with some For they deny that Christ is given conditionally to any Unbeliever Elect or not Elect but only is decreed for the Elect before time and given to Believers in time The Sence is that there is no conditional promise or deed of Gift but all absolute For if it be made only to Men that do believe their first believing cannot be the condition and if it be made on condtion of First believing it is made to Men that do not yet believe But the main Scope of the Gospel proves the Minor by proving the conditional Gift or promise As the Texts even now cited among others Where note to put it out of doubt 1. That the time of Gods enacting this Law or making this Testament Gift or promise was before we were born and therefore before we believed 2. that in its nature it first speaks to unbelievers as its Subject For who will offer a gift to us to be accepted that it may be ours if we have accepted it already Nay how can it be accepted before it is offered And how can we consent to have Christ and so be united to him except he first give himself to us on condition that we will consent 3. Note that the promise is made in most proper conditional terms If thou confess with thy Mouth and believe in thy heart Rom. 10. That whosoever believeth should not perish c. 4. And also note that faith hath here the Definition of a condition agreeing to it i. e. It is an Arbitrary act on which the free Donour hath suspended the efficacy of his Testament or Deed of Gift It is Arbitrary conditions that we have here to speak of which some call Potestative And not casual or mixt So to suspend the effect of the Instrument that hoc posito efficiet donec ponatur non efficiet that upon the doing or not doing the Effect shall follow or not follow and this by the Positive ordination of the Donor is the very essence of a Condition in Law-sence And such â—s Faith And what Divine except Antinomians doth deny Faith to be the Condition And if it be so then the Promise or Conditional Gift must needs be made to Unbelievers that it may become effectual when they believe For it can be no condition in this proper sence if it be past already And therefore it must needs be made to all Unbelievers seeing Scripture limitteth it not to any but speaketh universally Inded it is a very hard questionhow far the promulgation may be said to be Universal and how far not But that is nothing against the Universality of the Tenor of the Law or Gift And the command to the Promulgators is Go into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every Creature Next let us prove the consequence of the Major Proposition and that thus The thing conditionally given is Pardon purchased by Christs Blood shed for the Sinner to whom it is Given Therefore the gift presupposeth the shedding of his Blood for that Sinner The Antecedent hath two branches to be proved 1. That the Pardon conditionally given to all is a pardon purchased by Christs Blood 2. That it is by Christs blood as shed for him to whom that pardon is given For the first there is no Pardon given any other way but by Christs blood shed therefore this is from his Bloodshed 1. If there be Remission which is not purchased by Christs blood shed then there are two distinct ways of Remission one by his blood and another without But the consequent is false Ergo c. 2. If there be a remission without Christs bloodshed then all remission might have been without it But the consequent is false else Christ Dyed needlesly 3. Heb. 9. 22. Without shedding of Blood there is no Remission 4. Heb. 9. 16. For where a Testament is there must also of necessity be the Death of the Testator But this conditional Gift is Christs Testament So ver 15. For this cause he is the Mediator of the new Testament that by means of Death for the Redemption of the Transgressions that were under the first Testament they which are called might receive the promise of Eternal Inheritants viz. all that are externalâ—y called receive the conditional Promise and Believers the thing promised 5. Luke 24. 46 47. It behoved Christ to â—uffer and Rise from the Dead the third day and â—hat Repentance and Remission of Sins should be reached in his name among all Nations c. â—o that even Remission Preached that is offered â—n condition of repentance and Faith presupposeth Christs Death as the Cause 6. In the Institution of his Supper he calleth â—e Cup the New Testament in his Blood that this signifieth my Blood which procureth the â—ew Testament Now none sure dare say that the â—â—omise of Pardon and Life on condition of Beâ—â—ving is not the New Testament either whole or â—â—t 7. And therefore it is called the Blood of the â—venant even to them that tread it under â—â—â—t Heb. 10. 29. and 13. 20. Zech. 9. 11. 8. Justification is by Christs Blood Rom. 5. 9. Being Justified by his Blood But Justification is the Effect of this Conditional Covenant or Gift when the Condition is performed therefore the effect of this Covenant is from Christs blood and consequently the Covenant it self which is an intermediate cause Though there be other sorts of Justification yet that this is one and the first is undenyable 9. Actual Remission to Believers is from Christs Blood Eph. 1. 7. In whom we have Redemption through his Blood the remission of Sins Col. 1. 14. therefore conditional remission to unbelievers is from his Blood The reason of the consequence is that Christ procureth the Effect of Justification or Remission not immediately by his Blood as shed but by procuring the Covenant or Promise as the immediate Cause and the effect by that Cause and it is the same Gift oâ— Covenant which conditionally Justifieth all and actually Justifieth Believers and that without any other â—â—tervening act of God When the condition is performed whose Nature is to suspend the Effect then the effect resulteth from thaâ— same Promise which before did not effect Indeed Christ giveth his Spirit to causé his Own tâ— perform the condition but still the justifying aâ— is by the conditional Covenant If therefore iâ— be the same promise which effectually justifieâ— the Elect and only conditionally justifieth otheâ— and Christs Blood causeth that promise which eâ— fectually justifieth the Elect then his Bloâ—â— caused that promise which conditionally justifieâ— all John 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gâ— his only begotten Son 1. For men on the Crâ—â— 2. To men by the promise that whosoever believe c. So that this conditional grant of Life comes from the giving of Christ to Death And for the second part of the Antecedent viz. That it is from Christs Blood as shed for him to whom the Promise is made And 1. Ab â—nefficacia
Workmanship But he loveth man after his Faith and Love to him as Rector per Leges as putting on the resemblance of goodness and justice in civil Sense and as he now stands in that Relation to them in which he is by his own Law as it were obliged to do them good Note this difference of Christs love Prov. 8. 17. I love those that love me and those that seek me early shall find me So ver 21. Luke 7. 47. Many sins are forgiven for she loved much If it be meant therefore she loved much yet it would not make against this From John 3. 19. I argue thus If men are condemned for loving darkness rather than Light and Christ is this Light then they were obliged to love Christ the Light But c. Ergo c. And I have shewed it is as Redeemer that he must be loved For to Love Christ as an excellent Prophet only that a Turk may do for Mahomet so confesseth him to be Mat. 10. 37. It is Christs condition propounded to all That if they love not him better than Father Mother House Land or Life they cannot be his Disciples So that those that are not yet his Disciples are obliged at once to love him above all and become his Disciples 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maran-atha And then more specially for Gratitude because I have hitherto insisted on the other species Love there are many Parables in the Gospel that shew that wicked men are condemned for ingratitude to their Redeemer Mat. 21. 37 40. c. Christ convinceth his Auditors that those unthankful Husband-men that refused to pay the Fruits and killed the Son that was sent to them he was sent to be entertained as Redeemer would deservedly be destroyed with a miserable destruction and the Vineyard let out to others i. e. that the Kingdom of God should be taken from them and given to a Nation bringing forth the Fruits thereof And what is that Kingdom here meant but the Gospel The proclaiming and offer of Christ as Redeemer and of mercy in and with him Mat. 22. 8. It is unthankful refusal of the feast prepared when all things were ready and they invited which was the unworthiness that there is mentioned which shut out those Guests Mat. 18. 32. Unthankfulness is intimamated as part of the Sin of that wicked Servant who took his fellow Servant by the throat for 100. Pence when himself had been forgiven 10000 Talents I forgave thee all the debt signifieth such a mercy as Men may have that perish as is plain verse 34. 35. and yet certainly presupposeth Christs dying for them and obligeth them to thankfulness If any ask the sense of the Text I shall give it after by it self more fitly Let me therefore conclude thus That Doccrin which subverteth a very great part of Religion is not of God But so doth this which denieth Universal satisfaction Therefore it is not of God The Minor is proved from what is said It destroyeth the ground of all Mens first love to Christ for Redeeming them It justifieth all the Non-Elect in their ingratitude and not loving Christ as their Redeemer Besides what was said before of its destroying the use of repentance and all Means But we shall recollect more of these consequences in the end and shew you more fully the face of the Doctrin which I dispute against I have proved that all Men that hear the Gospel owe Christ love and thankfulness for Redeeming them by dying for them I should next shew that all Men in the World do owe God love and thankfulness for those mercies which are the effects of Christs satisfaction But especially those within the Church who have in the New Covenant made over to them a conditional remission of their Sins and adoption and everlasting life viz. If they will accept Christ with his benefits Those that are sanctified with the Blood of the Covenant and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost and were escaped from the pollutions of the World through the knowledg of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and and have tasted the good word of God and the Powers of the World to come c. Certainly these have received the fruits of Christs satisfaction for which they were bound to be thankful But of those more particularly in their place Arg. 14th Acertitudine fidei possibilitate rectè credendi If Christ hath not satisfied for the Sins of all then no Man hath a sufficient ground for his first justifying Faith All Men are left at an utter uncomfortable uncertainty whether they may believe to Justification or not But the consequent is false Therefore so is the Antecedent That which is said before doth shew so much of the grounds of this Argument that I shall be the shorter in it now All the doubt is of the consequence of the Major and to clear that I suppose it is granted that all firm sufficient Faith for justification must not only have a command to warrant it but also a fit object about which it must be exercised God commandeth no Man to believe a falshood to make it become true by believing it nor to trust to a person or promise that is not to be trusted as being not only fallible but certainly will deceive As for the Act of affiance or recumbency commonly called the justifying Act no Man can groundedly or comfortably rest on Christ for justification by his Blood who doth not first know that his Blood was shed for him and hath satisfied for him Else he must rest on that which he knows not to be sufficient for him to rest upon For it hath been proved that Christs death is not sufficient to justifie any for whom it was not suffered though they should believe He suffered not superfluously as I have shewed Take the confession of a Divine that for fear of Arminianism joyned Hands with the Antimonians Maccovius colleg disp de justif disp 5. § 22. Quoad substantiam poenae nihil olus perpessus est Christus quam per legem debebatur Neque enim vel Amor Patris vel etiam justitia permittere potuit plura ut filio imponerentur quam quae illi necessariò tanquam sponsori ferenda erant Quoad circumstantias autem patientis personam patiendi causam passionis efficaciam plusquam sufficiens satisfactio Christi Neque enim lex requirebat ut Deus moreretur neque ut sine peccato proprio quis moreretur neque morstalis quae suffecisset pro peccatis totius mundi sive pro omnibus singulis hominibus Here he confesseth that Christ suffered no more than was due by Law and than was necessary for him to suffer as Sponsor And yet that his Death was sufficient for the Sins of all the World even for all Men and every Man And if so then either he suffered as Sponsor for all Or else circumstances did make that Death sufficient for
well conclude that the Doctrin is not sound which makes Christ to have died no more to expiate the Sins of the Non-Elect then of the Devils but left them equally remediless But such is the Doctrin now opposed Ergo c. Argum. 23d A statu hominum saltem non pejore statu Daemonum If Christ Died not for all that hear the Gospel then Gods dealing with the Non-elect part of fallen Man is much harder than his dealing with the Devils but the Consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent The Minor I think I need not prove all acknowledge it that ever I heard or read on this subject If they should think that God dealt alike with the Non-elect and the Devils yet sure none will say that he deals far hardlier with the Non-elect Hell is prepared for the Devil and his Angels they are reserved in Chains of Darkness to the Judgment of the great Day till then they believe and tremble and look for the time of their full torment without any hope of escape Compare with this but what I have before proved to be Gods dealing with men even them that perish and you will see that their case is not worse than the Devils And for the Consequence of the Major Proposition I prove it thus by comparing both together When the Devils had fallen from their first estate God leaves them without remedy or hope of recovery But when man is fallen according to the Doctrine which I oppose God doth not only leave him remediless but also makes a new Law that shall oblige him to suffer a far sorer punishment except he will believe in a Redeemer that is not his Redeemer and trust for salvation to that Blood that was never shed for him and accept the benefits of a satisfaction that was never made for him even effects without a cause Yea and causeth his Son to make a satisfaction materially sufficient for the sins of all and yet had rather it were superfluous and vain and meerly lost then that it should be paid for him As if he would rather when three Men owe 100 l. a piece pay 300 l. for one of the three than the other 200 l. should be tendred for the rest And when he knows that Christ never satisfied for any of the Non-elect yet doth he follow them with daily sollicitations by his Word Spirit and Embassadors beseeching them to come in and accept of Christ ordaining and resolving that all these beseechings shall harden them or at least aggravate their sin and and misery that it may be easier with Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgment than with them that refuse these Offers And thus Christ shall necessitate them causally by his Law to a far greater torment as if their misery were not sad enough before without procuring them any possibility of escape for there is no such possibility without satisfaction to God's justice If God should make a Law that the Devils who are miserable already should have â—ar sorer punishment if they would not believe in Christ as their Redeemer who never redeemed them would not this be harder dealing than now God useth toward them when all the offer is on supposition that they cannot and therefore will not believe and if it were possible to believe it would do them no good If then this would be harder dealing with them than those are hardlier used than the Devils with whom God so deals and therefore he dealeth so with none Arg. 24. A beneficâ Naturâ Evangelii If Christ died only for the Elect then should the Gospel to most men where it comes be of it self directly one of the greatest plagues and signs of God's wrath that ever he sendeth on a People on earth but the Gospel is no such Curse but a great blessing Ergo c. The Consequence is thus proved That which brings an unavoidable obligation to a far sorer punishment without giving any possiblity either of escaping former misery or this additional misery must needs be one of the greatest Curses and Plagues in the World and so the sign of Gods greatest wrath but such were the Gospel or new Law to most men where it comes if the opposed Doctrine were true Ergo c. Let him that denys the Major shew me a sorer Plague that ever God inflicted on any man on Earth if he can Object Is not the Gospel the savour of death to some and Christ a stumbling stone and Rock of offence Answ That is not of his own nature nor of the nature of the Gospel nor yet as a proper Cause per se but as an occasion and by accident through Mans own wickedness and wilful rejection and abuse A Man may burn himself with the fire that should warm him or choak himself with the food that should nourish him Object But doth not God decree it Answ His decree causeth not the thing any more than his foreknowledge having no influence into the Object as our Divines actus immanens nihil ponit in objectio Predestinatio â—iâ—â—l ponit in praedestinato It imposeth no causal necessity as all confess only as foreknowledge so decree hath a Logical necessity in ordine argumentandi called Necessitas Consequentiae Twisse himself saith there is no more and the Schoolmen are of his mind in that and affirm no more And for the minor its evident in each part 1. The new Law obligeth all that believe not to damnation because they believe not and to a far sorer punishment than before was due to them Heb. 10. 29. Mar. 16. 16. Joh. 3. 18 19. Mat. 25. last 2. And that it is an unavoidable obligation appears 1 In that God made the Law whether Man will or not Man could not hinder that 2. And it is an impossibility which the Law is feigned to require To accept a Redeemer that never Redeemed them to rest on a satisfaction for their justification and pardon which is no satisfaction for as to them it is none It being maintain'd by them whom I oppose that it is none and that it is only materially sufficient that is matter of suffering sufficient to have made a satisfaction if God would but not formally sufficient that is indeed it is no price or satisfaction as to their debt at all for if my Neighbour and I owe each of us 20 l. he that pays his debt though he over-pay doth no more thereby to the discharge of mine than if he had done nothing at all I have proved before that here is no sufficient ground for that faith supposing Christ satisfied not for the Believer And even those whom I argue against will not endure to have it supposed that any Man should believe for whom Christ dyed not Or if they will let us sppose such a thing then it is undeniable that such a Man would be never the more pardoned or saved because there is no Salvation withont a Saviour and no Remission without satisfaction And as in those that are
pardoned and saved the efficacy of Christ's satisfaction is before all possibility of any power or snccess of Man's Faith So in those that perish if they had no price of satisfaction paid for them the want of a Redeemer would be the first want concluding their damnation and non-deliverance from former misery and the want of Faith could be but the secondary consequential want which Faith if it were present would not satisfie or save no more than believing now would save the Devils And thus it is evident that on the grounds opposed the Gospel would causally per â—e unavoidably be the greatest plague on earth to all where it comes except the Elect and not only accidentally by their own Sin Now for the Minor that the Gospel is not so I prove from Scripture it is called the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God Luke 8. 1. Before men are Converted the Apostles say we declare unto you glad tidings Acts 13. 32. 33. The Preachers of it bring glad tidings of good things preaching the Gospel of peace Rom. 10. 15. even the unsanctified receive the word with joy Mat. 13. 20. and not so great joy as they had cause so Mark 4. 16. it is called the Gospel of the grace of God Acts 20. 24. it is a Wedding-Feast even ready for those that would not come to it who are therefore said to be unworthy of it and so it was to him that came without the Wedding garment Mat. 22. if it were not a mercy then Men did not sin against mercy in rejecting it which who dare say It gives men promises of entring into rest who yet by wilful unbelief may come short of it Heb. 4. 1 2 3 c. See 1 Cor. 10. to the 13th God sent Jesus to bless the Jews more than Elect in turning every one of them from his Iniquity Acts 3. last The unthankful Servant had his debt freely pardoned him and that was a mercy who after took his fellow by the throat and by ingratitude lost that pardon which he had It declareth God's tender Mercies over all his works and such mercies as are to lead all men to Repentance Psal 145. 9. Rom. 2. It is good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people Acts 2. 10. It freely giveth to all the water of life if they refuse not the gift Rev. 22. It is the Gospel that bringeth Salvation to all men Tit. 12. 11. A hundred Texts might be brought to prove how great a blessing of it self the Gospel is to that People to whom it is given and if it be turned to a Judgment and hurt them it is meerly accidentally through their wilful rejecting it or turning the grace of God into wantonness or sinning because Grace hath abounded and not from any thing in it nor for want of a reality in the benefit which it offereth Arg. 25. A differentiâ status damnatorum viatorum If Christ dyed not for all men then the state of most men all that he dyed not for were as deplorate and remediless as the State of the Damned But the consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent The Consequence of the Major proposition is plain in that the state of all men that Christ dyed not for must needs be utterly hopeless and remediless for there is no other satisfaction to be hoped for besides that made by the blood of Jesus and that is nothing to them nor is there any hope or possibility that ever they should have part in a satisfaction that is no satisfaction for them without blood there is no remission If they should believe and repent and pray for mercy night and day it would be but as the Rich Epicure in Hell pray'd for a drop of water all in vain for betwixt God and them is so great a gulf or distance by sin that nothing without a Redeemer can do them any good as to the least hope of Salvation If you say it is not to be supposed that they can believe repent and pray I answer that is in your own sense because it is supposed they are not redeemed and the impossibility of their not repenting and believing shews the more fully the impossibility of their Salvation And the reason why they do not actually despair is not because they have any more remedy than the Damned or cause to hope but only because they are yet ignorant of the hopelesness of their own Condition and as soon as they know the truth they will fully despair So that there is no more possibility that a Man for whom Christ dyed not should be pardoned or saved than that the Damned should for both are equally impossible If any say that God can find out another remedy besides and without Christs satisfaction though he will not and therefore it is not impossible I will not examine the truth of that now but if it be true of them on Earth why not also of them in Hell When once Men are in that state that there is no Sacrifice for their sin then there remaineth nothing but the fearful expectation of Judgment and Fire that shall devour the Adverâ—ary Object But doth not God's foreknowledge and decree make mens Salvation impossible as well as Christs not Dying for them and so your argument is as much against them Answ No They do nihil ponere in Objecto nor are the removal or denyal of any efficient cause of Salvation they infer only Necessitatem Consequentiae they make no Mans Salvation impossible but only prove it not future And as it is not omne Possible that is futurum so neither omne non futurum that is Impossibile And it is agreed that foreknowledge presupposeth the futurition or non futurition of the thing foreknown But there is much more necessary to be said to resolve this doubt which I may not now insist on only I add that the matter of God's Decrees and the futurition of things as depending thereon are so high and so far above us that it becomes us not to be too inquisitive into them much less so peremptorily to determine of them as some do and least of all to try plainer Cases by such determinations and reduce certainties to uncertainties when we should tather reduce uncertainties to certainties And for the Minor that the state of most men even in the Church is not so hopeless deplorate and remediless as is the case of the Damned I prove it thus They might be saved who are yet on Earth if they would but receive the love of the truth 2 Thes 2. 9 10. If they would believe they might all be justified and should not perish but have everlasting life whoever of them will may have the water of Life freely and it is offered them and they intreated to take it and if they have it not it is because they will not and not because there was no object or ground for their willing or no Sacrifice for their sin God offers them pardon and
receives to him he delivereth But Christ seeth it meet to give it out to us on Conditions and by Degrees and we are not at the highest Degree 'till the end of all at Judgment even the Remission it self and not only the manifestation is thus given by Degrees And so it may be longer coming to us and be still passively imperfect through our incapacity As a King receiving a Ransom for a Prisoner may agree when all the Ransom is paid that yet he shall be delivered but by Degrees or upon Conditions Concl. 13. Yet some and many Degrees of the foresaid Corrective Temporal Punishment are remissible and Christ hath Conditionally promised to remit them in this Life He having now the inflicting of all Punishment committed to him John 5. 22. hath threatned more in his new Law to some yet disobedient than to others and promised more forbearance and tender dealing to some than to others Concl. 14. But this is not by so Universal and unreserved a promise as the Remission of Destructive punishment and as Salvation is given by But it is by a Promise with Exception or Reserve As if Christ should say Ordinarily you may expect to smart most when you sin most and to be remitted and eased most Consideratis Considerandis taking one thing with another when you please me best But yet I reserve my Jus Dominii yea and power of punishing even the best as shall seem meet to my wisdom for publick good or prevention of Sin not yet committed or manifesting my Wisdom or Power or Goodness c. So that mark here 1. That still this is punishment and for Sin if we had nothing but Original Sin when it is absolutely considered why God punisheth the best it is for sin But when it is asked comparatively why he punisheth Job more than another it is not for Sin and therefore in the Comparative Sense that is oft rather to be called Affliction Persecution as from Men Tribulation c. which in the Absolute sense must still be called Chastisement or Punishment 2. Mark that this Gospel Promise of Mercy and remission of Temporal Corrective Punishment in part is properly a Conditional Promise as it respecteth God's ordinary dealing with Men but it is not an infallible ascertaining Promise as to this or that particular Person though they do perform the Condition because as is said it hath besides the Condition on our part certain Exceptions and Reserves on Christ's part from hence you may see how to answer the Question whether we must pray for temporal Deliverances Absolutely or Conditionally Concl. 15. As all Punishments on the Elect before Conversion while yet God hateth them as Workers of Iniquity and they are Children of wrath are not of the first sort in demonstration of prevailing Rigorous Justice but most commonly Merciful Chastisements for they are oft the happy occasions of their Conversion yea powerful means thereto So the like must be said of the Non-Elect themselves who are but in the same state even they are the subjects of tender Chastisement and in a gracious sense God is oft called their Father in Scripture tho' not in that special strictest sense as he is the Father of the Adopted as not giving them that special Grace but common only The Reason is because though God have unequal Intentions de eventu in Chastising the Elect and the Non-Elect yet 1. He doth demonstrate more Mercy than Rigorous Vindictive Justice even in the punishments of the Non-Elect and therefore their Punishments are such Chastisements Proved 1. Else they should not be guilty and accusable for losing the Fruit of merciful Corrections when indeed it is a main mercy that they shall perish for not improving 2. Else God would not make it the matter of a threatning to correct them or smite them no more that is in that sort because they revolt more and more which yet he doth Ergo c. 2. Punishment being the Action of a Rector as such and not of Dominus Absolutus an Owner as such and so not formally and directly the act of God as determining of events by his secret Decrees therefore they are to be specified and denominated from Rectoral ends which I call the ends of God's Legislative Will rather than from the ends of God's Secret Decrees de rerum eventu Concl. 16. Hence it follows that God may and doth remit much Temporal Punishment both destructive and corrective even to the unregenerate both Elect and Non-Elect taking an easier way to give the same mercy which else he might have given in a sharper way and so far he may be said to remit or forgive their sins Though yet the Destructive Eternal Punishment being not forgiven it is not fit in ordinary Speech to say that such mens Sins are forgiven without a limiting restrictive explication because they are forgiven only secundum quid and in the weakest Sense I have on occasion of this Text run quite beyond my first intentions in opening the nature and sorts of remission but yet I hope not unprofitably From all this now it may appear that as there are several sorts of Remission so divers of them are Reversible and common to those that perish for ever And now to the Text in hand 1. It is apparent that this Text speaks of some of these sorts of Remission 2. And that it speaks of a Remission reversible or which may be conferr'd on those that afterward perish And though I presume not to determine which of them it is that is here meant yet 3. It is certain that which ever it be it is the fruit of Christs blood shed for them to whom it is given for without blood there is no Remission The Law of Works remitteth not for it relaxeth not its own obligation And God relaxeth it not but upon satisfaction as a valuable Consideration And therefore it is relaxed by the New Testament in the blood of Christ for that Testament is founded in his blood But for the sense of the Text I judge that the Forgiveness there mentioned is the second and third sort that is the Conditional Universal Grant of Pardon by the New Covenant for the Covenant is the same in its Tenour to Unbelievers and Believers there is no real change in it when men believe only the same instrument doth then morally act that is actually remit sin which before it did not because it was suspended on a Condition which was not performed But Christ hath done his part as Testator Donor and Legislator before in making the Grant And so it is applicable differently to different Persons To those that have only the Conditional Remission and have not yet performed the Condition it tells them eventually what shall be their miserable case if they do not perform it which too oft comes to pass To them that do believe and so are inceptively Justified and Pardoned Christ speaks as a Legislator and Teacher supposing the possibility oâ— their not performing the
And as Dr. Ames saith in the place before cited Anti-Bellarm it is to the work of Grace as Creation is to the work of Nature And therefore as none can deny but the Non-Elect have common grace as Conditional Pardon Illumination the Holy Ghost c. else how do they turn grace into wantonness so none can well deny but they have it from the general Fountain of Redemption Let us then consider what is the proper use of satisfaction as such and what it was that made satisfaction necessary And it is evident that it was the justice of God Creator as Rector according to the Law of Works and the misery of Man that haâ— offended God by the breach of that Law and was become liable to the Penalty which he could not bear without his everlasting undoing These made satisfaction necessary God's Justice required that either the Sinner must perisâ— or satisfaction by an Expiatory Sacrifice must bâ— made by which the remote and main ends â—â— the violated Law might be as well attained â— by the Sinners Damnation they would have been so that it was the death which was become due to Mankind which required the death of Christ their Sacrifice as on Man's part and God's Justice which would not remit sin but on a valuable consideration for the demonstration of its self and of God's Holiness which required it on God's part so that you see that on our part which required a Sacrifice was guilt that is obligation to everlasting punishment And it doth not belong to the satisfier as such to see that the guilt be actually done away quoad eventum or that the Damnation be actually escaped but that a sufficient Sacrifice or satisfaction be given on consideration whereof Remission and Salvation may be given on the terms as the Legislators and Redeemers Wisdom shall appoint How Christ doth give out this Pardon we shall shew you anon de quadruplici Remissione so that it is apparent that the want of the act or habit of Faith or the want of the Holy Ghost to effect Faith is not the thing that required satisfaction to God's Justice directly but that Faith is only a remote effect of this satisfaction and such an effect as hath no such Natural Connection with this Cause but that the Cause materially may be and oft is without that effect in many and the effect might have been without that cause from another if God had so pleased To manifest this that it is not want of Faith that required satisfaction as such and that satisfaction may be made for those that shall never believe observe these things 1. That Man's Suffering is not a thing pleasing to God in and for it self but for its end viz. The Demonstration of Justice and Right Governing of the World God professeth that he hath no pleasure in the death of a Sinner Ezek. 18. nor in the death of him that dyeth Ezek. 33. but rather that he repent and live Much less hath he pleasure in the death of the innocent and least of all in the death of his own Son God is not blood-thirsty who abhorreth the blood-thirsty man 2 It is not therefore for Christ's Sufferings as in themselves considered that God doth give men either Faith or any Mercy God doth not sell his mercies for blood as if he would give the World Remission of Sins on condition he might put his Son to so much torment And therefore Faith is not the immediate effect of Christ's death in sensu morali It comes not from his death as death or suffering nor may it without Blasphemy be conceived that ever God made such an agreement with his Son as to give Faith to Men meerly on Condition that Christ would suffer death without first considering somewhat else that required that suffering and something that put a value upon it 3. So that the thing which did require Christs Suffering was as is said before the obligation to punishment called guilt on mans part and vindictive justice on God's part Unbelief as Unbelief did not necessarily require it but the guilt of unbelief or any other sin did require it if ever it be pardonable 4. So that the following effects of Christ's death do all presuppose the satisfaction of Justice and hence Christs death becomes so pleasing to God not as death but as satisfaction and so a means fitted to the attainment of his ends And because this means so pleaseth him he esteemeth Christs satisfaction meritorious of further benefits joyned with his meritorious obedience upon which estimation and his own will called the Covenant with Christ he annexeth further benefits thereto For the end why he satisfied his justice by the Sacrifice of his Son was that he might honourably wisely and justly give out the following benefits which he giveth out hereupon So that Christs death is as to God first satisfactory and then meritorious of further benefits Now Faith very remotely followeth all this as shall be shewn 5. The thing that God could not do without satisfaction was the remitting of sin and freeing the delinquent from punishment it was not directly nor in its self the bestowing of Faith 6. For I would desire any Judicious Man to consider whether if Christ had by his death satisfied God's justice for mans guilt and had not at all done any more by his death for the meriting of Faith might not God have given man Faith at his own pleasure without the least shew of injustice or any other prohibiting inconvenience though Christ de facto did merit more yet we may well in dispute for searching out the truth separate in our thoughts guilt of sin and want of Faith in Christ and we may suppose that Christ had done no more by his death than to satisfie God's justice for man's guilt by bearing that which was due to man Now I would fain know this being once done why God or the Redeemer might not give Faith to whom he will Is there a further necessity of any new death or suffering to merit Faith for us If there be what is that necessity It is no injustice in God to do it There is no Law standing in the way by which he is obliged to the contrary Perhaps some will object that the same may be said of Pardon and Salvation that there needs no new suffering to merit them if once Justice be satisfied and yet Christ dyed for our Justification and Salvation To which I answer All this is true but then observe the difference separate in your thoughts Remission Justification and Salvation on one side from Faith in Christ on the other side as we by supposition may well do in disputation and you will find that God could not give Remission Justification and Salvation from Punishment without Christ's satisfaction but he could have given Faith in Christ if you will suppose it to go alone without the former benefits without satisfaction I say he could not give the former not by reason of any
as the first is God accepted the satisfaction on those terms only that no final Rebel should partake of the saving benefit If it be a wrong it is either against Christ or the Sinner Not to the Sinner for he suffereth but once And the former suffering of Christ was not in personation or representation of his person nor as his substitute nor appointed or procured by him But by a third Person in the Person of a Mediator sent by God and voluntarily undertaking it Nor to Christ is it any wrong For 1. He is willing Volenti non fit injuria 2. It was the agreement it should be so 3. Yea it is he that doth it He as Judge condemns them for ingratitude and Rebelling against himself and consequently leaves all the rest of their Sins upon them Prop. L. Nor is it any more absurd that Christ should satisfie for those that were in Hell when he sufferd then that he should do it for those that were in Heaven at his suffering He paid the Price which he had agreed to pay which became effectual upon the agreement and undertaking before the payment And was then offered to Mankind Of whom some suffered for rejecting it as others were saved upon the accepting it even before his death Prop. LI. Nor was Christs Satisfaction for those that perish Vain Seeing it is the ground of his New Title of Lord-redeemer as to Dominion and Rectorship and so the ground of his New Legislation Judgment Administration and Government of the World and will be the occasion of his just destruction of the Rejectors of him even those Rebels that would not have him to Reign over them and of his glory therein Even as Gods Creation and preservation of Men is not to be called Vain or no mercy because he gives not all Men Hearts to repent and so some perish For as Creation laid the ground of the Creators Dominion Rectorship Legislation and Rule and Judgment if the first Covenant had stood in force as it was at first So did Redemption by satisfaction do in respect of the Redeemer and Covenant of Grace Prop. LII All that Christ by the work of Redemption did purchase a propriety in and Dominion over were not Redeemed by him Bruits and Devils are hereby under his Dominion and Devils shall be judged by him But not as Subjects For he procured as Mediator a Dominion over these but as utensils in his House or as Enemies to be restrained ordered and destroyed Therefore Christs judging Devils will not prove that he redeemed them When yet his judging unbelieving Men will prove that he Redeemed them Devils are judged as Enemies but not as Rebels against their Lord-Redeemer But wicked Men are condemned as Rebels against him for ungrateful rejecting a benefit given them If a Country fall into Rebellion and the King sentenceth all to Fire and Sword and the Prince by satisfaction purchase all to himself both Men and Country And send Heralds to proclaim mercy and pardon to all that will accept him and thankfully accknowledg his favour Some accept and some reject him The same Prince destroyeth these Rebels for rebelling And he destroyeth also all the Bears Lyons Wolves and devouring Beasts that annoyed and kill'd his subjects Now will any say that because he appointeth the Wild Beasts to death and yet satisfied not for them nor Redeemed them that therefore he redeemed not the Rebels neither All sayings and writings have different Sences in the same words sometimes according to the difference of the Materia Subjecta Prop. LIII The Doctrine of Universal Redemption thus delivered runs with the whole Scope of Scripture and hath not the least inconveniences when the denial of it contradicteth a multitude of express Texts and bringeth on more desperate consequences than can easily be conceived Prop. LIV. Though Christ dyed equally for all Men in the foresaid Law-Sence as he satisfied the offended Legislator and as giving himself to all alike in the conditional Covenant Yet he never properly intended or purposed the actual justifying and saving of all nor of any but those that come to be justified and saved He did not therefore dye for all nor for any that perish with a Decree or Resolution to save them much less did he dye for all alike as to this intent Prop. LV. All that conditional Pardon with the means of Grace and common Mercies which the Non-elect do actually receive in time were purposed for them before time and intended to them as Fruits of Christs Death and so far even in regard of his Purpose de eventu applicationis Christ may be said to Die for them besides the foresaid satisfaction For God being Rector per Leges deals with men on Law terms and gives Mercies and Executes Justice only according to his Laws He would not so much as relax the Old Law for the pardon of any Sin but by a new Law which is Lex Remedians But the old Law being broken God can shew no mercy now according to its tenour It must be therefore according to the Law of Grace and from it that all men receive their Mercies and consequently from the Blood of that Covenant which is the ground thereof and by which Apostates are said to have been sanctified Heb. 10. Prop. LVI When we say that Christ did Die for men conditionally as to his Death it self and the satisfaction to Justice immediately thence flowing we cannot intend it or truly say so Nor yet as to the granting of his Universal Conditional pardon For Christ absolutely procured all these But we mean it only in regard of Actual Remission Justification and Salvation The Covenant or Promise is indeed Conditional that is there are conditions required on our part to the fulfilling of it that we may have right to the Benefit But no conditions for the granting of it much less for Christs Actual Dying and Satisfying Prop. LVII Though it be disputable whether God have any Decretive will de eventu properly Conditional yet is it beyond all doubt that he hath a Conditional will de Debito and Conditional Laws and it being to God as Legislator that Christ made Satisfaction and it being by Law that the Dueness of Justification and Salvation is conveyed to believers and the Dueness of Punishment to Unbelievers therefore it is very proper to say that Christ by his Death hath purchased Salvation for all Men Conditionally Prop. LVIII Yea it is undoubted that the very Decretive Will of God de Eventu applicationis is Conditional in this sence that Faith and Repentance are Decreed by God to be Conditions of Justification and Salvation but not conditions of Gods act of Decreeing Twisse saith that in this Sense no man denyeth Gods will to be conditional Vid. Consid of Syn. Dort and Arles c. Page 61. And against Cotton Page 74. Prop. LIX Those that dare say that Christ is an imperfect Redeemer if he do not procure Faith it self for every Man that he Dyeth for
to be but the meritorious cause of our Righteousness but not our Righteousness it self as we affirm it I do not now judg of these words but if Christs satisfaction be our very Righteousness or any part of it then certainly Christ satisfied for all to whom he offers his Righteousness But that he offers his Righteousness to all without exception is beyond doubt And he would never offer them a Non-ens that which is not He doth not offer to one Man the satisfaction made only for another and not for him for that would be no Righteousness for him But it is Righteousness that Christ offers and therefore it is satisfaction for that sinner himself which is offered to that sinner to be his Righteousness Now the offer supposeth the being of the thing offered except it were only an offer to do or give something hereafter which is not the case here And for them that say Christ is only offered to Men if they will receive him or believe it is idle For Christ is offered to Men whether they will receive him or not but none but receivers do enjoy him God doth not make our receiving the condition of his offering as to say I will offer thee Christs satisfaction if thou wilt receive it but he makes it the condition of our attaining the good offered q. d Christ with his benefits offered to thee shall be thine if thou wilt receive him 2. If it be only the Blood of Christ shed for others and not for them which unbelievers sin against then the sin of Devils might as to this respect be as well aggravated from the Blood of Christ sinned against as theirs But the consequence is palpably absurd Ergo c. 3. Consider what hainous consequents will follow if you deny this aggravation of the Sins of unbelievers 1. You harden them in the most desperate impenitency For they cannot repent of that which they know not to be a Sin and they cannot know that they have sinned against him that dyed for them till they know that he did die for them and who dare say to all the World that yet know not that they are true believers you ought not to repent for any Sin as being committed against him that died for you Perkins Treat of repentance and multitudes of our godly English Writers when they press Men to repentance do use this as the greatest motive to consider what our Sins did cost the Lord Jesus They cost him Blood and should they not cost us tears and should we make light of that which lay so heavy on him Such arguings are common in almost all Writers and Preachers Now if Christ did not bear all Mens Sins and if all Mens Sins did not cost Christ so dear then this Argument or Motive to repentance can be used to no Man nor by any Man but only those that have got assurance of a special interest in Christ 2. Hereby you deny that God may justly aggravate Mens Sins or condemn Men for Sinning against Christ that died for them 3. Hereby you perswade Men that their consciences shall not thus agravate them in Hell nor torment them for Sinning against him that suffered for them all which I shall shew anon to be false 4. Hereby you forbid Ministers from thus aggravating their Peoples Sins and so from using the most effectual motive to draw them to repentance And hereby you condemn almost all the most powerful Preachers in England who generally take this course And you reject the most powerful Books and Sermons which God hath blest to the Conversion of many Souls I mention this the rather because some still object that those who are against Universal Redemption succeed as much in their Ministry to the Conversion of Souls as those that are for it The reason is because they commonly Preach for it or on grounds that suppose it in their practical Sermons when in their disputes they speak against it That you may see I wrong them not I will instance in one learned Holy Perkins who hath writ more confidently against Universal Redemption then he And when he comes to win Men to Repentance and to Christ see how he Writes in particular in that excellent short Treatise the choicest piece I think that ever he wrote I am sure a piece that hath long agoe workt more on my own Heart then most if not then any that ever I read and which I have cause to thank God that ever I saw I mean his Treat of the Right Knowledg of Christ Crucified in the first Vol. of his Works Page 626 c. I will transcribe some passages Page 626. When he hath shewed that we must feel the need of Christ and desire him he adds The ad Part of knowledg is Application every Man is bound to apply Christ whereby thou must know and believe not only that Christ was Crucified but that he was Crucified for thee for thee I say in particular Here two rules must be remembred and practised one that Christ on the Cross was thy pledg and surety in particular that he stood there in the very room and place in which thou thy self in thy own person shouldest have stood That thy very personal and particular Sins were imputed and applied to him That he stood guilty as a Malefactor for them and suffered the very Pangs of Hell And that his sufferings are as much in acceptation with God as if thou hadst born the curse of the Law in thy own person eternally The holding and believing of this point is the very foundation of Religion as also of the Church of God c. The 2d Rule is that Christ Crucified is thine being really given thee of God the Father even as truly as Houses and Lands are given of Earthly Fathers to their Children And hence it is that the benefits of Christ are before God ours indeed for our justification and Salvation and Page 630. First of all the serious consideration of this that the very Son of God himself suffered all the pains and torments of Hell on the Cross for our Sins is the proper and most effectual means to stir up our Hearts to a godly sorrow for them And that this thing may come to pass every Man must be setled without doubt that he was the Man that Crucified Christ that he is to be blamed as well as Judas Herod Pilate or the Jews and that his Sins should be the Nails the Spears and the Thorns that pierced him When this meditation begins to take place bitterness of Spirit with Wailing and Mourning takes place in like manner Zach 12. 10. And they shall look upon him whom they have pierced and they shall lament for him as one lamenteth for his only Son What a Doctrin then is it that teacheth us that none but they that know themselves to be Elect should once accuse themselves of this that their Sins did Crucifie Christ Peter in his first Sermon struck the Jews as with a Thunder-clap from
Heaven when he said unto them ye have Crucified the Lord of glory So that at the same time 3000 Men were pricked in their Hearts and said Act. 2. 37. Men and Brethren what shall we do to be saved Again if Christ for our Sins shed his Heart Blood and if our Sins made him sweat water and Blood O then why should not we our selves shed bitter tears and why should not our Hearts bleed for them He that finds himself so dull and hardened that the Passion of Christ doth not humble him is in a lamentable ease for there is no Faith in the Death of Christ effectual in him as yet These words shew that Perkins speaks not this only to believers 2. The meditation of the passion of Christ is a most notable means to breed repentance and reformation of Life in time to come For when we begin to think that Christ Crucified by suffering the first and 2d Death hath procured to us remission of all our Sins past and freed us from Hell Death and damnation then if there be but a spark of Grace in us we begin to be of another mind and to reason thus with our selves what hath the Lord been thus merciful to me that am of my self but a firebrand of Hell as to free me from deserved destruction and to receive me to favour in Christ Yea no doubt he hath His name be blessed therefore I will not therefore Sin any more as I have done but rather endeavour hereafter to keep my self from every evil way 3. The right knowledg of our selves ariseth from the knowledg of Christ Crucified in whom and by whom we come to know five special things of our selves The first how grievous our Sins are and therefore how miserable we are in regard of them If we consider our offences in themselves and as they are in us we may soon be deceived c. But if Sin be considered in the Death and passion of Christ whereof it was the cause and the vileness thereof measured by the unspeakable torments endured by the Son of God and if the greatness of the offence of Man be esteemed by the endless satisfaction made to the justice of God the least Sin that is will appear to be a Sin indeed and that most grievous and ugly Therefore Christ Crucified must be used by us as a mirror or Looking-Glass in which we may fully take a view of our wretchedness c. And before and for our Neighbors those specially that are of Christs Church they are to be known of us on this manner When we are to do any duty to them we must not barely respect their Persons but Christ Crucified in them and them in Christ And Page 631. The 5th point is that we owe to Christ an endless debt for he was Crucified only as our surety and pledg and in that Spectacle of his passion we must consider our selves as the chief debtors and that the very discharge of our debt that is the Sins which are inherent in us were the proper cause of all the endless pains and torments that Christ endured that he might set us most miserable Bankrupts at liberty from Hell Death and damnation For this his unspeakable goodness if we do but once think of it seriously we must needs confess that we owe our selves our Souls and Bodies and all that we have as a debt due unto him And so soon as any Man begins to know Christ Crucified he knows his own debt and thinks of the payment of it And that you may be sure that Perkins speaks not only of the Elect see Page 631. Col. 2. The common Protestant likewise cometh short herein for 3 Causes 1. Whereas in word they acknowledg him to be their Saviour this he blameth not in them that hath redeemed them from their evil Conversation yet indeed they make him a patron of their Sins The Thief makes him the receiver The Murderer makes him his refuge The Adulterer be it spoken with reverence to his Majesty makes him the Bawd c. Thus Christ that came to abolish Sin is made a maintainer thereof and the common Packhorle of the World to bear every Mans burden 2. Men are content to take knowledg of the merit of Christs passion for the remission of their Sins but in the mean season the virtue of Christs Death for the mortifying of Sin is little regarded c. 3. Men usually content themselves generally and confusedly to know Christ to be their Redeemer it seems then that it is true never once seeking in every particular Estate and condition of Life and in every particular blessing of God to feel the benefit of his passion What is the cause that almost all the World live in security never almost touched for their horrible Sins Surely the reason is because they did never yet seriously consider that Christ in the Garden lay grouling upon the Earth sweating Water and Blood for their offences Can a Man speak plainer for Christs dying for all Again all such as by fraud and oppression or any kind of hard dealing suck the Blood of poor Men never yet knew that their Sins drew out the Heart Blood of Christ And proud Men and Women that are puffed up by reason of their attire which is the badg of their shame and never cease hunting after strange fashions consider not that Christ was not Crucified in gay attire but naked that he might bear the whole shame and curse of the Law for us These and such like whatsoever they say in word are flat Enemies of the Cross of Christ and tread his precious Blood under their Feet Now then considering this so weighty and special a point of Religion is so much neglected O Man or Woman high or low young or old if thou have been wanting this way begin for very shame to learn and learning to know Christ Crucified That thou mayest attain to this behold him often c. 1. Look on him as a glass or spectacle in which thou shalt see Gods Glory greater in thy Redemption then in thy Creation c. 2. Thou must behold him as the full price of thy Redemption and perfect Reconciliation with God And pray earnestly to God that he would Seal up the same in thy conscience by his Spirit 3. Thou must behold Christ as an example to whom thou must conform thy self by Regeneration c. Read the History of Christs passion Observe all the parts and circumstances thereof and apply them to thy self for thy full Conversion When thou readest that Christ went to the Garden as his custom was where the Jews might soon attack him consider that he went to the death of the Cross for thy Sins willingly and not of constraint and that therefore thou for thy part shouldest do him all service freely Psal 110. 3. When thou hearest that in his agony his Soul was heavy unto death know it was for thy Sins and thou shouldest much more conceive heaviness of Heart for
the same Again that this sorrow of his is joy and rejoycing to thee if thou wilt believe in him When thou readest that in the Garden he prayed lying grovling on his Face sweating Water and Blood begin to think seriously what an unspeakable measure of Gods wrath was upon thy blessed Saviour that did prostrate his Body upon the Earth and cause the Blood to follow and think that thy Sins must needs be most hainous that brought such bloody and grievous pains upon him Also think it is a shame for thee to carry thy Head to Heaven with haughty looks to wallow in thy pleasures and to draw the innocent Blood of thy poor brethren by oppression and deceit for whom Christ Sweat Water and Blood and take an occasion from Christs agony to lay aside the pride of thy Heart yea even to bleed for thy own offences c. When thou readest that Christ was taken and bound think that thy very Sins brought him into the power of his Enemies and were the very bonds wherewith he was tied Think that thou shouldst have been bound in the very same manner unless he had been a surety and pledg for thee Think also that thou in the same manner art bound and tied with the Chains of thy own Sins c. Lastly think and believe that the bonds of Christ serve to purchase thy liberty from Hell death and damnation When thou hearest that he was brought before Annas and Caiphas think it was meet that thy surety and pledg who was to suffer the Condemnation due to thee should by the High Priest as by the Mouth of God be condemned And wonder at this that the very Coessential and Eternal Son of God even the Soveraign judg of the World stands to be judged and that by wicked Men perswading thy self that this so great confusion comes of thy Sins Whereupon being further amazed at thy fearful state humble thy self in dust and ashes and pray God to soften thy stony Heart that thou maist turn to him and by true Faith lay hold on Christ c. When thou readest that Barrabas the murderer was preferred before Christ c. Thy very Sins pulled on him that shameful reproach and in that for thy cause he was esteemed worse than Barrabas c. When thou readest that he was openly and judicially condemned to the cursed death of the Cross consider what is the wrath and fury of God against Sin and how great is his mercy to Sinners and in this Spectacle look on thy self and with groans of Heart say O good God what settest thou before mine Eyes I even I have sinned I am guilty and worthy of damnation Whence comes this change that thy blessed Son is in my room but of thy unspeakable mercy Wretch that I am How have I forgotten my self and thee my God O Son of God how low hast thou abased thy self for me Therefore give me grace O God that beholding my own Estate in the person of my Saviour thus condemned I may detest my Sins that were the cause thereof and by a lively Faith embrace that absolution which thou offerest me in him who was condemned in my stead and room O Lord Jesus Saviour of the World give me that Holy Spirit that I may judg my self and be as vile in my own Eyes as thou wast vile before the Jews Unite me unto thee by the same Spirit that in thee I may be as worthy to be accepted before God as I am worthy in my self to be detested for my Sins c. When thou readest that he was script of his cloathing think it was that he being naked might bear thy shame ou the Cross c. When thou readest of the complaint of Christ that he was forsaken of his Father consider how he suffered the pangs and torments of Hell as thy Pledge and Surety c When thou readest of his Death consider that thy Sins were the cause of it c. Thus far Mr. Perkins whose words I have thus largely set doown both as a pattern for Ministers how to Preach the Doctrine of Redemption and to shew the necessity there is that Ministers and People do see and discover to others their Sin in this great aggravation as they were the crucifiers of Christ and to shew you what English Ministers Preach to the People whatever they speak in Disputes and what kind of Preaching it is which hath succeeded so in England for the conversion of Souls If this be not a plain Preaching of Universal Redemption or Satitfaction as to all that hear the Gospel whom he requires so oft to consider that Their sins crucified Christ then I know not what is And if any quirke may be produced to wrest so plain words to a contrary sense I am sure the poor sinners to whom it is Preached know not ordinarily those evasions but receive it in the plain sense I could fill a Volume with the like passages as this out of our most powerful and successful Preachers Here then are two distinct aggravations of sin both necessarr to every penitent Soul both which are denyed by the denyal of Universal satisfaction The first is that our sins killed Christ as being the cause of his Death Is not a man bound to mourn over him whom his sins have pierced before he knoweth himself to be Elect How few then of the Elect themselves should do it 2. The second aggravation is that all our sins against recovering mercies are committed against him that Died for us He that denyeth both these aggravations of sin doth not a little wrong Christ and mens Souls Lastly I argue thus If without those forementioned aggravations of sin no man can truly and savingly Repent then all men are bound thus to aggravate their sins in their self accusations But without these there can be no saving Repentance Ergo c. The consequence of the Major is proved in that all men are bound truly to Repentance even with that which is called Repentance unto Life The Antecedent or Minor is proved 1. In that else it can be but a Legal Repentance and not an Evangelical if it be not for sin as the crucifier of Christ and for sin as against our Redeemer 2. From the description of true Gospel Repentance Zech. 12. 10. They shall look on him whom they have pierced and mourn over him c. Or if it were proved that there is besides this a true Repentance foregoing yet it is but part of that great work seeing this Evangelical Repentance must go close with it And if any say tha tmen are bound first to believe before they are bound to this evangelical repentance for sinning against the blood of Christ I answer 1. They are bound to both at once and the Apostles prest both at once on men To Repent and Believe 2. Most Divines make Repentance with Faith to go before Justification 3. Some have writ whole Volumes to prove that it goes before Faith it self 4. All acknowledge
Father delivered into his Hand Joh. 5. 22. The Father judgeth no Man but hath given all judgment to the Son c. Phil. 2. 7. 8. 9. Rom. 14. 9. 2. That this Right is founded on Redemption is proved by all that is said in the forementioned Arguments and Texts and I think few Christians will deny it Rom. 14. 9. For this end he both died rose and revived that he might be Lord of the dead and of the living If it were the end of his death and resurrection to obtain this Dominion then surely this Dominion is grounded in that Death and Resurrection and belongs to him as a Redeemer Phil. 2. 6 7 8 9 10 11. he became obedient to Death even the Death of the Cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him c. 3. And that it is not Christs dying only for the Elect that is the ground of his Dominion and Empire over all I prove thus 1. The Dominion of Christ and his Jus Imperii over the Non-Elect is of the same kind with his Dominion and Jus Imperii over the Elect and therefore hath the same cause It is not such as his Dominion over Devils or Brutes as we shall further shew anon I say not that Christ exerciseth his Imperial power in the same way over all but the relation of Rex or Imperator which Christ hath rightfully over all is the same to all And the relation of Subjects to Christ which all stand in to him quod debitum veljus is the same relation all Men as well as the Elect to whom his Laws are promulgate are bound to acknowledg him their King and Lord in the same sence as the Elect are And are bound to give up themselves to him as his subjects in the same sense as the Elect are and with a subjection of the same kind For the New Law which constituteth the duty is general and distinguisheth not as to this between Elect and Non-Elect 2. It is manifest that Christs Blood cannot be purchasing of Dominion or Empire immediately but only meante virtute satisfactoria as it is a placament or propitiatory Sacrifice to the offended Majesty For were not Christs Blood first necessary to this expiatory use it would be so far from being purchasing or meritorious of any further benefit that it would not be acceptable to God at all For he is not bloodthirsty he takes not pleasure in the Blood of the innocent Nay he is averse from it So that Christs Death must needs be first satisfactory to Justice in order of nature before it purchase Dominion or Empire Now if he may have this right to a peculiar Dominion and Empire over most of the World without satisfying for them then either his right over most is immediate without flowing from satisfaction which is evidently false or else it is founded in his satisfaction for others viz. the Elect And if so then why might not he as well have right of Dominion and Empire over the Elect without satisfying for them as over all others without satisfying for them And if so then he might do all that which now he doth as Lord and Rector without satisfaction Antecedent And if so then he might make his New Law which now he hath made wherein he Repeals the bondage of Ceremonies and provideth a remedy against the curse and whereby he gives pardon and glory to all if they will receive him But this may not be granted 3. It is also proved hence that Christs rule over all Men is founded in his satisfaction of Redeeming of those same Men because when he is offered to them and they commanded to receive him it is in the Relation of Lord Redeemer All are commanded to take him for their Lord Jesus Christ no Man is commanded to take him as Lord and King only and not as Redeemer and Saviour Nay our Divines commonly make the act of justifying Faith to confist only in receiving Christ as Redeemer or satisfieror Saviour as saving us by his Blood from guilt excluding the reception of him as King and Lord from being the justifying Act of Faith wherein yet I am forced as zealouly to contradict them as in almost any one point only they confess it is of absolute necessity that Christ at the same time be received as Lord when he is received as Redeemer Now all Men are bound that hear the Gospel to believe to justification that 's generally granted And if so then all Men are bound to receive Christ as their Lord-Redeemer and not as Lord to them and Redeemer to others And if so then doubtless Christ is their Lord-Redeemer Now Redemption hath two parts the first is the paying of the Price that is satisfaction by dying for us The 2d is applying or conferring the benefits of that satisfaction by actual delivering or Redeeming from the guilt and power of Sin The first is that chief part of Redemption from whence the whole is chiefly denominated Now the first part is past and done whether Men believe or not and is not offered to be done on any condition nor to be done for our Sins Christ doth not say I will pay the price of thy Redemption if thou wilâ— take me for thy Redeemer it is paid already but it is the 2d part of Redemption that is offered on condition The first is general and absolure The second is generally given on condition and special as to the actual Collation by Christ and fruition by Man So that when Christ saith to a Man take me for thy Redeemer it is as much as to say take me for one that hath made satisfaction for thy Sins and if thou wilt receive me I will pardon and save thee thereby now if Christ did not Redeem Men by satisfying and yet require them to take him as their Redeemer then he requires them to take him to be that which he is not and to have done that which he hath not For Christ cannot be a Redeemer to any Man that he hath not paid the paid the price of Redemption for Which if it be not done Faith will not cause it to be done So that it being certain that the Lordship and Empire of Christ which he hath right to over all and which all are commanded to acknowledg and submit to is inseparably conjoyned with his Redemption he being offered to no Man as Lord to whom he is not also offerd as Redeemer it is evident that his Jus novum Dominii imperiii his new right of propriety and Rule over all Men doth presuppose his Redeeming all as to the price and satisfaction Obj. But if that be so then he Redeemed or died for Bruits Devils and good Angels For he hath a Right of Dominion and Rule over these Ans This Objection though otherwise scarce worthy to be taken notice of hath been so entertained yielded to and confidently managed by some that it is become necessary to make a discovery of its vanity 1. Christ hath not a
proper Empire or Rectorship over Bruits For they are not capable of being Subjects of a Kingdom 2. His Dominion over them is but as they are subservient to his ends for Man and as they are Mans Servants and Utensils 3. Christ hath not that I can find in Scripture any novum jus Dominii any new propriety as Redeemer in Devils or in good Angels But having an ancient propriety in them as being their Creator he useth them accordingly for his Redemption ends 4. Nor do I find that he hath purchased any new proper absolute jus imperii or Rectorship over them but only a power of using them for his Church and for service about Man he shall send them on 5. And therefore I say the Empire of Christ over Angels is not of the same kind with that which he hath over Men and which we use in the Argument to prove that he died for Men. if both should be called by the same title of a novum jus imperii yet the difference of the Subjects sufficeth to shew the different Sence of the same attribute as severally applied I find not that Christ any where proclaims himself the King of Devils or Angels nor requires them to take him for their King nor hath made any new Laws to govern them by as he hath done for Men nor hath restored any forfeited mercy to them nor offers them pardon of any Sin upon condition of repentance nor will judg them on such terms So that if it should be proved that the good Angels are part of his Kingdom as Redeemer yet it would be but as their confirmer and not as a Redeemer of them For he is never offered to them as a Redeemer nor did they need any for ought I know He took not on him the nature of Angels but of the Seed of Abraham He is Head over all things to his Church Eph. 1. 22. That is He is superior to Angels and all things and hath the disposal of them for his Churches use but he is only Head of his Church de facto as to proper Kingly Rule and of the rest of the World de jure who shall suffer as Rebels for not acknowledging his Title and because they would not that he should reign over them Luke 39. 27. But so shall not Bruits or Devils So that the Argument will hold good â— jure novo Dominii Imperii from Christs new propriety in and Rectorship over Men to his Redeeming them by his Blood But so it will not from that kind of Dominion which Christ hath over Bruits or that kind of Rule that he hath over Angels or Devils to his Redemption of them And yet for Bruits as they suffered for the sake of Man and as they shall be restored from their suffering for the use and sake of Man so the same Blood which purchased Mans Restoration did remotely and collaterally purchase theirs Let us illustrate all by a similitude as near resembling the present case as we can imagine Suppose when King James Raigned in England that Ireland had all fallen into Rebellion and so open bloody and malicious that the King were resolved not a Man of them should be pardoned or escape Hereupon in the height of their malice they intice all Scotland into Rebellion also But because they are but deluded into it by the Irish and not maliciously bent against him as they or because being his Countrimâ—â— he hath a special respect to them it is concluded betwixt him and his only Son that his Son shall pay their ransome or by some publickly shameful suffering shall make that satisfaction to the Law and that Reparation to the King which may suffice to deter all others from Rebellion and openly in his suffering shall publish This I 〈◊〉 willingly for the offence of my Rebellions 〈◊〉 to procure them mercy Hereupon by agreement the Prince is to undertake it as his further business to use means for the bringing them all back to their allegiance To which end the whole Kingdom of Scotland is given up to him as King upon his satisfaction and Ramsome and he is to make a General pardon or Act of Oblivion to all so be it they do by such a day come in and lay down Arms and return to their Allegiance and acknowledg the Kings Grace and the Princes singular favour in Ransoming them and will take him for their King upon this Ransome And for those that will not accept this offer the Prince is to subdue them by force and destroy them that they shall have no benefit of the Ransome And for all the Irish which he finds among them seducing them he is to destroy them or use them to what servitude in the mean time he please Also he is to make use of any of the Kings Servants or Subjects of England to send on his Message to summon them to come in Now I demand 1. Hath not the Prince here Ransomed all the Scots over whom he hath his Jus Dominii Imperii That is absolutely all 2. Doth it follow that therefore he hath Ransomed the Irish because he hath power to judg and destroy them or use them in servitude 3. Or doth it follow that he hath Ransomed the Trees Beasts and Lands of the Country because he hath a propriety in them as the Goods or Utensils of them whom he Ransomed 4. Or did he Ransome any of the Kings Servants or English because he hath power to send them on his message or command them on his Service into Scotland If one argue thus with a Scot the Prince hath a new Title of Dominion and Empire over all you Scotsmen as ransomer therefore he ransomed you all this is no unsound arguing And would you confute it bâ— saying that then he ransomed the English and Irish too yea the Lands and Trees and Beasts By the Scots I mean mankind By the Irish the Devils by the Kings Servants or English the Angels And by the Lands Trees c. I mean all the creatures on Earth as Servants of Man A Man would think that those Men that do so vehemently contend that Christ is the Head of the visible Church and the King of this visible Kingdom which comprehendeth good and bad should easily yield to this Argument If Christ be the Head or King of all the visible Church and consequently of more than the Elect then did he die for the visible Church and so for more than the Elect But the Antecedent is maintained stifly by themselves Ergo c. When they have voluminously pleaded for the Honours and Priviledges of the Church visible viz. That even the unregenerate part of it are Disciples Christians 〈◊〉 Believers Adopted in Covenant c. And that Christ is their Master King and Head will they say that yet for all this Christ did not die for them Why hereby they incur these intollerable inconveniences 1. That such excellent gifts and Gospel Priviledges should flow from any other fountain than the
these are given according to the Law of Works If not then it must be according to the Law of Grace and the New Covenant or according to no Law If the former then none will question I think but it must come from Christs Blood For the New Law and Testament is founded in his Blood and Sealed by it If the later then at least the Law of Works must be first relaxed and they so far pardoned seeing according to that Law they should have lived not among these mercies but in misery And Scripture assures us that it was the Blood of Christ that delivered us from the Curse of the Law and that on the Cross he took down the hand writing that was against us c. And without his suffering there is no Relaxation of the Laws obligation They that set open so wide a door of mercy to all the World beside Jesus Christ do not lightly wrong him and do dangerously deceive themselves and others I am sure Christ will expect repentance thanks and obedience for these mercies and condemn Men for not improving these Talents which he committed to them however Men may now tell Sinners that all comes but from common providence and not by the Blood of Christ 3. Yea that which they call common providence is the disposal of things by the Redeemer For all things are delivered to him of the Father and all power given him and to that end he died rose and revived that he might be Lord of the Dead and Living And therefore if Men have any mercy now it must come through the Redeemers Hands and consequently is a fruit of his Blood But this will yet further be proved in the next which is 3. That it is Christs dying for those same persons to whom he gives these mercies that is the ground of them And this further is proved thus 1. Some of the mercies given are such as could no other way be procured and given as is ordinarily granted Such as are the Universal Remission Justification Adoption and gift of Christ himself on condition that Men will accept them Christ given as Redeemer supposeth his Redemption as to paying of the price to be past Without Blood there is no Remission neither conditional not absolute as is proved in the first Argument But a conditional Remission to all is given in the New Testament Ergo c. The Remission also of their punishment for the time of this Life or at least of so much of it is actual though not plenary Remission and wicked Men partake of that Of one of these two Christs speaks in the parable of the ungrateful unmerciful Servant Mat. 18. 27. 32. 35. The Lord of that Servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt c. His Lord said O thou wicked Servant I forgave thee all that debt c. So likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also by you if ye from your Hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses But of this Text more hereafter So that God doth remit to the Non-Elect most of the temporal punishment of their Sin actually and all the Eternal punishment conditionally That he remitteth the temporal punishment is further proved Psal 78. 38. But he being full of compassion for gave their iniquity and destroyed them not Yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath He that reads out the rest of the Psalm will not believe that all these dissembling Israelites were Elect. So for the legal forgiveness of Sin upon the use of Ceremonies See Lev. 4. 26 31 35. and 5. 10 13 16 18. and 6. 7 and 19 22. Numb 15. 25 26 28. It shall be forgiven all the Congregation of the Children of Israel and the Stranger that sojourneth among them seeing all the People were in ignorance but all Israel were not Elect Numb 14. 19. Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this People according to the greatness of thy mercy and as thou hast forgiven this People from Egypt even until now 20. And the Lord said I have pardoned according to thy Word Dev. 21. 8. Psal 85. 2. Isa 40. 2. So the Example of Ahab the Ninevites c. Shew clearly For that which God did in mercy in respect to their humiliation was some kind of Remission 2. And further I prove it as by these express Texts of Scripture so by this Scripture reason Either God remitteth much of the temporal punishment or else he shews them no mercy And consequently they are not beholden to him nor owe him any thanks but God doth shew them mercy Ergo c. He that remitteth none of the punishment due sheweth no mercy in this case And he that sheweth mercy remitteth part of the punishment for it was part of the punishment to be deprived of the mercies which wicked Men enjoy Who dare once imagine that Health Strength Friends Liberty Peace Riches Honour Food Raiment Houses Accommodations Cattel all Creatnres to serve us Publick Peace Sun Rain Fruits of the Earth prospering of our Labours c. Knowledg Parts Motions of the Spirit excellent means and offers of Grace Godly society and Examples Admonitions Tast of the good word of God and the powers of the World co come Illumination Partaking of the Holy Ghost working Miracles casting out Devils hearing the word with joy believing for a time clean escaping the pollutions of the World by the knowledg of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to be sanctified with the blood of the Covenant to be loved of Christ as the man was Mar. 10. 21. to have the easiest place in Hell c. who dare say that none of all these are Mercies Or that the enjoyment of these may stand with the full execution of the sentence of the Law If the Curse lay in the deprivation of these then the enjoyment of them is a remission of that curse or Penalty But c. Ergo c. read Deut. 28. Now that this Remission is granted to none but by virtue of Christs dying for him I will now but refer you to the whole multitude of Reformed Divines in their Writings against the Papists about Purgatory Indulgences and Humane Satisfactions where they argue with greatest Zeal and many Arguments that temporal punishments are remitted only for Christ's Satisfaction even the same men that deny Universal Satisfaction not remembring how this overthroweth their own cause The reason I conceive is that here the evidence of truth constraineth them but in the denial of Universal Redemption they constrain themselves to it meerly because they have not found out the way of reconciling Universal Satisfaction with Special Predestination and therefore think they are necessitated to deny the former though against the clear light of many express Texts of Scripture for fear of contradicting the later 1. Amesius saith Bellarm. Enervat To. 2. li. 5. c. 2. p. mihi 158. Christus per spiritum suum nihil in nobis operatur
to an Angel not to be Redeemed nor to the Devils not to be partakers of Christ and of Pardon and Salvation by him Now its true the Pardon of the Damned and their Salvation was not actually effected but the meritorious cause was full and perfect in Christs satisfaction and moral causes go long before the effects sometimes and may do all their part and yet the effect not follow through the defect of some other and the effects were conditionally given or produced by the New Covenant and thereby become not only possible and probable but certain if the condition were performed So that here is a proper privation and not a bare Negation Nor is it the meer matter of such effects that men are deprived of but formally as they were effects conditionally granted and were to have been effects actually of the death of Christ They should have been such effects if they had done their part to procure them by performing the condition as Christ did in the Cause for he required not them to effect it as concauses but only suspended the effects of his own full sufficient but Moral cause on their condition which all Lawyers and all that know what a Moral Cause is or what a proper condition is know to be most usual Now if you suppose that Christ died not and satisfied not for these men then the loss of Pardon Adoption Membership of Christ final Absolution Salvation besides all the greater Glory and all the Spirits Graces and Workings in this life cannot possibly be punishments to them for they cannot be Privations For there was never any cause to procure them and therefore they were never possible much less due and Mans Faith was not required by God to be the meritorious cause or to satisfie Gods Justice nor yet to procure Christ or any other to satisfie it nor yet to make that satisfaction to be now for us which was made for others and not for us to none of these ends was Faith required but only to be the condition of our enjoying Christ and the fruits of his satisfaction on performance whereof the Moral Cause which was long before in full being should produce its effect or else not as to us so that satisfaction as the Cause is necessarily supposed to Faith as the condition seeing the office of the condition is that on it the effect of the cause be suspended till that condition be performed And therefore there can be no condition where there is not first the Moral Cause I mean there can neither be condition constituted by Law Testament Deed of Gift or Covenant nor yet condition performed for it cannot have the form of a condition Or if that be disputable as to any other case I am sure it is not in the case in hand No man will say that the non-remission non-salvation of the Devils by the Blood of Christ is a Punishment to them Object That is because it was never offered or conditionally given them by Covenant as it was to the Unbelievers Answ Nor could it have been given so to Unbelievers if Christ had not died for them Could God give them Christ as a Satisfier and Redeemer who never had satisfied for them or redeemed Or could he make over to them effects which had no Cause viz. the effects of his dying for them when he did not dye for them Would the New Covenant serve to pardon men without Christs Sacrifice and Satisfaction Nay is it not beyond all doubt that this which I call the New Covenant or Testament He that believeth shall be saved c. is the Redeemers Law and Testament and presupposeth his Death and Satisfaction in esse Morali at least It is the New Testament in his Blood he first buyeth men to be his own by satisfaction and then dealeth with them as his own by Promise and Legislation Only the Promise of God to give Christ for a Redeemer to the World and his Prophesies of him therein are in order of nature before the Moral being of Christs death but so is not the Law of Grace I know nothing that hath any great shew of Reason that can be said against this Argument which so clearly evinceth the truth of Universal Redemption and for vain objections I will not trouble my self and the Reader with them Arg. 30. A Comparatione doctrinae universalem satisfactionem affirmantis cum doctrinâ— eandem negante If they who assert Universal Redemption quoad satisfactionem pretium have all these forementioned Arguments from Scripture for their cause and a multitude of express Texts and no one ill consequence following their doctrine nor one sound Reason nor one text of Scripture against them And if the deniers of Universal Satisfaction have all the contrary disadvantages then they that affirm Universal Satisfaction are in the right and they that deny it do err But the antecedent is true Ergo. c. Here I will 1. Look over these Arguments again and from thence shew you the face of the consequents of the denial of Universal Satisfaction 2. I will lay you down together the express Texts that are for Universal Satisfaction 3. And also the Texts that are brought against it 4. And then the particular search of those texts on both sides and the answer to all the Arguments that are usually brought against Universal Satisfaction I intend shall follow afterward in their own places more fully The Doctrine which denyeth Universal Satisfaction hath all these inconveniences and absurd consequents following therefore it is not of God nor true 1. It either denieth the Universal Promise or Conditional Gift of Pardon and Life to all men if they will believe and then it overturneth the substance of Christs Law and Gospel promise or else it maketh God to give conditionally to all men a Pardon and Salvation which Christ never purchased and without his dying for men 2. It maketh God either not to offer the effects of Christs satisfaction Pardon and Life to all but only to the Elect or else to offer that which is not and which he cannot give 3. It denieth the direct object of Faith and of Gods offer that is Christum qui satisfecit a Christ that hath satisfied 4. It either denieth the Non-Elects deliverance from that flat necessity of perishing which came on man for sinning against the first Law by its remediless unsuspended obligation and so neither Christ Gospel or Mercy had ever any nature of a remedy to them nor any more done toward their deliverance then towards the deliverance of the Devils Or else it maketh this deliverance and remedy to be without satisfaction by Christ for them 5. It either denieth that God commandeth all to believe but only the Elect Or else maketh God to assign them a deceiving Object for their Faith commanding them to believe in that which never was and to trust that which would deceive them if they did trust it 6. It maketh God either to have appointed and commanded the
were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life John 11. 51 52. That Jesus should dye for that Nation and not for that Nation only but that also he should gather together in one the Children of God that were scattered abroad Mat. 1. 21. for he shall save his People from their Sins Joh. 15. 13. Greater Love hath no man than this that a man to lay down his life for his friends 1 John 3. 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us Rom. 8. 34. who is he that condemneth It is Christ that dyed yea rather c. 1 Pet. 3. 18. Christ hath once suffered for Sin the just for the â—njust that he might bring us to God 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold from your vain conversation received by Tradition from your Fathers but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2. 29. He bore our sins on the Tree that me being dead to sin should live to Righteousness Tit. 2. 14. That he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar People zealous of good works Eph. 5. 25 26. Even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle c. Isa 53. 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous Servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities John 17. 2. Thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him Mat. 7. 23. Depart from me I never knew you c. Heb. 9. 28. Christ was once offered to bear the Sins of many c. Heb. 10. 14. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Psal 16 9. Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer nor take up their name into my lips Gen. 3. 15. The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head and his seed bruise her heel Mat. 11. 25. I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thoâ— hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent and hast revealed them to Babes Eph. 1. 7. In whom we have Redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins 2 Cor. 5. 21. For he made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him These are all the Texts that at present I can remember or find used by those that write against Universal Redemption which have any considerable shew of a proof of all which there is not one that excludeth the Non-Elect nor any in the World from being the Persons for whom Christ dyed as we shall see when we come to review them more particularly Nor is there any ill consequence following the Doctrine of Universal Satisfaction but all that terrifies men from it is seeming ill Consequences for want of right understanding it most men think who go that way that Universal Redemption is inconsistent with absolute Election and with special differencing Grace and with Christs special intention of calling and saving his Chosen whereas indeed it is so far from being inconsistent that it is necessarily concomitant and supposed and they may as well think that Universal Creation is inconsistent with Election and special grace Indeed God hath in admirable wisdom laid Universal Grace as a ground work and built special grace as to the executive part thereupon and to deny the Universal Common grace is to destroy the ground-work of special grace If this were well understood there would few sober Divines be against Universal Redemption and therefore I still say that it is a clear explication that must do more here and is more needful than argumentation Yet because some do so importunately call for Arguments I have given these Thirty and might add many more and shall now proceed to those that are drawn from particular Texts of Scriptures having first laid down one or two more general considerations from the Scripture Language in this particular That Election and Redemption are not of the same extent and not all Elected that are Redeemed but Redemption is Universal and Election special may be strongly evinced by comparing together the language of the Scripture concerning one and the other how differently it speaks 1. We find God charging Men to give all diligence to make sure their Calling and Election 2 Pet. 1. 10. But not one word in all the Scripture to command or perswade Men to make sure that they are redeemed unless we meant it not of the price but the fruits Paul saith to his Converts 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith know ye not your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates But he never bid any man examine thy self whether thou be redeemed or whether Christ dyed for thee or whether thou be one of those for whom Christ dyed we have marks given in Scripture to know by whether we are the Children of God or no whether sanctified justified pardoned or no but never a mark laid down in Scripture to know by whether we are of those that Christ dyed for no more than there is to know whether we are of those that God Created And would not the perfect holy word of God have given marks of this or bid men make sure of this and try it if it were needful and were not unquestionable because universal 2. We find the Saints as David complaining of God's hiding his face and seeming their Enemy and writing bitter things against them and groaning under that burthen of Sin and crying for Pardon and saying God had forsaken and forgotten them c. But we never find any Man good or bad that believed Gods word to be true to doubt whether Christ dyed for him or whether he were Redeemed or complaining of his danger for want of a Redeemer or Expiatory Sacrifice 3. We find God ordinarily saying of Christ Jesus that he is the Saviour of the World and came not to condemn the World but to save the World and took away the sins of the World and is a propitiation for the fins of the whole World and dyed for all tasted death for every man and was a ransom for all c. But we have no one word in Scripture that saith he predestinated all to Salvation or decreed to save the whole World Nay the very term of Election contradicteth Universality for it is no chusing if it be all and if some be not left 4. We find Wicked Men condemned and their sin aggravated for denying the Lord that bought them 2 Pet. 2. 1. But never for denying the Lord that Elected them 5. We find Christians by the Apostles warned that they destroy not their weak Brethren for whom Christ dyed and saying through thy
knowledge shall he perish c. But he nevea saith destroy not him or by thy knowledge shall he perish whom God hath Elected but contrarily Christ saith if it were possible they would deceive the very Elect. 6. We find them that fall away described to be such as were sanctified by the blood of the Covenant but never to be such as were Elected to Salvation And their Sin is aggravated as being a treading under foot the Son of God and putting him to open shame but not as treading under foot Gods Election And their misery is in this that there is no more Sacrifice for Sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment and Fire c. But not that there is no more Election 7. Men are warned to see that they refuse not Christ that speaketh and threatned that they shall not escape if they neglect so great Salvation and they shall speed worse at Judgment than Sodom and Gomorrhah But none are so threatned for sinning against Election nor are they warned to take heed of rejecting it nor is it said how shall we escape if we neglect so great a mercy as Election Also men that unworthily receive the Sacrament are said to eat and drink damnation to themselves and to be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord But no Man that is not Elect is said either to be the cause of his own Non Election or to be guilty of abusing or rejecting his Election 8. Also I find men warned on pain of Damnation to receive Christ as their Redeemer Be they never so wicked it is our office to perswade them to this and therefore to preach the Gospel to every Creature But we are not to command men to take God for their Elector I may not go to all the ignorant prophane men men in the Countrey and charge them to take God for their Elector 9. We must command all men to love Christ as their Redeemer and be thankful to him and in thankfulness to obey him and we may say to them You are not your own you are bought with a price therefore glorifie God with your Bodies and Spirits for they are his But we cannot perswade all men to love God as their Elector or to be thankful to him for Election or to obey God because he hath chosen them 10. We find Scripture telling us how hardly flesh and blood will digest the Doctrine of predestination and how they will quarrel at Gods chosing one and not another and how God stops their mouths with an answer drawn from his absolute Lordship and Propriety over them as the Potter over the clay he may make them vessels of honour or dishonour and do with his own as he list But we never find any murmurrings of Flesh and Blood that Christ should die for one man and not for another Nor do we find God ever acknowledging any such thing much less giving them a reason from his Absolute Dominion 11. Besides we find God useth to give the reason why men be not saved by Christ from their own wilfulness and rebellious rejecting him This is the cause given why his blood is not applyed to them But when it comes matter of Election or Non-Election the Answer is Oh Man Who art thou that disputest against God So that all these things laid together and considered it seems to me clear that Redemption is a Universal Cause as Creation is and not a thing proper to the Elect only as Gods Election is and that on this Universal Ground of Redemption Christ is entitled the Redeemer of the World and hath founded his jus Dominii imperii his right of Propriety and Government over all even those That will not that he should Reign over them as God was called the Creator of the World because he Created them and on that ground did found his first Title of Dominion and Empire over all the World And that Redemption hath no more an infallible connexion to the Salvation of all the Redeemed as subsequent than Creation hath with the Salvation of all the Created But both Creation and Redemption as they are the means between Election and its End have an infallible connexion with the consequent of the Salvation of the Elect. 2. It is a rule of great use and approved generally by Divines that when texts seem contradictory one to another or several interpretations and opinions are contradictory indeed that we must ever reduce uncertainties to certainties and not contrarily certainties to uncertainties and we must interpret obscure texts by reducing them to the plain ones and not the plain ones by reducing them to the obscure This rule Dr. Sanderson presseth well And Augustine said excellently Shall we deny that which is plain because we cannot comprehend that which is hid and secret Shall we say that is not so which we see to be so because we cannot find why it is so Aug. l. de bono persever c. 14 O that this rule were better observed When God telleth us as plain as can be spoken that Christ died for and tasted death for every man men will deny it and to that end subvert the plain sense of the words meerly because they cannot see how this can stand with Christs damning men and with his special Love to his chosen It is not hard to see the fair and harmonious consistency But what if you cannot see how two plain Truths of the Gospel should agree Will you therefore deny one of them when both are plain Is not that in high pride to prefer your own understandings before the wisdom of the Spirit of God who indicted the Scriptures Should not a humble man rather say doubtless both are true though I cannot reconcile them So others will deny these plain truths because they think that All that Christ died for are certainly Justified and Saved For whomsoever he died and satisfied Justice for them he procured Faith to Believe in him God cannot justly punish those whom Christ hath satisfied for c. But doth the Scripture speak all these or any of these opinions of theirs as plainly as it saith that Christ died for all and every man Doth it say as plainly any where that he died not for all Doth it any where except any one man and say Christ died not for him Doth it say any where that he died only for his Sheep or his Elect and exclude the Non-Elect There is no such word in all the Bible Should not then the certain truths and the plain texts be the Standard to the uncertain points and obscure texts Also Divines generally make it a rule for the Interpretation of Scripture that we must not leave the most obvious plain sense of the words without necessity and clear compelling evidence Now then let them be viewed by any unprejudiced man and let him tell us what is the plain and obvious sense of these foresaid words And for my part I see no necessity of going from that plain sense Some here
I like not his phrase that men come short of Salvation by Gods disappointment Gods not giving them Faith nor yet his adjudging Unbelievers to Death are neither of them to be called his disappointing them of Life But because he asks who dare say this let us next see whether the Holy Ghost dare not The fifth Text which I shall insist on is 2 Pet. 2. 1. But there were false Prophets also among the People even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction And verse 20 c. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the World through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ they are again intangled therein and overcome the latter end is worse with them than the beginning For it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness then after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them But it is happened to them according to the true Proverb The Dog is turned to his own Vomit again and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire VVhereto for fuller explication add but Jude's words of the same men ver 4. Ungodly men turning the Grace of our God into Lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ put all these together because they all speak of the same men Now 1. The Text expresly saith they denied the Lord that bought them 2. That it is the Lord Jesus that is this Lord appears 1. In that it is expresly said in the 20. ver that it was by the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that they escaped the pollutions of the VVorld 2. Jude expresly saith They denied the Lord Jesus Christ 3. There have been few that have denied God among all Apostates in comparison of those that have denied Christ Nay it is a great doubt whether it can be proved of any directly that were in those times 4. Their Apostacy is described by turning from the holy Commandment delivered to them which is called the way of Righteousness and to their former Vomit which must needs be the state they were in before they turned Christians and to the mire after they were washed And this state of Apostacy is opposed to escaping the pollutions of the World by the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ so that it is left past doubt that it is the Lord Jesus Christ that bought them whom they are said to deny And Jude saith of them that they are twice dead plucked up by the roots by which it appears that after their first death they had received some kind of new Life by Christ Lastly Note that here are many benefits which they received which could not have befallen them but through the Death of Christ They could no other way have been washed and have escaped the worlds pollutions and have known the way of Righteousness c. yea Jude saith They turn the Grace of God into Lasciviousness therefore it was a sin against Grace and all Grace is by the blood of Christ yea it seems they had themselves some Grace that is Mercy contrary to merit and tending to a recovery which they so turned into Lasciviousness And Peter in the next chapter shews that their Apostacy lay in a not-believing Christs second coming because of his seeming delay and therefore they gave themselves up to their Lusts and said mockingly Where is the promise of his coming so that it is both evident that they were purchased by Christ and that it is Christ that bought them whom they are said to deny Yet as plain as the Holy Ghost hath here spoken what industry is used to raise a Dust and compel these words to receive an alien sense 1. It is said that all things for Universal Redemption are here Uncertain but against it this is certain 1. That there are no spiritual distinguishing fruits of Redemption ascribed to those false Teachers but only common gifts of light and knowledge which Christ hath purchased for many for whom he did not make his Soul a Ransom 2. That else the Redemption of any by the blood of Christ cannot be a peculiar aggravation of the sins of any because they say he died for all and yet this buying of the false Teachers is held out as an aggravation of their sin in particular Ans 1. It is here meerly beg'd and never was yet proved that Christ hath purchased common gifts of light and knowledge for men without making his Soul a Ransom i. e. his Life a satisfaction for them and that all that he satisfied for have distinguishing fruits of Redemption It is easier to take these as certainties than to prove them so 2. Redemption is no aggravation of that mans Apostacy that never was an Apostate It cannot be said that they deny the Lord that bought them who never denied him And therefore it is a common aggravation of the sin of all that do sin against him and of all their denial that do deny him but all do not deny him May not that be an aggravation of these mens sins in particular which would also aggravate the sins of any other according to the several quality of the sin May it not be said of an Atheist He denieth the God that made him as an aggravation of his particular sin and will you by force of VVit thence prove that God made not all men Now to the uncertainties And 1. They say it is uncertain whether Christ as Mediator be here intended as Lord or no there is not any thing in the Text to enforce us so to conceive Answ It may enforce the unprejudiced I think review what I have produced out of the Text to prove it But they give these reasons against it 1. God only as God with his dealing toward such is mentioned of Christ not a word Answ 1. Is not Christ God And from this Text Divines have proved it joined with Jude 4. against the Arrians and must we give up that argument for nothing 2. I have before shewed special mention of Christ 2. They say the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly Herus attended by Dominion and Soveraignty is not usually if at all given to our Saviour in the new Testament c. Nay is the name proper for our Saviour in the work of Redemption 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is such a Lord and Master as refers to servants and subjection Answ 1. I hope we must not also deny Christs Dominion and Soveraignty and deny our selves to be his Servants and Subjects as he is Mediator only that we may the better deny his Universal Sacrifice and Satisfaction If we do it will be a dear bought conclusion All power in Heaven and Earth is given to him and the Father hath committed all judgment to him and for that end he Died Rose and Revived
non invenient ullam Marlorat adds talibus ergo contemptoribus nulla sâ—es veniae relinquitur So that they had a Sacrifice for sin till they Apostatised So Dickson also in loc Piscator and many more for I will name none but who are known to be against universal Redemption lest their exposition be rejected To all this I find no more objections of our opponents but to the first argument which we draw hence they return many words Which was both from all those benefits which here Apostates are said to partake of which only Christs Blood hath procured them and specially in that they are expresly ascribed to Christs Blood for they are said to have been sanctified by the Blood of the Covenant Now to this they say to give you the Sense briefly For if I should recite and answer the maze of words which some here use I should provoke the Reader to throw away all in weariness or loathing 1. This speaks only of some that were professors of the Faith of the Gospel separated from the World brought into the Church c. but these are not all Men. Answ Grant that it is some Non-Elect and it is as much as I desire from this Text. And if that be granted I think there is few would question but that it is for all the Non-Elect in the Church that Christ died And for those that never heard of him though I am past doubt that Christ satisfied for the sins of all Mankind yet the use of the point is so small that I will not contend much about it with any 2. They say the Apostle doth neither declare what hath been nor assert what may be but only adds a commination upon a supposition of a thing c. Ans This I answered before I 'll stand to the Judgment of almost any learned Expositor on this Text though against Universal Redemption See Calvin Beza Paraeus Piscator Perkins Dickson Bullinger c. 3. They say It is certain that these Men made profession of all these things c. and therefore the open renouncing them was a sin so hainous as deserved all this Commination though the Apostates themselves had never interest in Christs Blood Answ What 's this to the point The Text saith they were sanctified by the Blood of the Covenant and not only they professed that they were 4. They say it was the manner of the Saints and Apostles themselves to esteem of all baptised initiated persons ingrafted into the Church as sanctified persons So that speaking of Backsliders he could not make mention of them any otherwise than as they were commonly esteemed to be and at that time in the Judgment of charity were to be considered c. Answ 1. How much doth it differ from the language of Men when they are pleading for Separation Then they cannot endure to hear that all the baptised are called Saints by the Apostles and Churches 2. Indeed only those are so called that seem probably to be so 3. And therefore what is this to them that by Apostacy into a remediless misery shew themselves not to be so The Apostles will not encourage known falshood in the Speeches or Opinions of others much less be the Authors of it and lead them into it doth the Apostle here pronounce their Case hopeless and remediless and tell them there is no Sacrifice for their sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment c and doth he at the same time perswade People to believe that they were sanctified by the Blood of the Covenant c. if it were not true Even then when it openly discovereth it self false or is supposed so to do 5. They say if the Text be interpreted positively and according to the truth of the thing it self in both parts thereof viz. 1. That these of whom the Apostle speaketh were truly sanctified 2. That such may totally perish then these two things will follow 1. That faith and Sanctification is not the Fruit of Election 2. That Believers may fall finally from Christ Answ 1. These were truly sanctified though not with that Sanctification which is proper to the Elect and saved 2. No doubt such may and do fall away and perish He that denieth this must deny to believe Christ who hath expresly affirmed it in Mat. 13. That they in whom the Word is not deeply rooted do believe for a while and in the time of temptation or persecution fall away What else is our distinction between Temporary Faith and saving 3. When common Faith and Sanctification is antecedent to special Faith and Sanctification and so found in the Elect it is then a Fruit of Election But when it is found in others it is no Fruit of Election And why should they wonder at that who deny it to be a Fruit of Satisfaction or Ransom which is a more Universal cause then Election is 6. They further say there is nothing in the Text to perswade that the Persons here spoken of must needs be truly justified and regenerated Believers much less that Christ died for them c. Answ 1. That they were illuminated and partakers of the Holy Ghost and sanctified by Christs Blood the Text speaks without strained consequence with Heb. 6. 6. But that they had true special saving Faith Regeneration or Sanctification I affirm not Yet was it true 2. Is it a strained consequence to conclude 1. That he who by Apostacy is fallen into that misery which he was never in before and other sinners are not in that now there is no more Sacrifice for his sin had before a Sacrifice And so have other sinners that be not fallen so far as he is 2. Or that he who is sanctified by the Blood of the Covenant was one whose sins caused that Blood and for whom it was shed If you had proved that it sanctifieth those for whom it was never shed then you had done something so much for this Text. I had thought to have answered all the objections of the contrary-minded which the Books at hand afford but I shall do far less than I thought to do in it as finding that they are so disordered wordy and weak in many that I shall but fill Paper with needless Lines and be tedious and ungrateful to the judicious Readers The 8th Text which I will insist on is Matth. 22. 2 3 4 12 13. The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain King which made a Marriage for his Son and sent forth his Servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding and they would not come And he sent forth other Servants saying Tell them that were bidden saying Behold I have prepared my Dinner My Oxen and my Fatlings are killed and all things are ready Come unto the Marriage c. Then said he to his Servants the Wedding is ready but they which were bidden were not worthy So 12. 13. Here it is agreed on that God is the King The Wedding feast is Christ and the benefits of his
suffer injustly He doth what he doth of this kind for unbelievers arbitrarily Let any Man shew where God is engaged by any Covenant to save unbelievers from bodily dangers But their Souls he hath redeemed by Christ and so saved them quoad pretium And he hath made a Deed of Gift of Christ and Eternal Life to all on condition they refuse it not So that he may in respect of his Covenant and so in a fuller Sense be called their Saviour in Spiritual respects than in temporal for all that they are not eventually saved The word Saviour here implies such a Relation as God hath undertaken and that Men may assure themselves he will perform all that belongs to it Or else it could not be the ground of our confidence But wicked Men have no promise for or assurance of an hours Life or any outward deliverance whatsoever no not though it were never so good for them For God will not be in Covenant with them for common things till they first accept of his Covenant of Grace in Christ But for Salvation he hath made them a conditional promise as aforesaid 3. And it is less probable that the Apostle calls God a Saviour here so equivocally as not to mean in the same kind of Salvation when yet he intimateth no difference in the Text. 4. But let us suppose all this were as the opponents would have it yet for ought I can see the Text will fully prove the point in question For even in temporal respects God is the Saviour of no Man but those whom Christ died for For all Men have forfeited all his Salvation and are under his Curse And he can be no Saviour to them according to the tenor of that cursing violated Law It must be therefore according to the New Law or Covenant or not at all And the New Law is founded in the Blood of Christ shed for those to whom it is made Indeed according to the first Law he may uphold the Life and Being of Sinners But it is only as he doth the Devils to make them capable of punishment But neither do we for that call him the Saviour of the Devils nor would it be any such great encouragement to Paul and all Christians in labour and sufferings for godliness sake So that even this Temporal Salvation doth presuppose the Relaxation or Non Execution Plenary of the Law of Works And that is done only by the remitting Law of Grace and that presupposeth Christs Blood shed or undertaken to beshed for the sinners I know nothing more that needs to be spoken to for vindicating this Text. The 11th Text shall be 1 Joh. 5. 9 10. 11 For this is the witness which he hath testified of his Son He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself He that believeth not God hath made him a Lyar because he believeth not the Record that God gave of his Son And this is the Record that God hath given us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son He that hath the Son hath Life and he that hath not the Son hath not Life Hence I thus argue If Eternal Life in Christ be given to unbelievers who make God a Lyar and have not Christ or Life then Christ was first given on the Cross as a Sacrifice for those unbelievers But the Antecedent is true Therefore so is the Consequent And consequently Christ died for more than the Elect and therefore for all 1. I Suppose none that is not willing to be deceived will maintain that it is only such unbelievers as afterward shall be converted and are Elect who are here said to make God a Lyar For the Record which they are condemned here for not believing is the object propounded to Elect and not Elect without such Distinction as they are all considered in number of sinful Mankind 2. As for the Minor or Antecedent of the Major proposition it is very plain in the Text. If all men should believe who hear the Gospel that Eternal Life in Christ is given them and those that believe it not do make God a Lyar then it 's certain that Eternal Life in Christ is given to them all But c. Ergo c. There is nothing here to be questioned but only who are meant in the term Us when it is said God hath given Us Eternal Life And it is plain that it is the same persons included with others who are charged with making God a Lyar. 1. Else their Unbelief should consist only in not believing that Life is given to other men and consequently the Faith required of them should consist only in believing that God hath given Life in Christ to others without any inclusion of themselves But that is not true Ergo c. The falshood of this consequent is proved thus 1. True saving Faith is of a Receiving or Applying nature as it is the act of the Will and it is introductory thereto as it is the act of the Understanding But believing that God hath given Life in Christ to other men is not receptive nor applicatory nor introductory thereto Ergo c. All our Divines against the Papists do fully maintain the Major 2. The Devils and the most despairing men have not saving Faith But the Devils and Despairing men do believe that God hath given Eternal Life to others therefore to believe that God doth give that Life to others is not saving Faith 3. True saving Faith is of greatest concernment to the Believer as to the object of it as being the means of his Salvation But the believing meerly what God giveth to other men is of no such concernment to any Ergo c. Obj. It is not Saving Faith that is here mentioned nor any act that is proper to a true Believer nor is it the want of that which is here condemned But it is the not believing the Truth of the Gospel which is only a preparatory act and which the Devils themselves may have who believe and tremble For though this meer assent will not save yet the want of it will condemn Answ 1. Saving Faith hath two parts according to the Souls faculties which have each their several Offices about this saving object the one is the assent of the Understanding the other is the consent of the Will and affiance thence following when ever Justifying Faith is mentioned in the Scripture it is usually by one of these acts alone sometime one and sometime another And when one only is expressed the other is still implied And so it is in this Text. 2. Assent is true saving Faith though not the whole of saving Faith 3. It is not meerly assent to this proposition in general the Gospel is true that is here made the Record of God and object of Faith nor yet assent to this Jesus is the Son of God and Saviour of Believers But it is this God hath given us Eternal Life and this life is in his Son so that it
is not found in those he suffered for but it is directly à volunt ate Dei Redemptoris ◠Natura peccati because God would not accept nor Christ give any satisfaction for that kind of Sin or for any sin so qualified or circumstantiated but the Antecedent is certain therefore I prove the Antecedent thus It is the very Nature of every Condition added to any Donation Condonation Premiant Law c. that it be or contain an exception of the Non-performance of that Condition from among the 〈◊〉 of those things that are given forgiven constituted due c. Because the Condition is to suspend the Gift 'till it be performed But the New Law or Testament as made to all Elect or Non-Elect doth constitute this its Condition viz. That all that will be Justified Repent and Believe and take Christ affectionately and thankfully for their only Lord and Saviour and that all that will be Saved do persevere herein and in adding further sincere Obedience to God's Laws Therefore by making these the Conditions the Law excepteth the non-performance thereof from among the number of those things that are given forgiven or granted thereby And Consequently these sins are excepted from among the sins that Christ bore on the Cross or satisfied for For whatsoever kind of sin he hath satified for he bestoweth the Pardon of it Conditionally at least and that in his Law to them to whom his Law is made so far is he from making an express exception of that from among the number of pardonable sins But these he excepteth from among that number If a Man by Legacy give you 1000l per annum on Condition you pay his Heir out of it an 100l per annum Rent Here this 100l per annum is expresly excepted from the Sum given because the payment of it is required as the Condition of enjoying the rest If a Man to whom you owe 1000l make you an Acquittance and Discharge on Condition you pay him a Penny in token of thankfulness here that Penny is plainly excepted from among the number or from the Sum given or forgiven If a King pass an Act for the pardoning of all Offences committed against him on Condition Men will thankfully acknowledge his Clemency here the not acknowledging it thankfully is plainly excepted from among the number of Faults Pardoned 2. Moreover this Law being thus constituted for all Elect as well as others it is undoubted that if we may suppose an Elect man to be guilty of final unbelief or impenitency it would be to him an unpardonable sin and consequently Christ dyed not for it If you say this is not to be supposed I Answer 1. It is supponendum though not ponendum 2. The Holy Ghost supposeth it possible etsi non futurum in that the Law is made to them as well as others and in that he expresly requires them so oft to take heed lest they fall and come short of the Promised Rest through unbelief c. And therefore we also may put such a Supposition Do not those that oppose us in this use so to Expound such Scriptures frequently both about Redemption and when they Dispute against the Apostacy of the Saints and say it is supposed only but Suppositio nil ponit in esse Moreover the Scripture makes it plain that these Sins of Total Apostacy and other unpardonable because uncurable Sins are in them for whom Christ dyed For they bring on themselves swift Destruction by denying the Lord that bought them They tread under foot the Blood by which they were Sanctified and do despite to the Spirit of Grace and so there remaineth no more Sacrifice for their Sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment So that is is plain that Christ dyed not for all the Sins of all Men for whom he dyed excepting by his new Law the final Non-performance of the Conditions of the Promise in whomsoever without exception Yea Christ's real giving all Men under his hand the Pardon of all their Sins on Condition they Repent and Believe shews beyond all doubt that he bore on the Cross all their other Sins but bore no Man's final Impenitency or Unbelief 2. And the other Principle which is supposed in this Argument of Christ's satisfying God to a full Reconciliation is as false as the former and in the best Sense needs cautelous explication 1. It is certain that no Man is actually reconciled to God Pardoned or Justified 'till he believe or others Believe for him as Infants at least so far as is revealed God still hateth all the workers of Iniquity and we are all by Nature the Children of Wrath. By receiving Christ we receive power to become the Sons of God and by Faith only are we justified and not before we believe And who but the Antinomians will say the contrary 2. The end to which God as Legislator of the Old Law accepted satisfaction was that the impediments of Remission being taken out of the way he might without any derogation from the honour of himself or his Law and without frustration of the ends of that Law give out in a New Law a Free Pardon and Salvation with Christ to all that will accept them So that the end of satisfaction as such and not any accidental or collateral effect must direct us to judge of its extent and sufficiency 3. To this end Christ hath made full satisfaction to God's Justice and Mens After-Sufferings are not from any defect in Christ's satisfaction God hath granted a Pardon under his hand to all that will accept it in and with Christ and for Mens final rejecting of Christ and Mercy he received no satisfaction God may not be said properly to be conditionally satisfied He is satisfied actually and absolutely as far as ever he required satisfaction But the Benefits of that satisfaction are only conditionally given out to the Ransomed and not absolutely If it be objected that God is so far satisfied as to give Faith it self which is the Condition to all for whom he is satisfied I answ 1. It is untrue and never was proved nor ever will be 2. Faith is a remote effect of Satisfaction and not the proper direct effect It floweth not from Satisfaction as Satisfaction but from Satisfaction as connexed with Election as I shall anon more fully open and therefore desire the Reader to peruse what we shall purposely write of that point by it self I deny therefore their great Medium that God cannot in Justice punish one sin twice that is for one sin for it is not the sin that is punished but the man for the sin Though I easily grant that if the violated Law be once fully executed it cannot be again or in a double measure executed for that 's impossible as being a contradiction for it is no execution of the Law which goes beyond the sense of the Law But consider 1. The Law was not executed on Christ in his sufferings and therefore may well be executed on
supposition that Christ bore not Punishment for any mans sins but those whom he intended infallibly to bring to Heaven which they have never yet proved nor ever will do there being no Word of God that promiseth to save all that Christ died for Lay all this together and you will see the truth of these Conclusions 1. That it was not the absence of Faith in Christ the Remedy but the Old Laws Obligation of us to Punishment or the guilt of sin which required Christ's satisfaction to God's Justice 2. That Christ by this satisfaction did not immediately merit Faith it self but only those intermediate causes from whence the Faith of his Elect is produced that is He purchased all men from the Legal necessity of perishing that they were in into his own Power as their Owner and Ruler that so he might make over Reconciliation Remission and Salvation to all if they will believe and might send forth sufficient means and help of Grace to draw all men towards him resolving to draw his Elect Infallibly to him 3. That it is therefore an improper and unfit phrase to say that Christ Died to purchase us Faith though rightly explained it hath truth in it But rather that Faith is an effect or fruit of Christ's Death viz. where Faith is given For the former phrase would intimate as if Faith were the thing that God was to give in requital of Christ for his Bloodshed and that directly and so Faith should be given by God as Legislator of the Old Law For the stipulation supposed to be between the Father and Son was made by the Father on his part not as Redeemer or Legislator of the New Law but as the offended Rector according to the Law of Creation now treating with the Mediator about mans Recovery Though these things spoken after our manner do but signifie Gods Decrees yet they shew us in what Relation God stood towards Man and towards the Redeemer when he required and accepted of Satisfaction Whereas the thing given to Christ was Power of Dominion and Rectorship and so the Redeemed delivered to him not all to one final end nor with a like intent And so Faith is procured by Christ only in this remote sense in that he procured full power to use the fittest means to draw men to him in the season and degrees he please with a full resolution in his own mind to make all this effectual upon his chosen that he might attain the full end of his Blood-shed So that Faith is the effect of that degree of Grace which from his Plenipotency he gives lest his chosen should miss of the intended Salvation and therefore is improperly said to be purchased by Christs Blood though yet it be a remote effect of his Blood to those that have it and none could have had it without the Intervention of his Blood because there would have been no saving use of Faith without that Blood otherwise they might if we look to Faith but as such an act considered without its object given 4. And therefore the Scripture no where useth any such phrase as to say that Christ Died to purchase us Faith But ordinarily that he died to purge or put away sin c. And in controverted cases it is safest to speak in Scripture Language Suppose a man pay 1000 l. to Ransom certain Prisoners that owed that sum and upon the Ransom it is agreed that they shall now be delivered up to him as his Ransomed ones to dispose of at his pleasure yet both parties agree that only those shall be actually delivered into freedom who thankfully accept the favour and the Ransomer as their Lord The Redeemer knows that these are men of such stubborn hearts that they will refuse his offer yet he resolves to send them under his hand a conditional discharge that all shall come forth that will accept him and his offer and to tell them that all the rest shall by him be still detained and as his Prisoners suffer greater misery Yet out of a special love to some of them he resolves to send a friend who is so effectual an Orator as will certainly prevail with them to lay by their obstinacy and yield to his motion Doth it seem a proper phrase in this case to say that this man paid 1000 l. to purchase for these men a yielding Heart or to purchase their consent to accept him and his kindness Rather he did it to purchase their Freedom from Prison which he gives to all as far as belongs to him as Ransomer But he sends this Orator with a resolution to prevail in another superadded relation viz. as one that beareth a special love to those particular men above the rest or as one at least that is resolved to attain infallibly that fruit of his Ransom even the actual deliverance of those men Nor can it therefore be concluded that he paid not the debt of any of the rest because he will not as importunately solicite them to accept of his offer 5. We must therefore distinguish of meer Ransoming or Redemption by Sacrifice and the same Sacrifice or Redemption as it is conjoyned with Election and is subordinate to it Effectual Grace to work Faith infallibly proceeds from Redemption as it is accompanied with Election or with a special absolute resolution of saving those particular persons but it comes not from mere Redemption by Sacrifice as divided from Election and therefore is common to all the Elect but not common to all the Redeemed For God hath means of two different sorts for the accomplishing his Decree of Election as to execution First general means and secondly special means and the general is the Foundation on which he means to build the special Let us again remember Amesius's words that Redemption is to the whole work of Grace viz. both common and special what Creation is to the work of Nature Nay better we may say what Creation was to Gods Governing Administrations under the first Law that is Redemption to Gods Governing Administrations under the Second or New Law For in Creation God did two things 1. He gave man his Being that he might be a Subject fit for Government 2. He gave him his Right Being Real and Relative making him after his Image in his favour and in a state of happiness and in this state he made a Law with him even with all mankind in Adam and Eve promising him further everlasting life on condition of obedience Now here Gods Creation of man in his favour and in rectitude was a common work and so was his giving him that Law But so was not the fulfilling of its Promise which implieth the Intervention of mans performance of the condition Suppose now that man had been multiplied by propagation before the fall of any and then one half of mankind had kept this Law of Works and the other had broke it Had it been fit for any man to say that God did not Create any of those