them But I shall pass this also and return to the beginning of his Chapter that his strange notions about the person of the Son of God may be brought to examination And that I may proceed with the more clearness I will first briefly represent what the Scripture teacheth in this matter That the Son of God might become the author of Eternal Salvation unto lost sinners he took upon him the office of a Mediator betwixt God and them and in order to the accomplishment of what he had undertaken on their behalf it was necessary that he should take hold of their nature and be manifested in flesh In the person of Christ therefore we are to mind 1. The distinction of both natures Divine and Humane 2. The union of both natures in the person of the Mediator First Both the Divine and Humane nature in Christ remain distinct in their essence and all their essential properties and necessarily must do so the one being created and the other increated the Divine nature cannot be changed into the Humane nor the Humane into the Divine neither is it possible that they should be so confounded or mixed together as to make a third nature distinct from both The Word was God and the Word was made flesh Joh. 1. He was in the form of God and yet took upon him the form of a servant Phil. 2. He was and remained the only begotten of the Father his own Son and yet was in all things made like to us sin only excepted He was true God God by nature and true man also made of the seed of David as concerning the flesh Secondly There is a glorious and unspeakable union of both natures in the person of Christ As he is Immanuel he is but one person and as such is spoken of throughout the Scripture even the same person that in the beginning was with God The Humane nature of Christ never having a personality of its own Vid. Amâ—sâ—i Medullam did from the first moment of its being subsist in the person of the Son of God So then 1. Though the second person of the Deity have but one only subsistence yet his subsistence is to be considered with a twofold respect first as he was in the Divine nature from Eternity and also as he was manifest in the flesh which last inferrs no change in God but only a relation The Son of God remained what he was although he became what he was not by uniting the Humane nature with the Divine in one person 2. Though there is not nor cannot be a real transfusion of the properties of the Divine nature into the Humane or of the Humane into the Divine yet by reason of this strict union of both natures there is a personal communication of properties which doth consist in a communion or concurrence of both natures unto the same operations so as they are done by both natures together yet each nature worketh according to its own properties So that all that Christ did or suffered is properly referred to his person but if we consider the immediate principle of his actions some of them must be referred to his Divine nature only others to his Humane 3. Hence ariseth and herein is founded that communication of properties in the Scriptures speaking of Christ 1. When that is spoken of the Person that agreeth to him onely with respect to one of his natures as when Christ is said to dye of which he was capable only in his Humane nature or to create all things which was proper to his Divine nature And sometimes it is said of him that he knew what was in man that he searcheth the reins c. at another time that he knew not the day of Judgement So likewise of God it is true that he cannot be tempted of evil and yet Christ who was God as well as man suffered being tempted but then this could not be as God but as man considered as made like to his Brethren in all things except sin neither can we avoid contradiction without embracing this way of exposition which is alone suited to the mind of the Spirit of God in such sayings and founded in the real distinction of both natures without division in the person of Christ 2. Sometimes also that is attributed to one nature as it doth connote the person that is proper to the other so Act. 20. 28. and 1 Joh. 3. 16. That is spoken of God viz. his shedding his blood and laying down his life which cannot without blasphemy be affirmed of the Divine nature as such 3. And again That which is only proper to the person as such considered in both natures is attributed to the one nature as 1 Tim. 2. 5. There is one Mediator betwixt God and men the man Christ Jesus He was not Mediator as man only nor as God only but as God-man in one person These things well weighed may deliver us from that strange confusion that Mr. Colliers discourse tends to cast us into and might serve for a refutation of his first Chapter but for the help of the weak for whose sake this work was undertaken I will particularly examine whatever therein might be occasion of stumbling to them and remove it out of the way In p. 1. of his Book he thus writes The exceptions against what I said in this matter i. e. relating to the Person of the Son of God are as followeth 1. That he is not the Son of God in the Divine nature only 2. That he is the Son of God only as considered in both natures 3. That he was the word as he was God-man and man-God 4. That as God-man he was a Creature 5. That this Creature God and man created all things 6. That this Word God-man was made flesh 7. That he is the Son of Man in both natures By these words of his one would conclude these gross contradictions were the assertions of the animadverter on his Book but his meaning is That these are the things excepted against in it which he still owns and undertakes the vindication of them in which fruitless attempt I shall attend him He begins with the first That he is not the Son of God in the Divine nature only My reason for this is Because the Scripture no where that I know affirms him so to be and for me or any other to affirm that which the Scripture doth not must needs be unsound and unsafe The Scripture always when it speaks of the Son of God it is as he was in both natures God and Man and hence its safe to say that he was not the Son of God in the Divine nature only Had I met with this position concerning Christ by it self That he is not the Son of God in the Divine nature only charity would have moved me to hope that the design thereof though the words are harsh and improper had been no more then to assert the indissoluble union of the humane nature with the Divine
reflecting upon the different natures Angelical and Humane rejecting the former laying hold of the latter For here the dignity of the nature of Angels though in it sâ—lf superiour to the Humane and more near to the nature of God as being purely Spiritual and who are in that respect by way of eminency called the Sons of God Job 38. 7. was not chosen because the assumption of the Humane nature though in it self more inferiour was yet more proper and necessary for their sakes for whom he was the anointed of God as their High-Priest and Saviour Hence is plainly inferr'd not only his pre-existence as the Son of God before his choice and assumption of the Seed of Abraham viz. his taking upon him flesh but that he was also purely so subsisting in the Divine nature as to stand indifferent as to the assumption of the Angelical or Humane nature into the Unity of his Person otherwise then as he was pre-determined by the Decree Councel and Covenant of God in order to the work to which he was anointed Jo. 16. 28. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world again I leave the world and go to the Father Jo. 17. 5. And now O Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the glory I had with thee before the world was Jo. 8. 42 58. If God were your Father you would lâ—ve me for I proceeded forth and came from God neither came I of my self but he sent me Before Abraham was I am What words can express more directly the relation of Christ unto God the Father as his Son considered singly in his Divine nature It was some 1000 of years after Abraham that we had the knowledge of this mystery by Divine revelation God manifest in Flesh The Word was made Flesh That was accomplished in the fulness of time But from all Eternity he was the I am the Son of God and as such came forth from God And herein also we may note that he declares not only his own action and motion but also his Fathers his mission It was not only his own undertaking though he was therein also voluntary Wherefore he saith when he cometh into the world Sacrifice and Offering thou wouldst not but a body hast thou prepared me Then said I â—o I come to do thy will O God In order to the perfect observance of this will of his Father for the performance whereof he had in time a Body prepared fitted for him which he had not before The Father sends him and he comes both are active and spontaneous herein for the accomplishing of this great work the Reconciliation Redemption and Salvation of sinful and lâ—â—t man The Lord Christ did not then first acquire his being or relation unto God the Father as his Son But being from Eternity the brightness of his Fathers Glory and express Image of his Person after he had by the appointment of his Father and his own voluntary undertaking vailed his Deity humbled himself and taken upon him the form of a Servant and therein performed the work his Father gave him to do he prays to be restored to the same not any other for there could be no greater Glory conferr'd upon him as to his Divine nature then what he had with his Father before the world was Joh. 6. 38. I came down out of Heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me Gal. 4. 4 6. When the fulness of time was come God sent out his Son And because you are Sons God hath sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts c. In these Texts compared with their Contexts you have again a full discovery of him who was by God the Father anointed to be the Saviour of the world His being in the Flesh was now manifest to all that conversed with him it needed no proof he carried about with him a self demonstration that he was made of a Woman made under the Law The great thing that the Jews and all the world were to be fully informed in and convinced of was that the Person now manifest in the flesh was the Saviour the Christ the Lord. And for the evidencing of this great and important truth it was necessary that the Lord Christ should not only speak and do as never man before him spake and did but also prove his descent whence he was and wherefore he came into the world And in that respect together with all the testimonies born of him immediately from Heaven by God the Father and the holy Angels we have him frequently asserting his Original himself I came down from Heaven Hence it was that the Jews at this season took occasion for their murmuring Jo. 6. 42. Is not this Jesus the Son of Joseph whose Father and Mother we know how is it then that he saith I came down from Heaven In answer to this Objection the Lord Christ tells the Jews that in order to a true saving knowledge of his Person who and whence he was it was necessary they should be taught of God Blessed art thou Simon Barjona for Flesh and Blood hath not revealed this to thee but my Father which is in Heaven And that they might know his original and his immediate and uninterrupted relation to God as his Father notwithstanding his then present state of Humiliation in the Flesh he tells them from whence he was who he was and wherefore he came into the world The medium he uses to prove his relation to God as his Father is not his being born of a Virgin Abrahams or Davids Seed though that be also true and most proper to prove him who is the Son of God to be also that Son of man the Messiah that was promised But he proves it by his descent from Heaven his seeing of the Father which no man ever did or could do his being of God And because the exceptions to what he affirmed both by the Jews and his Disciples were taken from his being in the flesh Therefore to shew that the Hypostatical Union of God and Man in him had not deprived him of his dignity of the Son of God he speaks of himself under the notion as they apprehended him of being the Son of Man as he then also was And asks his Disciples what and if you see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before which is further explained Jo. 3. 13 14. ch 12. 32. Eph. 4. 10. His condescension to take upon him flesh to become the Son of Man and in that nature to suffer death upon the Cross was no deprivation of his Divinity nor derogation from his Person he still asserts even from thence his then present being in Heaven The Divine and Humane nature subsisting in his Person had not removed the Deity out of Heaven but by that intimate conjunction given the Humanity from the dignity of his Person a claim to Heaven and right of Ascension thither He did not therefore descend
this high and holy place being increated But to manifest that Mr. Collier speaks not only without the Scriptures but against the Scriptures herein let these Texts be considered Thus the Heavens were finished and all the Host of them Gen. 2. 1. He commanded and the Heaven of Heavens were created Psal 48. 4 5. By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made and all the Hosts of them Psal 33. 6. what the Hosts of Heaven are you may understand by 2 Chron. 18. 18. Luke 2. 13. And if these Hosts of Heaven the holy Angels do always behold the face of God and all of them both place and Inhabitants were part of the six days creation as Exod. 20. 11. And if the face of God be beheld where his glory is displayed in the greatest splendour then certainly there is no colour nor place left for any increated Heavens And why cannot Mr. Collier conceive of the Eternal God without an Eternal Habitation distinct from himself If he must have such an habitation it is either because his happiness would not be perfect without it which is to make him dependant on something beside himself and to deny his Godhead by denying his self-sufficiency or else it must be because his being is such as is determined and limited by certain bounds as Bodies are properly said to be in such or such a place because they are circumscribed within some space that they fill up Created spirits though in a more improper sense yet are truly said to be in a place because though they have not parts and dimensions as bodies have so filling up the place where they are nor can be punctually circumscribed as they may yet they are so in some certain place as not to be at the same time without it or elsewhere Now therefore when we conceive of the being of either of these we must also conceive of some space susceptive of them which we call place because they are finite But what place can we conceive of for his dwelling therein who is immense and indistant to all places and things present to all by and in his infinite essence and being but contained in none He adds If God hath prepared a Building a House for his people not made with hands Eternal in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5. 1. Methinks it should be no crime to say that he hath an Eternal habitation for himself suitable to his name and nature and if Eternal then Increated I suppose the ambiguity of the word Eternal which Mr. Collier meets with in the Text is the occasion of his mistake in part If we look into the Scriptures we shall find mention made of a threefold duration 1. That which is absolutely Eterna without beginning or end and this is proper to God alone 2. That which hath a beginning but shall have no end which for distinction sake is commonly called Aeviternity And 3. That which hath a beginning and shall have an end which is time Now the term Eternal is indifferently used in the Scripture to signifie either of the two former but this ambiguity is easily removed if we consider the subject spoken of when it is applyed to God we must take it in the first sense but when unto Creatures in the second so then the Apostle as is clear from the scope of the Text when he speaks of an House Eternal in the Heavens doth not intend a building that had been from Everlasting but such an one as notwithstanding its Creation for it was made though without hands by the power of God in time should not decay as the earthly house of our Tabernacle doth but abide incorruptible for ever And let not Mr. C. think that because we need a house a building in the Heavens to compleat our happiness that therefore the former of all things doth so So then this Text will not bear the weight he lays on it And when in the close he infers from the Eternity of Gods dwelling place that it is also increated he might have added and then God for this necessarily follows upon the grant of the other and by this very medium Mr. Collier in his Body of Divinity p. 85. proves that Angels are created beings His words are these Reason teacheth that they must be and are created oâ— else they must be Eternal which is proper to none but God and if so they must be God but they are not God c. and by that Mr. C. may see that he hath intangled himself in medling with things that he understands not But I shall proceed The Scripture doth also instruct us concerning the subsistence of God or the manner of his being and this is such a glorious mystery as by his word only is revealed to us We cannot by reason comprehend it but ought to adore it and by Faith rest in his testimony concerning it In 1 Joh. 5. 7. we are taught that there are three that do subsist in the Divine essence and that these three are the Father the Word and the Spirit who are the one true God Here then is set before us the Divine essence subsisting in three relative properties The relative property of the Father is to begâ—t Ps 2. 7. Joh. 3. 16. The relative property of the Son is to be begotten The relative properly of the Holy Spirit is to be breathed or to proceed from the Father and the Son Joh. 15. 26. Rom. 8. 9 c. Now unto these relative properties belong all imaginable perfection but no imperfection because they are in God Therefore as considered in him they do inferr personality because a personal subsistence is the most perfect manner of being in the whole reasonable nature And throughout the Scriptures when the Father Son or Holy Ghost are distinctly spoken of those terms are made use of that are proper only unto a person and personal operations are every where ascribed to them Though in our conception of personality in the Divine nature we must separate from it whatsoever imperfection is seen in a created person Every created person hath a limited essence distinct and distant one from another But all the increated persons in the Deity have the same immense undivided essence and are the one Eternal immortal invisible only wise God In created persons also there is difference of time in the proceeding of one from the other but here though there be an Eternal order of origination there is no priority of time or nature Add hereunto the warranty of this term from Hebr. 1. 3. where it is applied to the Father and there is the same reason for our using it when we speak of the Son or Spirit and I cannot see why Mr. C. should reject or except against it as he doth p. 11 12. and in his Bod. of Div. However I shall not strive about words if the thing be owned But it is commonly seen that men have been offended with apt terms because the things expressed by them have been displeasing to
and for ever is certain and that the Godhead of Christ underwent no change when he was made flesh is before proved But that he took not into a personal Union with himself a nature he had not before when he was made flâ—sh is false and absurd and directly opposeth the very terms of the Text produced by him Indeed it is too evident that Mr. Collier doth not understand the force of the particle as which he so frequently useth and therefore he supposeth that whatsoever is spoken of the Person that was God-man is indifferently spoken of either nature as such in that Person Whereas although the Body and Soul of man do make up but one Humane nature in ordinary discourse we hear those things attributed to that Person who is both animal and rational of which some belong to him only as he is animal viz. to eat drink sleep dye others only as he is rational viz. to understand deliberate will c. It is to be bewailed that a man which stumbles at such things as thâ—se should become troublesome to the World by Printing his impertinencies The next Scripture insisted on by him is Rom 8. 29. unto which we may add Eph. 1. 4. 1 Tim. 1. 9. Mr. Colliers reasonings from these Scriptures is to this purpose God did choâ—se and bless his people in Christ before the World was even in Christ the anointed who is the Son of God and was then with the Father But he is not Christ in the Divine nature only nor in the Humane nature only but as God-man Therefore as God man he was with the Father before time and as such only is his Son It is true that God did never intend the salvation of any sinners but in and by Christ and when God did before time choose a remnant in him he had a respect to his Incarnation and redeeming of them according to the terms of the Covenant between the Father and Christ They were chosen then in Christ considered as one that had undertaken to be a Mediator betwixt God and men and in order to the accomplishing of what he so undertook in the fulness of time to become Immanuel the Messiah or anointed â—f the Lord It is true also that Christ is the Son of God But that he is so as the Christ and could not have been so unless he had been our Saviour or that he was anointed to be the Son of God and was not so by nature is impious and false So likewise to conceit that he was actually God-man when we were chosen in him as Mr. Collier doth can arise from no other ground but his confounding the Decree of God with the execution thereof And let but the Reader compare Phil. 2. referr'd to by him with 1 Pet. 1. 20. with which he closeth this Section and he will need no other antidote against Mr. Colliers Doctrine The next series of Texts abused by him are these wherein we have prediction of Christs coming in the flesh divers of which he cites p. 3. and concerning them he saith The Scriptures that foretell of him before he was come in the flesh so speak of him as to come viz. God and Man c. If there be any kind of argument in that Section it must be this which to recite is to confute The Scriptures that foretell Christs coming in the flesh speak of the Son of God But they foretell that the Messiah should be God-man ergo He iâ— the Son of God only as considered in both natures I might ansâ—er as pâ—rtinently as he argues Si placet Domine negatur Applicatiâ— as a young Scholar once replyed to his Tutor It is strange that a man who undertakes to teach others should yet himself bâ— to learn to distinguish between predictions and their fulfilling He finds it foretold that the Son of God should be incarnate Ergo He always was so But it is just with God to leave men to such absurdities in undertakings of this kind as Mr. Collier is now engaged in He proceeds p. 4 5 to reckon up many of those Texts that speak of the birth of Christ his converse with men in the days of his Flesh his Death Resurrection and Sâ—â—sion at the right hand of God all which are cleared and his exceptions removed by that which I laid down in my entry upon this point whither I refer the Reader desiring him to remind Rom. 9. 5. with other Texts of like import that frequently occur in the New Testament I know Mr. Collier scornfully rejects what I insist on in his 8th page But offers no reason for his so doing and the contradiction yea blasphemy that he runs upon in refusing that truth may warn us to give the more heed thereto Thus he writes p. 4. § 5. And as he was the Prince of life Act. 3. 15. the Lord of Glory 1 Cor. 2. 8. was he killed and crucified and certainly that was not in the Humane nature only for so he could not be the Prince of Life and Lord of Glory I wish Mr. Collier had seriously thought of that saying Prov. 30. 6. Add thou not unto his words least he reproove thee and thou be found a lyar In the Scriptures cited by him there is no such thing written that as he was the Prince of Life c. he was killed and crucified They say indeed That the Prince of Life was killed and the Lord of Glory was Crucified So the Scripture saith also that God purchased his Church by his blood and laid down his Life for us The person that died was very God the Prince of Life and Lord of Glory but it was in his Humane nature and not in his Divine that he suffered although both made but one person and to reject this and say with Mr. Collier that as God c. his Bloud was shed he was crucified and died i. e. that all these things befell the Divine as well as the Humane nature is impious to that degree as may make a tender heart bleed and the ears of a godly man to tingle He saith in the same Section That unscriptural notion doth not reach the case that the Humane nature suffered and the Divine nature satisfied it is the same who suffered that satisfied The common faith of Christians about this matter is That the same Jesus who suffered made satisfaction to Divine Justice for their sins but that his sufferings were in his Humane nature only and the worth of them for satisfaction to Justice did arise from the Union of the Humane nature with the Divine in one person so that the Godhead of Christ put an infinite value into his sufferings This he offers not to disprove and they have taken it up on better grounds then to part with it because he boldly censures it as an unscriptural notion In p. 5. c. Mr. Collier doth also undertake to give answer to some Texts produced to prove thâ—t Christ was the Son of God in the Divine nature The first
form of God long before he was a Creature His 6th position is answered before He adds 7thly That he is the Son of Man in both natures As to his Humane nature and that only he was â—â—â—e of the seed of David But the union of both natures was so strict and indissoluble in the person of Christ that it is truly said That holy thing that was born of the Virgin was the Son of God The person who as to his Humane nature was formed of the seed of the Virgin being Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his proper Son begotten of his own substance from Everlasting as to his Divine nature And this distinction of natures in Christ strictly observed doth not at all infer a plurality of Persons or Sons as Mr. C. vainly imagines p. 8. in his Question For the Humane nature hath no subsistence of its own It is the same person who is the Son of God and the Son of David yet is he the Son of God in his Divine nature in contradistinction from the Humane and the Son of David with respect to our nature that he took of the Virgin in contradistinction from the Divine nature though these natures since the Incarnation cannot possibly be divided or separated And if this be not owned we must bring in a confusion of natures in the Person of Christ As to what he adds about Justification it shall be taken notice of in a more convenient place Whereas Mr. C. closeth this Chapter with an affirmation That he cannot yet be convinced of any thing written in his Body of Divinity wherein himself owneth these things are found of which he yet seeth cause to repent Truly his blindness renders him an object of pity And because he supposeth these strange Heterodoxies have proceeded from his being inriched in knowledge beyond all others his case is the more dangerous But oh that he would be advised to go to Christ for Eye-salve that he might see and then we should hear another story from him While I was engaged in my answer to Mr. Collier I received from the hand of a Friend some Animadversions on this Chapter of his especially respecting his second position concerning the Person of Christ which because they are not long and may give some farther Light into this matter under debate I have here annexed Mr. Colliers Add. word p. 2. That which I shall endeavour to demonstrate from Scripture iâ— That he is the Son of God only as considered in both natures And if this be proved if he be tâ—e Son of God in both natures only then he is not the Son of God in the Divine nature only and to prove that he is the Son of God in both natures only the Scripture so presents him to us and no otherwise And as the Scripture presents him to us so ought we to believe him to be and no otherwise Before I enter upon the consideration of what the Scriptures say in this important Article of our Faith let us hear what Mr. Collier himself saith in his Body of Divinity under this Title How this one God subsisteth in three Persons p. 44. The sum of all is this That God is one Eternal infinite substantial Being distinguished into Father Son and Holy Spirit and in all three are Divine and distinct relative properties and operations yet in all no one wills no one acts without the other Gen. 1. 1 2 26. Heb. 1. 2. Job 33. 4. And p. 43 And this truth i. e. a plurality in one infinite and eternal God is clearly to be proved from the Old Testament even from the Creation It might be supposed by this his brief description of the Deity that Mr. Collier is Orthodox in his opinion concerning the Divinity of the Son of God though in many places he be singular in his expressions And that his design wherein he is singular and different from others is very charitable viz. That his supposed absurdity of making two Sons or the Sonship of Christ not to be the same at first as it was at last might be avoided Yet whosoever throughly weighs his whole discourse cannot but observe that he speaks at least very doubtfully concerning any existence that the Son of God had in the Divine nature before he was made or manifest in flesh Add word p. 11. § 6. That this word God-man was made flesh Here it seems lyeth the blâ—ck in the way that he that was a man was made a man The resolve is clear from Scripture he that was God and man in Gods eye was made so in our eye when made or manifested in flesh It were to be wished that Mr. Collier would yet speak more plainly that if he think a right a wrong opinion may not be conceived of him from his seemingly affected obscurity in his expressions What is the meaning of this He that was God and man in Gods eye was made so in our eye Is it that God the Father always saw him as he was from Eternity existing with him in the Deity in both natures God-man or never existing â—s God the Son till he was made or manifest in the flesh Because of this obscurity and the jealousies justly conceived that Mr. Collier is very corrupt in his opinion concerning the pre-existence of the Son of God in the Divine nature before he assumed flesh let it now be considered whether the Scriptures present the Lord Christ to us as being the Son of God in both natures only even those places of Scripture among others which Mr. C. by his false glosses would have us to think do so only present him to us Heb. 1. 8. But unto the Son he saith Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever a scepter of Righteousness is the scepter of thy Kingdom thou hast loved Righteousness and hated Iniquity therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the Oil of gladness above thy fellows Herein we have not only the unction of the Son of God mentioned but the reason of it And that is plainly taken from his Everlasting Divinity Regality and Righteousness Because he that is the Son of God is God that made and upholds and rules over the world in Righteousness and loveth it and hateth iniquity therefore as the only fit person is he anointed by God the Father his God and our God to the Office of Mediatorship which the whole Chapter treats of And from the dignity of his Person as the Son of God is divine adoration given to him when as the Son of man he came first into the world And from thence also his preheminence notwithstanding his debasement in the flesh continues with him above all his fellows Heb. 2. 16. He took not on him the nature of Angels but he took on him the Seed of Abraham If the question be asked as the Eâ—nuch did Philip in the like case of whom does the Apostle here speak The answer is plain from the context of the Son of God He is the person assuming
that he might always remain upon earth but that after he had finished his Fathers work which he was to do in the flesh he might carry the Humane nature with him into Heaven whither he was to ascend again So that since his uniting of the Humane to the Divine nature in his own person whether he was spoken of as the Son of God according to his Divinity or as the Son of David according to his Humanity under which notion soever he was spoken of either as the Son of God or the Son of Man he being in both natures but one entire person was still truly said to be in Heaven not that it was or could ever be supposed that his claim to Heaven and his being there did arise from his being the Son of Man but as he himself asserts from his coming down from thence his coming and being sent from his Father and yet remaining always with his Father He and his Father being one He that descended is the same also that ascended there neither was nor could there be admitted any change of the Person It is also observable that Gal. 4. 6. the same word is used for the sending forth of the Spirit of his Son by God the Father into the hearts of his adopted Sons that is used for the sending forth of his Son into the world This is no slender evidence of the Eternity and Divinity of Christ that he hath the same relation to the holy Spirit with the Father 1 Pet. 1. 11. It was the Spirit of Christ that was in the Prophets of old that long before his Incarnation did foretell thereof and of his sufferings and the Glory that should follow David himself said by his Spirit The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool as to his Divinity he is the root of David who according to his Humanity was his off-spring Rev. 22. 16. The Vision of Isaiah ch 6. was true and the voice of the Angels a real voice who cried as to the time then present holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory And if the Application of this vision of the Prophet and voice of the Angels by the Evangelist Jo. 12. 41. be also true what more clear evidence can be given of the Lord Christs subsisting in the Divine nature before his descension from Heaven and assumption of the Humane nature Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the Earth and the Heavens are the work of thine hands they shall perish but thou remainest they shall wax old as doth a garment and as a vesture thou shalt fold them up and they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years shall not fail From these and many other the like Texts is the Divinity of the Lord Christ fully asserted and by the writings of the Apostles directed by the Holy Spirit since his Incarnation applyed to him By whom we are given to understand that the Prophets aforetime spake of our Lord Christ and thereby is made known to us the dignity of his person as the Alpha and Omega But I would have Mr. Collier ingeniously consider whether he or any other man without this future revelation and explication could have gathered any such doctrine as the Manhood coexisting with the Godhead in the person of Christ from all Eternity or that he who in the beginning laid the foundations of the Earth and made the Heavens was when he did this work Man as well as God or that since this revelation and application of these sayings to the person of Christ can say any otherwise then that these titles and operations are referr'd to the Son of God as he subsisted in his Divine nature with the Father And if this be so let Mr. Collier be convinc'd and acknowledge that the Scriptures do sometimes and that frequently speak of the Son of God as in the Divine nature only and not always as he was in both natures God and Man CHAP. II. Of Election I Shall for the better order sake pass over his second Chapter at present and consider in the next place what he proposeth in his third of Election Only this I desire the Reader to take notice of once for all that I intend not to make Mr. C.'s discourse an occasion of going over the Heads of the Controversie betwixt us and the Arminians in a full stating and handling of those points It hath been sufficiently done by others both formerly and of late but my present design is only to remove those stumbling-blocks that he in this Book hath endeavoured to cast before weak Christians Thus he begins p. 18. Of this I have spoken something too in my Confession of Faith or Body of Divinity but in this I shall speak a little more full and plain I will not undertake to justifie all he hath said about Election in his Body of Divinity but I must say that in this he is gone farther out of the way of truth and instead of speaking more full and plain to the business he involves himself in many absurdities and gross errors which before he kept off from He proceeds to explain the term Election or to elect or choose from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Scripture ordinarily imports to choose or to be chosen What Mr. Collier designs in getting these Greek words into his Book I know not one that understands not the Greek can tell him that to elect or choose ordinarily imports to choose But I confess he must have more learning then I that can readily conceive how to elect or choose should import to be chosen which Mr. C. adds Election indeed is sometimes put to signifie â—ersâ—ns chosen the abstract being put for the concrete He proceeds to his division of Election unto which I shall oppose a brief account thereof from the Scripture and so free the teâ—m from ambiguity that we may proceed without interruption Election as it is attributed to God may be variously considered 1. There is frequent mention in Scripture of Election unto some function or office either Ecclesiastical or Political 2. There is an Election unto a participation of some peculiar benefits and favours from God and this may be distinguished into that which is 1. General In which sense a Person or Nation is said to be chosen of God when they partake of such an adoption as that they are brought into some covenant with God and are reputed his people so the Israelites were an Elect Nation 2. Special and that is Gods choosing unto Eternal life and it is either of Angels or Men And it is this Election and the concernment of men therein that we are to consider and as Mr. Pâ—lhil well observes p. 24. of the Div. Will this is variously express'd in the Scripture It is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8. 28. because it is Gods purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 1. 9. because his gracious purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 11. 6. because he separates or singles out some to mercy in a way of choice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 1. 2. because he knows them as his own in a way of singular love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8. 29 30. because he infallibly predestinates them to Grace and Glory and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 1. 5. because all is out of the pure self-motion of his own good will This Election of God then is Gâ—d â—illing or decreeing to glorifie his Grace in the Salvation of a certain number of the posterity of fallen Man through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth And other Election unto Eternal Life the Scripture knoweth not So then what Mr. Collier discourseth p. 19. concerning a General Election in the Gospel hath no foundation but in the ambiguity of the â—erm which I have removed And indeed in the New Testament there is no countenance given to the using of the term in that sâ—nse as he doth when whole Churches are said to be Elect it is rather because in the judgement of Charity each Member in a Gospel Church is so to be esteemed then for the reason which he supposeth That which he drops in that Section concerning â—â—lling from Grace shall be examined afterwards He proceeds p. 20. To discourse of Special Election which he makâ—â— twofold The first is of those who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world unto the obtaining of Grace and Glory A brief account of which I have already given The reason he gives for this is That the undertaking of Christ might be assured not to be in vain on the most special account c. He acknowledgeth then That if there had not been a certain number given to Christ by the Father who by effectual Grace should be brought to believe in him his undertaking might have been in vain But this must not be very true But then if the whole of his undertaking must not be left at uncertainty why should any part of it be so How Mr. C. will reconcile this with his other notions I know not He goes on The second sort of special Election in the Gospel is of All that do believe and obey the Gospel in truth persevering therein to the end Afterwards he accounts these distinct from the special Elect but for the present he makes this one branch of special Election I shall allow him to alter his terms as he pleaseth if he find them unfit and consider his present notion which is built upon this supposition That many may and shall believe and obey the Gospel and persevere therein to the end that receive no special Grace from God in the pursuit of his Electing Love to enable them thereunto or preserve them therein which notion shall be examined in its proper place And these are Elected on the foresight of their Faith and Obedience and perseverance therein And here we might reasonably expect that Tho. C. in his Add. word should have confuted the arguments urged against such an Election by Th. C. in his B. of D. p. 444 445 446. But this he silently passeth over and this sudden change is the more to be taken notice of because he tells us in his Preface to that Book That they are not the notions of sudden conception but the fruit and birth of many years travel that he there presents us with and that he would have all his Doctrine to be compared with that Book and either reconciled therewith or rejected I know some will be ready to say Inconstans levitas levis inconstantia vulgi Nunc vult nunc non vult nunc neque vult neq non vult But I shall rather mind that seasonable exhortation of the Apostle Eph. 4. 14. Heb. 1â— 9. and so address my self to consider what proof of this notion he offers to us Election saith he under this consideration is declared in these and the like Scriptures Joh. 6. 40. 3. 16. 8. 31. Rom. 2. 7. Heb. 5. 9. Col. 1. 21 23. Rev. 22. 14. All these Scriptures hold forth no more but the inseparable connexion as of the means with the end of Faith and Obedience persevered in with Eternal Life and Salvation not a tittle of the Election of any on the foresight of these He that holdeth out to the end shall be saved which all the Elect shall do being kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation but this Grace as well as future Glory floweth to them from the eternal spring of Electing Love Yea Mr. C. himself can tell us at another time That Faith is no where stated in the Scriptures as the condition of Election neither in reason can it be so if we consider what persons are Elected to and that is to believe and obey the Gospel to be holy here and happy hereafter 1 Pet. 1 2. Bod. of Divin p. 445. And if Mr. C. will consult those that have written on this controversie he may find other arguments urged against this errour also but perhaps his own may have the greatest influence on him I shall therefore leave that with him and attend him in his farther offer of proof of the contrary opinion now Thus he proceeds p. 21. We may not so understand particular and special Election as to derogate from the universal Grace and love of God to all men nor from the truth of the Law of Grace which calleth upon all and encourageth all and promiseth life to all that do believe and obey the Gospel c. What Mr. Collier means by the universal Grace and love of God to all men he doth not here explain But by the tenour of his discourse in other places in his Book his sense appears to be That God intended the Redemption and Salvation of all men in the death of his Son and hath recovered them all out of their fallen state and put them into a capacity of obtaining Heaven without his special Grace And it is true that the Doctrine of Election as revealed in the Scriptures doth overthrow this fiction but must it therefore be rejected because it will not comport with his errors And whereas he supposeth that the Decree of God concerning the salvation of the Elect opposeth his revealed will and gracious invitations unto sinners in the Gospel this must be imputed to his ignorance of these things He tells us not wherein he supposeth the opposition doth lye And whatever he thinks their harmony is sweet and full There is a sufficiency in Christ to save the whole world if they did believe on him and there is a sure promise of salvation to every believer And it is the will of God that salvation by Christ should be tendered unto all where the Gospel comes on the terms mentioned therein But the wickedness of mans heart and his natural enmity to God being such as would render
of God attainable out of Christ This is first contrary to the whole tenor of the Scripture that represents God as a consuming fire to all that are out of Christ a God that will by no means clear the guilty and that his pardoning love and grace is made known to the sons of men only in and by the Mediator life and immortality is brought to light by the Gospel and thus it was from the beginning the foundation of the Church after the fall of man was laid in the promise of sending Christ to be its Saviour c. There is no knowledge of God saving but that whereby we know him to be a just God and a Saviour and this we cannot know but in and through Christ who was set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his bloud Secondly It is against the express testimony of Christ Joh. 14. 6. I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh vnto the Father but by me And again ch 17. 3. This is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent into the world not to know God and be ignorant of Christ as Mr. C. dreameth And 1 Pet. 1. 20 21. where the efficacy and saving fruit of Christs death is declared to belong only to those who by him do believe in God and that it is God considered as raising him from the dead and giving him glory so testifying his acceptance of the price that Christ payed for the redemption of sinners that is the object of our faith and hope More might be added but I hasten Thirdly It is also contrary to the experience of all that are saved There are some proud Hypocrites indeed that are alive without the Law that think they can please God and trust in him without a Mediatour but a poor convinced sinner unto whom the Commandment is come with power and he by it is convinced of the holiness of God and the exceeding sinfulness of his sin can find no rest until he have Christ revealed in him all thoughts of God out of a Mediatour are breaking and terrible to him neither can he put his trust in God nor dares he once to think of an approach to him until he have some knowledge of the meeting together of mercy and Justice and how righteousness and peace did kiss each other in the undertaking of a crucified Saviour That which he farther supposeth in the words recited is 2. That the works of God without his word are a sufficient means to bâ—ing persons to saving acquaintance with God But seeing it is confâ—ssed by Mr. C. That notwithstanding this Ministry as he tâ—rms it of the works of God men remain under invincible ignorance of Jesus Christ and we have before proved That out of Christ there is no saving knowledge of God attainable there needs no more be said to enervate this proposition also Only for the more full discovery of its falshood observe 1. In the Old Testament when the Scripture speaks of those Nations that enjoyed not the word of God it speaks of them as People under his wrath Jer. 10 25. as People negâ—ected of God and in his just Judgement suffered to walk in their own ways Psal 147. 19 20. compared with Act. 14. 16. And the sad effects of being deprived of Gods word we have signally set forth Amos 8. 9 14. And in the New Testament when the Apostle relates what condition the Gentiles were in before they enjoyed the Light of the Gospel he doth it in these words Eph. 2. 12. without Christ aliâ—ns from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world To be brief Though Mr. C. affirm the contrary yet the God of truth assures us Where there is no vision the People perish Prov. 29. 18. 2. The Condition of those Nations that enjoy not the word of God is such as plainly bespeaks them to be in the Region of the shadow of death The Apostle discourseth of such Rom. 1. 19. c. and assures us their enmity to God is such as renders ineffectual the conviction they have of a Deity by his works and that notwithstanding this means they grow worse and worse and necessarily perish at last if not converted and saved by the Grace of Christ revealed in the Gospel yea enquire of those that know the state of the poor Indians and they will fully resolve you That there is no proof of Mr. Colliers Opinion amongst them And whereas Mr. Collier saith That otherwise they were not without excuse The Apostle in the Texts cited by him proves the contrary shewing that they are and why they are without excuse Men are inexcusable in sinning against the Law and light of nature yet can none be saved by the works of the Law without Faith in Christ Gal. 3. 10 11. What he adds in the close of this Chapter That God will save all upright hearted ones c. though the special saved ones are such as are espoused to Christ by the Word Spirit and Faith of the Gospel is a vain flourish for besides that its foundation is laid in those principles that have been already disproved it is a fond imagination that any are upright hearted with God or can be so that are utter strangers to the Word Spirit and Faith of the Gospel seeing such must needs remain unconverted For Mr. C. himself confesseth p. 33. That in the great work of conversion the Spirit worketh in the word of the Gospel by that means and ministry and not without it the Word and Spirit may not be separated Joh. 3. 5. 17. 20. Jam. 1. 18. CHAP. IV. Concerning the moral power of Man or Free-will where also of Original sin IN Mr. C's 4th Chapter and that which followeth he doth abundantly manifest either great ignorance of the true state of those questions he meddles with or else a design to pervert their sense that maintain the truths opposed by him that so he may bring them and their Doctrine under odium and intangle unwary Souls with his corrupt notions To prevent him herein and to make way for the clear undeâ—standing of what I have to say in answer to him I shall premit these things 1. That I do acknowledge That all men have a liberty of will or freedom of choosing with reference to those things that are proposed to them And this I take to be an inseparable adjunct of all humane acts 2. This liberty consists in a rational spontaneity He acts freely that is under no coaction which alone is opposed to liberty in the true notion thereof but doth what the last and practical judgement of his own understanding dictates to him So that one that acts necessarily may yet act most freely God cannot but love and delight in himself and order all things to his own glory yet is he an agent in every respect most absolutely free The good Angels now confirmed
not have sinned is a Categorick or simple proposition and is true of Adam in the sense of division considered as in himself It could not be but that Adam would sin is a modal or qualified proposition and is true of Adam in a sense of composition being considered as subordinate to the Decree The Jews might have broken the bones of Christ is true speaking in the sense of division i. e. looking at the free will of the Jews as in themselves It could not be that the Jews would break the bones of Christ is true speaking in a sense of composition i. e. looking at the will of the Jews as subordinate to the Decree That answer of Elisha to Hazael enquiring of Benhadads recovery containeth in it two like propositions 1. Thou maist certainly recover 2. Thou shalt surely die 2 Kings 3. 10. his Disease was in it self curable and as such is considered in the first proposition The second proposition looketh at him diseased as subordinate to the Decree which had pre-ordained his death through theâ—stifling of Hazael by occasion of this Disease Thus much of these things Mr. C. goes on to attach another ground and foundation of the Saints rejoycing in God who hath promised to preserve them blameless unto his Heavenly Kingdom He propounds this Question p. 36. May we suppose that persons who are regenerate and born from above may possibly fall from this state of Grace Perhaps Mr. C. hath some design in thrusting in that word possibly into his Question I will therefore explain the term that he may have no equivocal reserve to fly to A thing may be said to be possible either simply and in its own nature or possible on supposition of all things to be supposed with reference to it In the first sense it was possible that a bone of Christ might have been broken in the latter viz. on supposition that God had decreed and foretold the contrary it was not so The Question in reference to the Saints perseverance proceeds in the last sense whether supposing their Election of God Christs undertaking for them and their interest in the Covenant of Grace it is yet possible that some of them may finally depart from God and be lost for ever And to this I answer in the Negative But he saith The Scriptures do not say they may not nor that they shall certainly obtain This is false The contrary appears from these Texts Psal 125. 1 2. Isa 4. 5. ch 54. 8 9 10. Jer. 31. 3. ch 32. 39 40. Ezek. 36. 26 27. Joh. 6. 39 40. with ch 10. 28 29. Rom. 8. 29 30 38 39. 1 Thes 5. 23 24. 1 Pet. 1. 3 4 5. 1 Joh. 2. 19. with many others He adds We are to suppose all Gospel-believers to be regenerate and then we may and must suppose a possibility for the regenerate to fall or none can fall away By Gospel-believers I presume he intends those that are members of the visible Church of Christ such as profess Faith in him and Obedience to him and do not at present contradict their profession by a contrary practice in the sight of men My answer is If we respect any particular person or persons among these we are bound to hope so of them because Charity always inclineth to the better part But if we respect the whole bulk of professors together we are not to believe that they are all regenerate persons because the Scripture telleth us there are foolish as well as wise Virgins Hypocrites as well as sincere Believers in the visible Church though who they be we know not till their works discover it and when their Hypocrisie is discovered we are not to think that they once were new Creatures and are fallen from that state but the quite contrary 1 Joh. 2. 19. So then though many Professors fall away even such as have past under some common work of the Spirit this doth not at all infer That those who are truly born again not of corruptible Seed but incorruptible by the word of God that liveth and abideth for ever may do so in like manner He proceeds I know nothing stated in the Gospel-law of Grace as a duty in order to obtain the end but that persons may obtain and be supposed possibly to fall finally from Joh. 15. 4 5 6. Nothing that 's strange Is not perseverance in Faith and Obedience required in order to salvation and may persons persevere and fall finally too The Text cited by Mr. C. doth no ways confirm his notion although we allow him to except perseverance from the duties intended by him Unto the 4th and 5th Verses something hath been spoken already by which it appears that they lye directly against Mr. Colliers notion of the Creatures ability of himself to do any thing that is spiritually Good I suppose it is the 6th Verse that he promiseth himself some relief from The words are If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered c. He doth not tell us on what account he thinks this Text may serve for a proof of his Doctrine but probably he thinketh that the words suppose That such as for a time truly abide in Christ may afterwards cease to do so and perish out of him But there is no such thing intended in them For this Text as many other do speaketh of Professors according to what their condition appeareth to be before men and so all that are members of the visible Church and have a place therein are counted branches in Christ some of these bring forth fruit by which the sincerity of their Faith in Christ and the truth of their being spiritually united with him is manifested These do not fall away but he that hath begun a good work in them doth perfect it to the end The Father purgeth them that they may bring forth more fruit Others of these branches do not bring forth fruit which is an evidence that their being in Christ is only by profession for it cannot be that one united to Christ by true Faith and the in-dwelling of his spirit should be without those vital influences from him is will produce some good fruit these do not abide in Christ by a lively exercise of Faith and therefore being indeed separate from him while they appear to be one with him they can do nothing but in time of temptation fall away from their profession and are cast out as branches and are withered and men gather them and they are cast into the fire and are burned And more then this cannot without offering violence to the Text be inferred from it which doth not make against but confirm the truth concerning the Saints perseverance That which Mr. C. offers to strengthen his desired inference is this The truth hereof will father appear if we consider 1. That the Gospel makes no difference but warns all to take heed of falling which necessarily supposeth a possibility of falling with respect to
and inconditional promises of the new Covenant where he again pitifully intangles himself It might help him a little out of the Labyrinth he is lost in if he would consider That the New Covenant is originally made with Christ who became a sponsor and surety for all that the Father gave unto him Psal 89. 31. c. and in him all the promises thereof are yea and amen God the Father promised unto Christ Eternal Life for all his before the world was Tit. 1. 2. and engaged in time effectually to draw and bring them unto him to give them a new heart c. for whom he became surety that they might not fail to enjoy it on Gospel terms And this truth will of it self bear down all Mr. Colliers notions of free will and falling from Grace It is granted that all the promises of Life and Glory in the Gospel are conditional as set before us But the fulfilling of the condition in the Elect is absolutely undertaken for in the Covenant betwixt the Father and Christ And whereas Mr. Collier saith That the Covenant in the perfection thereof when we are come to Glory will be absolute in all its promises it s absolutely true to all over-comers he lamentably discovers his weakness thereby For our present enquiry is after those promises that do secure the Saints safe arrival in Glory and to talk of the absoluteness of these promises to those that are already glorified and to represent them as uncertain to those that alone are concerned to draw comfort from them is exceeding absurd In p 38. he frames this Objection against himself This asserts a possibility of falling from Grace and so destroys the assurance and comfort of Believers Unto this he answers It doth no other then the Scripture doth it s that of which the Scripture is full it frequently presents us with a possibility of falling Else those many and frequent exhortations to the contrary are useless if there were no danger as also the examples of those that have fallen 1 Tim. 1. 19 20. 2 Tim. 1. 15. Heb. 4. 11. Else what means the Lords appointing a Ministry in the Church to preserve it from falling That the Scripture asserts no such thing but the contrary we have manifested already as also what the import of these exhortations are and their usefulness in Gods hand for the preservation of the Elect. We say moreover if we respect our own weakness and the temptations we are to conflict with there is â—anger but free Grace will secure the Elect from perishing in the midst of their dangers and from being overcome by all the difficulties that are in their way And it is strange to me that he should conclude true Believers may fall away because God hath provided means and appointed a Ministry to prevent their falling To the other branch of the Objection respecting the comfort and assurance of Believers he saith It s so far from diminishing the consolation of Believers â—hat it s the only sure way for Gospel consolation c. I grant that none are capable of well grounded comfort but those that are under the promises of the Gospel viz. sincere Convert sound Believers but how Mr. Collier will evince that his Doctrine is the great spring of Gospel-consolation even this That though I be now a Child of God yet the next temptation I meet with for ought I know may sink me to Hell although God do at present lâ—ve me yet I have no assurance that he will continue to do so a day to an end for many that have been united with Christ as I now am are lâ—st for ever and I daily tremble under a sense of my own weakness and have no promise of preservation to trust to I say how this makes for their comfort I cannot understand nor how Mr. Collier will reconcile his present Opinion with what he writes in his Bâ—d of Div. p. 197. We ought to believe that God will maintain our Faith and kâ—ep us from falling Phil. 1. 6. 2 Tim. 1. 12. else we could have no solid comfort To that which he adds in the beginning of p. 39. concerning the usefulness of fear I answer The fear that ariseth from Mr. Colliers Doctrine hath torment in it and therefore a right understanding of the love of God will cast it out and teach the Soul to reject that Doctrine from whence it springs That is the true Gospel-fear which respect God as a Father and is tempâ—red with an holy rejoycing in his goodness which is a fruit of the spirit of Adoption that bears witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God and if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joint Heirs with Christ Moreover There is as Dr. Owen hath well observed Saints Persever p. 293. a twofold fear of Eternal death and destruction 1. An anxious perplexing fear in respect of the end it self 2. A watchful careful fear in respect of the means leading thereunto The first is directly opposite to that peace consolation and joy in the Holy Ghost that God is pleased to afford unto his People and exhorts them to live up to and therefore it cannot be his end or design to ingenerate it in them by any of his threatnings or warnings given in his word For the other viz. A watchful heedful fear for the avoiding of the way and means that would lead them and do lead others to destruction it is not in the least inconsistent with that assurance that God is pleased by his promises to give to his Saints of their perseverance I shall now hasten to a close of this Chapter after I have in a word or two cleared the sense of two Texts of holy Scripture which Mr. C. hath endeavoured to darken because they speak not according to his mind The first is Rom. 9. 16-22 After Mr. C. hath for a while laboured against the stream of this Text he is forced p. 40. to acknowledge the truth viz That it is not our willing and running that can bring us within the câ—mpass of special Electing Grace that being past in Gods will before the world was Indeed the design of the Apostle throughout this Chapter as well as in the Verses referred to is to shew the freeness of Gods grace to his own Elect together with his just severity against the vessels of wrath and that one is a vessel of mercy and another of wrath proceeds from the meer good pleasure of God to choose the one and leave the other his choice not being grounded on foresight of their willing or running faith and obedience but being purely resolved into his Soveraign Grace And this doth quite overthrow Mr. Colliers Election on foresight of Faith and doth also afford a very good argument for the Saints perseverance which we were last upon But I must hasten only it is necessary I should remove an abusive passage or two of which his Book is full out of our way He saith Nâ—r may we understand