfwer is, John x. 25, 26. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witnefs of me, but ye believe not becaije ye are not of my Jlieep ; and Ver. 37. ij I do not the works of my Father believe me not ; and Chap. xv. 24. IJ I had not done among them the works which none other man did:, they had not had fin ; but now have they both feen, and hated both me and my Father, and fo they have no cloak for their fin ^ Vel-. 22. Now if the confideration of this mighty hand ot God» and flretched out arm, was not fufficient to induce them. to obferve his ftatutes, why doth he fo often fay^ therejo^e thou JJialt keep my Jlatules, i. e. why doth he ufe a reafoii which he knew was infufficient to produce that efFeft ? If all Chriji's miracles, without that fupernatural and u.'ifrufirahle aft of Godj which he would not vouchfafe to the Jews, were infufficient to produce faiih in them, why doth ChriJl (ell them that if they did not believe in htm, they Jio aid die in their fins f Why doth he reprefent their infidelity as an aft of hatred to him, arid his Father, and an evidence th?t they were not his Jheep, nor had the word oJGod abiding in them ? Whyj laftiy, doth hfe fay, they had no cloak Jor their fin^ who had this remedilefs difabillty to plead in their behalf. ^thly. This will be farther evident from God's fiippofltion, that it might be, that the methods he and his prophets ufed Would prevail for the producing of the defigned efFetis. Thus when God bids Jeremiah take the roll oj his intended judg- ments, and read it in their ears ; he adds, (a) 'it may he that ike koije of Judah zoill hear all the evil thflt I pttfpafe tb d9 (aj Jer. x\iLfi. 3,7. 1^4 EffeEual and Special Grace, to them^ that they may return every man from his evil way, und I may forgive their iniquity and their fin ; and Ver. 7. It may be they will prefent their f up plication before me, and will return every onejrom his evil way. To his prophet E- zekiel he fpeaks thus fbj prepare ye fluff for rernovmg, and remove by day in their fght, it may be they will confder, though they be a rebellisus houfe. So in the parable of the-vineyard, when God fends his Son to the Jews, he faith fcj it may be they will reverence 7?iy Son. Now what room is there for any of thefe fuppofitions, where the efFe£l depends upon God's immediate afting upon the heart, and not upon any hearing, or confideration of man without it, or any difpofitions, or any means that they can ufe to move him to enable them to do it ? If indeed they lay under this difability by the fall of Adam, it might as reafonably be expelled they (hould move a mountain, as be induced by thefe confiderations to return every manfrom his evil ways. (tthly. God complains of ^his own people, that they were CdJ a rebellious people, becaufe they had eyes to fee and f aw not, they had ears t» hear and heard not ; (e) my people, faith he, isjoolifh, they have not known me, they arefottifli children, and have not underflanding : they arc wife to do evil, but to ■do good they have no knowledge. And again, ffj to whom Jhall I f peak, and give warning? Behold their ear is uncir- ■cumcifed, and they cannot hear ; (g) can tin Ethiopian change his fkin, and the Leopard his fpots ? Then may ye alfo do good who are accufomed to do evil. And Chrifl fpeaks thus to the Scribes and P/iari/ees, (h) Ye ferpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye efcape the damnation of hell ! Now if this were the fad eftate of all the lapfed fons of Adam, that they had eyes and faw not, and ears and heard not, that to do good they had no knowledge, and no power, whatever motives God Ihould offer to engage them fo to do, why is this reprefented as the peculiar flate, only oi the worft of men ? If none of them could be induced by all the arguments the gofpel offers to do good, why is this made the effeft of a long cuflom to da evil, and an evidence oS. fottifli children? If this be the fad ftate of all that are not ot the number of the eleft, that they cannot efcape eternal riiifery, why is it faid, peculiarly of tbe Scribes and Pharifees, that they could not efcape the damnation ■of hell? And more particularly concerning fudas, that fiy . zt had been better for him that he had not been born ? In a word, all God's commands and prohibitions, promifes and threats, f^J'Eztk. xii. 3. ^^ Heb iv. 12. Effetlual and Special Grace. 197 of them both it will not be produced, he that hath it al- ways in his power to refift, that is, to hinder the operation of the one upon him, muft alfo fruflrate the other, and confe- quently hinder the efFeft ; fo that it being certain that the fjn- ner may, and too often doth refift the moft powerful perfua- fions of the word, he may refift the concurrence of the fpirit with it, and then that operation cannot be unfruftrable, or ir- refiftible. Moreover, if converfion be wrought irrefiftibly by the operation of the fpirit, then the word which may be re- fifted is unneceflary thereunto, fince an irrefiftable operation muft do its work as well without it ; and if the word cannot but berefifted, till the eifett is wrought by another power which is irrefiftible, it is evident the effe6t is owing only to that pow, er, and then the whole miniftry of the word muft be unne- CelTary ; and what is this but in efFe61: to fay, what in exprefs terms would be offenfiv* to tell chr-tjlian ears, viz, the word ef God is of no ufe towards the converfion, or reformation of a J&nner, • Section VIII. — /Argument 6. Hence it muft alfo fol- low, that no motive can be offered fufficient to induce the perfon who believes this doftrine, (as if it be taught in Jcrip-. tare all ckrijlians are obliged to do) to enter upon a change of life, or a religious converfation, till he feel this irrefiftible im- pulfe come upon him ; for as an affent to mere truth doth not move the will and affeftvons, unlefs it be of concernment to us, propounding good to be obtained, or evil to be avoided, fo neither can this be fufficient to excite endeavor, if I knew as certainly that till this impulfe comes upon me 1 cannot poffi- bly by my heft endeavors either obtain that good, or avoid that evil ; which being plain to common fenfe, 1 (hall not far- ther profecute. Section IX. — Arcrument j. If man be purely paflTive in the whole work of his converfion, and it can only be wrought in him by an irrefiftible a£l ot God upon him, then can noth- ing be required as a preparation,, or a prerequifite to conver- fion ; for either that prerequifite is fomething to be done on our part in order to God's irrefiftible a6l, or it is not ; if noth- ing is.fo to be done on our part in order to the work, no prep- aration can be requifite in order to it ^ if any thing is to be done on our part, it is certain that we arc not purely pafTive in the whole work of our regeneration, fince he that muft pre- pare himfelt for his converfion, muft aft in order to it. Now as all God's exhortations to men to confider and turn unto the Lord, demonftrate, that this confideration is a prerequifiia to converfion, fo the parable of the feed fown fhews (1//.) negatively, that the word becomes unfruitful, either becaufe men do not at all attmd to it, or becaufe (hey are diverted ig8 EJfeBual and Special Crace. from that attention by the intervening f^r(?j and plea fur es qf the world, which break oflf that attention, or are affrighted from it by the tears ot fuffering; and affirmatively, that it be- tometh fruitful by being received into a good and honeji heart. And fure the devil mufi be a fool, according to this doftrine, when he comes to take away the loord out of ?nens hearts, lejl they fliould believe and be faved ; if that word could have no influence upon men to falvation, when it was not attended with an uniruftrable afTi fiance, and where it was fo, all his attempts to hinder the believing of it to falvation muft be vain. Section X. — Argument 8. Were fach an irrefiflable power neceffary to the converfion of a finner, no man could be converted fooner than he is, becaufe before this irrefiflible aftion came upon him he could not be converted, and when it came upon him he could not choofe but be converted ; and therefore no man could reafonably be blamed that he lived fo long in his impenitent, or unconverted Hate : And then God mull unreafonably make thefe inquiries, (q) How long refufe ye to keep my co7n7nand?nents ? (rj How long will this people provoke me ? How long zvill it be ere they believe me ? (J) How long, ye fimple ones, will ye love ftmpUcity, and the fcorners delight in jcorning, and the fools hate knowledge ? ft J Je- rufalem, wafli thyfelj from wicktdnejs that thou mayfi be fav- ed? How long jhall thy vain thoughts lodge zoithin thee? — And again, (u) Jerufalem, wilt thou not be made clean ? When fliall it once be ? Seeing none ot thefe changes could be wrought within them, till he was pieafed to afford theirrefifliblo iinpulfe : And then it would not be praifeworthy in them, or any other perfon, that they were then converted, it being not in their power then to be otherwife, fmce an untruflrable op- eration is that which no man can fruflrate. Section XI. — Argument 9. The fcripture charges mens wickednefs not upon their impotency and difability, but upon their wilfuhiefs, v/hich therefore doubtlefs is the true account of tlie matter. It might have reafonably been expetled, that if the difability we had contraQed by the fail ot Adam had been the true fource of all that impotency that is in the fin- jier to hearken 10 all, or ?iny of the motives offered by God in the Old or the./Yfcy Tefiamfint, the holy fcripture fhould fome- where or other have given us fome exprefs declaration ot it, and not have conflantly afciibed this impotency to other caufcs acquired by, and not born with us ; whereasl verily be- lieve, that the '.vhole fcripture affurdeih not one fentence, or (■q) Exoi3. xvi. 28. (r) Numb xi*-. 11. ffj .^fQV,,'u Z2. — --. /Vyjcr. iv. 14. /^v^ Chap. xiii. :'7. .,.._- ...... j- Effectual and Special Grace, 199 exprefTion, which in the {rue importance of it bears this fenfe, or which either in terms, or by juR confequcnce avers, that ma7i IS Jo difabled by the Jail, as that he cannot be reformed by any arguments or motives off'eredby God for his recovery f or by the grace offered to all men in the gojpel, but that they tnuji entirely be frujlrated, ojfered and Jptnt in vain upon him, un^ lefs God add unto them an unfrujirable operation ojihe Holy Ghojl. Th.Q fcripture is indeed very copious in reprefeiuing the ignorance and darknefs of the Heathen world, given up to grofs idolatry, and lying under the dominion of the prince of darknefs; declaring, \hdX their JooliJJi hearts were darkened, and that they were alienated from the lije oj God through the ignorance that was in them ; that through the evil habits they had contra6led, the whole Heathen world lay in wickednejs^ were filled with it, and were even dead in trejpajj'es and Jins, and through the cuflomary praftice of fin were become infen- fible of their own vilenejs ; but nothing of this nature do I find charged on mankind in general, by reafon ot the tall of Adam. Whereas there is not any thing more- irequent or common throughout the whole book of Jcripture, than the complaints of God and all his prophets, ot Chrifl and his a^ poJlUs, of the perverfenefs, obftinacy, rebellion, the inconfid- eration, folly and fiupidity oi them with whom they had to do, and only of their indifpofition and difability to hearken to their counfels, and do good, by reafon of thofe evil difpofi- tions, cuftoms, prejudices, hardnefs of heart, or blindnefs which they had wilfully contrafted. Now it is reafonable to conclude the fault lies chiefly there where \hQ fcripture charg- ethit.andnot where it is wholly filent in the cafe. Now of all thefe things 1 have already given inftances fufficient ; to which may be added the words of Ifaiah, (x) Thus faith the Lord^ in returning and refl f mil ye be Javed, and in quietnefs and eonfidence fkall be your firengtk, and ye would not. And a- gain. They would not walk in his ways, neither were they obe- dient to his laws. And of the prophet Jeremiah, (yj Thus faith the Lord, afk for the old paths, where is the good way^ and walk therein ; and they faid we will not walk thcrtin i they hold f aft deceit, they refufe to return. I fent to them by my fervants the prophts rifing up early, and Jcnding them, but they would not hear, faith the Lord. And faith the prophet Hojea, (z) They will not Jratne their doings to turn unto the Lord. Now, is it to be wondered, is it juft matter ot com- plaint, that men who were difabled by' the tall of Adam, trom doing any of thefe things, did not perform them P Were they (x) Ifa, XXX. 15. Chap. xlii. 24.-»— /'/^ Jer. vi. ifi. Chap, viii, j. Qhaf . xxix. 14.-— Y«y Hoi. V. 4 200 Effedual and Special Grdct, not rather objefts of divine pity, than of wrath ? And was it j)Ot worthy of the divine goodnefs to help their unavoidable infirmity, rather than to punifh them fo feverely for what they could not help, and to impute that io the Jpirit of whore- dom in them, which was the natural refult of the whoredom oj their mother Eve ? Moreover, Chrift charges the impenitency and unbelief of the Jeivs upon this account, faying, ye will not come unto m^, that you may have life. Now if they coiild not have the will, their condemnation would not be juft; it indeed it had once been pofTible for them to be willing to come, or fuppof- ing their will good, it had been pofTible for them to come without being irrefiftibly made to come, the fault might have been imputed to themlelves ; but if it were impolfible for them to be willing, how fhould they come ? Or if it were impoflible for them to come if willing, to what end Ihould they be willing ? To fay, as fome do, that God's exhortations to men thus unable to return and yield obedience to him, and his promif- es to pardon and to fave them if they will return, are very fe- rious ; becaufe he will pardon and fave them it they do thefe things, and only doth not do this becaufe they will not turn unto him ; is . as if I ihould fay a man is ferious, when he exhorts a blind or a deaf man, who had contrafted thefe difa- bilities by their own fault, to fee and hear, and promifes them the higheft advantages if they would do fo, becaufe he will give them thefe advantages if they do fee and hear, and only doth not give them becaufe they do not do fo \ for if you fay that thefe men cannot fee and hear, and therefore will not, fo is it with every lapfed man according to this do£lrine. Moreover it is certain, that what I know I cannot do if 1 would, 1 cannot rationally will to do becaufe 1 cannot rationally will in vain ; if therefore God hath taught the finner that he cannot turn to him, or hearken to his exhortations to repent and believe, were he never fo willing; he hath alfo taught him that he cannot rationally will to do fo, an^ therefore that he muft be innocent in not having fuch a will. Section XII. — Argument lo. hr\Alaflly. Our opinion tendeth much more to the glory of God, than doth the con- trary opinion ; for feeing God is chiefly glorified by the ac^. knowledgment and difcovery of his excellencies, and more particularly of thofe attributes which do inform us of our du- ty, and are propofed for our imitation, that dotlrine which tends moit to the acknowledgment of thofe attributes, muft tno/t diretf ly tend to the advancement of God's glory. Now,. . xj}. The wifdom ot God is moft glorified by that opinion which fuppofeth he ails with man in all his precepts, exhorta< EffeBual and Special Grace. '±bi tions, invitations, proniifes and thneats, fuitably to tTiofe fac- ulties that he ha-th given us, and doth not attempt by. them ** to engage us to impoflibilities ; for is 'it not a toul imputa- tion upon the -divine wifdom to fuppofe that he iifes and ap- pointeth means for the recovery of mankind, which he knows cannot in the ieaft degree be lerviceable to that end?" But fiich is the co.nfequence ot that opinion which makes it as jmpoflible for the finner to be converted, as for the dead to be raifed by any of thofe arguments or motives delivered by him in the fcripture to engage us to repent and turn unto Him ; for" according to this kypotke/is, he might as well fend minijlcrs to preach to ftbnes, and perfuade them to be converted into men; for his Omnipotency fcan, upon their preaching, pro- duce this change in thofe Itones ; and according to this opin- ion, the converfion of a finrier cannot be effected wil^hout a like aft of the divine omnipotcncj'. ^dly. Whereas according to duf doflrine, the truth and faithfulnefs of God, and the ' fincerity of his dealings v;ith men is unqueftionable ; according to the other dotlrine, God ieems to promife pardon and falvation to all men fincerely, and yet in truth intends it only to fpme few perforis \\'^hom he defigncd to convert by an iiTefiftible power ; leaving the falvation of the reft i'npo(Hble, becaufe he never defigned to afford them this unfruftrable operation, inquiring why thofe men would die ? Why they w-ould not be made clean ? Whom we knew could not avoid that deith, or obtain that purgation ^vithoiit that divine impulfe he would not afford them ; and faying he had purged them who were not purged, and had done all things requifite to make bis vineyard bring forth good grapes, When he hid withheld from them that unfrullra- ble operation without which they neither could be purged, nor brinir torth food crrancs. ^dly. Whereas the jultice of God flnines evidentlv from our do6lrine, which aflerts thait God doth only puniOi men for wilful fins, which it was iii their power to avoid ; it never can be glorified by that do61rine which fiippofes thai he pun- ilheth nien with the cxtremefl and moll lafting torments, for nbt acceptlrig thofe offers of grace tendered by the gofpel, which it was not pofTibie for them to comply with, or em- brace, without that farther grace which he purpofed abfolute- ly to' deiiy them. Now fuch is the confequence of that (>ni!i- ion which refolves the converfion of finners into that untruf- trable operation which is vouchfafed only to a few, but is ■withheld from all the reil of mankind to whom grace is offer- ed bv the gofpel. ^thiy. ^Is it not for God's glory that the praife of what good we do fhould be afcribed to hi..iwx5(T^a.« 'JTfos rx irf-ay-rioc, will have man to have power over his own feif and be governed by his own will, in what he dathy 7tfec?ned good to our Savior, its i%7 fj.9.>Xov xaX «jc avayxris- trr,- prYif/^ivns oiTrxWoimahoLt /xsv ruv airf/^faiv av^iy^S'J^xi Se ptSXXov ra. diMiivco, that man JJiould be xotthdrawn from what is bad, and drawn to zvhat is better, rather by perfuafion than by a necefjiiy laid upon him : for if having invincible power he had com- manded M,ll men to believe, irKripo^oplxs >^>c£Tt xxp'Troi ro TrinrcVciv riVy dvxyxxiujv ol /xxXkov ytxi dpvxTcov e'niTxyfj.xrajv. Faith would not have been the fruit of a full perfuafion ; but rather of ne- (a) Lib. 5. chap. i. page 393. Ed. Ox. Col. 2. (h ) Apol. 2. page 58. Vid.pige 80, Si. /"c^ Lib. 6. contra Jul. page 215. B.C. Effetlual and Special Grace. 203 ceff'ary and unavoidable comtnands. And again, man, faith he, ^.suTTojf lit afjL^u . „ ^„r n- r., . the work itfelt ; as '^J JX ^ refuireaipn, Eph, i. iq, 20. g. it being rcprefented^ A creation, 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal. vi. 10. hpb. by fuch acts in which 1 » "• '°; . ., ~ . ... ly fuch aCls in which | »"" '\ • », ~ . .-. 4 are confelFedly paf- I ^ "^"^ ^"^*''' ^"^^ "'• 5- ve. L we five ■i-dly. Arguments tak- . ^" *J"}>i» the (»ate and 1 As, -jinted with all the inducements, arguments and motives which chrijhanxty affords to produce faith, repentance and ' coriverfion in them, have no more ad- vantages towards repentance and converfion than the word ot lUatktns, who to be fure cannot do iefs than nothing towards their converfion, and would as ccrtainlv be convened by an Or, idh, as prqmiAng, \ Or 2'{ly, as doing this work in lis, it be- ing God, I Or, Atbly, fuch as prove the nbfur lityof tile contrary alffrfion, that man cooperates wiih Go;! in this work, -^ and is not converted without the free cpn- fent"' of his ov.n wijl j' forif fo it. follows-,. ' -. EfftHual and Special Grace. 505 jrrefiAible aft of God, and by unfruftrable grace, as they.'who have attained to the exa6left knowledge ot God, and of th« do6lrine of chrijiianity ; and yet it is certain that fome of thofe argument;; depend upon fuch paffages as only reprefehi the ftate of J^fathens lyipg in darknels and grofs idolaixy^ an4 led by Satan captive to his zvill. W /; t' ■ of idly. It feemeth alfo certain that thofe promifes and /cn^j tures. which refpecl whole nations, churches and chnjiians\ without diftinfUori, or refpeft to perfons^ can afford no juft arguments to prove, fuch operations (hall, he ivruught uport them which are peculiar, to the ele£l ; the reafon is, becauf* all the members of any church, nation, or public lociety, are not of the number of the elefl, but fome tew ot them only, and therefore the promifes made to the whole body ot tticm mufl either be condilianal,. and fo require foniething to be done, by them in order to the enjoyment ot the bleflingsprom* ifed, and then they cannot be purely paffive, or.it theybe ab* foluie, they canr>ot, be promifes peciiliarto the eleft; as being made to many which are not of that number ; and yet that this is the nature of many of the promifes produced in thi^ aflair, will be evident, And, : ;, , . • "' '''-.'f- 3^//)'. It feems very impertinent tqi produce thofe places of fcnpturc which evidently fpeak ot men who have already be- iieved and repented, and upon whom the. work ot regenerarion hath been wrought already, to prove that men are purely paf- five in the work of faith, repentance and regeneration ; the reafon is, becaufe fuch places cannot concern the work of faith, repentance and regeneration 1 yet to be wrought upon them. If it be faid the argument is good, a fortiori, viz. if after all thefe works have been d^owc upon them, men are ilill purely palTive in all the good they, do, inuch more- mult they be fo before thefe works are \yrought within them : I anfwer that the argument, \yeje. the 'caie truly fo, "would be very good ; but the luppofition that men are llilj. as unable after luch grace received, as belore, to do any good, is intol- erably abfurd, fince were it fo, men would not be one whit (he better for their converfion, and the new nature wrought within them, their faith could not be truitlul in good works, their mind could be .no more enabled to approve the things which are ot God, nor their w-ills to choofe them, nor their affetlions to dcfire them, nor their executive faculties to per- form them ; feeing then fuch places cannot be underflood of God's working in them without any cooperation ot their own ; it is evident they cannot pertinently be alledged to prove fuch operation upon other men. To co:nc now 10 u particular confjdefation oi thefe arguments. ?06 EffeHual and Special Graces Section II. — Obje&ion i. When the apoJiU prays that his Ephe/ians may know (a) what is the exceeding greatnejs of his power towards us who believe, according to the working oj his mighty power, which he hath already zorought in Chriji^ when heraijea hirn from the dead: It muft be abfurd hence to infer, that the power oi God working faith in believers, is equal to that which effe61ecl the refurrefction of our Lord, and tiiat we muft be therefore purely paflive in the whole work of our converfion ; for as this power is not confiftent with the perfuafions and exhortations ufed m Jcripture to move iinners to repent and turn thenifelves from their iniquity, or with a rational choice, nor could it properly be faid that they turned, but only that they were turned to the Lord ; fo is not the expofition agreeable to the words ; for the apojlle fpeaks not ot the power exercifed o« us to render us believers, but of the power which (hall be exercifed on us who be- lieve already : Not of the power to be exercifed on our (puis to raife them from a death in fin, to a life of righteouf- r.efs, but oi the power to be exercifed on our dead bodies to give them a glorious, refurre6iion to eternal life, as he had done ^Ifeady in the body of our head Ckrijt Jefus. Obje£I.ion 2. — Qdiy. When it is faid that this work is com- pared to ^^reatiot^, in which it is certain that which is creat- ed murt be purely paflive, as when by it we are faid to become, r, y.Quvr, xtiVk, a new Creation, or new creatures, 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal- vi. J.5. we being God's workmanjhip created in Chrijl Je^ Jus.io good works. £ph. ii. 10. AnJ'cuer 1. That this metaphor affords no certain proof that whcrefoever it is ufed, the perfon ^t refpeiteth muft be purely paifive, and have done nothing towards the a6i ftyled crea-i tion i is evident from many inftances to the contrary. Thus God is faid to have created Jacob, and Jormed Ifrael, when he conftituted them to be his church and people, Ifa. xliii, 1. whence the Septuagmt laith, (W.vylTfl»)T» rr/f yiriaecuf ravrvs, fbj remember this creation ; and yet they were not purely paffivCj but entered into covenant to h(ive him Jor their God'. Whcti God makes ufe of wicked men, or men of war, to puniih oth- ers, he faith, (c) I create the zoafler to dejlroy ; and yet it is certain that he is not purely paflive in that work ; and this is in the caie bcifore us certain from the nature of faith ; for faith is man's aft, not God's ; it is an aflent, and fo an a6^ion of the mind. Godly forrow, though it arifeth from the mo- tives which God and his good Ipirit, and which his minifters fuggeft, yet is it the forrow of the convinced finner, and it, (aJEy'h.i. 19,30. fbJ Vfy\. Ixxiv. iS. ^f^; Ifa. liv. 16. Effetlual and Special Grace, aoy faith the apoflle, works repentance unto life ^ which fure it could not do, if we were purely paffive in that work. As for the work ot converfion, God's frequent calls upon the wick- ed to turn themfelves from all their tranfgreffions^ God's commiffion to his apofles, to declare unto the (dj Gentiles that they fhould repent^ and turn to the Lord, are certain in- dications that they are not wholly pa(hve in that w6rk. Anfoer 2. — ^.dly. But God is in fcripture faid to create that which he brings into a new and better ftate ; thus David prays, (e) create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew in tne a right fpirit. Thus he is faid to create new heavens and nezo earth, by making fuch a change and alteration for the better in the face and date ot things, that the frime of them feems not to be the fame as it was before, Ifa. )xv. 17. And when he faith, Ver. 19. I create Jerufalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy ; the note of Gataker is this, that refiitution ai\d renovation for the hdter, is deemed as a creation. Seeing then the change wrought in us by that faith which purifies the heart, and makes us fruitful in gox)d works, by a repentance from dead works to the fervice of the living God, and by a converfion fro!T> a life of fin to a life of righteoufnefs, is fuch a renovation as changes the whole man and all his faculties lor the better : Seeing this renovation is begun, as creation is, by the power ot God working upon the heart of man, we be- ing made a willing people in the day of his power, here is foun- dation fufficient for the metaphor of a new creature ufed in thefe texts. To this fenfe tht fcripture plainly leads us when it faith, if any man be in Chrijl he is a new creature : becaufc old things are pafl away, and all things are become new in us ; and faith in one place, (Jjwe put on the new man which is created after God in righteoufnefs and holinefs of truth ; and in another, which is renewed after tht i?nage oj him that creat- ed him ; and all the greeh fathers confirm this expofition, by faying that this new creation only importeth /xsTaCoXr,v elf to xp&XrToif, a change for the better, as you may fee in fgj Sui- ceru f . ObjeSion 3. Regeneration is ftyled a new birth ; as there- fore we are pafTive in our generation, fo muft we be alfo in cur regeneration. * Anjwer. The falfchood of this argument is evident from this confideration; that this new birth is afcribed to the word of God, which only works upon us by moral fuafion ; as wh^n thcjcripture faith, (h J faith comes by hearing, and hear- ing by the word oj God ; fij that we are begotten by the word ' (d)A.€is\\y\. 20, fc) ?{. V. 10. /'/;Eph. iv. 24. — fgj To, »p. I77> 178, 179- /'f^J R-om. x. 17, ■ fiJ i Pet. i. 23. SSo8 iEffcElual and Special Grace. cf iheliving.CQd ; yea, that God himfelf hath (k) begotti^n us by the word of truth. idly. It alio is afcribed to the minif- ters ol God, as when St. Paz^/ tells the Corinthiuiu he had (I) begotten them by the. gojpel. If then this new birth, wlien it is afcribed to God's word or miniflers, cannot import that they produce it by an irrefiftible aftion, in which weare pure- ly paflive, it will not toUow that God or his goodfpirit, doth fo convert men, becaufe they are faid to be born ot God, or of the fpirit. Q.dly. This rcgenefatioii being the phrafe tifed by the Jews concerning \.\\tit projdytes, they being faid to be then recens nati, netu born babei^ and barn in holtny}, iiapa. raTs ^xpQupon ^iV'.ofro'^ois TO TiaTfiyJhaai r\ x«£ (pcori-yai oi.MccyivWi(ya.i 7.iycTxt, Stro??h I. 5. p. 552. Our Lord tranflates the metaphor irom them to Ins di/ciplcs renewed alter the image of God in true holinefs, and lantrificd throughout in all their xvhole man. Now here is fuch an intrinflc change in the whole [pint, foul and body, and the whole tenor of this man's life for the better, that he may well be faid to be born again, who is thus changed into another man; for if when the fpirit of prophefy came upon Saiil he was fmj turned into another man ; -*nuch more may he be faid to be fo who has the fpirit of fan6lification dwelling in him. And ieeing it is by the operation of the holy fpirit that this change is wrought within us, it fitly is exprefled by being born of the fpirit. Seeing, iaftly, we are thus born not of corruptible fced^ but of incorruptible, i. e: the word of e living God, who oj his own will hath begottm iis again by the word of truth, therefore we are as fitly faid to be born of God. SncTioN III. — ObjeElion 4. The unrogenerate man is re^ prefented as dead in trejpajfes and fin S ; and he that is dead, we know, hath no motion in him, and fo cannot move to- vvards a new life. Eph. ii. 1. Cololf. ii. 13. Anfiber ifi. That the metaphor of being dead in trefpaffts dnd fns cannot warrant our faying any thing ot unregenerate perfons which may properly be alfirmed of the dead, is evi- dent from fcripture and experience ; for a dead body is void of all feiife, whereas the unregenerate man is often under ftrong convitlions.and a deep {':^w{t of his prefent mifcry. A dead man cannot awake himfelt out of the flecp of deaths bltt God faith to the fpiiitually dead man, Awake thou thatflt^p- eft, arfe front tliC' dead, and Chrifl fhall give thee Ife, Eph. v. 14, A dead man cannot hear, but to the fpiritnally dead God faith, hear, and yoiir fouls fiall live, Ifa. Iv, 3. ■ And lallly, it would be abfurd toexliort a At.M\ body to turn about and live ; whereas God thinks it not incongrwous to fay to per- ri.'' Jam. j. •%. (I) I Cor. iv 15. — —('n]\ Sam. x. 4, JSjeSiual and Specidl Gtdci, 209 tons fpiritually dead, tufnyourfdvts, and ye Jhall live, Ezek. kviii. 3«. xxxiii. ii. Moreover good chrijiians are faid to be ^eai to Jin^ Rom. vi. a. vi. 7, ji. Dkad to the iato^ Gal. ii. 19. Dead and crucijied to the worlds Gal. vi. 14. Now if hence we cannot truly argue that they tannot un at all ; that they can do nothing relating to the world, or could do nothing relating to the law, as St. Paul in confipii- ance with the Jews ftill did ; neither can wfe argue from the Inetapkor of being dead in trefpa/fes and fin's, that after God's call to hear and livi?, his ejicitation by all the motives and in- citements ot his word and fpirit, we can do nothing in obedi- ence to thefe calls, and in compliance with thefe motions of his wprd and fpirit* Anfwer 2. — ^dly. This argument offends againft th6 firft general rule laid down before ; for both the places cited con- cern only the Gentih world, held under the government of SA' tan and livinff according to the evil fpirit, who worketh in tfi< children of difobedience, Eph. ii. 2. and the fame perfons arfe faid to be dead in fins, and in the uncircumcifion of the fiejh^ which put them out of a covenartt relation to God ; and fo their quickening ttiuft confift in their converfion from thdt darknefs in which the heathens lay, into the light of the gofpel ind from the fet-vice of Satan to the fervice of the true God. But this was not the (late of the Gentile made a profelyte of juftice^ or of the Jew, and much lefs of the baptifed thrifiiidt'n j^ and fo We cannot argue from thofe words which do fo certainljr fejate unto the w6t-ft of heathens, that this mufl be the natufjll eJlate of all men, or that the fame power is rfequifite to Ci>fl- vert the unregenerate ckrijiian, and the worftof heathens, Obje^ion 5. It is flill more impertinent to argue this Fl-orti the words of the apojile, (i) the natural man receiveth ndt the ihings of the fpirit of God, for they are fooliftmefs tb hifk; neither tdn he knozt) thtin. becaufe they artjpiritH. to his twelve apojlles, to ihew the neceflity of their continu- ance in that flate, that they might fuccefsfully perform the .work he had defigned, and chofen them to do, viz. to go forth, into tlie world, and bring forth 7nuch fruit, by converting ma- ny to the faith, Ver. i6. and fo it fignifies that without the .g^fts, arid powerful affiflance of that holy fpirit, who belonged only to them who abode in Chrifl, they could do nothing to convert the world ; their fufficiency for that work deriving itfell entirely from that God who gives iht holy /pir it to theat for that end. 8 Cor. iii. 5. EffeBual and Special Grace. 211 •t^Anfwer 2. — ^dly. Gataker hath well noted, that y^cofa Bfx5, xvithout jne, is the fame as yju)pi'j(ii\rs.s dtt l/xJi, being feparated from me, you can do nothing ; and this being given as a rea-' fon engaging thofe he fpake to, to abide ftill in him, if you extend it to all true chrijlians, (as it proves that they may nefii abide always fuch, fo) it only fignifies that without abiding int the faith, they cannot be fruitful, in the faith ; and without their continuing united to Chriji by the fpirit, they cannot bring forth the fruits of the fpirit; but they do not prove that a man cannot hearken or attend to what he hears in order to the obtaining of that faith which comes by hearing ; that he can- not afk, feek and knock for the good fpirit, tli3t he may be born ot the fpirit ; or that he cannot think of his ways, that he may turn his feet unto God's teftimonies ? Objeclion 8. No man can come to Chnjl, except the Fa^ ther draw him, John vi. 44. Now he that is drawn is paflive. Anfwer. To this I anfwer, {\ft.) that to be dratvn of God, cannot import our being moved by anv inward and irrefiftible imprefTions to believe in ChriJI ; for then no man could come to Clirijl without this irrefiftible imprefhon, and then no oth- er perion could be blameworthy for not believing on him, be- caufe they could not do it without that power! ul attrafcfion %r'hich God was not pleafed to afford them; nor could it be praifeworthy to believe in him, becaufe they only did fo when they could not choofe but do it, as being moved in fo doing by a force they were not able to refill ; and therefore to be drawn of God can only fignify, \Ji, To be perfuaded and prevailed upon to come to Chriji; by the confideration of the mighty works which God had done to juflify that ChriJI was the true Mejfiah, or that prophet which he had fent uito the world. To thefe Chrjl Hill ap- peals as divine teftimonies concerning him, by faying, (y) the. zi'orks that my Father hath given me to do, bear zcitnej's of me-; and hence he reprefents the unbelieving Jews as inexcufable, that he had done (z) ikoje works among them which never man did. See the note there. Or, ^dly. It is to be moved by the great promife of eternal life, confirmed by thefe miracles, to do it; for where there is a firm belief and lively fcnfc of that ineft:imable blefiing,it itrongly mull engage us to ufe the means by which we may obtain it, and fo to come to Chrijl, when from him only this blefiing is to be expefled ; and this is a familiar fenfe of the word draw, both in i\\Q Jcnplure and in oilier writings. Thus God is faid to draw them to himfclf by the cords oj love, H'^» fca xi. 4. wlio yet were bent to bacljiiding Jfoni him, Vcr. 7. CyJ John X. 25. fz] Chav- xv. 22, 24. ti% jyr^%a/ and Spcial Graci. ^nd men aro f*id to be faj drawn ajide by their omit lujls : for isTaJiitJiia auemquc voluptas, ev^ry man's pleafure draws him to a compliance with it ; fee the note there. And that we are only fai4 to be drawn thusi by th? EcUker to Chrift, viz^ by his ^piracies and divine inftru£lions, is evident from the wojda following , as a proof of this, it is written they Jiiall all it ^ugkt oj God, he therejare that hath heared [\\itit things from) ilie Father (there is God's teaching) and learned i. e. perceived that IS even he that fpeaks and does thefe mighty things by me (there is man's duty and his aftion) he. cometh to me. With- out this drawing none can come to Chrift ; for God alone can give this promile of eternal life to encourage us to do fo, and 50 power but that of God could work, thole miracles which confirmed this promife, and the commiilion of our Lord. The ^th and xoth objeftions are in effeft the fame, and fa \yiU admit of the fame anfwer, viz. that whilft a man is an evil tree, be can do nothing that is good, Matth. vii, i8. and that the carnal mind is. notjabjed to the law oj God, nor indeed ^n be fo ; whence the iniereace is this, that this evil tree xnufl be firft made good, this carnal mind muft be firft made fpiritual, before he can do any thing towards his converfion. A,njwer. 1. Now i^xfi.) the abfurdity oi thefe objeftions is vifible in this, that this expofition of them renders all God's ijxhortations to ihe wicked 10 turn from the evil of their ways, alibis pronufes of pardon and falvation if they turn from them, all his threats of death and deftruftion if they do not turn from them, all his complaints againft them that they would not be converted, they would not come to him, vain and abfurd; as being exhoitations and commands to do what he knew they could not, and he only could do without them ; promifes of pardon and falvation, if he him- felf would do what they could not, and threats of damnation if he himfelf did it not, and in effeft complaints againft l?im ; for he that complains againft me for not doing what he himfelf alone can make me do, lays the whole guilt of no^ doing it upon hi in felt. Anfwer z. It is faid in the fame place, that a good tree tannot bring forth evil fruit : and elfewhere, that he that is born oj God cannot fn. Now if we cannot truly hence infer that a good man, or a fpiritual perfon, can never do an evil or 3 Cnful a6iion, neither can. we from the words cited infer, that an evil or a carnal man can never do a good aftion ; for if fo, why doth God fay to him, ctafe to do evil, learn to do well? but only that they cannot do it till they will ufe the faculties which God hath given them, to confider and lay t-o heart the. /i%; Jam. i. 14. EJfeBual and, Special Grace, 213 ^iucenaents which the gofpel tenders to engage them to a. mend their ways. Hence our Lord faith to thefe bad trees, maie ihi tree goed, that the fruit may he good ; which fhews, he knew they couW and ought to have done fomething tOr wards that good effect. And the apojile, by his frequent ex- hortations to carnal men, h) mortijy the deeds of the flejh, to crucify tkeHeJk with its affedions and lu/is, to put ojf the old man wit-k his deeds ; by his tlireats, that \f they live after the Jlefh thtyjhalt die, and by his promife, that ij through thefpiT' it they do mortify the deeds oftheflefh they JJiall live, plainly demonftrates not only that they can, but that they muft be aft- jve, if ever this change be wrought upon them. Section IV. — 1 o thf wth and i^th obje6^ions the fame general anfwers may be given, they both depending on the fame phrafe, and making thus one armament : What God gives we only receive, and fo' are only paiT.ve ; but God gives faith and repentance; Afts xi. i8. Kph. ii. 8. Anfwer 1. To fhew the vanity of fuch objeflions, I fhal! confront them thus, what God commands we muft do, ani therefore muft be aftive in it; but God commandeth all men every where to repent, Afts xvii. 30 and this ii his command-' ment that we believe in the name of the Son of God, 1 John iii. 2a. therefore we muft be a6live in the works of faith, John VI. 29. and of repentance. Yea, by this way of arguing, all that hardnefs of heart the few s contrafted muft be (cJwxev ©eof) muft be afcribed to God, and they muft have been pure- ly paflfive in it, God having given them a fpint of flumber : Rom. xi. 8. Ahab's falfe prophets muft be purely paflive ; for, faith Michajah, fbj the Lord hath given a lying fpirit in the mouth of all thy prophets : The enemies ot God's church muft be paflive in all the evils they do to her, God having fcj given them to take peace from the earth, and to Jlay fame ; and in the blafphemies they utter againft him, God having given to the beajl to fpeak blafphemies. Rev. xiii. 5. Anfwer 2. In anfwer to all the fayings of like nature to thefe, 1 lay down this as a general and certain rule, that where God is fdid to give any thing, the extra fe of that faculty is fltll fuppofed which he hath given us already, and God is on. ly faid to give it by giving us thofe faculties by which we are enabled to obtain it, and the means and motives which are fufficient to excite thofe faculties to the performance of their proper atiions ; 1 fay, the exercife of ihofe faculties is always preluppofed, when God is faid to give that which it is our duty to perform, and which will turn to our advantage awd reward. And, (hj I King$ ixii. a3 (() R- cumctfe the heart, Deut. xxx. 6. and Ephraim prays tht^s, turn thou us, Lord, and fo Jliall we be turned ; h.e\hcT&- fore only doth thefe works in us, and we are purely panivd Jer. xxxi. 18. Anjwer. Now in anfwer to fuch texts as thefe in genera!, I lay down this as a moil certain rule, that zuhen God doth re- quire us to do what he hiwj'elf doth, proniife, and hath made it our duty to perform, his promife is only to perform ivhat is r?- quifite on hxs part towards the work, ' he certdii.ly expeQin^ we ourfelves Ihould do what he commands ; atid the tenor af (S) Job. xxxvi. 10, I.?. See the note on John vi. 45- i TheC, iv. 9. 21$ FffeSiual mid Special Grace. thofe prayers is only to afford his afli fiance to help our in- iffmities when we are truly willing and defirous to perform bur duty by virtue of thofe inducements he hath already laid before us ; for it in fuch cafes the whole was to be done \>y God immediately, not by way of perfuafion only, but by vnfruflrabie influence, his command to us to do it, could pnly be to this effeft : Do you upon your utmofl peril "what I ja- lone can do, or be you Gods ? For a command to men to ^o Vhat divine power can alone efFe6l, doth fignify no lefs ; and xve by praying he alone would do what he requires us to do, pray in effetl to be excufed from obeying his commands, an4 that he would do himfelt what he expefts from us. jj/?. Then, feeing the fame God who promifeth to fa) cir- cttmcife the hearts of his people, requires them io (b J circum^ cije their orvn hearts, and calls upon the men of Judah to czV- cumafe themfdves. and take away theforejkins oj their hearts^ iefl his Jury bitak forth upon them, and threateneth to pun- ifh all the houfe ot IJrael be'cauj'e they were uncircumcifed in heart, and yet he cannot rationally be fuppofed to punilh and break forth in fury on them, becaufe he had not performed his promife, it is demonftrably certain that promife could not fignify that he alone would do that work without their con- currence, or their endeavor to do fomething towards it ; fo that it is fuperfluous to add that this promife was apparently conditional, viz. If they would call to mind the blefTings and the curfings which he had pronounced, Ver. i. and tarn tp the Lord their God, Ver. 2. or that it is a promife made to all that were brought back into the land from their captivity, and to all their feed, and fo to many who were not elcfted j to na« tions, not to particular perfons. 2d[y. Seeing God fo frequently requires of the fame pet- fons that they flipuld turn themfelves from their tranfgref- fions, promifing life to the penitent becaufe he conjidereth, and turntth away from his iniquity, and threatening that if they would not turn they JJiould die in their Jin s ; feeing he com- plains fo oft oi his own people, that they would not turn to him that finote them, znA o{ that very £^/irflm which made his praver, that they would not Jrarne their doings to turn milo the Lord, Hof. v. 4. It mud be abfurd to urge this prayer to cxcufe men from a duty required by God tinder fuch dreadful penalties. Add to this, that by comparing this pray- er with the preceding chapter, in which God promifes fo oft to turn their captivity, it appears this is only a prayer that God would bring them out of that thraldom, like that ot the Pfalmiji, turn our captivity, Lord. Pfal. cxxvi. 4. fa J Deut. XXX. 6. fl/J Jer. iv. 4. ix. i^. EJfe^ual and Special Grace, 217 Ohj^ion 16 — 17. God promifeth to fcj write his law in the hearts of his people , and to put it into their inward parts ; that he will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear him forever, and will make an everlafling covenant with them : that he will not turn away from them to do them good, but will put his fear in their hearts that they fiall not depart from hx7n. Jer. xxxii. 39, 40. Anfver. Thefe promiTes are made exprefsly to the whole houfe of Ifrael, and to all the children oj Ifrael-and. Judah, to all with whom the old covenant was made, and whom God brought out oj Egypt, and would bring again oiit of captivity i it therefore, by tiie fecond general rule, can be no promife made to, or covenant made with, the eleft of the houfc of i/- r^f/and Judah. xji. Becaufe then the whole nation of the Jews mull have been elected and converted, ^dly. Becaufe It is made with thofe who kept not his forfiier covenant, and therefore he regarded them not ; whereas the ele£l always per- fift, fay thefe men, in their covenant with God, and he doth always regard them ; they always are his people, and he is ftiil their God j this therefore can be no new covenant with them. And therefore, Anfwer 2. — zdly. Thefe words, / will put my law or my fear into their hearts, and writs it in their inward parts , import two things : ijl. That he would clearly make known his will to them, fo that they need not be at much pains to find it out, as in thefe words : fdj The comynandment which I command thee this day is not hidden jrom thee, neither is it far from thee, the word is near unto thee in thy mouth, ,x.xl Iv T8 xap^igc rrS, and in thy heart, that thou fhouldjl do it i fee, t have fet before thee life and death ; and fo, iaith the apojile, is it with the word of faith which we preach, fej it is nigh to the chrifian in his moutb to confefs, and in his heart to be- lieve it. And the law written in the hearts of the Heathens., Rom. ii. 15. is the law fo plainly taught them, that their own confciences do inwardly condemn them when they ^o tranf- grefs it. Hence the effeft of writing this law in their hear?s here, and Heb. viii. 13. is this, xhdXthey JJiould all know hini from the leafl to the greatejl / fo Jcrom, Chryfoflom, Theo- doret and Qyrel, of Alexandria. Sec the note on Hcb. viii. idly. An inculcating them on the foul by the holy fpirit, fo as that they may be flill frefh upon the memory ; fo Deut, vi. 6. Thefe words that I command thte this day pidll be in thy heart ; that is, faith Bifliop Uriel, thiy fhall be wriitert, (c) Jer. xxxi. 33, 34,— -/'t/y Deut. xxx. 11, 14- (^) Rom. x 8, 9. fliS EffeHlml and Special Craet, \ "v. al luach lebbichun, upon tht table of your hearts ; fo Prov^ iil. 1, 3. My Jon forget not my law, hut let thy heart keep my commandments, write them upon the table of thine heart. And again, Chap* vii. 1, 3. My fon keep my words, and lay up iny commandments witk thee, bind them upon thy finger, write them upon the table of thine heart. Thus the (in of jfudak is Taid to be writ fJJ upon th^ iable (f their hearts ; as if their memory of, and afFe6^ion Xo it could fcarce be obliterated ; and Clemens gives this commendation to the church oi Corinth, that fgj the commandments of the Lord, s-ri rx TrXajtoj rris xap- ^Ixs aurwv hjiypxTtro, were written upon the tables of theif hearts. And feeing God fo exprefsly required of his people that they fhould lay up his words in their hearts and fouls,. Deut. xi. 18. that they ihould write his commandments upon, the table of their hearts, and by this prophet jfere?ny, that his iazo fhould not depart from their hearts, 2 Mace. ii. 3. It follows by the rule laid doTVn in anfvver to the former objec- tion, that ihefe promifes cannot be fo underftood as if God by theni engaged to do that whole work which he hath en* gaged us fo exprefsly to perform. And therefore, 2dly. The proniife made, Jer. xxxii* 39, 40. is plainly conditional. / will gather them, &c. Ver. 37. If they will diligently learn the way of ??iy people. Chap. xii. 16. I will give them one hearty and one way that they may fear me, ^c. Chap, xxxii. 39, 40. i. e. When they fliall return to me with their whole heart. Chap. xxiv. 7. and not feignedly, as Chap. iii. 10. See Gataker there. And then they fliall be my people^ and 1 will be their God, ibid. And I will make an everlafling covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good, Ver. 40. If they will call him Father, and not turn away from hiin, jer. iii. 19. Incline your ear and come vnto me, hear, and your foul fhall live, and I will make an everlafiing covenant with you, Ifa. Iv. 3. / will put my fear in tkdr hearts thai they may not depart from me, Jer. xxxii. 40. This doubtlefs was God's end, as it was alfo of his punifliments ; for, faith he, they fiall bear the punifliment of their iniquity, that the houfe of Ifrael may go no more aflray from vie, Ezek. xiv. 16, 11. But this was not the event j for, God faith, in this very (h) prophet, I have caufed to cleave to me the whole houfe of Ifrael, and the houfe of judfih; but they would not hear. 'jfdly. This text only coritains a promife that when the J^ that no man may thrive by his induftry, or grow rich by Jiis trading, or have a fafe voyage at fea, or a plentiful crop by fowing, or health by takiag phyfic, hinders men from do- ing any of thefe actions. It is no imputation upon divine wifdom, that God himfelf complains he had given his law to the Jews in vain ; nor did St. Paul conceive it any defe6l in the grace of God, "that it might be received {71 z^^r^ by the chnxchesoi Corinth, 2 Cor. vi. 1. o'iGalatia, Chap. iu.4.and of Thejfalomca^ 1 Thell. iii. ^5. and by parity of reafon by all other churches. It is poflible, that no one I'ubjeft may obey the laws of his tuperlor, becaufe they have free will, and may do evil under the llrongeft obligations to do well ; but Ihould the world be left therefore without human laws, or be govern- ed by irrefiftible force, oir not at all ? Nay, rather that iree- dom which includes a bare poflibility that all may difobey, proves the wifdom and jullice of governing mankind by laws attended with moral inducements to obedience ; whereas if we fuppofe men to be under a heceffity eithei: ot doing what is required, or of doing the contrary, it is very hard to under- ftand how governing them by moral means Ihould be w^ifc if* the former cafe, or juft in the latter. DISCOURSE IV. Of the freedom of the WILL of MAN. CHAPTER I. The State of the Qiiejlicni OR the due ftating of this c[ueftion con- cerning the liberty, or freedom of the will of man, let it be noted. Section I. — ijl. That the flate of man, in this world, is a ftate of trial of probation, as will be evident, iji. From all thoie places in which God is faid to exercifc his difpenfations towards his people, to prove them wheth- er they zvoiild walk in his ways, or not ; as in thofe words, / unll rain hr tad from heaven, to prove them -whether they will jv^k in my ways, or not, Kxod. xvi. 4. ?. c. Whether the con- llant provifions I make for them, will induce thwn to contin- iie fledfaft in my fervicc. When they were terrified at the JFrecdom of the Will of Man. 22-9 dreadful fights, and the voice they heard at the giving t>{ the law, Mofs fpeaks to them thus, fear noi, for God is cdme to prove ypu. Chap. xx. 20. (i. e, to try whether you uill be true to the promife made Chap, xix, 8. viz. all that the Lord hath J'poken zve will do J and thai his fear may be before your faces that you fn not. And fo in many other places, whic'a will hereafter be confidered* Q.dly. From all thofe places in which God is faid to try men. Thus St. Paul fpeaks of the trial oj mens zvorks by fire, 1 Cor. iii. 13. of the ^r/<2/ of \\-\q. Macedomans\iy afflic- tions, 2 Cor. viii. 7. St. Jaines faith, that the trial of our faith, by temptations, worketh patience. Chap. i. 3. St. Pe- ter, that the trial of our faith, (by manifold temptations, if v/e continue fledfaJft in it J zvill be found to our pr&ife, honor and glory at the appearing of Jefus Chrif, 1 Pet. i. 7. and fpeaketh of a fcry trial which was come to try them, Chap, iv. 12, Our biffed Lord faith to the church of Smyrna, be- hold the devil will cafl fome of you into prifon that he may try you. Rev. ii. 10. ana prophefies of an hour of temptation, which fiall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth ; to omit many places of like nature in the Old Trflament, viz. Pfal. Ixvi. 12. Jer. ix. 7. Dan. xi. 35. xii. 10. Zech. xiii. 9. 3^!'/)'. From ail the promifes and threats recorded in the fcrxpture, to engage all men to repent and turn to God \ for no fuch thing is, or can reafonably be oflfercd to them who are already in a fixed (late either of happinefs or niifery ; and it is contrary even to the nature of thofe motives to be offered to them, who neither can be induced by the hopes of prom- ifes, or fears of fufferings, to change their prefent ftate. 4^/^/v. From all the exhortations of the holy fcripture to men, to watch and fray that they enter not into temptation, and to pray they may not he led into temptation ; from the liippofition that men in the time of temptation rmy fall away, Luke viii. 13. and that Satan may fo tempt good chrijlians, that the labor of the apojlles 7nay be in vain among them, 1 ThefT. iii. 5. For what is temptation but a trial of our faith, fincerity and conftancy ? What is it fo enter, or be led into it it, but to be in danger of failing by it ? And muft not therefore all who arc in a ftate of temptation, be alfo in a ftate of trial or probation ? And, ^thly. This will be evident from the temptations of Satan, who goes about continually fee king whom he may devour. Fcr to what end Ihould he tempt, that is, endeavor to deftroy them, if he knows he never can fucceed in his temptations to deftroy the eleft ; and as for others, quos ad perditicnem Deus prcefcripfit^ and who are left by God ivfallibly to fail of 230 ■ Frtidom of the Will of Mali. falvation, he need not do it, fince God hitnfelf, accordinq to this doflrine, Iiath done tliat work effe61ually to his hand ? — ■ \ ^- To what end (hould he Arive to hinder the progrefs of the -" ^ j^ofpel, feeing, according to this doftrine, it nluft have its ef- ic£l upon the eleft infallibly and unfruflrably, and upon oth- ers it can only be a Savior of death unto death, and an ag- •^ravation of their condemnation ^ To what end fhouid he go wbout to hinder the converfion of any man ? Mull he not know his labor will be certainly in vain, where this is wrought by a divine unfruflrable operation, and is as needlefs where God iiath decreed not to vouchfafe that operation ? Now , hence it follows, Coroll. — Section II. — That the liberty belonging to this queflion, is only that of a lapfed man in a ftate of trial, pro- bation and temptation ; rvheiher he hath a freedom to choofe Jite or death, to anfwer or rejeft the calls and invitations of God to do, by the aflillance of the grace afforded in the gof- pel to him, what is fpiritually good as well as evil ; or wheth- er he be deteriiilned to one, having only a freedom from coac- tion, but not from necefhty. "i. his liberty is indeed no per- fe£lion of human nature ; for it fuppofes us imperieft, as be- ing fubje6l to fall by temptation, and when we are advanced to the fpirits of jujl men made perftd, or to a fixed Hate of hap- pineis, will, with our other imperfeftions kc done away ; but yet it is a freedom abfohueiy requifite, as we conceive, to render us capable of trial or probation, and to render our ac- tions worthy of praife or difpralfe, and our perfons of re- wards or punilhrncnis ; nor is this liberty effcntial to mail as man, but only neceflary to man placed in a flate of trial, 2nd under the power of temptatian. And therefore vain are the enfuing arguments. ijt. That God is a free agent, and yet can liave no freedom to do evil, (ince he is in no ilate ot trial, nor can he be te?npi- edtodoetnl. Ov, <2.dly. That the confirmed angels hdiV& not. loft their freedom though they cannot fm ; for if there was a time when they were not confirmed in goodncfs as now they arc, they have loft tliat liberty, ad ntruvivis, they then had ; and heino- thus confirmed they are not in a ftate ol trial, nor under any temptation to do evil, nor are their aftions now rewardable, fince they already do enjoy the beatific vifion, and fo they cannot atl out ol rtfpe^t to any future recom- penfe, or be induced to a6tion out of hope or fear, as in this ftate of trial all men arc. Or, '>^dly. That the devils, and the damned fpirits lie under no capacity of doing good, or under ft necelfity of doing evil, and yet do it voluntarily, their ftate of trial being paft, and they Iiaving no farther offers of grace, and fo no jRonve to do good ; liid as for any evil they are Freedom of the Will of Man. 231 now necefTitated to do, or any good they do not, they are not fubjeft to any farther punilhment, the damned fpirits bcin^ only to receive at the day ot judgment, according to zuhat tkdf, have dons in the body, or in tlieir ttate of trial, and the daiiul^'' ed angels, being referved to the day oj judgment to be punfliei for what they did in a like ftate of trial ; and if they are to fuffer any thiog on the account of their temptations of men to do evil, or to draw tiiem from their obedience to the will of God, they fo far lie under no neceffity of doing this, bit might abftain from ihofe temptations. Excellent to this pun- pofe are thefe words of fij Mr. Thorndike^ " We fay not that indifference is requifiie to all freedom, but to the freedom of man alone in this flate of travail and proficience, the ground of which is God's tender of a treaty, and conditions ot peacq and reconcilement to fallen man, together with thole precept^ and prohibitions, thofe promifes and threats, thofe exhorta-( tions and dehoitations it is enforced with ; fo that it is utterl)'' impertinent to alledge here, the freedom ot God and angelsj the freedom of faints in the world to come, the freedom of Chrift's human foul, to prove that this indifference is not reJ quifite to the freedom of man, becaufeit is not found in that! freedom which they are arrived to, to whom no covenant is tendered, no precept requifjte, no e>;hortation ufeful." And hence arifeth a necefTity of faying, Section 111. — \Jl. That the freedom of the will, in this flate of trial and temptation, cannot confilf with a dttermma- tion to one, viz. on the one hand in a determination tf> good only by the efficacy of divine grace, infcdllbly or unfruilrably inducing to that operation, or engaging men, refpe6hi Divinie Ordinationis cerio et infallibiiiier agere, in rfpetl of the di- vine appointment infallxhly and certainly to acl, lo that he con- not tail of a6ling ; feeing this determining operation puts him out of a flate ot trial, and makes him equal, when this divine impuHe comes upon him, to the Hate of angels ; fince he who mull certainly, and without fail, do what the divine im- pulfe doth iacite him to do, is as much determined to one, as they are. And this is farther evident from the general deter- mination of the fchoois, and of all that I have read upon thi« liibje6f, that the genei'ai will to be happy, and not to be mif- erable, thous^h it be voluntary, is not tree ; becaufe we can- not choofe either not to be happy, or to be miferable ; ar.d on the fame account, Uy they, this will is not praifeworthy , or rewardablc. There alfo is no pbce for ele6\ion and delib- eration about this action ; becaufe all elecfion and deiibera- tiou is about \\ii means and not about the y^j-, Deut. xxx. 15. I have ft before thee this day life and good, death and evil, in that I cd?nmand thee to love the Lord thy God, and to walk in his way. And Ver. 19. I call heaven and earth to record againfi you that I have fet before you life and death, blefjivg and ctirfng, therefore chooj'e life. Where Maimonides faith, (b) That the wills of men are under no force or coaSlion, but are free agents ; and therefore precepts are impofed upon them with punifhments threatened to the difobedient, and with re- wards promifed to them who keep God's commandments. And from the words- preceding, it is evident that thefe command- ments were neither foabftrufe that they could not know them, nor fo difficult to the japfed Jews that they could not do them ; for thus they run, the commandment which I command thee this day is not hidden from thee, neither is if afar off, that ye fJiould fay, who f mil go up to heaven, or beyond the fea to bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it ? But the. word IS very nigh to thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart thai thou mayefi do it ; i. e. that thou mayeft have nothing more to do than to put it in praftice. Now to fay to men" utterly dif- abled from choofing life or keeping God's commandment?', he hath left thee in the hands of thy counfei, if thou willefi to keep th' commandments ; that before them is If e and death, and whether they will fliall be given them, is furely to delude them with vain words ; to fay, ]ee I have ft before the life and death, good and evil, in that I command thet to love the Lord thy God, and to zvalk in his way ; j. e. in that I com- ^land thee upon pain of my eternal difpleafure to do what I \no\v thou canft not do, yea, to do this with the fokmnity of (bj Com. on Pixke Avoth. c. 8. 238 Freedom of the Will of Man', calling heaven and earth to record againjl them who would not embrace life and blifs ; to bid them ckoofe life who could no more choofe it under this difability than they could rend a rock in funder ; to tell them for their encouragement who were fpiritually blind, that the word was not hidden from them, or difficult to be known by them ; and them that were Spiritually deaf, and hard of heart, that the word was 7n their heart that they might hear it and do it, is that which cannot poflibly proceed trom a God of truth, uprightnefs and fincer- ity ; but is rather like the temptations and allurements o'l Sa- tan, mere delufions, falfe promifes, and pretences of kindnefs to thofe fouls whofe ruin he defigns. And then when we confider that St. Paul hath transferred thefe very expreflions (c) to the luord of jaith which the apojlles preached: It is ^Ifo certain that men under the gofpel difpenfation lie under no fuch difability of believing unto righteoufnefs now, which the grace tendered with the gofpel is not fufficient to remove. Ami, indeed, to introduce the bleffed Jfiis declaring that the jews were given up to the feverefl: judgments, becaufe he would have gathered them, and they would not be gathered i and that they would die in their fins, becaufe they zuould not come unto him that they might have life ; when, \f}. By vir- tue of an a6l of divine preterition, they were left, faith Bifli- ap Davenant, infallibly to fail of obtaining Ife ; and, adly. They were left by the fall under an utter difability of being willing, is fuch an imputation on the bleffed Jfus as cannot he thought on without horror. idly. That opinion which faith man cannot be induced to do any thing which is truly and fpiritually good, without that efficacious grace which makes the doing of that good inevita- ble to him, and the afl; unfruflrable ; mud alfo deftroy the liberty belonging to man in a flate of trial and probation. For what is it to fay a thing is to me inevitable or unfruflra- hie by me, but to fay I have no power to avoid or fruftrate, and fo no power to refill that aftion ; and if that aftion be the aclion of the will, it is to fay I have no power to will other- wife, and fo no power to choofe oiherwife ; fince what 1 choofe I ch#ofe by my will. And then, 1/?, I am no more rcwardabic for choohnci as I do, than the blelfed ang-els are for choofing as they do ; and it is as vam to excite men to choofe the good, or refuje evil by arguments or motives trom promifes and threats, as to move bleffied angels by them to choofe or to retufe as they do ; for as they being determin- ed to one, cannot need thefe motives, fo when this unfruftra- blc operation comes upon men, they can as little need them as fcj Rom. X. Freedom ef the WHl of Man. 239 thefe angels do, becaufe they are as certainly infallibly and unfruftrably determined to one as the angels are ; and as they being antecedently determined to one, cannot ufe thefe mo- tives to induce them or incline them to that good they choofe, fo till lapfed man be thus determined to one, he cannot ufe them to incline him to the performance of his duty ; and, tor the fame reafon, as long as this aftion is deferred or withheld, we are as little liable to punifhment for not doing what is fpiritually good, for not repenting and believing, as are the devils and the damned fpirits, becaufe we are as much difabled as they are, it being evidently the fame to have no motives fo to do, which is their wretched cafe, and to have none by which we can be moved fo to do, without that a£lion which will not be vouchfafed ; and as the devils are not determined to one in individuo, but in kind only, as being determined to do evil in the general, and that only privately tor want of mo- tive or inducement to do otherwife, fo is it upon this fuppo- fition with lapfed man left in that ilate, without provilion of this untrutlrable grace. Section VI. — To fay that men under this unfruflrable operation are ftill free, becaufe what they are moved thus to do they will to do, and do it with complacency, is only to fa\' "man herein hath the freedom of an ele6l angel, which is not rewardable ; but not that he hath the freedom of a proficient, or of one in a ftate of trial and pi'obation. Again, either this divine aftion only enabies the will to determine itfelf, or it neceflitates it to a6l ; i. e. to will ; If it only enables it to do fo, it renders not the aftion certain and infallible, for the will even of the regenerate perion doth not always neceffarily, or certainly choofe what it is able to choofe, for then regenerate perfons would be guilty of no fin. If the divine motion doth necetTitate the will, then is there no power in the will to do otherwife, and fo there is no freedom either in that will, or that complacency which neceffarily follows upon that divine impulfe. 2)dly. God thus unfruftrably moves the will either by rationa-1 motives and perfuafions only, or by fome phyilcal influx up- on it, which it cannot refifl ; if he ufes the firft way only, it is plain that his motion may be fruflrated, fmce the regener- ate too otten atl againfl the higheil motives and the mofl powerful perfuafions ; if by a phyfical influx which the will cannot refill, though it hath contrary motives fo to do, what can be further requifite to the compiilGon of the will ? For it my hand be compelled to acl, when it is moved by an exter- nal force which 1 cannot refill, whv is not my will compelled alfo, when it is atled by an cxtrinfical influx of God which it eannot refift ? In fine, if the will and influx 'of God docs tb.us S40 Freedom of the Will of Man, unfruftrably interpofe to determine the will of man before it deterniiaes itfelt, it is no more liable to an account for afting, or not adingthan the earth is for (landing flill, or the heavens ior moving; for this they do only becaufe the will and aftioa of God in putting that motion into the one, and not into the other, makes it nccelTary tor them fo to do. If then man can do nothing that is fpiritually good till this divine motion de- termine him fo to do, and then he cannot but do what he is thus moved to do ; there is the fame neceflity for that which he doth, or doth not in this kind, as for the heavens to move, or the earth to fland ftlU. To fay there is yet a difference betwixt thefe two cafes, beoBufe man hath a remote capacity of doing olherwife, folves not the difficulty ; for if that ca- pacity cannot be exerted without this determining impulfe, it is as none at all without it, it being, as to our fpiritual inter- efts, the fame thing to have no capacity of doing good, as to have none that we can exert. That this is the true ftate of the queftion cannot be reafon- ably doubted, if thefe things ferioufly be confidered. iji. That the contrary do6lrines of the determining influx on the one hand, and the fuppofed difubility which renders it ncceffary on the other, without the fpecial grace of God, to be ftill doing evil, have no countenance from, nor firm founda- tion in the holy Jcriptures. Q.dly. That thefe new notions concerning the confiftence of a liberty that is rewardable, or penal, with nccefTity, and a det-ermination to one, and an invincible neceffity connate to fallen man, and rendering it impofTible for him to do what is commanded, or to avoid what is forbidden under the highell penalties, is evidently repugnant to the common fenfe and natural reafon of mankind, and as fuch hath been rejeifled by the ckrijlian writers. And, o^dly. That the chrijhan world for four whole centuries condemned it as dellru6tive of true liberty, of the nature of vice and virtue, of rewards and pimifliments, of the equity of the divine precepts and of a future judgment, and alfo contra- ry to the plain declarations of the holy Jcripture. And, ifl. That the dofclrine of the determining influx rendering faith, repentance and convcrfion in man unfruftrable and irre- fiftible by man, when the divine influx comes upon him, and by plain confequence impofhble to him till it comes upon him, hath no foundation in the holy fcriptures, hath been fuffi- ciently demonftrated in the third difcourfe concerning' fpecial and efFe£lual grace ; to which I fliall only add this ooe ob- fervation, that fome of thofe Jcriptures, which are now ufed to prove it, viz. God's promife to take, atoay the Jlony hearty and give us hearts of ficjh ; the apojlles words, Thg.t it is not freedom of the Will of Man. 2^1 tf him that wills or runneth^ but of God that Jhewcth mercy ; and that it is God that worktth in us both to will and to do, were the very arguments ufed, faith faj Origen, by them who tleflroy free will, J»a to {pyTtjy ewayciv dixokoi^iMocs dvsTri^iKrus t» cd/t^sn^xif xxl Iripcti acuZ^ofxivas d^vva, reus iy^i^axs "npos to cciroKin- 9x1, by introducing natures lo/l and incapable of being Javed, and others /aved which could not pojfibly periJJt ; which as we learn frorh (b) Clemens oi Alexandria, was the doftrine of the Bafilidians and Marcionites, and which, faith he, makes faith involuntary, and unworthy oj praife, or incredulity of difpraife, as r/JOTjyK/xivr/v 't'j^iHjat (^v'7n^-AMd-vxyx%v, depending on an antecedent necejfity ; and by dejlroying liberty overthrows, Tov fli/x£K(ov Tfis 'Lwrnpixi, the foundation oj falvation, and renders all retribution unjufl, and fo dejlroys the doBrine of us chriflians, xvho have received from thefcriptures that God hath given (c) ul^tui-v x.al ((^uyriv dvro>ifr'.TopiK'hv, a power fro7n. ourfelves to choofc one thing, and fy from another ; and puts this plea into the mouths of wicked men, I did this unwilling- ly, and was compelled to do it. Section VII. — Again, that the do£lrine which teachetk that man by the fall hath contra6}ed fuch a difability to what is good ; that, without the fpecial grace ot God, he can do nothing that is truly good, and is fallen under fuch a fervi- tude to fin, as renders it neceffary lor him to be ftill doing evil, hath no foundation in the holy Jcriptures, is alfo eafy to demonftrate ; this 1 fhall do, frfl, by laying down the doc^ trine ot thofe divines who do maintain this opinion, as it is faith tuily delivered by Le Blanc ; and then producing what they alledge irom fcripture to confirm it. Now Le Blanc, in his thefes of the liberty of man in the fate of lapfed nature to what is morally good, hath given u$ the do6lrine ol thefe reformers thus. if. That fdj there be fonie moral precepts which man in. this lapjed fate cannot do at all, viz. that which faith neg- atively, thoufialt not covet ; and that which faith pofitively, thou fialt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart ; whence thcfe things neceflarily follow, that God muft lay on lapfed man an obligation to impoftibilitics, and muft command him under the fevereft penalties, to do what he could never do from his birth, and to avoid what he had never power to a- void ; unlefs he "had t,his power before he had a being, or any faculty at all ; and confequently that he can only requue ihcf« impofiibilities to increafe his fin and cnhanfe his damnation. fa) yhWoz. c. 21. p. 43, 44. (b) Struiii. ii. p. 363. fcj P. 409. (d) Pari «. Sec. ii. ;ind 48. • ' ri IJ 242 Freedom of the Will of Man, 2clly. That according to the doftrineof the fe) ProteJlantSy thofe anions of thars zuhich are materially good, are yet Jot- viallyjins, becauje they are neither done out oj love to God as the principle, or for his glory as the end, and Jo have two ef fential dejctls inconjijtent with the nature oJ an aBion morally pood : whence it muft follow, that by endeavoring to obey God's commands as well as they can, they mu^ J or ?nally Jin. ^dly. That fJJ mejl Protejlants deny that man, in the Jlate cj lapjed Tiature, is Jree to chooje what is v^drally good, and Jo hath loji the Jreedam oJ his will as to thofe atlions ; and confeqiiently, it God damn him for not doing what is moral- ly good, he raufl: damn him for that which he could not have the will to do. ^thly.. That therefore fg) he is Jo Jar become the fervanf ef Jin^ that zvhatjoever he doth, aon poffit nifi peccare, he cannot but Jin ; and then St. Aujlin's definition ot fin, that it IS the will to do that, a quo liberum fuit abftinere, Jrom zuhich he could abjlain, muH be falfe ; though he faith that the conjciences oJ all men attejl the truth of it. ^thly. The (h) Protcfants, faith he, teach that the grace tJitliout which, nemo bene operari poteft, et vel unicum opus revera bonmn efficere, elFe ipfam gratiam regenerantem et juftificantera, no man can do what is good, or perjorm one good adion, is regenerating and jufljyit^g grace ; that is, without jujlijying Jaith, as he expounds them : (ij And this grace, faith he, hath its beginning, progrefs and completion from that efficacious grace, by which God' in us doth abolifh the dominion ojfin : Whence it muft follow, that no man can begin to do one good work till God vouchfafe that efficaciotis grace, which will end in his fanftification ; and therefore all that hope, fear, grief tor fin, love and imploration of the di- vine grace, which doth not end in this fantlification, muft be fin, or at leaft no good work. Now to prove things fo abfnrd and contrary to the firft principles of reafon, it is very reafonable to expe6i both plain and frequent teftimonies of the holy fcriptures, faying, that man is by the fall of Adam become utterly unable to do any thing that -is good,, or any thing that God requires of him in an acceptible manner ; Yea that, by reafon of that fall alone, his faculties are fo horribly perverted, that he can do only what is evil, and cannot but do evil • whereas the whole fcripture hath not one faying of this nature ; it no where any farther charges the wickedncfs committed in the world upon this fall than by faying that.^^ one Jin of one man, fin entered into the world, and death by fin ; but doth ftill charge it either up- (c) From Se6lion n to the zoth. (f) Se£lion 4-3. (s) Sc(5Uon- ro, II, 39. ( h) becUon 35. (i) Section 33. Freedom of the Will of Man. 243 on mens' want of confideaation, or their unwililngnefs to do what they know to be their duty, or on the corrupt difpofi- tions they had contra£led through along courfe of fin. It faith indeed that fkj no man can bring a clean thing out oj an unclean ; that is, tliat from parents obnoxious to fin, will fpring forth children, that when they Come io difcern betwixt good and evil, will be obnoxious to fin alfo ; for ui many things we offend all, and therefore cannotbejuftified before God, but by an aft of grace ; fo.r (I) how can man be jujl be- Jore God, or how can he be clean that is born oj a woman ? And therefore when the Encratttes ufed thefe words or J^ob and his friends againft marriage, as introducing a polluted feed, fmj Clemens of Alexandria, and the fnj author of the quejhons and anftvers afcribed to Juflin Martyr, lay to them, tkeje things you can, »Xa vi rpoTra dpfxoi^siv roXs ^pfi^sTt, by no means apply to children, as if they were finners. David faith alfo, behold I was JJiapen in wicktdnejs, and in Jin did my mother conceive me ; that is, fav (0) Clemens of Alexandria^ Chryfofom and Theodoret, ke fpeaks this of his mother Eve^ and our firjl parents, whofe pojlerity was begotten after they had finned : and faith not, as the Encratttes, avpyjro/s- t^Trs'G'aXov, foolfJily interpreted thefe words. Tht/'pJ Jews d^ndfqj Ifidore interpret this of his mother's conceiving him in profiuviis^ which, fay they, ufually produced, ryi'/xa w xaOa/;ov, xai iuKpc(~ rov, a body impure, illtempered, and fubjed to evil pafjions. But, 2dly, The ufual interpretation, (without that hyperbole which Grotius, and betore him Hejychius, noted in thefe words, comparing them with thofe of the fame Pfalmi{l,/r^ the wicked go ojlray from the womb, as foon as tlicy are born Jpeaking lies ; and thofe of the prophet IJaiah concerning If- rael, ffj thou wajl called a tranjgrefor foin the womb ; where, faith the judicious Galaker, he cannot mean from their natural birth, this paflage implying fomething not common to all, but peculiar to that people) doth indeed make him fay what (t) Clemens of Alexandria abfolutely doth gainlay, to wit, that he was born in fin ; but doth not in the leaft fay, or hint that he could tluereiore do nothing that was truly good, or that it was neceflary for him to do that, or any other evil that he did. •^dly. Some urge to this effeft tiie complaint of God a.- gainll the finners of the old world, whofe (uj imaginations (k) Job xiv. 4. (I) Job ix. ^. xv. 14- xxv. 4. ( m) Strom. 3. p. 46S, D. — -(n) C^ii et Rclp. 88. p. 445, 44 ) lb.- p. 469. (p) Vide Miiisin Locum. (q) liidor. L'atcn. in Mar. c. 8. p. 293. — — (r) Pliil. Iviii. 3. (f) llu. xlviii 8. (t) He was born when his parents were finners, ikKK uv «:1i?, h ci^:at.^riu, Strom, iii. p. 469. A. —~[uj Gen. vi. j. 244 Freedom of the Will of Man. and thoughts of heart, faith he, were evil, and only €vil con^ tinually ; therefore man in his lapfed flate, fay they, can on- ly do e\'il. Anftver. This is alraoft the continual miftake of thefe men, that they afcribe that to man's lapfed ftate which belongs on- ly to the worft of men who had corrupted themfelves by a long courfe of continual impiety : For inftance, they make all men (u) children oj wrath, from thofe words ot the apof- tle to the Ephejians, which plainly relate to their former ftate when they lived in their abominable idolatries, and under the eovernment oi the prince of dar^nefs, as the word Ttors, and the context plainly fnews ; fee the note there. And fo was it here, God himfelf declaring that the deluge came upon the old world, not for the fin of Ada?n, but for the wickednefs of men grown f'vj great upon the earth, and continued in after the warnings of his prophets, and his longfuffering exercifed towards them for 120 years ; and whereas, to ft:rengthen this argument they add, that after the flood the fame thing is af- firmed more emphatically of mankind in general in the prom- ife made to Noah, viz. / will notfmite the earth any more for man's fake, for the imagination, of man's heart is evilfrottt his youth. Gen. viii. 21, xfi. Thefe words will very well bear a quite different fenfe, viz, I will not thus fmite man upon the earth any more, though the imagination oJ his heart be (again) evil from his youth, as before the flood it was : That the particle chi thus often fignifies, will appear from fcveral places in which we fo tranilate it, viz. Ex. xiii. 17. God led them not through the land of the Philifines, chi, although it tuas near. Deut. xxix. 19. If any man fay I JJiall have peace, chi, though I walk in the imagination of my heart. Jofhua xvii, 18. Thou fhalt drive out the Canaanites, chi, though they have iron char' lots, and chi, though they are Jlrong ; fo the word chi i5 ufed thrice in one verfe. Jer. iv. 30. Though thou clothfl thyjelj with crimfon. See Noldius de Partic. Hebr. p, 399. Or elfe retaining the common fenfe of this particle, the words may bear this fenfe, I will not any morejmite the earth for this, or upon this account, that the imaginations of their hearts are evil, <2.dly. The word Mineorihu doth not fignify from their hirth, hntoxAy from their youth ; for he fpeaks ol the imar ginations of their hearts, arwi fo only of the time, when they are able to entertain and profecute the thoughts of their evil hearts. Nor doth the phrafe fignify an original, but only a fuj Eph, ii. 2, 1. fv) Gen. vi. 3, ir, 12.— i Pet. iii. 20.— Jud, XIV. 15. Freedom of the Will of Man. ^45 long cohtra£ied cuftom, or an habitual courfe ot doing what is good, evil, or indifferent. Of doing what is evil ; thus fwj the enchantments with which the Chaldeans labored from their youth, are the enrhantn)ents which they had long pratlifed. fxj Our fathers have finned Jrom their youth, faith Jtremy^ unto this day : i- e. they have continued in a long courfe of difobedience. AnA ihz vjhoredoms oj If ael frofn her youth, Ezek. xxiii. 8. is her long courfe oi idolatry begun in Egypt\ and continued in the wildernefs, and in the land ol Canaan. See al fo, Jer. xxii. 21. xxxii. 36. Accordingly it fignifies, when it hath a good, or an indifferent fenfe ; as when Obadi- ah faith, he had feared the Lord from his youth, 1 Kino-s xviii, J 3. i. e. he had lived long in the fear of God , and 'Job, that he had done offices of charity from his youth, Ch. xxxi. 18. and David, that he had placed his hope and truft in God, from his youth, Pfal. Ixxi. 5. Thus is it faid of Jofph's brethren, that they were piepherds fom their youtli. Gen. xlvi. g^. and of the prophets in Zechary^ that 7nen taup'hi them to keep cattle from, their youth. Chap. xiii. ^. Obje&ion 4. — ^thiy. They cite to this purpofe. thofe words of Chrf}, that which is born ofthefufli, ts fefti. John iii. 6. ■whence they infer, that man in his natural ellate can do noth- ing but what is carnal, and therefore finiul, and only can be- gin to do what is good fpiritually, when he is born again of thefpirit / whereas, Anfwer (ij/?.) This expofition renders it impoffible for a man to do any thing towards his own converfion, and fo renders all God's commands and exhortations to the wicked to turn themfelves from their iniquity, ail his promifes of pardon and reconciliation to them that do fo, and all his threats of death if they negle£l to do fo, all his complaints againft them that they would not do fo, vain and abfurd ; and ^^ly) Cyril of Mtx- andria faith px->lyu'orifjix. xsvov, a vain trifle, they beit;g then on- ly commands and int-itements to perform what, if u ever be done, be mufl do himfelf. zdly. This fxpofition makes the words^fe/Ji zndfe/Ji/y birth, to fignify one corrupted by his llclhly appetite, and atled by his carnal wifdom, and fo led and governed by the motions of the flefh ; whereas fzj Tolet hath wel! obfsrved, that to be born of theffji here only fign fie s, to have that natural genera- tion by which a man is born into the world of the will of the flejli, this being the only bifth Nicodemus fpake ot as a thing /'•wJIfa. xlvii. 12. fx)]iT.'m.'i.^. />'/Orat. iii. contr. Jul. p. u?. (z) iVlu;tuni a vcro lenlu loci hujus aoerraat (.jui carnem lioc loco pxponunt de carr.c peccati, ciini nihil hie Ae pcccatoagatiir ; et qiiarnvir. niillnm eflTet peccannn, vt-rum r\\; cjubij natuin e(t ex came taio©!j.; C.omment. in Incutn. «»46 Freedom of the WiU of Man, incredible ; becaufe then a man muft enter twice into his moth' er's womb. This therefore is the plain meaning of our Lord^ that befides that natural Jbirth, by which we receive only our flelh and body from our parents, there is need of a fpiritual birth to fit us for the kingdom of God ; he therefore faith no one word of any neceflity lying upon us till we be thus born again to do only evil, or of our incapacity to do any thing which may contribute towards this new birth. ^thly. They argue from the words of the apojile, complain- ing in the perfon of the natural man thus, the good that I would do, that J do not, but the evil that I would not do, that do I, Rom. vii. 17, 19. and that by reafon of that Jin that dwelleth in me, Ver. 20. For I *[ee another tazo in my menu hers, warring againji the law of my mind, and bringing me in captivity to the law of Jin which is in my members, Ver. 23. Now he that cannot do the good that he would, can do noth- ing that is truly good ; and he that through the power ot fm dwelling in him, and leading him captive to the law of finj doth the evil that he would not do, is a flave to fin. Anfwer ijl. It is obfervable from \\\q fathers, againfl thefe obje^ors, that they who held that there was in man a natural principle of etiil, and that the flefh and body of man laid a ne- tejjity upon us of doing evil, iounded their plea upon thefe words, as we learn from Methodius. And hence fa) Cyril of Jsrufalem advertifeth us not to attend to this falfe interpreta- tion of the apoflWs words, as being deftruftive of our liberty, and in the opinion of (b) Methodius and of St. Cryfofiom, fub- verting God's future judgment of the world, 2,dly. It is obfervable, that thefe men generally interpret thefe words of a regenerate perfon ; and then, if they prove any thing," they prove that this is alfo the ftate of men renew- ed by the fpirit ; and how are they then freed from fin, and become fervants to righteoufnefs ? And, 2fdly. Whereas they make their lapfed man to have loft even the power of willing to do good, and to be totally inflaved both as to will, mind and aElion, the man here mentioned hath a will to do the good he doth not, and to avoid the evil that he doth ; yea, the evil that he doth is hatejul to him, and he de- lighieth in- the law of God in the inner man, and with his mind ferves the law of God. And fo as Origen upon the place faith, fa } M'j «.!>) JtanS? Ttvo; DCKHa.[y.ii« mu, iiva.yai» ffiSio-afAtifnv, il yap bx. ixofiff uXK (xvafyMC^iuivoi ujAaflufOjAiVf TraXiy 7ci Tuv KoT^ciiJtuv Tuv ijt*wpio'9Ei' yefjutvu^fAiruv hk cut ep^oj Xojon. {•dj Chryf. in locum. 'AA^a 1^ h Kfiio-n; w«? ^s '^ot f £g&9«» w? /lAe^Xatros w^o(7o5xa9«» iTi^i/voIa*, Scc, Method, apud Epiphan. flier. 64. n. 49. Freedom of the Will of Man, at^f Bon ufquequaque alienus eft a bonis, fed propofito qiiidem, et voluntate ccepit bona requirere ; he is noi> wholly cdurtated Jrotn good things, but in his purpoj'e, and his will inclined to them, though not yet fufficient to perform what he thus propoj- es through the power of cujlom and of evil habits ; cita enim res eft voluntas, for the zoill is quick in operation, and joon purpojeth : opus vero tardum eft, but toe are flow in perform- ance, that requiring ufe, and labor, and art, and freedom of impediments. Now 1 inquire, whether in this will to do gooc!, this delight in the law of God, this hatred of fin, this man doth well or ill ? If well, he can, even in the ftate here men- tioned, do fomething that is good ; if evil, it muft be evil to hate fin, and be unwilling to commit it, and to be willing to do good, and to delight in the law of God in the inner man, jnd! to ferve God with the mind ; and then, how doth that differ from ferving with the flefh the law of fin P '>^dly. Origen. St. Chryfoflom, Theodoret and others, inter- pret thefe words of men under the thraldom and dominion of fin through a long ufe and cuftom ; and this inter- pretation is certain from the words of this Chapter, the apof- tle fpeaking of men that were carnal, fold un 51. fd] Apud Ei>ipliair. iWd. n. 51-. 248 freedom of the Will of Man, ■faid of them tha^ are In this body of flefli, that they cannot pUajt God, they who commit ~ theft, whoredom, or any other like Jm, could not on that account be fubjeS, to reprehenjion by ^jitjijtidge, it being impojjiblejor the fiejli to be fubjeS to the law of God : flus ya-p oiv HAS/xTTTtov soiivaro, to aafxa. Kara, rrv 'nponnaav avro:> (^iiaiv ^liiv (e) iivoufor how can it be blameworthy in the body that it lives according to the condition of its na- ture ? Nor could then the intemperate perfon he reduced to chajlity and virtue, the body lying under a natural necejjity not to Dcfubjccl to the law oj God. idy.£iMO,fnce the vouchfafement of the gofpel, it is in thy own power to be car- nally minded or fpiritually ; and now, TrokX'n -n kitiraais rrisipi- XomtploLs, there is greater frength and induce fnent from the gof- pel fo to be than ever. Section Vlll. — To proceed to the fecond particular. That thefe new notions of liberty are contrary to the fenfe, and repugnant to the common reafon of mankind, will be ev- ident by the rules laid down by them who were guided only by the light of nature, viz. yfi. Tha;; a (aj lawgiver mufl: aB ahfurdly in com- manding that which it is not in tlic power of his fubjeds to perform. (e) Uetc, That eiraj feems here diflocated. ( a ) ' AtOtto; ccv iU 7a,V7» vopa^iTuv » (/.h tip ii[My Ir* 7rg«T7«»t Arift. in Moral. L. i.e. 9. Freedom ef the Will of Man. s^cf zdly. That vice and virtue muft be, fbj roc. e^' r;/xiv, things \uhich zue are free to do, or to abfain from, becauje they are zvortky of praye or difpraife, neither of zuhicli agree to things done unwUlingly , necejjity rendering things unhlameable, that being only to he blamed which is in our power ; and there- fore that fate or neceJJity which leaves not our affent or ac^ lions in our power, takes away prafe or difpraije, honor or reward. ^dly. That that only j^ fcj voluntary which we lie under no neceffity to do or to forbear, and what we do being unwill- ing, we do cut of ntcefjity, liberty being a power oj afiing from ourfelves, or doing what we will ; whence they infer that fdj vice and virtue muit be voluntary, and that there can be no necejfity of doing evil, and that on this account only is vice worthy of dfpraije. J^thly. That man can be guilty of no crime in doing that which he could not avoid ; for (t) what is evil is a fault, faith Cicero, there can be no fault in not doing that which we have no power to do. Qthly. That what is natural to all men, cannot be evil to any man ; ffj for no man is angry, faith Seneca, ubi vitium hatura defendit, where nature defends the vice ; nor can that be evil, faith Cicero, quod a naiura pareiite omnium conflitu- tum, which owes its original to nature ; feeing that being luhich conjults the good of mankind, would neither produce or nour- ifh that, quod cum exantlaviflet omnes labores incideret in mortis malum fempiternum, which when it had done its utmofl, mufl be fubjeB to eternal death. (h ) "ETTitiKo* xj \'o\o', hy. iitl TOK KK^tr'ioi^, Arift. ibid. T:-j; yu^ Lva-tiant unT^ompo Bvvov eitcti To oe Trap r)^ut aoe.77rorov « xj to fxti^Trlot, x^ to e»«>]Jo» ^ra^aMAsS £?»7ri(p^xe», Epifiret. apud Diog. Laert. L. lo. n. 133. Nori funt igitur adenfiones nequ'- attiones in noftra poteftaie, ex >jiio eftici- tur ut tiegue laudationes juitx (int, neque vituperationes, nee honores, nee fupplicia. Cic. de Fato, n. ^d. vid. Sen. Ep. 70, Siiripliciutn iii Epia p. 27, 29, igj. fcjEy.aa-iOfov^a.rloiAttf/.T) aiixyy.a,t^oui,ivoi . Arirfot. in Moral. L- I. C. 13. Ka« ©era jt*-/j iicoHei •jr^oc.-flojx.iv, uvcifKULOjx^voi Tr^a.TiJfj.cii. ibid, t'^fas ykp lATfo^sglan £|ao-ia» a.vTOTT^a.y'KX.<;, Zeno apud Diog, Laert. 1. 7. n. 121. Er ToiV eip *)f*rn To»r«9«», x^ TO Kdnlii. Epidlet. C. 30. fdJ I'yiv rs xuKiay lx««rjoir iUui. y^ t«», «|e?*)». aJefzIa ya.^ iniftiYi ra |i«»%- ^ auT^Ti «Tva», Ariftot. Eudcrn. L. z- c. lO. and'M. Moral. L. 1. c. i8» r.Tc. TTjivW |3U xj a'/ifxr) avI/Ii^iTai, Eud. LiJ. C. 8. hoi 7rjo«t^£cr»j t5* TTjo; TO ii}\<^, de Moribi L. 3. c. 4. Freedom of the Will of Man, ^51 &nd punlfhments, of the equity of the divine precepts and of a future judgment, and alfo as contrary to the plain declara- tions of the holy. Jcripf tires, will be fuUy proved in the fixth *nd lalt chapter of this difcourfe. CHAPTER II. Propofing Arguments to prove the Freedom of the Will as well from Necefjity^ as from Coaclion. X HE queftion being thus fully flated, let it he obferved that the liberty or freedom of the will we contend for, is, \Jl. Plainly delivered in the holy fcripture, and may abundantly be confirmed by arguments gi-ounded upon fcrip- ture. %dly. That it is demonftrable from reafon, and hath been conflantly afferted both by heathens and chrifians in their difcourfes agajnft fate. '^dly. That it hath the conftant fnfTrage of all the ancient writers of the thurch, by whom it is delivered, as a funda- mental article, or as a truth on which all good or evil, piety or virtue, p»aife or difpraife, rewards or punirtunenls de- pend. And, Section I.— ly?. The fcripture affords us exprefs decla- rations, or plain intimations, that the liberty of the will, even in chr'ijiian virtues of the highefl nature, is oppofite not orilv to coatHon, but neceffity. Thus in the cafe of cboofing that high ftate of virginity, that (g) they mi^lit jerve the Lord zvithout dijira&ion ; the apofile determines that (hj he that hath no nect'JJUy but, HhjIccv iyji th 'i^Ih 0sXr.jM,aTor, haih power over his OTonuull, let him retain his virginity. W' he re free* dom is declared to be a pozver over our oicn loill, to choofe or (g) I Cor. vii. 37.— '^ — fh) i Cor. ix, i, 3, 4. M/) '-/jjv ci,v(tyY.r,v dni t» aiTilwc-*©- uu Theodoret. 255? Freedom of the Will of Man. rot to choofe, and Hands oppofed to neceflity. See Oectpnen- lus and Theophylad upon the place. Again in the cafe of his ■working with his own hands, and receiving nothing of the churches oi Corinth, and throughout the regions oi Achma^ ■which he thought of fo great importance to the promotion of the gofpel as to fay, tt was better for him to die than vary from it : he yet afferts his liberty by thefe inquiries, 8x li'/xi iKiv^ipos ; am I not Jree ? Have I not power to eat, and to drink (on the church's charge without laboring thus ?) Clear- ly proving his freedom in that a£lion, from his power to ab- Itain from it, and to do the contrary. So alfo in the cafe of charity, that moji excellent grace, he faith, (i) every man as he purpofeth in his heart, fo let him give, (xr. hi. a.yu.yv.r:s, not of necejjity ; plainly oppolmg neceflity to the free purpofe of the heart; not of necejjity, fay Chryfojlom and Theophylail, to 7a- 1^ dyayxTis v'7rorifji\si tov ixiff^hv Jor necejjity cuts off the reward. So he fpeaks to Philemoa in the cafe of Onejimus, whom, faith he, (kj I would have to minijier to me in the bonds oj the gofpel ; but without thy mind, I would do nothing, that thy benejit Jhould not be, us xar' avayxrv, aXXa xar iKHdioM, as of necejjity, but willingly. St. Peter (I) alfo inftrufts Bijhops and Riders to Jeed the flock oJ Chrift, iJ.-h dvoLyKasa-s, aXX' sxsaiuSf not of necejjity, but willingly ; fo plain an oppofition do t'icfe, infpired writers put betwixt doing a virtuous aflion freely and willingly, and doing it out of necefTity. Argument 2. — [2dly.) God and liis fervants have fufficient- ]y confirmed the liberty we contend for in this {late of trial, by fetting life and death, good and evil before our eyes, and putting it to our choice which we will have ; as in all the in- flances forementioned, and in thofe words of Jojhua to all Ifrael, (m) choofe you this day whom ye will Jerve, the God that brought you out oJ the land oJ Egypt, or oJ your Jor e- fathers, or ojthe Amoritcs. The reafon is plain ; for whofo- ever hath a liberty to choofe, hath alfo a liberty to refufe, et vice verja ; according to thofe words of the prophet, (n) be^ fore the child Jjiall know to chooj'e the good and rjuje the evil ; and were it otherwife, how can we imagine that a gracious God, and lover of his people, fhould make this the conditioa of his pardoning mercy, (0) that they fbould choofe the good and refufe the evil, that he fhould condemn them tor (p) not choofin^ the fear of the Lord, or (q) for choofng the thing that he would not ; or reprefent it as an a6l of faith in Mofes, that he (rj choje rather to Jiffer ajfxdion with the people oJ (i) 7. Cor. ix. 7. fk) Ver. 13, 14. fl) i Pet. v. 2. (m) Jo(h. XXIV. 15. (nj Ifa. vii, lo. (0) Ila. i. 18. (pj Prov. i. ag..! (qj li'a. Ivi, 4. (rJ Heb. xi. 25. Freedom of the Will oj Man. 253 God, than to enjoy the pleajures of Jin for afcafon ? That, lafl. ly, he fhould promifc the greateft bleflings to thofe who chofe the things that pleafed him, and threaten the fevereft judg- ments to thofe who (f) chofe. the tkuigs in which he delighted not ; feeing choice or election, in the very nature of it, is of more than one, whereas there can be no choice of more thin one, where a perfon is determined to one. If then the ele£l are fo determined by God's abfolute decree to converfion, that when the divine impulfe comes upon them, they muft unfruftrably be converted to God, and choofe the thing that pleafeth him ; how are they in a flate of trial ? Or why are they bid to choofe whether of the two they will have ? If on the other hand they who from eternity are reprobated, are de- termined fo far to one, that though they have a liberty oS.fpe- cification, as the fchools barbaroufly fpeak ; i. e. a liberty to do this or that evil, yet have they no liberty of contrariety ; i. e. of doing good as well as evil, and fo are determined to da evil and not good, and fo lie under a fad neccfhty of choofing that which God would not, or in which he delighteth not ; becaufe they cannot choofe the fear of the Lord, or the thing that pleafeth him ; they who afTert thefe things muft grant, tkat he who hath fworn he would not the death of him that dieth, but would rather that he fhould return from his iniqui- ty and live, had, before this ferious oath, fufpended the avoid- ing the death of him that dies, and his obtaining life upon im- pofBble conditions, and that he offers to fuch perfons life only on the condition of doing that which under the difability they had contrafted before that offer, it is impoffible for them without that fpecial grace which they can never have to per- form. Now to pafs an a£l of preterition on creatures under this known difability, and then to offer life unto them only upon inipollible conditions; and when, by reafon of this aft, it is made certain and infalliable that they fhall fail of obtain- ing life, to bid them choofe life rather than death ; what is it in efFeft but to infult over the dreadful mifery of men, and with a hypocritical pretence of kindnefs, and a defire of their welfare, to condemn them to eternal death without a poflibiJi- ty of having life ? Since the known rule of logic, of the civ- il law, and even of common fenfe and reafon teachcth, fzj that a conditional propofition having an impnfjibU condition annexed to it, is equivalent to a negative. CorolL — SzcTiON II. — Now hence we may eafily difcern the vanity, the falfehood and hypocrify of all thefe tenders of the gofpel to reprobates, as they are expounded by thefe men, ff) iCa. Ixv. 12. Ixvk ^.-—^fz) Cbnditioncm fi Coclum digito tctigc- rii inipoflibiiem negativam comnientatores aprell^nt. Cal-v. 254 Treeiom of the Will of Man. Z'iz. that when God offers to them life and falvation, pardon of fin, deliverance from death, and all other fpiritual bleflings, he dealeth very fincerely, and in good earnell with them, be- caufe he will certainly afford them all thefe bleffings, and de- liver them from all the dreadful evils he hath threatened, up- on performance of the conditions upon which they are ten- dered, viz. If you ht zciihng ; if you repent and turn from your imquiiiti ; if ycu believe, all your iniquities Jliall he blotted out, you Jhall live and not die ; if you believe not you JJiall die in your fens ; if you repent not youfiiall perijh. And again, zvhofoever will, let him come and drink oj the waters of life freely. Ho, every one that thirjieth, come ye to the waters ; zvhofoever behevetk in meJJiall not perifi, but have evtrlajling life ; with infinite paffages of the like nature : All thefe, fay they are offers made in good earneft, and with fincerity to all ; and therefore to the reprobate, becaufe (a) God's weaning, 7vhen he offers glory to any man ij he believe and per fever e, is truly to perform it, if he do fo. And (b) as for ChrijVs com- ing into the world to fave fnners, it was not to Jave the cleQ, but under conditions of repentance and perfeverant faith ; and no decree oJ reprobation excludeth any man from falvation, provided always that he repent and believe : For hence it plains ly follows, that his true will is flatly to deny them thefe blef- fings, and to promife them nothing. And fuch a promife, faith (c) Puffendorf differs only Jrom. a downright negative in this, that it is more affronting, by making the promije run affirmatively, and yet clogging it with an impoffible condition. Seeing then thefe men teach (d) that the ahfolute decree of God not to give faith, repentance and eternal life to Judas, ipx to any other reprobate) is that which we under/land by the v.'ord reprobation, and this is never abrogated by any condi- tional promife; and it is impoffible he fliould have faith and re- pentance, if God hath abfolutely decreed not to give it to him, mult not the remiffion of fins and falvation promifed to Ju- das only upon condition ot faith and repentance be promifed upon an impoffible coadition, and fo be equivalent to this negative, Judas fkall not be faved? Seeing they ('ej fay the eletl, by a fpecial mercy of God are fo guided and ruled, that they, and they alone, perform, the condition, and that' the non- de& are alzvays permitted to fail in the performance of the condition ; teaching that (f) God hath not prepared for than and therefore nex>er gives juch grace as finally freeth them fro?n fn ; and it is certain, that what he never gives they never can (a) Bifhop Dai'ftiant againft Hoard, p. 353. fbj P. 399. fcj L. 3. c. 8. i5«c. 5.- fdj Bifliop Davenantj p. ajj. — —[ej P. 257. freedom of the Will of Man, ^^.Q bavef. Seeing (gj thev are of opinion that to have Juffici^nt means of falvation adminijlered which Jliall prove no other- wiji ejfedual than upon this condition^ Si homines fibi nori dermt, is an argument oj nonehtlion ; i. e. ot reprobation ; i. e. an argument that they cannot be favecl ; which one would think is alfo an argument of an ablurdity of the fuppafitioa nhat they had fufficient means of ialvation adminiflered. See- ing, laftly, they fay, (hj ths decrees of elcdion and reproha- tion are indeed, and in truth, decrees finding all men in a imf- erable and damnable e/iate, and out of it determining to bring fome, and toft them for eternal happinejs, and not to bring others eut oJ it by fitting them thereunto, but to permit them to the de^ Jicient rule of their own will. And feeing the reprobates al- ways fail in the performance of the condition^ and muft do fu becaufe God hath not prepared for them, and therefore never gives themfuch grace as fnally frees them from fin, and witli- out which they cannot be fo. Since to have means cffeftual to falvation tendered to them only on this condition, if they be not wanting to themjelves, is an argument that they are repro- bates ; i. e. men that cannot be faved. Since, laftly, to be found in a miferable and daumable eilate, and under a deter- mination not to be brought out of it, or fitted for eternal life, but permitted to the deficient rule of their own will, whicl/ being fo after all that they can do, will be defe£live and infuffident to attain falvation : Mufh it not clearly fol- low, from all and every one of thefe alTcrtions, that falvation can only be tendered to them upon conditions impofhble to be performed by them, and fo by fuch a feeming and hypo- critical tender mufl be effeffually denied them ? Section 111. — S^/y. This plainly follows from all thole fcriptures which have been offered in the ffatc of the qucf- tion, Sec. i. and 4. to prove that men at prefent are in a Hate of trial and probation ; it being evidently abfurd to maltc a trial or experiment whether men will- repent, believe, or per- fevere, who are determined by him who makes the trial fo to do ; or whether they will come out of their miferable eilate, and fit themfelves for falvation whom God hath determined from all eternity, by his decree of election, to bring out of that flate, and render ft for that happinefs ; or whether they wilt do this whom by his decree of reprobation he hath determin- ed not to bring out of it ; and this being only in cfFecl to trv whether they will null his abfolute decrees ; whether they will do, or negleft what thefe decrees have rendered it inipol- fible for them to do, or neglett. f^J P. 26Z. fhj P. 265. ^56 Freedom of the Will of Man. zdly. From all that hath been offered there, Sec. 3. to fiiew that God calls, and makes his applications even to habitual fjnners, to reform and hearken to his exhortations, to turn to him iron) their evil ways ; it being evidently vain and abfurd to make thefe exhortations to men determined to the contrary, and left by God's decree of reprobation to the defcient rule of their own rvills, and fo under a neceflity of being deficient in the performance of what is necefTary to their reformation. '^dly. From all thofe fcriptures produced there, Sec. 5. to Jhew that God ^xz-ih Jet btf ore men good and evil, life and deaths and left it to their choice, upon the motives and powerful in- citements offered to them in the word, to embrace the one of the other ; this being in effefl a declaration on God's part, that he hath not by any aftion or decree of his, determined, fome to be good, or to obtain falvation, oi- left others under a necefTity of failing of falvation, or choofing evil, and not good. 4^thly. From all that hath been faid ivom fcripture of God's ferious invitations of all men to repent, believe, and be con- verted, and his pathetical defires of their reformation and 0- bediencfe, produced Difcourfe 3. Argument 2. they being cer- tain demon flrations that he did not conceive they lay undef an incapacity of repenting, believing and turning to him. ^thly. From all his Commands and exhortations to wicked men to turn from, the evil of their ways, that iniquity may net be their ruin ; and all his threats of the mofl dreadful judg- ments to them who) (till continue in them ; and all the prom- ifes of pardon, life and falvation made to thofe who do fin- cerely turn to him ; of which I have difcoiirfed, Argument 3. Sedzon 3. For as thefe things plainly (hew that what God requires may be done ; what he exhorts to, is poffible for them to perform, by the affiflance of that grace which he is ready to afford them ; that the evils which he threateneth rnay be avoided, arid what he promifes may be obtained by them ; fo are all thefe arguments ftrongly confirmed by the concurrent fuffrage, and the exprefs and frequent declarations of the ancient fathers, faying. Section IV. — i/l. In the general, that the fcriptures every where affert, and give plain teflimonies of the liberty of the will of man to choofe the good and refufe the evil. — Thus ("ij Juflin Martyr having told us, that man would not be worthy of praife or recompenfe, nyt a(p' Icuvci l\6y.iws tov aVa6ov, did he not choofe good of hirnfelf, nor worthy of pun- iJJiment for doing evil, if he did not this, d(p ixurn, of himfelf i faith, this the holy and propkztic fpirit hath taught (i) Afol. 2. p. 80. B. C. D. Freedom of the Will of Man. 2^-j fis by Mojes in theft: words ; fee I have fct befdrtthee ^ood and evil, choefc the good, &c. and alfo by Efaias theprophetfpeak^ 7ng thus in the name of God ; f you be zudhng and obedunt^ yefhall eat the good oj the earth ; but ij you nnll not hear, you fhall be devoured by the ju:crd,jor the mouth oJ the Lord holhfpoken it. The prophecy of Ifaiah, faith, fkj Clemens ox Alexandria, faith, ijyou be W7 litng, 8cc, e^' %ij.T)i y.siixiva SijiXeVyn- cx xal TYiv aipsaiv, ko-.I rriv B>(.rpo7i'ifV, demo njl rat' 7rg tlint iot/i the choice and the refiijal fviz. of faith and ohedience ol which he •there fpeaketh) arem our own power. (I) Tertu Hum pronounces them unjound tn faith, and corrupters of the chrifian dijci- pline, and excufers of all Jin, who Jo refer all things to the will ^2/6^^fl!'.' Dicendo nihil fieri fine ejus nutu, ut non inteiiiga- mus aiiquid efife in nobis, ipfis, by faying nCtking is dohewith" out his appointment, as that we cannot underjiand that any thing IS left to ourfelves to do ; whereas though we learti from his preceprs both what he would, and would not have done, tamen nobis elt voluntas, et arbitrinm tligendi akerum, ficut fcriptum eft, Ecce pofui ante te bonum et malum, yet is there xn us a liberty oJ choofing either, according as it is writ* ten, behold I have Jet bejore thee good and evil, fmj St. Cyp- rian proves, Credendi, vel non credendi lii).enaxem in Ar- bitrio pofit-am, that to believe or not zvas hft to our own free choice. From the fame texts, Deut. xxx. 19. ifa. i. 19. (n) Epiphamus againft the Pharifmcal fate, cites tljofe words of ijdiah,if ye be willing and obedient ; whence,{\x\x\\\\i.i,it is plainly manifefl and indubitable, that Cod hath granted to man free will, cc^i -Vcpi rlv uvQpcoTrov eivai ro ccyx^ospyz'iv, v, raJv (^olv- ?.aiv l^^iicQcci TTpayfjArajv, fo that it is in his power to do the good, or to choife the evil. (0) Theodoret having cited thole words of Chrji, if any man thirf, let him come to 7ne and drink : adds, 'AX?^a Se f^upiac svpoi rn tiv 'H/.v toTj fiitoty fcyayyfX/- oti XXV ths ri'y ATTOfiXcuov GuyypxiJ^iJ.'xni ^i>;X^vTa da:pujs r^s ra v d\6puincuv (pj/ffEwr to dvBoiipzrov, fen thoujond things of this nar ^ iure may be found both in the gofpels and other ivritings of thi- npojiles, clearly manijtjiing the liberty, or feljeleclion of the na-^ iure cj man. (pj St. Chryfofloni Ipeaks thus, God faith if you will, and fyou unll not,v.vp'\^i rnx-'a^ zToiav t^j dp^rr.s )tii yaxixr x^A cTt'i TYi X-jcL(xri rn '/,tJ^iripa ri^sis, giZung as power, and putting It m our own option to be virtuous or vinous.' The devil faitii, thou canfl not avoid thy fate ; God faith, I have put before thee f re and water, life and death, jiretch forth tJt'y hand to whether of thein thou Wilt. 'I'he devil faith, it is not in thee to f retch /*; Strom, i. p. 314. B. ft) ¥.\\wrt. aj'E(p'iiix7pro •EftSr^ai xj to //jj. StroTO, 2. p. 370- Strom. 7. p. 707. Strom. 2. p. 3S0, 387, 390. fcj Lib. 2. contra ff'Iarcion. c. 5, 6. Freedom of ike Will of Man. 259 had*not a freedom' io contemn it ; fie et in pofleris legibus Greatoris invenias, and Jo was it aljo in the lazvs given by God after the fdl^ in which he ftts before man good and evil, life and death : nor would the order oj difcipbne be difpofed by precepts in which God calls us from, and exhorts us to things ^ and threatens ouf difobeditnce, nifi et ad obfequium et ad con- temptum, jibero, et voluntario homine, did not man freely and voluntarily obey, or contemn them, (dj 0>igen is alio copious in this aflertion, for having cited thofe words, and now Ifrael, what doth the Lordthy God require of thee ? He adds, Let them blufh at theje words, who deny that man hath free zvill ; ior, quomodo polceret ab homine Deus, nifr haberet homo in fua potefVate quod pofcenti Deo deberet ofTerre, hozv covld God require that of man xvhuh he had not in his power io offer to him ? And again, (e) ThefouU faith he, doth not incline to either part out of necefjity, for then neither vice nor virtue €Ould be afcribed to it, nor zuould its choice of virtue deferx)Z reward, nor its declination to vice punifiment ; fed fervatar ei in omnibus libertas arbitrii, ut in quodcunque voluerit ipfa de- clinet, but the liberty of its will is preferved in all things that it may incline to what it zuill : as it is written, behold I havefet If ore thee life and death, ffj St. Auflin alfo, from many paf- fages in which \\iQ fcripture {ii\v\\; do notfo, or fo ; or do this^ or that, lays down this general rule, ubi diciiur noli hoc, aut fioli illud, et ubi ad aliquid faciendum, vel non faciendum in divinis monitis opus voluntatis exigitur^ SatIs Liberum Demonstratur Arbitrium, (g) that all fuch places fujficiently demonfirate the liberty of the will ; and this he faith againft them, Qui fie Gratiam Dei defendunt, ut ncgent libe- rum Arbitrium, whofo afferted the grace of God, as to deny the liberty of the will, or thought it was fo defended by him and his partners, as to dcftroy it. '^dly. They add, that all God's commands and prohibitions, exhortations and dehortations, all his threats and reprehenfions all his encouragements and promifes, would be vain and un- reafonable, and all his punifliments unjuft and his rewards groundlefs, if man after the fail had not ilill the liberty to do what is commanded, and forbear what is forbidden. For ift. faith fhj St. Auflin, Ipfa divina priecepta homini non prodcf- fent, nili haberet liberun> voluntatis Arbitrium, quo ea taci- ens ad promilfa pracmia perveniret ; the divine precepts would proft none, if they had not free will, by which they doing them might obtain the promifed rewards afjignedto the duers of them. (d) Horn. u. in Numb. Fol. 113. F. (e } Lib. i. in Rom. F<.1- nS; B. — (f) Tom. 7. de Gr. and Lib. Arb. c a. — (gJQ-^^. J /^A; Ibid. Cap. a. ' 2-6o Freedom of the Will of Man. Thefs precepts, fdith he, cut off mens exr.ufe from ignorance, ar faying I did not this becauje I did not know it was my duty ; but then becaufe others, faith he, accufe God of being wanting in giving theni power to do good, or inducing them to fin ; ag^inft thefe men he cites that known palFage of t!ie. /^;? of Sirach, [Codkft man in the hands of his counfei, fi volueris, lervabis mandata, if he would to keep the commandments. Hd had fet before him fire and water, and to which of than he pleajed he might firetch forth his hand ; he had placed lije and death before him, and which he pleafed Jliould bt given kim/] And then cries out,Ecce apertiffime videmus expreffutn libe- lum humans voluntatis Arbitriutn, behold here a very plain i>roof of the liberty of humane will, or an exprefs in wiiat it confifls ; and this, faith he, is alTo evident from all God's injunftions to do and keep his commandments j ior quomodo jubet fi non eft liberuni Arbitrium ? For how (or why) doth he command, f man hath not free will or power to obey ? This therefore, if St. Auflin anfwers perti- nently, muft be the true import of thefe men's excufe, that they wanted free will, or power to obey God's precepts ; and therefore he inquires fij what do all God's commands fliew but thejree will of man f Neque enim praeciperentur uiii ho- mo haberet propriam voluntatem qua dlvinis prscceptis obedi.- ret •,for they would not be commanded, ifvian had not that free- 'dom of will by which he could obey them : and therefore in his book defde again fl the Manichees, who denied that man had free will, or that it was, in poteftate hominis facere bene, aut male, in his power to do well or ill ; he makes this an in- dication of their blindnefs, (k) quis enim non clamet flultum efTe prxcepta dare ei cui liberum non eft quod praecipitur fa- cere, et iniquum eile eum damn are cui non fuit poteftas jufTa complere ; et has injullitias, et iniquitates miferi non intelli- gunt Deo fe adfcribere ? For who, faith he, will not cry owl tkat it IS folly to command him who hath not liberty to do zvhat is commanded, and that it is unjufl to coiidemn him who hath it not in his power to do what is required ; and yet thefe inf- erable men und'^rfiand not that they afcribe this wickednefs and injujlice to God? Whofoever, faith flj Eufebius, doth induf- trioufly purfiie, or command, or teach any thing, or exhort any man to obey, or not, to fin, or not ; or reproves any for fin, or commends any for doing well, is he not thereby plainly convinced that lie only retains the name of fate, to /asv 'ipyoM kx- nxy.i-nojv T« 'Tiup '/if/AV Kul TH a-vraf.Hciii, but /eaves the aBions to- our liberty and our own power? (m) Clemens' of Alexandria dtclares, xXxdX neither praifcs nor reprehenjions, rewards or ft) ib:d. Cap. 4. fkj Cap: 10.- — ,7j Praep. Evang. 1. 6. c. 6. p« 344. — /;.ij btrora. i. y. 311. A Ffeedcm of the Will of Man. 261 punijfi7nents are jujl, /u»? rr,i -^vyris iyjiawrr,M I^Mji'jiv zr.s ofixr.f^ xatj u(^op^j.ViS, aXX' dutfais rr,s kockIccs Hffrjj, if the foul hath not the power oj choofing, or abjlaming, but evil is involuntary ; yea, he makes this the very (nj joxtndation of falvation, without which there could be neither any reafonable baptijm, nor divine ordering of our natures, becaufe faith would not be in cur oiin power. Sui Arbitrii ell anima.et in quam voluerit partem ell ei iiberum declinare, the foul ^ faith (oJ Origen, aSls by her omn choice, and it isfreeforherto incline to whatever part fJie will; and therefore God's judg?nent of her is juft, becaufe oJ her own accord file complies with good or bad monitors. Upon this fup- pofition, faith he, it is that (p J good men are praifed, and that God faith reafonahly, well done good and faithful Jervant ; and again, thou wicked and flothjul fervant ; that he faitk to them of the right hand, come ye bliffed, &c. and to them of the left hand, depart from me ye curfed. Sec. One of thefe two things arenecffdry, faith ("qj Epipkanius, v) yiviaius v%afyy,aT.s , either that a neccfjity arfuig Jrom our being born, there fliould be no ludgment, ^la to tov 7,:fairro)trx ny. a'P' ixvxti 'Tifdmiv^ kccaufe men ad not freely ; or f laws be juflly made by, God^ and punifhments threatened to, andrnfli&ed on the wicked,, and God's judgments he according to truth, there is no fate ; for Oia Tov ^yvaffQaj ajxccprjivstv^ xal (j.r) utjiafTiiV, rov /xev Sia rv. ai^ap- Tfiixxra. Oix»]v aV aiTaT^Saj, tov Se sfrt^ivov a'my.oiyjEa^xi ^ja to Xu •niTtpayi^xi^ therefore is one punifJied for his fins, and anoth- er praijed for his good works, becaufe he hath it in his power to fn, or not. For how, faith fr) Theodoret,, can he jiflly punifl a nature, dya-Qovrl dpcii<7at [xri oi'va^a'vyjv, clXXa. roTs rr,s y.a.- y.ixi 'ni:T.z^r,ij,L-\ir,\ JfrrptoTs^, lohich had no power to do good, but was bound in the bonds of wickednefs. And again, (f) God having made the rational nature a.vti\y(s\.ov, with power over Its own aBions, averts 7nen from evil things, and provokes them to do what is good by laws and exhortations, iik dvo:yy.z^H ^i pt.7) /3«Xo/x6vr;v Tuv dfJAivoyajv ixiraXciy^sTv , "vex. fxri irzpc.y.iM'/i'jy] rtj Xif»s ivts (^ilaEwr, but he doth not necfjitate the unwillivp- to ctn- brace what is better, that he may not oxferturn the bounds of na- ture. Innumerable are the jiaflages of this nature which might be cited from the fathers ; but thefe at prefent fhall fuffice, becaufe feme of them may be mentioned here- after. fn/ ^25-6 ade ffa.Trlts'y.x in IV^oyon aXX' aSs©- ci/n.ai h Tut (fvaim a.vTi7i iV^tCTKiTat Stxvoi/,r) Tc» Sr^E^iof Tyj; ffU7riclcc; tr," IkHcthi* Triqiv fix sy^bcrct. Strom. 2. p. 363. D ^o) In Num. llom. 20, Fol. 135. H. fp; In Ep. ;ui Rom. Edit. Huet. Tom. 2. p. 425, 426. fqj Uxr. 16. p- 35- frj lorn. 4. 269. f/j Adv. i^tnt. Senn. 5. p. s;i. S62, Freedom of tl\e Will of Mmi-, CHAPTER III. J^ropQimding Argumer4sfrom.Reafonwhich they can reafonably confult and deliberate, cannot a6l freely in thofe things which they are thus determined to do, or not do. Moreover, all confultation and deliberation is in drde'r to choice and eleftlon ; now choice, or eleflion, in the very ■nature of it, is of more than one ; but there can be no choice of more than one in him who is determined to one, and To a confequent ele6iion cannot confifl with an antecedent deter- inination to one. If therefore the divine grace in man's conver- iion unfruftrably determines him. to one ; or if the difability contrafted by the fall determines men to choofe that Which is evilonly, and to omit that which is truly good ; both thefe determinations muft take away the freedom of mens anions, at leaft as far as they are worthy of praife or difpraife, of re- ward or punifliment. For, \Jl. Either the divine influx leaves men room to choofe ^o turn to God, or it doth not ; if it doth not, they do not choofe to turn to God when they are thus converted ; if it doth, it cannot unfruftrably determine them to turn to him, becaule it leaves it to their choice whether they will turn or not. A- gain, either this difability determines lapfed man to what is evil only and fo to the omiflion of what is truly good ; or it doth not fo ; if it doth not fo, it leaves him an abililty to do good; if it doth not, he cannot properly be faid to choofe not to do good. In a word, when God calls, invites and e'xhtf^s him to choofe the thing that is good, and to learn to do well ; when he attempts by threatenings to affright him froih continu- ance in his evil ways, and by his promiies to allure and to in- cite him to return unto him ; are not thefe things defigned to engage him to confider of, and attend to God's exhortations ; to confult and deliberate how he may avoid the evils thrc<'lened, and obtain the blefTings promifed ? But if they lie under ah utter difability of doing what is fpiritualiy good, and fo of ob- taining the blefTings promifed, to what purpofe fhould they deliberate about ii ? To what purpofe Ihould they cdn- 2^4 Freedom of the Will -of' Man. , fider how they may avord the evil that they Ho ? I concludfT therefore this argument with that which [a) Gennadius deliv- ers as the doftririe of the church of God, that though man by the fall hath loft, vigorem arbitrii, the vtgor of his jret will, non tamen eleftionem, ne non effet fuum quod evitaret pec- catum, nee merito indulgeretiir quod non arbitrio diluiflet ; yet hath he not lofl his choice, lejt it fliould not be of his choice that he avoided fn, nor fliould that he accounted to him for re- tuard ivhich he did not freely pat away ; manet ergo ad quas- rendam falutem Arbitrii libertas, fed admonente prius Deo, et invitanre ; the7~e remains therefore yet to fallen man a free- dom of will to feek after his fa.lv ation, though God muflfirfl ad^ monifh and invitt hiinfo to do. Section III. — Argument'^. — Void. Le Blanc adds, that -all the aQions which proceed freely from us may be fubjetl to a command, and by the Law of God or man may be en- joined or forbidden ; but this cannot agree to thofe a61s, circa quos voluntas immutabiliter fe habet, in which the will is fo immutably determined that it never can or could do other- ^fe. So that if this be the cafe of lapfed man, his fin cannot proceed freely from him, and fo cannot be reafonably forbidden ; for as [b] St. Aufiifi faith, peccati teneri reum quempiam quia non fecit id quod facere non potuit, fummae iniquitatis et infaniae eft ; it is the hight of ?nadnefs and in-- juflice to hold any perfon guilty becauje he did not that which he could not do ; as will be farther evident even from the ef- iential condition of a law, viz, that it be juft : Thofe laws being certainly unjuft which prohibit that under a penalty which a man cannot pofTibly fliun, or require that which can- not poffibly be done by him oi whom it is required : And the greater is the penalty, the greater ftill is the injullice. — For, ifi. Juft laws are the ordinances of wifdom and right rea- fon. Whereas that which commands impoftibilities can never be required reafonably or wifely, [c] quis enim non clamet flultum efTe praecepta ei dare cui liberum non eft quod prae- cipitur facere ^ for who, faith St. Auflin, will riot pronounce it folly to command him who is not free to do what is com- manded ? zdly. Juft laws are inftituted for the public good, and God hath made this declaration concerning his own pre- cepts, that he commands them for our good; but that law which prefcribes impofiibilities luider a penalty upon nonperform- ance, cannot be inftituted for the public good, but rather tor the gteateft evil to the generality of mankind ; who arefaid to b« left to the defeft anddifability of their own wills. 3i/y. (a) De Do^m. Eccl. can. i\. (b) L. ( Three things feem plainly neceflary to make an a6lion or o- miflion culpable. {\ft-) That it be in our power to perform or to forbear it ; for, as Origen, and all the Jathers fay, »hW d^L/varov fjiri 'Tzoinircc^ vj/sjcTof £fi, no 7nan% blaineworthy for not doing what he could not do. [idly.) That we be obliged to perform, or to forbear it ; for where there is no obligation, there can be notranfgreflion. {"^dly.) That we omit thai which we ought to have done, or do that which we ought not to have done ; now feeing, nemo tenetur ad impoffibile, no man can be. obliged to what is to him impojfible^ it cannot truly be affirni-* ed that any man ought to do what he never had the power to do, or to leave undone that which he could not fhun, for then there would be no place for cxpollulation ; for chiding or reprehending men on thefe accounts, feeing they- could not help it. {/ ) Jerujalem ! wilt thou not be made clean f Whenfliall it once be ? Saith God ; to what purpofe if by the fall they were difabled even froii being willing fo to be ? {'g) I will deflroy, faith he, ?ny people, face they return not from their evil ways ; why, might they anfwer, O thou righteous God, was it ever in our power to turn from then), or c<»nvert ourfelves ? when, Lord I was it in o\xv father Adam before his fall ? then fure we did not need to beconvertc:d : Or was it after this fall ? alas then were we utterly difabled from do- ing this without that fpecial grace thou haft not yet been plcafed to vouchfafe. [h] ferufulem, how oft, faith Chriji^ (d)\y\i, (e) Apiid Eiifeb. Pntp. Ev. L. 6. c. u. p. 3.S7. (/J Jcr. xiii. 37. (g) Jer. xv. 7. (hj Luke xiii. 34. L L 266 Freedom of the Will of Man, would I have gathered thy children as a hen gathereth her chickens, under her wings., and ye would not ? and again, fi) you will not come unto me that ye might have life ; how could we help it ? might they truly anfwer ; provided they were difabled both from comings and from being willing fo to do. CHAPTER IV. Shewing the Affinity of the Opinions of our Adverfaries concerning Liberty, with that of Mr. Hobbs ; and with the Fate of the Philojophers^ condemned by tht Chriflian Fathers. A HE peculiar notions of Mr. Hobbs, and of thofe who con- cur with him in thefe opinions (that our liberty is well con- fiftent with necefTity, as being only a power to do what we will, though we lie under a neceflity to have that will ; and that it is fufficient that we choofe to do what we do, though we lie under a neceffitv, if we choofe at all, to choofe as we do) lie underthisconfiderable difadvantage, that they were univerfally condemned by all chrijlians for the firft four centuries, who af- ferted, that a liberty from necefTity was z fundamental princi" pie, without which there was no place lor vice or vir- tue, praife or difpraife, rewards or punifliments, heaven or hell ; but an introduftion o{ Jloical fate ; confuting that and manicheifm, and other herefies on this very account, that they deftroyed the liberty of man's will, and left them under a ne- cefiity, and a determination to one. I therefore fhall endeav- our to fliew, i/?. That there is a plain agreement betwixt the doftrine of Mr. Hobbs, and of thefe men concerning this matter, as to felie great concernments of religion. (i^ John V. 40, Freedom of the Will of Man, 267 %dly. That their opinion differs very little, and in things only of little moment, from thejioical fate, and lies obnox- ious to the fame abfurdities which the philofophers and ckrif-' iians did objeft againft it. ^dly. That their do6lrine hath been condemned by all the primitive chrijlians for the firll four centuriis. And, ^t/ily. That St. Aujlin, who firfl introduced the contrary dottrine, is forced by it to contradift his former felf, to re- nounce what he had faid in confutation of the mamchees ; is unable to anfwer his own arguments, and falleth into manifeft abfurdities. And, Section I. — ly?.— That there is amanifeft agreement be- twixt their opinion and that of Mr. Howl's, will be evident from an exa£l comparifon of their words together. Mr. Hobbs then aflerts, ifl. That though the will be necejjitated, yet the doing what we will is liberty ; which is perfeftly the fame with their afler- tion, that {k) the liberty of the will con/ijls not in a freedom, Jrom necejjity, but only in a freedom fro/u coadion Qr compuU /ion. zdly. That (/) he who takes away the liberty of doing accord- ing to our will, taketh away the nature of fin ; but he tJiat denies the liberty to will, doth not dofo. And do not they fay this who teach [m] that though fallen manis become fo far aflave to fin, that whatever he does he cannot but fin ; yet that necef- fety of doing evil takes not awayjiis natural Liberty, and therefore not his fin, ^dly. That [n) if liberty cannot f and with nttefjity, it can- not fiand with the decrees of God ; of which decrees neceffity is a confequent. And what do they fay lefs who teach (0) that them whom God calls according to his purpofe, he fo 7noves to believe in God and to love God and his brother, that faith, and love infallibly thence follow ; and when that motion comes,, it IS impofjiblefor man not to believe and love God. (k) Exacno)-. qaod eft liberwm potcfl confiftere cum ifctUxia, fed non cum annffiu. Urfin.- — //^ Branih. Cafl p. 803. fmj Ctnamvis eniin, ab(ente Gratia, homo fit peccati fervus, et quic- quid agat non poffit nifi peccare, ifta tanien male agendi necellitas natiira- lem ejus Ubertdtem non toUit. Le Blaru de Lib. Horn. Arb, circa bonum Morale. Part. 2. Sec. 39. (nj Br. p. 828. fo) Deus hominem qiiem recundvim propofitum vocat, fie movef ad credcndum Deo et ad diligeiidum Deiim et proximum, ut infallibiliter inde fequatiir fides et dileclio, et pofita tali motione impoHibile eft homi- nem no:i credere atque diligere. Le Blanc, de Lib. Hotn. Arb. Par. 3. Sec. 17. a7id Sec. 21. Utrique in eo convniiunt, necelfe e(Ie ut aga^ ille quern ad agendum movet, atque impellit Divinie Grattx, vei providen- tiae vis et efficacia, quoniara au ilia acVione Dei actio honiinis feparari non poteft. 268 Freedom of the Will of Man. ^tJily. That a mans willisfomething ; but the liberty of his zoxll is nothing. And mofl. protejlants, faiih (p) Le Blanc, deny that after man s fall there remained any liberty in him to do what IS morally good. c^thly. That (q) he is free to a thing, who viay do it if he have the will to do it, and may forbear f he have the "will to forbear ; and yet if it be neceffary that he fhould \\dM^(r) the. will to do, the adion is necffarily to follow : and if there be a necejjity that hefliallhave the will to forbear, thejorbearing alfo will be nectjjary. So that according to him, he that hath a will to do, hes under a necefTity to have that will, and he that hath a will to forbear, lies under a neccflity to have the will to forbear ; his choice being determined to what he (hall choofe by precedent necefTary caufes. Now is he not under a neceflity to have the will to forbear what is morally good, ■who hath loft his liberty to what is fo ; and is not he under a like necefTity of willing only what is evil, who, whatfoever ]ie doth, and therefore whatfoever he wills to do, can only do evil ? Sthly. He adds, ihzi ff) the necejjity of an aSIion doth not make the law that prohibits it unjufl ; for it is not the neceffity, but the will to break the law that makes the aHion unfufl ; and zohat neceffary caufefoever precedes an adion, yet if that ac- tion heforbidden, he that doth it willingly may jvfily be pun- iflied. And do not they fay the fame who make it neceffary for man in a lapfed flate to fin ; that is, ti-anfgrefs the law of God ; and yet add, (bj that this hinders not that, quo minus libereinpeccatum feratur, et bonum lege prasceptum averfetur et omittat, his finning and omitting the good required by the law is done freely. ythly. And laftly, he alTerts, that fcj things may be necef- fary and yet praifeworthy, and alfo neceffary, and yet dfpraif- ed ; which plainly is the fame with the dodrine ot thofe men ■who fay that, inevitabile non tollitrationem meriti, aut demerit}, the inevitable neceffity of an adion hinders not the merit or de- merit, reward or pumfiment oj that adion. Antl further to complete the parallel, obferve. \fi. That fin having no efficient, but only a deficient caufe, to lie under an unfruftrable defeft of doing that which is after that defeft commanded, and under a like difabllity of avoid- ing that which is afterwards forbidden, is to be determined to ^nd lie under a neceffity of finning, that is, of tranrgrefling fp) Negant proteflantium pliirlmi poft peccatum in liomine tpanfifle libcrum arbitrium re(pe6lu boni moralis. Le Blanc, de Lib. Horn, Arb. circa bojium Morale, Par. 2. Sec. 43; ^^y Bramh. p. 651. fr) B ram h. p. 654, '''60, 666. (fj Bramh. p. 678. (bJ Le Blanc, ib. Sec. 56.— fc) Br. p. 679. Treedom of the Will of Man, 269 thefe laws, becaufe it is to lie under a neceifity of being thus deficient. 2c//y. That though it feemeth certain, that this necefTary (lelcfcl is al^ extrinjtco, from an external caufe, it being, faith St. Aujlin, Poena Vecczix^ithe pumjliment of fin, and fo the aQlonof the judge ; it being, faith Bilhop i)ai/e«<3w;', the re- fiilt of God's arbitrary imputation when he was free, ij he had pleafed to do otherwife \ it being, 3^^/)', a defe6t immediately refuiting from the atlion of others, the tranfgreflion of Adam, that is, of one perfon, and the birth of all men from him, and without any other requifite than that ot being born ; yet were hah intrinfeco, from an internal caufe, as blindnefs, deatnefs, difabiiity to fpeak, is in them who are born blind, deaf or dumb, it mull be ftiil as inevitable as the defeft is in thefe inflances ; and lapfed man thus born, mull be as much difabled by it, as he could be from any extrinfic caufe whatfoever ; and therefore feeing by it he lies under as great necefhty of being thus de- feftlve as he who is determined by an extrinfic caufe to be fo ; and that extrinfic necelTity is allowed to render the a£lioii of him who lieth under it unculpable, it muft be likewife thus with him who lies under the likeneceflity from an rntrin- fic caufe immediately refuiting from his birth. Ofdly. Obferve, thiat it is the fame thing as to my obedience or difobedience to have a difabiiity by nature, as to have it from the fubftance or matter of which 1 am compofed ; be- caufe by having it from the fin of my nature before I had a being, 1 come into the world as much difabled as I could be by the other, hom the performing due obedience, orthe avoid- ing difobedience to the laws of God. /^thly. Obferve, that it is the fame thing as to my eternal intereft to have no free will at all, as to have none in refer- ence to the conditions on which that inierefl depends ; and therefore it is no great difference betwixt the opinion ol thefe men and that of Mr. Hobbs, that the one dellroys the liberty pf all our a6iions, and theirs onlydcftroys our liberty in fpir- itual and moral a6Hons ; feeing both equally deftroy our lib- erty of choofing life eternal, and of avoiding everlafling death. Sf CTiON II, — With ihefe we may compare the fate allert- ed by the Stoicks and by many others ; for though they talk more than others of the to i-p' r,(Mv and the dvrsl,y.^' '^/x-"* CUT liberty, «Tot xal ttj? dp^rris xal T'/if -naKias -^vy^iyiriv ^ia(popa.v avatpnai, they take away the natural difference betwixt vice and virtue, and leave no place for prafe or difpraife; for to praife and honor ?nen, faith (xj Oenomaus, for being good, or bad out of neceffity, is as abjurd i 01s e* ths itX\ v.0L>Jks ra adixccrz B-Trxivolri, XXI jspatpoi, r^i S'e aUy_piis -^^/syot xxl xoXa^oi, as if d man fliould praife and honor them for having handfome bodies, and difpraife and pumfi them for being deformed. And laftly, thefe very men, faith fyj Alexander Aphrodifienfis, by exhorting men to ufe difcipline and Ihidy, and by leaving volumes to inftru6l young men how to live, and condemning others who, h rx zspoamo-illx ^pZ/yiv, do not things convenient, or what they ought to do, evert the necejjity of fate, (7v\i-^xc'bs.i li V.XTX (^vatv viiJAv V Ti'JpyH-)! to avTB^^tiOiO)/, and eflabliflied the nat- ural liberty of the will. 2)dly. This doftrine of fate, fay they, leaves no place for repentance, or for accufmg of ourfelves, or others ; whereas, faith (zj Diogenianus, when we do anv thing without delib- eration, TToXXxxis iJ.£ro.vo^f/.Bv, we frequently repent, and blame our/elves for our rafinefs ; and when we fee others a61; in like manner, we pronounce them offenders, us Id^^ 'hy^M ovrwv tc^v roiHTwv, as believing thefe things are in our own power. (f) Ibid. n. 30. (t ' De Phil. Plat. c. 26. fuj P. 29. fxj Apud. Eufeb. Ibid. p. 260. D, (j>J Ibid. p. 27a. {zJ Ales. A- phrod- ibid. Freedom of the Will of Man* ^73 j^thly. They add, that.wdre this fo, God cobld not jufll)'- puniih men for their iniquities, they being only the refult of unavoidable neceflity ; for thus they who are punifhed plead iheir caufe in (aj Otnaviaus, with Jupiter and Apollo, a o/xajc; '^oieTs- u "ATT'dyXoii, thou dcalejl not with us jujily, Apollo ; 'ihou dofjl not rightcoujly punijli'us who have not offended ; and zvhy doth Jupiter himfelf 'h -r-hs rjiJ^zriqa^ avdyKra- avayjcw, ■the itnpiclfive caufe of our ntcejpty, puniJJi us rather than him- fcfzcho hath impo/cd upon us this necejjity. Ceafe, Jupiter, to be angry, eVj ya.p 'niTtpcJIai -^ riro irqodTirccyOai 'noiii h cos elpycos TiixeTi oa Trqos r^rov 'h^iv'icf^iv, for that ts only done which Jate, and the feries of caufes' ordered to he done, and zee arc not able to rcjijl. We juflyfay to you (b) Oh ye Gods that you permitted us not to be good ; and not only fo, a'XXa iti eQtxa- ccc9e sfvo-A Tiovr.piss, but ye have alfo laid upon jus a necejjity to be evil. Note, idly. That this fate was brought into the church by the fcj Coloharjihns, the followers of Bardefanes, and the Prifcillian- ifts, and before them by the (dj Marcionites ; who abHained ifrom matrimony on this opinion, that nature was evil by rea- fon of the evil matter of .which we were compofed ; and this doftrine, faith Clemens of Alexandria, they learned from the philcfophers, to all whom it, was common fej fato adfcribere converfationes hominum, to afcribe the aBions of men' to fate. Now the doftrine of the chrifians is this, faith (J) Juflin Martyr, \\\zx nothing is done or. fufFcred, xa6' hi^apixiv-nv ac- cording to fate, dKK(X xarai (xev 'Tlpoalp^nm £Ka.<^ov y.arop9iv, ri a.aarpravsjv; but that every vian doth good or evil according to his own Jree choice. And in this they all agree for thefe rea« fons, xjl. Becaufe no man can be worthy of punifliment for what he was made, and cannot alter : No man, faith (g) Juf in Mar- tyr, would be zvorthy of reward and praife, hk d.(p' eayrS fc?.o/xs- vos- TO ayaflov akXcc nal rarov yivofJ.svos, who doth not of himfelf c.hoofe to be good, but is made fuch ; nor if he be zuicked, can he be J ufiy pU?liJJied, ax d(p' stxorii rot^rcs av, dXX' aSsv ot^ViK^x-ovo? ehcii 'irspov Trap' o Bjsyovst, as being not fuch oj himfelf and being not able to be otherzvife than as he was born. God made us Jo that zjoefiould be good not by nature, but by our own free wtll and purpofc ; (hj nihil cnim laudis eft id effe a quo te mutari (a) Apud Eufcb. ibid. p. 260. ^.—^(h) Ibid. D. (c) Auguft. Haer. 15. (d) O [/.\\i H-x\ lAa^v.'Mv'^ <^i(tu \iauwv \v. "si V "Ktii «a)£J;'; Strom. 3. p. 431. 13. ria^ uv (^iXocro(J>j(,v) T>5» yefstrn) xamiv ttnai cttrtQui ezjttaCoi'TEj al UTtl Mx^Kiitiv<^ y.a^ ccTTi^\'i\u ^iffiart !,5;To«-, ^J-.Hvrxs aTioXvn, as /v-r^'iv rav uToTTojv &^ oWz'ixs '•/MwiJ.rii diOL'jizTicsLyixvjHS y abfolvesfnnezs, as do- ing nothing on their own accords which was evif and would cajl all the blame of all the wickednefs committed in the world iipon God., and upon his providence ; if that were advi7!^':d by the aff'trtors oj this fate,- whether he him/cf did ncccjjitate them to do thefe thijigs, or ordered matters fo that theyfwuld be con- ^firained to ao it byfome other caufe. See the like argument* in Epiphanius''s liar. 16. p. 35. Q^/j. They add, that this opinion renders all commands, admonitions and exhortations not to do evil, or to do good, iifejefs ; he who is thus admonifticd, being inftrufted bv it, to reply after this manner, fe) -X hae w a.)i^gojT:i vH3-f7si'<-, to what end dofl thou admonifii me, fnan, when fate hath foref ailed me, and not left it in my power to change my mind? rl wv SeV <7yvrirrr-irGai -r^os a w^£ tts oS'f/xvEi'fTQsiJ oyv/^iro/AXJ \ To xvhat purpoje therefore is it to flrive after that which I have not the power to defire or will, unlefs alfo it be my fate thus to will ? That men lie under no ne'e ejfity from Gad's foreknowledge, [which was of old the chief argument ol the fatalyh, efpoufedof late by Mr. Ifobbs, and is (till made the refuge oi the prede/Iinarians^ may be thus proved, faitJi ffj Origen. becaufe the prophets are exhort- ed in the holy fcriptures to call men to repentance, and, to do this in /(Lck zoords, ai 7 fit were unknozvn whether they would turn to God, or would continue in'thcirfms ; as in thofe words (a) .\y\(^\. 2 p. 80. ^*y ApudEiifeb. Pr^p. Ev. \. 6 c. n p. 1S2. B. f,:J P. 2S7. A. fdj Prxp. Ev. 1. 6. c. 6. p. t.u. v»er 'lot. and P..251. (ej Eufel»'. Ibid. p. i.r,. f/J Apud Knfch. il»i^. c u. p- a'Sc)" S, C. Treedom qJ the Will of Man. 275 of fg J Jerernhh, perhaps t/iey zvill hear and turn every man from hu evil way, &c. and this isjaid^ not that God under- flood not xohether tJiey zvould do this or not, a>.X' oiov^l td Iff'^ya* triov Tcc'v St^va/xewv yivc.cr^itj Ic-iKws; but to dcmonjhiate the alinojr equal balance of their pozver fo to do, and that they nught nut defpond or remit of their endeavors by ammagination that God's forehnoicledgelaid a ncccjfxty upon them ; wi h-a. ov'/©' lit' aij-:o\s t5 'cVii^i^xi, ^ x-vr-h ociriaylvolxt rav a/vi.a§rr,/AaTCi)V, as not leav- ing it in their pozuer to turn to him, andfo was the caufe of their fn. /^thly. They argue from the deportment ot men towards them who offend out ol neceffity, allowing this as a fufficitnt excufc that they could not do otherwife. You would not, lajth (h) Athenagoras to th: Roman emperors, honor the good, or pumfh bad 7nen, si /xr, It:' dvro^s rin ^ 'h y-anla. »c, 'h dfi-'h ; ij Vice and virtue zjoere not in their pozver. And if men, faitti Chryfbjlom, do thus pardon their fellozv men when they are necef- fitated to do a thing (i) tu H vTh n'liJixq^A-vfis ttoXXw i^lyXyj tyvJ"- yaojny.H'i Ixot^v much more fhould this be done to men compelled by fate to do what they do ; for if it beabfurd to punifh them who by the force of barbarians are compeUcd to any aCtion, it Viuji be more fo, rhv C^no ouvxruripas ovv-lixzcijs •/.Krxvuf.ix^ofj.zi/ov qIkvv ^t^Qi/xtyto pu?iiffi him who is compelled by a ftrongcr power. ^thly. They add, that if fate obtain, then the divine judg- ment mufl. be overthrown ; for they, faith fkj Origen^who take away, rbii^' i,[tA\, this liberty, take azuay zuith it praife and dif- prafe, and good and evil aclions, with them a future judgment, and, all threats againjl and punifhment of offenders, and allthc. promifes made, and the rewards annexed to a life of holinefs, Moh 725 ETJ T«Twv ivKoyus eVczj yivo/xcvov \ for upon this fuppofi- tion none of thefe things will rationally be done. If fate be ef- tablijhcd, faith flj Eufebius, oIx'/j(j='?ii (f»Xo-!o^ia, otxvi^iVai ic 'tf- ai^itx, philofvphy and piety are overthrown ; there can oe no religion, no praife for pcrfons fludwus of virtue, no blame of men addi&ed to the greatefl ivipiely, all theft things depending, KX Cudronqoxifirii (xsKirriS K; d'yynTcOjf, x}X' ex rY,s ru'V afji.'v avaf- MLYis Upon the neceffity introduced by the Jiars, and not upon meditation and exercije proceeding from our own free cho'icc, fg ) Chap. xxvi. 3. xxxvi, 3. fhj Legat. pro GliriH^. p. 27. ^fij De Fato C3rat. i,.~^~(kj Ong. apud Kufeb. I'raep. Ev. 1. 6. c. 11. r« :8i.C. D. — (l) Ibid. c. 6. v, 2;i. D. n. 213. A. 2 7$ Fredom of ihe Will of Marii CHAPTER V. Shezoing that thefe late notions, concerning ihe Liberty or rather Servitude of the Will of lapfcd Man, were gin- -erally condemntd by the Primitive Chrijiians. T HIS will be evident from thefe following confidera- tions. Section I. — \/l. That they place the freedom of the will from neceflity amongft the doftrines, quae per praedlca- tionera apoftolicara manifefte traduntur, zvhick were manifejl- ly delivered to the church by the preaching of the apojlles, and by ecclefiaflical tradition. 'H/y-err, we chrijiians, faith (a) Jujlin Martyr, do not think as do the Stoicks, that all things are done according to fate : dXha. y.a.ra. (xh Trpodi^saiv Ijtarov xa- TogSav, v a/z-a^ravEiv ; but that every man doth well or ill accord' ing to the jreedom of his will or choice, (b) Origen fpeaks thus, Eft ct illud definitum in Ecclefiaftica Przedicatione om- nemanimum effe rationabilem liberi arbitrii, et voluntatis ; this alfo is defned by ecclefiaflical tradition, that all fouls are ration- al, and have free will and choice. Whence vi'e may gather, that they are not fubje£t to neceflity fo as to be compelled to do good or evil ; for we are under no neceflity to do well or ill. And though there is in the rational foul a power to do evil, it is not evil upon that account, faith (cj Didymus Alexandnnus ; but becaufeflie will freely ufe that power ; ttj iv. ioim-c^v ju,6vov y/ So^jj avT'h, dXka. Kj Trdcyrajv oqQus irsql ruv Xoyixuv ^&>cov (piXoso^vtaocv- rcov, and this is not only ours, but the opinion of all who fpeak Orthodoxly of rational beings, (d) Thcodoret having eftab- lidied this doftrine of the liberty of man's will from neceflity, and his power to choofegood or evil by reafon, and by the fuf- frage of the \\o\y fcriptures, concludes thss ; rxvla. -iCfl^i^oiyJio- IJ.ZV, K, oi^jiffKOfjicv, thus have we (chriftians) been taught by cur anceftors, and thus zoe teach. St. Auflin lays down this as the true definition of fin, (e) peccatum eft voluntas retinendi, vcl confcquendi id, quod juftitia vetat, et unde liberum eft (a) Apol. 1. p. 45. (b) De prinfip. in Proem. (c) Ed. Com- bet. p. 28. (d) Adv. Graecos, Serm, 5. p. 541, 543> 348. {e)'L\\>, de Dt'.ab, Animab. u, 12. Freedom of the Will tf Mail. ayy ^bftinere ; fin is the will to obtain or retain that zvhich jujhce forbids y and from which it is free for us to abjiam. Whence he concludes, that no man is worthy of dfpraijc or fumfli- ment, qui id non faciat quod facerc non poteft,7or not do^ng that which he hath no power to do ; and that ij fin be worthy of dfprafe and pumfnment, it is not to bt doubted, tunc efi?: peccatum cum et liberum eft nolle. Thefe things, faith he, tin fkepherdsfing upon the ?nountatns, and the poets m the theatres, and the unlearned in their affem.blies, and the learned in the li- braries, and the doflors in the fchools, et Antiftites, in facris locis, et in orbe tcrrarum genus hunianum, fj and the bijhops in the churches, and mankind throughout the whole eaUh. — Yea this, {dxih. he, is fo mamffl, nulla hinc do61orum paucitas, nulla indoclorum turba difrentiat, that it hath the univerjal confent of the learned and unlearned, (g) Gennadius, in his account ot ecclefiaflical dodrines, lays down this lor one, that no man perfheth by the will of God; fed per fcipfum ele£licne Arbitrii, neingenuitatis libertas atque'poteftas femel homini aotributa, ad feivilem cogatur neceffitatem, but only by himfelf, and his oxon free choice, lefl the free choice, libe^^y and pozucr once granted to man, fliould be reduced to a fervile necejj'u'y. SectioiN II. — 2dly. This will be ftill more evident irom what St. Aujiin, with the concurrence of all iho. ancient fathers, have faid in confutatiofl of the Manichces who taught thefc three tilings. ifi. That there were two principles, the one good, and the au- thor of good, the other evil, and the author oj evil. idly. Thzi the God of the lazu was not the true God, and that therefore the Old Teflament was to be rejected. ^dly. That fin arofe not from the free will of man, hut from the fub fiance of matter ^ and fo fome fouls were wicked not by choice, but by nature. Now againft this wicked herefy Sr, AuJlin urgeth many arguments, in which he hath the fuffragc of the ancient fathers. And fiflj he lays down thefe as certain and indi^pu^abIc fhj rules, viz. de quo refillere non valente quifquam quidpi- am mali fecit jufle damnari nuUo niodo potcft, that no man can jujily be condemned for doi7ig that evil wh'ich *he was not cble to refifl ; for all men, {d'lxh he, will pronounce without any hffUation, nihil iftos omnino peccaff?, that thefe men have done no evil. For if fouls be jo compelled to ad, uX. refiftenfli poiellas nulla fit, non peccant, that they have no power to rff, they fin not. If therei'ore, as Le Blanc faiih, the reformed ttack (f) DeVeiaRel. c. 14. (g) Cap. Ivi. — (h ) Lib. de Duab. Aniiu, c. lo. 278 Freedom of the Will of Man* men are fo depraved by the fall, ut non polTint nifi male agere, that they cannot but do evxl ; they offend not in fo doing. ^dly. This he propounds as a thing maniteft, (i) non pecca- re animas ex eo quod non funt tales quales effe non poffunt, that no fouls offend in not being fuck as they cannot be : See, ing then they who cannot do what is truly good, cannot be good ; it mud be alfo manifeft that if the fools of lapfed men cannot do what is truly good, they offend not in not being good. "^dly. He afferts, that ?io vian is worthy of difprafe, or pun- jflvnent, (k) quid id non facial, quod facere non ^^oift^^fornot doing that which he c-annot do ; and this, faith he, wii! be own- ed by every man whoconfulls, fecretaconfcientiae fuae, legefque divinas penitus naturae infitas apud anlmam, thefecrets of his confcience, and the divine laws written in his heart. Whence alfo it mod clearly follows, that lapfed men cannot be worthy of difpraife or punifhment, for not doing that good they can- not do. /^thly. His fourth rule is this, CI) Ex eo quod non accepit nullus reus eft, no man is guilty Jor not having that which he hath not received ; and his infeience this, that no man can duly blame another for being deficient, quia non ultra elfe ac- cepit, where he hath no power ko go farther ; fmce he owes only what he hath received, and cannot exceed the bounds fet him : If then man by the fall hath loft all power of doing good, and hath not fmce received ftrength to do it, this deficiency jcannot be his guilt. Now in theie rules the ancient fathers ex- aftly accord with hlni 5 for we have heard already from Jujlin Martyr, P/eudoclemens, Origen, Eufebius and Epiphanius, that a neccifitv of finning frees men from all fault, for that which he cannot avoid, or for being that which he could not ctdiiz to he (b J Origen \^y$, It Aown as a moft certain rule, that no man can be blameworthy for not doing what he cannot do ; and that as for Judas himfelf, «x av li -^of"^ dwo) ■zu^oar,tr, ^'//ij-e/r, that jneh may not accvfe God as being bound under a "necejjity of doing evil. Man-, faith (tfi/ St. CyrU Alexandria hath a free incli- nntion to what he will chocfe to do, '-k^ omol^mMs ■l\'s.vbifov rriv E(p' §>t*irfK I'QVTiv, end a freedom from necrfpjy in what he will turn hinifcif unto ; thatfe,- and not otkerwife the good may be wor- thy cfprafe and reward, and the wiched-maybejujuypumfn- ed. The devil faith fnj Cynl of jferufalem., frggefls to thee a thought oJ frrnication, if thou wilt, thou admittcfl of it, ij thhu Wilt, thou rejeBef it ; ei yap y.ofl' txvxfuw Itto^vvh?, iCj riv^ hskcc T-jr/f yeavvav ETOJ^ai^ f It S ^©•sof ; forif thou didfl he ufider a, 3ieceffky of whoring, why hath God prepared hell? 1/ faith foj Macarius, the bodies of ckri/iians fwuld have been ?nade im- mortal, the world beholding to TTapx'^o^ov rii -^^pifiJ-sc]®^ the J/rangenefs of the thing, would have hem converted to good, Tjvl, aXX' hK. EKysfficc yiiu/jLTi, not by thcif own Jree will, hvt by a kind oj necejjity, and therefore God to preferve the I'herty -of man s will, Jujfcred their, bodies to die, that it might be in their choice to turn to good or evil;, for man is not bound to do evil, avxlkrt rm, by any necejjity, but hath a liberty ^ -rS 'yk-izn^a.i ay.iv^ lx.Xoy%s, to become a vfjel oJ eleElicn and life, and they who are aded by the holy [pint, hv. dvxfKr) n-A xsx^x- rnvlai, are not held under any necejjity, but have a liberty tg turn fhemjelves, and do what they will in this life. 2)dly. St. Aijlm offers to prove to Felix ihc Manichee, e divinis Scripturis, Jrom the divine fcripiures, that man hath the free do in oJ his zvill : atque inde pcccare queinque fj velit, pon peccare fi nolit, and therefore that every man fins ifr he will, and fins not ij he will not. Now that all ihc Jathers ac- cord with him in this, that the holy Jcriptures do afcribe to man this freedom of the will, hath been largely proved ; and to the paffages already cited from them, may be added a large difcourfe oS. Origen, in \n% Phxlocalia, where he confirms this fro-.r variety of demon flrativc arguments from the ho\y fcrip- iures. (p) St. Eajil faith, there is a manifefl demonjlralion if the Jrce zuill cj man in ihcfe words of ifaiah, J you will, and iJ you will not, Sec. 'Whence it is manifefl. that all his hap- (k) 7om. I. Quod Deus nrn eft Auili ma'i, p. 362. D.-— — (I) Horn i4-inCoi. p. 330. (771) Contr. Jul. 1.8. p. 285. /'wyCat'cl).4 p. 3'- D. (oJ Horn. 15. p. 9(5. B. C. D. (pj 'lom, z. p. 159. IreBdom of the Will 0/ Man, zti pine fs and punijhment, im tS £(p' riij.Tv riprrflai, depends on our free will. Hearken not to them, faith fqj Cyril 6 'j^j.tav exurov ^DtajHvroy, ■j? sfXTrxXiv sxvTov d'Trei'^'H y.ara(5KiV'xtp\)roSf every one rendering himfelf righteous, or dif obedient, faith (b) Clemens of Alexandria ; (c) St. Bafil faith, that every man may, ex t'/jj sxyrK Tzqoxiqiffsco^ ri aTtspiJ^x xyiov Eivxt, -/} to e- vavrtov, of his own free will be either a holy feed, or be the con- trary. God, faith fdj Pfeudo Jufin, is not the caufe that we are good, or, wicked, xXk' ri zy^oxiqsais, but our own choice, by which, x.ari'^YifjSv riyi^xs y.v^i>is,-)(^ T»f dyxBaS vt/J-xs shxi ») xaxwr, he hath put it into our own power to be good or bad. And in his anfwer to the ninth queftion, we have received, faith he, from God, fej the power of ading, or not ading, r^qxrletv fxlv rx oixaix, 8 Tzqxilm /xsv ra a^jxa, to do things righteous, and to forbear what is unrighteous ; when therefore zoe a& thus, ^iKxiajs [X£v s-£(pavH//.£.^5:, we are duly crowned ; but when we transfer this power to what is evil, or negleB. to do what is good ^iKxiiJs y.oXx^oiJis'^x, we are duly p unified ; we are there- fore jufily crowned or puniflied, "^ix to sC, rH% KXKziva, ^ t» sly yiivvxv BixTrsviTv, i(^ T« fiaC, px4'<^^'^,fjia xevov, a vain trife; and we mujl take away all laws, £< [x,r\ yip Ixx^oJ /xe'tes-ev r,v dv /3>ii6v, k^ avs|tTr;Tov stiI t«?w ost/z^uv, an indiffoluble and inevitable tie to this or that, fareioell all laws, or whatfoever elfe is proftabU. (iJ Maccarius adds, that a law is given, ru Jyva/tXEVW rqa7rr,va.i e'n a/jL(f;o7a§a ra t/.if'r)t to him that can turn to both parts, i. e. obey or tranf^refs it ; "^ilri yap (pvaei vofxos a vLiYlxi, but no law can he againfl him who IS bound by nature. ^thly. (k) St. Aujlin difputes againfl; the doflrine of the Manichees, from the equity of the divine juderment, declaring that if men did not fin voluntarily they would be judged un- juflly ; for, iJ God, faith he, had not given free will, judicium puniendi nullum juflum efle pofTet, ncc meritum re8e faci- endi, nee praeccptum divinum ut ageretur pcenitentia de pec- catis, there could be no juflice in punflung the offender, nor a- ny rezvard for well doing, nor any divine precept requiring men to repent of their fins ; Jor neither the wages of good or evil can be duly given to hi?n, qui aut bonus aut malus ne- ceflTitate fuerit inventus, non voluntate, who was good or evil, not out of freedom but necejfity ; nor is any man to be blamed at all who doth not freely do evil. And in this we have feen the agreement of Origen and Eufebius, and the words now cited from him flj Tertullian, Irenaeus, Clemens o{ Alexandria and others who are of the fame judgment. God hath given to man, faith (mj Tatian, freedom of zuill, o7:ojs h ptlv (^cllO.os Jt- xat'ofj ■AokxCYiToii SI £at/Tov yeyovais (j.o'/fi'nphs, that bad men may be juflly pumflied, as being wicked from themfelves ; and that good men may be praiftd, v.a.r a.vT£'i,Hatoy, who freely do comply with the will of God. God always preferved the liberty of the zuill inman, faith /'wy Irenceus, ut jufle damnentur qui non obcdiunt ci, quoniam non obedierunt, et qui obedierunt, et credide- runt ei, honorentur incorruptibilitate ; that they might juflly be damned for their di [obedience who did not obey him, and that they who believed and obeyed, might be hon- ored with incorruptibility. And Athenogaras proves ft) Horn. 26. p 165. D. 166, A. B. (k) L. Dc Tid. cont. Man. c. X. L. Contr. Fortiin.Man. p. 167. Vide f^nuUtrm de lib. Arb. 1. i.e. i. 1. 2. c. 1. 19. 1. 3. c. 17. L. De vera Rel. c. 14. ft J Terlul. contr. M^rcion. I. 2, c. 6, (mJ Contra Gcat. p. 14C. C. (nj L. \. -9- 284 Freedom of the Will of Man. to the Emperors Antoninus and Commcdus, that man is, dul^ccl- firo%, free of himjelf to choofe virtue or vice; for, neither, faith he, would you honor the good, or punifh the wicked, si fjA iv dvToTs r/v y.ai rj xocxicc y.a.\ 4i dpirri, fit Toere not in their pow- er to choofe either. God, faith (oj St. Jerom, hath famed us with free will, nee ad virtutes, nee ad vitia neceflitate trahi- mur ; alioquin ubi necefTitas eft, nee damnatio, nee corona ell ; nor are we necejfarily drawn to vice or virtue ; for where there is neceffUy there is neither condemnation nor crown. And again, God, faith he, hath given us freedom of mind, ut viveret unufquifque non ex neceflitate, fed ex voluntate, ut virtus haberet locum, that every man might ad. from freedom^ not from neceJJUy, that fo there might bt place for virtue. ^thly. St. Aifin argues againft the do6trine of the Mani- chees from the duty of repentance \ Jor, faith he, (p) it is manifefi to all that it is prof table to repent oj our fns ; now I dcfre to know ichat perjons muft. repent, feeing I knozu it can he the duty, neque illius qui male facere, neque illius qui bene facere non poteft, neither oJ him loho cannot do evil, nor of him who cannot do good : for that repentance which profts, male fcciffe poenilentem, et bene facere potuifie teftatur, tejli- fies that the penitent hath done ill, when he might have done well ; and with this argument Alexander Aphrodifienjis ac- cords, and fqj Clemens of Alexandria adds, that if there be no free will, iti r5 Tron d.Trli'a (xsrocvoia ^1 '/jv a(p£ijis uixciprioJv ; zohere is that repentance of the unbeliever by which he obtains remif Jion of his fns ? 6thly. fr) St. Aufiin faith, the Manichees held that the nation of darknejs waged war with God, before thejoundation of the world, and that in this roar, nos, hoc eft, animas quas modo indlgere liberatore manifeftum eft commixtas elfe omni malo, et-morti implicita, we, that is, thejouls zuhich now want a deliverer, were blended with all evil, and entangled or detain- ed in death. Now againft this abfurd imagination St. Aujlin argues, that this ( fj renders God cruel, in being willing to fend the foul intojuch 7nijeries ; and therefore he inquires ot Fortu- natus, Quare banc animam ad miferias, ad errorem, ad ifta quas patimuc mifit ? Why did he fend the foul into the world to be fubjed to thofe mferies, thai error, and thofe evils which we Juffer? He aifo introduces the foul thus expoftulating the caufe with God, and pleading in its own excufe, Quid fe- ci ? Quid commifi ? Apud te fui, integer fui, nulla labe con- tcimiudtus fui, tu mc hue mifi'li, (t) What have I done, or commuted? Fwas with thee, t was upright, and un defiled by (0)1:0. 2. L. 2. Adv. fovln. F. 26> r. (pi L. z. De aft'u in Fel. ^'ian. p. ^15. (qi Stn.-ni. 2. p. 363. (rj L contr. Foituii. Man» o. I. p i«2. (fJ P. 172, 173. (tj P. 168, 169. Trcedcm of the Will of Man. 285- tiny fain, thou fntef me tkithn. Cum ergo noverls necefli- tatem qua his opprelFus fum, qua refpirare non potui, cui re- fiftcre non potui, quid mcaccufas qvuifi peccantem ? fince th?.ii thou knowej}. theneceflty with xjoh.\chI am opprej/'cd, from which I can have no refpite, and which I am not able to rejif,^ why do ft thou ace if mtjor fin? Some fmall re femb lance or this mad do6lrine of Manes was found in that opinion of ( uj Oriren, that the fouls of men had fnned in heaven (faid he, in 'Adam fay others) and therefore zoere united to fuch bodies as were the clog and prifon of the fouL and that the fifJi laid up- on It a necefjity of fnn'rag ; which- he endeavored to prove from the fame fcriptures, which thefe men ufe to prove that mm, fince the rail, lies under a neceffity of doing evil only. Now there be three advantJuTcous differences betwixt this 0- pininn of Origen, and that of thefe D^'cretalifts. ifl. That he made the fouls to fuffer for their perfonal fin alone; they make them fuffer for another's fin, or for a thing impofilble, viz. a perfonal fin committed by them when they lyere no perfons. Q.dly. His punifhments were medicinal and purgative, and fo defigoed for their eternal good, whereas the pun!lhment in- fllQed on the pofterity of Adam for his fall, are, in mofl perfons, according to their dotlrine, only a fad preface to eter- nal puniflimenis, 3^/y. He was fo merciful as to afiert and believe that after ihefe fouls had fulfered in thefe bodies for fomc tim.e, they (hould at la ft be faved and admitted to the enjoyment ot God, whilft thefe men leave the generality of them infallibly to fail of falvation, and obnoxious to eternal mifery. And yet againft this and other doclrines of G'igen allied to it, the fa- thers argue from thofe grounds which do as manifeUly de- ilroy the neceffity of finning they affert, and the foimda- tion of it, viz. the ipiputation of the fin of Adam to all his pofterity; For \fl.(v) Methodius fpeahs thus, 7/, as Origen falt!i, the Soul for Sin zvas united to the Bodx, 9r»to ■>'//.« orav'v Z fji,'}, y,v fj.ri^c7roj, hozu did they fin by that which yet was not. Anfwer. (w) JLven as the wills of all men fiimed iji Adatn when as yet they were not ? And becaufe Ofigen a! tempted to prove his do6lrine from thofe words of the Apofilt, I am carnal, fold under fn. He afks him how he could reconcile his fenie of thefe words xoith tfte libeity of the will ? l^' -/ifx^v f/up K'xl TO TTiiSV'^cd y.sXToci, KC!i TO fj.'h 7ri'7Gc'cra( , fxj for it l'(S 2H ear power to hehev: or not ; hdf 'hiJ^y, it is in our power to a- mend our all ions or to fa : 69' vV-^v, we are fret to do ^i^ood or (u) f^eiftioii 3. (m ) Apiid Eo'uli. lljer. 64. n. a, (%v ) N. 40.— 286 Freedom of the Will of Man, evil ; for that which hath not s^siylacv at/ro^gWorov, (^yj a Jelf co7nmandi7ig power of choojtng what courfe of life it would lead, (W 'i^'ius vt rifj^ri^Y) ri \}/s5^6^, fo that it may he honored or blamed Jor what is properly its own, muji necffarily he ex- empted from all fault, o^dly. He adds, that according to the dodrine oj Origen, neither foul nor body could he judged ; for if the foul, faith he, he placed bfore the judgment feat, it wilt plead that fn proceedeth not from me, a.>X d.'n inHw tS (pQocprH.xa.1 ynivH adufMy.ros, but from that corruptible and earthly body to which thou didjl unite me ; and f nee I quitted it, I neither whored, nor had any carnal luflings ; and the Body might fay, on hx. lyoj vtixxpTov, akXa. yi ylvyjiy I fined not, hut the foul, for fince that was feparated from me, I have done no evil ; and he concludes that both thefe pleas were made, 6j/X6- yojs, rationally, and yet it is manifeft that all fouls united to bodies fmce the fall of Adam, might plead thus. 2<2'/y. Their fecond argument againft this do£lrine of Ori' gen, is this, that whereas God bleffed man, created male and female, and faid unto them, increafe and multiply. Sec. This do6lrine turns God's bleffing into a curfe, ^zj Jam enim non erit benediflio fed malediftio fecunduni Origenem ; for, ac- cording to Origen's doilrine, it will not be a bleffing, but a curfe, faith Epiphanius ; Jor how, faith Theophilus of Alex- andria, is the marriage bed undefled, fi anima vitiis circunda- tur, if by it the foul is furroimded 7vith vice ? Then Mofes finned in praying that God would multiply the feed oj Ifrael^ and make them a thoufand times more ; feeing this was to pf^y, ut aniraarum Catervas in Ccelo peccantes Ifraelitici populi gentem conderent, that the nation of the Jews fiould he made up of fouls that had finned in heaven, and that they TiVight increafe, animarum ruinis, by the ruin of fouls ; where- as he ought rather to have prayed, ne propter vitia mclloris fub- iiantia?, vilior natura conderetur, out oJ regard to the corrup- tion enfuiMg to the better part that the viler body might not be produced. Yea, why, faith he, dpth David pray thus, the Lord hkfs thee out of Zion, that thou mayef fee thy childrens chil- dren, S'l animarum ja£lura jufli viri augeiur genus, if the cf spring of the jufl were to be increafed by the lofs of fouls f Or why doth God Jay by his prophet, if thou hadf hearkened to ' my precepts, thy feedfliould have been as the Jand, and as the dufl of the earth ? For they who obferve God's precepts, Non flebent accipere prsemiiim animarum ruinas de Ccelo quae al- iigata corporibus foboiis corum incrementum multiplicent, ought not to receive as their rezuard, the ruin of Jouls to in- fy} N. 55, (z.) ApiiQ liieron. To. 2. Ep. ad Job. Hierof. F. i', Lii. !■". Freedom of the Will of Man* 2^7 tnafe their off spring. AnA zga\n, were this fo, increafe and multiply zuould be no blejfing to Adam and Eve, Cum caufa peccati maleditHonem potius mereretur, Jtnce that which is the caufe of Jin ought rather to be deemed a curfe. And if thefe things befo, why doth St. '?^\^\fay, I will that the young women marry, and breed children ; for then they mufl do this^ not for the order of generation, fed propter pcenas animarum, but for the punifJiment of fouls ; which far be it from us to Relieve. Si enim propter peccata in Ccelis praecedentia, ad terras miffae funtaniraae, ut corporibus ligarentur, /cjr if foul i were fent from heaven to be united to bodies Jor their preced- ing fins, Paul lied when he f aid marriage is honorable, and the bed undefled ; nor can the fame thing be a bcnediElion, and a pumfhment. Now the fin of Adam being the caufe of all the fins of his pofterity, and they having all fouls fent pure from heaven into thofe bodies, by the fole union to which they in- ftantly become finful and corrupted, and moflly lie under a necefhty of doing evil to their inevitable ruin, it may with much more truth and certainty be faid, that fuch a generation turns God's bleffing into a curfe, endangers fouls, and increaf- eth pofterity by the lofs and ruin of them. Cyril, the fucceffor of Theophilus, in his^^^, and alfo in his attempts a- gain ft this do£irine of Origen, declares in his commentary on thofe words of St. John, (z) this is the true ligh*. \fl. That according to his opinion, it would be unjuft in God to require of the foul thus united to the body, that it fhould not fin, it being thereby placed, ev ^okuazi x/xapriocs, iw the defilement of fin ; which is more fadly the cafe of the pof- terity of Adam, lying under a neceflity to do evil. idly. That (a) then God promfing to Abraham that Ms feed fhould be multiplied as the Jlars of heaven, promifed him only an ignoble rout of damned perfons, and alien from all virtue (as by thefe men the generality of the feed of Adavi are fuppofed to be) xai ny) i^aXKov luXoyias /xiroj^ov airipiJM, and not rather a feed partaking of a blejfing. ^dly. That (bj according to St. Paul, we are only to he pun- ifhed or rewarded Jor what we have done, Jia tb au^aros, by the body) xXK' h^b Trq^a^uTcpov rns yzvicBCJi 'iyxXvifji.a. ^r/rrjSrJueTaj, nor will any fault antecedent to the body, be charged upon it / and therefore not the fin of Adam. ^thly. That (c) St. Paul teacheth that death reigned over them who had not finned after the fimilitude of AAzm'stranfgref- fion : which, faith he, cannot be according to the opinion of Origen (much iefs according to them who fay that we all pcr- (z) P. 79.- (a) P. %i, (h) P. %i,^^(c} P. 84. s88 Freedom of the Will of Man. ■fonally fiiiiied in Adam ;) for then where will they be found who have not thus finned ? gthly. That Chrijl by Jaying concerning tlie blind man, (d) neither hath this m,anfnned, nor his fathers, [aid what is to he interpreted oj the lime preceding their nativity, xaS' ov htioj VsyovoTcj- «§i '/,;xscpravov, when being not yet born, they had not finned ; itus y-xp v) fjurt u(^i<^w'Jt y.al a.(j.c/.pr£Tv 'TiSuv^cto ^ jor how can the foul fin that did not ex'ijl ? (Add, or that foul which had nu being wher^ Adam finned ?) Moreover they condemn Origeu's opinion concerning the rejurreElion, not of the fame body, on this fcore, fej that it .was unjuji that one body Jinning another JJiould be punified ; .and muft it not be more unjull that one Adam finning all mankind fiiould be punifned 1' Againft his other opinion, (f) St. Jerome thus difputes ; if it be an offence to be born of hu- mane bodies, quornodo Ifaac, Sampfon ct Joha«^nes Baptifta de rcpromifiione nafcuntur, how were Ifaac, Samp/on and John the Baptifl born by promife ? And it it be no offence to be thus born, it can be no offence to be born ol lapfed Adam; it the caufe ot vice and virtue be not, as he faith, fgj in the fed, but in the will of him that is born. If he could not fin by the body, as Methodius faiih, who yet was not ; neither could men lin by the foul which yet was not. If, as he faith, they v/ho a6l intemperatejy cannot be worthy of reprehcnfion by a juft judge, a^ujarcus l-^na'fis 'C'ftS (JxpyCos v'TTorxaazaBxi r'2 vopLW tS 6c?, if the fefi could not be Juhjeci to the divine law, nei- ther can the fons of Adam, lying under the fame difability by xeafon of the flelh, be fubje6l to reprehenfion. In a word, (h) Epcphamus truly blames Origen am^ John oi Jen falem, tor fay- ing that the image and Jimiiitude of God was lof in man after the expulfion of AAmii out oJ paradfe ; and yet according to the do Jirinc of thefe men this muft be a moll certain article of iai:h. Section IV. — Nov/ be it fo that St. Aufin, to defend himfelfagainil himfelf, renounced in his difi^ourfes againft the Pelagians moll ot thofe things which he had faid in contu- tation of the Manichees ; yet feeing the things he had then faiJ were evidently the voice ol nature and by his own conteffion the voice of every man's covjcience, and that which learned and unlearned .poets and or ator s and civilians , heathens and chrftians did unanimoufly own ; feeing the chrfi an father svf ho lived be- fore him, in histime,andafterhim, and equalled or much excell- ed him inlcarningandjudgn;cnt, faid conilantly the fame things, ('d)\h\d. fe) I-Iieron. a-J Pair. Ton:. 2. h 62. R. ^///H'seron. ad Ran. Tom, z. t 61. K, fgJ Ibid. /Z-y Apud Hierou. Tom. 2 t. SI, 5S, y). Freedom of the Will of Man. 289 ^nd never thought fit to renounce one tittle of any thing they had thus faid, or ever excepted, as he did afterwards, the cafe of inf ants, o^c original Jin ; it is manitell that his innovations and difcord from his former, and better felf in this manner, ought not to be regarded in oppofition to the conftant fenfe, and the concurring judgment ot all ihtit fathers ot the church ; efpe- cially if we confider, if. That he hath been able to fay nothing in anfwer to fome of the arguments produced by him in confutation of the Man- ichees, viz. (ijl-j 1"^ the arguments taken from the divine precepts, the Mojaical precepts, do this and do not that, being given to fallen man, and therefore if it be, as he {ii\.h,folly and injufice to lay them upon him who hath no power to do what is commanded or omit what is forbidden, it cannot confi ft with divine equity, to lay thefe precepts upon fallen man, had he no power of himfelt, and no alFurance oi divine alTiftance to ena- ble him to do them. Such, 2dly, is his argument taken from the duty of repentance ; for if that tellifies that the penitent hath done ill lohai he might have done well, when was it that the pollerity ol Adam might have done well before they were his pofterity ? But then they were not ; if after, then if they contra6ted the guilt oS. original fin, they had done ill, when they were not able to do well. 2 n, But a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. He that defpiftd Mqjes's law died without mercy. Sec. Of how much forer piinifliment fuppofe ye then Jliall he be thought worthy, who had trodden underfoot the Son oj God, and hath accounted the blood of the (new) covenant, zvherewith he was fantlified, an unholy thing, and hath done defpite to the fpirit of Grace? For, ifl. That the apofile fpeaks of tl.em who had received the remilFion ot their pad fins by faith in the blood of the New Teftament fhed for the remifTion of fins, and fo of them who had true j unifying faith, is evident from thefe words, that they were fanclified by his blood; for to be fanclified throughout this whole epifile, and more alTuredly to be fandified with the blood of Chryl, hath ftill relation to our juftification, or the remilTion oi our fins procured by the blood of Chrifl, and not to the inward fan61ification of our nature by the fpirit of Chrift ; fo, v. g. that Chrift was confecrated to his office of a prieft.to make atonement forourfinsbyhis fufferings, ih&apofile proves, Chap. ii. 11. becaufe h a.yid'^uv, he that purgeth away the guilt contrafted by our nature, and ol ayia^o/asvoi, they who are cleanfcd from it, are one in nature ; fee the note there. So Chap. ix. 13. the blood of hulls and goats, u.-/%Cci, fanBi- Jies to the purifying of the flejii, i. e. to the cleanfing from le- gal defilements. So Chap. x. 10. rr/iccjixivoi sfffxh, we are JanElfied or purged from the guilt of fin by the body, or, as fbme copies read, by the blood of Chrifl offered once for all ; and Ver. 15. by one offering he hath perjeBed J or ever them that are fanBfied : i. e. hath entirely purged them from the guilt of fin ; and Chap. xiii. 12. wherefore Jcf'us, that he might janBify the people with his own blood, Jujffered without the camp; where both the blood fanttifying, and ro rcspl uixaprl' as, the /acrifice for fin to which itanfwers; Vcr, 11. fhew that Chrill fanftlfied the people by the oblation of himfelf as a fin offering to cleanfe them from the guilt of fin. 2dlv. That they who fo fiuned tliat there remained no more facrificejor their fin, but only a fta^jul looking for oJ judg- (n) ritb. X, iC 29. 300 Perfeverance of Saints. mtnt andjiery indignation, and fo as to do defpite to thefpirif of Grace, by rejcfcting him as a lying fpirit, and his gifts and miracles as illufions, and fo were guilty of the fin againft the Holy Ghoft, fell totailv and finally, is fo exceeding evident, that 1 know none who ever ventured to deny it. Section IV. — Argument 4. — ^thly. This is ftill farther evident from the following words of the fame chapter, Ver, 38. nozu the jufl fliall live by faith, v.ou lat vrso<^i[\r,x(t\., but if he draw back, my foulfiall have no pleafure in him. Wher^ obferve, iji. That the word lVos-sXXeiv fignlfies to draw back, refufe, and fly from a thing ; and fo the objeft of it being here faith, inuft fignify the drawing back of the perfon fpoken of from the faith, or retufing ftill to profefs it, and fo, as it here fol- lows, muft be his drawing back unto perdition ; and becaufe this is done ufually as here, Ver. 33, 34, out of fear of perfe- cutions. and want of patience to bear them, Ver. 36. Hence it is joined with fear ; as Gal. ii. 12. Peter v7ii<^£XXsv savro-^, withdrew himJeiJ fearing the circumcijion, and often fignifies fear, as Deut. i. 17. i/.'h oc^o'iBiXY), thou fhalt not be ajraid oj the face of man : and becaufe men's cowardly fears make them to hide and conceal their profefTion, to diffemble and play the hypocrite ; hence it alfo figtiifies, to (oJ conceal and hide ; and by Hejychius and Suidas, is rendered vzsoxpivsrxi, ^oXisue- Toci, he plays the hypocrite, and deals deceitfully ; all which, iu things which do refpeft our God and our religion, are perni- cious to the foul ; efpecially if we confider that he that draw- eth back {lands oppofed to him that beheveth, Ver. 59. and here to him that liveth by faith, and therefore can have none, or only a dead taith ; and laftly, that God here folcmnly de- clares \ns Jo ulf tall have no plcajure in him, and then he muft ilill lie under his fad difpleafure. Note, ^dly. That lav vuso^ziXrirai, if he draws (^<^f/(', refers plainly to the ju/l man who lives by his faith ; and in the prophet, to him who is with iaiih and patience to wait tor the accomplifti- rnent of the vifion ; and Yar. '^(^. hvzjo<^n\d!J.i\os,i\\Q draw^ back ftands oppofed to him that believes to the jalvation of his fuul; the words do therefore plainly fuppo.f'e, that the jifi man who liveth by that faith, in which ii heperfilled he would fave his foul, may draw back to perdition; and this is alfo evident from the cnfuing words, my Joiilf tall have no pleafure in him; for they do plainly intimate that God took pleafure in him before his drawing back ; for othcrwife this threat would fignify nothing, the Lord taking pleafure only in jult men, and Inch as live by faith. Note, (oJ Sec Suicerus in Verbo, Perfcverance of Saints. 301 gi/y. That jtal tav, may be rendered not hyp'othetlcally, and if, hut, and zohen the jiijl jnan draioelk back; for that this is a very common lenfe ot the particle, tiv, lee note on Mcb. iii. 15. But if we read the words Tiypothetically, the luppo- fition cannot be of a thing impoflible, for then God riiufl be fuppofed to fpeak thus y if the juft n;an do that which 1 know it is impoflible for him to do, and which 1 am obliged by- prom ife to preferve him from doing, my foul fliall have no pleafure in him. Which is to make God ferioufly to threaten men for fuch a fin of which they are not capable, and of which they are obhged to believe they are not capable, if they be o- bliged to believe the doftrine of pcrfeverance, and fo to make his threatenings of none effe6f. Section V. — Argument 5. — ^thly. This may be flrongly argued from thefe words of the apoft le Peter, (aj they allure through the lujls of the fl>'Jli, through much wantonnejs, (or to lafcivioufnefs) thofe who loere clean efcuped Jrotn them that live in error ; for if af^r they have cfcaped the pollutions oj the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jefus Chrifl, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the lat- ter end is worfe zuith them than the beginning ; for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteoufnefs, than after they have known it to turn from the holy command- ment delivered to them. But it is happened to the?n according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the fow that was zvajjied' to her wallowing in the mire. Where note, i/l. That the apoflle fpeaks in the beginning of this chapter of iome who fhould bring in damnable her ejus, i. e. herefies which they who embraced (hould receive damnation ; and thefe men, faith he, k(j.z;opcvaovrcci, (b) fliall make merchandize of, or gain over to thefe damnable herefies (c) fome of you, \vho have received Hie precious faith with us. And here he proceeds to fhew how they fliould do it, viz. by tempting them to filthy lufts; they therefore who were thus allured, mufl have once had like precious faith with the apofles, and therefore muft have been good chnflians. Note, 2dly. Tliat thefe perfons whom they thus allured to un- cleannefs, had once.ovr^s-, truly and really efcaped from thofe who lived, sv roXavr), in error, not of judgment, but of deceit- ful lufts ; for fo this, i^Xavy/, error, is expounded in (he epif- tle by St. Peter, when he faith, fdj beware lefi being led aivay, jBTYt ruv d^B'yi/.cov zsXoivri, by the deceit of men, prafctiling thele un- natural lufts, ^^ fall from your ownfledfajlnefs; plainly fup- fa) 2 Pet. ii. 18, 20, 21, 22. (h) Ver. 3. (c) Chap. i. i. (.d) Chap. iii. J7. 30i Perfev^rance of Saints. pofing that even lledfafl chrijlians might thus fall. Now they who ha^ thus efcaped, were not any longer in bondage to fin, or overcome by it, Ver. 19. which yet, faith St. Paul^ Rom, vii. 19, 23. is the Itate of every unregcnerate perfon. See the note there. 3iiCTiON VI. — Argument 6. All the forementioned texts fecmdiretllv to alTert i'ais may be done. 1 proceed fecondly to thofe fcriptures which feem as plainly to aflert it hath been done, and therefore may be done again. Now of this we have, an inftance, •ijl. In Hymenceus and Alexander, and their affociates ; v/hich St. Paul, introduceth with a charge to Timothy to hold (i. e. retain) faith and a good confcience, which fame having put azuay concerning faith have madefiipivreck; oJ whom zJf Hymenasus and l^hiletus. Now to put away a good con- fcicnce, belongs to them alone who once had and ought to have (e) Tit. i. I. (f) 2 Tim. iii. 7. —^(g) 2 Tim. ii. -5, 26. Perfeverance of Saints, 303 retained It, and to made Jhipzureck of the faith, (o as to bla/~ pheme that doftrine which they once profefled, is furely to fall ofF from the profeflion of it. Lafly. The faith and that good confciene he charges Txmothy to retain, is doubtlefs a fincere faith, and a good confcience, that fhj unfeigned J aitk^ and that good confcience he then had; by faying therefore that others had laid afide both thefe, he, in effeft, declares that they were totally fallen away, which is fufficient confu- tation ot all their arguments produced Uomfcnpture for the doflrine of perfeverance ; which if they prove any thing, they prove that irxxe Jiiints cannot fall totally, nor can it reafonably be thought that when fo many do thus fall away, all ot thera ihould return by a fincere repentance. A fecond inilance is that of Hymenaus and Philetus, who, faith the apojiie, fij have er^cd Jrom the truth [rr.zp\ rr,v dK'/i' 9£ia.v IsoxTi^ocv have fallen off jrom the truth) and overthrown the faith oj fo?ne, fkj (fo ■zoe/ji z^/ftv ol<;o'//iv., i Tim. vi. 2i. is to fall away from the faith, and is another inftance of this na- ture ;) for feeing chrifiians believe to the falvation of their fouls, Heb. X. 39. and the end of their faith, is ih^ J alvati on of their fouls, 1 Pet. i. 9. they who do overthrow their faith mufl overthrow that in them which had it continued, would have ended in their falvation. ^dly. We have juft reafon to fufpefk this of many Judai- zers in the church of Galatia ,* for as the apoflle declares, that they had (I) received the fpirit through the hearing of faith : that they were all made (m) the fons of God by faith in Chrifl Jefus, and by baptifm had put on Chriji, and that (nj becaufe they were fonSy Godhad fent the fpirit of his fon into their hearts, crying Abba Father ; that they once {oJ ran well : fo doth he marvel that they were (p) fo foon removed from hiin that called them in the grace of Chrifl to another gofpel, by which Chrif's gofpel was perverted. He inquires, (q) Who had bewitched them that they fhould not obey the truth ? And how it was frj that after they had known, or rather were known of God, they returned again to the beggarly elements of the world to which they defred to be in bondage ; declaring that he was ffj afraid of them lejl he had beflowed upon them labor in vain ; and that he (tj travailed in birtk with them to renew in them that Jaith from which they were (h) 2 Tim. i.^. (i) 2 Tim. ii. i8. (k) So, f*i clt'q-^h yv\)onv.oc, ffocj aya6^?, (depart not from a wife and good wife, and ^ro^^eTv i\Tri^(^ s^ t5 v^ochK^ivl®', is to fall from our hopes and cxpe(5tations, Oecum. in locum. fiJ Chap lii. 2, 5. fmj Ver. 26. 27. fn) Chap. iv. 6. foj Chap. V. 7. CpJ Chap. i. 6. 7. fqj Chap. iii. i. frJ Chap, iv, •9. (fj Ver. It. ftj Ver. 19. 304 Ptrftverancz of Saints, fallen, and to fu) fcrrn Chrijl in them ; that they now did not obey the truth. And feeing they now defired to be cir- cumcifed, and to be under the law, he plainly tells them that CwJ if they were circumcifed Chrijl Jliould profit them hoth^ trig ; that he was become of none ejfcS to as many of them as fought for jiiflification by the works of the law, they heingfalleli from grace, and therefore muft have been formerly in a ftate of grace. It is therefore evident that the apoflle believed that they who had begun in the fpirit might end in the fleJJi ; that they who were made the fons of God by faith in Chriji Jefus, might be fo changed that Chrifl fiould profit them nothings and be of none effcd to them, and that they who were once known oj God, might fall from his grace and favor. To this head alfo are to be referred the prediftions of the fcripture concerning perfons who fliould fall away ; for be- ing divine predi6^ions they muft come to pafs, and being pre- difclions of things which were to happen long before our times they muft be alio inftances of what hath come to pafs. Now fuch are, 17?. Chrift's declaration that by reafon of the extreme af- fliftion of the times, in which Jerufalcin was to be deftroyed, many fliould be offended ; i. e. fhould fall off from the faith : And that becauje iniquity fall abound, the love of many fhall •wax cold : but he that endures to the end fall be faved. Mat. xxiv. 12, 13. Where that Chrift fpeaks not of an hypocrit- ical outward profefTion of affeftion to him, may be gathered from his ftyling it not pretence, but love ; his fuppofition that it was fervent love; for what was never hot cannot max cold; yea fuch love in which had they continued they would cer- tainly have been faved ; and yet he doth not only intimate that fome would not continue in that love to the end, biit plainly doth foretell that it in many would wax cold. ^dly. As our Lord here foretold that there fhould be then an apofafy of the believers of the Jewfi nation ; fo alfo did St. Paul fpeak of the fame apoflafy, as a thing that was to happen before the coming of the man of fn, 2 Theff, ii. 3. adding, that the fpirit faid exprefsly that ?/? the latter tiynei, (the times then inftant, Ver. 6.) J07ne fiould depart froin the faith. Now to prevent this apojlafy of the believing Jews, the epiftle to the liebrczvs was manifeftly_ written. And as the excellent Dr. Barrow ufed to fay, that it was written againll the doftrine of perfeverance ; fo is it certain that it contain- eth many cogent arguments againft that doftrine, bcfidcs tjicfe three produced already from it. As will be evident, (if) Chap. 5. 7. f^vj Ver. 2. Perfeverance of Saints, 305 iji. From the manifold exhortations, to hold fajl their hope, which gave them ground of rejoicing. Chap. iii. i6. To hold Jajl their confidence Jledfafi to the end, Ver. 14. To hold fajl their prof ejjion. Chap. iv. 14. To hold fajl the pro- fejjion oj their faith without wavering. Chap. x. 23. To re^ tain grace whereby to ferve God acceptably. Chap. xii. 28. To labor to enter into the rejl prepared Jor the people of God, lefi any of them (who believing had aprefent right to it. Chap. iv. 3. as the Jews had to enter into the land of Canaan, whilft they believed in God, and believed his fervant Mofes, Exod. xiv. ^x.)Jhould fall Jr 0771 it after the fame example of unbelief ^ Chap. iv. 11. they being excluded from entering into that land by their following unbelief, Numb. xiv. 11. Chap. iii. 19. To fliew the fame diligence to the full ajfurance of hope to the end, and to be followers of them zuho through Jaith and patience did inherit the promifes. Chap. vi. 11, 12. To con- Jider him who endured fuch contradiBion of f inner s, lefl they be wearied, and faint in their minds ; to lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, and to 7nake fraight paths for their feet, left that which is lame be turned out of the luay, Ver. 12, 13. Where we have four agoniflical terms, all im- porting fainting in our chriflian warfare or race, and giving over the fight as being able to hold out no longer ; for xa/xveji/ is to give over the fight as being weary ; IvXviVi is to faint and be dilpirited, fo that we can run or fight no longer ; to have, ta.s OT«/;£i/x£vaj yjKfas, hands hanging down is to give over the combat, they ftretching out their hands ; and to have, ydvar* ra. zsafa.'k€Kvii,i))OL, knees languiihing, or paralytic knees, im- ports the fame thing ; they fighting in the Oly7npic games, of)^oToclrf)i,Jlanding upi'ight, and to make ftraight paths, is not to turn out of the way of chrifianity for fear of perfecution, and by our example to teach the infirm chrijlian fo to do. See the notes there. 2dly. From his frequent cautions to them who believed, to beware lefl there fiould be in them an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God ; or lefi any oJ them fiould be hardened through the deceitfulncfs of fn. Chap. iii. n, 12. To look diligently to it lejl any of them fiould fall fr07n the. grace oj God, lef any root of biitcrnefs fiould fpring up a- mong them by which many fiould be defied ; lef there fiould be among them any fornicator or profane perfon as Efau, who for one niefs qj pottage fold his birthright ; and, to fee to it, that they did not, d-sso^fi(^£iv, turn away fro7n him that jpake from heaven. o^dly. From his promifes to them that perfevered, as in thefe words, caf not away your confidence which hath great reco7npenfe of rexoard,for you have need of patience ^ that hav- 3o6 Perfeverance of Sainh, ing done the will of God, you may inherit the promifes. Chap, ^thly. From his declarations that they only belonged to the houfehold of Chri/i, if they hold f aft their confidence and re- joicing of hope firm to the end. Chap. iii. 6. and could be on- ly made partakers of the bleffings Chrift had purchafcd for them, by holding the beginning of their confidence fiedfaft to the end. Ver. 14. ^thly. From the dreadful threats he pronounces againft thofe who fell away, and drew back to perdition, after they had repented, lived by faith, and been juftfied through faith in the blood of the nezo covenant, viz. that it was impqjjible to renexu them to repentance ; that there remained no more fac- rifice Jor their fin, and that God would have no farther pleajure in them. Now, for confirmation of this argument, ©bferve, iji. That the apofile here fpeaks o( true believers, even of fuch who had a prefent right to enter into refi. Chap. iv. 3. who at prefent rejoiced in hope, Chap, iii. 6. and had fuch an expeftation of future bleflings, which if they held faft they would \it partakers ofChryl, Vcr. 14. That they had free- dom of accefs into the holy of holies through the blood of Je- fns. Chap. x. 19. had their hearts fprinkled Jrom an evil con- fcience, and their bodies wafiicd with pure water, Ver. 22, 23. and a chrifiian hope, Ver. 24. end knew they had in heaven a better, and a more enduring fubfiance than that which ihey had loft on earth, Ver. 34. and would receive the promije, and a great recompenfe of reward, if they did not cajl away their ^confidence, hnt patiently continued m well doing, Vgv. 35, 36. that they were come to that Jerufalem which is above, and to the afiembly of thefirft born, zohoje names were written in heav- en. Chap. xii. 22, 23. and fo undoubtedly were once true converts and found believers. And yet, Q.dly. It is alfo evident that the apofile fuppofes that they might not retain this hope, or hold this Q)^-^Q^idX\ov\ fiedjafi t» the end. Chap, iii. 6, 14. that they might Jail of the reft pre- pared Jor the people of God, as the Jews did through unbelief, Chap. iv. 11. that they might depart from the living Go d^ Chap. iii. 12. that they might decline from their hope. Chap. X. 23. and cafl away their confidence, Ver. 35, that they might faint under and give over the chrflian combat. Chap. xii. 3. might let their hands hang dozon, and their knees be Jeebte, Ver. 11. that they might be defiled, and fall from grace ; that they might become fornicators, and profane perjons, as EJau loas, and lo might lofe their fpiritual birthright, Ver. 16, 17. And, laftly, that they might turn away from him Perfeverance of Saints. 307 titho fpakt from heaven to thejn, Ver. P5. and fo unqueflion- ably might tall away both totally and finally. Section VII. — Argument 3. A third head of arguments againlt this doctrine is to this efleft, that all the commands and exhortations dire6led by God to the faithful to perfcverc in well doing, and to continue faithful to the end ; and to fear left they fhould tall away ; all cautions diretied to thcrn to take heed they do not do fo ; all places which contain a fuppofiiion that they may do fo, and which fufpend our tu- ture happinefs on this condition that we continue fedjafl to the end, and promife falvation upon fo doing, and which pro- nounce the raoft dreadful and abiding threats to them who do not fo, are fo many pregnant evidences of the poffibility of doing fo, and are plain indications, that God hath made no abfolute decree, or promife, that good men fliall not do fo ; for, as when thefe motives are ufed to induce men to embrace chrijtianity, or perform any other chrijiian duty, they contain an evidence that it is poffible for men to do otherwife ; fo al- fo when they are ufed to induce men to perfevere in that pro- ieflion which they have undertaken, they muft neccffarily, for the fame reafon, contain an evidence that it is pofTible lor any man who is induced by them to perfevere in the courfe of a chrijl-ian^ not to perfevere. For whereas fome think fit loan- fwer that thefe commands and exhortations, thefe cautions, promifes and threats diretled to true believers, are well con- fiftent with God's abfolute decree and promife of their perfe- verance, as being the means appointed for the accomplifliment of that which he hath made neceffary by his decree and prom- ife; the falfiiood of this anfwer, fhall be fully dete61ed under all thefe heads. At prefent let it only be obferved, \]l. That this is the fentiment of all mankind ; for how much foever they vary in oilier things, they all agree in tliis, not to exhort men to what they know they never can refufe to do ; not to fear they fiiould neglecl fuch things, not to ter- ify them by threats from negIc6Hng, or allure them by prom- ifes to perform them ; on the contrary they generally agree; that as a promife, fo a threat of whatl know to be impoffiblc, is as none at all ; that (a) theje is no need ot exhortations to incite men to what they certainly will do. That a promilc muft be of fome thing which at prefent is uncertain, and fuf- pended on a condition which may not be performed ; and that a command or law obliging us to will and do, muft fup^iol*^ in us a freedom not to will, or to conftnt to that v.hich is re- (a) Siipcrvacaneiim eft enim, in tjuori imrs, impelli ; rei-no in amo- rem ("ui cohortandus eft, qucm, dum jwicitur, trahi;. Sen, dc Bca^ i. 3o8 Perfemrance of Saints, quired ; for he only wills, fay the (bj Civilians, and confents, who hath it in his power to be unwilling and diflent. 2.dly. Obferve that God himfeli approves of this deport- ment ; for though the eleB angels are yet under the law of love and obedience, yet are they not exhorted to that obedience, they have no promifes to move them to it, nor are they threat- ened with God's difpleafure if they negle6l to do it, becaufe, being confirmed in their blefled ftate, they cannot fail of do- ing it. Again, our bleffed Lord, as he was a prophet, fpake as his father gave him commandment, for fo all legats mull do; as he was a priejl he became obedient to the death ; but I know of no exhortations direfted to him to perform faithfully the office oidi prieji or prophet ; no threats, fhould he neglecl to do fo ; no promifes to encourage him to do that duty of which he could not fail, but only a declaration of that glory which would fucceed his fufferings. Laftly, we find no ex- hortations dire£led to the evil angels not to tempt God's fer- vants, not to be adverfaries to Chrijl's kingdom ; no threats denounced upon their doing fo, but only a declaration of their prefent ftate, and of their future doom. Now feeing the ele£l on earth, according to this do6lrine, can no more fail of perfe- verance to the end, than the eleft angels, feeing they can no iTiore finally negleft, or be unfaithful in the ufe of the means which will unfruftrably produce that perfeverance, than Chriji could fail of faithfully difcharging his prophetic and his priejl^ ly office, how is it the divine wifdom lees it meet to ply us on earth continually with thofe exhortations, threats and promif- es which he faw needlefs in the cafe, andinconfiftent with the ftate of the eleft angels and our blejfed Lord ? Have we not reafon to conceive it is becaufe we have a liberty ad utrumque. which they had not, and are at prefent in a ftate of trial, wheth- er we will ftand or fall, whereas they both were under no fuch poffibility of failing in their duty ? And, gaf/y. This is evident from the nature of thefe things, for whatfoever is a means for the producing an eff'eft, or the bring- ing it to pafs, muft contain in it nothing repugnant to, but only fubordinate to that end ; but fuch exhortations as thefe, fcj hold f aft your prof cjjion without wavering ; (d) hold tilt I come, that no man take away thy crown ; (e) look diligently that you fall not from the. grace oj God, (fj Itfi being led away by the error of the wicked you fall from your own fiedfafl- nefs, &c. do in their proper nature and tendency import adau- (b) Ejus eft velle qui potefi: nolle. Ulplan ie Reg. Jur. Leg. 3. Con- fentire non potert cum ncc diirentire pollit. Tryphon. I. in Bello. S. Me- dio D. de Capii keep themfelves in the love oj God, Jud. xxi. to look dilligently to it that they fall not from the grace and favor of God, Hcb. xii. 15. and to continue in the grace of God, A6^s xiii. 43. 2dly. I anfwer that the apoftle doth not fay that nothing can feparate true believers from the love of God or Chrifl; ; but only declares his perfuaflon that nothing would do it, or that they had no caufe to fear thefe things, or to be fliaken from their ftedfaftnefs in expe£lation of thofe ineftimable bleflings God had promifed to, and Clinjl had purchafed for them, by any of thefe tribulations, thefe light ajflitlions being not zuor- tky to be compared with the glory that fhall be revealed, Ver. 18. And they having good ground to hope that all the evils they fliall bear fliall conduce to their good, that Chrifl will ftill be ready to fupport them under them by his power, and to help their infirmities by his fpirit, and at laft; give them the glory prepared for the fons oi God ; he might well perfuade himfelf they fliould not feparate them from the love of God. The apoJlle therefore doth not by thefe words intend to teach believers that they could not be fliaken by any of thefe things ; for that would have contradicted the drift of all his epiflUs, in which he doth fv oft exprefs his fears left they fliguld be fliak- Tt 330 Pcrfe'verancc cf Saints, en wiih them, and fo far tempted by them as to he moved away from the hope of the gofpel, and render all his labor vain, and offers fo many arguments and motives to prevent this effeft of thele temptations ; but only doth intend to fay, that from thefe confiderations, they had fo great inducements to perfe- vei-e and continue fledfaft in the love of God, as gave him a ilrOng ground ot perfuafion that they would do fo. Section V. — Objedwn g. If true believers have that fpirit of God who Jeals the/n up to the day of redemption^ Kph. iv. 30. and is the earneji ?« their hearts of the inherit- ance oj If e, 2 Cor. i.2i, 22. Eph. i. 13. then all who are once tlie fons of God, and therefore have the fpirit of God dwelling in them, muft be alfured that they fhall enjoy this in- heritance ; but true believers have this fpirit of God ; for be" cauje ihey are fons, God hathjent the f pint ofhisfon into their heatts. Gal, iv. 6. Anjwer 1. That thefe Metaphors neither do, nor can fignify that ihey who have once the fpirit can never lofe him, or caufc him to depart from them, is evident from thefe confidera- tions. \fl. That they who have been the temples of God, by virtue of his fpirit dwelling in them, may fo corrupt this temple as to be themfcives deiiroyed as is demonftrable from thefe words ot St. Paul to xXiQ. Corinthians, (b) know ye not that ye are the temple cj God, and that the fpirit oJ God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God, him will God defiroy : Jor the temple of the Lord is holy, luhich temple ye are. See the note there. He adds, that they whofe bodies are (c) the members of Chrifl, and who are one fpirit with him, may make thefe bodies the member of an Harlot, and may defile that body with fornication, which is the temple of the Holy Ghojl, and fo may deprive themfelves of their intereft in Chrijl's king- dom ; for fdj no fornicator fall inherit the kingdom oj God, So certain is that of Hilary, that membra adhierentia meretri- ci, definunt effe membra Chrifli, they who are guilty of forni- cation, ceafe to be the members of Chrijl, and fo agreeable to all (e) antiquity, who generally teach that God dwelling in us by his fpirit may be provoked to quit his habitation ; and that he whofe body is the temple of the Lord by virtue of h.\s fpirit (h) X Cor. iii. 16, 17. (c) Chap. vi. 15, 19. (d) Ver. 9. 19. ( e ) Cum oirtnes Templum liiDus Dei, illato in nos et confecrato Spi- ritu feanCto, ejus TempH ccditua et ^ntiftita pudicitia efi, qvuc nihil im- imiiiduni, nee profanum intern Unat, ne Deus ille qui inhabitat in- quinatam feJeni otfenkis derelinquat. Tertul. de cultu feetn. 1. 2. c. 1. C-Treidv ay»©- ej-'I' b fizo? ctyioii 'iy(uy tov icotxti'Ta. a bvyokiui eitoci a TTOfi©' nuuf 9e». Oecum. inlocufn. Tojy«^S» 6 tj-o^^©' a^^voiai eu«« uy,'^ £7r«J>; t» i/aof tlixi KituKtvu 6|o»x»^ei1'^ Ttf »yia,t,Qv'\'^ Civllt Tint'iAiiloi, Theoph. if% Perfcverance of Saints. 331 dwelling in him, may defile that temple to his own ruin, and caufe the holy J'pirit to depart from it. And, idly. This is farther evident from the ahojllc's fears that Sdtaji might fo far have tempted his Thejfalontann as to render /^/^ all his labor vain among them ; tor he acknowl- edges that thefe Thejfalonians had (g) received the zvord zvkh much ajfliftion, and yet zvith the joy oj the Holy Ghojl ; \.\v^x ihey received it tiot in zi'ord only, hut in pozoer, and in the Holy Ghojl, and in vuich aj'urance ; that they had (liewed fhj the zuork of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope m Chrijl Jefus, and were the ele& of God in whom the zuord wrought effeflually. They therefore had affuredly received the Ipirit of God, and yet he fears they might {o fall away as to render his labor among them vain, and therefore lo as to caufe this holy [pint to depart from them. And, o^dly. This is farther evident from the exhortations in thefe epytles, direOed to thofe men who are faid to have this foal, and earnelt of the holy fpirit ; for to the Corinthians thus fealed the apojlle fends this exhortation, (ij I bejeech you that you do not receive the grace oj God in vain, plainly fuppohng that this might be done : He adds, that he was (j) jealous over them, le/l having efpovfcd them to one hufband, Chriji, their minds fhould be corrupted from the fimplicity that is in Chrifl : and doth exprefs his fears left he fliould (k) bewail many zvho had fnned already by uncle annefs, fornication and lafcivioufnefs ; i. e. by fins which did corrupt the temple of God, which made the members ot Chrift the members cj an harlot, and excluded them from the kingdom of God and had not repented oJ thofc fins. Again in that epifilc to the Ephcjians, in which the apojlle faith, they \itx S.— — i^#^ Vcr. 9. — ^(jfj Rgm. viji, ^^G P erf ever ance of Saints, V Anfwer 3. The interpretation which many of the ancient fathers give us of thefe words are a demonftration that they believed not the doftrine of the faints perfeverance, for they expound the words thus, he that is born of God, fmneth noty neither can fin, quamdiu renatus eft, tohiljl he is born ofGod^ becaufe he ceafeth to be a child of God when he fins ; and this muft neceflarily be the import of the words if you inter- pret them of living in an habit, or any courfe of fin ; for it is as certain that whilft a man doth fo, he is not born of God, as it is that whilft a tree bringeth forih corrupt fruit, it can- not be a good tree ; and it is as certain that when a man falls back into any habit, or courfe of fin, he ceafeth to be a child of God for the fame reafon. CHAPTER IV. Containing an Anfwer to the Pretended Promifes of the Saints P erf ev trance to the End. JL O thofe now confidered, fome add divers texts from the Old and the New Tejlament, in which they do pretend God hath engaged himfelf by promife abfolute to preferve true chrijiians to the end. The texts produced from the Old TeJ. ta?}ient, are thefe. Section I. — Argument 1. The mountains fiall depart^ and the hills be removed, but my kindnefs fliall not depart from thee, neither fhall the covenant of 7ny peace be removed, I fa. liv. 10. My /pint that is upon thee, and my words which I have put into thy mouth, fhall not depart out of thy viouth, nor out of the mouth of thy feed, nor thy feeds feed, from hence- forth and forever. Chap. lix. 21. They fall be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they 7nay fear me forever. And I will make an everlafling covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will pif-t my fear into their hearts that they fall (may) not depart Jrofn me, Jer. xxxii. Perfeverance of Saints. ggy 38, 39, 40. / J^jV/ betroth thee to me forever, yed I will be. troth thee to me in righteoufnefs, and judgment, and loving Aindnefs, and mercies. Anj'wer. ftjl.j It is exceeding evident that all thefe places fpeak of nations in the general, and not of a few private per- fons among them ; of her who was, when Ifaiak prophefied, as fa J a woman f or Jaken in widowhood, and grieved in fpirit ; and yet had the holy one of Ifrael for her hujhand and her re- deemer ; of Zion and Jacob ; of the (b) children of Ifiael and Jfudah to be gathered out of all countries into their own land : Of them^<:^ who came out of the land of Egypt, who had burnt incenfe to Baalim, and whofe feaft days were new ynoons and fabbaths. Now from this obfervation arife thefe arguments to prove thefe places cannot concern the ele6l only, or their final perfeverance. For (\ft.) If here be any promife of final perfeverance, it mufl be made good to all to whom the promife doth belong, and fo it muft be made good to all who came out of Egypt firft, and afterwards out of the captivity ; to all that dwelt fafely in their own land ; which the whole tenor of the fcrip' tures both of the Old, and the New Tejiament difproves. ^dly. It thefe fpiritual promlfes refpeft the eletl, then the promifes of temporal bleflings being made to the fame perfons, muft refpeft them alfo, and fo they muft all fdj abide fafely in the land of Canaan, and buy there fields for money ; they muft be ft) far from oppreffion, from fear and terror : they muft fj) abound with corn, and wine, and oil; which yet were never looked upon as prorriifes made to the eledl, much lefs as things peculiarly belonging to them. And, '^ly. If thefe promifes belong to theele6t, the feed of thefe eletl, and their feed's feed, mult be eleSled alfo ; for fo the promife runs, Ifa. lix. 17. The promife alfo in Jeremy hfor the good cj their children after them, Jer. xxxii, 39. And this the everlafiing covenant, the covenant of peace which fhall not be removed, feem plainly to require, as it is made to be a covenant refpe£li::g the elcQ, ; whereas it is certain from ex- perience that the feed of the eleEl are often very wicked per- fons, and therefore not eled, but reprobates. Anfwer 2. — 'i.dly. All thefe are only promifes that he would not wholly forfake that nation fo as never to have any farther thoughts of kindnefs to them, he having made an cverlajtinp- covenant with their fathers to be the God oj their feed after them. Gen. xvii. 7. whence the apojlle concludes, that though (a) Chap. liv. 5, 6. f^JJev. xxxii. 32, 37. fcJUol. ii. it, 13. »<. f^J Jer. xxxii. 37, 41 . fgj Ifa. liv. 14 f/J Hof. U, 3a. U u 3g5 Pcrfevtrance of Saints, the Jf:uJS are now broken oflp, tluy Jliall be grafted .again into their own olivetrce, becaufe if the root be holy, Jo are the bran- ch :s, Rom. xi. 16. and adds, that even after their rejeftion they were ftill beloved for the fathers fake, for the gijts and callvigs of God are without repentance^ Ver. 28, 29. They alfa cliieily do concern the time of the Jews general conver- fion to the faith, to which St. Paul plainly reters the words of Ifaiah, Ch. lix. 20. proving there Ihall be fuch a converfion from thofe words, there fiall come a deliverer outof Zion,who jhall turn away iniquity from Jacob. And Si. Johi, Rev. xxi. 23, 25. refers the like words, Ch. Ix. 1, 2, 3. to the fame time. This alfo is the timeot which the (ame prophet fpeaks, Chap. 54. as is evident fromthefe words, / will lay thy flones zoithfair colors, and thy foundations with fapphires ; I will make thy windows of agates , and thy gates of caibuncles, and all thy borders of plcafant flones, as is evident from the like de- fcriptionot the xVfCi; /cTtz/tj/^w, Rev.xxi.and Jb^^zV xiii. 16, 17. xiv-. ^, 6, y. And of the prophecy of Jeremy, the learned and judicious Dr. Galaher fpeaks thus, Note on Jer. xxxii. 40. ■• JFhence may well be gathered, that when this people fhall be brought home to Chrifi, they fliall never jail off from him a- gain ; Ifa. lix. 20, 21. Nor can any other time be probably alfigned when thefe great promifes were accomplifhed ; not the time lollowing their return from their captivity, when fo many ot their princes, rulers and people zoere joined in affinity with the heathens againil God's exprefs law, and could not fland before God by reafon oi their irefpaffes, Ezra ix. when they w'ere \n great affliction and reproach, when they •wtrtfervants, and ethers had dominion over their cattle, and their bodies at pleaf- ure, and they were in great dijlrefs, Neh. ixi 36, 37. For fure- ly then they did not. live in fafcty and far from oppreffon, ■when the priefl defpifed and prophaned the name of the Lord, and offered polluted bread upon his altar, and brought the torn, the lame and the fck for offerings, Mai. i. 6 13. When they departed out oj the way, caufed viany to jlumble at the law, and corrupted the covenant of Levi, Chap. ii. 8. When Judah dealt treacherovfly, and an a.homination zvas committed \ in JJrael and in Jcrujale'm, by projaning the holinefs of the' Ldrd, and marryi-ng the daughter of a fir an ge God, fo that he ■ regarded not their offerings, any more, Ver. 11, 13. When they fat d [■^xoS.aw^X'^) every one that doeth evil is good m the fght oj the Lord, and he delighteth in them, and zvhere is the God oj judgment, Ver. 17. when they tv'cre all under a curfe lor robbing God in tithes and offerings. Chap. iii. 8, 9. Yea, when they atheifically faid, it' is vain to ferve God, and what pjofu is It that zi'2 have kept his ordinant^cs ? Complaining* Perftverance of Saints. 339 that the proud were happy, and they that work tmchednefs were Jet up, and they that tempted God were delivered. Ver. 14, 15. Or could thefe promiles be fulfilled in the times ofthciWf/^ fiah, that is, in thofe very times when (g) the axe uJas laid to the root of the tree to cut zt down ; when they were (^hj . (riven up to a Jpiritiiaijlumber ; when (i) the kingdom oj God was to be taken from them ; when they were (kj broken off- from their own olive iree, and (I) wrath came upon them to the uttermojl ? Anfwer 3. The promifc made to Ifrael, Hof. ii. 20. .is on- ly made to her returning to her firjl hujhand, Ver. 9. the promife, Ifa. liv. of a covenant of peace \\\2ii (hould not fiiil was made under a like condition, as thefe words in the fol- lowing chapt#r fiiew ; (m) incline your ear and come unto me, hear and your foul Jhall live, and I will make an everlajl- ing covenant with you. The promife, Jer. xxxii. 39, 40. / will give them one heart and one ivay, that they may J ear me ; I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their heart that they may not depart Jroni me, is not an abfolutc promife that they Ihould tear him al- ways, but only an indication that his kind providences fliould be fuch towards them, as fhould lay upon them the highcfb obligations to continue ftedtaft in his fear, Le, and Lehalti be- ing often ufed, not to fignify the certainty of the event, but the defign and purpofe of God in affording the means : So Deut. X. 13. The Lord requires thee to keep his command- ments, and his Jlatutes, letob leca, that it may be zvell with thee. Chap. xvii. 19, 20. The king Jhall read in the book of ■ the law, that he may learn to fear the Lord, that he turn not afide from the commandment, that he may prolong his day's.' And, Chap. iv. lo. I will make the?n learn my words, thai they may fear me. So John xvi. 1. Thffe things have I Jpoken to you that you may not be of ended ^ and efpecially in' thofe, Ezek. xi. 16 21. viz. / will gatlur you from the: people, and oJJ'emhle youjrom the countries where you have been fcattered, and I will give you the land of Ifrael, and I wdl give them one heart, and will put a new fpirit within you, and will take the fiony heart out of their flejh, and will give thefn. an heart offleji, vjth that they may xoalk in my fatutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. And to fhew that this fig- nihes not the event, but only God's defign; and that thele means are proper to produce this end, it follows, Ver. 21. hut as for them tohofe heart walketh ajter the heart cj theii detejlable bhings and their abominations, (whicii I faid, Ver. (g) Matth. iii. lo. fh) Rom. xi. 8. (i) Matth. xsi. 43- * (kj Rom. xi. 20. (I) i ThefiT. ii. i6. (mj Chap. Iv. 3. 340 P erf ever ance of Saints, 18. they (hall take away) / will recompenfe their way upon their heads. Section II. — Argument 2. Our Lord hath prom-i fed that he who drinketh of the water that he JJiall give him Jhall nev-> er thirji, becaufe that water Jhall fpring up in him to eternal lij^y John iv. 14. and that the comforter given to believers Jhall abide with them forever, John xiv. 16. That he who comes to hi?n Jhall never hunger^ and he that believeth in him Jliall never thirJl, John vi. 35. Therefore he that is once a believer, fliall be ever fo, and he that hath once the Jpint, fliall never lofe him. AnJzuer 1. I have already ihewed, in anfwer to the fifth objefciion of the former chapter, that the holy fpirit may en- tirely depart from them in whom he once inhabited ; whence it muft follow that two of thefe texts cannot bear the fenfe this argument requires. I have alfo proved, in anfwer to the fecond obje6lion, that the promifes made to believers in the gofpel ot Si. John, refpetl only fuch believers as (hall con- tinue lledfaft in the faith, and fo have anfwered the third text alledged. Anfwer 2. — idly. To anfwer to thefe places in^ particular. {\Ji.J The promife of the abode of the Jpirit with any chrif- tian, John xiv. 16. is only made on this condition, that they continue fo to love Chrijl as to keep his commandments, ^dly. It is a promife made to recompenfe Chrijl' s departure from them, and fo feems only to concern Chrijl's apojlles, with whom he was then corporally prefent, or to concern only the Jpirit's prefence with his church in general, not in the heart of every chrijlian, for io Chrijl himfelf abode not with them, ^dly. The other two texts may be both underftood of Chrifi's dotlrine, he that cometh to learn my do6lrine, and believeth jt, when he hath learnt it (hall need no farther teaching in or- der to his future happinefs, becaufe the obfervance of what he hath learned from me already, will bring him to eternal life. And 2)dly. If you expound the words, John iv. 14. of the receiving of the holy jpirit, they can be only meant of him in whom this fpirit ftill abides ; for therefore (hall he never thirji, faith the text, becaufe the water given Jhall be in him as fountain water fpringing up to life eternal ; whereas it can no longer fpring up than it abideth in him : The irn- port of the words feems therefore to be this ;'that whereas the water which we drink to quench our natural thirft, will nei- ther abide long in us, nor long quench our third, this holy Jpint will abide forever with them who do not by their fins expel him, and fo abiding, he will forever quench and fatisfy their thirft after eternal life, as being in them the earvejl oj their Juture inheritance. Pcrjeverance of ^aintu, 341 SEeTiON III. — Argumant '^. l{ Chrijl hath affured his fheep that they Jhall never perijh, and that none Jhall Jnatch them out oj his hands, then hath he affured them that they fhall never fall away finally, feeing they who fo fall away- will perifh ; and alfo that no tempter, or temptation Ihall efFeftually feduce them from the way of piety, fince then they would fnatch them from Chriji's hands. Anjwer 1. The frequent cautions and exhortations direft- ed in the fcripture to Chriji's (z) fheep not to fall irom grace, but continue ftedfafl in the faith, are certain demonftrations that they may do fo ; for if the fheep of Chrijl can no more ceafe to be fo, than a man, whilfl he lives, can ceafe to be a man ; thefe exhortations to take care they fall not off from being fo, mud be as vain as a caution to a man would be, not to outlive his manhood. To anfwer therefore dire£lly to this text, I add, Q.dly. That Chrift here only promifes his fheep fhould nev- er perilh through any defeft on his part, or by the force of any plucking them by violence out of his hands, fo the par- ticle xal, which is here illative, fhews, viz. they therefore Ihall not perifli, y^r none Jliall pull them out oJ my hand ; and this is flill more evident irom the reafon following, my Father is greater than all their adverfaries ; fo that none can pull or force them out of his hands, now his power and mine is one and the fame. Well therefore, faid IJidore Pelujioia, no man can fnatch them away by force and tyranny, for then they muff perifti without and againfl their wills ; but this may be done by deceit and allurements, tsapi ttiv ra/v a.vrzz,«_s,ii. 47. fmj I Cor. i. ii. (nj 2 Cer. xii, 20, ai. (0) Rom, \in. 33. 344 P erf ever mice of Saints. unreproveahU in hisfght, f ye continue in the faith ground- ed and fettled, and be not moved, away from the hope of the gof pel, ColoflT. i. 23. zdly. To thofe words, 1 Cor. x. 13. God is faithful, who xoill notfuffer you to be tempted (by perfecutions) above what you are able (by his grace) to fafftr : but will with the tempta~ tion make a way (fo lar) to efcape, that you may be able to bear it ; and therefore if you will ufe the ftrength which he is ready to afford, (liall do fo. I anfwer, (^i/j?.^ That the fe words ought not to be reftrained to the eleft ; for the preceding yNGxd.%,note7nptationhaf.hhapptned to you butfuch as is common to men, are fpoken to the whole church of Corinth. More- over, God hath doubtlefs engaged to all that enter into cov- enant with him. to enable them to perform the conditions of that covenant, fince a covenant upon an impolTible condition cannot be performed, and all are bound to pray in faith that they may not be tempted above what they are able, through his itrength, to bear. zdly. This text raufl be impertinently al- ledged, becaufe it only contains a promife of ability fufficient to refill temptations if men will ufe it ; but doth not contain an engagement that this iirength fhall be effeftual, or certain- ly improved to that end. And ^dly. I have fhewed when I difcourfed of the cautions given to believers, that in the words immediately preceding, wherefore let him that thinketh hefland" tth take heed lefl hefall ; and in the words following, where- fore, beloved, flee from idolatry , there is a plain indication that they who truly think they {land may fall, as did the Jews there mentioned ; and might be guilty of idolatry, which he himfelf declares to be a fin exclufive from the kingdom of Chrijl. 1 Cor. vi. 9. 3jXoi usi ^co'iiz yivdirjuvai, though they were Jinners, yet, if they knew God, he would not impute to them their iniquities. idly. Comfortable to his followers was that dodrine of fh) Sivion Magus, That they who believed 'wvMxm, andhis Helen, might freely do what they pleafed, as being to befaved not by good works, but by his grace ; which alfo was the dodrine of the Valentinians, who alfo held that they were perfcEl, and, azsipij^oirx laXoyris, children of the eledion, receiv^ ing grace from the unexpreffiblc conjugation, (i) fo that it was impoffibU they fiould be corrupted whatever they did. To which I might add the doftrines of our Antinomians and oth- er Solifdians, all very comfortable to men of carnal minds ; but very oppofite to, and dellruftive of, that doftrine which is according to Godlinefs. idly. That a poffibility of falling into a very great evil, though it be fuch a one into which 1 fee daily others fall, and to which 1 may be obnoxious, creates no trouble or anxiety to any man, provided he knows he cannot fall into it unlefs he will, and choofeth fo to do, and unlefs he a£ls contrary to all the rules of reafon and difcretion, and the llrongeft motives and fufhcient means vouchfafed to avoid it. Men may very poflibly, and too often do embezzle their eftates by gaming, whoring, drinking, gormandizing and contention ; they often forfeit them by mifdemeanors, hazard and lofe their lives by duelling, fedition, rebellion, pride and ambition ; and yet no wife man is therefore tormented with continual fears that this (d) Phil. il. 14.- — (e )\ Pet. i. it.—ff) Prov. xxviii. 14. xxiv. «. (eJ J^''^- M. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 369, 370. f h J Ut liberos agore qiiie velint, fecLindiiin enim ipfius Gratiam fal- vairi homines, led non lecunduiu operas jiiftas, Irxn. Lib. i. cap. ,20. Ato )c tXsyS/jjw? vcLVa TT^iX-flny^ ixrMvx iv ixYjOiH (p(tQo> e^etlai, !"• ^' 9* F» 6i. Ed. Ox. ibid. p. 31! Ibid. p. 30. Perfeverance of Saints. g^jr ■may te his own cafe, becaufe he knows he cennot fall into thofe vices but by his own choice ; that God hath given him reafon and underftanding fufficient to preferve him from them, and all the motives which pleafure, honor, temporal advantage, and his eternal intcreft can minifter to refill all temptations to them. And in like manner it being certain that no good Chrijlian can fall from grace unlefs he will, and even choofe to do fo ; that he hath wifdom to difcern the unfpeakable folly and danger of fo doing, that God hath giv- en him a new nature, and fo a frame of fpirit oppofite to all temptations fo to do, and the greateft aids, encouragements, and the moft powerful motives to continue conllanttothe end; why fhould he have any ground to live uncomfortably, or to abate of his inward peace, becaufe he is under a remote poffi- bility of falling from the divine favor, and not rather believ- ing to rejoice in hope of the glory of God ? Note, ^dly. That this dodrlne of the impolTibility of faints fall- ing finally from grace, cannot be truly comfortable for two fig- nal reafons. ijl. Becaufe though it fecms comfortable to a man, who thinks himfelf a good Chrijiian, to believe he ever fhall con- tinue fo ; yet the reverfe of this do6lrine is as uncomfortable, viz. that he who does not fo continue to the end, let him have been never fo fruitful in the works of righteoufnefs, or in the labor of love, or in religious duties, or in a zeal for God and goodnefs, was never better than an Hypocrite. And then how few can be alfured of their own fincerity, or prove the truth of their faith, by better works than they themfelvcs confefs an hypocrite may do ? Now it is at leaft as uncomfortable to be in doubt of my fincerity, as of my continuance in the way of righteoufnefs, though I am fincere at prefent. Q.dly. Let men hold what doflrines they pleafe ; yet as it is with them who queftion Providence and a future judgment, their impious perfuafions cannot remove their fears arifing from the di6lates of a natural confcience ; fo neither can mens theological perfuafions remove the fears and doublings which do as naturally arife from the diftates of a confcience enlight- ened by the word of God. When therefore that condemns, and doth pronounce us guilty of any wilful fin, we can have no peace from any thing but our alTurance that our fincere repentance hath removed the guilt ; but fhall be either doubt- ful of our fincerity, or our continuance in it. Wliilft we can fay with David, (d) I have kept the ways of the Lord^ and have not wickedly departed from my God : Iwas aljo up^ right before hijn, and kept myf elf from, mine iniquity : \Vhilll (d) Pfal. xviii. J2, t^. 348 PerfcDerance of Saints^ confolence doth not condemn us of wilful violations of our covenant, there is as much confidence in God from our opin- ion, as from the other. We can affure all men that whilft they love God, they {hall be beloved by him; and that Aii countenance will favorably behold the upright. And the oth- f r do^iririe can afford true comfort to none whofe confcience doth condemn thera ot wilful violations of God's law ; that 15, of breaking the conditions of the new covenant, or of not jkeeping his commandments, which is fo often made the tell of a fincere affeftion to our God and Savior. Either then we would have peace and comfort, though our hearts depait ' from God, and deal unfaithfully in our covenant, or only whife our hearts do cleave unto him, and we be not unfaith- ful to it ; it we defne comfort in the lalt cafe only, our doc- trine doth«s fully yield it as the other. If in the cafe of the departure of the heart from God, and breach of covenant. {ijl'J We defire that comfort which God's word plainly and frequently denies us, as is apparent trom the very condition of the covenant of grace, lincere obedience, and from the threats it hath, denounced againft apojlatizcrs, 2dly. AVe •would have comfort when our own heart cannot afford it, be- caufe it cannot at the lame time thus condemn., and yet fpeak comfort to us. '^dly. We would have that comfort which even the doflrine of perfeverance cannot yield, feeing the patrons of it do confefs that when men fall into wilful fins, -though the;y lo/e not the title to the divine favor, they lofe the comfort -of it till they have repented ; that this at prefent cuts off their affiu'ance of being God's children, and confec^uently of their perfev4?rance to the end. So that the difference in this cafe feems only to be this, that M'heh men's hearts do thus condemn them, if they believe our docfrine, they have, reafon to fufpcft their fall from grace, by violating the conditions of the covenant of grace ; it they bp of the other perfuafion, they have caufe to fufpe£l their fincer- •ity, and fear that they were never upright chri/lians. And tb.e advantage on our fide is this, that our opinion naturally tends to render men more careful to avoid all wilful violations of the laws of God, and more fpeedy in their repentance, and their return unto their duties, than the other doth, this bein^ a'mofl. certain rule that that motive is more forcible to engage Us to an aclion, which renders the a£lion to which 1 am en- gaged of abfolute neceffity for the obtainment of the moft im- portant end, of which 1 am affured by performance of it, than that wijich either renders this end attainable without the per- formance of that a8ion, or declares that another /lands abfp- liitc'iy engaged to caufe me to perforin i^ Perfeverance of Saints, ^AQ Section II. — Let us now take a view of the contrary doc- trine ; and feeing it aflerts that they who have once attained to the favor of Cod can never fail from it, and alfo grants that Zot, David, Solomon and Peter were fuch perfons ; they mull own that drunkennefs and inceft, rauvther and adultery, do not put men out of God's favor ; that men's hearts may fcj be turned from the Lord to the moft grofs idolatry, even that oj Ajhlarothy the goddefs oj the Zidonians, and oj Milcovi the abomination of the Ammonites ; that after the moft folemri engagements to the contrary they may deny C/^r?)? before men, and \\i2XyN'\\}a oaths ^x\\ execrations, and ftill continue high in favor with God ; which as it feems the plaineft contra- diftion to thofe numerous places oifcriptiire, which declare thefe are fuch fins, which they who do have no inheritance' in- ike kingdom of God or of Chriji, and that they are fins to which the law of Mofes threatened death Without admiffion of any atonement by facrifice, and the fevefeft of God's judgments, even the cajling of them off for ever ; fo doth it give a great encouragement to thofe who have once gotten an opinion that they are the children of God, to indulge themfelves in the like iniquities ; as being never able tofcparate themjrom the love of God: This doftrine tending evidently to abate the force of all the prohibitions of fin, of all the exhortations to avoid it, of all the cautions to refill and flea from all tempta- tions to commit it, and of all the dreadtul judgments denounc- ed without exception againft all who do commit it ; for when once perfons being to think that they are out of the reach of the fevercil of thefe judgments, and that they cannot poflTibly belong to them, they cannot rationally be moved by •the fear of them to depart from that iniquity to which they are denounced. zdly. It leffens the force of all the motives offered 'in the fcripture to engage us to perfevere in righteoufnefs and good- nefs, and to have our fruit unto holinefs, that the end may be eternal life ; for an abfolute promife both of the reward, and of all means conducing to it, cannot fo powerfully engage us to the purfuit of the faid means, as fuch a promife as fufpend- eth the reward upon our own diligence in theufeof the means, and fo gives place for hope and lear, the two great principles of aftion, both which muft be excluded by ay abfolute prom- ife, fince as we cannot rationally icar what cannot pofiibly be- lal us, fo what we are already lure of, we do no longer hope for, but with the greateft confidence expeft. '>^dly. It feems not well confiftcnt with the truth, righteouf- nefs and holincfs of God to give an abfolute affuranre of hij (s) I Kings xj. 5, 9. 350 Perfeveranct of Saints* favor, and the fruition of himfelf for ever to any creature, though he fall into the fins torementioned ; for though it may be faid he doth this only by afTuring them that they (hall re- pent ot thofe fins, and return to their obedience, yet doth not this feem fuitable to his threats of the fevcreft of his judg- ment]* againft all perfons whatfoever, who (hall thus offend, fince they were certainly defigned to deter them from thofe fins by fear of falling under thofe moft dreadful judgments, whereas thefe promiles are plain affurances that though they do commit them, they fhall not be obnoxious to thofe judg- ments. They alfo feem contrary to the divine purity on the fame acco^unt as tending to diminifti in others the dread of thofe iniquities which they are thus affured cannot prove fatal to them. In a word, there is not even the fhadow of a prom- ife in the holy fcupture, that though fuch or fuch perfons fall into murder, adultery, heathemjli idolatry, he will not fuffer them to die in them, but will affuredly caufe them to repent and turn to their obedience ; but there is an exprefs declara- tion, that fit J when the righteous turneth away from his rieht. eoufnefs and committeth iniquity, and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth, all the righteoujnefs that he hath donejliall not be mentioned, in his trejpafs that he hath irefpaJJ'ed, and in the Jin that he hath finned, in thein JJiatl he die. i he promifes ot the Old Tefament run in another ilrain ; viz. (w) The Lord will he with you while ye be with him, hut if ye Jorfake hi?n he will forfake you ; yea, he will cafl you off forever ; fxj but as for fuch as decline to their perverfe ways, the Lord will lead thtm forth with the workers of iniquity ; and the promifes of the new, that he will eflab- lifh them, and keep them from evil, .and preferve thtm holy and tinblameable ; but I find not one promife in the Old ox the New Tefament, that when the righteous wickedly depart from God, and do after the abominations of the wicked, they fliall yet live, and not die in their iniquities. Section III. It were eafy to confirm this do6tnne from the concurrent fuffrage of the ancient Fathers, but this feems to me unneceffary after the confeflion of the learned fyj Vof Jius, Communem banc fuiffe antiquitatis fententiam, that this was the comvwnfentence oj antiquity ; and that antiquitas tota jndeficibilitati adverfatur, all antiquity was contrary to this do fir I ne of the indefedability of the faints. The words of the Greek and Latin Fathers which he cites to prove this may be ■feen in fzj John Goodwills fifteenth chapter on that fuhjeft, vho alfo adds to them the confent of many Proteflants. fuJ'Eztk. xviii. 24. (ii^)i Cliron. xxviii. 9.— a Chron. xv. ;.— -fxJ Hal. cxxv. 5. f.y) Hift. Pelas- L. 6. Chap. xii. fzj^t^ demp. Redeemed, from Section 5. to the 14th. ^*^ DISCOURSE VI. Containing an ANSWER to THREE OB- JECTIONS AGAINST THE DOCTRINES ASSERTED, and the ARGUMENTS by WHICH THEY ARE CONFIRMED. CHAPTER I. ObjcHion 1. HE firft grand objeftion againft the force of many of the arguments ufed in thefe difcourfes is this. That they feem as ftrongly to conclude againft God's fore- knowledge of iuture contigencies, as a- gainft his abfolute decrees ; for that comprehending the knowledge of what all men will do, it feenis as unreafona- ble to command, exhort, or tender mo- tives to men to perform what God beforehand fees they will not do, as in cafe of what he knows they cannot do ; and as 352 Anfwer to Three OhjeBiom contradictory to his goodnefs to bring them into the world whom he foreknows will certainly be miferable through their own fault, as thofe whom he refervethto be miferable through the fault of Ada?n. It alfo feenis as vain, fuperfluous and delufory, to feem paffionalely concerned that they may be faved, or to ufe patience, longfuffering, or any other means to prevent their ruin, or to lead them to repentance whom he certainly forefaw would not be by thefe means induced to re- pent, that they might be faved, and who infallibly would perifh ; as to a6l thus towards them who lie under a decree of reprobation. Now, Section I. — Anfioer. fijl.j It is obfervable, that though this argument be offered in favor of the decrees of abfolute ele6lion, and that efpecial grace which is vouchfafed to the obje61:s of it, which makes it neceffary for them to be vejfels of" mercy ^ and of that abfolu'e reprobation, which makes it neceffary for all the obje£ls of it to be vejfds of wrath, and in- fallibly to fail of falvation, yet doth it plainly overthrow them, or render them fuperfluous ; for be it that thefe decrees were made from eternity, yet feeing God's foreknowledge of the events «f all men, was alfo from eternity, muff he not know what would be the condition of all men when he made thefe decrees ? And what need then could there be of a decree for that event which was infallibie, by virtue of his foreknowledge without that decree ? Either he forefaw thefe events inde- pendently on, and in the fame moment that he made thefe de- crees ; and then feeing the objefts of both thefe decrees are the fame individual perfons which he faw then would certain- ly be faved, or perifh independently upon them, what need could there be of thefe decrees to afcertain that event, which his own prefcicnce had rendered certain and infallible ? Or elfe it muff be f^id, that God only torefaw thefe futurecon- tmgences, by virtue of his decrees, that they fliould come to pals ; and then his decrees muff be betorc his knowledge, and the rcafon of it, and io as this argument doth not at all leffen the horror of them, fo is it obnoxious to thefe dreadful con- fequences. ift. That it plainly renders God the author of fin ; for to fay with Caivin, Dr. Twxjs, and Rutherford^ Deum non alia raiione providere qu^ futura funt, quam quia ut fierent de- cit\'it,God onl)> doth forejee things. Julurc, hecaujt he hath de- creed they Jliould bejh\ is, faith Le Blanc, to fay God moves and predetermines the wills of men to thofe things which are evil. Now, who can affirnr, faiih he, that God antecedently decrees and determines the wills of men to hate and blafpiieine him, and therefore forefees that they will do fo, and not make Gud the author of thofe fins ? Nor is this lefs evident from a^ainjl the BoBrines AJftried, 353 the way i\\2X Alvarez, and many oihtx fchoolmen take to falve this matter, viz. that God forefees the 6vil men will do, in decreto luo de non dando efficax auxilium ad vitandum pec- catum, quoniam Deo deferentc, aut non adjuvante peccatorern ne cadat, infallibiliier eft peccaturus, in his decree not to give thcjn ejicacioiis help to avoid fin ; for God thus dej'ertivg them, or not thus ajjijling tkejinner, that he may not Jail, he infalli^ bly will Jin ; tor either God did not torefec the fin of fallen angels, or of falling Adam; or elfe, according to this doftrine, muft render their fin neceflary by his decree not to afford them efficacious afliftance to avoid it, and fo their fm will be no fin at all, according to St. Anjlin's definition of it, that it is the will to do that from which we have freedom to abftairi. 2. Prefcience thus ftated muft be attended with a fatal necefTi- ty, though in this cafe it is not God's foreknowledge, bet his decrees which creates that necefhty ; ail things, upon this fuppofition, being neceflary ; that is, fuch as cannot other- wife be, not becaufe God foreknows them, but becaufe by his immutable decrees he hath made them necefTary, i. e. he foreknows them becaufe they are necelfary, but doih not make them necefTary, by foreknowing them. Confider, 2dly. That if there were any ftrength in this argument, it would prove that we fhould net deny the liberty fuppofed iii all the arguments we have ufed againft thefe decrees, bat rather prefcience iifelf ; for if thole two things were realK> inconfiflent, and one of them muft be denied, the introducing an abfolute neceflity of all our aftions which evidently de- ftroys all religion and morality, would tend more of the two to the diflionor of God, than the denying him a foreknowl- edge. ^dly. Obfervc that if thefe DecretaUJls may take fan£tuary in the foreknowledge God hath of things future, the Hob- bijls, and the Fatalijls may do the fame ; for as I cannot know how God's foreknowledge is confiftent with the free- dom of the will of man, fo am I as little able to difcern how- it is confiftent with any freedom in his aftions, or how God can foreknow them whilft they are future, without foreknow- ing that there are fuch caufes as certainly and neceffarily fhall and muft produce them. And it is very worthy of their ob- fervation that the Hobbijls having knowledge of chrijlianity^ iound their doftrine of the neceflity of all things, and the no freedom of the will to will, upon the ninth chapter to the Romans. Thus when Bilhop (a) Bramhall had objc£ltd againft Hobbs, that from his do61rine of the necefhty of all cvcai?, it follows that pra-ije and rcprchcnjion, reiva.fds and (i) P. 66^, 669. 354 ,AnJwtr to Three Objections punifliments are all vain and unjuft, and that if God JJiouId openly forbid, and fecretly necejfitate the fame a&ion, punijli- ing ?nen for what they could not avoid, tlitre would be no be- lief among them of heaven or hell ; Mr. Hobbs replies thus : " I muft borrow an anfwer from St. Paul, Rom. ix. ii. to the i8th verfe : For there is laid down the very fame objec- tion in the cafe of Efau and Jacob, Sec. for the fame cafe is put by St. Paul ; and the fame objeftion in thefc words foL lowing, thou wilt afk me then, why doth God complain, for who hath refifled his will? To this therefore the apoflle an- fwers, not by denying it was God's will, or that the decree of God concerning Efau was not before he had finned, or that Efau was not neceffitatcd to do what he did ; but thus : Who art thou, man, that rephefi againfl God? Shall the work fay unto the workman, why hafl thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power over his clay, to make one veffel to honor, and an~ ether to dijlionor ? To lay then that God can fo order the world that a fin may be neceffarily caufed in a man, I do not fee how it is any diflionor to him ; I hold nothing in all this queftion between us, but what feems to me not obfcurely, but mod exprefsly faid in this place by St. Paul." It alfo deferves to be obferved by them, that the Fatalifls of old founded their doQrine upon the certainty of divine prefcience and prediftions, which they faid could not be certain, ^bj Nifi omnia quae fiunt, quasque futura funt ex omni aeternitate definita eflent fataliter, if all things done, or to be done, had not been certainly determined from all eternity. It was the fear of this, faith ^c^ Origen, which made the Greeks embrace this impious do6lrine, that God did not foreknow things fu- ture and contingent, oio(j.c\oi narrrJOLyKOia^ai r% rspxy^ara, xat TO ip' rifMv i/.r,oc/.iJ.cdS uoj^saOui, el 6 Qaos ZTfoyivu/unsi rx fjt,iXXovTaf they fuppofing that if God foreknew things future, all things would be neceffary, and fu the liberty of man's will could not be pref'erved ; which, faith (9 n^<;«, will not follow, becaufe it inufl be owned, « Tr,v zypoyvcoaiv ccirix'j rwii yi-Jco[/.ivct;v, ro ^s sffo- fj.Bvov aiTiov ra rotav Ss sl'jxi rriv •ste^i xvtS zsfoyvcijaiv, not that God's prefcience is the caufe of things future, but that their being future is the caufe of God's prefcience that they will be. And this, faith Le Blanc, is the truefl refolution of this diffii cirlty, that prefcience is not the caufe that things are future, hut their being future is the caufe they are forefeen ; whence it muft follow, that man's perifhing "by his own wllfulnefs, ^vhen he might not have done fo, mufl be the caufe that God forefees that he will do {o-, the reafon is, becaufe God's fore- (b) Cic. dC. Divin. 1. 3. n. 14. (c) Apud Eufcb. Pr?ppar. Ev. 1. ft. C. II. p. 2S6, 2S7, d^ainjl the DoHrinei udjfericd, 355 knowledge neither makes, nor changes its obje61 but fees it as it truly is, and fo mufl fee that a£tion to be freely and con- tingently future, which indeed is fo, and that neccffarily to be future which is fo. This is fo evident, that it is owned by fdj Mr. Hobbs, in thcfe words ; " That the foreknowl- edge of God Ihould be the caufe ol any thing, cannot be truly faid, for foreknowledge is knowledge, and knowledge depends on the exiftence of the things known, and not they on it." And therefore let it be obferved, /^thly. That God's prefcience hath no influence at all upon our aQipns. This Mr. Baxter proves thus : The word fu- ture, and poflfible, applied to things is terminus diminuens ; for to fay this \% futurum pojfibile, is only to fay this may be ; and to fay that is fiduruvi, is only to fay it will be. Now to fay a thing will be, or may be hereafter, is to fay that now it is not in being, that is, it is nothing ; now nothing is no effeft, and therefore can have no caufe ; therefore God is no caufe of the eternal futurity, or pofTibility of things. But if this way of arguing feems too nice and fubtie, 1 inquire farther : — Should God by immediate revelation give me the knowledge of the event of any man's Hate or a6lions, would my knowl- edge of them have any influence upon his anions ? Surely none at all, and yet my knowledge, as far as it is thus com- municated, would be as certain and infallible as is that of God's. To illu Urate this in fome meafur? by the compari- fon of our own knowledge, we know certainly that fome things are, and that fome things will be. as that the fun will rife tomorrow ; and when we thus know they are, or u:ill be, they cannot but be ; yet manifefl it is that our knowledge doth not at all affetl the things we thus know, to make them either more certain, or more future than they would be with- out it : Now foreknowledge in God is knowledge ; as there- fore knowledge has no influence on things that are, fo neither has foreknowledge on things that (hall be, and confequently the foreknowledge of any action that would be otherwife free, cannot alter or diniinifh that freedom ; whereas God's decree of clefclion is powerful and a6five, and comprehends the pre- paration and exhibition of fuch means as fhall unfruflrably produce the end ; and his decree of reprobation is a6nve, as lar as action is required to render any man deficient, and therefore finful of neceflity, it being a decree of withholding Iron) the objc8s of it, that grace which can alone enable them to do wliat God commands, or to avoid what God forbids on the fevcrefl penalty. Now fin having no cfFicicjit, but only a deficient caufe, it confifling only in not doing what is coin- er/; Br. p. 665. gcS Anftuer to Three OhjeBions mandcd, and not avoiding what is forbidden, that which ren- ders it neceilary for rue to be thus deficient, muft lay me un» der a neccflity of finning. Coroll. Hence (2dly.J arlfeth another fignal difference be- twixt God's prefcience and his decrees ; that God's prefcience renders no actions neceflary, though it fees fome are in their own natures fo, fince otherwife it would, lay a neceffity on his own aftions, he foreknowing both what he can and will do ; and from all eternity foreknowing what he did, and will do in time. For example ; he foreknew that he would create ^ world, angels and men in time, that he would fend his fon into the world to die for finners, and many things of a like nature; but this did not make it neceffary that he fhould create the world, angels or men, or fend his fon into the world, or do all this then only when he did Co ; and if his foreknowledge lays no neceffity upon himfelf to a6t, nor any way impairs the freedom of his own a6>ions ; why fhould it be. conceived that it lays any neceijity upon humane aftions, or impairs the free- dom of them P Now if this prefcience doth not impair the freedom of our a£lions any more than if God had nofuch pre- fcience, and it be reafonable to give precepts, and tender ex- hortations and motives to men free to perform what is requir- ed, and what they are exhorted, and thus moved to, it muft be reafonable thus to deal with men, notwithflanding God's fore- knowledge of their a6lions ; but it is not fo with refpefl to God's decrees, his decree of eleftion comprehending not only the end, but the means to it* as to be wrought by his efpecial grace, and his unfrufirable operation, Vv'hich I cannot refift, if 1 cannot have the will to refill: it ; and that \ cannot have, i£ this operation determines m^y will to aft incompliance with it, and where the fin confifts in a defeft, i. e. the not doing what is required and the not avoiding what is forbidden, the decree of v/ithhoiding that grace without which that effetl is neceffa- ry, is a decree that the fin fiiall be inevitable, and to theobjefts of it neceffary. c^tkly. God's knowledge reaches not only, ra, /txsXXovra, to future contingencies ; but alfo, rxlv-jccra, future pojjibihties^ V2Z.' He knows that fuch things may be, though they never will^be, that I might will and do, what I neither do nor will, and abftyin from that 1 do not abfiain from, and that I will this' when 1 might will the contrary ; fince otherwife 1 could not but will, and do what 1 will and do, and. could not but abfiain IVomwbat 1 do abftain, and fo l)Oih my will and actions inufl. be neceffary, that being fo, quod aon poteft aliter fe habere, which cannot be otherzvifi:. Moreover he foreiees not only what will be done, but alfo after what manner it will be done, that free aftions will be done freely, and ^o this prefcience rather ogainjl ihc DoBrines AJferted, 357 muft eftablifh than take away the freedom of our anions ; for ^f God forefees I might abftain from what he fees I will not abftain from, and that I might both will and do w hat he fees i will neither will nor do, as he nuift if he fees that 1 aft free- ly ; then he fees that I may not perifh, when he fees that I will periih, and he fees that 1 may be willing and obedient, andfo ma)' be faved, when he fees that I will not be faved ; and then there muft be place and equitable ground tor all his admonitions, exhortations and motives not to perifh, but to turn and live ; becaufe they are only exhortations, commands and motives to do, and to abftain trom that which he fees that I may freely do, or may abftain from, and therefore muft have power fo to do. If you puzzle me with thefe inquiries, how then can God certainly know I will do what he fees I may not do ? Or, how can that be certainly known which neither in itfelf, nor in its caufes hath any certain being ; but may as well not be, or not be done, as be, or be done ? This brings me lojlly to obferve, Section II. — That this argument only oppofeth a great difficulty arifing from a mode of knowledge in God, of which we have no idea, againft all the plain declarations of his re- vealed will, produced in great abundance, againft the imagin- ary decrees which men have impofed upon God without juft ground. The ']\.\6'\c\o\\% ffj Le Bianc, after he had confid-. ered all the ways the wit of man had invented to rid their bands of this difficulty, how God's prefcience could con/ijl zuitk mans liberty ; breaks forth into this ingenuous confcftion, *' Such darknefs every where furrounds us, luch inextricable difficulties occur in this matter, that 1 think it fafeft for us here to confefs our ignorance, and ferioufiy to profefs the knowledge oj this is too excellent for me, and fo fublime, that I cannot attain unto it ; and to believe this is one of thofe myf- teries of which the fon of Syrac faith, (g) feck not ajter that which is too hard /or thee ; and fearch not irJo the things that are above thyjtrcngth." Nor ts it any JJiame, faith fhj Air. Thorndyhe,Jor a chrijlian, or a divine to profc./s igno- rance, when the quejiion is how a viatter oj'jaith is, or may he true : but that in a matter Jo fubjed to common uuderjlanding, as the determination oJ the will by its own choice, experience jujlifying that which faith makes the ground of chnftianity, and reafon of morality, I- fiould inahe the whole tenor of the Bible, the tender of chnjlianily, the whole treaty of God with ■>nan concerning his happinfs, delujoiy and abufvt, as condi- ff) De Con. Libert, luini. cum pricfciciir. n, 43. (g) Ecclef. iii. 2i. /Ay tpil. p.ut 2. p. 200. 358 Anfwer to Three OhjcStiom tioning for that which no man can flir hand or foot for, tilt hting determined he cannot do otherwift, becaufe 1 cannot an- fwer an ohjedioyi arifingjrom God'sirefcience of future con- tingences, of which I can have no idea, feems to me very rea- fonable. \ anfwer therefore to thefe obje6lions, that God's foreknowledge is well confiflent with the freedom of man's will, and the contingency of events, fmce otherwife all mens aftions muft be necefTary, though 1 know not how it is fo, and it is therefore well confiltent with his power to do the con- trary, and therefore his foreknowledge that what may not be, certainly will be, though I know not how it is fo, and there- fore is confiftent with his commands and prohibitions, exhor- tations, admonitions and motives to engage me to do what I will not do, and with all his commands and admonitions to abftain from that from which I will not abftain, becaufe the fame fcripture which afcribes this foreknowledge to God, doth alfo affert my liberty to do, or to refufe thefe things, charges mens fins and final ruin on themfelves, and fets bejore them fife and death, bleffing and curfng, re- quiring them to choofe the one, and avoid the other, though 1 know not how both thefe things are confiflent ; the reafon of ray inability to difcern this confiftency being only my ig- norance of what this foreknowledge of God is, or how he doth foreknow future contingencies; thus alfo is it in other incom- municable attributes oi God ; v. g. I know that the firft be- ing muft be, ens aje, from itfelt, though I have no idea of being from himfelt ; and alfo muft be from eternity, though 1 have no idea either of an eternity, nunc flans, or an eternal fucceffion. 1 know that God is omniprefent, totus uhique^ though i know not what omniprefence is, whether a m.ulti- pllcation, or an extenfion of himfell to every uhi, or how a fpirit can be extended, ihe reafon is becaufe I am ignorant what this omniprefence is, or how God is, or can be fo ; as there- fore in this cafe I am fatisfied with my experience or knowl- edge of his aftions in all places that he is fo, fo ought I to be fatisfied with the like experience that notwithftanding God's foreknowledge I have as much freewill as if there were no fuch foreknowledge, though \ am not able to reconcile my freewill to God's foreknowledge. Obj. But then why may it not be faid in like manner, that all that you have offered again ft thefe decrees from the confid - eration of divine jufticc, holincfs, truth and fincerity, good- nefsand mercy, may be confiftent with thofe attributes though we know not how they can be fo. Anjxver. To this I anfwer, 17?. That this is one fignal di! terence between thefe two cafes, that the divine prcfcience* hath been ai'.vays owned by all chriftians from the beginning,, againjl the Docirines AJferied, 3/55 as a neceflary part of chriftianity, till Socinus began to quef- tion it ; whereas thefe ablblute decrees were never known, much lefs afferted by any chrijlian, till St. Aujliiis time. Now againfl a controverted point we have a right to argue from the evident abfurdities which jioWow from it, and the contradiflion that it bears to the communicable attributes of God ; whereas againfl a neceffary article of faith, viz. the refurreflion of our bodies, we can plead no difficulties of ap- prehending how they can be raifed, and againfl: an avowed attribute of God ; viz. his eternity or omniprefence, we can raife no objeflions from the to zsus, or an inquiry, how can this be ? becaufe incomprehenfibility is owned as an attribute of the divine nature ; i. e. we own his nature and incommuni- cable attributes cannot be comprehended by a finite mind, and fo our arguments about the manner of their exiftence, or their a£lions, only do betray our ignorance. But then, 2dly. As to God's communicable attributes, the matter is far otherwife, for we are called to imitate, and to rcfemble him in them ; to be holy as God is holy, righteous as he u righteous^ hind and vierciful as our heavenly father is merrijul ; his truth and jaiihfulnefs and his fincerity is the ground of our faith, hope and dependance on him, and our expeftation o£ good things from him, and therefore we mufl have jufl and true ideas of thefe things, though thefe ideas in this flate of imperfcftion will be flill imperfeft. This I find very well illuflrated and confirmed by Dr. Sherlock, in his anfwer to that inquiry how far the unfearchablencfs of God's judgments is an anfwer to the difficulties of providence ; v. g. " There is great reafon for this inquiry that no man may prefume to at- tribute any thing to God which can never be reconciled with the common notions of good and evil, jufl and unjufl, upon this pretence, that the ways and judgments (add, and the at- tributes) of God are unfearchable and unaccountable, and that we ought not to demand a reafon of them. *' That there are fuch men in the world is fufliciently known to thofe who underfland any thing of fome modern contro- Verfies in religion ; I need inflancc at prefent only in the ^ doflnne of eternal and abfolute elc£lion and reprobation, oa which a great many other fuch like unaccountable doclrmes depend, that God created the fargreatefl part of mankind on puipofe to make them miferable, or at leafl as others flate it, that he ordered and decreed, or, which is the fame thing, ef- fefinally permitted the fin and fall of Adam, that he might glorify his mercy in choofing fome few out of the corrupt mafs of mankind to be veffels of glory, and to glorify his juflicc in the eternal punifhment of all others, even of reprobated infants, as invoJved in the guilt of Adam's fin. Now thus far I confefs 360 Anfwer to Three OhjeBiom that they are in the right that thefe are very unaccountable doc- trines ; for to make creatures on purpofe to make them mil- erable, is contrary to all the notions we have of juft and good. " But though we readily confefs that the ways and judg* ments of God are unfearchable, yet men mud not think, upon this pretence, to attribute what they pleafe to God, how ab- lurd, unreafonable and unjuft foever it be, and then fhelter themfelves againft all objeftions by refolving all into the un- accountable will and pleafure ot God ; for God hath no fuch unaccountable will as this is, to do fuch things as manifeftly contraditl all the notions which mankind have of good and evil. " God himfeli declares his abhorrence of all fuch imputa* tions as thefe. as infinitely injurious to him, and appeals to the common notions of what is juft and equal, to jufliiy the general rules of his providence againft the imputations of in- juftice in punilhing the Jews tor their father's fins, by fay- ing fir ft, {"ij all fouls are mine^ as well the foul of the fon, as of the father ; and therefore he could not be thus partial to one of them above the other, and by declaring that the general rule of his providence was this, to do good to tJUm that were good, and who continued in his goodnefs, and to punifh them who continued in their wickednefs without repentance, or turned away from their righteoufnefs ; and then leaving it to xhtir: own ']\.\^gvcitnisfkj whether his ways were not equal i and eUewhere declaring what he had done to his vineyard 10 make her fruitful, and yet how unfruitful fhe remained after all his care, and leaving all men io judge betwixt him and his vinexard. " Thus it is too certain, that much the greateft part of the world will be finally mlferable ; and this is very reconcileable to the- juftice of God, if the greateft part of mankind will be wicked, and fo deferve to be miferable : But to fay that God created the greateft part of mankind, or that he created any one man under the abfolute decree of reprobation, that he made them to make them miferable, can never be juftified by -k the unaccountable will and pleafure of God ; becaufe it is notorioufly unjuft, if mankind are competent judges of what is juft and unjuft." In fine, this is all the Atheifl endeavors to prove, and all that he dcfires (liould be granted him, to confute the belief of a God and a Providence ; that God does fuch things as we C'ln give no fatisfatlorv account of, does him little fervice, becaufe the unfearchable wifdom of God anfwers fuch diffi- (i) Ezek. xvlii. ani Chup. xxxiii. fn) Ifa. v. 3. againjl the DoHrines AJfertcd. ^fii culties; but if we will grant him that God a£ls by fuch rules as al! men who judge impartially, according to ihe natural notions and the natural fenfe which we have of juftice, mull think unjuft, this is what we would have ; and he will give \xs leave to talk as much as we pleafe of the arbitrary and fov- ereign will of God, but he will believe no fuch God : For this is not the natural notion of a God to be arbitrary, but to be juft and good ; and to fay that God is good and juft, but not good and juft, as men underlland goodnels and juftice, is to fay that we have no natural notion otthe goodnefs and juU tice of God, and then wecan have no natural notion ot a God; for if the natural notion oi a God be this, that he is juft and good, it feems hard to think that we Ihould have the natural notion of a good and juft God, without having any natural notion what his goodnefs and juftice is ; but inftcad of that, fhould have fuch natural notions of juftice and goodnefs, as (if we believe whatfome men fay oi vjodj can never be recon- ciled with his being juft and good. Add to this thofe excel- lent words oi (aj Dr. Tillotjon : " However we may be at a lofs in our conceptions of God's infinite knowledge and pow- er, yet goodnefs, and juftice and truth, are notions eafy and familiar, and if we could not underftand thefe, the whole Bi- ble would be infignificant to us ; for all revelation from God fuppofeth us to know what is meant by goodnefs, juftice and truth, and therefore no man can entertain any notion of God, which plainly contradi£ls thefe, and it is looHCh for any man to pretend that he cannot know what goodnefs, and juftice, and truth in God are ; for it we do not know this, it is all one to us whether God be good or not, nor could we imitate his goodnefs ; for he that imitates, endeavors to make himfelflike fomething that he knows, and muftof neceflitv have fome idea of that to which he aims to be like. So that if jve had no certain and fettled notion of the goodnefs, juftice and truth of God, he would be altogether an unintelligible being ; and religion, which confifts in the imitation of him, would be ut- terly impoffible." And thofe words of his in his ferraon on God's foreknowledge, (bj " If God's exhortaiioiis were not ferious, he could not torefee the final impenitency of men ; for to torefee mens final impenitency is to forefee their wilful contempt ot God's warnings and exhortations, and iheir re- je6lion ot his grace ; mens wilful contempt of his warnings and exhortations cannot be forefeen, unlefs God forefee that his exhortations are ferious, and in good earneft." ShCTiON 111. — Otje'iion 2. — 2dly. It is objeQcd, that by our dottrine we weaken the providence of God ; for if he /■flj/ Serm, of the pcrfe(ition of God, p. 15,16. (hJ^.iCi.. Z z 3 ^'2 Anfwer to Three OljeBioni doth not order, and efFe6lually move the wills of men, he can- not compafs the defigns of providence. AnJ'zver. This obje6lion will receive the fliorter anfwer, becaufe it falls into this great abfurdity, that it makes God as much the author of all the evil as of all the good that is done in the world ; for as his providences have for their objeft, evil aflions as well as good, fo is it evident that it is as ne- celTary for accoraplifliing the ends of it, that he ihould as ef- feftually move the wills of men to the one as to the other ; as in the cafe of Jofeph's brethren, Judas betraying his maf. ter, and the Jews clamoring for his death. So that we may anfwer this argument with that of the fon of Syrack, fcj Say not thou, he hath cavfed me to err^ for he hath no need oj the finjul man. But, Anfwer ^.—7. dly. To anfwer more particularly, thefe things fecm only ncceflary to accomplilh all tflo defigns of provi- dence. \fl. That God hath a perfe6l profpeft of the events of all aflions, as well of thofe which proceed from the free will of man, as of thofe which ifTue from natural caufes, for if he can difcern as well what moral caufes will produce fuch ef- iefts in free agcntfe, as what phyfical caufes will produce their effects in natural agents, it muft be evidently the fame thing as to all the interefts and concerns of providence, to compa^ his defigns by moral, as by phyfical and natural caufes. ^dly. That he hath infinite wifdom to direfl thofe aftions to their proper ends, and caufe the good and evil done by men to ferve the ends of his providence, both towards them- felves and others. '^dly. That he hath power to reftrain them from the execu- tion oi thofe purpofes which would thwart the defigns of his providence, either by difabling them from bringing their de- figns to pafs, or by withdrawing the fubjeft or the objeft of them, or by fuch difpenfations as he fees will turn the bents of their hearts another way, or by infinite other means his wifdom can difcern and order, and his power can effeft with- out laying any force or neceflity upon the wills of men ; for if there be no aftion of any free agent which he cannot thus reftrain, when it thwarts the defigns of his providence, if he permits no aftion which he cannot order fo as to accomplifli the defigns of it, it is evident that nothing is, or can be fur- ther requifite to the due ordering of all events according to his providence. But, StCTioN IV. — Anfwer 3. — '^dly. Though this argument from providence doth not concern us in the Icaff, yet it feems (c) Chap. X.V. 12. againjl the DoHrmes Averted. 363 evidently to overthrow the contrary doftrine ; for what an- fwer can they return to thefe inquiries ? ijl. Is it confident with the jultice oi providence to wrap up all mens £ate in that of (^dj Adam's ? So that had he con- tinued in his righteoufnefs all the time before he begat a fon, noneot tfis pouerity fhould have been the better for it, pro- vided that he had finned the day before ; but if he once tranf- grelFed, ail his poflerity, to the end ot the world, ftiould be on that account the obje6ls of God's wrath, and obnoxious to e- ternal damnation : Yea, that if he finned but once, all men, even the new bora infant, (hould be liable to all thefe mifer- ies on that account ; but though he repented of that fin a thoufand tin-.es, not one of them fiiould be the better for it, though the fame arbitrary will and decree of God could have made the penitent will ol Adam, before he had begotten any children, the penitent will of us all, as well as the finful will of Adam, the finful will of us all ; and could have made him to fuftain the perfon of all mankind when he repented, as well as when he finned in eating the forbidden fruit ; or could have made a compact with him, that if he repented of that fin, all men fhould be refiored to his grace and favor by it, as well as he is fuppofed to have made a compaft, that if he finned, all his poflerity fhould become the objefts of his wrath upon that fole account. Q.dly. Is it not one great part of providence to give men laws for the dire£lion of their aftions, prefcribing what he would have men do and leave undone ; and that under a promife of reward to the obedient, and a declaration that he will certainly and feverely punifli the wilful and impenitent ofTender ? Now do not they dellroy both the juflice and wif- dom of this providence, ^vho introduce God after the fall, (which, fay they, had made man utterly unable to do any thing truly good, or avoid doing evil in any thing he doth) giving laws pofitive and negative for the dire£lion of his ac- tions, with threats of the fevereft and mofl falling punifhments if he negleft to do what is required, and to avoid what is for- bidden ; and that after his own decree, de non dando cfficax auxiliuni ad vitandum peccatum, of withholding from him the ajfijlance abjolutely nectjfary to his doing the good requned, or avoiding the forbidden evil. From whence it neceffarily follows, that he to whom thofe precepts were given, was then incapable without that affiftance of doing the good required, or avoid- ing the forbidden evil, efpccially if we confider, t^iat in the nature ot the thing, and in the opinion ot philofophers, Caufa deficiens in rebus necefTariis, ad caufam per fc cfiicicntcm re- ((i} Ccn. V, 3. 364 Anfwer to Thret Ohje^iom duccnda eft, in things ntceffary, the deficient caiife fnujl be re* duced to the ejficient ; and in this cafe the reafon of it is evi- dent, becaufe the not doing what is required, or not avoiding what is forbidden, being a deleft, mult follow from the por- tion of the neceffary caufe of that deficiency. o^diy. Is it confiflent with the juflice of providence, to ag- gravate the fins ot reprobates on this account, that they knew their Lord's unll and did it not, provided that knowledge ren- dered them no more able tq do it than the moft ignorant of j-nen, or to make it fuch an a^ggravation of the fins of e made clean ? Or when this would once be ? And to wonder at their unbelief, and upbraid them for their impenitence, and to complain that, after fuch engaging difpenfations, and fuch judgments, they repeated not, they turned not to him, or only did ihh /eigne dly ? Or, laftly, to fend his meflengers to them with this encouragement, zV way be they will covjider , it may be they will return from their evil ways, it may be they will reverence my Jon ; for what room can there be for any of thefe fuppofitions, where the efFeft depends on God's own imme- diate a61;ingupon the heart,,and not upon any hearing, orcon- fideration of man without it, or upon any difpofitions in them, or any means that they can ufe to move him to enable them to do it. Or laflly. Is it fuitable to the fame wifdom and fincerity to move fuch perfons by promifes to repent and believe, and to require them, having Jnch promijes to cleanfe themjelvesjrom allfilthinejs ojfleJJi and Jpirit, perjeding holinefs in the Jear of God ? For feeing to call men to faith and repentance, is to call men to believe to the Jalvation oj their fouls, znAlo repent that they may live and not die, and therefore to be ferioufly willing they fiiould be faved and not perifh, and to pafs ante- cedently a decree of preterition on the fame men, is ferioufly to will they fhall not be faved, but fhall inevitably perifii ; what wit of man can fliew how God can be ferious in calling fuch men to faith and repentance, much lefs in his concern, that they might do fo, or in his trouble, that they have not done fo, and yet be ferious and in good earnell in his ante- cedent decree to deny them that aid, without which they never can believe or repent ? cgainjl the. DoHrines Afferied, 3S7 CHAPTER 11. X HE third and laft objeftion refpefting the ftate of Heathens^. to whom thegofpel either never hath been tendered, or who for many ages have been deprived of the knowledge of it, be- ing of more importance, requires a more large confideration, and therefore in this chapter 1 fliall offer what I can produce in the difcuflion of it. ObjeElion. The difficulty, as it is abflrafled from this con- troverfy, is propounded by (t) Dr. Sherlock thus : '* That fince all men have immortal fouls, and mull be happy or mif- erable forever, God fhould for fo many ages fuffer the whole world, excepting the Jews, to live in ignorance, and in Pagan idolatry and fuperllition, that Ckrijl came fo late into the world to reveal the true God, and to publifh the gofpel to them ; and that fo great a part of the world flill are Pagans and Mahometans, and that 10 little a ^zxt oiiha chriJlian-worM, retain the true faith and worlhip of Chrijl. This is ten thou- fand times a greater difficulty than any prefent evils and ca- lamities ; becaufe the confequences of it reach to eternity." Anjwer. " But then the whole difficulty is no more than this, that we know not what the condition of fuch men is in the other world, who lived in invincible ignorance of the true God, and of our Savior Jcjus Chrijl in this ; this we confefs we do not know, but believe fo well of God, that we are ver- ily perfuaded, could we fee what their ftate will be in another world, we fhould fee no reafon to quarrel with God, .only be- caufe we know not how he deals with the ignorant Heathens in the other world ; if we knew how God dealt with thefe men, and knew that he dealt hardly by them, as far as we could judge, this would be a difficulty ; but what diffiulty is there in know- ing nothing of the matter ? For if we know nothing of it, we can judge nothing of it. Now feeing we cannot look into the world to come, and cannot otherwife know any thing of the future ftateof ignorant Heathens but by revelation, that /tr?/'- ture which containeth all our Revelations, faying, nothing of it ; it follows that we can judge nothing of it certainly. " Some men indeed, but without any authority hom fc rip- tare, confidently affirm that ignorant Heathens fhali fuffer the fame condemnation which Chrijl has threatened againft wilful (ej Difc. oi Providence, p. lao. Arc 36S* Anfwcr to Three Objeclions infidels y and wicked ckrijiians, and then it may well be thought a great difficulty that God fliould as feverely punilh men for not knowing Chnjl, when he was never preached to them, and they had no other pofTible way of knowing him, as he will puniih thofe who have had the gofpel of Ckriji preached to them, but refufed to believe in him, or have profeffed the faith of Chrijl, but lived very wickedly ; but this is a difficul- ty of their own making, and it would be much more fafe for themfelves, and much more honorable for God, to contefs their own ignorance of fuch matters, as they have no poffible way to know, and to refer all fuch unknown cafes to the wif- dom, jullice and goodnefs of God, than to pretend to know what they cannot know, and thence to raife fuch objeftions as they cannot anfwer." Section 1. — As this objection refpefts this controverfy, it runs thus : That God leems to have dealt as feverely with the Heathens, to whom the knowledge of his will and gofpel hath never been revealed, as we can imagine him to have dealt with men according to the do£lrine of abfolute eleftion and reprobation, and of fpecial grace vouchfafed only to fome few chrijiians, whilft others are left to the defeftive rule of their own wills without fufficient grace to enable them to turn to God and to do works meet for repentance. For, xjl. It may be fald that we are forced to grant that the grace of conveying the gofpel to any perfons, and calling them to be his church and people when other nations were left in darknefs, was of tree grace without confideration of any worth in them to whom the gofpel v/as vouchfafed above thofe who neverhadthe knowledge of it. Now the vonchfafement of the means of grace being from fuch a free eleftion, without confid- eration ot any worth in the perfons, it feems reafonable alfo to believe that the decree itfelf concerning the end, viz. the fal- vation tendered to us by the gofpel is alfo free ; and that it is not always applied to them Vv'hom God forefaw would ufe it better than others, appears from thefe words of Chrijl, that (aj if the mighty works zohich zcere done in Capernaum, Cho- ■razin and Bethfa-ida, had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented. Moreover feeing it is in fa£l certain, that the grcatell part of mankind have been always left deftitute of thefe means of grace which were vouchfafed to the Jew firft, and after to theGt'«/z7^j', we need not wonder why that God who freely communicates the knowledge ot himfelf by the gofpel to fome nations, denying it to others, fhould hold the fame methods with individilais, that he doth v.-ith whole bodies; for the (a) Mauh. xi. jij 24. againjl the DoHrines AJferUd, 36^ rejefting of whole nations by the lump for fo many ages, i* much more unaccountable than the feletlingof a few to be in- fallibly conduced to falvation, and leaving others in that ftate of difability in which they fhall inevitably fail of it. Now to this I reply, Anjwer. 1. — 17?. That this objeQion doth by no means an- fwer the chief arguments produced again ft thefe decrees ; it faith indeed, that God may as xodl make Juch decrees, as leave the greate/i part of rtiankind void of the means of grace ; which will be afterwards con fidered. But what is this to our chief arguments which are all taken from the inconfillency of thefe decrees, with the truth' and fincerity of his tollowing declara- tions made xnjcripture viz. with his commands to all to whona the gofpel is vouchfafed, to repent, with his exhortations and defires that they would do fo, with his threats ot ruin to them if they do not, with the fending his rnefiengers to perfuade them to it, with his declarations that he ufed great patience and longfufFering to lead them to repentance, and did this out of a fmcere defire that they might not perifli, with all the prom- ifes, motives and encouragements he hath fpread. before them to induce them to it, with his inquiries, why they would die ? With his admiration at their continuance, after all his deal- ings, in their- impenitence, and his upbraiding them for not re- penting ; with his qmeftions when they would be ynade clean ? \Vith his declarations that ht would have cleanjed the?n, and they would not be cleanfed ; he would have gathered them, and they would not be gathered ? With his appeal to them, what he could have done more than he had done to effeft it, and innumerable things ot the like nature, difperfed through the whole body of \k\tfcripture f When thofe of the contrary per- fuafion can fhcw the like inconfiftency betwixt God's declar- ations, touching the Heathen world, and his dealings with them, then, and then only will they fhew this difpenfation is obnoxious to the fame difficulties which we objeft againft, thefe abfolute decrees. zdly. I confefs there is, and ought to be allowed in reafon, a greater depth in the divine providence, and in his dipcnfa- tions towards the fons of men, than we can fathom by our (hallow reafon ; for fbj he doth great things and uvfearcha- hie, and fuch whofe iootfteps we can never trace, his judg- vients are a great abyjs, his greatnefs is unjearchabh, his un^- derjianding is infinite. We thereiore may put the queftion oi Zophar the Naamathite to the pretended wife and prudent, and moft fagacious inquirers into wifdom, (c) canft thou by mfdomfind out God? Canji thou fearch out the Almighty tp (tj Ffal. xxxri, $. cxlv. 3. cxlvii, St~-^(c] Job xi '', %, 9. A A a •^yo Anjwer to Three OhjeBioiv perfcElior, ? Now from this very topic the apoJlU doth cctJ" elude that we afe^ in fuch cafes as thefe are, even that of the reieftion oi his Once beloved people, after all that we can fay to vindicate his jultice, and his goodnefs, to end in this divine apojirophe, fdj oh the depth of the zoifdom, and the knowledge cj Odd I Hozu unfearchable are his judgments, and his zvays p a Ji finding out I But then as it would be in us an intolerable piece of infolence to fay, againft the plaineft declarations of the Jcripture, that Crod did not in wifdom make the world, becaufe we are not able to difcern the wifdom of all things framed in it ; fo muft it be an equal infolence in us to fay God doth not a6t in the prefervi.ng it, and in the ordering of affairs in it ac- cording to the meafares of true goodnefs, becaufe we who are unacquainted with the inward difpofuions of men, and fee not the end, and cannot dive into the reafons of his difpenfations, cannot difcern the footiteps of that goodnefs in all his various tranfa£fions towards men. Now hence it clearly follows. Sfction 11. — That what God hath plainly and frequent- ly revealed concerning his goodnefs, ought firmly to be own- ed and believed, aiihough we are not able to difcern how it comports with thofe phcznomena we have obferved in the world, becaufe from that of which we have no clear or com- prehenlive notion, we can make no clear and certain infer- ences, and fo can have no certain evidence that fuch and fuch things are not well confident with the love and goodnefs of God to mankind ; but of things clearly and frequently taught concerning the divine philanthropy, we have a full and clear idea, which therefore we in reafon ftand obliged to own, though we are ftill unable to difcern how the tranfaftions of Cod in the world comport with our impertedl knowledge, and weak notions of immenfe and boundlefs goodnefs, and perhaps falfe conceptions how it ought to aft. We need not, faith an excellent writer, trouble ourfelves with that queflion which is made concerning the converfion of all, or not of all men, (e) fi ea quse clara funt non de his quae occulta funt obfcuremns, if we do not obfcure thofe things which are clear by thofe zuhich are fecret ; that is, faith Dr. Barrow, if we da not obfcure fo clear a truth as that God is the Savior of all men. by debating how his grace is imparted to them, and by laboring overmuch in reconciling of it with other difpenfa- tidns of providence. Seeing then God hath {o often and {o clearly taught us that he is good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his )dly. Obfervc that finners cannot thus hope to feek, or find God, unlefs they can expefb to find him merciful in the pardon of thole (ins thev confcfs and forfake ; and that this hath been a principle embraced by all nations appears from the propitiatory facrifices which did fo generally obtain among- them even from the beginning ; and therefore all this muft depend on this foundation, that God is the maker of heaven and earth, and of all that therein is ; and fo it evidently doth. For, \fl. That which made all things, mufl be itfelf unmade, and fo mull be eternal ; it alfo mufl have powerover all things, and fo mii^t be Almighty. 9.dly. That which made all things muft have power to di- rctl, govern, order and difpofe of all things as he f^leafcs, and in his creatures mufl depend upon him for protection, and the difpofal of all their affair.';. 3^6 Anfwer to Three Obje^iom ^dly. That being which made all things in fuch an excel- lent order and dependance on each other, in fuch conftant and unchangeable viciflitudes, fitted with fuch faculties, adapt- ed to fuch ends and ufes, mull have infinite wifdom, and inuft defign things for thofe ends for which he hath thus fitted them. ^thly. He that hath made things fo as that they conftantly in their refpe61ive feafons, produce things good andufeful for the prefervation and comfort of thofe creatures he hath made, filling their mouths with food, ayid their hearts with gladnefs^ muft be good to all, even to the unthankful and the wicked, and fo his tender mercies miijl be over all his works. ^thly. He who vouchfafes fuch kindnefs to, and maketh fuch provifions for thofe bodies which we have common with the brutes, muft have made feme provifions for that foul which is our better part, and which is more efpecially derived from him, they therefore muft be capable of receiving blef- fings and favors from him ; and if they be lapfed and finful creatures, and made fo as that they certainly will be fubjeft to fin, they muft be capable of finding mercy, from him when they return from their iniquity. Now the plain inference hence is this, Coroll. That men guided only by the light of nature may fo acceptably feek God as to find him gracious and merciful towards them. Argument 4. This, ^thly, may be proved from thofe words, Heb. xi. 6. He that cometh to God mujl believe that heis^ and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently Jeek hun ; where obferve, ly/?. That to come to God is to ferve him, throughout the tenor of the fcripture, and more efpecially in this epiflU . where it fignifies to come to his throne of grace by prayer, Chap. iv. 16. by the oblation of facrifices. Chap. x. 1. by the performance of any other duty, Chap. vii. 25. x. 22. yea trom the context it appears that i,t is svcx-pz^riaxi, to do what is ivell pleafing to him ; for Enoch, faith St. Paul, received a teftimony, kvo!.pis'wivoci, that he did what was well pleajing to God ; but without faith' it is impofjible, tujcpe^riaxi, to do what is well pleafing to htm ; for he that (thus) cometh to God mufl believe that he is. Now this is the title given to God's mpft eminent fervants before, and after the flood, that, ivxpi'fmxii TM Oi^, they pleafed God. To. Enoch, Gen. v. 22, 24. To Noah, Gen. vi. 9. To Abraha?n, Gen! xxiv. 40. To Ifaac^ Gen. xlviii.^ 15. And ali that God requires of Abraham to fit him for the biefTings promifed is, kua.pi^'riaov Iv&wjov e/xS, zval/i before. 7ne. and be thouperfccl. Gen. xvii. 1. againjl the Do^rincs AjferU'd. 377 idly. Tliat all men may fo feek God as to do what is well pl6afing to him, it they diligently endeavor fo to do, fince othervvife it cannot be their duty to feek to pleafe him, it be- ing no man's dirty to do that which he cannot do. He that denies this inference as to the heathen word, exempts them from all obligations to feek that God whom they cannot pleafe. "^dly. That if they do fo, theylTiall be rewarded by him, and fo God muift be willing that they fhould feek him, and that they Ihoiild be rewarded tor fo doing. And, 4^thly. That the Heathens may have grounds fufficlentto be- lieve that they {hall be rewarded for ferving him diligently ac- cording to the light which God had given them ; deny thefe two laft inferences, and you deprive them of any motive to do that which is well pleafing to him, this being 'that which Heathens by the liwht of nature faw, that if piety (wd advan- tage, or profit did not s^o together , piety could he preferved in none. The only inference which 1 think needful here to inake is this, ' " Inference. That Heathens may have faith in God, even that faith which is the expeclation of things hoped for , and may en- courage them to feek him diligently. Argument 5. This may be further evident from thofe words, fbj The wrath of God is revealedfrovi heaven againji all Uh", godlinefs, and unrighlcovfnefs of men, zulio hold the truth in. unrighleoufnefs ; where obferve, i/f. Thai the cpoflle there is fpeakingof the Heathen world, of the Gentiles, Ver. 16. of them who changed the i?nage of the. incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, Vcr. 23. and xvorfkipped the creature more than the creator^ Ver. 25. ^dly. Obferve that this wrath of God vras revealed from heaven, fifi.J againji their ungodlinefs, i. e. againtl their im- piety in robbing God of his honor, and giving it to them which by nature were no Gods, and in being ungrateful to him who was the author oi all their blefiings, Ver. 21. f 'idly J for their unrighteoufnefs , i. e. the violation of the laws of juftice, char- ity and mercy towards one another, of which the yijC'ty?/^ fpeaks from Ver. 26. to the goih. 2,dly. Obferve that they did this againfl, fufficieiit evidence and manifeftaiion of the truth delivered to them, holding the truth in unrighteoufnefs ; that is, by a6ling contrary to the notions they had, or might have learned from the law of na- ture, and by fupprelTmg or corrupting the ditlaics of their ov/a natural confciences ; and this is ftill more evident from the reafon of this wrath of God revealed againfl them, the Apoflle' (h) Ronj. i. 18. Bfib 378 Anjwer to Three ObjeBiom faying, Yv^-^ That they were thus ungodly when God had (hewed and made maniteft to them by his works, that ivliich, might he known of him by the light of nature, Ver. 19, 20. idly. That when they had thefe fufficient means of knowing. God, and many of them by thefe means did know him, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful to him for the bleflings he had conferred upon them, Ver. 2 i . and fo they robbed him of his glory, and the acknowledgment of his good- nefs, againft that light which he had ,e;iven them to difcern thefe things, and that becaufe they liked not to retain God in their knowledge, Ver. 28. 3^/)'. That upon this account they were avarsroXoyriTDi, without excufe ; for 1 think that interpreta, tion of thofe words which makes this manifeftatiorv of himfelf fo be given with this intention only to render them inexcufable in their damnation, unworthy of a confutation, it being to be reje6led, as it is by Oecumenius^ with an o-jlx^ji, or with tht iitmofl detejlation ; this being the vileft imputation that can he caR upon our gracious God, to fay that he vouchfafes the nianifellation ot himfeli to men only to aggravate their con- demnation, and give himfelf a fpecious pretence to render them forever miferable ; it is therefore certain from the reafon tol- lowing (they were inexcufable, ^ictj, becaufe knowing God^ they did not glorify him as God) that the true import of thefe words is this ; that God had fo far manifefted himfelf unto them by the works of his creation and his providence, that they who were not by thefejneans induced to glorify him as God, and were not iluly thankful to him for the benefits he alone had conferred Upon them, were without arty reafonable excufe for their neglefl; to do fo. Now both the reafon and fufFrage of mankind proclaim this an excufe fufficient, for not doing any thing, that they had never power or fufficient means for the pertormance of it ; and if they had this power, and thefe means, it is certain that thefe Heathens might have ihns glo- rified God, and have been thankful, and that doing fo they would have been free from the neglcft of that which by this revelation God had made their duty. ^th.ly. Moreover what is it to glorify him as God ? Is it not to own him as the only God, to give him the worlhip due from creatures to their great creator ? To obey his known commands ; to fubmit to his good pleafure ; to repent of all their wilful violations of bis holy law^s, and when they have deviated frorrt them, to return to that obedience which they owe to him ; to conform to all his imitable perfefti'ons, or in the langCiage of the Heathens, sv^r.v, (tiiu.z^oXitcus'jQo'a, o/M,ow9r- v'/i. hij.oyjc^ixov'yj'yxi t~j 9su), to live the life of God, to converfe flill with him, to be like to, and of the fame ?nind with him ; to call upon him who is the giyer oi all good things, and ^'^ 'againjl the Do brines AjTerted. 379 'depend upon him for all the blefiings they did want ? Is it not "certain from the writings ot" the wifer Heathens, that they knew all this to be their duty ? Or could they glorify him as God, if they negleftcd fo to do ? Again, could they be thankful to him for his bkHings, un- lefs they acknowledged him the author of them, and owned their obligations to improve them to his honor, to love hint far his bounty, and to live to him by whom they lived ? ^thly. Obferve, that the great reafon of the xuiatk of God revealed againjl them was this ; that they thus hnned againft the knowledge and confcience of their duty, by holding the truth in unrtghteoufnefs, as is more clearly delivered in thefe words, Ver. 32. that knowing, to ^i-Kalwi^cx., the r'lghteous Jen- tence of God that they who did fuch things were worthy of death, (they themfelves pafiing this fentcnce upon thofe who denied the dignity, or worfhip of their Gods, and againft many a£ls ot unrighteoufnefs here mentioned) they not only did the fame, but took plcafure in them that did them. Novy hence the inference is this.' inference. That all the a£ls of ungodlinefs d,n^ unrighteouf- nefs, here mentioned as things too commonly praftifed in the Heathen world, were done againJd fufficient light and con- viflion ; that they did thefe things againft. the natural light of their own confciences, and the knowledge ot ihiit duty which was due from them both to God and man. Argument 6. This alfo feemeth evident from what the a-. poflU hath declared touching the Gentiles who had not the law ; to wit, that God would judge them according to their works, Rom. ii. 6. for a righteous God will only judge and condemn them for the negle6l of that which they knew to be their duty, and might have done, but did not ; and for the doing that which they knew to be evil, and might have avoid- ed, but did not ; and both thefe things fuppoi'e they had fuf- ficient grounds, even from the light of nature, to know, and might have by their finccre endeavors obtained fufficient help for the performance of it ; for, as Origen well reafons, if God condemned the Heathens tor holding^ the truth in unrighteouf- nefs, and becaul'e when they knezv God, they did not glonfy him as God, neither zone thankful ; it fcems agreeable to rea- fon to believe that had tliey done what they culpably negle61- ed, and therefore might have done ; i. e. had they glorified him as God, and been thankful, they would have done that which was acceptable to God, and fit to be re^varded by his goodnefs. zdly. When the apo/lle adds, that the Gentiles zohich knew not the law of Mofes did by nature (i. e. by virtue ot the law of nature written in their hearts] ttie things conta\nt:d :n tk^ 38^ Anfwer to Three OljeBion$ mora! law, he muft infinuate that they had the patural prin- ciples of good and evil difcovered to them by 1;heir ojwn'jrea- jfon and difcretion. Hence when they did that which \va3 naturally evil, their cofi/aence, inhh he, did accuje thtmjor it^ Ver. j^. whence it follows that they tnuft have boih the Icnowledge of the principles of natural religion, and an ability to perform them ; and to avoid thofe fins againft the light oj nature for which their confcience did accufe them ; for a confcience rightly informed will accufe no man for doing what he was not able to avoid. Again, when confcience in them is faid, at3oXo7i7y, to apologize, or plead for them, fince confcience plainly doth imply a knowledge of a rule by which our aftions are to be dlrefted, and that our aflions have beea done according to, or in repugnance to that rule, it cannot otherwife plead for them than by an inward fenfe that they iiave afted fuitably to that rule, or to the knowledge of their duty towards God and man, they from the light of nature oj- the conviQIons of their reafon had difco.V(Sre4. And fo much for the teflimonies oiholyfcripture. . " , ' " Section IV. — It feemeth alfo evident from reafon, that if God would be worfhipped, ferved and obeyed by his "ra- tional creatures, he muft have given theim fufficient knowl- edge of that being whom they are to ferve, worfhip and obey, and ol thofe laws which he requires them to obey ; and alio muft have given them abilities to do them as fdr as he requir«s this to their acceptance, and motives fufficient to induce them thus to ferve and to obey him ; for all mens reafon muft con- vince them that a righteous God will not require any perfon in order to his acceptance of him, to do that good, or to a- void that evil which he hath given them no means :o khovir, no ability to do, and no motive to perform ; fince what they cannot know to be their duty, or knowing cannot do^ they cannot be obliged to do ; and what they can have no motive to do or to avoid, they can have no juft ground or reafon 19 do, or to avoid. Now hence arife thefe ufeful corollaries. Cor oil. i.—ijl. That they who fay the lleatliens want fli.f- ficient means to know, or to perlorm thofe natural duties "^v'hich they owe to God or man, fo far deftroy both naturat religion and morality, becaufe they muft abfolvethe l[;lcatheTis from any obligations to perform them ; and w^hy tHeo jyje they ftyled duties of natural religion, or Tiiorality r' "' '' CorolL 2. — 2^/v. That they who fay there are fome pre- cepts vkrhich the Heathens cannot perform at all, viz. Thou Jlndt love the Lord thy God unth all thy heart, &c. and thou Jhalt nut covet any thing that is thy neighbor's, muft either fay thefc are no duties of natural religion, or morality, and that God therefor<5 hath not re^piired the Heaikens io ^^zxiQvpr^' 'agali^fi ihc Do^rines JJtried. 38$ ibifiTi ; or that God doth require them to whom he only hath, youchfafed the light of nature to do that which can never be performed by them, who only have the guidance and direc- tion of that light, and of thofs fecref. influences which he af- fords them. ^diy. That they who fay that all thofe aQions of the /f^^t- M^wj which are for the matter good, yet are formally fins, becaufe they are not done out of love to God as the principle, and to Goq's glory as the end; muft either fay that Heathens cannot, by the light of nature, know they are to do them from fuch principles, and to fuch ends, and then they cannot be obliged fo to do them ; or e!fe that though they know they ought to do them from this principle, and to this end, yet they want power fo to do them ; and then they muft affirm that they lie under an abfolute neceffity of doing all their aftions with thefe two effential defe6ls, and fo under an abfolute ne- ceffity of finning ; againfl the judgment of all antiquity, St. jiujlin not excepted, that no man is to be judged or conciemn- ed as a finner, for that which he lies under a fad neceffity to do, or to omit. One would be tempted to conceive they who fo confidently aver thef? things, had never read thofe layings of the faj Heathens who place their confidence in this. That it JJiall be well with them both in life and death bccaujc they truly love God, and do endeavor to be as like him as they can, and that this is the beji way oj doing honor to him ; declaring as fully againfl doing thofe things out of vain (b) glory, and chiefly to obtain applaufe from men as chrijlians do, and fay- ing that they are to do them out of refpeft to confcience, and ought even to lofe their reputation to preferve it, and that fcj to live according to nature, and, TsalQeaQai ru 6ew, xaJ itssa^xt Tov 0£ov, to obey or follow the diredion and example of God is the faine thing ; that in every thing be it great or little, we are to have refpetl to God, and glorijy him forever and ever, a,nd can do nothing well towards man unlejs we do it in refpetl to (a) Socrat. Apol. p. 31. Gicero Tufc. q. i. n. 8a. Jamblic. Protrep. c. I?, p. 84.. • (o) ^quiffimo animo ad honefium confilium per mediam infamiam tandem, nemo iiiihi videtur pluris cxltimare virtutem, nemo illi magis devotus quam qui boni viii faniani perdidit, ne conlcientiam perderet, Seneca, Ep. 81. p. 704. famam occupare et, to iVoo^on mu ^-aclvj prsepo- neie, inane, ftolidum, iniquum muitoties pronunciant. Vide Gataker, in Anton, part i. p. 19. 1. 4. p. 135. i. 43. 1. 6. p. 229, 330. 1. 7. p. 392. in Section 73. fcJ'Sli ya^ (pccrm of Ilf^aycpaci ri/y.^crsij tof ^toj ajTif a lx> ra Sew t»» ^jayoj«» oiAiucrm, Hierocl. in Carm. Pythag. p. 23, 24. At7 ust TranJxJ to IV 7rpa|c(f, Antoninus, 1. 3. Scition 13. Mine. T!;alctis monitum illud, iU Tb5 uiuvxiT^-,- au-'vi."! t^o^a^Ec^ai tc7 S.'cv, apud Clcn:. Alex. Strom. 5. ?• 504. D, 382 Anfzoer to Three Ohje^tons divine things : (d) That God is to be revered above all thi?igs, to be owned, thought upon, and refpecled in all things, to be in- voked that we may obtain them, and to be celebrated for them : to omit many things of a like nature. ^dly. If God hath given to all men immortal fouls, it feem- cth plainly hence to follow, that he hath put them fome way in a capacity of being happy after death, and hath not left them under an inevitable necefCty of being always miferable; for fince, according to our Savior's words, // had been better for juch men that they had not been born, and according to right reafon, it is better not to be, than to be miferable : And fince all fuch men mufl be fubjeft to a neceflity of being miferable only by being born into the world, that is only by God's own aftion in giving them life, and infufmg a fpiritual foul into them, and all their offspring mufl be miferable by that which God himfelf hath called his benediftion on our firft parents, by which they were enabled to iytcreafe and multiply : I fay, feeing thefc things are {o, it follows that either we rauft deny the immor- tality of the fouls of thefe Heathens, and fay that they will die ■with their bodies, and be liable to no account hercaher or al- low that they are placed by divine providence in a capacity of avoiding the being ever miferable in that future ftate. And that God hath vouchfafed fome means of grace and kindnefs even to the fouls who by his providence have wanted that Jight which he imparted to the Jexu and Chrifiian, may be concluded from his goodnefs to them in things temporal ; for fince he is that God who d^i^th good to all, and whofe tender mercies are over all his works, who giveth to all men liberally, filing their hearts with food and gladnefs : Is it likely that he ihould wholly neglefcl their fpiritual concerns leaving their precious fouls entirely deftitute of help, and under a fad ne- ceflity oS. pining away in their iniquities, and being miferable forever ? And to be fatally expofed to eternal death, without affording them any means of redrefs. This even to a Heathen feenied a mod unworthy apprehenfion, that God flioulfl be (e) -STpof y^i\ "XQL i^uxiy^a xorXcTy Y.a.\ d:p(iovjJS zsafdaKavofxivof, Tspoi 0} TxypBirTcij asiopai, liberal in beflowing mean things, and /par" ing in better things : why therefore Ihould we ch'ri/iians, who have clearer difcoveries of tjhe divine gopdnefs, think that he who gives to all men life, breath, and all things, Ihould Utterly withhold from any the means of ferving him accepta- bly ? They furely might infer from his declarations that he is the Savior of all men, and that all fouls are his, (which is plainly faid to anfwer the complaints of thofe who thought he dealt hardly with them) that he is the God of the Gentiles af fdj Vide Gatjk. voce Dr^s. re .' Max^ Tyr. Did". 12. p. 216. againjl the DoSirines Afferted. 383 well as oftJct Jews ; the fame God who is rick unto aU that call upon him, that he hath not left himjelf without a teftimo~ ny of his goodnefs, that he made them tojeek after kim, in or- der to the finding him, and fo far manifefled hinifelf to them that they might know him fo as to worjhif) him as God, and to be thankful to him for his benefits : That, Lajlly, He hath made them fo as to be a law unto themfdves, by virtue of that light of reafon he hath implanted in them, fo that they have an inward fatisfaftion in doing well, and an accufing con- fcience when they do that which is naturally evil j they, 1 fay, may more rationally conclude he is not utterly deficient in communicating interior ajjiflances, and promoting the good, ufe and improvement of thefe talents ; fince otherwife they are not only bcftowed in vain, and fo as to produce no good effetl ; but are really unkindneffes, as being only apt to pro- duce ill effects on thofe on whom they are conferred, viz. the aggravation of their fin, and confequently of their future punilhment. Coroll. Hence then it follows that no Heathen nations are wholly left without fome means of knowing and fome ability of doing thofe things God hath made abfolutely requifite to free them from his future wrath, fince otherwife they mufk be born under an abfolute neceffity of being ever miferable. Section V, — ^dly. I add that it cannot be confiflent with divine equity and goodnefs to make that a condition of any man's happinefs which he cannot know to be his duty, or knowing cannot do ; fince this mufl certainly fubjetl him to an impoffibility of being happy, and therefore to a- certainty ©f being miferable ; which, by the former propofuion, mufl be repugnant both to the juflice and the goodnefs of God. Coroll. Hence it is evident that the knowledge of any rev- elation made to Jew or Chrifian, cannot be neceiTary to the happinefs of the Heathens in general, and much lefs the prac- tice of any purely chrifian Amy ; becaufc it is morally im- poffible that many of them fliould come to the knowledge of thefe things ; and therefore faith in Chrijl Jfus cannot be neceffary to tlie falvation of as many of thetn as have never heard or him ; for how, faith the apoflle, (f) ftall they he^ heve in him oj whom they have not heard ? And to whom no prea-cher of Chrijt Jefus hath been ever fent j for how fliall they hear without a preacher ? Skction VI. — /^ihly. This I think certain, that God will only judge men at the lafl for finning againfl the meana he hath vouchfafed them to know, and to perform their duty, and only by that law which he hath given the;n ; fo» fin being (fj Rom, X. 14. 3^4 Anfwer to Three OhjeHioiUs dnly a irdnfgrcjjion of a law, where God hath given no law iorbidding any a£lion, there can be no Imputable tranfgrer- fion pHt ; and where he hath given no law commanding, there can be no negleft of duty. Cor oil. Hence it muft follow, that thofe Heathens to whom the law ot nature hath been only given, can be judged only for the violations of that law ; that is for the negleft of that which by that law they might difcern to be their duty to pef- foroi, or their fin to commit ; God's wrath being only reveal, tdfrom heaven zpi\v\^ them who held the truth in unrightzouf- nefs. And therefore as almofl: all the Thefes laid down by VoJJius,'\n his difputation de Virtutibus Gentilimn, are abfurd; fo the firft Thefis which makes this a requifite of a good ac- tion, that it be done according to the law of God, il he under- ilands this of a written law of which the texts alledged by him only fpeak, is the firftborn of abfurdities; as requiring thd Heathens to knov/ the revealed will of God, in order to their doing good, without a revelation, and faying that a righteous Judge will judge the Heathens by a law he never had revealed to them, and condemn them for not walking by that rule he liever gave them for the direflionof their attions. Asabfur^ is \i\%Jifth Thefis which requires this condition as necefTary td render the aftions of the Heathens profitable to them, ut pro- xniferit Deus remunerari fe ea velle asterna vita, that God Jhould have promijed to reward them with eternal life ; this being to make it necefTary in order to any motive they can have, that is, to any hope they fiiould be better for any good they do, tTiat they fhould have a promife of eternal life, who zv&Jlrangers to the covenant of promife, and are incapable of having it, no fuch promife being ever made to anv without a revelation : Sure it is, from the words of the apojlle, that if they have any motive to ferve God, they muft have reafon to believe that he is a rezcarder of them that diligently feek him, and fo their fervice muft be done in faith ; but then what that reward will be, it being not of debt hut grace, it is impodible for them to know without a promife. And this I think fo far unneceflfary to their good aaions, that 1 rather intline to be- lieve that they among them who endeavored to liveholily arid righteoufly with refpefl to a recompence without a promife, -on the account of divine goodnefs, and of his love to virtue wherever it was icund, will find a fuitable reward from God ; ind that he highly did approve that noble refolution of Socrates, That being perfuaded that good vien living and dying fhould he happy, and bad men punifhed ; (g) /, faith he, bid adieu to Ithe applaufes of the world, nal Gx.owciJ ozsus aT^o^nvSc^t rZ Kpirri fgj Plato Georg. p. 358. againjl the Do&rines AJferted. 385 ojs {j^/iz^irrtM i%coy rr/V vj/y^.'^v, Kai tirfipa.aofjixi rcZ ovri ui *v ot^va- (A^i /BeXrrrCf a^v, xai ^^v, x«« stirtiJav dnso^vhsycu oLzjoCivTiTazim ^ and will make it my care how I may appear before my judge rvith a mo fl pure foul, and how J may live and die the beft of men : As alio that of (h) Sapio, who being told in a dream by Africa- nus, cerium efTe in ccelo et definitum locum ubi beati asvo fempiterttofruantur, that there luas a certain place in heaven where the bleffed lived for ever ^zv\A that the way to -it was that of piety and righteoufnefs ; enters into this ferious refolution, (i) I have always hadfome regard to theft things, nunc autem tanto pra^mio propofuo enitar mulio vigilamius, but now in prof. ped of this high reward, I will purfue them with thi greater diligence. Section VII. — ^thly. God having laid down this meth- od in the difpenfation of his gifts, that he who is, Iv £}.axtra) sz 190 r, faithful 2n the leaf talent, fhall have a fuitable reward^ and that to him that hath, fo as to improve what he enjoys, fhall more be given, and vice verfa, we may hence rationally conclude that he who diligently endeavors to do good accord- ing to that light he hath received, fhall find fome tokens of the favor of God ; and that if any farther aid be requifite to ena- ble the Heathens acceptably to perform their duty, the divine goodnefs will impart that alfb to them by thofe fecret difpen- fations of his providence which we are not acquainted with ; for as to idiots and infants, among chriflians, God's mercies are vouchfated, and our Savior's meritorious performances are applied in a manner not underftood by us, without any- capacity in them to know or believe any thing, fo may God's grace be commumcated to, and the merits of Chrifi avail for, ignorant Heathens, in a way unknown to, and unfearchable by us. And therefore as the Heathens did acknowledge tha» the divine afliftance was neceffary to the performance of their •duty, fo did they accordingly expert it and declare that (I) nullus unquam vir magnus fuit fiiie aliquo afflatu Divino, nd man ever was or could be excellent without fome divine ajfifl- ance ; and that by reafon of mens pronencfs to vice, and the difficulty of a virtuous life, they food in need, fmj ^bhouK- Xr,z:Topos xai ctnayui'vis^ov, of God to be their helper, and their coadjutor. Whence we may argue, that where this was want- ing, it is not for want of kno*vledge, or of power, but for their flothfulnefs, and the abufing of their talents, they (hall be condemned. Section VllI — And Lafly;\Vc vmy reafonably con-, elude God v/ill deal with them in refpe£l both to the accepta- fhj Som. Scip. apud Cicer. n. 5 fij N. ii. N. iS. —{IJ Cic. de N*t. Deor, 1, 2. n, 124, 125- fm) Ma^. Tj-r. DiiT. 22. p. 318. C C c 386 Anfuitr to Three ObjeSlions tion and reward of their good, and his difpleafures agalnft, and punifhment of, their evil anions according to the meaf- ures of their ignorance and knowledge, the abilities, ruotives and inducements afforded to them to do or to avoid them ; and that in thefe particulars, iji. That their good aftions done upon lefs conyiftions, aids and motives, may be more acceptable to God than the like aftions done by chnjlians upon much ftronger evidence^ and better aids, and more powerful inducements to the fame aftions, becaufe this (hews a greater readinefs to alTent to the obje6ts of our faith, and better inclination to the performance of our duty. Hence Ckri/i fpeaks thus to Thomas^ (n) Hajl thoufeen, and therefore believed? Biffed are they who have not feen, and yet have believed. From which words both inter- preters ^ndfchoolmen gather, that faith upon leflVr evidence is of greater merit, becaufe it Ihews a greater pro'optitude in the will to embrace, and a ftronger affeftion to the obje6ls of faith. And the foj Centurions faith is commended above that of Ifrael, becaufe he believed in Chrifl upon leffer evi- dence than they, who were acquainted witU Mofes and the prophets, had ; and upon thofe words of Chrifl to the S-yrO' phcenician woman, fpj zvonian, great is thy jaith, I have defcanted thus, " Great is thy faith, that having no promife to r^ly upon, and fuffering fo many repulfes, and fuch feeming contempt, thou ftill retaineil fo good hope of my kindnefs and m-^rcy." The faith of thdfe who firmly rely upon God's promife, and are not by great temptations and affliftions mov- ed from their confidence is praifeworthy ; bat highly excel- lent is their faith who depending only upon his goodnefs, do place their humble confidence in God, embracing the faith of Socrates as raofl certain truth, (q) that no evil could happen to a (rood man^ living or dead. Nee unquam ejus res a Diis immortalibus negligentur, becaufe the immortal Gods could never neglecl his affairs. " Whence we may learn that the faith of Gentiles is not only pleafing to God, but fometimes more excellent than that of thofe to whom the promifes be- long, VIZ. when upon lefTer motives it brings forth equal fruits." Thus, V. g. it is praifeworthy in a chriflian, to take no thought for tomorrow, but to depend on the alfurance Chrift hath given him that he fhall want neither food nor rai- ment; but it is more noble in an i/,?aMe«,. (aj Epidetus, to believe that afervant of God Jhould not be folicitousfor the morrow, and put the queftion thus, OsjScrra:* rlr dyrtp dya^os, can fn) John XX. 29, fo) Luke vii. 9. fp) Matth. xv. 2S. fq J "Ep yl »» TtiTo ^ia'joiij^xi ^i7 aX-ri^ii Jamb. Protrept. p. 84.. Socrat. apiid Gicer. Tufc* 2. q. J. n. 82. and Apol. p. -«• /'^J ^P^'-^ Arrii-i 1. »,C. 9. p. lOS, I. 3. c. 36. p. 34&, 25^' a^ainjl the DoBrines AJferltd. 387 any good man fear he may zcant food ? Doth God fo neghSl his Jervants, and his wkneffes oj his care and providence f It h a chrifiian virtue to be contented, and to acquielce in all God's providences, even under all the comforts, the afliftan- ces, the promifes and hopes which chrjjliamty affords ; but for a poor Have or fervant, as fbj EpiCletus was, to be able thus to appeal to God, Did I ever. Lord, aUvfe thee, or com- plain of thy government ? Was I not always willing to be fie k when It was thy plea fur e that I Jhould be fo ? Did I ever de. fire to be what thou wouldji not have vie to be? Was I ever the lefs pleafedvpon that account ? Am, I not always ready to do what thou commandejl ? Did I ever tranjgrefs thy precepts^ or abvfe the faculties that thou hafi given me ? JFilt thou, haye me to quit the plays ? I go from them full oJ thanks that thou, admittejl me to fee thy works, and under/land the adnunijlra^ iions of thy providence ? Wilt thou have vie to continue here, I will freely do as thou willeji f Wouldfl thou have me to depart hence, I will freely do it at thy command ? (c) I have always had viy will JuLjed to that of God. fdj Would he have me to befeverifli, I would be fo ? To defire or attempt any thing, I will defire and attemf?t it ? Would he not have me to enjoy tt, I would not have it ^ Would he have me die, I am wUiing to die ? fej Deed with tne according to thy pleafure ; I am al- ways of the fame vnnd with thee : I refufe nothing which thou, art pleafed to lay upon me ; lead me wither thou willeji ; clothe me as thou pleafefi ; I will be a magiflrate, or private perfon ; continue me in my country or in exile, I will not on- ly jab mi t to, but dfend thy proceedings in all things. Let me fee in chrifiians a more entire fubniiffion to the will of God, that I may prefer their chriftian virtues before his fplendid fins. Q.dly. The Heathens alfo may expe6l a reward upon per- formance oi Icfs duty ; for as ffj much zvill be required of them io xohom much is given, fo to whom Ufs is given, of them lefs will be required, Taiih our Lord. We fee it is thus in refer- ence to all other thing? of a like nature, the Icfs our fubllance is, the Icfs charity is required trom us ; the lefs flrengih they have to perform it, the lefs fervice will be expefted fiom -1 child or fervant ; the lefs time men can fpare from their necef- fary labor, the lefs time will God require to be employed in his immediate fervice ; and the weaker men's intelleclual fac- ulties arc, the lefs meafureof know ledge we require from them : And what reafon have we to believe God will not deal witl» (b) Apud Arrian. !. 3. c. .(;. p. 17t, 274 (c) \.. 3. c. 14- r- 34i- - — ^i\i, ihtiX Ch or azin ditii. Bethfaida ihall be tormented more than Tyre and Sidon, becaufe, probably, Tyre and Sidon would have repented. The fame I fay to others who would have our Lord fay only this, fzj That had thefe miracles been done in X)"f^ and Sidon] fhey would havi repented, but not from the heart, becaufe miracles "are notable to convert any one to God from the heart • for in confcicnce is there any reafon that Cho- raziri and Bethfaida (hould fare worfe than Tyre, and Sidon, becaufe they would have repented as Hypocrites, continuing no lefs finners than if they had not repented. To fay as oth- ers do. That had God ordained thofe miracles to be done at Tyre and Sidon, he would have determined their wills by his immediate ad to be converted, is to fay that our Lord, by a mental refervation, fays that, whereof he expreileth not the reafon, and fo cozens them who fatistV themfelves with the reafon which he doth exprels." When (idly.) they do in favor of thefe falfe interpretations add. That U would be an ad of crudty in God to have denied fx) Luke xix. 43 (y) Epil. Purt .-■ p. :-;-. fz) Carnfro. in locum. a^ainjl the Do^rines AJferUi, 3^1 iJliem thofe mtans which he Jorejaw would have produced in them repentance to Jalvation^ 1 reply three things, \Jl. That they here fay more than can be necefTarlly infer- red from Chrtji's words, who faith indeed that Tyre and SidoK would have repented in fackcloth and afhes, i. e. with repent, ance at prefent true and fmcere, and in which they perfever- ing might have remained to thofe days. But fo did Ninevek repent at the preaching of Jonas in fackcloth and aflies ; and the text faith, God faxu their works that thty returned Jrom their evil ways, but then they afterwards relapfed into them to their utter ruin. Phihp converted the people of Samaria by miracles, but th<*y were foon perverted again by the for- cerics of Si?non Magus ; the ftony ground believed for afea- fon, but in time oj perjecution fell away ; and fo did many oi the _7<;a^i who had once truly owned the faith of Chrift, fo that (a) it had been belter for them not to have known the way of righteoufne/s, than after they had known it, to depart fron the holy commandment ; and who cap tell whether God might not fbrefee that the repentance of Tyre and Sidon, though for a feafon true, would not have ended in a like apojlafy f idly. I add that it is moft abfurd to fay that God is cruel towards any perfon or nation, provided he apply not to them all the means his wifdom can difcern to be efFeftual to bring them to repentance and falvation, this being to condemn our gracious God of cruelty in the whole courfe of his Provi- dence ; for, doubtlefs, his infinite wifdom could have found out means, throughout all ages, to have converted more than aftualiy were converted, yea io have turned the hearts of all mankind unto him. Even this of miracles might have been as effetlual to any other people, as it would have been to Tyre and Sidon, to the converfion of injidds in any age, as in the firft ages of chrijlianily . The appearance of Ckrijl to them in the like miraculous manner as he did to Saul, might have been as effeftual to convert any either Jew, and God in hi» infinite wifdom might have forefeen they would be fo ; muft he be therefore cruel becaufe in all ages, from the firft degen- eracy of mankind to this day, he did not always ufe thefe means for their converfion, and if he doth not ftill continue them whilft the world lafts ? Who then can free his provi- dential difpenfations from this blafphemous charge ? Surely, it means fufficient for the performance of that duty which God requires from any perfon or nation, and for negte£l of which he will condemn them at the lall, be all that can bere- (juifite toexempt God from this charge of cruelty, even thofe of Tyre and Sidon had, or might have had, them ; God fend- (aji Pet. ii. ai. g92 Anfwtr to Three OhjeBiom ing his meflages to tbem by his prophets, and they living in the land of Canaan, being not unacquainted with the miracles God wrought iot his own people, Chrijl aifo being fometimes in their coafts, and they being as able as others were to come from the coafts of Tyrt and $idon (b) to hear hi?n, and to be healed of their difeafes. And if other Gentiles had not fuch means, Why was God's wrath revealed jrom heaven againjl thai ungodlinefs and unrighteoufnefs which they had not fuf- ficient means to avoid ? And why doth God complain of the impenitent, the difobedient and unbelievers, becaufe they o- beyed not his precepts, and hearkened not to his calls and in- vitations, and were not induced by his promifes and threat*, his patience and longfuffering, and all the other methods ck his providence, to faith, repentance and obedience ? Why doth he marvel at, complain of, and upbraid them for tiiat, which they had no fufficient means to alter or amend ? ^dly. If means unfruftrably effe6lual be neceffary on this account, who Jay this odious charge upon God fo evidently as they do who tell us he hath left the greateft part of all mankind under an abfolute decree, not to afFord them thofe means which he fees abfolutely neceffary for the performance of that duty without which they cannot be happy, or for avoiding that fin by which they Qiall inevitably be miferable to all eter- nity ? CHAPTER III. Jl or a clofe I fhall briefly add fome teflimonies of the primitive fathers concerning God's general goodnefs to the world throughout all ages, and more efpecially towards the heathens. Section I. — Cent. i. Clemens Rom anus, in his epiftle to the Corinthians, fpeaks to them thus, Ltt u9 diligently infpeSt all ages, and we fliall find that in all ages God gave place for repentance to all that would turn to hurt. This Noah preach- ) Luke vl, 17. againjl the DoHrines Afferted, 39^ ftpenting of their /ins, k^Ckoifxvro tov 6sov lycerzusoLvra y.a\ eXafov SjOJTnpia.y naizsip aXkorpioi th ficS tvris., appeajed God by prayer S^ and obtained falvation, though they were aliens from God ; i. e, not in covenant with him as the Jfexus were. Cent, 2. Juflin Martyr highly approves of that faying of Plato, (a) That they xvho Jeek to appeaje God by vows and Jacrijices, ought, to 'ssa.vi.n^a.i kxI (x^cra.yiMU'y/.siv e(p' ois '/ifj^zpravy to repent of, andforfake their fins ; which if they conceive God znfexible,they will never do, iViv oi^ikos i-n rns ixsrccvoixs 'i^aiM oiopLsvoi, as expecling to receive no benefit from their repentance. He adds, fbj That wicked Demons d,id perfeciite, thj azsHodiH^^ oTov Swx^aTTiv, y-od Tiss o/ao/»s, the good, as Socrates, and thofc that were like him, Heraclitus and Mufonius, kx\ zscivras rnsr xciv QZjws ^vi'ssors xara Xoyov /3<£y ffZ7«3'^^ovT thoofe the truth and do good ; fo that they who negleil to do fa are, dvxzjoXoyTiToi zjxpai tcj fico;, inexcufablc before God. (e) And that, ol /xara 'Kayu ^toiiavrBS •/^pn^riavoi hsi oCov ^coy.pdrri^ ytou 'HpxKXsiros, they who live according to reafon are Chrifi- ians, as toas Socrates and Heraclitus, on which place fee the note of Langius. Athenagoras faith, (f) That God made theni, hs rr.v del oja- (/.ovr.y, to live forever, who bearing the image of God in them^ felves, did participate of a mind and rational judgment ; that knowing their maker, and his power and wifdom,'Joixcj rl auvs-sso- /Xcvot it'xl ^lyi-h r^rots ^£ ffuv^iaiu/Mt'i^cjaiv dzjovcui ols rr,v z7poXa(3ovsa.v tyjd-uvov :aVKXX'/) iz^X rc eViV ot' ha. i^Hkn^ri }iix.ixiw(!xi rov a^BpaTsaiv G/ov ©aoj", there was no time when God zuas not willing to render the lives cf men righteous ; for he zoas always regardful oJ this by giv* mg them occafions of virtue, and the amendment of their lives. To that imputation of Celfus, that chriflians held that God negleEling all other men, took care only of them, (which in the language of our adverlaries is true of the cleft only among chriflians) Origen anfwers, (n) that this dodrine tvas falfely imputed to chriflians, they knowing from the fcriptures that God loveth all men, and hateth nothing that he hath made ; that the earth is full of his mercy, and that it reacheth to all Cent. 4. Nazianzen faith f oJ that there being many things for which God is to be celebrated or ad?7iired, yet is there, ov» ^fcv «Tws US TO T^a.vr 164. (ni) P. 165. (n) P. 178. (o) Orat. ^6, "■ — IP) I'l Matth. Horn. 36. p. 24'*. againjl the DoHrines AJferted, 35^ lefore the coming ofChriJl, ivri^ xaiixri hfj.-'y.oymavr^i fov Xfip>v- rore aojQyivai, they that believed not in Chrifl might be Jave.d^ fnxi. /u.iv yap ui ^cuTopiav iopxai to rhv Qzov ei^ivzi (xovov ; for then ike knowledge oj the true God, and jreedom from idolatry was. Juffi.cient for falvation. And this he proves from thefe words ot \\\^-apoJlle,(q) glory, honor and peace to emry one that doth good, to the Jewjirji, and alfo to the Gf utile, St. Jerom al- fo faith, that from thofe words of St. John concerning Chrijl, frj he IS tht true light that enUghteneth every one that comes ifito the world ; it is plain, natura omnibus inefle Dei noti- tiam, nee quenquam (me Chrifto nafci, et non habere in fe fe- tnina fapientiae, et juftitiae reliquarumque virtutiim ; unde niulti fine fide, et Evangelio Chri'fti, vel fapienter faciunt ali- qua, vel fanftc ; that the knowledge of God is by nature in alt men, and that no man is born zuiihout Chrijl, or who hath not in hi mjelj the feeds of wifdom andjufiice, and of all fither mr^ iues, whence many, without faith and the gofpel oJ Chrijl^per- Jorthfome things either wifely or hohly. Cent. ^. The author of the treaties de vocatione Gentium faith ffj we firmly believe, and pioifly confefs according to the fcriptures, that the care oJ the divine providence was never want' ing to mankind in general, who, though he chofe to himfelf a peculiar people irjlruiledhy his laws, nulli tamen Nationi hora- inum bonitatis fuss dona fubtraxit, yet heLth he nit withdrawn Jrom any nation the gifts of his goodnefs, but let them receive the voices of the prophets, and oj the law, in Teflimoniis Ele- mentorum, in the evidence of the elements (or firft principles of natural religion j) (t)for he gives them his laws in their minds, eafque in cordibus eorum digito fuo infcribit, and writes them with his finger in their hearts, thai they may obtain the knowl- edge of God, not by humane reafon, but by his in/lruclion. And we believe that the help of the divine grace was never wholly withdrawn from any ; fuj for the eternal goo dnejs of God doth not fo withdraw iffelj Jrom thofe ?nen, ut illos ad cognofcendum fe atque meiuendum nullis fignificationibus admoneret. ^j^ to admonifli them by no intimations that they Jfiould know and Jear him ; (w) for the heaven and earthy and every creature isfo ordered to the advantage of man, that by the contemplation of them, by the experience of fo great good". lief, and the receipt of fo many gifts., ad cultum et dileftioncm fui imbuerentur Authoris; implente omnia fpiritu Dei, they may be infiruded to zoorfiip and love that God whofs fpirit Jilletk all things. For, laith he, fx) datur unicuiqr.e fine merito Andc tendat ad meritum, et datur ante ullum laborem, (q) Rom. ii. 10. (r) In Gal. c. i. f. 70. M. (f) L. i.e. 2. . [tjCif. J. (uj Cap. 7. (vj) Lib. a. c, i. ( ■*:J Cai?. i. ggS AnJ-wer to Three OhjeBions, (3i:, tinde quifque mercedem accipiat lecundum fiium laborem, f(f every one is given that, without any worthinefs, by which he may tend to what is worthy, and that is given, without his la^ boT,Jrom whence he may receive a reward according to his la- bor ; (y)for the experience of all ages teaches us thejujl mer^ cy of God, and his merciful jujiice, that he was never wanting 7n nourijhing mens' bodies, nee docendis juvandifque eoruin Tnentibus deTuiffe, or in inflru&ing and afffling their viinds ; (zj for there was always exhibited to all men a certain meaf- ure of teaching from above, in which though the grace was unore [paring and obfcure, fufficit tarnen ficut Deus judicavit quibufdam ad remedium, omnibus ad teftimonium, was yet fufficient in God's account for a remedy to fome, and for a ' tejiimony to all ; and they who never heard of the gofpel wen yet men, (a) quibus ilia menfura Generalis auxilii quae defu- per omnibus hominibus eft praebita, non negatur, to whom is not denied that general meafure of aid which is afforded to all men from above, the manifold and ineffable goodnefs of God^ fofar confulting the good of all men ; ut neque ulli pereun- tium fuppetat excufatio de abnegate fibi lumine veritatis, that none that pcrijh fhall be able to fay in their excufe, that the light of the truth was denied them ; feeing it may be proved that not only in the lajl days, but in all ages pafi, (b) gratiam Dei omnibus hominibus affuiffe, the grace of God was afford.^ ed to all men. (y) Cap. 3. (^) Cap. 5- (<*) Cap. 9. (h) Cap. 10.. V w \ poftfrtipt ",HEN I had put thefe papers to theprefs . I met with a treatife of the Rev. Dr. John Edwards, in which he hath done me die honor frequently to attempt the refutation of the expofitions given in my A72notations ot texts relating to thefe controverfies ; all which fhall, by divine afiiftance, be fully vindicated from his exceptions in due time. But leaving that work to a farther opportu- nity, I {hall at prefent only confider his weak attempts to free the do6trines he h^th fo ?ealoufly efpoufed, from the impu- tation of novelty ; and to demon ftrate, that not one of them was, in his fenfe, maintained before St. Aii/Iin's time, and that fome of them were not owned by any ccclefiajlical writer for a long time after. And, 1. Whereas he abfplutely denies that eleflion to life and falvation is on the account of faith, or works forefeen, VoJJius^ in his pelagian hijlory, declares, that (a) all the Greek Jathers always, and all me Latin fathers, who lived before St. Auftin, held that they were predtjlinattd to life, whom God forefaia that they would live pioujly and righleoujly ; or, as others Jay, uihom hejorefaw, would believe and perjcvere to the end. And /'^y' Grasci Patres femper, Patrum Latinorum vero illi qui ante Au- guHinum vix runt, dicere folenf, eos elfe prai Icftinatos aa vitam, quos Dens pie refteque vittiiros praevidit, Tive, nt alii.lcqiHiniiir, qiios, pra:- vidit credituros et perfeveraturos. Lib. 6. Thef, 8, p- SjS 545* Vide etiam Petavium de Deot Lib. 9. Cap. 3. 39^ . PoJtfcripL this he proves from the teftimonies of Juflin M. Jtnncsus, Cle7}iens of Alexandria, Chryfojlom, Theodoret, and others of the Greek church. And among the Lations, from the tefti- monies oS.Ttrtullian, Hilary ^ St. Ambrofe^ Hilarius Diaconus, and St. jferofn. Profper, in his epiftle to St. Auji'in, inquires of him how. he may avoid this imputation of novelty ; for, faith he, (h) having had recoLirfe to the opinions of ahno/l all that went before me, concerning this matter, I find all of them holding one and ihefayne opinion, tn which they have received the pur- pofe and the predejimation of God according to his prudence ; thatjor this caufe God madefoine vejfels of honor, and others vfftls of dipionor, becaufc heforejaw the end of every one, and knew before how he would will and a£i under the aid of grace. And, after this ingenuous confellion, was this very Profper fit to be produced by the dodor as a witnefs of the antiquity of thefe doftrines ? To what end alfo, doth he cite St. Aufin as a witnefs of their antiquity, who manifeftly owns, that he^ was formerly of the other opinion ? This his own words im- port, as you may fee in Vojfius, p. 545, 546, 547. Again, is it not wonderful to find the dodor fayirtg fo dog- matically, that fcj this dedion without the Jorejight of good works is ajferted by that St. Jerom, -who on that place of Af^/- achy, Jacob have I loved, and Efau have I hated, faith, (dj the love and hatred of God arifetk either from his foreknowl- edge of things future, or from works? m his comentary on the Galatians, he brings in the Hereticks, i. e. the Valentinians, Baflidians and Manichees, difputing thus, (e)that ajuf man would not be chofen before he had done any good, nor would the Jinner be hated hefre he hadfnned, unlefs the nature of thofe that perifi, and of thofe that are faved were different ; and anfwers, {fj that this happeneth from the foreknowledge ojGod^ (b) Illud aiuem, qvialiter diliiatur, quaelumus patienrcr infipientiam noftram feiendo deniondres, quod retradtatis priorum de hac re opinio- nibus pene omnivim par invenitur et Una Sententia, qua propofitum et prasdeitinationem Dei fecundum Prsefcieiuiam leceperunt, utob hoc Deus alios vafa honoris, alios contumelije fecerir, quia finem uniufcujurque praeviderit, et fab ipfo Gratiae adjutorio in qua futurusefllt voluiUafe, eta^riione, pi asfciverit. Ed. Coloai As"P' P- 886. (c) Pige 503. ( d) Porrodiledio et odium Dei, vel ex prsefcientia nafcifur futurorum ve) ex operibus, alioquin novinius quod omnia Deus diiigat, nee quic- quam eorum oderit quae creavit. F. 127- H. (e ) Nunquani aut juHus dilifteietur, antequam aliquid borj faceref, aut Peccator odiretur ante delictum, nifi cilei pereuntium, et ialvandoni'.u nafura diverfa. (f) Ad quod poteft fimpliciter refpooderi, hoc ex Dei prrefcicntia cv- cniie, utquem fcitjudum futurum, prius diiigat quam oriauirex uiero, et que/n peccatorem, oderit antequam peccei, non q'lod in amorc, et in odio iniquiias Dei fit, fed quo noa aliter cos habere debeat, quos fcit vel fci-catores futures efle, vel juftos, C©m. Id Galat» F. 7«*« L» i r. Pojlfcripu 39j> tuho loves him whom he knows will hereafter be righteous, be^ fore he is born, and hates him whom he knows will be wicked, before hejins : not that there is iniquity iti the love and hatred of God, but becaufe he ought not to deal otherwife with them^ whom he knows zoill be hereafter ju^, or wicked. And freak- ing of thofe words, Eph. i. 4. God hath chojen us in him, be- fore the foundation oj the world, that we fliould be holy, he faith, ^gj that this belongs to the foreknowledge of God to whom all future things are as already done, and to whom all things are known before they be done, even as St. Paul was pre- dejlinated in his mother's womb. And ftill more wonderful is it, that the dodor fhould attempt to prove this was St. Jerom's fentiment from his firfl book againfi Rujinus ; when in the only place relating to that matter, he repeats the very words laft cited, and immediately adds, fhj certe in expofitione ilia nyiWom crimen, furely there is no fault in that expoftion. He, indeed, in that place rejefts the opinion of Origen, that fouls were eleded before the foundation of the world, propter Sane- titatem, et nullum vitium peccatorum, for their holinefs, and freedom from all fin, by this good argument, that the text faith they were cliofcn, not becaufe they were holy in anoth* er world, but that they might be holy in this. But then he adds, that he refers this ele^iion not to the original of fouls, Sed ad Dei Prafcientiam., to the foreknowledge qj God. To proceed to his fecond article concerning free will : Here he alTerts in the general, (i) that the opinion of feveral of the fathers concerning man's free will and God's grace, is the very fame that he hath maintained. Now to (hew the raan- ifeft falfehood of this affertion, let it be noted, if. That the freedom he allows to man's will in this mat- ter is only ^kj a freedom from coaBion, not fuch a freedom from neceflity, as confifts in not being determined toonepart; whereas, faith Voffius, (I) " The liberty of the will, accord- ing to the ancients, is a liberty not only from coa6Hon, but from neceflity ; and almoft all of them ufed this argumeut a- (g) Quod aiitem eleftos nos ut effemus Tanfli, et immaculati coram ipib, hoc elt Deo, ante labricam mundi (eftatus efl ; ad Piseicientiam Dei pertinet, ciii omnia futura fatla funt, et antequam fianr, univerfa funt nofa. Siciu el Paulus ipfe preedeftiuatur in utero matris fua:. Coni» in Ephef. F. 90, C. (h) F. 73. Lit. H. M. (i) p. 503. (k) P. i5t, 152, 258. (l) Libenas Arbitrii, fccundiim voieies, non folinn eft libertas a co- aitione, led etiam a neceflitate. Hilt. Pelag. 1. 7. Th, r. p. 699. Abfque hoc eilet, rueret itnperiiira paternum, herile, civile, qiiando ut homines iponte aganr, tamen, fi neceflario aqant, non mandate aut prohibitioni, non prajiniis aut pcesiis alius fit reli,hliis locus. Itaque hoc Argnmento Patres pleiique omnes addruere folent arbitrii libertateni adveinis Man- ichses, qui et ipfi, fine dubio, (ponte, nee coafte, honiincni agers tateban- lur, fed necelfario omnia agere credebanJ. P. 702. 40© Poftfiript. gainfl the Manichees, (who doubtlefs held that maft afledf" fpontaneoufly, and not by compulfion) that if man a£led neceffarily, there was no place left for precepts or prohibi- tions, ior rewards or punifhments." The DoClor proceeds thus ; ftn) " St. Bajil in many places of his writings doth clearly and plainly aflert the abfolute ne- cedity of the grace of the Holy Spirit, in order to the profe- cution of good works acceptable to God, and he depreffes the power of free will. Gregory Nazianzen doth in fome part imitate him in his 58th poem ; and as thefe were the only men of the Greek Fathers, fo Cyprian is the firfl of all the Latin ones ihat fpeaks out concerning the degeneracy and in- firmity of man, and the neceffity of divine and fupernatural Grace. Ladantius is the next that plainly owns thefe." — • Now this is very artificially faid upon feveral accounts ; iJL Upon an account, too fiequent with the Do&or, that it is nothing to the purpofe ; for no Remonjirant or Arminian that 1 know of, denies the neccility of Divine Grace in order to the profecution of good works ; none of them denies the degeneracy and the infirmity of man : The Do6lor's affertions are fnj " That men unconverted have a will only to evil ; for the liberty of the will to good was taken away from all men by Adam's fall, foj AH the will and power he hath is to incline to evil, and to a6l it. Thus it is with every man whilft he is in his unregenerate ftate." In which affertions lie was fo convinced, that even his great patron St. Aii/lin had declared the found Catholic faith was againft him, that in his citation from his 47th epiflle, he fraudulently leaves out the words that do evince it. For thus they run, fpj In fide fana Catholica perfeverent, qusnequeliberum arb.itrium negat, (thefe words the fqj Doftor lelt out} Sive in vitam malam^ five in bonam, neque tantum ei tribuit ut fine gratia Dei all- quid valeat, five ut ex raalo convertantur in bonum, five ut in bono perfeveranter proficiat, five ut ad bonum fcmpiter- num perveniat. The found Catholic J aith, faith St. Aufiin, denies not the liberty oj the will in order to a good life. (The liberty of the loill to good was taken away from all men by Adanisfall, faith the DoQor.) 2dly. It is alfo very artificially done to cite the names of Bafil, St. Cyprian and Laclantius. \;-ithout citing cither words or book. For 1 am very confident that La^a7itius, hath not one word to his purpofe, and that Nazianzen faith only that human induftry without the affiftancc of God's grace and ho- ly fpirit, is not fufEcient to rcfift temptations, or to enable us fjn) P. 503, ^04. C") P- 3'o. — .^); tZv ocv^euitruv (pixriioi, ttoL' fftyx^ToT^ tn^oy.eiyAvoi^ nys^i^ot tz/v Iwaywy!' Taulsic, 0!.fu.aC^&iv, To. 2. p. 56. C. 'JTfOTBaiv [aId to* /Oi7\7icttt ail iva. t:6 Ip' ijiA-^iv aKccTxna.yy.arlv ii. P. 57. B. han'kov. P. 259. C. 7rctnp'n*(y ^ (AO^^nfoTi iivui. To. i. p- 365, 366. (yj P- 505. fzj Liberum fervat Arbitnum, ut in utramque partem non ex praJ- judicio Dei, fed ex meritis fingulorum, vel pccoa, vel pi«ijiiuiii lit. F. 4. G. E E e 402 Pojljcript. fpeaks thus fa) to Critobalus, This is what I had told thee in the beginning, that it is put into our power either to Jin or not to Jin, and either to extend our hand to good or evil, that the lib* erty oj the zoillmay be prejerved. It is in the fame book that he cites thofe words of Chrijl the Do&or infiRs on, No man can covie unto me except my Father draw him ; where he adds thefe words, Where (b) tnercy and grace is, freewill in part doth ceafe, which confjis only in this, that zee will, and dejire, and ajfcnt to the things propofed ; but it is in the power oJ God that what we dejire, labor after, or endeavor, by his aid and help, we may be able to Juljil ; to which we heartily fubfcribe. The (c) Doftor in his citation from his fccond book againfl Jovinian, (hews again his artifice in leaving out the preceding Words, which plainly make againft him, and beginning with an imperfcft fentence. The whole fentence in (d) St. Jferom runs vt^rbatim thus, Liberi arbitrij nos condldit Deus, nee ad virtutes, nee ad vitia neceffitate trahimur, alioquin ubi necef- fitas ell, nee damnatio, nee corona eft, ficut (then follow the words cited) in bonis operibus perfe61or eft Deus, non volentis neque current;:, fed miferentis et adjaeantis Dei (there they end] ut prevenire valeamus ad caicem, fie in malis et peccatis, feraina noftra funt incentiva, et perfe£lio diaboli ; that is, God hath created us with free will, nor are we drawn by necejjity either to vice or virtue ; for otherwije where there is necejfty^ there is neither (place for) condemnation or reward. And as in good works, it is God that perfeBs them, for it is not of him that zoills, or runs, (there is the office of the will) but of God wfu) fJiezveth mercy, and qjjifls us to be able to bring our works tinto perfeEiion : fo as to fins and evil aElions, we have in our- ' f elves the feeds of evil, inciting us to do them, but the devil per- fecls the work. And that this is the true expofition of St. Jerom's words, is evident from himfelf; for having cited thofe vv'ords of the apoflle. It is not of him that willeth, Sec. He immediately adds, fej Hence we undeijland that it belongs to us to luill and run, but that our will and running may be com* (a) Hoc eft quod tibi in ptincipio dixe-riirii in nodra e(Te pofitum po» teltate vel peccare, vel ncn peccare, et vel ad bonuni, vel ad malum ex- tendeie mar.iim,iu liberum (ervetur Arbiiriiim. Fol, loS.Lit. I. (b ) Ubi aiuem mifericordia et gratia e!i, libeiiim ex parte ceflTat Ar- biirium, quod ii.\ er> taiituin po(it;im eft, ut velimus, et cupiamus, et p'a- ciris tribuamus allenfam, jam in Domini potertate eft ut quod cupimus, quod laboramiis, etnitimur, iliius ope et auxilio implere valeamus. Ibi4. Lit. D.E. ( c ) P. 505. (d) L. 3 adv. Jovinian. F. 26. Lit. L (e ) Ex qiiibus intelliginius noftrum quidem elTe, vclie, et currere, fed ut vcluntas noltra complciitur, et curfu:^, ad dei mifericurdiam pertincr^, SKjue ita fieri ut ei in vo'.untate noftra, ct in curfu, libeiuni fervetur Ar- bitiiimi.et in cjn!um;TiatiuHe voiunratis, et curlus, Dd cunCla patentiae rclinyjantur. Lib. i. coiur. Pe'.ag. F. 94- A. Pojlfcript. 403 pkud, belongs to the mercy of God : and Jo it comes to pafsthat in our zuilltng and running, our free will is preferved, and in the perfeding, or conjumrnation of our luill and courfe, all things are left to the power of God. Moreover, in the fame book ^g^xn^ Jovinian he introduces our Lord fpeaking thus to his difciples, /// my Father's houfe are many manfions ; I would hane told you, I go to prepare a manfion for you, (J) Si non unufquifque manlionem fibi non ex largitate Dei, led ex propriis operibus prjepararet, et ideo non eit meum parare, fed veftrum ; i. e. If every one did not prepare a manfion for himfelf, not frojn the beunty of God, hut his own proper zuorks, whence it is not my part, but yours to do it. And on Chrifi's anfwer to the petition of ihefons of Zebe- dee, to fit on my right hand, and my left, is not mine to give ^ he difcants thus, (^gj It is not of the Son, to give, and how then is it of the Father to prepare? Diverfe wanfons, laith Chrifl, are prepared in heaven for manfold and divers virtues^ Quas non perfonae accipiunt fed opera, which men receive not on account of their perfons, but their works. Fruftra ergo a me petitis, quod in vobis fitum eft, you therefore in vain afk that of me which is in your own power to obtain, which my Father hath prepared for them, who, by their worthy virtues^ are to afcena to fo great dignity. Prof per of Aquitain, who writ of grace and free will, though faith the Doftor, he owns the latter, yet requires the former as abfolutely neceffary to the producing of any good work ; and fo do we. (h) St. Auflin, faith he, was as much for free will as any father, as his boohs againfl the Manichees teflify. But then this was the difference betwixt him and them, that they flood, firm to all that they delivered on this fubje6l ; but he retratis almofl all he had delivered in thefe books, with an irrcfiflible evidence of reafon, and as the voice of all mankind, of which I have faid fuflicicnt under this head. Article 3. As for the antiquity of the irrefifliblenefs of grace, he hath only one, St. Aiflin, to produce againfl an, hundred tellimonies of the fathers, cited by Voff-us, 10 prove that God laid no necellity upon mens will to afct, as he mull do, it he a61irrefi(tibly upon it, that being neceffary, quod non pofcfl a) iter fe habere, which cannot be otherwife. Ihc citaiions of Vofjius begin Hifh Pelag. 1. 7. p. ,712. and end p. 7-16-. with thefe words, Sed tandem ailegandi Veteres finis eflo, quando, non dico, fi omnia omnium indicare vehmus (quod lie poffemus quidem) fed vcl fola quae poffumus, tiullus fit (f) F. 33- A.— (gj Ibid. (h) P. 504. 404 Foffcript. faturus finis, (ij Calvin faith, that voluntatem movet Deus non qualiter multis feculis traditura eft, ut noftrae eleftionis fit motioni Dei obtemperare, vel refragari. And that this is true of the firft four centuries I have fully proved. Article 4. The fourth article concerning the extent of Chrift's redemption, being that which draws all the reft after it, on which fide foever the truth lies, the DoBor mufters up all his ftrength to free his limited extent of it from the charge of novelty, but all in vain ; he begins thus, fkj What fame of the fathers taught, concerning the limited extent of Chrifi's re- demption 2s the fame that I have delivered in one of the forego- ing dijcourfes. To which words I oppofe the contrary af- fertion of Vofjius in thefe words : (I) Veteris Ecclefiae judi- cium fuit, Chriftum pro culpa univerfali hominibus providifle a remedio univerfali, folvendo "kvrpov infiniti pretij, ne ejus defe6lu periret quifpiam ; i. e. it was the judgment of the an- cient church, that Chriji provided an univerjal remedy for the Univerfal fin of man by payiJig a price of infinite value, that no man might perifli for want of it. And this he proves by plain teftimonies from p. 658 to 670. The learned (m) Dally proves from about a thoufand teftimonies of one hundred and twenty fathers the fame do8:rine, and concludes thus, Certe qui Chriftum pro folis Eleftis mortuum abfolute, et ut vulgo Ibquuntur, in terminis dixerit, ofto primis Chriftianifmi fae- culis invenio neminem ; throughout eight centuries of chrif- tianity, I find not one fingle perfon wh» direBly, and in terrns faith, that Chrifi died only for the ele[i. This Do£lrine, faith (n) Vofjius, the Fathers proved, from all thoje places offcripture, zvhichfay Chrifl died for all, and efpecially for the unbelievers, impenitent, and thofe that perifh ; nor did they think that thofe places which fay Ckrijl died for the Church, or that the benefits of his death belonged only to believers were repugnant to thefe tefiimonies , for thefe DoBars of the Church not obfcurely t&ught that the death of Chrifi is confidered two ways ; Vel quod ad Virtutem, et vim mortis, et tum Chrifti morientis, turn Patris eum mittentis volunta- tem, quam antecedentein vocant, either as to theforce and vir- tue of it, and as to the antecedent will both of Chrifi dying, and the father fending him ; and in this fenfe Chrifi died for, and redeemed all andfingular without exception : Or Chrifi' s death may be confidered, quod ad efFeftum, fru6lumque ex ea, pro- raanantem, et voluntatem Chrifti, et Patris quam dicunt con- fequentem, as to the efi'eB and fruit accruing to men from tt, and as to the confiquent will of Chrfi, and of the father ; and (i)\n^xx. 1. 2. c. 3. Seaionii. (kj^o^. /^/; Hift. Pclag- 1. 7. Part. i.Th.3. P' 75vor t5 fleet) a\pcjy rr.v ayapnxv rov xofffjoi, y.6afji,ov vot/te'ov uyicus tv,v exxXriaiav, i. e. but we inquire whether in that faying, behold the lamb of God that takcth away thef.ns of the world ; by the world we can rightly underfiand the church. Nor doth he give us the leaft hint that by the church he only underflano's the eleft, and not the univerfal church ? Let us now hear his true expofition of thefe words, which we find in the fame commentary, fqj iisX to yap al'^eiv IvEpysi d-ao Ivos iKccTH ruv iv TM KO'JiJ.co, he labors to take it away from every man in the world, ihatfm may be took away from the whole world. Now let the ^»y rit^* T^j t3 1:0.^0% y.da^M'vuit au^jif/.if0ii auryificti. Seflion 13. /'f'SeMion 2. fpJUifi ag^;* 2. C. 3. Fol. iz6. A. fqj P. 3S- ^"^ 4o6 Pojljcript. DoHor underftand this either oi the guilt, or the dominion of fin, it is all one, for Chrijl delivers no man from the dominion of fin, whom he delivers not alfo from the guilt of fin. What he thought of the other place, we learn from his own words but a little before the place referred to, viz, that this lamb of God was facrificed, ('rj 'Iva apn afxccprixv fex. oXiyccv, aKKx oXa rov KOTixH Tjspi ov xczl OTc'wovSe, that he might take away tht fins^ not of fofne few only^ but of the univerjal world for which he- fuffered : for f any man fin we have an advocate, &c. notfor-i our fns only, but for the whole world : fo Origen. A- gain, in the fame commentary, he faith, Chryl died, ffj Ct^ysp vydvTos XoyiKov, for every thing that had reafon, the ftars not excepted (whom he thought not only to have reafon, but alfo a capacity of finning;) and this he proves trom the words of the apojile, Heb. il. 9. He tajled death Jor every one. See many other texts of the like nature cited from Origen by Dally^ from page j6^, to 768. 2,dly. His citation from St. Ambrofe, is both miftakcn and impertinent : It is miflaken ; for the author of the book, de Vocatione Gentium, is not St. Ambrofe ; but either Profper as Dally, or P. Leo, as Qiiefnel feemeth to have proved. It is aifo cited talfely ; for in the author the whole words run thus, if'i/^'Habet ergo populus Del plenitudinem Aiam(et quamvis mag- na pars Hominum Salvantis gratiam am repellat, aut negligatj in eleQIs tamen et preefcitis, et ab omnium generalitatedifcre- tis, fpecialis qu3cdam cenfetur Univerfitas, ut de toto mundo totus mundus liberatus, et ab omnibui hominibus, omnes hom- ines vide^ntur affumpti. But the Do61or cites them, thus, Hebet populus plenitudinem fuam, in ele61Is enim et pras- f^Itis, &c. leaving out the words in the parenthefis, which plainly fliew that a great part of men refill and negle6l the grace of that God who would fave them. Moreover, he is ilill unhappy in making this citation trom this author, who in the very next chapter, not only afl'erts univerfal redemption, but declares it to be the doftrine of the univerfal church. — For having cited thete words of the apofle, that God would have all men to be faved : He adds, (b) Quam particulam ver- borum Apoftoli ita Integra pleneque fufcipimus, ut nihil ei de proscedentibus, five fubje6tis, qux' ad eaai pertinent, fub- trahamus, i, e. which portion of the words of the opoflle we fo entirely and fully do embrace, as to fubtratl nothing from it relating to the precedent zodrdi (requiring us to make fnppllcations Tor all men) or the words following (relating to kings and all that are in authority.) Then repeating all the Apojlli s words, which conclude thus, there is ont Lord Jtjm frj Page in- A; ff; Pn.;'- 38. fa) Lib. i. C 3. fij Cap. 4^ Pojifcript. 407 Chrijl who gave himjdf a ravfom for all, lie proceeds thus, of this rule of the apoflolical doclrine, qua Ecclefia Univerfalis imbuitur, with which the univcrfal church is furnijhed, let us inquire, quid in ipfa Univerfalis Ecclefia fentiat, what was the fenje of the univerfal church about it ? For we cannot doubt what was her ftrfe. of the precept, when we know what was the obedience flie paid to it. Now the apo [lie's precept (faith he) is this, that prayers and fuppHcations, and giving of thanki fJiould be made for all men ; which law dffupplications the de- votion of all the prie/ls and faithful fo uniformly receives, that there is no part of the world in which fuch prayers art not celebrated by the chriflians. The church therefore every where prays to God not only for the faints, and the regenerate in Chrifl, but alfo for all infidels and enemies of the crofs of Chrifl ; for all idolaters, all the perfecutors of ChrijVs members, for the unbelieving Jews, for heretics and Schfmatics, and what dothfhe deftrefor thefe but that, ab erroribus fuis convertantur ad Deum, accipiant fidem, accipiant charitatem, et de ignorantise tenebris liberati in agni- tionem veniant veritatis, i. e. that they might be converted from their errors to God, might have faith and charity, and being de- liveredfrom the darknefs of ignorance might covic to the acknou^l- edgment of the truth. And thus, faith he, our merciful and jufi God requires that prayer fliouldbe 7nade to him for all men. Now could the whole church thus beg thefe blefTings peculiar to faints, and the redeemed of the Lord, for all infidels, all enemies of the. crofs oj Chrifi, and all perfecutors of Chrifi's members, unlcfs (he believed that Chrift died for the falvation of them all, at leaft intentionally ; or could God require her thus to pray for all men, if he were not willing they (hould be faved ? As for the true St. Ambrofe, let him confult the learned (c) Dally, and he will find no lefs than twentyeight paffages cited from him to this efFe£l, that the Lord jefus came, om- nes falvos facere peccatores, to fave all finners, and therefore^ was not to pafs by even the traitor Judas, that all men might take notice that in the ele&ion oj this traitor, falvandorum omnium infigne prsetendit, he holds forth an indication that he would have all men to be faved \ that God fiews all vien^ ut quod in eo fuit omnes voluit liberare, that, as far as inhim lies, he would deliver all men from pcrifking. ylnd that if any one perifh he therefore doth fo, quia curari noluit cum re- medium haberet quo poffet evadere, becaufe he would not be cured when he had a remedy by which he could efcape ruin. ^thly. He cites, as from St. Jerom, a paflage from a com- mentary on Job xxxviii. which as it is wholly impertinent, as fc) From page 799, to page 807. 4o8 Pojlftript, proving nothing but that the aftual benefit of Chrift's death belongs only to the faithful ; fo all fcholars know it to be a fpurious piece : And cites from his commentary on St. Matth. XX. 28. thefe words, that when Chrifl took upon him the form of a Jervant,that he might JJied his blood Jor the world, he Jaid not that he gave his life a redemption Jor all, but for ma- ny, hoc eft pro iis qui credere voluerunt, that is for them who would believe. Now this is faid agreeable to that which Vof- Jius obferved, that as to the will of Chriji, and of the Father fending him, that was general, that all men fhould be faved ; but as to the effeft th^t depending on the will ol man, he died not for all, but for many ; becauje many rejufed the benefit of" fered to the?n by Chri/l. That this is indeed the mind of St. Jerom, is evident irom his own words, ^^^ Vult Deus falva- x'\ omnes, et in agnitionem veritatis venire, fed quia nullus abfque propria voluntate falvatur, liberi enim Arbitrii fumus, vult nos bonum velle ut cum voluerimus, velit in nobis et ipfe fuum complere conGlium. It therefore was, according to St. Jerom, the will and counfel of God that all men fhould be faved ; but fo as that, having free will, they fhould be willing to be faved, becaufe no man is faved without his own will. In his commentary on (ej Ifa. Ixiii. having cited thefe words of St. John, God fo loved the world that he gave his only begotten fon, that every one that believeth in him fhould not per fit, but have everlafling life : He adds, if the prudent reader inquire why all men are notjaved ; if our Savior loved them and redeemed them by his own blood, the caufe plainly follows in thefe words, ipfi autem noluerunt ; but they would not. God therefore would have faved them who defired to be faved, and provoked ihein to be faved that their will might be rewarded, fed illi credere noluerunt ; but they would not be^ litve. In his epiftle to ffj Oceanus, he faith, John Baptijl mufi lie, when he faid behold the lamb of God who taketh away the fins oj the world, fi funt ad hue in feculo quorum Chriftus peccata non tulerit, ij there be any yet living for whofe fins Chrifl did notfi/ffer. See ten other palTages to the fame effe6l in Dally, from page 821, to 825. c^thly. Whereas fgj he brings in St. Chryfoflom expound- ing thofe words of Chrill, / lay down my life for ?nyfieep, by the people oJ God foreknown, and predejlinated by him, as if he made the predeftmated only to be the fame as C brill's fheep : Here again the doftor impofes upon the reader ; for Chryfof torn there is not interpreting the word .(beep, but thefe words, Ver. 14. I know my Jheep , and a7n known of mine ; and this, faith he, is like to that of St. Pauly God hath not cafl off his (d) Com. in Ep. 91. L. (e) F. 105. I. (f) Ep. 83. Torn. ? f. J 13. M. (g) Page 509, Pa/lfcripL ' 4O9 p£Oplt whem heforekmu\ and the Lord kiiozveth it>ho are kis, : Both which places heinterprets of God's f/i J Jo}e//^kf of i/zeir faith andjitnejs to be the objecls oj hisjavor, or of thar JIallUty in truth and righteoufnefs ; and fo the import of the woids of Chryfojiom is plainly this, that our Lord ioreknew who ut/uld be humble, meek, tradable, who would own him as the true fliepherd. and hear his voice, and laid down h\% life for thein,- and for them only in the ferfe expldined by V(\fjius ; t)f pre- deftination 1 find not one word. Moreover both in that cincl the foregoing homily he plainly fa)'s, (7 J that Ckn/l fuffercd for thefalvatxon oj the world, and that God gave up his Jon to the death for us all. And indeed it is fomewh^t fulprifing. ta find Chryfoflom produced for an opinion which in twcntytwo places cited by (^kj Dally, he fo phdnly contrddiiis, declaring, that God made the creation, and all us, that he might fave us, and delivering us from error might give us the fruition oJ his kingdom : that God had prepared a kingdom even for them that jliall be damned ; that Chrijl died for all men to do his part to fave all men : that he offered his facrfce vZ'Ep rraTyj? rvi (pu/jeoj', for the whole nattire oJ man; with many .oihcir things of a like nature. , , , ^thly Whereas the doflor intfoduceth St. Auftin interpret- ing thefe words. Cod rvould have all rhen to bejaved, de gen- eribus fingulorum, et non de fingulis generuni, i. e. not of all men in general, but of fo me of all lands : That is, as flj J'ofius, and fmj Dally, irx n'is ^E.rsUpi'Ji^, hath fully proved, againlt the plain meaning of the text. This only can oe hence inferred, that St .(^/^y/?/? did not think this place. a juft proof of the do61rine ot the Univerfal redemption of all mankind, as ?.\\ the Greek Schohafs did. His fecond citation from St. Auflin is very artificially produced ; fof, whereas, the v/ordj ol (n) St. Aujlin are, univerHe utique hoc diclt Ecclefiac, quam pie- rumque ipfam miindi nomine appellat : He cites thetii thus, Ecclefian plerumqiie etiam ipfam mundi nomineappellat. . Moreover, that St. Aujlin held the doftrine of univei-fal re- demption is evideiit from his own words, that, omries utique mortui funt in peccatis, riemine prorfus excepto, et pro om- nibus mortuis vivus mortuus eft unus, all ?Kcn, none at all excepted, are dead in fin ; and for all that zocre dead, one that liveth died. And this he largely proves from thofe words of the apofile, 2 Cor. v. 14. For f one died for all, then zuere alt dead ; and he died for all, that they who lirje jnight not live to themfelvts, but to kim that diedforthe?}!. In this argument he ^i|«^iiroir. Tom. 3. p. 1^7 Vide Tom. 4. p. i5t. fij Hom. 59 6.^. -r-f^J **ag« 8o8- ad p. 8 18. :fiJFnif 63 V.- — fmj Cap. 6. f-J Tom, 9, tr, 67, in Jchan. p. 457, 41Q Pojtfcript, triumphs over the Pelagians^ that all without exception being dead, eiiker in original or aBualfyis^ infants mull be fo ; and Chrift dying for all that were dead, muft die for them. So de civit, Del 1. 20. c. 6. p. 1202. Ed. Bajil. contra J ulianum Pelagianum, 1. 6- c. 4. p. J109. c. 1, 5. p. u2 1. P. C. c. 5. p. 1121. P. c. 13. p. 1 142. B. See above forty places cited by Dally ^ from Si,AuJlin, to the fame effeft, from p. 829, to p. 843. 'jthly. As ^or profper Aqmtanus, that he aflerted copioufly the fame do6lrine, Dally proves by teftimonies contained in his works from p. 854. to p 879 : And in particular, where- as, fome Galhcan divines had obje£ied as matter of reproach to St. Aujlin, that he maintained, quod non omnes homines •yult Deus falvos fieri, fed certum numerum prsdeftinatorum," et quod non pro totius mundi redempiione falvator fit cruci- iixus, item quod non pro totius mundi falute, et redemptione Dominus nolter Jefus Chriilus fit paffus, that is, that he held the fame doftrine which Dr. Edwards does ; as by objefting thefe do61rines as reproaches to him, thefe divines fufficiently ihew that in their judgments, the do£lrine of the church was contrary to thefe fentiments : So pro/per by declaring fo ex- prefsly that thefe accufations were unjujl reproaches, inv^ented to bldft the memory of St. Aujlin, that they were prodigious and blafphtmous lies, that they objefted to him impious and ■profane opinions, not one oj which ever came into the heart oj St. Aujlin, fufficiently (hews that neither he nor St. Aujiifi ever held any of thofe do6trines, and that he looked isponthem as i?npious and profone opinions. See Dally, p. 856. Lajlly. As for the article of the faints Jinal perjeverance, the dodor had not the confidence to cite one father tor it, Vof- Jius having fo exprefsly told him, that all antiquity ijnpugntd the indtfettibility of the faint s,dLnA that they only could deny the contrary to be the common dodrine of antiquity, qui in anti- quitate plane funt Hofpites, who are }?) ere ft rangers to it, Hiff. Pelacr. 1. 6. p. ^66. No»v from what hath been thus eRablifh- ed, two things do evidently follow, viz. \fl. That all the members of the church of England, are o- bliged, by the exprefs precepts of the church ot England not xo teach or propound to tb.e people, as an article ol taith, any of thofe Dofcirines which Dr. Edwards hath fo zealoufly maintained in his late book upon thefe five articles, they be- ing fuch as (0) the Catholic Fathers and Ancient Bijliops did 0} Imprimis vero videbtint (Ep'fcopi) nc quid unquam dcceant pro concione (corcit^natoie^) qiu d a popiilo ielij,ioie tenei 1 e( eiedi velinr, nifi quod confeniantuni lit Doctiinae veieris et iiovi 1 eftamcnti; qiu dijue ex Ula ip'a Duttrina Ca'hclici Fatie.s, ct veieres Epifcopi colle^jerint. Cii-.aneSj Edit. A, D. 1571, Cap, C'oncioiiatores. ■ Tabk of Texts. 4i^ never gather from the holy fcripturts ; for that the generaiity oi the Jatkers taught the contrary to theie do£lrines from the kaly /crip/ures, hath been fully proved. zdiy. Whereas it hath hitherto been thought, and by the divines of the church of England religioully maint.iined, and to have been the glory of the church of England, that both in her dotlrine and aifcipline fhe kept clcfe to the femitnents of primitive antiquity ; if thefe dofc^rines, which I have (hewed. to have been the common fentiments of the church of Chrift, do cor»tradi6l her avowed doftrines, it muft be owned that in thefe doftrines fhe hath departed from the comnian fentiments of the befl amtquity. A TABLE ^TJflXTS EXPLAINED, V-TENESIS, Chap. vi. 5. page 24^. PiALMS, Chap. li. 5. page 243. Proverbs, Chap. xvi. 4. page 24, 25, 82. Isaiah, Chap. liv. 10. lix. 21. page 336, 337, 339. Jt.REMiAH, Chap, xxxii. 39, 40. page 217, 218, 336, 339. EzEKlEL, Chap, xviii. 24, 26.—^ — xxxiii. 13, 18. page 295, 297. xxxvi 25, 27. page 219. Matthew, Chap. vii. 18. page 212. -xx. 28. page 96, 97-\ x'^iv. 12, 13.— xxiv. 24. page 304, 321. Mark, Chap. iv. 11, 12. page 29, 30. Luke, Chap. viii. 9, 10. page 29, 30. x. 20. page 34. T o,. — ^xviii. 7. page 47. JOHN, Chap. ill. 3, 4, 6. page 207, 245. — iv. 14. vl. 35. page 340. vi. 33. page no.— vi. 37. page ^3, 57. VI. 39, 40. page 323. 323. 44. page 2n, 212. — X. 15. page 97, 98. 28. page 341. xii. 39, 40. page 24, 2^. xv. 5. page 210 xvii. 9. page jo6, 107. Acts, Chap. x. 34, 35 page 373. xi. 18. page 213, 214. >^"i- 48. page ^7, 58. xiv. 16, 17. page 374- ^vi. 14. page 2^4, 215. xvii. 24^ 26, -7- page 37.5- 4i^ Table of TexVs. -il. 6. p. 380. -vii. 17, 19. lloMANS, Chap. 1. 18. page 377, 378. V. 18. page gg. 19. page g6.- , ^ page 246. viii. 28. 2g. page 52, 58, 63, 327. ■ 32- page 123, 124 ;,4. page 123. 35- page S'P' 330- ^^- 2- page 32^, 326. XI. 5. page 48.-29'. page 321.— xi v. 15. page 113, J ConiNTH. Chap. ii. 14. page209. ^^' 7* P^ge 221, 222. —viii. 11. page 113, 114— x. 11, 13. page 314. 2 Corinth. Chap, iii.5. page 210, 211. v. i^. page 99. 17. page 206. 19. page 111. Galatians, Chap. vi. 15. page 206. Ephesians, Chap. i. 3, 4. page 50. ^1. — 19, 20. page 206. ii. 2. page 209. 8. page 213. iv. 30. page 330—333. Philip. Chap. i. 6. page 344. 1 Thessa. Chap. V, 23, 24. page 345, a Thessa. Chap. iii. 3. page 345. 3 Timothy, Chap. i. 19. page 302, 303. ii. 1 — 6, page 100. iB Timothy, Chap. ii. 19. page 63, 64. ii. 18. page 333, Titus, Chap. il. n, ^2. page 101, 102. Hebrews, Chap. ii. 9. pag^ ^oo vi. 4, 5, 6. page 298. ix. 28- page 96, 97. X. 2b. }j