Life Thirdly AS we must not judge of God's Love by accidental Events so neither must we measure his Purpose as to things Eternal by his present Acts of Providence in dispensing some special outward Favours in this Life By special Favours I understand certain singular Advantages in respect of this World and such too as have some respect to the World to come in both respects very valuable Privileges and Blessings which some enjoy in a greater and better measure than others And from those which I may call Temporal Privileges though Spiritual Advantages go along with them many times to conclude that the rest who enjoy them not in the like degree are under God's absolute Hatred Or in a State of Damnation is very Unreasonable and Injurious to God's Honour As for instance whereas the Lord Promised Abraham upon his Obediential and Exemplary Faith that he would be a God unto him and to his Seed after him and that he would give them the Land of Canaan for their Possession God intended this Promise should be made good not to Ishmael and his Posterity though Ishmael was Abraham's First Born but to Isaac and his Off spring In Isaac shall thy Seed be called said God to him Gen. 21. 12. Meaning that Isaac and his Descendants should Inherit the Promise Now this was a special Favour and Privilege to him and his Issue especially considering the Spiritual Blessings which went along with this Earthly one that to them pertained with the this Adoption the Glory or the Ark of God and his Glorious Presence in it and the Covenants and the giving of the Law and the Service of God and the Promises of Christ's coming among them and from them Rom. 9. 4 But though Isaac and his Seed had these singular Advantages we must not by any means conclude hence that Ishmael had no share at all of God's Love much less may we inferr that he was absolutely Rejected of God as a Rebrobate to Eternity For as touching a future State the Scripture is wholly Silent and therefore so must we And though God did not Bless him in this World so greatly and abundantly as he Blest his Brother Isaac yet I cannot find any reason to think but that God Loved him too For we are told Gen. 17. That God Commanded him to be Circumcised which was the outward Mark of the Divine Favour the Token of God's Covenant and therefore we cannot suppose him to have been quite shut out of it Nay God told Abraham there expresly v. 20. That as for Ishmael he had heard him and had Blessed him and would make him Fruitful and would Multiply him exceedingly so that twelve Princes and a great Nation should come out of his Loins though God intended to Establish his more particular Covenant and special Favour with Isaac And as for Ishmael's Posterity though they were not Blest with all those outward peculiar Privileges which Isaac's Children enjoyed yet we find nothing to perswade us but that they were allow'd to Live in the Land of Canaan with their Kindred if they would Profess the Religion that was Established there Nay they were in a Capacity of having their share though not so great a share of the Divine Favour and Goodness provided they did not turn Idolaters nor forsake the God of their Father Abraham but did Worship him still as Abraham was wont to do and as he Commanded his Children and his Houshold after him Gen. 18. 19. I instance next in Jacob and Esau whose Case is constantly urged in defence of those rigid Doctrines which are so inconsistent with the Notion of God's Love to the World The Children being not as yet Born saith St. Paul nor having done Good or Evil it was said unto Rebecca The Elder shall Serve the Younger as is it Written Jacob have I Loved but Esau have I Hated Rom. 9. 11 12 13. These Words some Interpret as if God hated Esau if not his Posterity too with a perfect hatred and by an absolute Decree Eternally deprived them of all Hopes of enjoying his Favour in this World and in the other too And hence they go on to lay down this Principle that God hateth some People meerly because he will and shuts them out of the Kingdom of Heaven without any foresight or consideration of their Evil Works But whosoever shall with Attention and Impartiality of Mind consider the Apostles meaning in that place will not find the least ground for that Principle by what he saith of Esau and that for these two Reasons 1. FIRST Because St. Paul doth not mean that God hated Esau in a Proper Positive and Strict Sence but only that he did not Love him so much as he did his Brother Jacob. For the Word Hatred is often taken Comparatively for a lower and lesser degree of affection As the Wise Man saith He that Spareth his Rod Hateth his Son Prov. 13. 24. That is he doth not Love him so well as he who Chasteneth his Son betimes So when our Saviour saith Luk. 14. 26. If any Man come to me and Hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple This saying would be strangely hard were it to be understood in a strict Sence for Christianity doth not cancel the Bonds of Nature To Hate such near Relations is an Unnatural and Wicked thing which we may be sure is utterly Forbidden by his Religion who Commands us to Love even our Enemies But our Lord meant that we must Love Father and Mother and Life it Self less than we love Christ that our Affections to these must not compare with those we are to have for him who Loved us so as to Dye for us And therefore St. Matthew renders it thus He that Loveth Father or Mother more than Me is not Worthy of Me and he that Loveth Son or Daughter more than Me is not Worthy of me St. Mat. 10. 37. In this Sence God is said to have hated Esau meaning in comparison of the particular kindness he shew'd unto Jacob He Loved Jacob more he expressed his Goodness to him in a greater Measure and in an higher Degree than he exprest it to Esau though he was the Elder of the two 2. SECONDLY This lower Degree of Love to Esau was not in reference to a Future State but only as to some outward Blessings and Advantages in this World And hereof there are two plain Arguments the one is drawn from St Paul's own Construction of the matter viz. that the Elder should serve the Younger which can be meant of nothing but Temporal Servitude according to the Will and Appointment of their Father Isaac saying to Jacob Be Lord over thy Brethren and let thy Mother's Sons bow down to thee Gen. 27. 29. The other Argument is taken from St. Paul's Design and Drift there which was to shew that the Jew 's had no reason to be Scandalized because God had now given the
to Christ considering the High Dignity of his Person though in his state of Exinanition he was made lower than the Angels that he might be in a Capacity to taste Death for every Man Next it is proposed as the great Motive for our Patience and Perseverance and confident Hope in God amidst all our Tryals in this World And then it is used as a very powerful Reason to Encourage us all to Amend our Lives in case we have Heinously Sinned or to depend upon Christ's Merit and Intercession for the Pardon of all our Trangressions THESE two observable things being throughly well consider'd are enough to make all Thoughtful and Teachable Men afraid of contradicting a Principle so very clear in itself and of such vast importance and concernment in its Use After these Manifest and Express Declarations over and over touching the Universal Extent of the Merit of Christ's Death to make a Monopoly of it for the Benefit of a Jew only leaving all the Residue of Mankind under an absolute inevitable Necessity of Perishing for ever What is this but to give the Holy Scripture the Lye and to shake the Minds of People in the Practice of their Duties nay to Deterr them from the practice of Religion by Ruining and Diging up the very Foundation which was designedly laid for the Building up of all Men in Faith and Holiness and to Support the whole Fabrick of Piety and Vertue BUT there are some particular Passages which serve to Demonstrate and Confirm the Point in Hand beyond one would think all possibility of Cavil and therefore I shall insist upon those after a more Copious rate omitting many others which if Critically Enumerated would presently swell into a great Heap AND the first shall be the Words of St. John which indeed I mentioned before but have not distinctly consider'd where he tells us positively That Christ is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for our Sins only but also for the Sins of the whole World 1 Jo. 2. 2. There is no question but when he saith Christ is the Propitiation for our Sins he means his own Sins and the Sins of others who Professed Christianity with him In the first verse he calls them His little Children which cannot but signifie Believers And if we may pretend to guess at God's Elect we have Reason to think both the Apostle and those he there Wrote to to have been of that Blessed Number and that St. John thought so too by the Account he gives of himself And then truly saith he our Fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ cap. 1. 3. And again I Write unto you little Children because your Sins are forgiven you for his Names sake v. 12. Much more to the same purpose he saith afterwards That they had overcome the Wicked one That they had known the Father That the Word of God did abide in them That they had an Unction from the Holy one That they were the Sons of God That they had passed from Death to Life And divers other such Characters he gives of them whereby we may easily perceive that St. John looked upon them to be in a State of Salvation And whosoever Reads his Epistles throughout will find Reason enough by the strain of them to believe that the Divine Apostle thought his own Salvation very secure Now in that speaking in his own Person and in the Person of other Faithful Christians he affirmeth Christ to be the Propitiation not for their Sins only but also for the Sins of the whole World He must be understood to mean the whole World of Infidels for there lies the Antithesis And the whole World being distinguished into two great Divisions the Sheep and the Goats those who are the Sons of God and those who are not and Christ being said to be the Propitiation for all we must conclude that he died for more than are supposed to be Predestinated to Eternal Life or else I cannot conceive to what purpose St. John spoke those Words or what Truth or Sence they can bear if he died for Believers only To say he is the Propitiation also for the sins of the whole World if it were not so would have been Superfluous and False and therefore this single Text should put it out of Controversie That he died for all Mankind He Paid on his part a Ransom for All he made on his part an Atonement for All so that all were Deliver'd from a Necessity of Perishing all were put anew into a possibility and capacity of being happy for ever And if after all this some will not lay hold on the Blood of Christ by a free and lively Faith nor perform the Terms of a New-Covenant of Grace which was Sealed by the Blood of Christ but will trample under foot the Blood of the Son of God this is no diminution to its infinite Valour nor to his Act and Intention but an Aggravation of their Guilt who were put by him into a good Condition and might have been Eternally Saved had they not been wanting on their own part to themselves by willfully neglecting so great Salvation This is a Plain Easie and Natural Account of St. John's meaning And to the same Effect though in other Words St. Paul tells us That Christ is the Saviour of all Men especially of those that Believe 1 Tim. 4. 10. This Assertion could not be True nor the Distinction Needful or to any purpose were he not the Saviour of them that Believe not Why should the Apostle come off with an especially of those that believe if Christ did not his part to Save all in general the whole Race of Mankind He might have said who is the Saviour of the Elect and no more if no more had been in Christ's Eye and Heart His saying especially doth not Limit or Restrain the Merits of his Death to Believers but only restrains the Application of his Merits to them through the fault of others who make his Blood of no effect to them by being Unbelievers It shews that they exclude themselves from having that Benefit by his Death which he purchased for All and intended for All if they would Believe and Repent None were passed by by any absolute Decree of God or for want of Affection in the Son of God he died for every Man with a Sincere purpose and upon Condition that every one would lay hold on his Cross and cleanse himself from all Filthiness by the Blood of Sprinkling Upon that Account he is the Saviour of all Men and the propitiation for the Sins of the whole World as to Merit and Intention But because all do not come unto him after all but continue still in a State of Wickedness and Infidelity therefore as to Efficacy he is not so much their Saviour as he is others to all intents and purposes he is a Propitiation and Saviour especially to Believers 2. SECONDLY For the farther Confirmation of this Point let us hear
St. Paul 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a Faithful Saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to Save Sinners The stress of my Argument hence lyeth here that the Doctrine of our Redemption by Christ is a most comfortable Doctrine Not only a Truth but a most acceptable Truth a Principle that sufficiently recommends it self to every Man and Deserves to be Received by every one in the World for the inestimable Consolation it carryeth along with it Now this necessarily implies and proves That Christ came into the World to make every Sinner in it capable of Salvation in a better World because this is the onely substantial ground of that Comfort I speak of the only Principle whence we can with Reason gather that Satisfaction which makes the Doctrine of our Redemption worthy to be Accepted by us all A Man's Soul had neeâ— have all possible satisfaction touching the Reasonableness of his Hopes especially when he prepares himself for important Offices of Religion or is about to Die Then it stands in need of a solid and sure bottom to support it and give it rest nor do I see any other such grounds for reasonable satisfaction and the Comforts of a Man as this great Truth That Christ Died for the good of all Mankind Though some are ready to flee to God's Decrees for succour and to Cherish themselves with a confident perswasion that they were Elected to Salvation from Everlasting yet this is no sure Foundation to build on 't is unreasonable to take Sanctuary there and to fly for Refuge to the secret Counsels of God's Will This is the Work of Fancy and strong Imagination and many People may be willing to work themselves into it partly out of a principle of spiritual Pride and partly to quiet an evil Conscience and heal some inward sores which a Vicious Life hath made Nor are any so ready to run to God's Decrees as immoral People whose Sins pursue them with a great Cry Alass it is impossible for any of us without immediate Revelation which is not afforded now to Read our Names in the Book of Eternity or to know Infallibly that they are there those secret things belong unto the Lord our God by us they are Unsearchable and past finding out and therefore we cannot gather any reasonable Comforts that Way NOR Indeed doth the Revealed Will of God the Holy Scriptures themselves afford us much without that most acceptable Doctrine which I am now defending For neither in this Book can any of us find our Names Written no more than in the Volum of God's Decrees The Scripture is silent as to the state of particular Persons and all the Comfort any single Man can gather from it comes by making reasonable conclusions as to himself out of general Premises There are in the Bible many necessary Laws prescribed and many excellent promises given to the Faithful indefinitely and at large and when a particular person compares his private state with the common Rule and upon a due comparison discovers that according to his Power he hath sincerely and honestly observed God's Commands or doth now do so and resolves stedfastly by God's Grace to persevere to the end in so doing he may then very reasonably Hope and Cherish himself with an Humble Modest Confidence that he shall be Happy Yet all this is upon a supposition that Christ Died for him for if Christ be not a propitiation for his Sins such a Man is lost and utterly undone notwithstanding all his performances And how I pray can any particular Man be reasonably assur'd of that but by being assur'd first That Christ tasted Death for every Man This general Truth being believed That Christ was a Sacrifice for all Mankind and for the whole World it is easy and necessary for that particular Person to conclude That Christ was a Sacrifice even for him because he is one of Mankind and a part of the World But without this most Acceptable Principle I cannot see with what Reason and Comfort he can conclude for himself the Scripture tells him nothing of that as to his own particular all that he hath reasonably to rely on is That the Son of God Died for all Take away this Principle and farewel all Faith all Obedience all hope and comfort with it I mean all solid Reason of Hope and Comfort Fancy and Imagination there may be in this Case too but I speak now of Rational Convictions and Rational Consolation all that must depend upon this bottom and foundation that Christ came into the World to Die and offer himself up for every Child of Man This makes the Doctrine of our Redemption a most Acceptable Doctrine indeed a most Comfortable Saying worthy of all Men to be received whereas without this Latitude and as some People are willing through the pride of their Hearts to understand it 't is so far from being Acceptable unto all Men that it seemeth a very Frightful Doctrine For if the Son of God Died not for all Men to the utmost extent though he had past by but One in the whole World and had excluded but One from having any Benefit by the propitiation upon the Cross that one Person being not Known nor Mentioned how could any one of us all tell but he was that Person I might have been fearful it was my self another might have been though with less Reason as fearful as I a third as fearful too a fourth as fearful as the rest and so on ad infinitum For every one in the World might have thought himself equally concern'd to Fear and consequently to Despair as well as another Every one would have been in suspence and perplexity at least as People that are forced to draw Lots for their Lives not knowing how the chance would fall out till the Day of Judgment To be sure this Tormenting Doubt would be incident to all People of scrupulous Minds and great numbers of very Pious People are such and then what would become of Christianity Considering the Hereditary Weakness of our Nature the many Actual Sins we are Guilty of and how unworthy the very best are of eternal Happiness what Heart or Encouragement would any one have to undertake or persevere in Religion if Christ by passing any one by had put every one thus under Fears and Dangers of being Cast-aways at last This would have served to spoil the whole Work of Redemption and to have damp'd the Faith of all at least it would have brought on such a Faith as St. James speaks of in those most Miserable Spirits who Believe and Tremble I have insisted upon this Argument the longer to shew you of what great Consequence this Point is and what weighty Reasons we have to inculcate and urge the Belief of it The Interest of Christ's Religion and the Peace of every Christian's Mind depends upon it for which cause the Catholick Church of Christ hath maintained it from the Beginning to
he Fed all and Provided for all that were Hungry because he had enough to have done it if he would enough and to spare and yet would not vouchsafe so many Perishing Souls so much as the Crumbs that fell from his Table To instance in these plain Cases is enough to clear the Point under our present Consideration The Scripture tells us positively That Christ Died to give himself a Ransome for all and that he bought even those that deny him and bring upon themselves swift Destruction Therefore he intended on his part that all the very worst of Men should be put into a Capacity of receiving Benefit by his Blood If this was not his design nor his Bloodshed to that purpose he cannot with Truth be said to have Bought and Died for them which yet the Scripture expresly affirmeth A Sufficiency of Merits is not enough to denominate him every Man's Redeemer That Sufficiency must have been given on his part and that too with an intent That it should be a Ransom for every Man otherwise we may say by parity of Reason that he was the Redeemer also of the Devils themselves because there was a Sufficiency as to that too His Merits were so Infinite by reason of the Infinite Dignity of his Person that they would have served them too had God been pleased to accept of the Ransom and had Christ intended to lay it down for them In short unless we will shake the very Principles of Piety and offer direct Violence to Truth and common Reason we cannot deny any People room in our Saviour's Heart or shut them out of his kind purposes and wishes or think them deprived by a fatal antecedent Decree of the means and hope of Peace The Opinion is so repugnant to the Notion of the Divine Goodness and Clemency and so contrary to the Express Word of God and so inconsistent with that great Love of Christ that abundance of Grace that Tenderness of Mercy those Riches of Goodness and Bowels of Compassion which appeared so gloriously throughout the Work of our Redemption 4. FOURTHLY But there is one Text of Scripture more which I have reserved for my last Argument because it carryeth such a clear light with it as is enough to strike any Eyes that are but open to receive it It is the Principle supposed by St. Paul as a Truth acknowledg'd and taken for granted by all Faithful Christians then 2 Cor. 5 4. we thus judge That if one died for all then were all dead Where the Apostle's purpose is to shew the whole World how strictly they were concern'd to make the Lord Jesus a return of the most Ardent and Operative Affections from the consideration of that miserable and lost Condition whereinto the whole World without exception had fallen and wherein the whole World must have continued had not Christ come to offer up his Soul for them All were Dead that is in a deadly forlorn and undone Condition all were concluded under Sin The Medium to prove this Universal Ruine is taken from the Universality of the Redemption of the World All were Dead because One Died for All which shews that Christ Tasted Death for as many as were lost for as many as needed a propitiation to restore them to Life and Happyness otherwise the Argument would have been altogether short and inconclusive if Christ had made an Atonement for God's Elect only If one Died for a few this indeed would have proved that those few were in a lost Condition but how would it have follow'd hence that therefore all were Dead Rather it would have follow'd that all were not Dead nor stood in need of a Redeemer if one had not Died for the Redemption of all Mankind FROM all these premises the Truth of the point I proposed to consider will I hope evidently appear to those whose Minds are not quite Captivated to an Opinion that the coming of the Son of God into the World was a strong Argument and a plain Expression of God's Sincere and boundless Affection to the Children of Men. Those means which are necessary for Reasonable and Voluntary Creatures in order to their Happiness the Father of Lights hath of his own good Pleasure and Grace afforded Mankind in such abundant measure that if any People Perish the fault must be in themselves Christ's descending from Heaven was to declare those Truths which could not be discover'd or made known without Divine Revelation His Cloathing himself with Humane Flesh was that he might the better Converse with us and Transact the Office of a Mediator and be in a suitable Condition to Die at last for us His Holy Life and Heavenly Doctrines were to direct our Feet into the Ways of Peace that he might be not onely the Glory of his People Israel but a Light to Lighten the whole Gentile World His Miracles were to shew the greatness of his Person and his Divine Authority that he might be relyed on as the sure Hope of all the ends of the Earth His Blood that was shed by his most bitter and dolorous Passion was to speak far better things than the Blood of Abel or of all Abel's Sacrifices It was the Blood of Atonement to make Peace between an offended God and a wicked World to procure Remission of all Sins that were past to deliver Mankind from a necessity of Perishing and to open the ways of Mercy to all that would desire to enter into the Kingdom of God It was the Blood of the New Covenant that was confirmed upon the Cross to ascertain People of all God's Promises in it on condition of Faith on their Part and of Obedience to God's Laws for the future It was the Blood of Sprinkling to cleanse us from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit to Purifie unto Christ a peculiar People Zealous of good Works Besides these means of Grace and Salvation now mention'd God was pleas'd of his abundant Mercy to add divers more after our Lord's Ascension for the particular Application of his Son's Merits to the Soul of every Believer that the Blood of Christ might not be shed in vain like water spilt upon the Ground Great was the Company of Preachers whose business was to Publish the Gospel to every Creature to proclaim the Terms of the New-covenant to shew the necessity of repentance for the compleat and actual remission of sins and to invite all Nations to turn unto the Lord to perswade them to seek and flie unto him and to gather up those Mercies which he had purchas'd for all And so the descent of the Holy Ghost was not only to strengthen the Apostles and their Fellow-labourers for the Discharge of their great and most Charitable Office but to enable all those to whom they should Preach to receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save their Souls His Gracious and Kindly Operations are to enlighten our understandings to help our Infirmities to subdue our wild and unruly Affections to
deserve a Reward when they move as they are stirred without any inward Principle of their own God sets before us Life and Death Blessing and Cursing and bids us choose Life Deut. 30. 19. He calls upon us by his Ministers Word and Spirit to conform to his Laws he affords us all the necessary means of Happiness he gives us a new Principle and a Sufficiency of Spiritual Strength to help our Natural Weaknesses and to enable us to become New Creatures and having shed abroad such abundance of his Love he leaves us in our own Power to Employ it Because we are Rational and Voluntary Agents it is fit we should be dealt with in a Moral way by Instruction Arguments Perswasion and such other Motives as are consistent with our Natures and suitable to Beings which know the differences between Good and Evil and have not onely a Power of choosing and refusing but are moreover deeply concern'd in Point of Duty and Eternal Interest to chuse the Good and to refuse the Evil. The Divine Grace serves to Help and Rectifie our Nature but not to take away our Powers and Faculties of Acting nor do we cease to be Men when we are called to be Christians Still we are in our own Hands in a great measure and still the Proposals are like those formerly made to Cain If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted And if thou dost not well Sin lieth at the Door Gen. 4. 7. If any of us fall under a Curse after all as Cain did or be Banisht from God's Presence as Cain was it is because our Hearts are Evil like his and because we throw off as he did the Love of God and of our Brother If Men become Reprobates it is because they will be of Reprobate Minds for God doth not deliver them up to a State of Reprobation or to strong Delusions So that in the end they are Damned till they refuse to receive the Love of the Truth that they might be Saved 2 Thes 2. 10. Such Miscarriages ought not to be imputed to the God of Truth Purity Mercy and Compassion or to him that loved us and gave himself for us God forbid He intended to Save all to the uttermost that would come unto God by him and he did all that lay on his part to draw all to him therefore he is the Saviour of all though all are not actually saved That they were to blame themselves for and none else but themselves because nothing was wanting in their Redeemer He had been the Saviour of the whole World though none had believed on him but his Blessed Mother because it would have been their own Crime if others had not believed on him as well as she because they would not have been gathered unto him as he himself said of Jerusalem and her Children when he would have gather'd them as an Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings The Sun is truly said to Enlighten the World should all Mankind shut their Eyes and refuse to behold its Rays or hide themselves in Holes and Caverns from the Heat of them So did the Son of Righteousness rise upon all upon the Evil and upon the Good upon the Just and upon the Unjust He was Good to all Mankind though some hate the Light and will not come unto the Light but love Darkness rather because their Deeds are Evil Job 3. 19. Now this is purely Accidental in respect of God's Intentions and Desires and therefore we may not judge of God's Love by such Accidents no more than we allow our selves to judge of one anothers Purposes and Wishes by Events that are quite beside them nay contrary unto them An upright Law-giver consults the Good of the whole Commonwealth gives them Rules to be the Measures of their Actions and encourages them all with Promises of Rewards upon their Obedience and if notwithstanding all this some will be so Perverse and Headstrong as not to be Govern'd but will follow still such irregular Courses as will bring some to the Gibbet and others to the Flames The Condemnation of such People is very Just because it is from themselves A tender Physician consults the good of all his Patients provides Remedies for them adviseth them to make a due Use of them and tells them the danger that will attend their wilful neglect especially if the Disease be in its nature Mortal and if notwithstanding all this a sick Man will fly in the Physicians Face and throw away that which he should Receive his Death is Accidental and ought not to be charged to his account who would have saved him from it A Conscientious Divine I am sure consults the Eternal good of all that are committed to his Charge prayeth for them directs them according to the best of his Skill and Power calls upon them to be merciful to their own Souls admonishes and intreats them thinks no Service too much for them seeks to do them good sincerely wisheth their good and if notwithstanding this they will not hearken nor mind but Destroy themselves after all by the violence of their wicked Passions or by their willful Stupidity this doth not argue any want of affection in Him it is besides what the good Man Intends or Desires that which he is Grieved and Afflicted at the very apprehensions of the Event is sad and accidental but He himself is clear from the Blood of all No Man questions the Affections of a Father to the Children of his Bowels and yet it is common for Children by their own Folly and Obstinate temper to Ruin all their Fortunes notwithstanding the Cares Counsels and Endeavours of their Parent and thereby bring down his Gray Hairs with Sorrow to the Grave Now if in these Cases Intentions ought not to be Measured by Accidents much less are we to judge of God's Decrees and Purposes by any Man's Ruin because God of his Goodness doth much more for us all than what we poor Creatures are able to do for one another how great soever our mutual Zeal and Affections may be He giveth Grace which none of us can give He bestoweth his Holy Spirit which is not in our power He strengthens us with Mâ—ght in the Inner-Man which is out of the reach of our Hand He Prevents Follows and Furthers Men with secret Operations which are beyond and above our capacities to do and if notwithstanding all outward and inward means of Salvation and notwithstanding God's wishes to the contrary some for whom Christ Died will go on still in Error and Sin till they Destroy themselves finally this doth not argue any want of Love or gracious Intentions in God but is a sad argument that some might have been Healed and would not an act of Perverseness and Intractability which in God's day will turn to their greater condemnation CHAP. VI. That we must not measure God's Purposes as to things Eternal by his present Acts of Providence in dispensing some special outward Favours in this
God's Everlasting Kingdom The Reason of this and what the things are which we are bound to perform Fifthly CONSIDERING therefore what Qualifications are necessary in Us to make our present Calling and Election firm effectual and eternally Beneficial to us our care must be in the fifth place to make such a due Use of the Divine Love and Goodness towards us all as to perform those things which are indispensibly necessary in order to the actual Possession of God's Everlasting Kingdom As yet the way to it is laid open for us and we have a Liberty and Power given us to enter in but it is upon certain Conditions We are delivered from a necessity of Perishing notwithstanding our many Provocations we are made capable of Eternal Life notwithstanding our former guilt But yet divers things are required on our part that we may be actually admitted into a fixt State of Happiness in Heaven Though God loved us and gave his Son to us to tender satisfaction in our stead and by undergoing a Temporary Death himself to Rescue us from Everlasting Torments in which Services of the Divine Oeconomy the World had not any the least Hand they were acts of pure Grace of Mercy undeserved unthought of by Mankind yet God being the Soveraign Governour and Legislator of the Universe it would have been inconsistent with his Honour and Greatness to have given up the Authority of his Laws which yet he must have done had he permitted us to take our own Courses and to live according to our own Wills without any danger Therefore that he might at once provide for our Indemnity and secure his own Authority also when Christ was pleased so freely to undertake the Office of a Mediator it was Covenanted between the Father and Him that upon such and such Conditions his Obedience Death and Intercession should be perfectly available on our behalf And for the making of those terms good it was Covenanted likewise that the Holy Spirit should be given to inable us for the performance of those Duties which were expected from us and that such a Measure should be accepted at our Hands as we should perform by our sincere endeavours according to our Capacities and Power Hence it was that Christ brought us Laws from Heaven to Regulate and Govern our Actions that we might not frustrate the Counsel and Love of God towards us that we might not at last fail of God's Grace nor come short of his Glory and of that Happiness which the Lord Jesus came into the World to purchase for us all The Price is paid and it was Love unspeakable in Christ to lay it down and in his Father to accept it at his Hands for us But though the general Purchase be made yet for the compleat Possession of it we must be careful to behave our selves so as God requires us in order to the conveyance of the Title to every particular Soul We must believe stedfastly on the Name of the Son of God and to this Faith we must add sincere Repentance from all Dead Works and make it our business to serve God in true Holiness and Righteousness all the days of our Life Without these Performances on our part Christ will in the end profit us nothing because he is the Author of Eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him Heb. 5. 9. They only will have the Final and Everlasting enjoyment of God's Love to the World For the Law by which the Righteous Judge of all the Earth will proceed is very plain Rom. 2. 6 7 8 9 10 11. He will render to every Man according to his Deeds to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality God will render Eternal Life But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the Truth but obey Unrighteousness He will render Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul that doeth Evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile But Glory and Honour and Peace to every Man that worketh Good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile for there is no respect of Persons with God You see Men's Eternal Doom depends upon the Quality of their Lives and Actions here as they are either Good or Evil so will God reward them with Happiness or Misery hereafter And for this Reason it was that St. Paul calleth God the Saviour of all Men especially of those that believe 1 Tim. 4. 10. He is the Saviour of all Men Intentionally because He intended not to Reject any by an Absolute Decree or to exclude any from the Hopes and Means of Salvation but by the Doctrines and Holy Life of his Son Jesus Christ did intend to open and shew the way of Peace unto all and encouraged all People to follow it to the end and because too he sent Christ to offer him satisfaction for the Sins of all Men to Die for all Men and to Merit Eternal Salvation for all if all would lay hold on his Merits by such a lively operative and purifying Faith as is perfected by Charity In short because he hath done those things which were becoming and proper for a Wise and Merciful God to do for Sinful and Reasonable Creatures in order to their Salvation He is rightly called the Saviour of all Men Sufficiently Meritoriously Intentionally and if he be not to all Actually and Effectually so too it must proceed from the voluntary Neglect and Crimes of some who by their Evil Deeds hinder themselves from being Actually and Effectually Saved To Illustrate this by a plain Similitude such as it is Suppose a great number of us were Captives and Bond Slaves sold as Slaves were formerly wont to be Sold into the Hands of Arbitrary and Merciless Masters And suppose the King of his tender Compassion and Goodness towards us as having been his own Subjects should send a valuable Consideration and Ample Ransom with a gracious purpose to Redeem us all without exception but with a Proviso and upon condition of our true Faith and Allegiance to him though some out of a strange Love of Slavery or through Carelesness or Crosness of Temper or by some other Miscarriages might hinder themselves from being Actually Ransomed and so throw away their Liberty for ever yet this could be no disparagement to the King's Clemency and Goodness He would deserve the Name of our common Redeemer nevertheless the intentional Redeemer of us all and I doubt not but in such a case we should all think it very Reasonable for us to acknowledge the Kindness intended for all To apply this instance and to use the Scripture Expressions which relate unto it We were all once sold under Sin become the Servants of Unrighteousness taken Captives by the Devil who laid his snares for all Mankind But God of his Mercy sent his Son into the World to recover us all out of the snare of the Devil to lead Captivity Captive to give himself a Ransom for all to
Redeem us from all Iniquity to deliver us from the Bondage of Corruption into the glorious Liberty of the Children of God that being made free from Sin we might become Servants unto God and have our Fruit unto Holiness and the end Everlasting Life Nothing can be clearer than this is from the Holy Scripture that God sent his Son into the World to this end and purpose and with this most gracious Intention and for this Reason the whole Race of Mankind ought with all Thankfulness of Heart to acknowledge and adore him as the Saviour of us all If notwithstanding all his tenders of Grace and Mercy some will be so wanting to their Eternal Interest as to continue still in Bondage and to go on in their Wicked and Ungodly Courses till they take their last Fortunes with the Devil and his Angels from whose Power and Damnation they might have been delivered This will be indeed an aggravation of their own Crimes and Folly and a demonstration of the Divine Justice but no Diminution at all of God's Love and Goodness by the various acts whereof he shews now his great and unwillingness to have any of us Perish And it shews the Reason why the Apostle said He is the Saviour especially of them that Believe because though he be loving unto all yet these make a special use of his general Love they walk worthy of their Vocation by their special Obedience they order all Actions in special conformity to his Commands and Laws and so a special Application of Christ's Merits is made unto Them that he becomes Finally and Effectually and in the Event and Issue the Saviour of them onely It concerns us therefore as much as our Eternal Comforts amount to to take great care of our Hearts and Actions because whatever Notions some are willing to please their Fancies with every ones Final State will be suitable to the Nature and Condition of his Works To be Prying into and to Depend on God's Secret Counsels and at the same time to neglect ones own Life is the ready way to a more fatal downfall than His who walks on gazing upon the Stars and presently breaks his Neck by tumbling down a rugged Precipice The Revealed things belong to us and this is the Revelation that If we will enter into Life we must keep the Commandments Mat. 19. 17. That in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him Act. 10. 35. That we must work out our Salvation with fear and Trembling Phil. 2. 12. That we must not be conformed to this World but be transformed by the renewing of our Minds Rom. 12. 2. That we must cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit 2 Cor. 7. 1. That we must be Holy in all manner of Conversation as He which hath called us is Holy 1 Pet. 1. 15. And that if God so Loved us we ought also to Love one another 1 Joh. 4. 11. These things being so plain the great business of our Life should be to let all empty Speculations go and to Study the Practical Part of Religion For it is not our Opinions but solid Piety and Vertue that will carry us out in the day of God He hath shewed thee O Man what is good And what doth the Lord require of thee but to do Justly and to love Mercy and to walk Humbly with thy God Saith the Prophet Mic. 6. 8. And to what purpose hath the Grace Grace of God which bringeth Salvation appeared unto all Men Why That denying Ungodliness and worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World saith the Apostle Tit. 2. 12. If then we would answer the Love of God to us so as to be the better for it indeed and to reap benefit by it Everlastingly this is the true Way viz. to be led by the Goodness of God unto Repentance to bring forth Fruits Meet for Repentance to Eschew Evil to follow Peace and Holiness to have our Conversation Honest in the World to do those things that are Just and Pure and Lovely and of good Report to serve God acceptably with Reverence and Godly Fear to lay aside all Bitterness Malice and Hatred to put on as the Elect of God Bowels of Mercies Kindness Humbleness of Mind Meekness Long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any Man have a Quarrel against any and over all to put on Charity which is the Bond of Perfectness These are so many Branches of the whole Duty of Man and if ye do these things whatever Conceits uncharitable People may have of you ye shall never fall CHAP. IX That we must make God all possible Returns of love What love is How excellent when it is a Divine Affection Two things shewed First How we may Acquire the love of God Secondly How we are to Express it viz By Obeying him by Resembling him and by desiring the Present and Future Fruition of him Sixthly TO dispose our Minds throughly for these Religious performances we should above all things possess our Hearts with such a Sense of God's Love to us as will naturally excite us to return all possible degrees of Love to him Love is a most vigorous Affection of the Soul a Principle of Action that Works and Exerts it Self after an Omnipotent manner as if it resembled that miraculous Faith which removeth Mountains T is an Affection that bears up against all difficulties that breaks thorough all Opposition that spares no Cost that begrudgeth nothing either of Time or Labour and that engageth all the Faculties of the Soul in such generous Undertakings as Dull Selfish and Phlegmatick Natures are hardly capable of opening a Thought to In short it is such a commanding Passion as brings a Man into Captivity with his own Consent and makes him pleasantly and chearfully a Vassal witness that single instance of Love Jacob who notwithstanding the unworthy Artifices of his Unkle Laban looked upon his many Years Servitude but as a few Days for the Affection he bore to his Beloved Rachel Gen. 29 As this Affection is more and more Purified so it riseth in its Vigor and when it comes to be a Divine Love placed upon God and upon the Son of God it is a most Active Delightful Principle of Obedience to his Will in all things It is that which sets the Blessed Angels upon the Wing to Execute his Commands with such Pleasure and Alacrity The same Divine Principle inspired the Apostles and other such Saints of Christ especially in the Bâ—gining of Christianity to Do and to Suffer all that was possible for Christ's Name with that Resolution Chearfulness and Zeal which made them Renowned unto all Ages The Love of Christ constraineth us saith St. Paul 2 Cor. 5. 14. And to omit other Instances I cannot but remember here the Ardent Zeal of that famous imitator of St. Paul Ignatius the Martyr Bishop of Antioch in the Apostolical Age who being Condemn'd