Slothfulness in Students in seeking truth 3. Hastiness in Judging before digested conceptions and proof II. Nearly Want of 1. Humility and self-acquaintance Pride 2. Knowledge Ignorance and Error 3. Love to others Envy Malice and Bitterness III. Instruments or Engines 1. In General Corrupt departing from Christian Simplicity 2. Particularly 1. From Simplicity of Doctrine by DOGMATISTS Words Notions 2. From Simplicity of Practice by SUPERSTITIOUS additions 3. From Simplicity of Discipline by CHURCH-TYRANNY II. CONSTITUTIVE Causes viz. DISCORD 1. In JUDGMENT of things necessary ALIENATION 2. In WILL and AFFECTION viz. 1. Privative by denying due Communion 2. Positive 1. By Contention 2. Malice 3. Hurtfulness to each other DIVISION 3. In Necessary PRACTICE III. The EFFECTS viz. I. On THINGS viz. on Church 1. Doctrine Preaching and Writing turning it into vain and hurtful wrangling 2. Worship Prayer Sacraments corrupting them by faction partiality and wrath 3. Discipline corrupting it into Secular or factious Tyranny or a dead Image II. On PERSONS viz. I. Particular 1. Themselves 2. Their followers 1. The Guilt and Deceit of false-Religious zeal 2. The Death of true Holiness and Heavenly Conversation 3. The Death of Love and Life of Wrath and injuries 3. Rulers viz. 1. Corrupting them by factious clamours against their Subjects 2. Tempting them unto persecuting Laws and Executions 3. Engaging them in bloody Wars abroad 4. The Innocent viz. Injuries to 1. Private persons 1. By censures slanders backbitings making them hated 2. Denying them due Love Communion and help 3. Persecution silencing and other mischiefs 2. Princes 1. Weakning and grieving them by the Subjects discords 2. Dishonouring them by defaming Excommunications 3. Urging them to be the Clergies Lictors or Executioners 5. Enemies and Strangers scandalizing and hardning them in Infidelity sin II. Societies I. Churches 1. Corrupting them in Doctrine Worship and Order 2. Weakning them by discord and division 3. Shaming them before the World 4. Making them less fit for Gods Love and Communion II. Kingdoms Weakning them dishonouring them and drawing them into the Guilt of Feuds Wars and Persecutions IV. The REMEDIES I. Persons 1. Christ the Prince of Peace and the Churches Head and Center 2. Wise Princes who understand the Interest of 1. Christ 2. Their people 3. Themselves 3. Able Wise Holy and Peaceable Pastors 4. The Mature Experienced Mellow Peaceable sort of the people II. Qualities 1. Diligent Study under wise Teachers 2. Sincere Holiness A dying life 1. Humility 2. Knowledge 3. Love to others as our selves 3. Deliberate Judging upon tryal III. Means 1. Returning to Christian Simplicity 1. In Doctrine The antient Creed c. 2. In Worship 3. In Discipline 2. Magistrates forcing the Clergie to keep the peace and forbear strife 3. Subjects obedience in all lawful things required by Authority V. HEALTH or Cure 1. Rulers Pastors and people of one MIND 2. One HEART in Love 3. One MOUTH and practice in things Necessary in Communion and mutual help And mutual loving forbearance in Infirmities and things unnecessary edified in Love VI. The EFFECTS hereof I. GLORY to God 1. In the Hallowing of his Name and Honour of Religion 2. In the increase of his Kingdom and Conversion of the World 3. In the Doing of his Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven II. Peace on Earth 1. Increase of Holiness Heavenliness and Love 2. Mutual Delight herein The Joy of Health and Concord 3. The Churches Strength and Glory III. Gods WELLPLEASEDNESS in MEN His Church will be meet for his Love Delight and Communion and be liker to Heaven and enjoy its foretastes An Appendix to this Premonition SInce the Printing of this the World hath seen a specimen of such contention as I lament in a contest between a young insulting Assailant and a jocular contemptuous Defendant in my judgment both running into extreams whether verbal or real their own explications must further tell us The extreams of the former are reprehended by many By the later a person of great wit and piety I perceive that some men have such conceptions of the Covenants of God as will give occasion to some Readers to think that by mis-describing them I have erred and misled men through this and many other Writings And men that are not able to conquer the obscuring and tempting notions of their Authors are still calling for Answers to every inconsiderable objection or contradicting word that is suggested to them and little things puzzle and stop such Readers though otherwise pious and worthy persons who have not by long and accurate studies methodized and digested the matter that is disputed of Not therefore to offend any man by opposition or to defend other mens extreams but to prevent the frustration of some of these Writings and the scandal or trouble of my Reader I must take notice I. That some think that the Covenant of Grace must be considered 1. in its Constitution and 2. in its Execution The Constitution of the Covenant is God's firm and unchangeable purpose of saving his Elect to the praise of his glorious Grace For the word signifieth a disposition appointment or ordering of matters whether there be a restipulation or no the English word Covenant seduceth our understandings The fixed purpose and determinate counsel of God in Scripture is called a Covenant Jer. 33. 20. II. The execution of this fixed Constitution is God's wise and gracious managing of all things for the accomplishment of that glorious design which he had in the prospect of his eternal counsel which he steadily and regularly pursueth through all the vicissitudes that his mutable creatures are obnoxious to c. pag. 718 719. 1. On God's part whatever grace and mercy was in his eternal purpose that is given out to us by Christ c. III. 1. Christ cannot be the foundation of the Covenant because Christ himself is promised in the Covenant as the great comprehensive blessing Isa 49. 8 9. 2. Free Grace is given as the true reason of the Covenant Heb. 8. 8. IV. The Constitution of the Covenant in God's purpose and counsel hath no condition at all nor is that the Condition of the Covenant required of us on our part which God promiseth to work in us on his part nor that which God in Covenant bestoweth nor that which presupposeth other Covenant mercies antecedent c. V. A promise of pardon and life on condition of believing and obeying is no Covenant of Grace at all and neither better nor worse than a threatning of condemnation c. It 's no more a Covenant of Grace than a Covenant of Wrath. It 's no great matter where it is founded p. 584 586. VI. God hath not dispensed with one jot or title of the moral Law but Do this and live is as strictly exacted as ever so that unless a Surety be admitted and the righteousness of another owned the case of all the sons of Adam is deplorable and desperate To deny the righteousness wherein
Head and of Pardon and Salvation 8. It is Christ's stated Constitution that he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and be that believeth not shall be damned Mar. 16. 16. That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth Christ's resurrection unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation Rom 10. That except you repent you shall all perish Luke 13. 3 5. That men must repent and be baptized for the remission of sins Acts 2. 38. And repent and be converted that their sins may be blotted out Acts 3. 19. So Rev. 22. 14. Matt. 6. 14 15. Ezek. 33. 14 16. 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godliness is profitable to all things having the promise of the Life that now is and of that which is to come Call these Laws or Covenants or what you will we are agreed that all this is the word of God 9. These terms of life and death are the rule of our practices and our expectations by which we must live and by which we shall be judged and therefore we may truly say that they are Christ's Law And they are God's signified determination of the conditions of life and death and his donation of our right to Christ Pardon and Life is contained herein and therefore this may truly be called Christ's Testament and Covenant in several respects 10. Though all duties be prescribed by God's Law and so each Precept is a material part yet formally or specifically the Laws to which these material parts belong must be distinguished by the distinct conditions of life and death 11. God hath made more Promises Donations and Covenants than one or two which must not be confounded 1. His Law and Covenant made to and with man in innocency is one 2. And his Law and Covenant made to and with Christ as Mediator is another 3. And his absolute promise of a Saviour to the World with the conditional promise or Law of Grace conjunct was the first edition of another And the Gospel as after the incarnation promulgate was a more perfect edition of it to pass by Abraham's Covenant of Peculiarity and the Mosaical Law as such 12. Though Christ be promised in one of these and be God's antecedent gift he may nevertheless be the Author of another and so far the foundation as well as the meritorious cause 13. That may be of free Grace which is merited by Christ yea and that which is annexed to the Evangelical worthiness of a believer 14. That may be a condition required of us to be done by the help of Grace which yet is the effect of that Grace and given us by God 15. It is a true Covenant between God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and man which is solemnly entred into in Baptism And this is a Covenant of Grace even that proceedeth purely from Grace and of Grace as given by God and by us accepted He that will confound these various Covenants Promises and Laws on pretence of their unity though there is doubtless a wonderful unity of all the parts both of God's moral signal means and his physical works shall confound much of Theology 16. The Law made to Adam never said either thou or another for thee shall obey but it bound man to perfect perpetual personal obedience 17. Therefore that Law as it obliged us is not fulfilled by the obedience of Christ but only as far as it obliged him nor can any man be justified by it as a fulfiller of it by himself or by another nor did Christ fulfil it in any other mans person though in his stead so far as is aforesaid 18. The Law doth not command any man since Adam perfect personal obedience as the means or condition of life nor promise any life on such a condition as is now naturally impossible but though it be not repealed by God is so far ceased by the cessation of the subjects capacity to be so obliged 19. The Laws obligation of us to punishment is dispenced with and dissolved by a pardon purchased by our Mediator 20. Christ's righteousness is nevertheless the meritorious cause of our righteousness or justification though he justify us by the instrumentality of his donative Covenant as giving us right to our Union and Justification and Life and though our Faith and Repentance be the condition of our Title 21. We accept two Concessions as containing that truth which sheweth that we do not much differ de re could we more happily order our organical conceptions 1. That Christ's righteousness is not the formal cause of our Justification 2. p. 596. Seeing the satisfaction was not made IN THE PERSON of the offender but his substitute it was necessary that THE BENEFIT of ANOTHERS satisfaction should be communicated in such a way as might best please that God whose Grace was the only motive to his acceptation of a substitute It is the undoubted priviledge of the Giver to dispose of his own gifts in his own way And it was absolutely and indispensibly necessary that the sinner should be duly qualified to receive such transcendent favours purchased at so dear a rate and fitted to return the glory to a Redeemer which an unhumbled unbelieving unconverted and unsanctified sinner could not possibly be He that writeth this cannot sure much differ from me hereabouts But he is charitably uncharitable when he saith Never any man in his wits affirmed it so that the righteousness of Christ is the formal cause of our Justification It 's too charitable to hide that which cannot be hid of so great a number whom it seems he never read for all his Commission from all the Systematical Divines of Germany c. p. 696. And it 's too uncharitable to judge so many excellent men out of their wits The truth is so many speak so that I have been doubtful I should be smartly censured for saying otherwise Forma qua justificamur est misericordia Patris perfecta Justitia filii saith Ant. Fayus in his Accurate Theses Th. 60. p. 280. And by misericordia Patris being the form you may see how he understood Imputation The number that thus speak are too great here to be recited so that even the most judicious Davenant lest he should go out of the road was fain to make this the Theses to be proved by him Imputatam Christi obedientiam esse causam formalem justificationis nostrae probatur Cap. 28. p. 362. c. de Instit habit But let none turn this to our reproach nor take all these for mad for it is but an unapt name and by him and many others soundly meant for the greater part of these Divines say but that Imputatio Justitiae Christi Remissio peccatorum are the form not of Justification as in us but as it is Actus Justificantis as Altingius Maresius Sharpius Bucanus Spanhemius Nigrinus Sohnius
subject de quo of which it is truly said They are without the Gospel 520. 2. Gods not converting effectually some that have the Gospel is no Act and hath no object But the subject of the Privation called the Object is Some part of those men who have forfeited the helps of special Grace by their abuse or neglect of the Gospel and the Commoner grace which was given them 521. 3. Gods not Pardoning Justifying Adopting and Sanctifying men is no Act and hath no object But the subject of the Privation and object of the Laws contrary sentence is Impenitent Unbelievers or the non-performers of the condition of Justification c. in the Covenant 522. 4. Gods not Glorifying men is no Act nor the damnation which consisteth in sin as aforesaid is none of Gods act But the sentence of condemnation is Gods Act and no doubt some other Positive Execution And the object of these is All finally Impenitent Unbelievers and unholy ones that is who performed not the Condition of that Edition of the Covenant of Grace which they were under 523. And it being past all denyal that these are the objects of the Executive Acts we must say that these also are the objects of the Decrees accordingly where a Decree is proved and when we speak of them only juxta ordinem executionis and not Intentionis which I laid by before 524. And lest you recurr to it once more I will recite more of Davenants words de ordine Intentionis De Praed Reprob cap. 1. p. 107. 1. Sciendum tenendum est si Dei naturam perfectionem in se consideremus illum non prius unum videre deinde aliud neque prius hoc decernere aut velle deinde illud sed unico simplicissimo actu c. 2. Ex parte tamen Rerum quae decrevit signa quaedam prioritatis posterioritatis distingui possunt Hic tamen observandum est inter ipsos Scholasticos non admodum certam constantem esse hanc doctrinam de hisce signis seu instantibus prioritatis Scotus qui primarius est ad haec signa fabricanda artifex videtur non-nullis non solum eadem posuisse priora posteriora secundum nostrum intelligendi modum sed etiam statuisse unum esse in ipso Deo prius naturâ alio But from this he vindicateth him Ex adversa parte Occamus noster haec signa quocunque modo considerata negavit in 1. d. 9. q. 3. Et Biel ejus sententiam amplexus haec signa oppugnavit in 3. d. 2. q. 1. dub 3. Prioritates in Divinis non sunt ponendae sicut nec pluralitates actuum ordinatorum Unus est enim Actus in Divinis re ratione indistinctus qui est ipsa essentia Divina ne secundum nostram quidem considerationem talem ordinem Prioritatis posterioritatis concipi posse in decretis Divinis ut talis consideratio non sit falsa speculatio If this hold our Controversie of the order is at an end 525. And he added the words even of a rigid Thomist Domin Bannes quamvis non omnino explodat haec signa cum Biele perpendens tamen discordiam Theologorum in his assignandis Animadvertendum est inquit quam pro libito in negotio praedestinationis reprobationis multiplicentur instantiae à Theologis quam parum illa conferant ad assignandam rationem differentiae inter praedestinatos reprobos Liceat itaque hic paucis monere non esse nimis confidendum aut certo dogmati adhaerendum ulli certo ordini decretorum divinorum sive à Protestantibus sive à Pontificiis assignato cum difficile sit duos reperire sive inter nostros sive inter adversarios qui ad amussim per omnia consentiant in hac serie decretorum divinorum describenda Caveat it aque unâ—squisque ne talem considerationem praedestinationis reprob inducat quae vel Divinae justitiae vel gratiae gratuitae adversetur tâ—m non multum refert quo ordine prioritatis c. SECT XVII Of Gods Causing and Decreeing Sin 526. BUt because it is the avoiding of Gods Causing and Willing sin Of too many such enquirers it may be said with Augustine de Utilit Credâ—ndi cap. 18. Dum nimis quaerunt unde sit malum nihil reperiâ—nt nisi malum Obj. Omnis determinatio diâ—ina est immutabilis Omnia siuâ—t Deo determinante Ergo omnia siunt immutâ—hiliter Respondet Mâ—lanâ—th Ad maj Est immutâ—bilâ—s necessitate conseqâ—entiae Ad minor Dissimilâ—s est determinatio in bonis malis actionibus Mala siunt 1. Deo praesciente non impediâ—nte non autem adjuvante vel impellente Item Deo sustentante naturam suum opus Item Deo eventus certos decernente Strigel in Melancth pag. 296. Carbo Compend Thom. 1. q. 19. a. 9. Malum ut malum nullo appâ—titu potest appeti nisi per aâ—â—idâ—ns Deus â—ullo modo vult malum Culpae Deus neque vult siâ—ri malum â—â—que non vult sed permitti Ruiz de praedesin Tr. 2. disp 13. §. 3 4. would prove a decree to permit mortal sin in the unjust and just ex destitutione circumstantiis And d. 16. §. 3. he tellâ—th us of many wayes by which God maketh sin the occasion of his Grace without causing or willing sin in form or nearest matter which is a great reason of these Controversies I shall say somewhat more particularly of that About which there are various Opinions 1. Some think as Hobbs that no acts of the will are so free as not to be necessitated as the motions in an Engine though unobserved by our selves who see not the Concatenation of Causes 527. 2. Some Dominicans and our Dr. Twisse and Rutherford held that no act natural or free can be done by any creature without the Predetermination of Gods Physical efficient immediate Premotion as the first total Cause of that act But yet that this standeth with Liberty because God causeth contingentia contingenter fieri And that he so causeth every Act of sin in all its circumstances and the totum materiale peccati and all that the sinner causeth But yet that he is not the Author of sin nor causeth the form Because 1. They say that sin hath no efficient cause but a deficient which God is not being not obliged to act And sin is nothing but a privation 2. Because God is under no Law and therefore though he do the same things that man doth it is sin in man but not in him And saith Holkot he is the cause of sin but not the Author because he commandeth it not by his Law 3. At other times they say that sin is formally a Relation of disconformity to the Law of God and God causeth the whole act as circumstanced but not the relation which resulteth from it 4. And God causeth not sin as sin but as a means to his Glory or as a punishment of former sin
37. Sect. IV. Of the Law of Grace or New Covenant in the last Edition The Nature Conditions and yet free Donations of it pag. 42. Sect. V. Of the giving of the Holy Ghost His common and special Works The extent of the New Covenant Of the state of those that have not the Gospel And what Law they are under pag. 45. Sect. VI. How far Christ died for all and how far not pag. 51. Sect. VII The antecedent and consequent Will of God explained Of Justification by Faith What faith it is and what it doth pag. 54. Sect. VIII Of Justification by Christ's Righteousness imputed The false sense of Imputation opened and fully confuted The true sense asserted Whether Christ paid our Idem or Tantundem Whether he made his Satisfaction to God only as to a Rector or as Dominus vel pars laesa or how pag. 59. Sect. IX Of the sorts of Justification And first of constitutive Justification Of Righteousness How far it is or is not in our own habits or acts What Right the Covenant giveth the baptized to following helps and degrees of Grace Further what must be in our selves Mans holiness is no dishonour to Gods Grace How far Christ strippeth us of our own Righteousness More against the false sense of Imputation Objections answered pag. 69. Sect. X. Of Merit The case plainly and briefly decided The Gospel-Condition or Merit is but the accepting a free Gift according to its nature Whether we may trust to our own Faith Repentance Holiness The last Argument for the false sense of Imputation answered pag. 79. Sect. XI How Faith justifieth whether as an Instrument pag. 82. Sect. XII How far Repentance is a Condition of the Covenant And what it is Whether Faith or it be first How Faith and Love differ pag. 83. Sect. XIII Of the degrees of Pardon and Justification Whether losable And whether future sins be pardoned pag. 85. Sect. XIV Of Justification by Sentence of the Judge What it is ibid. Sect. XV. Of initial executive Pardon or Justification in Sanctificatiâ— How far necessary yet imperfect pag. 86. Sect. XVI Of assurance of Pardon Of doubting Whether it be Dâ—â—â— Faith to believe ones own Justification or Salvation The Spâ—â— Testimony pag. 88. Sect. XVII Of love to God as the end of Faith and foretast of Heâ—â—â— pag. 91. Sect. XVIII Of Perseverance and its certainty in order to the comfortâ—â— certainty of Salvation Few certain of Justification and â—â—â—â— of Perseverance The words of the Synod of Dort The â—â— ther 's Judgment about certainty of perseverance pag. 93 Sect. XIX Of mortal Sin or such as will not stand with the love of Gâ—â— and a state of Justification pag. 103. Sect. XX. What Repentance for particular sins is necessary to parâ—â— pag. 106. Sect. XXI Some solution of all the former difficulties in twenty Propâ—â—ons 108. Sect. XXII Few certain of Salvation The reconciling consequents of â—â—â— pag. 112. Sect. XXIII The case of Perseverance further opened and applied pag. 113. Sect. XXIV The sum and scope of this Discourse of Certainty pag. 116. Sect. XXV Degrees of falling and danger pag. 118. Sect. XXVI Of final Justification at Judgment More of the Agreemâ—â—â— Paul and James about Justification by Works pag. 119. Sect. XXVII Of the number of the glorified and the damned pag. 123. A PREMONITION MY work at present is but to lay down so much of the Christian Doctrine briefly as is necessary to be understood for the reconciling of the Controversies about Predestination Providence Grace and Free-will And therefore pass over â—any other weighty Points and must not stand largely to prove all â—s I go which carrieth its own evidence The true nature of the first â—aw or Covenant deserveth a more accurate discussion than I can here â—ake and much passeth as certain with some which hath but little â—roof And here I meet with these different Opinions 1. Some say that the â—ondition of the first Covenant was not Innocency but sincerity And â—at Innocency was only a Duty necessary necessitate praecepti but not â—edii or that it was ut medium necessary ad melius esse or to some cerâ—â—in degrees of felicity whereof it was a condition but not to felicity it â—â—lf And that the Covenant of Grace doth herein agree with it both â—f them damning man only for mortal sin and punishing them tempoâ—â—lly only for venial sin And he seemeth to be of this mind who saith â—â—at Do this and live or Innocency or Works was the Condition only â—f Moses Law but that Adhere and Vanquish was the Condition of the â—rst Covenant But these are ambiguous unsatisfactory terms If the â—eaning be Adhere to God and his Law by perfect Innocency and vanâ—uish all temptations to Sin this is the same with that Innocency which â—e say was the Condition But if he mean only Adhere to me sinâ—erely by love as thy Ultimate End and vanquish all temptations which â—ould draw thee from me to another Ultimate End or God this is â—he same with the first opinion which many Papists seem to hold 2. But the more common Opinion is that which I assert That Innoâ—ency was the Condition not only of Life eternal but of all the beâ—efits of Gods Covenant and the least sin the forfeiture of all They that are for the first Opinion think that if Adam had committed â—ut a small or venial sin as a sinful thought or desire after the forbidden â—ruit without the act or full consent it had been against Gods natural Goodness and Justice to have condemned him to Hell for it And conâ—quently that Christ died not to pardon the pains of Hell as due for such â—â—ttle sins but only temporal smaller punishments But God best knoweth his own Nature And nature telleth us That â—ll sin deserveth punishment And he that sinneth so far removeth his â—eart from God and forfeiteth his Spirit or Grace And he that hath â—nce so turned from God in the least degree cannot of himself return â—or heal himself and had no promise of Gods Grace to do it And â—herefore it is not to be supposed that he should sin no more but such a â—inute sin for greater will come in presently at that breach unless God â—ecover him which he was not in Justice bound to do And no one knowâ—th so well as God how much malignity is in the smallest sin And it was as â—asie for sinless Adam to have continued sinless as for carnal men now â—o forbear gross sin And he that sinneth deserveth not Heaven or Life â—nd there are divers degrees of punishment in Hell according to the degrees of Sin And Christ died for all our sins therefore they dâ— every one deserve death which consisted not with a right to Life therefore not with a right to Heaven And an immortal Soul was not naturally to be annihilated therefore to live in some punishment as separated And Rom. 3. 9. all were under Sin yet all had not gross Sâ—â—
not causa consilio But not immutable else he were no Creature An. You set up Free-will and Power more grosly in terms than I dare do though I suppose our meaning is the same Had I said thus what had I heard I only say that man may be a causa prima secundum quid of the moral specification or modification of his own Actions But he is simpliciter no causa prima of the Action in genere actionis else he were God But a causa principalis he may be called though not prima 2. You never proved that God cannot make a Creature naturally immutable dependently on himself that is such as will never change unless God change them nor that Jesus Christ is not such in his Humanity § 16. M. S. This confirmation is not by being in Heaven but by the Holy Ghosts special working on the Soul revealing still Gods Perfections to it An. And doth this Operation of the Holy Ghost make the Soul never the better in nature or disposition but only in Act Though it 's true that no habits immutably fix without the Influct of the Holy Ghost § 17. M. S. Merit is the suitableness of the work to the wages An. Merit is manifold and needs better explication In the Commâ—tative Justice of meer Proprietors merit is indeed the Comparative value of things and in works their suitableness as you say to the wages that is their equal worth But in distributive governing Justice there is no wages but only Reward And merit is the moral aptitude for Reward which is as various as the Law is that one is governed by There are five sorts of Law that by five sorts or ways of Justice require five sorts of merit 1. Gods Law of Innocency to Adam where Justice called nothing but personal perfect Obedience Merit 2. Gods Law to the Mediator who was obliged perfectly to keep 1. The whole Law of Nature 2. The Law of Moses 3. A peculiar Law of Mediation to die rise do Miracles c. The keeping of all this was Christ's Merit 3. There is Christ's Law of Grace to fallen man in the first and in the perfect Editions where our keeping of it is by Gospel-Justice called in Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our worthiness or merit that is in tantum secundum quid in relation to that Law That is to repent and believe to love God and obey him sincerely 4. There is the Law of Moses peculiar to the Jews which hath its peculiar required merit 5. And there are the Laws of Men appointed and allowed of God which have their peculiar Justice and Merit All these are not to be confounded much less all denied as if there were no merit but between Proprietors in Commutative Justice In which sense no Creature can merit of God § 18. M. S. According to that Covenant any one Act of Obedience in Adam would have merited confirmation and eternal life that is one act of holy love An. I believe it not because it is not written nor naturally revealed that I know of My reasons against it are 1. It is dangerous to add to Gods Word 2. The words In the day that thou eatest thou shalt die seemeth to look further than to one first act or day and is as much as whensoever thou eatest though he should obey till that time 3. It is utterly improbable that Adam did not perform one Act of Love or Obedience before his Fall For 1. We are uncertain how long he stood However confident some Rabbins and Broughton and some others are that it was the same day in which he was created 2. You confess he was made with powers sanctified and fitted to obey 3. Gods Law of Love was written in his heart and as old as himself and could not but oblige a fit subject to the act And he must sin all that while that he loved not God as God 4. He had many thoughts and affections all that while which were sinful if not animated by holy Love and done in Obedience to God 5. He spent some time which was sinfully spent if not spent in Love and Obedience 6. God spake to him and so had sensible Communion with him which must needs oblige him to some love 7. He had a Law given him to dress and keep the Garden which if he accepted not by consent in Obedience to God he sinned 8. He gave names to all the Creatures upon Gods bringing them to him which must be done obediently or sinfully 9. He had the Law of Marriage given him with the Woman which if he received not in love and obedience he sinned 10. He had all the World before him to shew him Gods Perfections and if yet he had not one act of love to God as God he hainously sinned 11. He had the Law of Love and Obedience given him by way of Covenant that is binding him presently to consent And he could not delay a willing consent one minute or hour without sin And consent is Love and Obedience in the first act 12. He loved himself and his Wife and other Creatures before his Fall But if he loved not God before then he all that while loved himself his Wife and all the Creatures more than God yea without God And then they were his Idols 13. Else he never used one Creature holily before his Fall and therefore sinfully 14. You make Adam to have had less actual good before his Fall than the weakest Christian now If not than many wicked men who have some moral good secundum quid though not simpliciter 4. I do not think that the Reward which Christ was to have for his fulfilling the Law was immutability or confirmation For I think he had that in his very nature by the Unity of the Divine and Humane in one Person But I think that the perfect Glory of his Humanity was part of his Reward Phil. 2. 7 8 9. Heb. 12. 23 c. And therefore that Glory hath much more in it than confirmation in Grace But it 's plain in the Gospel that it was not only one Act of Obedience which was Christs condition in order to his receiving the Fruits or full Reward of his Merits But it was perfect Holiness of Nature and Life to the end of his course on Earth Else you must say that Christ's first Act of Obedience was his performance of his covenant-Covenant-Condition and all the rest for some other purpose only which is absurd 5. One act of our Obedience now is not the fulfilling of all the Condition of the Covenant of Grace nor entitleth us alone to Glory unless God cut off our life as soon as that act is done Perseverance to the end is part of our Condition of Glory And we know of no such difference between Adam's Covenant or Case and ours as will prove it otherwise with him 6. Else it would make the Condition of the Covenant of Grace to be much harder and severer than of the Law of Innocency
be justified by any act of Faith in specie besides the recumbency on his Righteousness to be imputed to us or by any numero besides the first will likely say that it is Justification by another Righteousness than that which the Scripture saith is imputed to us to be justified by the Imputation of any but the first Act of Christ's Obedience Or else that if all be imputed we have a redundancy of Righteousness and deserve many Heavens or one oftener than needs But when men have received some unsound Principles all things must be forced to comply with them § 37. M. S. Towards the end the M. S. summeth up my Assertions and setteth down some as contrary to them In reckoning up mine he sheweth candor and ingenuity and a good memory having not the Book at hand But I must advertise his Readers 1. That he taketh all from my Aphorisms the first Book I wrote in my youth when my Conceptions of these things were less digested wherefore I have above twenty years ago retracted that Book till I had leisure to correct it and have since more fully opened my judgment in my Confession and in my Disput of Justification and other Writings and most fully in my Methodus Theologiae unpublished 2. That he over-looketh my asserting our Adoption to be by the Merits of Christ's Active Obedience yea and our Justification too as well as by his Passive 3. That reciting my words that it is by Gods Will in the form of his Donation or Covenant that Faith hath that use to Justification which is nearest it viz. the formal Reason of a Condition he leaveth out my other assertion that Faith 's material disposition or aptitude to this form or office is the very nature of it as fitted to that use about its Object Christ which Gods design and our case required His Assertions as against me are as followeth § 28. M. S. 1. There is no way to Life but by Doing It is not enough that the Law be not dishonoured but it must be glorified An. Doing is a word of doubtful sense It 's one thing to Do all that the Law of Innocency required and another thing to do all that the Law of Grace maketh necessary to life It 's one thing to Do all our selves and another thing for a Mediator to merit Pardon and Life to be given conditionally by a new Covenant by Doing all in kind and much more than all that we should have done for us though not in our persons The way to Life now hath many parts 1. Christ's perfect habitual active and passive Righteousness fulfilling the Law of Innocency and the Law of Moses and the peculiar Law of the Mediator to merit Pardon Spirit Adoption and Glory to be given by the New Covenant on its terms 2. The said New Covenant as the donative Instrument and Law of Life and Pardon and Adoption by it 3. Our doing or performing the Conditions of the New Covenant by Grace But our personal Doing all according to the Law of Innocency really or reputatively to be justified by that Law is none of the way of Life which you think the only way And I hope we shall both meet there § 39. M. S. It 's clear as the light of the Sun that their fundamental distinction is absurd to make sinning and suffering equivalent to doing because he that hath born the utmost penalty hath done no more towards living than he that never sinned or suffered else Adam in Innocency should have been sentenced worthy of life If a Servant instead of his Service steal and restore it he meriteth not his wages c. An. 1. It 's certain that you mistake and wrong us I never put sinning among the things that are equivalent to doing or meriting Of this before 2. I doubt you noted not sufficiently that no Creature can merit commutatively as a Proprietor of God as a Servant doth his wages nor can have any thing of God but what in respect of such merit and the value of the thing is an absolute free Gift free as to commutation And that all Gods Laws of Life are but a prescription of the wise Order in which he will give his free benefits As a Father will give Lands to the Son that will behave himself decently and thankfully and not to the contemptuous Rebel So that as to commutation no Man or Angel hath other merit than not to commerit the contrary perdition God is never the better for our Doing If you dream of meriting commutatively from a Proprietor by work for wages I can soon tell you what we set up instead of such merit I hope you had no such thoughts but want of due distinguishing But as to Doing and Merit in respect to Paternal Justice that which I set instead of fulfilling the first Law is a◠aforesaid not sinning and suffering but 1. Christ's Satisfaction and the Merit of his compleat Righteousness 2. The Gift of Pardon and Life by a new conditional Covenant merited and made by him 3. Actual Pardon of all sin thereby 4. Actual Adoption 5. Our fulfilling the Condition of that Covenant that these may be ours And thus the Law was dishonoured by our Sin but is glorified by Christs Obedience and Satisfaction And Gospel-Justice but specially Mercy glorified in our personal Obedience to the Gospel without such Doing indeed Christ's as Principal in fulfilling the Law in the Person of a Mediator and ours as subordinate in obeying the Gospel there is no Glorification And I think this is plain truth But in your instance of a Servant deserving his wages you seem to look at Commutative Justice when we have to do only with governing Paternal Justice And you should have remembred that if the Servant do not his Work in order of governing Justice it is his crime And if he have no fault he hath no fault of Omission And he that hath no Sin of Omission hath done all his Duty and so deserved the Reward As for Adam 1. In the first instant of his life he was bound to no present Duty before he could do a moral Act. 2. But afterward I think he merited in tantum pro tempore and had not the Condition of the Promise been of further extent than one act he had merited life But a Reward for a years Duty is not merited by an hours § 40. M. S. There is a medium between just and unjust He was non-justus He was not actually just though habitually He had done nothing for which the Law could justifie him else why did he not live for ever An. 1. Habitual holiness fits a Soul for Glory where no more is due as if one die immediately And so it would have done Adam had God translated him instantly and made him no Law of actual Duty 2. But afterward that Adam in Innocency did that for which the Law would justifie him in tantum for that time He fulfilled all the Law for so long else he had
sinned by Omission 3. But that Law giving life eternal only to Obedience to the end of his time of trial he merited not that life by initial Obedience This was initial imperfect Righteousness wanting perseverance but not a medium between Just and Unjust except as Just signifieth the merit of Life by persevering Righteousness to the last And so I never denied but in a disobliged Subject there is a medium Adam was not bound to do a years work the first hour and so was neither just nor privatively unjust as to the future years work but as to what he was presently obliged to he was either Righteous or a Sinner Here you come short of necessary accurateness Perseverance is a part of our Condition of Glorification Yet he that is not dead is just if he be a Believer and obedient And if God now call him by death he shall be glorified But he hath not now done all that is to be done till his death if he live longer So that his Right to the present possession of Glory before death is not justifiable but his Right in case he now die is § 41. M. S. Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 credere cannot be put in exchange for fac hoc and therefore justified only as it relateth to him who hath suffered and done for all that will receive him An. 1. Exchange is an ambiguous word Here is no proper exchange Faith is not a fulfilling of the Law of Innocency nor so reputed by God Christ did both satisfie for our not-fulfilling it and also by that and by fulfilling it himself not in our persons but his own did merit the free Gift of Life to us to be ours upon new Covenant terms and Faith and Repentance are the Conditions of that New Covenant and so are that Duty which is laid on our selves to do instead of perfect Obedience supposing Christ's Satisfaction and Merits which are instead of it quoad precium or principally as our said acts are instead of it as to what is necessary in our selves And the Apostle who so oft saith Faith is imputed to us for Righteousness doth neither by Faith mean Christ nor mean that Faith is imputed as a fulfilling the Law of Works But that having no such merit of our own or Righteousness our believing in him that hath satisfied and merited for us is reckoned to us instead of a Righteousness or Merit as being all that now is necessary to our Justification in our selves our persevering Obedience being afterward necessary to our Glory 2. No doubt Faith relateth to Christ and here connoteth him as its Object It were not Christian Faith else But it is also related to the New Covenant as its Condition and in that form hath its place to our Justification which cannot be denied Therefore you untruly say Only as relating to Christ and your words confute your self You say Who hath suffered and done for all that will receive him You speak either of secret Decree and that giveth no Right or of Covenant Donation And to say He and his benefits are given in Covenant to all that will receive him is all one as to say The Covenant giveth them on condition that we receive him which is true § 42. M. S. 5. It is impossible that the terms of the Covenant of Grace can be any other than they are because nothing but receiving him can make him mine An. 1. That proveth not that Faith is not the Condition but that it needs must be so 2. It is impossible now the Covenant is so made viz. ex necessitate existentiae But that God could have made it no otherwise is not a thing for man to say 3. Confound not passive Reception with active moral Reception Justificari is passively to receive Justification and to be first related to Christ as mine or to be one that he is given to is passively to receive Christ Active moral receiving is the Wills consenting thus to have him on all his terms and is the means of the other It is this and not the other that is Faith And could not God possibly have made Christ ours by any alteration of the terms sure they that confine Faith to the receiving of Christs imputable Righteousness will grant that God could possibly have put one act more of Faith into the Condition or onâ— act of Gratitude Desire Love or Repentance And Dr. Twisse thinks he could have given a man a Right to Life without Christ's Satisfaction and to Christ without Faith and that so he doth to Infants § 43. M. S. There is no Righteousness in point of Justification but only in conformity to the Rule Do this that only brings a man under the approving Will of God An. 1. But what is the Do this that you mean Adam's Law said Do this and live Moses Law said Do this and live The Law given to Christ said Do and suffer this and I will give thee Power over all Flesh to give eternal life to as many as I give thee and believe The Law of Christ to Sinners saith Do this and live This is the work of God that ye believe c. But all these Doings are different for all that It 's an unknown Faith or Repentance which is no Act or Duty 2. There is no Righteousness but the conformity to the Rule of Righteousness if you speak only of that Righteousness which is of that species But there is another sort He that is justifiable is just so far If Satan say Thou art condeâ—nandus to be damned to Hell and shut out of Heaven for breaking the Law of Works I must deny it not by saying I did not break it but keep it by another or I did not deserve damnation but by alledging He that is pardoned is not to suffer any pain of sense or loss I am pardoned by the New covenant through the Merit of the Satisfaction and perfect Righteousness of Christ Adam's Law will not justifie you nor Moses's Law neither The Law requireth personal perfect Obedience It never said Thou or another for thee shalt obey It knoweth no Surety To give a Surety and to accept his suretiship is the act of the Law Giver as above his Law not fulfilling that Law but securing the ends of Government and of it by another way To pardon a Sin and Penalty is not to fulfil the Law that threatened it but to dispense with it which Justice can do upon a valuable consideration securing the ends of Government And Veracity is not impeached by it For 1. The sense of silius mortis is Death shall be thy due and so it was 2. And death was actually inflicted on man himself though not all that which he deserved If the Law of Innocency justifie you you need no Redeemer you need no Pardon you need no New Covenant to justifie you nor can it do it 3. We are justified by Doing though not by our fulfilling the Law of Works by our selves or another We are justified
by two sort◠of Doing Principally by the Merit of Christ's perfect Righteousness and subordinately by our fulfilling the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace which Baptism celebrateth 4. Gods Will approveth of all that is good so far as it is good It approveth of habitual Holiness in Adam and would have done in his Infants had he stood and doth so in all Christians now And I will believe that Christ before he actually obeyed was under Gods approving Will. But not as one that had merited by Obedience For God doth not suppose any to do that which they do not nor oblige them to do to-morrows work to-day § 44. M. S. The issue in a word is 1. Suffering for Sin is not doing nor equivalent in point of Justification 2. Nor can God having satisfaction for what was done cross to his Law lay aside that in order to the conveying of Life and substitute believing instead of it Therefore Faith justifieth ratione objecti only Now we Do in another Christ instead of doing in our own persons An. I doubt this is another Gospel than the Apostles delivered us though I hope that practically we meet in one 1. To the first I answer It 's true but you do ill to intimate that we think otherwise Suffering by the Sinner never satisfieth because it must be everlasting Suffering by Christ satisfieth not meerly as suffering but as the voluntary suffering of God-Man aptly glorifying Justice and Love and securing the ends of Government This Satisfaction is not equivalent to doing in Justification For Doing all required would have justified us against this Charge Thou art a Sinner by Omission and Commission and thou hast deserved Death and hast not deserved Life according to the Law of Works Against this Charge I look for no Justification but confess it is all true But Christ's Satisfaction justifieth us against this Charge God must damn thee by paine of loss and sense or else he is not just because thou hast deserved it And Christ's perfect Righteousness also justifieth us against this Charge God must damn thee and deny thee life because thou didst not merit it by perfect Obedience The Justifier says No because Christ's Merit in Doing and Suffering hath glorified the Law and Justice of God instead of my Merit and hath procured us Pardon and Life given by the New Covenant 2. To the second I answer 1. God did not lay aside his first Covenant but man by sin did lay it aside by making the Condition impossible 2. You overturn the Gospel too much by thinking that the Law is not laid aside as a Covenant or Promise though I grant that the Precept as a Rule of Life continues To say that the sense of Adam's Law was Thou or another Christ for thee shalt obey And that we are justified by that Law is to confound Law and Gospel and make a Gospel of that Law and make the Covenant of Works not to condemn us or both to condemn and justifie and to feign man to live and be judged by the Covenant that is ceased God saith now to no man living Be innocent and so merit life that thou maist live And God doth not repute us innocent at all 3. To the third I answer It is notoriously untrue that Faith justifieth only ratione objecti unless you mean that efficiently it justifieth not at all which is true For we are justified by it also ratione foederis because that which is materially Faith in Christ a justifying Saviour and so connoteth its Object as the meritorious Cause of the free Gift and Pardon is by reason of this aptitude made the Condition of that New Covenant or Gift which is its nearest interest or reason of our being justified by it And it is the Law of Grace by which we must be judged and justified And at that Bar the question which Life or Death dependeth on will be supposing Christ's Merits whether we are penitent Believers or impenitent Unbelievers and so have part in Christ or not And if Satan accuse us as being impenitent Unbelievers and the question be whether we have true Faith or not my Opinion is that we cannot be herein justified by pleading the Object when the Act is questioned and saying That Christ fulfilled that Law unless you could prove that he justifieth impenitent Infidels and as Saltmarsh said repented and believed for us But the grand Case remaineth Whether we are justified by the Law of Innocency by fulfilling it and meriting in another without any sort of doing of our own by our selves Mr. Wotton Mr. Gataker and abundance more have long ago said much to confute your Error besides Mr. Bradshaw whom you name But I add I. I have before proved that by the deeds or sentence of the Law of Adam or Moses no man can be justified 1. He that hath sinned against it cannot be justified as not having sinned For factum infectum fieri is impossible to God himself 2. The Law that condemneth us doth not justifie us 3. What Paul Rom. 3. 4. frequently saith against Justification by the Law of Moses will hold here a fortiori And Christ keeping Moses Law as far as he was capable of Obligation that also would else have been imputed and so we should have been justified by that Law also which the Scripture copiously denieth He that saith He hath no sin deceiveth himself and is a lyar and the truth is not in him And the Law of Adam justifieth no man that hath sin II. We did not fulfil it and merit in Christ But Christ did in the Person of a Mediator voluntarily undertaking it on his Fathers terms and not as our Instrument or in our Persons I have else-where given abundance of Arguments against that which I must not here repeat This Author took notice of my Objection that he that is reputed perfectly Innocent and Obedient is uncapable of Pardon and needeth no satisfaction or remitting or rewarding Covenant besides that which he kept but answereth it not This subverteth the Gospel and Religion Quer. If there be no Reward nor Life but of Justice and no Reward but for Christ's Merits and all Believers equally merited in Christ as fulfilling all the Law 1. Whence cometh the inequality of Grace and Glory 2. How come any Believers to be left long under sins and weakness of Grace and temporal punishments III. The Merits of Christ have procured us the New Covenant sealed in Baptism by which we have a new Rule offiicii judicii for such is every Law Christ is not the only Subject of God He made us not lawless or Rebels God still ruleth the Church by a Law or Covenant This is the Law or Covenant of Grace Deny this Covenant and you deny the Gospel This Covenant or Law obligeth us to Duty And it promiseth and giveth Pardon and Life in and with Christ This Covenant hath Conditions various conditions of various Benefits Our first true consent which Baptism celebrateth that is
our first believing and repenting is the condition of our first Union with Christ and our Pardon and Adoption and the Spirit Our sincere Love and Obedience to the end and over-coming is the further condition of our final Justification at Judgment and our Glory This Covenant we are now under and by this we must be finally judged justified or condemned No man shall be saved unless if at age he personally perform the conditions of this Covenant And every one shall be saved that doth Faith Repentance Love to our Redeemer Gratitude Prayer sincere Obedience are all such Doing as by this Covenant are made the necessary means of Glory But not such Doing as Paul opposeth to the Jews as maketh the Reward not of Grace but of Debt The Author of this Law is just His Justice will give to the performers of the Condition all that he hath promised The Scripture oft useth all these Titles 1. That of Reward as being the state of the benefits retributed 2. That of Justice as being the principle of Reward 3. That of Works as being the matter rewarded even our personal Works wrought by Grace and not only those which Christ did 4. That of worthiness or merit as being the relation of the Work and Person to the Reward 5. That of Righteousness as being the state of the Person performing these Works as pronounced by the New Covenant If I prove not all these by express Scripture believe your new Gospel I. It is Reward Heb. 11. 6. He that cometh to God must believe that God is and that he is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him It 's he second Article of Faith Prov. 13. 13. Mat. 6. 4. Himself shall Reward thee openly and vers 6. 18. Prov. 25. 22. Mat. 16. 27. Then shall â—e reward every man according to his Works even Christ when he cometh â—n Glory with his Angels If you say He meaneth his Works done by Christ read Mat. 25. and believe it if you can So Rev. 22. 12. 2 Joh. 8. Heb. 11. 26. Col. 3. 24. Ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheâ—itance Col. 2. 18. 1 Cor. 9. 17 18. 1 Cor. 3. 8 14. Luke 6. 35. Mat. â— 12 46. 10. 41 42. Prov. 11. 18. Psal 19. 11. 58. 11. Heb. 10. â—5 II. Gospel paternal Justice rewardeth men supposing Christ's Merits â— Tim. 4. 8. A Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me and not to me only but to all them that love his appearing Rom. 2. 5. The righteous Judgment of God who shall give to every man according to his Works To them that by patient continuance in well-doing c. 2 Thess 1. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. Psal 67. 4. 46. 10. Psal 11. 7. Gen. 18. 23 24 c. And multitudes of other places Heb. 6. 10. God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love 1 Joh. 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins c. Isa 45. 22. III. The thing rewarded is called Works done by man not legally â—ustifiable but evangelically Mat. 16. 27. Rev. 2. 26. Rev. 14. 13. 20. 12 13. Jam. 2. 21 24 25 26. Rev. 2. 2 9 13 19. 3. 1 2 8 15. Heb. 6. 10. Rev. 22. 12. 1 Cor. 15. last And it 's called Doing 2 Thess 3. 13. and Gal. 6. 9. Rom. 2. 7. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 10. 36. Mat. 25. 21 â—3 12. 50. 7. 22 23. 6. 1 2. Luke 8. 21. Joh. 13. 17. Col. 3. 23 24. Heb. 13. 21. Rev. 22. 14. And keeping his Word or Commandments 1 Joh. 3. 22. and 1 Joh. 2. 3. and Joh. 15. 10. 14 15 16. Dan. 9. 4. Eccles 12. 13. Prov. 4. 4. Exod. 20. 6. Deut. 5. 29. Ezez 18. 21 c. And Obeying Heb. 5. 9. He is the Author of eternal Salvation to all them that obey him Acts 5. 22. Rom. 6. 16. Obedience unto Righteousness c. IV. The Relative aptitude of the Work for the Reward is called Worâ—hiness or Merit and the performer Worthy evangelically not legally And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 primarily signifieth that which preponderateth in the ballance but cannot note here any worth or merit by commutation but that aptitude which resulteth from the goodness of the action as related to the Promise Rev. 3. 4. A few which have not defiled their Garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy 2 Thess 1. 5 6. The righteous Judgment of God that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you suffer Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense to you that are troubled rest with us 11. That God would count you worthy of this calling Luke 20. 35. They which be counted worthy to obtain that World 21 36. That ye may be accounted worthy to escape and stand before the Son of Man So Eph. 4. 1. Col. 1. 10. 1 Thess 2. 12. Mat. 10. 37 38. V. The title of Relation given to the Works and Persons evangelically is Righteousness or Justice 1 Joh. 3. 7. He that doth Righteousness is righteous Matth. 25. 46. The righteous into life eternal 21. Well done good and faithful Servant v. 35. For I was hungred and ye c. Mat. 13. 43. Mat. 10. 41. Ezek. 18. 20 24. 33. 12 13 18. Rom. 6. 16. 8. 10. 1 Cor. 15. 21. Eph. 5. 9. 6. 14. 2 Tim. 4. 8. Heb. 11. 33. 2 Cor. 9. 9. And the godly are called Righteous in relation to their Hearts and Doings near an hundred times if not much more in Scripture though but in subordination to Christ's meritorious Righteousness and but secundâ—â— quid and not simpliciter See the Texts further recited in my Confession of Faith And now he that considering all this believes 1. That Christ is no King 2. Or we no Subjects 3. Or that he hath no Law of Grace or Covenant which we are under 4. Or that this Law or Covenant will not justifie them that perform that Condition from legal-executive damnation by giving them Pardon and Right to Life for the Merits of Christ 5. And that Faith Repentance and persevering holy Obedience will not materially justifie any man that hath theâ— from the charge of having no part in Christ because of Infidelity Impenitency Unholiness or Apostacy 6. Or that he that performeth the Gospel-Conditions shall not be judged rewardable or evangelically worthy of the promised Reward 7. Or that the same thing which as Good and a Benefit is a Gift absolutely free against commutative Merit is not yet quoad ordinem conferendi recipiâ—ndi a true Reward 8. And so that we have no Reward for any Works but what Christ did in his own Person 9. And that the Judgment-Day will be to try whether Christ did his part or not and so to judge him and not to try whether we have part in him and did our parts or not by repenting believing
received but by degrees and upon certain terms And with pardon a free gift of Life Spiritual and Eternal and so of the Spirit and Communion with God on the said conditions 15. The Promise Gen. 3. 15. is plain as to Mercy and Salvation and darker as to the promised seed and his mediation and dark as to the Condition on man's part But by Sacrifices c. it is like that Adam had it more explained to him than those short words make it to us But this is clear that by this new Covenant God becometh man's Merciful Redeemer and Pardoner and Ruler on terms of Grace in order to recovery and Salvation And that man was to Believe in God as such and accorâ—ingly to devote himself in Covenant to him 16. This Law or Covenant was made with all Mankind in Adam For all were in his loins and God hath given us no more proof that the first Covenant was made with Adam as the Father of Mankind than that the second was so made 17. Gods dealings with Mankind are a certain confirmation of this truth and an exposition and promulgation of this Law and Covenant of Grace as extended to all Mankind For God doth not use them according to the rigor of the violated Law of Innocency but giveth them abundant merâ—ies and means which tend to their Repentance and recovery and obligeth them all to Believe that he is merciful and their case is not desperate and to Repent and use his means and mercies in order to their return to God and their Salvation There are no Nations in the world that even to this day are not under such mercies means and obâ—â—gations and therefore none that are left as the Devils in Despair under the unremedyed Covenant of Innocency alone 18. But though the Law of Grace made to Adam be it which the world was then put under and to be Ruled by and the tenor of it extended to all Mankind yet those that would partake of the Blessingâ— of it were to consent to it as Covenanters with God and to Belieâ—â— in and obey God their Redeemer pardoner and restorer in the thankful sence of all this mercy which because the ungodly did not they and their posterity fell under a double guilt and curse both as violateâ—â—s of the Law of Innocency and of Grace and therefore incurred a specâ—â—â— penalty Cain and his off-spring being first thrust out further from the believing obedient people of God and at last the whole world except eight persons perishing in the deluge 19. Noah with his house being saved to be the Root of all Mankind that should succeed him God renewed with him and Mankind in him the same Law or Covenant of Grace which he had made with us in Adam with some additionals To shew us that though the wicked and their seed had forfeited the benefits yet the Covenant was not altered but stood in its first sence in force to all and would pardon and save all true Consenters 20. C ham for his transgression brought a new Curse on himself and his posterity besides the meer fruit of Adam's Sin So that thougâ— God altered not his Law of Grace yet they became a cursed Generation 21. By multiplyed transgressions the Sons of men did still more degenerate and revolt from God till Nimrod and others by wickedneâ—â— and presumptions brought down the new and grievous penalty of confounded tongues the great hinderance of the propagation of the truth to thâ—â— day And at last the most fell to odious Idolatry not knowing the true God but given up to sensuality and wickedness 22. Abraham being faithful and escaping the Idolatry and wickednest of the world was eminently favoured and beloved of God and beâ—â—â—ving Abraham's Promise and trusting God in his promises and in the great tryal of his Sâ—â— is honoured with the name of the Father of the Faithful And God renewed with him the Covenant of Grace which he had made to all men in Adam and Noah with special application to his comfort and addedâ— special peculiar Promise to him that his Seed should be a holy Nation chosen out of all the world to God and that of him the Messiah should come of both which Promises the common and the special Circumcision was a Seal 23. Yet this was no repealing of the Law of Grace which had been made to all the world nor was it an excommunicating or rejecting of all others or a confining of Gods Grace and Church to him and his posterity alone but only an exalting them above all others in these peculiar dignities and priviledges For at that time holy Sem was living and long after who in all likelyhood was a King and its like that the Posterity of him and Japhet were not all faln away from God and Melcâ—â—zedek was such a King of Righteousness and Peace and Priest of the most high God as was a great type of Christ's own Heavenly Priesthood and therefore it 's like had some Subjects that feared and worshipped God The Scripture giving us the History of the Jewish Nation and affairs â—â— the principal and of the rest of the world but a little on the by we cannot know by it the full state of all other Nations nor what Religion and Worshippers of God were there But the History of Job and his Friends the probability that all the Children of Ismael of Keturah of Esau forsook not God for they were circumcised and therefore were Covenanters with the Case of Nineve after and Abraham's thoughts that even a Sodom had at least had fifty righteous persons in it c. assureth us that the Jews were not God's only Church but a peculiar people and a Nation holy above the rest And as the Covenant of Grace was still the Governing Law to the rest of the world though most rejected it by rebellion so it is not to be thought that none consonted to it and were faithful 24. The special promise to Abraham of the Messiah to be his seed which was more than was made to Adam and Noah as it belonged not to Mankind in general so was it not promulgate or known to them but only to the Jews and the few that conversed with them Therefore the rest of the world were not obliged to know and believe it who never heard of it 25. What Conditions of pardon and life were necessary to all Mankind The terms of the Universal Covenant then in general is most probably gathered out of these Texts of Scripture Exod. 34. 6 7. And the Lord-proclaimed the Name of the Lord The Lord the Lord God Merciful and Gracious long suffering and abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children and to the Childrens Children unto the third and to the fourth Generation This is the description of God given by his own mouth as he is to
perfect edition of the Covenant of Grace to those that have the Gospel And it continueth to the rest of the world unrepealed as to the substance of the mercies of it further than men deprive themselves of them by forfeitures as wicked men here do as to the mercies of the Gospel But as it is a promise of Christ's future incarnation it ceased by his coming 3. The third is ceased by performance and by the Jews apostacy Though some think still that it is in force and that a national conversion shall perform that promise to the full But Mr. Calvert a Learned young man hath lately written to prove that no such national conversion is to be expected but only such additions of particular mens conversion to the Catholick Christian Church as are of that kind which hath been more fully done on the Jews already 4. As to the rest it hath troubled Divines how far Moses's Law is abrogated or ceased partly as to the Judicials and chiefly as to the Decalogue And that we may not be too forward to call one another Legatists or Antinomians for this difference those now called Antinomians being rather Libertine denyers of the Law of Christ I will notifie to those that know it not that it is as much a difference among the Papists greatest Doctors who yet bear with one another in it and the Pope decideth it not Some say that the Decalogue now obligeth not as the Law of Moses but only as the Law of Nature and of Christ So Soto de Instit li. 2. q. 5. ar 4. concl 2. Medina 1. 2. q. 103. ar 3. quem aliqui moderni sequntur saith Suarez de Leg. l. 9. c. 11. p. 761. and Tolet. in Rom. 3. Anot. 15. Salmer ad Rom. 7. disp 6. Victor Relict de Matrim 2. p. n. 3. Barrad To. 1. li. 2. c. 21. Valent. To. 2. disp 7. q. 7. punc 7. To whom Suarez joyneth himself confessing pag. 764 765. that if as some hold Moses Law had been only a Declaration of the Law of Nature and not de novo preceptive it could not be said to cease But he truly holdeth it to be constitutive or preceptive also to those that it was by Moses delivered to And of this opinion I profess my self notwithstanding all that on other points I have written against the Antinomians Believing that Christ now is the Universal Law-giver and that the very Law of nature as Nature it self is now His Law and that he hath taken it in to his Gospel administration and so the Decalogue is materially in force but not formally as part of the proper Mosaical Law save only that as Declarative and ex paritate rationis we may collect that God who for such reasons so bound them doth bind us to the same things by the same natural Reasons But there are other Papist Doctors that hold that as to the Morals Moses Law as preceptive is still in force even as then by him delivered and that to all Christians so Bellarm. de Justif li. 4. c. 6. Lorin in Act. 15. Vasquez who with Durandus Paludan Paul Burgens And Suarez saith that Alph. a Castro and most so speak And Vasquez denyeth the Law of Nature as such to have properly a Divine Obligation saith Suarez which he confuteth de Leg. l. 9. c. 11. p. 764 765. But this controversie when examined containeth not much more than verbal disagreement and so their mutual forbearance doth confess 34. The Jews instead of excelling in Holiness proportionably to their priviledges did grow carnal and proud and 1. Much neglected the Law of Nature 2. Much over-looked the spiritual Covenant of Grace made with them and all the world 3. And misunderstood the chief part of the special Promise made to Abraham not understanding commonly the high spiritual or universal Office and Kingdom of the Messiah but dreaming that he was but to be their Monarch to make them great and to subject the world to them 4. And they misunderstood the Law of Moses or Covenant on Mount Sinai as if the design of it had been but by its special holy excellency to justifie the doers of it by and for the doing and to pardon all the spiritual and perpetual punishment of Sin upon those terms which it appointed for a Political pardon and to give life spiritual and eternal upon those bare conditions on which their Law gave them Political benefits Over-looking the great causes of Justification and life in the Messiah and the common Covenant of Grace and Promise of the Messiah made to Abraham And this is the error which Christ and his Apostles found them in Yet proudly boasting of their Law and Political priviledges and despising all the rest of the world as out-casts in comparison of them 35. Though the behaviour of all the rest of the world till Christ's coming be little notifyed to us yet this much is sure that they were commonly more Ignorant and Idolatrous than the Jews that yet they retained the common notices of nature that they remembred by Tradition those intimations of the necessity of propitiatory Sacrifice so as to keep up the custom of Sacrificing among them That many of them with exceeding diligence sought to find God or know him in the works of Nature and Providence and attained to great and excellent understanding especially in Greece and Rome And many of them lived very strict austere and laborious lives in great Justice and Love and in the practice of many excellent Precepts towards God For the Heavens declared the Glory of God and the firmament shewed his handy-work Day unto day uttered speech and night unto night shewed knowledge There was no speech or language where their voice was not heard Their liâ—e went through the earth and their words to the worlds end Psal 19. 1 2 3 4. For all Gods works do praise him and the Lord is good to all his tender mercies are over all his works Psal 145. 9 10 17. He is King in all the earth He was not the God of the Jews only but of the Gentiles also Rom. 3. 29. Because that which may be known of God was manifest in or to them for God had shewed it to them For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made his Eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God neither were thankful Rom. 1. 19 20 21. God left not himself without witness in that he did good and gave men rain from heaven and fruitful seasons filling their hearts with food and gladness Act. 14. 15 16. Seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things and hath made of one blood all Nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation that they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel
whether he be a true Christian and must judge of his sincerity and right to Christ Justification and Salvation as he is or is not a sincere consenter to it truly understood in the essential parts SECT V. Of the Gift and Works of the Holy Ghost 72. There are three sorts of Operations of the Holy Ghost one common and two proper to them that shall have or already have Justification 1. The first is preparing common Grace which maketh men fitter for special Grace which yet they may have that perish 2. The second is that Grace of the Spirit by which we perform the The Thomists make the act of contrition and chariâ—y to be the ultiâ—ate disposition to Justification which is with them the habit And yet they say that it floweth from that habit And if the distinction of Alvaâ—ez Disp de Aux 59. p. 264. possim be not contradiction I understand it not Eadem contritio quae est ultima dispositio ad gratiam in genere causae materialis antecedit illam in genere tamen causae formalis efficientis est effectus ejusdem gratiae Though that which is the effect of one act of Gods Love be the Object of another act first Act of special Faith and Repentance called commonly by Divineâ— Vocation which goeth before any special habit but not before any holy seed Because the very influx of the Spirit on the Soul is as a seed which exciteth the first act before a habit though not ordinarily before some preparations This Faith is commanded us as our duty first and made necessary to us as the Condition of the Covenant And when we know it to be thus required of us and hear in the Gospel the Reasons which should perfwade us then the Holy Spirit moveth us by his Influx to believe and consent where God and man are conjunct Agents but man subordinate to God 3. The third sort is the Spirits Operation of the habit of Divine Love and all other Graces in the Soul which is called his In-dwelling and Sanctification This is that Gift of the Spirit besides Miracles of old which is promised to Believers To this Faith is the Condition To this upon believing it is that we have Right given us by Gods Covenant and thus it is that by Baptism our right to the Spirit as an in-dwelling Sanctifier and Comforter is given us 73. This third Gift or Work of the Spirit eminently so called is in the same instant of time given us as the second but not of nature or at least immediately thereupon when we believe But yet they are not to be confounded on many accounts 74. But yet though some degree of the Spirit be presently given to every Believer it is usually but a spark at first And there are further means and conditions appointed us for the increase and actual helps from day to day And he that will not wait on the Spirit in the use of those means doth forfeit his help according to his neglect 75. Hence it is that most if not all Christians have lower measures of the Spirit than otherwise they might have and that judicially as a punishment for Sin However God is free herein and if he please may give more even to them that forfeit it 76. This Covenant of Grace being a conditional pardon of all the world The extent of the New Covenant is universal in the tenor or sense of it It is of all Mankind without exception that Christ saith If thou confess with thy mouth and believe iâ— thy heart thou shalt be saved No person antecedently is excluded in the world 77. And as to the promulgation of it Christ hath commissioned his Ministers to preach this Gospel to all the world and to every Creature So Matth. 28. 19 20. Mark 16. 15 16. that to the utmost of their power they are to offer and publish it to the whole world And Princes and people are all bound in their several places to assist them and to help to propagate the Gospel throughout all the Earth So that the restraint of it is not by the tenor of the Law 78. Those Nations which despise and refuse the Gospel are justly deprived of it penally for that rejection 79. Those Nations that live inhumaâ—ely and wickedly against the means and mercies which they have do forfeit their hopes of more 80. As God in all Ages hath visited the sins of the Fathers on the Children as the instances of Cain Cham Nimrod and others commonly shew and hath proclaimed it as his Name Exod. 34. and put it in Tables of Stone in the Second Commandment and not only of Adam's sin so may he justly deal by the Posterity of the Despisers of the Gosâ—el in denying it them Though he may freely give it the unworthy when he pleaseth 81. All the rest of the world who have not the Gospel and the Covenant The state of those that have not the Gospel of Grace in the last Edition are left by Christ in as good a state â—at least if not better than he found them at his Incarnation He took â—way no mercy from them which they had 82. Therefore as it is before proved that before Christ's time none Of Zuingliu's Opinion of the Salvation of Heathens by name Hercules Theseus Socrates Aristides Antigonus Numa Camilli Catonâ—s Scipiones c. Vid. Montaâ—ut exercit Eccles 1. Sect. 4. Twissum contra Corvinum pag. 371. col 1. Omnium temporum una est fides Deum esse eundemque Justum Bonum Remuneratorem sperantium in se omnium plene meritis respondentem ante legem sub lege sub gratia Nemini rectum sapienti venit istud in dubium sine ista nemo unquam ingressus est ad salutem Rob. Sarisberiens Polycrat de nugis curial Pol. Peucer Hist Carcerum against the Lutherans Concord saith p. 715. Etsi nec ad Ethnicos ante natum Christum nec ad Judaeos post natum Christum misit singulares ministros sonuit tamen vâ—x doctrinae de Deo patefactae utroque tempore Hoc modo adhuc sonat ut exaudiatur nunc etiam a Turcis Judaeis Nec fuerunt unquam exclusi prorsus a gratia miserecordia Dei ante Christum Ethnici E quibus innumeri ex omnibus gentibus fuerunt ad Deum conversi Post Christum natum Judaei Panciores ex his tamen of the world were left desperate under the meer violated Covenant of â—nnocency but that the tenor of that New Covenant as made to Adam â—nd Noah extended to them all so are they still under all the Grace of â—hat Edition of the Covenant further than they are penally deprived of â—â— for violating it The Law of Grace in that first Edition is still in force â—nd the Law by which the world shall be governed and judged They â—re all Possessors of Mercy which leadeth to Repentance and bound to use â—he means afforded them in order
to Repentance and Salvation and it is â—heir sin that they do not For which it is ultimately that they are conâ—emned Though wickedness harden men against the Law of Grace â—hat changeth not Gods Law to them but brings them under the penalty Not that any are bound to expect a Christ to come but to perform the â—ommon Conditions of that Covenant before described 83. Therefore no man is now condemned for Original Sin alone Though it is pardoned to no man till he perform the condition of it in â—he pardoning Covenant For God having brought all men under terms â—f mercy tending to recovery they shall be judged as they use that recoâ—ering mercy according to that Law of Grace which they are under â—hether of the first or last Edition 84. The exception which some make of Infants is vain Because as â—ar as God hath revealed his mind about them to us he esteemeth them â—nd useth them as parts of their Parents and Owners and if he condemn â—hem it is not for Adam's sin only but also ultimately for their Parents â—ejection of recovering Grace and not devoting them to God in his Coveâ—ant And though God will not condemn the Children for the Parents â—in that is when they themselves repent and turn to God But the Scripâ—ure is most plain and frequent in expressing our guilt of our nearer Paâ—ents sins against Grace which is a part of our Original Sin and ought â—ot to be so slighted as usually it is However 1. It is an incredible â—pinion That God should rule and judge all the rest of the world by a â—aw of Grace and leave only poor Infants without any mercy under the â—eer Law of Innocency and judge them only by another Law than he â—oth all the world 2. And it is the trick of a Deceiver to argue ab â—gnotiore and carry his Cause into the dark And Infants Case is left to â—s in Scripture much darker than that of the adult 85. Therefore it seemeth plain to me that though Christ's Church be â—ow incomparably happier than the Jewish Church was in magnitude â—ight and grace and excellency of priviledges far above all the rest of the world and so excelleth the state of Heathens far more than the Jewish Church excelled them Yet the rest of the world stand now in much like relation to God and the Christian Church as before Christ's â—ncarnation they did to God and the Jewish Church who were his pecuâ—iar but not his only people the foedus peculiaritatis was theirs only but not foedus gratiae So are we much more as a holy Nation a royal Priestâ—ood to stand nearer God than the rest of the world But whether the Jews were all Gods people on Earth I have before discussed and proved â—he negative 85. But certainly in no Nation under Heaven there is no coming â—â— God or pleasing him without Faith nor seeing him without Holiness nor any Name given under Heaven by which men can be saved but by Christ Heb. 11. 5 6. Heb. 12. 14. Act. 4. 1â— Rom. 8. 9. Joh. 14. 6. 1 Joh. 5. 10 11 12. nor any Sanctification but by Christ's Spirit nor any coming to the Fathâ—â— but by the Son nor any Pardon and Life but by a Covenant of Grace â—â—â— by the Merits and Purchase of Christ. But how far he giveth this Sâ—â—â— and Grace where he is not known himself as Incarnate is all the difficulty As to Infants and Adult 86. Though God hath said less to us of their case that hear not the Gospel than of Believers and Unbelievers privative * * * I desire the Reader to peruse Gaâ—aker's Preface to Antoninus of the Stoicks that hear it because it less concerneth us to know it and to be busie in judging the Servants of another yet in this point are mens confideâ—â—â— and opposition most vehement On one side some say Before I would believe that God hath shut all the millions of the Earth froâ— Adam's days till now save a few Jews and Christians out of all possibility of Salvation so that they are left as the Devils without heâ—â— hope or means and perish Infants and all meerly because God wiâ—â— have it so and that in everlasting fire I will easilier believe that the Gospel is not true as having less of Natures light to condemn me thâ—â— for receiving such thoughts of the infinitely Good and merciâ—â—â— God On the other side if I do but open the undeniable Mercies of God to all which all the world hath experience that they possess and that Covenant of Grace which the whole current of Scripture proveth theâ— under some men that are so very wise in their own eyes as hardly to suspect any thing to be an error which they have long held and that build much of their Religion and Theological Reputation in adhering to the Opinions of those whose communion they think most honoureth them and out of a blind zeal for that which they account Orthodoâ— will presently without impartial consideration or friendly debate â—â—gisterially pass their judgment among those that reverence them and backbite those that they cannot confute and say Such a man holdeth dangerous Opinions that Infidels may be saved and it 's like falsly represent my words When yet the same men perhaps will maintain that all the Elect are justified before they believe and so that Infidels even privative are justified so they be but elect And this seemeth to them no injury to Christ so powerful is prejudice and pride aâ—â— partiality 87. The question whether any besides Christians are put into a possibâ—lity of Salvation is easily and certainly resolved in the affirmative from Subit me certe subinde ita ista dum lego affectum me sentio ingenue agnosco non stupor duntaxat sed horror etiam cum arcani Divini admiratione vâ—hementissima conjunctus serio apud me reputantem quam longe in multis ab â—o absim quod de se vir iste veri ad salutem perducâ—ntis tramitis ignarus de se profitetur nec quin vere ingenuem ambigi posse videtur ut proinde Marco Epictâ—â—â—â— tinâ— assurgens Hymnum illius vel maxiâ—o majorem prastantiorem decantare jugiter debeam Gataker Proloq â— Antoninum Read the multitude of Testimonies of the Virtues of Antonine collected by Gataker post opera Fuit Marcus Antoninus vir omnium â—irtutum sanctitate vitae praecipuus coelestisque ingenii Sâ— bast Munster Cosmogr li â— Bonitatis ac sapientiae numine ab omnibus dum viveret in ea aestimatione bonoreque habitus qua nemo unquam vel aâ—te ipsâ—â— â—â— quod nâ—viâ—us post iâ—sum fuerit Nunquam ita conspirarunt scriptores in tribuendo cuiquam quaecunque pâ—terant boâ—itatis inteâ—â—â—â— t is innocentiae cujusvis denâ—que tituli apud â—thnicos speciosissâ—mi testimonia Celebrant illum non tantum ut principeâ— optiâ—â—â— â—â— simpliciter absolute ut â—ominem optimum philosophum
all his Benefits are ever free Gifts â—â— to the matter and value first and then the relation of a Reward is bâ— secondary as to the Order of collation and the reason comparative whâ— one man hath them rather than another as a thankful Child hath the Gift which the Contemner goeth without 2. And that here Not to have this Gift forfeited by our sin is to be punished And so hâ—â—â— non-donari is puniri materially though the relations differ 3. And that it is the same Righteousness of Christ which meriteth our Impunity quoad damnum sensum and which meriteth our Right to the Gift of Life both sub ratione doni as a Gift and sub ratione condonationis as a forgiveness of the forfeiture and of the poena damni So that here â—â— no room for the conceit that Christ's death was only to purchase Pardon and his Righteousness to merit Life That which confoundeth men here is their taking the divers Respects and Connotations and Coâ—ceptions of one and the same thing to be divers separable things Thâ— same Law hath the Preceptive part to do and not do and the Retributing part penal and rewarding The same Obedience of Adam was â—â— doing what was commanded and a deserving what was promised â—â—â—â— more was promised to persevering Perfection than to the first act of Obedience One Sin deserved death but one act of Obedience desernâ—â— not immutable Glory And as the same Act is formally Obedience related to the Command and formally meritorious or praemiandus â—â— related to the Promise And the same Act is sin and punishable as related to the Precept or Prohibition and Threatening so the same Glory is a free Gift in one respect as related ut bonum to God as Benefactor and a Reward in another as related quoad ordinem conferendi to God â—â— Rector And the same loss of Glory is poena related to the Threatening and it is the loss of a Reward as related to the Promise And so the sâ—â—â— Merits of Christ's active and passive and habitual Righteousness because our Glory both by giving us pardon of our forfeiture and by Covenant-Donation and as a Reward to Christ and to us when â—â— perform the conditions of his Gift 133. And it is certain that Christ's Sufferings are first satisfactory and then meritorious being a part of his Active that is voluntary Oâ—dience And Christ's Holiness and Obedience are meritorious of pardon â—â— Sin as well as of Salvation 134. If there be as there is any thing which is given us througâ—â— Christ more than our own Innocency or Obedience would have mâ—â—â—ted the Gift of that is more than remission of Sin And is to be ascribeâ— accordingly to the Purchase of Christ's Merits But yet both his Holiness and Sufferings though not as sufferings did merit it And that was not a fulfilling of the Law in our stead 135. This superadded Gift what-ever it is seemeth in Scripture to be included in Adoption and not in Justification But yet it may in this sense be called Justification in that when our Right to that Gift is questioned that Right must be justified by the Covenant-Donation and by Christ's meritorious Purchase of it But this is only de nomine We are agreed of the thing 136. It is greatly to be noted that as a Reward is in the formal notion more than not punishing where materially they are the same so Christ hath not at all merited that eternal Life should be ours by way of Reward for our fulfilling the Law in him but that it should ours by his free Gift as a Reward to Christ for his own Merits So that the Relation of a Reward for Perfection belongeth only formally to Christ who taketh it as his benefit that we are saved through his love to Souls but not at all to us And to say as too many hold that Heaven is our Reward for our perfection of Holiness and Obedience in and by Christ is a Humane Invention subverting Christ's Gospel or unfit speech if better meant 137. Yet a Reward it is to us to be glorified but that is not for our fulfilling the Law of Innocency by Christ but for our believing in Christ and performing the conditions of the Covenant of Grace which giveth us Life as a free Gift but yet in the order of the condition it hath the relation and name of a Reward to us in the Scripture 138. So that here are three rewarding Covenants before us 1. The Covenant or Law of Innocency rewarding man for perfection to the end And this rewarded none but Christ And it is false that we are rewarded by that Covenant or justified by it for Christ's fulfilling it But it All the stir of the Papists is to prove that we have inherent Righteousness as well as pardon which Protestants are as much for as they The rest is de nomine justificationis Malder 1. 2. q. 113. a. 2. p. 572. Apostolus 2 Cor. 5. non aliud vult quam Christum cui nullum debebatur supplicium factum fuisse hostiam pro nostro peccato ut nos qui apud Deum nihil merebamur praeter supplicium justitia Dei fieremus in ipso id est gratis sine nostris operibus consequeremur per ipsius merita justitiam coram Deo What doth this differ from the Doctrine of the Reformed Churches Idem ibid Quando Apostolus dicit multos constitui justos per unius obedientiâ—â— significatur causa meritoria non autem formalis And so say we But some call Christ's Righteousness the causa materialâ—s meaning no more but that it is the matter of that Merit for which we are justified As if Adam had perfectly fulfilled the Law his fulfilling it had been meritorious of his sentential Justification and yet the matter of his constitutive Justification that is of his Righteousness And some uâ—â—ptly call it the formal cause But an unapt logical notion is not an error in Faith or Theology Idem ib. p. 573. Quamvis â—x omnino rigida justitia solus Christus Dominus satisfactat de condigno tamen ita ut merces operi â—ono debeatur post Dei promissionem meretur justus coronam justisiâ— quam reddet in illa die justus judex Est nostra justitia tota totum meritum tota satisfactio dependens a meâ—ito satisfactione Christi Still here is a wordy Controversie justified Christ 2. The Law or Covenant made only to and with Christ the Mediator And this Covenant further rewarded Christ as Mediator giving him all that it promised to himself and us for his performing the mediatorial conditions And so our Life is Christ's Reward 3. The Covenant or Law of Grace for it is the same thing in several respects that 's called the Law and the Covenant which giving Life on the condition of Faith doth justifie and reward Believers And we are justified and rewarded by no other Law 139. When Rom. 4. oft saith and other Texts that we are
instrumentally giving 4. Right to Impunity and Glory by Justification and Adoption conjunct the thing given which Right is our very Righteousness against â—his Accusation that is a relation whence the other relation of just and â—ustifiable resulteth For if you will not here see relations resulting from â—elations pretend not to true accurateness in your search 166. These four Causes now were enough to constitute and so prove â—s righteous against the Charge of being damnandi if we were questionaâ—le no further But the turning point of the day is yet behind 1. Our â—llegation of Justification by Christ and the Covenant may be denied â—t may be said by the Accuser that the Covenant justifieth none but â—enitent Believers and giveth plenary Right to Glory to none but saints â—nd persevering Conquerors and that we are none such Against this Acâ—usation we must be justified or perish else all the rest will be unâ—ffectual And here to say that it is true I died an impeninent Person â—n Insidel Hypocrite or Ungodly but Christ was a penitent Believer for Of our own personal performance or righteousness how far necessary to our Justification â—e or sincere and holy for me or that he died to pardon this all this will â—e false and vain Christ's Merits and Satisfaction is not the Righteousness it self which must justifie us against this Accusation But our own â—ersonal Faith Repentance sincere Holiness and Perseverance purchased â—y Christ and wrought by the Spirit in us but thence our own acts Mr. W. Thomas of Ubley in his Book against Speed the Quaker saith pag. 42. part 2. This is an old Popish trick to make much of the Doctrine of the St. James in a mistaken interpretation and to lay aside the Doctrine of St. Paul Rom. 3. 28. when they should joyn both together and ascribe to Faith the justification of men as sinners and to work their justification as Believers This is sound and needeth but fuller explication â—e that cannot truly say The Accusation is false I am a true Penitent â—anctified persevering Believer must be condemned and perish Thus â—aith and Repentance are our Righteousness by which we must thus far â—e justified 167. But this is but a particular mediate subservient Righteousness â—nd part of our Justification subordinate to Christs Merits 168. Yet this being the Condition on our part for our Participation â—n all the free Gifts of the Covenant Scripture useth to describe Gods â—udgment as enquiring after this The great thing to be glorified in â—udgment is Gods Love Wisdom Justice and Truth and Christ's great Merits and performance in our Redemption But the great thing questioâ—ed accused tried and judged will be our performance of the Covenant of Grace as to our conditions The day is not to try God whether he be â—ust or Christ whether his Merits and Satisfaction were sufficient and whether he have done his part But to try man whether 1. He have â—rue Right to Impunity and Glory 2. Whether he have performed the Condition on which the Covenant giveth that Right and be indeed the â—rue Receiver of it The Devils hope cannot lie at all in proving Christ or the Covenant faulty or defective on their part but in proving â—s to be none of the persons that have Right This therefore is the Righteousness mentioned Matth. 25. and of Faith imputed Rom. 4 c. â—nd else-where 169. But if we will speak of Righteousness and Justification entirely â—s that which containeth all its Causes we must set all the five forementioned together giving each one its proper place and no one the â—lace or office of the rest And give leave to the self-conceited pievish â—gnorant blindly to revile you for saying that you joyn your Faith and Holiness to make one Righteousness with that of Christ as if it were not sufficient And tell him that Christ's Righteousness is not ours absolutely in it self but to and in the proper effects And that it is perfect as to its â—roper ends And that he never intended it to this end to be instead of Faith and Holiness in us nor to make them needless to our Salvation 170. No man must ascribe any thing to his own Faith or Holiness iâ— the least degree which is proper to 1. Gods Mercy or Grace 2. To Christ or his Righteousness or Merits 3. Or to the Covenant not any thing but its proper part And that must be granted it 171. It is a vain Fiction in them that think our Right to Justificatioâ— or Impunity and our Right to Salvation have not the same causes and conditions but that our own Repentance and Obedience is a condition of our Right to Salvation but not to Impunity or forgiveness Whereas ouâ— very Justification is a justifying of our Right to Salvation and the same Covenant giveth them conjunctly on the same conditions 172. But our Right to both as begun hath less for the condition thâ—â— our Right to them as continued and perfected For our believing consent to the Baptismal-Covenant putteth us into immediate Right to all the benefits of the Covenant which we are then capable of but not to all that we shall be made further capable of hereafter we are pardoned and should be glorified if we presently died But as we have more Grace to receive so we have more Duty to perform as a means yea a condition of obtaining it 173. This over-lookt by many is much to be considered both as to the case of Infants baptized and the Adult Many wonder that the What right the Covenant giveth to the after-helps and degrees of Grace Children of godly Parents prove oft so bad as if by the baptismal-Baptismal-Covenant they had received nothing from God But the Synod of Dort Art 1. § 17. well concludeth that godly Parents have no cause to doubt of the Election or Salvation of their Children dying in Infancy they being holy and in the same Covenant with their Parents But the continuance of Gods Grace hath a continued condition and means to be used on our part The condition which the Covenant requireth to an Infants first Justification is that he be the Child of a true Believer by him dedicated to God And as the first Condition is to be found in the Parent or Owner so must the Condition of continued Grace as long as the Child continueth an Infant And that is the continuance of the Parents Faith and his faithful performance of his promise made to educate his Child in the way of God But if the Parents should presently both turn Infidels and so educate their Child and give him up as the Jâ—â—izaries are to an Infidel to educate I know God may nevertheless give him Grace above his Promise if he please for a Benefactor as such is free but I know of no assurance of it by Promise For in Baptism both Parties were obliged for the future and not one only And if when the Child cometh to the use of Reason he wilfully
reject and resist Gods Grace and break his Covenant he forfeiteth Gods further Grace And I have noted 1. That most Children which I have seen very early wicked have been such whose Parents grosly neglected their Duty and Covenant as to a holy prudent careful Education of them as if God must needs save their Children because they were the Children of Believers who thus betrayed them 2. And those that were well educated by their Parents usually shew hopeful signs at first till their own lusts grow up and deceive and overthrow them The nature of the mutual Covenant and the sad experience of the case of many baptized Children maketh me incline to this Opinion which I do not peremptorily assert but humbly propose to better judgments with submission â—ut what-ever we say of the Parents I doubt not but to the person at age future benefits have future conditions 174. Though Gods Decree is that his Elect shall persevere yet I conceive with submission to better information that the baptismal-Baptismal-Covenant as such doth not absolutely promise or give right to so much Grace as shall certainly cause the baptized to persevere that is all that are rightfully baptized even coram Deo as well as coram Ecclesia have not perseverance secured to them by baptism But only the Holy Ghost is given to them by Covenant to be their Sanctifier and carry on his work to their Salvation if they will use those means which God hath appointed and doth enable them to use in attendance on his Spirit Though Election infer the certainty of perseverance I never saw their assertions proved who say 1. That if Adam had once obeyed say some or overcome that one Temptation say others God promised confirmation to him and all his Posterity 2. That the Baptismal-Covenant promiseth confirmation and certain perseverance to all the baptized regenerate or justified What God doth I am not now questioning but what in that Covenant he promiseth to do 175. It is plain in the Scripture that when men are converted and baptized the particular helps of Grace are promised them upon further particular conditions And that the continuance of Pardon and Right to Life is promised them upon the continuance of their Faith and use of means And that actual Glorification is promised them on condition of overcoming and persevering And therefore that we must use and take all these as conditions 176. It is ordinary with some Writers and Preachers to tell men What must be in our selves that no part of their Righteousness is in themselves and with others that at least none which they are justified by in any part is in them and that it is all in Christ only And that nature is loth to yield to this but thinketh it a fine thing to have some little part of the honour to it self And as to the honour of a good Action if it be but 999 parts that it ascribeth to God and taketh one part of a thousand to our selves it is a dangerous arrogation we must have none This well explained may be made sound But thus grosly delivered it is but a popular cheat under the taking pretence of self-abasement and giving Christ all The Devil is as willing as any one that you should have nothing honourable or praise-worthy in you and be as vile as he can make you It is God who honoureth those that honour him and praiseth his Saints as the excellent on Earth and his Jewels and peculiar Treasure adorned with his own lovely Image and partakers of the Divine Nature and members of Christ as his own Flesh And it is Satan and wicked men that vilifie and dishonour them And I have oft lamented it that these very men that hold this kind of Doctrine of self-abasement as having no part of Righteousness nor share at all in any good work are yet too oft so proudly conceited of their own goodness even for holding that they have none for which they are praise-worthy as that their pride is no small trouble to the Churches and all about them 177. What-ever is of God is good and what-ever is good is laudable or praise-worthy and meriteth to be esteemed as it is 178. All the sanctified are inherently righteous But with an imperfect righteousness which will no further justifie them in Judgment save only against this Accusation that they are unholy 179. There is no Righteousness which will not justifie him that hath it in tantum so far as he is righteous For the contrary is a contradiction For to be just is to be justifiable He that gave but six pence to the poor is justifiable against this Accusation that he did not give it 181. All the Righteousness which formally justifieth us is our own or on our selves where it justifyeth us For to be made just or justified in the I would here cite the words of Bâ—za Paraeus Dr. Field Bonhaus Bâ—llinger Alberius Zanchy Aepinus Spangâ—â—bergius Brentius Coâ—fess Augustan c. Asserting that Justification is oft used as Sanctification in Scripture and that plenary Justification hath three parts 1. Pardon 2. Accepting us into favour and life 3. The gift of the Holy Ghost or inherent righteousness but that Guil. Forbes hath largely done it Consid Pacific 2 Thes 1. 9 10. first sence constitutively is nothing else but to be made such as are personally themselves just Pardon of sin is made our own Right to Christ and Glory is made our own Though Christ's Righteousness was the only meritorious cause of all this which therefore is and may be called our Material Righteousness as that which meriteth it is the matter 182. He that is no cause of any good work is no Christian but a damnable wretch and worse than any wicked man I know in the world And he that is a Cause of it must not be denyed falsly to be a cause of it Nor a Saint denyed to be a Saint upon a false pretence of selâ—denyal 183. As God is seen here in the Glass of his works so he is to be loved and praised as so appearing Therefore he that dishonoureth his work dishonoureth God and hindereth his due love and praise And his most lovely and honourable work on earth is his holy Image on his Saints And as Christ will come to be admired and glorified in them at last so God must be seen and glorified in them here in some degree And to deny the Glory of his Image is the malignants way of injuring him and that in which the worst will serve you He that will praise God as Creator and Redeemer must praise his works of Creation and Redemption And is it the way of praising him as our Sanctifyer to dispraise his work of Sanctification 184. Those poor Sinners of my acquaintance who lived in the grosseâ—â— sins against Conscience as Drunkenness Whoredom c. have been glad enough of such doctrine and forward enough to believe that there is nothing in man that in any part can justifie
hatred and other punishment God then is reconciled because they are not objects of his hatred And to take away the Reatum poenae and the Reatum culpae non in se sed quoad poenam is all one and all that both sides mean if they understand what they say But to all eternity it will be true that we once sinned which none deny obedience 5. Or as if there were any obedience whose end is not Righteousness and Justification against the change of the contrary disobedience Do not these men obey that they may be so far righteous Or is not every man so far Righteous as he doth Righteousness Is not every man that loveth God justifiable as a Lover of him for so far as he loveth him 6. And is not Gratitude an end and a thing commanded by the Law If we obeyed perfectly in Christ we were perfectly thankful in Christ 7. But if they say that Christ fulfilled only the Law made to Adam for us and not his own Law of Grace and therefore that he obeyed for us only to the ends of that Law I answer 1. If the ends and matter of that Law be fulfilled by us in him our obedience to any other must be needless For he that is supposed never to have sinned need not use any means for pardon or remedy 2. By this rule Christ only fulfilled the Law for Adam and Eve and for us only as we were in them which is only Virtually and not Actually at all but not at all for us according to any obligation that ever fell upon our persons For 1. We were never personally bound to perfect personal perpetual obedience as the Condition of life For that Covenant as to the promise and condition ceased before any man was born 2. And all the duty in the world which â—â— are bound to is to be done for Evangelical ends for recovering Grace and unto Gratitude c. To say therefore that we are perfectly Righteous as having perfectly obeyed all Gods Law in Christ and yet that we are bound to obey all that Law that ever we were under to another end and that Christ obeyed for us only as to that which we were never under personally but virtually in Adam this is to say and unsay 8. Lastly they see not that their own answer implyeth the truth of what we assert and is the same that we give which their cause is uncapable of â—â— We say that Christ did indeed most perfectly obey the Law of Innocency so far for us and in our stead though not in our persons as that he hath vindicated the truth and glory of God and his Law by doing that which we should have done and did not And hath merited for us a better Covenant which obligeth us not at all to obey for the ends of the first Covenant viz. that our perfection might be our Righteousness or the condition of life but only to obey for the ends of the new Covenant for the obtaining and improving of Recovering Grace and Salvation by Christ freely given us which we our selves must do or perish 190. And whereas they tell us that We may as well say that man must not dye because Christ dyed for us as not obey because Christ obeyed for us They strangely use our reason against themselves and know it not For we say that we must dye because we did not perfectly either obey the Law or suffer all its penalty by Christ as our legal person But he suffered only to satisfie Justice in tantumâ— to this end that man himself suffering death and temporal afflictions and obeying the Law of Grace might be saved from all the rest of the punishment But if we had so fulfilled the Law as aforesaid by Doing or suffering we could not have dyed nor suffered the least affliction as a penalty For all punishment in the essence of the â—elation is for sin 191. And when they say that It is no more inconvenient to say that Christ was perfect in our person than that he satisfied in our person and we by him I answer 1. Both are false and subvert the Gospel as aforesaid 2. But yet we may fitly say that Christ suffered in the person of a Sinner but mark the sence 1. Suffering as penal belongeth to a Sinner as such But Satisfaction is an Effect of Christ's suffering which resulteth not from the meer suffering nor from the person of a Sinner but from the Will and Covenant of God made to that excellent person who was God and perfect Man So that it is not so aptly said He satisfyed as it is that he suffered in the person of a Sinner 2. Note that it is not any other man's person that we mean that Christ suffered in but his own And we mean that he took upon him the person of a Sinner himself in as much as he consented to suffer for Sin And so personating here is not meant becoming any other man's person in Law sense so as that other legally suffered what he did But it is only his own persons becoming a sufferer in the stead of Sinners for their Sins As the Apostle saith He was made sin for us so he might as truly have said He was made a sinner for us that is so far by Imputation as that he undertook to suffer as Sinners suffer and for their sins But because wordy controversies seeming real are the great troubleâ—s of the world lest any should think that we differ more than indeed we do I would fain bring the matter as far from under the ambiguity of words as possibly I can To which end I further add 1. That as we hold that Adam was the Natural Root or Parent of Mankind so also that Christ was the Foederal Root of all the saved and in several respects though not all a second Adam 2. Adam was but one single Natural person nor did God by error or arbitrary reputation esteem or account him to be any other than he was None of our persons were distinct persons in Adam nor those persons that now they are Therefore we were not so personally in him at his fall But all our persons are in time and mediately by our Progenitors derived lineally from him yet we deny not all Souls to be from God and all Bodies an accretion of the common Elements not as having been Persons existent in him but being Persons caused remotely by him Our present Persons were seminally or virtually in him which is as much as to say that not the Person but the Semen Personae vel virtus causalis was in him To be only Virtually or Causally or Seminally in Adam is in proper speech for that Person not really to have been in him For Causa non est effectus Virtus generativa non est Persona generata To be only Virtually in Adam is terminius diminuens as to personal inexistence and denyeth it And as Dr. Twisse hath oft well asserted It is our natural relation to Adam
the Natural power in it self but by so doing formaliter relativè it maketh it no power ad hoc to the contrary in that instant Of which more anon § 10. Such grace of God as cometh from his Absolute Will or Decree of the due Event is never overcome For Gods decree is not frustrate § 11. Gods gracious operations are never overcome by any contrary Act but what he himself is the Agent Cause of as an Act For in Him we Live and Move and Be. Yet man is the only Cause of the Inordination of that act by which it is set in opposition to Gods other acts For God doth not militate against himself § 12. The case lyeth thus God antecedently to his Laws framed Nature that is the Being and Natural Order of all the World and so he became the Head or Root of Nature the first Cause who by his wise decree was to concurr to the end with that Natural frame and to continue to things their proper forms and motions And man is one of his creatures having a Nature of his own to which God as the God of Name doth Antecedently concurr By this natural concurse of God the fomiâ— cator the murderer the thief c. are naturally able to do those acts But being free agents that can do otherwise God maketh them a Law to restrain and regulate them And when they break this Law they resist that gracious concurse which suitable to the organical cause God conjoyneth with the means But they do this by their Natural power and activity not used as God requireth them but turned against his own Law So that if God would withdraw his sustentation and destroy mâ—ns Nature they could not resist his grace But that he will not do being his antecedent work and so God is resisted by his own-given-power and act disordered and turned against his grace § 13. The Will of God which is thus resisted is only 1. His Preceptive or Legal will de debito 2. And his will of purpose to give man so much help and no more by which he can and ought to believe and Repent is said to be resisted or frustrate so far when by mans fault it doth him not that good which it might have done § 14. Gods Grace and Spirit are said to be resisted when the Word and other Means are * * * That God doth govern inseriora per superiora and work by means not for want of them but from the abundance of his Goodness so as to communicate to his creatures the dignity of causality See Aquin. 1. q. 103. a. 8. q. 104. a. 2. Alexand. 1. p. q. 26. m. 5. a. 2. 3. m. 7. Albert. 1. p. q. 67. m. 4. a. 1. Richard 1. d. 39. a. 2. q. 3. d. 45. a. 2. q. 2. Agid. Rom. 2. d. 1. p. 1. q. 2. a. 6. ibi Gabritl d. 1. q. 2. resisted which call him to his duty For these themselves are gifts and acts of grace § 15. But it is not the barâ— Word or Means alone but the Spirit working in and by those means which is so resisted For though no moâ—tal man can clearly know just how the Spirit concurreth and operateth by the Word and Means yet we may know that God doth limit his own operation to the aptitude of the means ordinarily and that he worketh with and by them not according to his Omnipotency in it self considered but according to the means or organs And as in Nature he operateth nor quantum potest but agreeably to the order and aptitude of Natural Causes so in Grace he operateth non quantum potest but according to the aptitude and order of the sapiential frame of Governing-means of grace § 16. When the preaching of the Word Education Company and other visible Means seem equal God hath innumerable means supernal internal external invisible and unknown to us by which he can make all the difference that he maketh in men So that we cannot prove that ever he worketh on souls without any second cause or means at all though we cannot prove the contrary neither And therefore he that resisteth all means for ought we know in so doing resisteth all Gods gracious operations on his soul § 17. * * * I know not how to find both sense and concord in the words of your Alvarez de Aâ—x l. 7. disp 59. p. 264. Eadâ—m contritio que est ultima dispositio ad gratiam in genere cause materialis antecedit illam In genere tamen causae formalis efficientis est effeclus ejusdem gratiae propterea quamvis non sit meritoria gratiae est tamen meritoria vitae aeternâ— Et p. 265. Contritio qua penitens disponitur ad infusionem gratiae habitualis est meritoria vitae aeternae ut Thom. 1. 2. q. 112. a. 2. ad 1. Ergo est effectus gratiae habitualis Nulla enim operatio hominis est-meritoria vitae aeternae nisâ— procedat à gratiâ— habituali ordine saltem naturae sit ea posterior How can the Act be the ultima dispositio to the infusion of that habit which it floweth from Unless he mean eadem specie and not numerically which yet is false For it is not eadem or else he falsly supposeth that the same Love of God may go before Grace Whereas Dr. Twisse so frequently asketh Whether Gods condional will and so his operation be Volo te velle modo velis or credere modo credas to give us faith if we believe and so maketh non credere or non velle to be the only resistance and the Arminians to be ridiculous in making the effect antecedent to the cause as a condition of the causation and itself This semi-subtilty though it beget voluminous confidence must cry peccavi if a little more subtilty do but detect the defectiveness of it We are not now enquiring of the Rationes fidem habendi but of the Rationes non habendi nor are we enquiring Whether God have made a Covenant or formal Promise of giving faeith upon antecedent conditions But whether he deny or give-not grace for actual faith effectual or sufficient to any but those that resist and wilfully omit the preparatory acts which they were able to perform even preparatory Volitons Or if you will make the question to be de ratisnibus fidem habendi not de causis Actus donandi Whether God do not ordinarily give or produce the act of faith in that soul which doth not wilfully resist and omit such preparatory acts as it could do even Volitions And so I answer 1. It is not I will give thee faith if thou wilt believe or I will make thee willing if thou be willing of the same thing But it is 1. If by resisting common preparing grace thou so harden â—hy heart or increase the privation of receptive aptitude in thy self as that the same degree of grace means help impress will not change thee which otherwise would
Cor. 7. Else were your Children unclean but now are they holy will soon be convinced that we are born under more guilt and punishment than what we derive from Adam 3. And even Adam's sin could not be or is not made ours immediately but as we derive it from our nearer Parents For our nature is no otherwise from him Why am I guilty of what Adam did but because I have a nature that was seminally in him And was it not proximately in my nearer Parents And can they convey their part of Adam's guilt and pravity to me and no other 4. And few sober men can deny but that the Children of some Gluttoâ—s Drunkards Fornicators c. derive extraordinary diseased and vitiously-inclined temperaments from their nearest Parents 5. And no peculiar reason can truly be given for our guilt or pravity from Adam which reacheth not to prove the derivation of the like from our nearer Parents save only 1. That Adam only was the Original 2. And in Adam we sinned under a Covenant that gave no pardon But now under a Covenant of Grace A. If this hold it will make easie the Doctrine of Original Sin which I confess to you that I have been inclined to doubt of by your Divines fastening all upon Gods Arbitrary Imputation rather than from the Childrens seminal in-being B. Doubtless they have much tempted Arminius Episcopius Arnoldus Corvinus Bishop Jer. Taylor and others to say so much against Original Sin as they have done by feigning an unproved arbitrary Covenant of God made with Adam and his Posterity which was no Law of Nature nor is made to any other since according to the change of the Covenant and by which God imputeth Adam's sin to us not because we were in his Loins for then it would extend to others but because it was his Will to do so As if it had been God and not Adam that defiled our Natures and made us all Sinners by an unnecessary if not ungrounded imputation By which also they have kept men from knowing their secondary birth-sin * Dr. Twisse frequently speaketh rightlier of the reason of the imputation of Adam's sin The Church of England prayeth not for the Dead but for the Living when it saith Remember not our Iniquity nor the Iniquity of our fore-Fathers And Nehemiah and Daniel were of the same mind A. But they say that then our Sins would increase as Ages go on and the last Age would be the most sinful B. Men will say almost any thing in their partiality while they look but on one side 1. The Covenant is now changed which men sin under Not so as not to extend to Children But it is now a pardoning Covenant And when the sins of the Fathers are pardoned to themselves they are pardoned to their Infants dedicated to God in the same Covenant even by the same 2. But where they are unpardoned there is a certain sort and degree of guilt increased on the Posterity and so no wonder if many Kingdoms of Heathens and Infidels feel it 3. But as it is not so much to have a nature essentially derived from Parents and to be seminally in them as it is to be a sinning person so the guilt proportionably differeth 4. And there is a pardon of some temporal punishments which God giveth some bad men in this life 5. And as to the punishment in Hell there is a certain degree that God will not exceed in hiâ— execution and that humane nature as it is is capable of no more And a man may have many Obligations to one and the same punishment as he may to the same duty and so a man is but hanged or put to death that hath deserved death seven times over among men For the ends of punishment set the bounds in all executions A. Well but what say you to the second The perishing state of Heathens B. II. I have said so much in the First Book that I must refer you thither Now only saying 1. That it is first to be considered what Law they are under 2. And next how they keep it 3. And then how they are judged by it 1. Undoubtedly all the World is now under the Law of Grace as to the essentials as it was made with all men in Adam and Noah though not as to the mutable part which bound men to expect a future Messiah That Law was made with all Mankind Gen. 3. 15. and is never repeâ—â—ed to Mankind The World was under it as to Obligation before Christ's Incarnation And Christ took no benefit from them which they had Clemens Alexandrinus and other Fathers erred not in this to much as some have charged them to do No man is now under the Covenant of Innocency alone 2. But how all men keep or break their proper Conditions of this Law of Grace as they are under it he that knoweth every man in the World and all their hearts and deeds can tell but not I. 3. And no doubt but they are judged as they kept or kept not the Conditions of that Law of Grace which they were under What difference there is 1. Between the Conditions to the Christian-Church now and the Jewish of old 2. And between the Conditions to the Jewish of old and the rest of the World I have shewed partly Lib. 1. But because many self-wise persons are bitterly censorious against me or any man that speaketh of any possibility of the Salvation of any save Jews formerly and Christians now I beseech the sober but to think of this one thing that Abraham thought there had been fifty righteous persons in Sodom even when God had told him how much worse it was than other places How many then proportionably did he think there was in Canaan and all other Countries of the World By which Abraham's judgment about the Salvation of others is manifest though he was mistaken in thinking Sodom better than it was And I desire to be a Son of Abraham and am not wiser than he A. This seemeth plain truth however the World take it And it is a wonder to me that any good man should take it ill to have so much of Gods certain Grace acknowledged But what say you to the third point The necessity hence of sinning B. I have answered it to you before I now add 1. It is not a physical necessity from the principles of Nature but a moral necessity from the pravity of Nature 2. It is not caused by God but by sinful man 3. It is not a necessity of committing all sin or every particular sin nor of omitting every duty 4. It is not an uncurable necessity 5. God of his free Grace hath provided the remedy himself and tendered it in some degrees to all 6. And he appointeth to all men certain duties and means to be used to this end which they can use 7. Therefore it is no necessity What cold comfort the Papists give to Infants and what insufficient Grace they have
have followed thereupon The just Extenuation of this last Controversie IN all these things following the parties are agreed for the most considerable 1. That Adam fell from true Righteousness and Holiness and lost the Spirit 2. That therefore we cannot argue from the Nature of Holiness alone to prove that it cannot be lost 3. That as the word Possible relateth to man's Power to do evil and omit good it is not only Possible to fall away but too easie yea it is not opus potentiae sed Impotentiae except as Natural Power is exercised in the meer Act with Moral Impotency 4. Yea without Gods preserving Grace it is not possible to persevere 5. God hath appointed us much duty to be done that we may not fall away And among the rest to discern and fear the danger of falling away and in that fear to depart from evil and temptations 6. God hath promised us Salvation on Condition that we persevere 7. God oft threatneth the faithful with damnation if they fall away and describeth to us the sin and misery of Apostates 8. The Justified may lose many degrees of true Grace and dye with far less than once they had and so become uncapable of that Greater Glory which they were morally capable of before 9. It 's too possible for them to fall into heinous sin They are not certain that they shall never commit Adultery Incest the Murther of Parents Wife or Children c. nor certain just how oft they may so fall or not 10. Such Sins make them so far morally uncapable of Glory as that See the Brittish Divines Suffrages at Dort of perseverance a sound Repentance for them and from them and a renewal of Faith are necessary to full right or moral capacity 11. God doth not decree any man's perseverance let him live never so securely negligently or vitiously For those that do so are faln already It is a contradiction to persevere in holiness and to live unholily But Gods Decree is ever entire that such a one shall fear danger fly temptations live holily in the use of means and therein persevere unto the end He never separated these in his Decrees 12. Except Hierome truly accuse Jovinian with it there is not that I know of any Father Christian or Heretick that hath written that Lege Vossi Histor Pelag de Perseverant no truly Justifyed persons fall finally away from Grace and perish for above a thousand years after Christ And it 's commonly granted that generally they held the contrary Even Augustine Prosper and Fulgentius not excepted 13. It is confessed to be a sad clog to the contrary opinion that it is held against the Judgment of the Universal Church for above a thousand years and so seemeth to bear the imputation of novelty and singularity Though that be not a sufficient confutation of it 14. It is confessed that the Greek and Roman Church the Lutherans and Arminians and most Anabaptists are against this Doctrine 15. It is confessed that all these Fathers and Churches of old and all these Churches and Christians of late are not void of the Christian comforts of the Gospel even of faith and hope of Glory 16. It is confessed that the Scripture hath many passages so much seeming to favour both the opinions as hath made the controversie thus difficult to so many Learned Godly Men And what the Scripture is it will be to the worlds end 17. It is confessed that none can be sure of Salvation or perseverance who are not first sure of their Sincerity and Justification 18. And to be uncertain whether one be a true believer and justified is more uncomfortable than to be sure of that and uncertain of his perseverance 19. No man can ordinarily be certain that he is Sanctified and Justified that is not certain of the truth of the Gospel and hath Grace somewhat strong and active not clouded by great Soul-wounding Sins nor frightful or melancholy passions nor any that through Ignorance is uncertain of the true Nature of the conditions of the Covenant of Grace 20. Certain experience of the defect of these qualifications and of mens own Consessions assureth us that not one of a multitude of the strict Religious sort have that which we call proper certainty of their Sincerity Justification and Salvation though they hold against the Arminians that certainty of perseverance must be asserted as that which may be attained by them that are first certain that they are in a state of life 21. Yet the fore-mentioned knowledge of Gods Mercy Christ's Love and Covenant with experience and many evidences of great probability may cause even such as are uncertain of their Justification to live in some good measure of true Christian peace though mixed with some doubts and fears Because their Probability is much greater than their cause of fear And much more may they do so that doubt only of their perseverance 22. It must be confessed that the Doctrine that none fall from Justification hath its temptation also to discomfort as in the two or three fore-mentioned particulars which I 'll not repeat 23. It is confessed that if God should condemn those whom he before Justified it would argue no change in Him or his Word but in them alone 24. It is confest that some Justified persons who live in as much sin as will stand with sincerity are at present unfit for assurance of perseverance and salvation For it would not stand with that humbling correction which they are then most fit for 25. Lastly it is confest that this point is no Article of our Creed nor is an agreement in it necessary to Church-communion or Christian Love but difference in it must be accounted tolerable In all this the moderate are commonly agreed On the other side 1. It is commonly granted that all that are elected to salvation shall persevere though how far that election is upon foresight they quarrel Cur ergo id quod Apostolis tunc fecit Christus non concedemus pro omnibus praedestinatis fecisse ut peculiari modo sua merita illis applicaret perseverantiam eis obtineret nam si multi sancti pro aliis orantes conversionem eorum perseverantiam impetrarunt cur dicemus Christum pro omnibus praedestinatis non orasse peculiari suâ oratione tantam gloriam gratiam illis obtinuisse Vasquez in 1 Tho. q. 23. a. 8. d. 94. c. 3. 2. It 's granted by all that not only such election but fore-knowledge of salvation and perseverance maketh it Logically Impossible quoad consequentiam not to persevere that is It Necessarily followeth God foreknoweth it Therefore it will come to pass 3. It is commonly granted that God forsaketh none till they forsake him 4. And that so great is his Goodness that no willing â—oul that solidly understandeth the Grounds of the Christian faith and hope and is in Love with God and Holiness and willing to use means and avoid temptations hath any
faith mentioned so oft in Scripture that is Upon and by believing we are first made just by free-given pardon and right to life and true sanctification with it and we are sentenced just because so first made just But this is not without our Faith and Repentance 2. And that Faith and Repentance are a Righteousness Evangelical that is a performance of the conditions on which the Covenant of Grace doth freely give us right to Christ pardon and life and so are the Constitutive causes of that subordinate Justification Lib. But your subordinate Righteousness hath no hand in our Justification P. This is but singing over the old Song by one that will not consider what is answered Have you thought on all the Texts even now cited Hath faith no hand in our Justification Hath the performance of a Condition and the Moral Disposition of the Receiver no hand in the Reception of a Gift What think you is the meaning of Christs words Matth. 12. By thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned What meaneth St. James that a man is justified by works and not by faith only Are men justified by that which hath no hand in their Justification Lib. Christ meaneth before men and so doth James and not before God P. This is notoriously false as contrary to the plain Text Christ speaketh of the Account to be given of our words in the day of Judgement vers 36. And James speaketh of that which men are saved by vers 14. and that Justification which Abraham had and that in an instance where Man did not justifie him and of that which was faiths life and perfection vers 17 22. and of Gods imputing faith for righteousness as to a friend of God vers 23. And is this nothing but Justification before men Lib. This is not the justifying of the man but of his faith P. 1. You contradict the Text which saith Abraham Rahab A man is justified by Works 2. You contradict your self For if the faith be justified the man is justified to be a true believer For how could a man that fulfilled the Law as Christ and Angels did be justified but by justifying his actions And how can he that fulfilleth the Gospel conditions be justified in that point but by justifying that he fulfilled them Lib. At least I may say that this is not the great and notable Justification which is only by Christs Righteousness P. We are not contending for its preheminence but its truth and necessity in a subordinate place Indeed we have one Justification by our Judges sentence which hath many parts and causes God as Donor is one cause and God as Judge another And Christ as meriting is the only meritorious cause of the Justifying Gift and Covenant and Christ as Intercessor another cause and Christ as Judge another And our Righteousness as it is our Right to Impunity and life another and our faith and Repentance are conditions All this is sure Lib. But the Justification by faith is our Universal Justification and that can be only by Christs Righteousness And we are not to trust to a Righteousness mixt of Christs and ours nor doth Christs Righteousness need to be patcht up with our menstruous rags P. 1. No question but Christs Righteousness is perfect and ours imperfect and ours is no patch or supplement to Christs He is not made righteous by our righteousness but we by his 2. But that which is perfect in him is not made perfectly ours nor formally ours in it self as distinct from its merited effects It is not ours as it is Christs Christ that is our Righteousness is also made of God to us wisdom and sanctification And will you say therefore that we are not to be Wise or Holy by any Wisdom or Holiness of our own for fear of adding our patch to Christs 3. You use to say that Christs Righteousness is ours as Adams sin is ours and say some as Adams Righteousness would have been had he persevered But 1. Adams Righteousness would have indeed made an Infant initially just by propagation that is the innocent Child of an innocent Parent But as soon as that Infant had the use of Reason and Choice he must also have a Righteousness of his own or perish And this is no patch to Adams righteousness And indeed in his Infancy he must have a seminal Holiness of his own to justifie him as well as the relation of a Son of Adam 2. So also though we are guilty of Adams sin by propagation yet we have with that guilt 1. An inherent pravity of our own 2. And at age our actual sin And both these are our unrighteousness as well as Adams sin imputed to us Even so Christ the second Adam is a Root of a righteous seed Our Contract by faith is as to him what our Natural propagation is as to Adam that is the Condition of our Interest in his merits We have as believers an initial righteousness in our relation to Christ But we have also from him 1. Inherent habitual righteousness 2. The actual righteousness of faith and true obedience and love And these have their proper use and office without which we must perish 4. And I must tell you that the word Universal is too big to be properly given to any mans justification or righteousness but Christs Properly he only is Universally justified or righteous who hath no unrighteousness at all imputable to him and is justifyable in all things But the best believer 1. Was once a sinner originally 2. Did oft sin actually 3. Hath still sin in him 4. And for some sin may be punished by the Magistrate 5. And for sin is judged and punished by chastisements and death by God 6. And the earth still cursed for our sake 7. Yea which is worst of all we are still under the penaâ—ty of some privations alas how great of Gods Spirit and its Grace and our Communion with God And all this must be confessed And such a one is not Universally justified or just Lib. But still our own Righteousness doth but make us such as thankful persons must be for their Justification by Christ and is no part of that Justification by faith For if faith it self be that Righteousness we have not faith by faith and faith is not imputed to faith but Christs Righteousness is it that is imputed P. Of Imputation in due place 1. What need you talk against that which none of us assert Do we not all hold that our personal Gospel-Righteousness is subordinate to Christs and is by his Gift as ouâ— Wisdom and Sanctisication is Who dreameth that our faith is any part of Christs Righteousness But why do you waste time in vain cavilling against plain certain truth Is there any thing in Name or Thing asserted by us that you can deny or question Quest 1. Do you deny that Scripture commandeth us to Believe that we may be justified Lib. No. P. Quest 2. Or
Remedying means and duties for himself Lib. No that must not be imagined P. Quest 2. Is not all this commanded by the Law of Grace Lib. Yes If it be a Law P. Quest 3. Was not Christ under a Law which bound him 1. To obey all the precepts of nature perfectly without sin 2. To obey all the Mosaical Law as far as he was capable 3. To do all this a sa Mediator to reconcile God and man And to dye for sinners to work Miracles to send out Apostles to gather a Chruch to intercede for us and to present us Justified and perfect to his father And are we obliged to do so too Lib. No one so imagineth P. Quest 4. Did not Christ as a Covenanter undertake all this And do we do so too And do not we in Baptism our selves consent and promise to take God the Father Son and Holy Ghost for our Father Saviour and Sanctifier and to forsake the flesh the world and the devil Is it Christ only that is Baptized Nay did Christ ever receive such a Baptism as this to wash away his sins and deliver him a pardon Is it Christ or we that at Baptism make these promises to God Is it to Christ or us that Christ himself saith If thou believe and repent thou shalt be saved Doth Christ as King make Laws and Covenants to bind himself only Who seeth not that hath any sense of Scripture matters that The Mediators case office and work is one and ours another that It is one Law that was given him and another to us yea that which seemeth the same was another being not formally but materially only the same and forma denominat For he was to fulfil the Law of Moses and of Innocency to such ends as a Redeemer and with such difference from our case that it was not formally but materially and that but in part the same Law and so his Baptism was formally another thing from any ones Baptism else in the World It was one thing that Christ promised and undertook in his Covenant with the Father and it 's another thing that we undertake and promise It 's one thing that God promiseth to Christ upon his Merits that he shall see of the â—ravail of his soul and be satisfied and another thing that he promiseth us that our persons shall be Justified sanctified and saved In a word by the Law given to Christ Christ himself is Governed as a Subject and Justified and Rewarded by God as his Judge for fulfilling it By the Law given to us we are the subjects and Christ is the Governour Lawgiver and our Judge who will Justifie reward or condemn and punish us I know not how that man can preach the Gospel that knoweth not the difference between the Law and Covenant made to and with Christ as Mediatour and the Law and Covenant made to and with us and in Baptism solemnly prosessed Children should not be ignorant of it Lib. But it is the same thing which is promised to Christ and us viz. that we shall be justified and saved and this is promised first to Christ and therefore the words cited may be justified Christ is the seed of the woman who is first to break the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. P. 1. The same thing may be promised to different persons in different Covenants To promise to Christ that his elect shall be saved and to promise Believers that they shall be saved are two promises 2. What one word do you find in Gen. 3. of a Covenant or promise made to Christ It 's true that he is the principal Seed there meant though not the only But he is the Promised Seed It 's one thing for a promise to be made to Christ and another thing that Christ as the viâ—torious seed â— be promised to man There is no promise in Gen. 3. to Christ mentioned â—â— and what can be meant by a Promise of God to God himself but a prophecy and promise of a Saviour to man But if there had that would not have proved these two to be one Understand the tenour and difference of these several Laws and Covenants of God or pretend not to understand the Scripture viz. 1. The Law and Covenant of Innocency made to Adam â— The Law and Covenant made to and with the Mediatour for our Redemption 3. The promise Law or Covenant of Grace of the first Edition made to Adam and all in him and renewed with Noe and mankind in him 4. The Law and Covenant both of Common Grace and of Peculiarity at once given to Abraham and perfected in the Law and Covenant of Works made by Moses with the Jews 5. The Law and Covenant of Grace made by the Incarnate Mediatour and the Father by him in the second perfect Edition with eminent peculiarity CHAP. VI. Whether the New Covenant of Grace have any Conditions Lib. V. BY feigning the Covenant of Grace to have Conditions you make it to be a Covenant of works P. Either by works you mean any humane acts And so all Gods Covenants with man and his Laws are of works that is It is some act of man that they require For what else can be commanded Or you mean as Paul doth when he calls the Jews Law a Law of works And if so you falsifie his doctrine or ours Prove if you can that by works he meaneth every humane Act and that Faith it self is either no Act of man or the works meant by him Lib. Faith is a work but it is not put in the Covenant as a work required of us but as a gift to be given to us freely P. Judge whether it be required of us and that formally as a condition by such texts as these yea whether obedience be not required as a Condition of our salvation which is promised thereupon 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godliness hath the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come Mark 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned Rom. 10. 8 9 10 13. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead N. B. this is an act distinct from accepting his Righteousness thou shalt be saved For with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness and with the mouth Confession is made unto salvation For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved Matth. 6. 14 15. For if ye forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will also forgive you But if c. Rev. 22. 14. Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have Right to the tree of life c. See Isa 1. 16 17 18. 55. 6 7. Luk. 13. 3 5. 1 Joh. 1. 9. Act. 3. 19. Heb. 5. 9 c. Lib. God promiseth a Reward to our Actions not as ours but as hâ— own gifts P. 1. Enough is said of Rewards before We shall
not by such talk as this believe either that God Rewardeth himself or that he Rewardeth not us But we easily grant that he rewardeth us for nothing which cometh not from his free bounty For no creature can have any other good 2. But if Faith and Love and Obedience be not commanded to us but only given us then they are no Duties but Gifts only and unbelief hatred of God and disobedience is no sin nor brings no punishment Lib. At least they are no Conditions of the Covenant P. Do you think that they are any proper Means of our Justification and Salvation as their End or not Lib. Yes I dare not say that they are no means at all Faith and Repentance are Means of our Pardon and Holiness and Perseverance of our Glorification P. What sort of means do you take them to be Lib. They are such Gifts of God as in order must go before Salvation P. Going before signifieth only Antecedency and not any Means Lib. One Gift maketh us fit for a thankful improvement of another P. This speaketh them only to be a Means to our Thankful improvement and not to our Right to the things to be improved Lib. I do not think that they are a means of our Right or title P. Rev. 22. 14. Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have Right to the tree of life c. Lib. It may be translated that wash their garments and that they may have power upon as Dr. Hammond noteth P. 1. The Alexandrian Copy which giveth him this occasion is singular and not be set against all other though the Vulgar Latin go the same way Beza who yet thinks that a transposition of two Verses hath darkned these Texts this Book being negligently used because many for a time took it not for an Apostolical Writing or Canonical yet saith that it is contra omnium Graecorum codicum fidem that the Vulgar goeth 2. But all 's one in sense For to wash their Garments is to be sanctified or purified from sin and not only from guilt of punishment And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth such a Power as we call Authority oâ— Right usually But what maketh you deny Conditions on mans part Lib. Because 1. It is supposed that a condition is profitable to him that requireth it 2. It is some Cause of the benefit 3. It is to be done by the performers own strength whereas God giving â—s Faith that can be no condition on our part which is first a Gift from him that requireth it For to give it first maketh it no condition of ours P. Here we see what it is to quarrell about ambiguous Words No one of these is true that you say of the common nature of a condition or at least as we mean by that word 1. Civilians define a Condition to be Lex addita negotio qua donec praestetur eventum suspendit As it is Required it is only Modus promissionis donationis vel contractus as Performed it is only a Removal of an Impediment and a Disposition of the Receiver So that as the Non-performance is but the suspension of a Causation so the performance of a Condition as such is no Cause efficient But it is dispositio subjecti which you may call a necessary Modus of a Material Cause as the Recipient may improperly be called Dr. Twisse therefore calleth faith Caâ—sa justificationis dispositiva 2. So it be an act of our own it is no way necessary that it be done without the Commanders help or gift For he that giveth us to believe doth give it by this means even by commanding it and making it a Condition of his further benefits that so he may induce us as rational free agents to perform it ex intuitu mercedis or by the motive of the end or benefit For he causeth it by suitable means And no doubt but faith and the rest are free acts of ours though caused by Gods grace 3. And it is accidental to a Condition that it be any way commodious to the Imposer What profit is it to a Father that his Child put off his Hat and say I thank you And yet he may make that a condition of his gift What profit is it to a free Physicion that the Patient observe his order in taking his Medicines And yet he may give them on that condition But yet I will add that as usually men make that the condition of a Gift or Contract which the person obliged is backward else to perform and that which is somewhat either for the Donor or Contracters Interest or the Ends of his contract so God who taketh his Glory and Pleasure in his Childrens Good to be as his Interest and the End of his Gifts and knoweth how backward we are to our duty doth on these accounts impose on us our duty and conditions his Pleasure and Glory being instead of his Commodity But if If be a conditional Particle and if Gods suspending by the tenour of his Donation our Right to Justification upon our free believing and our Right to Salvation on our free obedience do prove Conditionality as it doth all that we mean then you see that the new Covenant hath conditions Lib. Doth not God promise us the first Grace even to take the hard heart out of our bodies and give us hearts of flesh and new hearts c. And I pray what condition can the first grace have unless you will run in infinitum to seek Conditions of Conditions P. 1. This is a Cause of great moment of which I have my self had darker thoughts than now I have 1. If one Benefit of the Covenant have no Condition viz. the first will it follow that none of the rest are given upon condition May not God in Baptism give us a Right of special Relation to the Father Son and Holy Ghost his Love Grace and Communion Pardon Adoption and Glory on condition of Faith and Repentance and yet himself give us that Faith and Repentance which is the condition of the rest 2. But upon fuller consideration it will appear that It is not the first Grace that those promises mean by a new and soft heart For who ever will examine them shall find that the Texts mention Conditions and also antecedent Grace And indeed A new and soft heart is but the same thing which the New Testament calleth Sanctification And yet that Sanctification is promised as consequent to Faith as its condition And our ordinary Divines do accordingly distinguish of Vocation and Sanctification holding that in Vocation the Act of Faith and Repentance are caused by Gods Grace before proper Habits and that Sanctification is the Habits specially of Love and Holiness following them vid. Ames Medull de Vocat Rolloc de Vocat Hookers Souls Vocat Humil. Rogers of Faith c. And this is the new and fleshy heart But what need we more to prove that Covenant Conditional which I mean when it is nothing
the believing sinner may stand before this righteous and holy God is to affirm the eternal damnation of all the World VII The Covenant mentioned justifieth not but declareth our Justification which is the immediate proper effect of Christ's righteousness VIII Never any man in his wits affirmed that the righteousness of Christ is the formal cause of our Justification Give us but leave to call it the material cause or the meritorious cause immediately and properly of Justification c. Some will think that they are great and heinous errors which either these words or some of mine that seem contrary import But I must crave leave here to follow my usual method in separating the Controversies de re de nomine and then I think that even these strange words prove not him and me at so great a distance as they seem to intimate For I grant him as followeth de re 1. That God hath such a decree of Election or eternal purpose as he describeth and calleth the Constitution of the Covenant 2. That God doth wisely and graciously execute this Decree 3. That all Grace and Mercy is given by Christ And therefore so far as Mercy is common Christ is the common cause of it 4. That Christ himself is a blessing or gift decreed and also freely given by God even from his love to the World Joh. 3. 16. 5. That God's electing Act or Decree as in him hath no condition nor his purpose to give Christ as a Saviour to mankind 6. On our part no condition is required either that God may elect us or that the first promise of a Saviour be made or that Christ come into the World or that he fulfill all righteousness or that he obey or die or rise or be glorified or come to judgment or raise the dead or that he enact it as his Law of Grace that he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned 7. Nor is any condition on our part necessary absolutely necessitate medii that the Gospel or the first Grace yea the first special Grace be given us 8. That Christ by his suffering and merits hath procured to his elect not only pardon and life if they believe and obey him but Grace to cause them effectually and infallibly to believe repent obey and persevere 9. That no man can or will believe and repent but by his Grace 10. That to give men a promise of pardon and life if they will believe repent and obey the Gospel is not the whole of Christ's Grace to any but where-ever he giveth this he giveth also much means and gracious help by which men may do better than they do and so be more prepared for his further Grace 11. That if God only gave men a promise of pardon if they believe and gave them no Grace to enable or help them to believe it would be no saving Covenant 12. God did not repeal his Law of Innocency or as he had rather call it of Perfection nor did properly dispense with or relax the preceptive part of it Nor is it absolutely ceased as to a capable subject And therefore Christ was bound to perfection 13. God would not have his Law to be without the honour of the perfect performance of mans Mediator though it be violated by us all 14. No man is saved or justified but by the proper merit of Christ's perfect obedience yea and his habitual holiness and satisfactory sufferings advanced in dignity by his divine perfection 15. This merit as related to us supposeth that Christ as a Sponsor was the second Adam the Root of the justified the reconciling Mediator who obeyed perfectly with that intent that by his obedience we might be justified and who suffered for our sins in our room and stead and so was in tantum our Vicarius poenae as some phrase it or substitute and was made a curse for us that we might be healed by his stripes as he was obedient that his righteousness might be the reason as a meritorious cause of our Justification which supposeth the relation of an undertaking Redeemer in our nature doing this and in our stead so far forth as that therefore perfect obedience should not be necessary to be performed by our selves And righteousness therefore is imputed to us that is we are truly reputed righteous because we as believing members of Christ have right to impunity and life as merited by his righteousness and freely given to all penitent believers And Christ's own righteousness may be said so far to be imputed to us as to be reckoned or reputed the meritorious cause of our right or justification as aforesaid Thus far we are agreed de re And then de nomine I willingly leave men to their way of speech 1. If he will call God's Decree his Covenant in Constitution 2. If he will call the execution of his Decree his Covenant in execution 3. If he will call nothing else the Covenant of Grace or at least nothing of narrower extent but what comprehendeth God's eternal Decrees and the promise and gift of a Redeemer and so of the rest I cannot help it his language is his own But I shall tell you further my thoughts de re de nomine 1. De re 1. God's eternal decrees purposes or election give no one right to Christ Pardon or Life and so justifie no man 2. The execution of God's Decrees yea of Election hath many Acts besides Justification 3. It must therefore be some transient Act done in time ad extra by which God justifieth men 4. There are divers such acts concurring in several sorts of causality or respect 5. Christ's meritorious righteousness and satisfaction are the sole proper immediate causemeritorious of all the Grace or Mercy procured and given by him there being no other meritorious cause of the same kind either more immediate or at all co-ordinate and copartner with him 6. As Christ giveth us Holiness qualitative and active by the real operation of his Spirit though he merited it immediately himself so doth he give us right to impunity to the further Grace of the Spirit and to Glory by the instrumentality of his Covenant as by a Testament Deed of Gift or Law of Grace Which by signifying God's donative will doth not first declare us justified or to have the foresaid right to Christ and Life but doth first give us instrumentally that right and so immediately justify us And God's will giveth us not right as secret or of it self but by such instrumental signification 7. God hath signified his will to us partly by absolute gifts and promises and partly by conditional that such there are he that denieth must deny much of the Scripture Christ was absolutely given to fallen mankind for a Redeemer and so was the Conditional Law or Covenant of Grace and many other mercies But he hath made and recorded a conditional Gift of Christ as in special Union to be our
positis omnibus ad agendum requisitis potest agere vel non agere limiteth omnibus to second causes Annatus playeth upon his oversight as if he said that Agere posset voluntas sine requisitis ex parte causae primae But no doubt Dr. Twisse meant the limitation as to the non-agere only and that with the explication non quasi motio Divina sit inter ejusmodi prae-requisita quae voluntatem creatam indifferentem relinquat Though indeed we cannot imagine that the causae secundae should operate and ponere omnia ad agendum requisita sine prima And we may well say indeed that Voluntas potest non agere if the second cause only do its part when non potest omnino agere This therefore should be better opened 182. If by omnibus requisitis be meant only merè necessariis sine quibus agere non potest Voluntas this taketh not away the Moral much less the Natural Power ad agendum vel non-agendum nor necessarily determineth it But there may be such an effectual or * * * That August Anselmâ— I â—mbard Aquin. Scotus held some Liberty conâ—stent with necessity see their words cited by Pennottus li. 1. c. 15. p. 32. And so doth Alph. à Castr advers Heres in â—b Liberl for which see Rada â—â—â— 1. most accurâ—tely potent operation on the will as shall Certainly and Constantly determine it by causing to determine it self and antecedently take away its Moral power ad contrarium though not its Natural Of the difference between the Natural and Moral power I shall somewhat insist and elsewhere more at large 183. The Natural Liberty of the Will must be distinguished from its Moral Liberty from evil dispositions and its Political Liberty from restraining Laws 184. The Natural Liberty seemeth to †††Quid sit Libertas vide Ockam Quodl 1. q. 16. Soncin Meta. l. 9. q. 17. Scot. 1. d. 39. lit F. Waldens Doct. sid antiq li. 1. c. 25. Medin 1. 2. q. 6. art 2. Bannes 1. p. q. 83. art 1. dub 2. concl 2. prob 4. and many desinit cited by Pennottus l. 1. c. 33. p. 63. Vid. Pennol l. 1. c. 3. five senses of Liberty But it is no perfect distribution And whereas cap. 14. he maketh only Election as distinct from Volition in four respects to be the formal act of the Will as free it is true as freedom is taken in the narrowest sense as above-cited But there is a freedom also of all Volitions And there is One common Notion of Liberty which is a genus to both And he confesieth that the will ad finem is free quoad exercitium actus consist in these three things 1. That the Will as a finite dependent Creature be a Power given and upheld by God of self-determining or morally specifying its own acts without any necessitating Pre-determiner Divine or humane Where note that all Divine Predetermination taketh not away that Liberty But not to be able to determine it self without Divine Physical Efficient Predetermination is inconsistent with its Natural Power and Liberty 2. Liberty containeth the Wills Empire over the inseriour faculties respectively with variety Despotical or Political 3. To be from under the power of any creature as to necessitation 185. As the Posse Velle hoc vel illud velle aut non velle in quibusdam sine divina vel alia extrinsica praedeterminatione is the Wills Natural Liberty so not to be pre-determined to sin in act or habit by God or creatures is the Wills Political Freedom or Libertas Condition is as Dr. Twisse calleth it which God himself hath given it and never taketh away from it 186. And to be Habitually and Actually Holy is the Wills Ethical Liberty which all men have lost so far as they are corrupted by sin and all men have recovered so far as they are sanctified by Grace This is the Free-will which Grace restoreth to us 187. Habits do not determine the Will infallibly per modum nature or necessitate its act Because a man oft acteth contrary to habits 188. There are some things which Natural Inclination infallibly causeth the Will to determine it self to without the loss of its primary natural Liberty 189. For all Liberty lyeth not in such an Indifferency as Morally may fall either way But a certain Natural Liberty is consistent with a constant certainty of self-determination ex Inclinatione Naturali as 1. To a simple * * * Aug. de Nat. Grat. cap. 46. Perquam absurduâ—n est ut ideo dicamus non pertinere ad Voluntatem nostram quod beati esse volumus quia id omnino nolle non pâ—ssumus nec dicere audâ—mns ideo Deum non Voluntatem sed necessitatem â—aòere justitiae quia non potest Vâ—lle pectarâ— He that would fully see the sense of August in Prospen and Fulgentius de â—ibert with least labour let him read all their own words in Paul Iren. his â—ias Patruâ— Volition of our own felicity 2. As to a simple Volition Boni sensibilu quà talis 3. As to a Volition medii unici noti ubi nihil repugnat 190. And yet here I mean but quoad specificationem actus For quoad exercitium it may be omitted 2. I confine it to simple Volition which may consist with †††The common doctrine that Election or comparate Volition is only de Mediis is false No one thing is necessarily our end God is refused by the wicked Felicity may be refused if put in competition with pub-lick good or Gods will He is a Beast that would not choose to be annihilated rather than the World or Kingdoms should be annihilated But the simple Volition here is necesâ—ary Comparate Nolition of the same thing 191. Some Habits are so strong that with the Concurrence of convenient objects and circumstances the Will doth never act against them and though they do not absolutely necessitate nor take away the Natural power ad contrarium yet do they constantly procure that power to determine it self well or ill according to them as resembling a Natural Inâ—lination in some degree 192. That which is commonly called Liberty is not the greatest excellency of the will or felicity of man An indifferent and undetermined state is a middle state between that of Brutes and Angels and is fitted to a Viators condition But so far as Grace and Holy Habits fix the will to a constant certain self-determination to Good so far is it set in such a Liberty of excellency as Gibieuf describeth above our state of loose indifferency 193. Because Order is necessary to a clear and full understanding and all our controversies are indeed resolved into this of Free-will I will here delineate it as I understand it I. FREE-WILL as to the Quid nominis is ambiguous as to the Object and is I. Libertas proprie dicta Quae semper est Libertas ab aliquo Malo viz. I. A malo Effecto
still have heard Obey and live or Sin and die And if Adam â—ad obeyed till his translation to Glory or confirmation in the Reward I find not in Scripture any Promise that this should have been imâ—uted to his Posterity as the full performance of the Condition of their Life or confirmed Happiness but that still their own sinning would have been a possible thing and death would have been the wages of their Sin You seem not to set Adam's Merits and imputed Righteousness any â—igher than Christ's And I am too sure that the justified Members of Christ do sin and must ask daily pardon And whether or not they be confirmed against total Apostasie I am sure few if any of them are confirmed against the possibility or existence or futurity of Sin And if you say that Adam's Posterity though confirmed should have sinned too but should have been pardoned as we are It would be another presumptuous addition and contradiction of Scripture to assert Pardon without a Saviour and a pardoning Covenant 3. Adam's Obedience would have justified his next issue from this false Accusation You are born of a sinful Parent or not of a righteous Parent But it would have justified no man against this Accusation You are personally a Sinner or have not personally loved God and obeyed him Therefore it would have justified any man against this Charge You are to be condemned for Adam's sin But it would have justified no man against these Charges You are to be condemned for your own personal Sin or you have no right to Glory by Gods Promise to the adult which maketh their personal Obedience the Condition 4. And though I cannot again here have time to deal with Confounders who think that Imputation or Justification are words which have but one sense I must say that even so Christ's Righteousness is not so imputed to any man as to be to him in stead of his personal Obedience to the Law or Covenant of Grace which he is under But it will justifie any Believer from these Accusations You must be cast into Hell for breaking the Law of Innocency or you must be shut out of Heaven because you deserved it not by perfect Obedience or you have no perfect or sufficient Saviour or you are such as God cannot pardon without wrong to his Truth Wisdom or Justice It will justifie no man from any of these Charges You are Sinners you deserve condemnation by the first Law you are Impenitent or Unbelievers or Hypâ—crites or have not performed the conditions of life in the Law of Grace The two first we must confess and not justifie our selves by a denial And against the last we must be justified by our own Repentance Faith and sincere Obedience He that will say to the Accuser that chargeth him with final Infidelity Impenitency or Unholiness I am justified by the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness will but add to his sin 5. There are all these differences between our Justification according to the first Law had we been capable of it and that which we now have 1. One would have been by God as Creator and Legislator to the Innocent The other by Christ as Redeemer and Legislator to the sinful World 2. One would have been for personal perfect persevering Obedience The other for Christ's Merits as purchasing a free Pardon Grace to penitent Believers and upon our own Faith and Repentance as the Conditions of the new Covenant 3. One would have been without pardon and the other chiefly or much by pardon In one if our Publick Root had perfectly obeyed we must also have perfectly obeyed or die In the other because our Publick Root did perfectly obey Faith and sinceere Obedience to the end is all that is required of us to ouâ— Glory 4. In one the personal matter of worthiness or merit must have been all that perfection which God in justice could require of man In the other it is only The acceptance of a free Gift according to its nature and use and after the thankful use and improvement of it with other such differences § 34. M. S. What Christ did as surety is imputed to us but not his Suretiship or being a publick Person Ans This is true if you understand Imputation in Scripture sense or soundly and not in their sense who presumptuously say That God reputeth us to have done all by Christ which he did for us in his Obedience to the Law § 35. M. S. Christ did not all that he did as Surety but only that which answered the Law An. I suppose you mean that which the Law requireth of us But the word Surety is ambiguous and after here explained and whether you understood it sano sensu I know not He did all that he did as the Mediator and Sponsor for mans Redemption And we are pardoned and justified by the merit of all his own Covenant-keeping with the Father even of such acts as the Law required not of us And some which the Law required of many he did not because it required them not of him § 36. M. S. The Law said not That Christ must be a holy Husband or Father c. The Imputation of one Act of Christ's Obedience is sufficient to our Justification and Merit of life though it need not be curiously set in this or that part of his life § Still more presumption 1. Where saith the Scripture so 2. You must not assert absurdities or presumptions and then think to put off the detection of them by calling it curious If this be true doubtless it was Christs first act of Obedience which merited Glory for us And so it is that first only that must be imputed to us to that end And who ever thought so before you The Fryars have some of them said That minima guttula sanguinis Christi One drop of his blood was enough to redeem all the World And our Divines say Why then was the rest shed So I ask you 1. Why did Christ do all the rest of his Obedience after the first Act Hath none of it the same end and use 2. How shall we be sure that a Sinner must not plead or trust to any of Christ's Righteousness but the first act for his Justification and Reward or must he trust for it to that which was never by Christ intended for it 3. This is contrary to the Scripture which layeth our Justification on his whole Righteousness as meritorious and on his Obedience to the Death and on his rising again and on other parts first Rom. 4. 24. 5. throughout c. 4. Sure they that are so curious as to tell us which physical act of Faith justifieth in specie numero for some say only the first instantaneous act doth justifie will not think it curiosity to enquire which one Act of Christs Obedience justifieth us when according to your Doctrine it is evident that it must be the first And they that say It is Justification by Works to
Will or Power as if he could do no more But it is his Delight thus to govern the creature according to the nature and rank which he hath made it in and his non-volitions and non-operations of a higher sort are agreeable to his Perfection Wisdom and Liberty Higher action being used on higher creatures 3. Yet hath God placed and kept these free Agents not only under his Moral Government but also under his Dominion and disposal so that he will do with them as his own what he lift and none shall frustrate his disposing Will. 4. It pleased him first to make man perfect under a Law of Perfection making innocency or perfection the only condition of Life and the contrary of Death 5. When Man had sufficient Grace to have kept this Law not sufficient to ascertain the event but sufficient Power to have stood that is as much Grace as was necessary to his standing sine qua non esse potuit cum qua esse potuit he broke it and sinned against that sufficient Grace before God either denyed him any thing necessary or withdrew any from him 6. From whence it is clear that the Nature of Man's Will is such as that it is made to use a Power which doth not necessitate or determine it self or is determined necessarily but freely And that it is no Deifying of the Will nor extolling it above its Nature to say that it can act or determine it self without Gods pre-determinating premotion or by that same measure of help which at another time doth not determine it Though its Nature and its Act as such be of God yet so is its Liberty too and therefore by the Power and Liberty given by God the Will can act or not act or turn it self to this object or to that without more help than the said natural support and Concurse And this Power and Liberty is its Nature and Gods Image 7. From hence also it is evident that there is such a thing or operation of God as Grace Necessary called sufficient which is not effectual For God took no Grace away from Adam before he sinned nor let out any temptation upon him which he was not able to resist nor did he sin for want of necessary Grace but by that same degree of help might have overcome 8. God passing Sentence on faln Man for sin would not forgive him the temporal death nor common calamities of this life but cursed the creatures which he was to use as part of his penalty 9. But the Great evil which sin brought on man was the loss of Gods approbation and complacency and of his Spirits saving Communion and help and of Gods Image on man's Soul and of Communion with God herein and also his right to life eternal All which man 's own sin cast away and man was both the Deserver and Executioner without any change in God 10. Yet was all this privation penal in that God made Man such a creature as that his own sin should become his punishment or ruine if he committed it so that all Punishment is not determinatively of God though Gods Antecedent Will did make that which by man is made a Cause As in argument God saith antecedently If thou sin thy own sin shall be thy torment and misery and man saith I will sin Therefore it is Man that is the determining Cause of the Conclusion My own sâ—â— shall be my torment and misery So it is in Causation God antecedently to man's sin doth resolve I will make Man such a Creature with such a Mind Conscience and Will as that his Holiness shall be his Health and Joy and his immediate Receptive capacity of my favour and of his Communion with me and of his title to my spirit and Glory And that if he forsake me and his Holiness in the very Nature of the thing he shall lose all this Life Light and Love Joy and Communion and title to my Grace and shall feel the torments of his own Conscience telling him of his sin and loss This is Gods Antecedent Law Nay this is Gods Antecedent Creation to make man such a Creature Now if man sin his owâ— sin doth ipso facto become his misery and yet is not caused at all by Gods But yet that his Nature was made such as sin should prove a misery to was Gods Work And from that Antecedent Creation or Constitution the Relative form of a Punishment resulteth to the Sinner Even as God saith If thou Murder it shall be thy sin or Thou shalt not Murder And man doth Murder Here the Act that is sin is of man but that the Relation of sin belongeth to that act resulteth partly from the Law which forbiddeth it and yet God is not the Cause of sin though he Antecedently decreed Murder shall be sin if thou commit it So is it also with this sort of Punishment which is either sin it self or the effect or result oâ— sin immediately By which we see that when sin and punishment are found in one thing God is the Cause Antecedently of the formal Relation of a Punishment without being a Cause of the sin yea antecedently is some cause of the formal relation of the sin by his Law without causing any of the sin it self as the author of it As if God make man of such a temper as that surfetting drunkenness lust will make him sick and hazard his life Here God did no otherwise punish him than by making him such a man which he turned to his own destruction by his sin If a man make a thorn Hedge about his Garden that men may not steal his fruit and those that will shall â—rick themselves it is they that prick and punish themselves If God say He that will leap into the fire shall be burnt or into the water shall be drown'd it is they that do it that cause the evil and yet some formal relation of penalty may result to it from Gods conditional antecedent Law I say not that God executeth no other kind of punishment But these are the most common 11. Man having thus cast away Gods Image and his Innocency could beget a Child no purer holier or better than himself For he could not communicate that which he had lost So that our Nature is vitiated with Original sin and unhappy in the miserable effects Bradwardine hath a shift which serveth them that say man could do no good in Innocency without supernatural Help viz. Making that Help to be Gods Will that it shall be done But is not Gods Will called our natural Help when it is the foundation of Nature working by natural means It 's true that free will without Gods Will could do nothing 12. The promisory part of the Covenant or Law of Innocency became null or ceased with man's first sin cessante subditorum capacitate and so the Condition which is its modus So that no man ever since was under the Obligation of that Law as a Covenant of life
necessary 1. If by the old Covenant or first Covenant you mean the conditional Promise Be perfect and live no sin since Adam's is against that conditional Promise because it ceased through mans incapacity upon the Fall And Christ died not only for the first sin 2. If by the first Covenant you mean the bare command of perfect perpetual Obedience Christ died for sins against that command which is still in force but not as a Covenant of Life given on that condition 3. If by the first Covenant you mean the punitive part of the Law of Innocency saying Thou shalt die if thou obey not perfectly So Christ died for all our Sins in the strictest sense even as we are condemnable for them by that Law And that part also of the Law continueth to make punishment our due in primo instanti though with an adjoyned remedy 4. If by the New Covenant you mean the meer preceptive part of Christ's supernaturally-revealed Law or of the foresaid Law of Nature as in the hands of Christ so Christ died for sins against the Law of Christ 2. If by the New Covenant or Law you mean the Promise and Threatening of Christs Law or either so Sin may be said to be against them in two senses 1. Objectively as they are neglected by us And so that Sin formally is only against the Precept and Christ died for it 2. Or as the Sin hath punishment threatened by the Sanction and no pardon given by the Promise And so Sin is in two senses also against the said Sanction that is 1. When it is such a Sin as the Promise giveth no pardon to conditionally And such as the commination peremptority condemneth the Sinner for to remediless misery And this Sin is the final non-perfâ—rmance of the gospel-Gospel-Condition Faith and Repentance And such only are fully obliged to suffer Hell by the commination of the Law of Grace And for such Sin Christ never died not because he never died for the person as to any other sin or for any benefit as some teach But because 1. He resolved never to die for that sin it self of final Unbelief Impenitence and Unholiness 2. And because he never died to satisfie his own Law of Grace and to take off its proper full obligation to final punishment but only to satisfie God instead of mans suffering what the Law of Works obliged him to 2. But there is also a mediate or conditional dueness of punishment according to the Law of Grace which is when a man by not believing and not-repenting at the present and by neglecting and resisting Grace doth so far forfeit all Grace and Salvation as that God may cut him off and cast him into Hell if he will not having peremptorily said that he will do it nor given men any assurance that he will not This man is not immediately and fully under the dueness of Hell fire but on supposition that God should first cut him off and then his Impenitence would be final which is the first case But this person is under all this guilt 1. Guilty of punishment not forgiven against the Law of Works 2. He is so far guilty of punishment according to the Law of Grace as 1. That no pardon is given him or due to him 2. And God may justly take away his Spirit and forsake him 3. And God may justly cut him â—â—â—â— 4. And if God should cut him off Hell will be his full immediate due 147. By this it further appeareth that we cannot be justified as personally Christ not capable of our kind of Obedience fulfilling all Righteousness in Christ Because we are all our life time principally under those great Duties of the Law of Grace which Christ neither did nor could do for us We are bound all our days to accept a Saviour to accept pardon of Sin and mortifying Grace to confess our Sins to repent of them and sorrow for them to labour in the use of all Means and Ordinances to mortifie them To do all our duties as Sinners in that manner as those must do that are in a Physicians hands for Cure To receive and apply Christ's Merits to that end to beg his Intercession and daily pardon To labour that imperfect Grace may be strengthened In a word Sin and a desire of healing so affect all that the Gospel commandeth us that Christ was not capable of any of this And if all this was undone till our Conversion and much of it undone after our Conversion and yet Christ never did it for us not we in him How can it be said that we are justified by fulfilling all the Law in and by Christ yea the Law of Nature still commandeth us to obey the Law of Grace supposing it made and revealed to us 148. The question whether Christ payed the Idem or the tantundem is hence also more fully resolved By payment is meant either Holiness or The Idem or Tantundem Suffering And 1. This sheweth that Christ's Obedience was not materially the same with ours as aforesaid 2. And I before proved that a great and the far greatest part of our punishment was such as Christ could never suffer either permitted Sin it self or desertion by the Spirit of Holiness or divine displeasure and hatred or accusations of Conscience c. 3. And the Law binding only the Sinner and not any Surety to suffer and every man personally to obey most clearly it is not Idem quâ—d debetur were it but meerly because it is not ejusdem or per eundem 149. Indeed solution of the Debt and satisfaction strictly taken thus â—iffer that satisfaction is solutio tantidem vel aequivalentis alias indebiâ—i And if Christ be said to have paid the very same duty and punishment which the Law required he is denied to have satisfied for our non-payâ—ent For a Law that is fully performed can require no more nor the Law-giver neither And therefore both Satisfaction and Pardon are shut â—ut 150. It is not properly the Law which is satisfied but the Law-giver â—s above Law as is said But yet improperly the Law may be said to be â—â—tisfied in that the ends of the Law-giver in it are obtained 151. Though I owe much thanks to God for what near thirty years go I learned from Grotius de satisfact yet I must say that in this great â—uestion whether Christ satisfied God for Sin as Domino absoluto vel â—â— parti laesae vel ut Rectori which he asserteth alone I take him to come â—â—ort of accurateness and soundness And that this is the truth God is to man 1. Dominus absolutus that is our Owner 2. Rector â—premus 3. Amicus Benefactor vel Pater finis Sin is against God in all these three Relations 1. As our Owner it is a denying him and â—lienating his own quoad usum 2. As Rector it breaketh his Law 3. As â—â—r Lover and End it is a departing from him For 1. As our Owner we we
to God And so Faith is below Repentance as a means of it 204. By this the question whether Faith or Repentance be first may partly be resolved and partly cast out as founded in confusion As they are both one thing neither can be first any otherwise than the same Motus ut a termino a quo ut ad terminum ad quem But as they signifie divers things they have each of them divâ—râ— acts and in respect of each are before each other The Assenting act of Faith in general must needs be always before Repentance as it is an Act of the Will But the consenting Act of faith is also part of Repentance and must folow that part of Repentance which is a change of the understanding But whether the Repentance as towards God or Faith in Christ be first or Love to God and Faith in Christ I have discussed as accurately as I can in my Christian Directory Par 1. cap. 3. pag. 182. and therefore thither refer the Reader 205. And how Faith and Love differ I have there also opened and therefore shall now only say that Faith as it signifieth meet How Faith and Love differ Assent differeth from Love as the act of the Intellect from Volition And Love formally taken presupposeth the Assent and doth not contain it But Faith taken largely in the sence of the Baptismal Covenant containeth in it Consent which is the Wills Volition and therefore must needs have some initial Love in it as it acteth iâ— Desire This Faith in God hath some Desire and Volition of God and Faith in Christ which is the Souls Practical Affiance in him hath some Love to Christ in it But the denomination is not from the same ratio formalis in each It is eminently called Faith when giving up our Souls to Christ to be saved in practical Affiance is the great work of the Soul though it have something of Love essential to it And it is eminently called Love morally when the Complacency of the Soul in Christ thus trusted and in God our end is the great work or business of the Soul 206. This Holy Love as a fixed habit and employment of the Soul and our Relation to the Holy Ghost to work it in us is it that is promised and Given quoad jus in the Baptismal Covenant of which Faith though it have somewhat of actual Love or Volition in it is the antecedent condition which also I have so fully opened as afore cited that I refer the Reader to it for this also And somewhat was said of it before SECT XIII Of the degrees of Pardon or Justification 207. Some men lest they should yield that Justification is not one perfect finished act done but once do feign that it is only the first act of Faith by which a man is justified Indeed it is only the first act by which he â—s changed from an unrighteous to a righteous state But to think that therefore we are never after justified by Faith and so have no actually justifying Faith all our lives but for one instant only is fitter for a Dreamer than a theological Discourser 208. Our first constitutive Justification being in its nature a right to â—mpunity and to Life or Glory * * * â—â—â—â— tells us that 〈…〉 which 〈…〉 by Regeâ—â—ra â—â— and Just â—â—â—â— on â—uâ— what they mean by Râ—â—nission they cannot tell themselves as a â—oresaid Pardon of the guâ—â— they mean not or else they mean several things in one word is a Relation which must be continued to the end and therefore must have the true causes and condition continued and would cease if any of them ceased 209. As to the question therefore whether Justification be lossable and â—ardon reversible I answer that the grant of them in the Covenant is unalterable But mans will in it self is mutable and if he should cease believing by Apostacy and the condition fail he would lose his Right and be unjustified and unpardoned without any change in God But that a man doth not so de facto is to be ascribed to Election and special Grace of which afterward 210. Though all our past sins are pardoned at our first Faith or Conversion or as the Ancients speak in Baptism yet it is most certain that Pardon or Justification is not perfect at first no nor on this side death And the saying of many that Justification is perfect at first and Sanctification only by degrees is a palpable error as I have else-where oft shewed For that is not perfect 1. Which is not continued and brought on to its end but upon continued conditions and diligent use of means to the â—ast * * * Neque enim peccati sui veniam impetravit Adam ut a morte temporali immunis esset Twiss contr Corvin pag. 343. col 2. 2. Which leaveth many penalties unremoved which have further means to be used for their removal and further Right to it to be obtained To have more and more Grace and less and less Sin and to have â—earer communion with God are blessings as to the degrees which we must by degrees attain a further Right to and the privation of them are â—ore penalties to be removed 3. We have new sins to be pardoned every day 4. Our remaining Corruption is such as needeth a continued Pardon till it be perfectly done away 5. The Day of Judgment is not come for which the most perfect Justification is reserved SECT XIV Of Justification by Sentence of the Judge 211. The second sort of Justification which is by Sentence is done by Christ as Judge and so is an act of his Kingly Office 212. Therefore were it true as it is not that justifying Faith were only the receiving or believing in Christ as a Justifier of us it would not be a believing in him in his Priestly Office only but in act For he merited our Justification as a humbled Servant and a Sacrifice He giveth it us in Right by his Covenant or Law of Grace as King and Benefactor He promulgateth it as Prophet He passeth the Sentences as King and Judge He executively taketh off the penalty and glorifieth us as King and Benefactor There is no Justification by a partial Faith 213. Though the estimation of a man as just called the Sententiâ— judicis concepta as distinct from the sententia prolata be said to be â—â— immanet act of God and therefore from eternity yet it is a mistake For though it be not transient effectivè and do nihil efficere ad extra yeâ— it is transient objectivè and doth presuppose the existence of the qualified Object For though Gods Knowledge and Will in genere or as such are his eternal Essence yet Gods Knowledge and Love of John or Peter â—â— Believers are terms which signifie not his Essence as such but as transâ—â— and terminated on those existent persons relatively So that the extrinâ—â—cal denomination from the existent Object is temporary as it is 214.
being Infidels unsanctified impeniâ—ent Hypocrites Apostates and so of having no part in Christ and the free Gift even by our personal Evangelical Faith Holiness Repentance â—incerity and Perseverance And all this justification by Works St. James â—s for and it is undeniable by any thing but prejudice ignorance and â—ding pievishness Let the Reader of quick understanding pardon my â—epeating the same thing which others will not yet understand 366. Christ's Sermons Matth. 5. 6. 7. 10. 13. 18. 21. â—nd Luk. 6. 11. 12. 16. 18. 19. and Joh. 1. 3. 5. 6 c. with all the Sermons in the Acts and all the Catholick Epistles of Peter James Jude and John and Paul's Epist to the Rom. Chap. 1. 2. 4. 6. 7. 8. â—2 c. Gal. 5. 6. and a great part of the rest of his Epistles are â—ade up of this Doctrine of * * * Me-thinks Jansenius greatly wrongeth his Cause when he saith To. 2. c. 13. that Primus Augustinus intelligentiam divinâ— gratiâ— novi Testamenti fide crediti a peruit fidelibus ecclesiae If we should say that Primus Lutherus they would take it for a note of novelty and errour was the Church for 400 years ignorant of Grace and fundamental Verities Contrarily I think that Christ's plain Doctrine in his Sermons and the old Churches for 300 years in their plainer uncurious Writings plainly delivered all the necessary Doctrine of Grace yea even the Creed it self containeth it Grace which I have asserted And the â—eading of them will better instruct you in the true sense of Remission and â—ustification than most Treatises written on that Subject which I have seen 367. The perfection of Justification and Pardon will be by the final executive act the taking the justified into Glory SECT XXVII Of the fewness of the glorified and the many that perish 368. Though it be comparatively but a little Flock and part of this world to whom God will give the heavenly Kingdom yet the number will in it self be exceeding great And it 's very probable that this Earth being a very little punctum of the Creation that taking all God's rational Creatures together the number of the damned will be found a very small number in comparison of the blessed even as the Malefactors in the Jailes are to the Subjects of the Kingdom For the worlds above us are incomprehensibly vast and glorious And the Text telleth us Heb. 22. 22. That we are come to an innumerable company of Angels Though the proportions be unknown to us I speak this again that mistakes tempt not men to unworthy thoughts of the infinite amiable goodness of God or of the Christian Faith 369. And what the Saints do want in number they shall have in excellency to glorifie the goodness of God The little Flock which shall have the Kingdom shall be all Kings and Priests and shall judge the world Judgment in Scripture is much put for Government They shall be equal with Angels and shining Stars in our Fathers Firmament and shall sit with Christ upon his Throne And shall in a word in the perfection of their Natures perfectly know love and praise obey and delight in God in a perfect society in the sight of Christ's Glory and be assured of this to all eternity Amen And we see in Gods Works of Nature high Excellencies are rare There are not so many Suns as Stars nor Stars as Stones or Leaves or Trees nor so much Gold as Earth nor so many Men as Flies Fishes and other Animals nor so many Kings as Subjects nor so many Teachers as Learners nor so many men of learning and wisdom as ignorance And we see there are not so many godly as ungodly 370. And as I told you before that as Israel was not all Gods people in the world before Christ's Incarnation and that the Chatholick Church now succeedeth them in their high and rare Peculiarities and Priviledges above the rest of the world and far exceedeth them in the greatness of our Mercies and that Christ's Incarnation hath put the rest of the world into no worse a condition than they were before and that all the world is under a Law of Grace and none under the Law and Covenant of Innocency only So I now add that all shall be judged by that Law which they were under They that have sinned without a written Law shall be judged without that Law And what state each particular Rom. 2. Soul is in the Judge only knoweth and not we who are insolently arrogant if we will step up into his Throne and judge his Subjects without his Commission But this we know that God hath various degrees of Rewards and Punishments as to Infants and Adult so to the Adult among themselves And that he that gained but two Talents shall be Ruler of two Cities And he that had but one might have improved one though he could not have improved more than he had And that they that have done good shall go into everlasting life and those that have done evil to everlasting punishment And the kinds and degrees of their different Matth. 25. last punishments hereafter how great and how far involuntary they are beyond the very miserable case of their sinfulness it self are things that are unknown to us But certain we are that the Judge of all the world will do righteously and that all wise and righteous mens judgments when they shall see what the number of Sufferers and the sorts and degrees of their punishment are shall be fully satisfied of the Goodness Clemency Wisdom and Justice of God and never once wish it had been otherwise And that the Servant that knew his Lords Will and prepared not himself nor did according to his Will shall be beateâ— with many stripes But he that knew not and did commit things worthy Luk. 12. 47 48. of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall he much required and to whom men have committed much of him will they ask the more 371. It is little understood by most how much man by sin it self is effectively his own Tormenter which tempteth man to doubt of Hell as if it were Gods too much severity so to punish How Sin is a punishment it self and how God antecedently made mans nature such that if he would sin it should torment him and undo him of it self like poyson to the Body I have opened in the first Chapter See Gabr. Biel in 2. d. 36. that Omne peccatum est poena and the four Reasons of Bonavent recited by him 372. The Stoicks and Platonists Revolution and the Pythagorean Re-incorporation are so like the Christian Doctrine of the Resurrection that though we must not with Origin seek to make them liker than they are yet those Infidels are unexcusable who take this for incredible and yet take the other for the most rational conjecture
be an Active Spirit * Indifferentia Voluntatis in ordine ad auxilium praevium est indifferentia passiva caeterum in ordint ad actum liberum quâ—m producit praedeterminata tali motionâ— praevia indifferentia Voluntatis est activa libera Alvarez de Aux disp 23. pag. 115. and therefore what ever it receiveth it receiveth it as it is in that nature 2. But the same soul is Passive as well as Active and that in the prior instant of nature For it must receive from God the first cause which made the Greek antient Doctors and many of the Latines say as Damascene in sense though in grosser words that the soul in respect to bodies was immaterial or incorporeal but it was material in respect of God § 2. Not only in its Receiving the Spirits first Impulse to Believe the soul is Passive before it is Active but also in its Reception of every sort of Divine Influx even to every natural act So that in this there is no difference between Conversion and any common act For the soul is first passive in allâ— even in receiving that Natural Influx by which we Live and Move and Be. § 3. But the soul which is passive in Receiving Gods Impulse to believe the first effect is Active in the producing of its own Act of believing which is the effect of many Concauses And as I said It is not the Habit of faith properly so called which it passively Receiveth before the Act. SECT XVIII Whether the first Grace and the New and Soft Heart be Promised and Given Absolutely or on any Condition on our part And so of faith it self Answ § 1. BY the first Grace is meant either simply the first or the first special renewing Grace on the soul proper to them that shall be Justified Of the first Grace simply there is no Condition for it is given Universally to all viz. a Reprieval a Law of Grace a Redeemer c. And after this there is much common personal mercy given conditionally and much absolutely to all or some * * * And as to the first moving inward Grace see how copiously the Jesuit Ruiz as Vasquez and others proveth that it hath no initium in us no not an occasion or disposition much less merit for which it is given And he reasoneth from the Names Creation Generation by the seed of God resuscitation and Gods being found of them that sought him not and from the Cause of the difference between man and man De pradest Tr. 3. disp 18. â— 4 5 6 7 8 c. p. 227 228 c. Even Medina 12. p. 596. is so hesitant as to say Esse probabilem sententiam Doctorum quod facienti quod in se est ex facultate naturae Deus ex sua misericordia nunquam denegat gratiam Sed dico quod probabilius est magis consentaneum sanctis patriâ—us praeclpuâ— Augustino non esse Legem infallibilem quod homini pâ—â—atori facienti quod in se est ex facultate natura continub conferatur gratia Nam si esser Lex infallibilis certè initium bona pars justificationis esset à nobis c. Thus the Papists herein differ as much as the Protestants among themselves § 2. It seemeth to me an error which by oversight I was long entangled in my self to think that by the new and soft heart is meant the first special Grace For most Divines agree that it is proper sanctification which is meant by it as distinct from antecedent Vocation Vid. Ames Medul de Vocat Rolloc de Vocat Bishop G. Downame against Pemble Hookers Souls Vocation Joh. Rogers of faith and many others In Vocation they suppose the Act of Faith and Repentance suscitated by the Spirit and thereupon a Covenant-Relation to Christ and to the Holy Ghost with Regenerating Sanctifying Habits â—o be given And I see no reason to be singular herein § 3. That faith is by the Law of Grace made a Condition of this Sanctification and the Spirit promised us if we will believe and so the Spirit given to us by Covenant in Baptism when we believe is plain ill Scripture and the commonest doctrine of all Divines § 4. Therefore if it be this Spirit of Sanctification that is meant by the New the Tender the Circumcised heart it is not promised and given absolutely but on condition of faith § 5. Let us peruse the several Texts where it is promised Dent. 30. 1 2 3 6. When thou shalt call to mind among all the Nations and shalt return unto the Lord thy God and obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day thou and thy children with â—â— thy heart and all thy soul that then the Lord thy God will turn thy câ—â—tivity And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart and the heart of thy seed to Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul that thou maist live Here it is a Grace consequent to a condition even to much obedience which is described And Deut. 10. 16. it is a command Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts and be no more stiff-necked Jer. 32. 36 37 c. I will gather them out of all Countreys whither I have driven them and will bring them again into this place and I will cause them to dwell safely and they shall be my people and I will be their God and I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for ever So Ezek. 11. 16 17 18 19 20. And Ezek. 36. 25 26 27 28 29. In all which there is a promissory Prophecy how great a deliverance God would give the Nation of the Jews both for body and soul And their temporal return and liberty is promised and prophesied in the same manner as a new heart is But here is not a syllable to prove that this is the first special Grace any more than perseverance is which in the same manner is promised in Jer. 32. 40. I will put my fear in their hearts and they shall not depart To say nothing how far in the first sense this was National to the Jews nor how the performance did expound it For doubtless it is performed the Text it self premiseth I will be their God and they shall be my people with other mercies And no doubt but Faith and Repentance go before this Covenant-Relation to God and therefore before the following gift of the Spirit ver 9. and Ch. 11. 19. And Ezek. 18. 31. the same is commanded Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed and make you a new heart and a new spirit § 6. The promissory Prophecy of Jer. 31. 31 c. is recited by the Penman of Heb. 8. 8 c. to prove the cessation of the old Jewish Câ—venant and that a better should succeed And this much is easily proved out of both 1. That God would certainly have a holy people among the
returning Israelites 2. And especially that he would have such in the Christian Church as should be sanctified to him by his Spirit and have a new and tender â—eart And Predestination is well proved from the Text. But there is not a word to prove this to be the first Grace nor that Gods promise gave any man right to it but upon condition of believing For if Gods Decree Prophecy or general Promise saying absolutely I will do it did prove it to be the first Grace it would prove perserance such which is false The words prove no more but that God will do it § 7. And as this is no personal promise giving any man a right to the thing promised which he may claim but only foretelling what God will do or give to some so he hath other promises which are part of his Law of Grace and do give men Right to these same Benefits And so the Spirit of Sanctification and a new heart is promised on Condition of believing which therefore is the former special Grace § 8. If any therefore will prove that faith is given Absolutely they must not do it by those Texts which speak of Sanctification which faith is a condition of § 9. But as to the question it self Whether Faith be given absolutely or conditionally I answer 1. There is no absolute promise of faith made to any persons but only promissory predictions of some indeterminate unnamed persons that God will draw them and give them to Christ and they shall believe and live 2. All men have means and duty appointed them for the seeking of that Grace which may convert them 3. They are hereby bound to believe that if they so do they shall not lose their labour For God setteth men on no unprofitable work 4. Those that do this most faithfully and have most preparing grace are the likest to become believers and the ordinary receivers of special grace 5. Whether de nomine this encouragement shall be called a promise or equipollent let them contend that list 6. God can and doth suddenly convert some without such preparations or else give them both sorts of Grace immediately as once SECT XIX How God may be said to Cause the Acts of sin I Have said of this also so much before as that this Breviate here must serve It is ill said Profiteâ— mur incunctanter prorsus impeditum iri quod universi simpliciter Bonum est si impeditetur peccatum quoniam hâ—â— pactâ— impediretur patesactio Divinâ— misericordiâ— parcentis justitia vindicant is Quâ— quidem patesactio non minus universi Bonum censenda est quam qâ—â—libet alia câ—jusâ—ibet Del proprietatis in ipso tanquam in speculo relâ—cent is Twiss Vindic Grat. li. 1. p. 1. pag. 133. It is dangerous to talk so boldly of these mysteries Here seem to me many errors and confusions 1. It is false that God could not make known to the world that merciful nature which now pardoneth sin and that Justice which now punisheth if there had been no sin His Laws Promises and Threats do antecedently make them known And God could cause blessed Spirits to know all his perfections before there was any sin 2. Gods Holiness and Goodness is called Mercy and Justice by extrinsick denomination and connotation of sin and misery And if his Holiness and Goodness had been known as preventing all sin and misery men will think that he hath not proved that this had been Evil in the Universe or less Good 3. Posita Divina Volitione as the rule of Good it followeth I confess that it were evil not to have that will fulfilled But I deny that God willeth sin or its existence Therefore it is not Good because not Volitum à Deo It is sufficient that it is not so far evil as to be Absolutè Nolitum but only evil 1. As prohibitum 2. As hurtful to the sinner and to others Methinks they that maintain that sin is Privatio should not say that it is Positivè Volitum à Deo 4. All this dependeth on that curious question Could not God have made the World better than it is or at least as good with many alterations from what it is They that hold the first say that God freely made things no better than they are But had there been no Devils no Sin no Toads no disorder the world had been better that is a perfecter demonstration of Gods perfection But they that are more modest arâ— content with the latter and say that God freely made things as they are and not necessarily But it had been necessarily if no other way had been as good And that if God had pleased to shew his Goodness by preventing all sin it had been as Good and no loss or disparagement to the Universe 5. And he doth through all his Books beg the question Whether a meer occasion be a conducibâ—e medium and so good If he will stretch the word Medium so wide as to extend it to a meer evil sinâ— quo non or presupposed which hath not the least causality efficient material formal or final I will not strive for a word But conducibile noteth some kind and degree of Causality which sin hath not to the glorifying of God It is the destroying of sin that God is glorified by Where the malum amovendum is not the bonum conducibile but the ill state of the matter without which God had not glorified himself by this Act but by some other as well § 1. It must be well considered that God made mans Nature before he made any positive Laws for him And that the Law of Nature it self is in order of Nature after Nature though not in Time Man being first considerable as Man before he be considerable as obliged to duty And also that the Law both Natural and Positive is before mans obedience and sin So that as man is first in order of Nature Man and then Gods Governable Subject and then in order of Time obedient or disâ—bedient so God is first his Creator and then Naturâ— Motor and then his Governour by Legislation and then his Gracious Helper and lastly his Judge and Rewarder § 2. Therefore as Natural Being substance and faculties and Natural Motion are antecedent to Morality so Gods causation of both these is antecedent and therefore to be Creator Preserver and Motor is not to be the Cause of sin or of Virtuous acts as such § 3. God as Creator was not pleased to make all his creatures of one kind nor of one degree of excellence but in such variety as is wonderful to our observation Besides the innumerable species of beings and the innumerable parts of every compound being the dissimilitude of indviduals of the same species is admirable so that no two faces are perfectly like no nor no two Stones in the Street no two Trees Birds Beasts c. And therefore it is but consonant to the rest of his works that MAN is neither perfectly like
are wrought by common grace and that it is special acts and habits overcoming the flesh and world which are wrought by special grace So that those firemen that are resolved that yet differ they will and implacably differ and their adversaries shall be enemies of Gods Grace whether they will or not are yet defective in that acuteness and pregnancy of wit which is necessary to pretend a real disagreement and are forced to say that they disagree when they have not wit enough to seem to prove it to any but those that take their cholerick zeal and reproach for proof For in this there is no difference among us 6. Obj. At least we can prove that we differ in this about the effects that one side make Gods gracious habits given to believers to be such as may be lost and dye and the other do not Answ That is no difference You still want wit to make differences though you want not will For both sides are agreed that perseverance ariseth not from the meer nature of the Habit of grace but from Gods superadded sustentation For Adam and the faln Angels had as is commonly held such kind of habitual grace as we though objectively differing 7. Seeing there is no difference on Gods part as they all conclude Resistible grace and irresistible sufficient and effectual can have no difference but in the very effect or event and the connotation of mans Power or impotency to the contrary I know as I have said that not only the Dominicans and Calvinists but Suarez and other Jesuits say that Effectual Grace is such ex parte principii as is forcibler for faith as the effect But they contradict themselves who confidently say that besides that effect it is nothing but Gods essence which hath no degrees or real differences And mans power of Resistance and frustration is none as to Gods will and essence but only as to the effect When he could have done otherwise 8. The same Vanity they declare in the question Whether the same degree of Divine Grace help or operation would Convert one man as doth another or would Convert as doth not Convert When they are agreed that the effect is not the same and that the cause hath no degrees of difference 9. And though it 's past mans understanding to comprehend how all the various effects in the world should be produced without the least diversity in the Cause Will or Action ex parte agentis and that Velle salvare Petrum velle damnare Judam should be perfectly the same Volition ex parte Volentis yet it is the liker to be true because man cannot comprehend it as long as he hath no evidence to prove that it is not true For God is incomprehensible 10. Seeing then that we must concent 1. That God Decreed to do all that he doth and properly and absolutely no more 2. And that Christs death is the cause of all that it effecteth and properly of no more Of which the conditional gift of pardon and life is part And so that all the Controversie 1. Of Decree 2. Of Redemption is resolved into that of the effects 3. And seeing all the effects are such whose difference we little differ about if at all and ex parte Dei agentis they agree that there is no difference where then is the Difference among all the contenders §. II. Alvarez his Epitome in Twenty Propositions considered BUt that all this may more plainly appear I will recite the Twenty Conclusions which Alvarez in his Epilogus giveth us as the summ of all his Book one hundred twenty one Disputations And I shall tell you how far they are all to be consented to * Thus Bradwardine concludeth his Book with thirty six errors and as many verities which he would have the Church especially that of Rome determine But leaving out the most unsavoury parts or expressions of his own judgement Whether God be the chief necessitating Cause of all sin is none of them I. Free-will in lapsed nature cannot without the help of grace do a moral work which by co-operation of the supernatural End shall be truly good and a work of Virtue so as that by the doer it be referred to God beloved simply above all as to the ultimate natural End Answ It is granted and more that though all natural men have one sort of Grace given them yet I think this cannot be done without special saving grace II. Man by the sole strength of nature cannot assent to all supernatural mysteries propounded and explained to him as revealed of God or because revealed of God so as the formal reason of his belief is Divine revelation Answ It 's true He must have commoner grace to believe them dogmatically and uneffectually and special saving grace to believe them practically and savingly III. Not only faith it self but also the first beginning of faith proceedeth from the help of grace and not from the strength of Nature only Answ Very true IV. The free-will of man in lapsed Nature cannot without the help of Grace Love God above all simply even as he is the author of Nature Answ It 's true V. Man in lapsed Nature without the help of Grace cannot fulfill all the precepts even of the Law of Nature nor overcome any great difficulty and temptation even for any little time which it is necessary to overcome for the keeping of that Law Answ True Therefore they have some Grace that do it VI. There is no Law nor ever was made by God of his giving the actual helps of preventing grace to them that do all that is in them by the sole faculty of nature nor hath Christ merited or would have any such Law Answ True For he giveth some common grace to all men antecedently without any condition on their part And though he give to those that use their common grace to the utmost or near it sufficient encouragement to go on and hope that such endeavour shall not be in vain as to the obtaining of peculiar grace yet de nomine vel definitione Whether this encouragement shall be called a Law or a Promise or neither we contend not VII God by his helping grace floweth into free-will by premoving it that it may co-operate and also truly-efficiently together with the same free-will causeth its pious operation Answ It 's true But all adjuvant grace produceth not the second effect which floweth from both Causes of which before and after VIII When God by his exciting Grace striketh and toucheth the hearts of men he doth not expect that the will by its innate liberty begin its motion by Consenting But God by adjuvant grace effecteth that it freely and infallibly Consent Answ It 's true of all that do consent But God hath a degree of exciting and adjuvant grace which are Necessary and give the posse Velle which cause not the act through mans defect And though God expect not that effect as one that is deceived
yet he commandeth it and requireth it of us But exciting and adjuvant Grace are all one on Gods part And if you will difference the same things as connoting divers effects you must denominate it more fitly from the effects by words that notifie the difference IX Adjuvant Grace and Free-will are not Partial Causes of supernatural Consent as two drawing a Boat so as neither is premoved by the other or maketh it co-operate with it Answ True For God premoveth the will of man though through mans fault it be not ever effectual And though Gods will and mans be two Causes of the same effect the term Partial is scarce fit while man hath his whole power and activity from God X. Scientia media is not to be ascribed to God But all prescience of the future co operation of the will even from the foresaid Hypothesis presupposeth in signo rationis the free decree of Gods will by which absolutely or granting that Hypothests he will in us and with us effect that operation if Good and permit it if Evil. Answ Here come in your presumptions of things unknown or false 1. That God knoweth future contingents and conditionals is certain But I think this scientia media unfitly named and an unnecessary distribution and insufficient to the Jesuits ends 2. And your fiction of signa rationis and the necessary antecedence of a decree of Gods to his knowledge of every Volition of man is a more ungrounded and perillous figment which you have not proved It seemeth a denyal of Gods Omniscience or perfection that he cannot know an act future as future but only as decreed to be so 3. You deceitfully talk of permitting evil while you plead for the irresistible predetermining premotion of the will by God to every evil act with all its circumstances Is that but Permitting 4. To permit is Nothing no act of God but a non-agency not to hinder And how prove you that God must of necessity have a Positive Decree for every Nothing or non-agency Is not the not-willing or not-decreeing to hinder a lye e. g. supposing natural concurse or to make more worlds enough to the production of that lye by an ill inclined nature or to the not-being of more Worlds We are in the dark and God is infinitely above us and these tremendous mysteries are not to be so presumptuously handled by unproved assertions XI There is on our part no Cause Reason or Condition assignable for which Gods supernatural providence in comparison of this or that hath the formal reason of predestination or retaineth the common reason of providence but predestination is to be reduced into the sole free-will of God Answ Most of this is about meer words The word Predestination connoteth various effects and objects and so is called various Acts. There is no efficient Cause in the Creature of any act of God But there are objects without which Gods Acts have not their special denominations and these objects are the termini and called Material Constitutive Causes of those various acts as denominated various specially or numerically And so Gods Decree or Will to Justifie and Glorifie man hath something in the object as a necessary condition of it * * * That is of that object which is not â—â— the object of his decree of giving faith And that hath something in its object which is not in the object of the decree of giving a Redeemer to the World or making the World c. if you will at all distinguish Gods decrees by their objects or effects But if not there will be no matter for any Controversie And Predestination is an ambiguous word If it be taken for All Gods fore-decreeing or all about man or all of Good to us then our Being is the first effect of it in us and the making of the World a preparatory effect c. And so no doubt the first effect supposed us no men before and therefore no condition in us But if you take Predestination for Gods decree of Giving us Grace and Glory only then it is presupposed that we are lapsed sinners And the decree of damning men is exercised only on them as foreknown damnable sinners And the decree of penal denying Grace or faith to sinners for sin supposeth them such punishable sinners But the bare Negation of a Decree to give faith to one to whom the absence is no privation is unfitly called Reprobation though men may talk at their own rates And we grant that some such no-decrees have no condition in the objects for they have no objects e. g. If you will feign that God decreed from eternity to give me no faith before the Creation or before I was born or to give Innocent Adam no faith in a Saviour as dying for him this were no reprobating act But when God hath given men a Saviour with his common grace to believe in and accept here if he deny them necessary grace to believe it is a penal act And note that Christ and Common grace as absolutely given to mankind and offered to individuals ever goeth before mens accepting or refusing him And no man to whom he is offered refuseth him for want of necessary help till by sin against that grace he forfeit it XII God by an absolute and efficacious decree of his Will antecedently to the prescience of the future good use of free-will predetermined all good acts which are done in time specially those by which the predestinate come to eternal life Answ The substance of this seemeth true only 1. Whether you fitly denominate a decree efficacious from eternity which effecteth nothing till the Time I leave to them that dispute of words 2. You presumptuously determine Gods Decrees to be antecedent to his prescience herein when they are neither before nor after one another 3. If by predetermining you mean more than predecreeing or prevolition as if mans will was predetermined when it was not determined or determined before it had a being you speak contradictions But Gods own will was eternally determined if we may so say of that which was never undetermined to give all the grace that he giveth in time and to cause all the good acts that he causeth as he causeth them XIII The Co-operation of free-will with the gifts of grace is in the predestinate an effect of predestination and efficiently proceedeth from God making us by the help of grace freely to co-operate and consequently dependeth not on the sole and innate liberty of the will Answ I think so too XIV We must necessarily distinguish of a twofold help of Grace one sufficient by which man may be converted to God or work piously The other effectual by which God effecteth that he be actually converted and act piously Answ Hold to that and contradict not the terms in your description and all 's well XV. The effectual help of preventing or preoperating grace moveth mans free-will to act not only by perswading alluring inviting or other
sinners find a good will to goodness and like it and many years perhaps are wishing and purposing to leave their sins for it and turn to God till at last Love prevaileth And this though imperfect is true sincere Love not from a perfect habit but from the excitation of the Holy Ghost It hath the same object as perfect Love that is Justice for Justice or God for God not loved on consideration of any other reward which proveth it sincere Love Such wish to live chastely temperately justly but cannot come to it Out of this imperfect love springs faith faith may be habitually many years before Justification Justification is the grace of perfect Love to God above all Hope and Perfect Love also come from this initial Love c. 7 8 9. XVIII As Hope so Reward and respect to it may stand with this grace of Love For the Reward is not desired ex amore concupiscentia for our selves only cum enim charitatis proprium sit unica voluptas diligere Deum non quia hoc sibi suave vel utile vel gloriosum est vel alia quacunque consideratione redundat in se sed quia ita est ordo creaturâ— sub creatore qui propter seipsum super omnia ex superexcellenti bonitate diligendus est ita unicum praemium est veritatem bonitatem Dei facie ad faciem contemplando ardentius amare lauaare Deum non quia utile est beatificum diligenti sed quid aeâ—â—rnae veritati congruum dilecto debitum c. Amoris hic inchoati Amor futurus consummatus unica merces Praemium Dei ipse Deus est Quisquis delabitur ab illa charitatis puritate ut amore concupiscentiae incipiat velle concupiscere sibi Deum totum dilectionis ordinem quem natura docet Lex aeterna praecipit diligendi perversitate perturbat Nam Deum ad se refert seipso fruitur quorum utrumque aeterna indispensabili lege proscriptum est c. 10. XIX The fear of punishment and attrition is good being fâ—gâ— mali an Antecedent of wisdom It is from a certain general grace but not that properly called the grace of Christ The Spirit of the Old Testament even of fear is Gods Spirit not that which Christ dyed to give men which is contrary delectation but another much inferiour grace which after the firm belief of Gods judgement and eternal punishment fortassis Gratiam peculiaris cujusdam providentiae operationis non excedit They that have but the Righteousness of fear by knowing the Law have not Gods righteousness but their own Indeed they have faith and that radicated but not Christs proper grace but that which may come ex proprii arbitrii viribus excited by providence or if you will inspired fear no sin can be avoided by it but by other sin c. 22 23 c. It is but of self-love It is Legal righteousness and our own c. 31 32. XX. Liberty of will is either meer Voluntariness whose contrary necessity is involuntarii coactio or that free state which is the Love of God consistent with simple necessity lib. 7. XXI Gratia Christi est Praedeterminatio voluntatis sed non Dominicanorum praedeterminatio 1. Praedeterminatio physica est motio nescio quae virtuosa habens esse incompletum ut colores in aâ—re impetus in impulso Gratia Christi est verissimus motus voluntatis ineffabilis viz. delectatio c. 2. Praed physica non est eis actus Vitalis animi sed aliquid cui voluntas tantum passive subjacet Gratia contra c. 3. Praedet physica in quibuscunque circumstantiis voluntas collocetur omnem superat resistentiam semper facit effectum contra delectatia victrix si alter ardâ—ntior est in solis inefficacibus desideriis haerebit animus 4. Praed physica est instar concursus cujusdam generalis Dei in ordine supernaturali Adjutorium Christi non ita 5. Praed physica necessaria statuitur omnibus agentibus ex vi causae secundae c. Christi adjutorium laesa tantum voluntati propter vulnus necessarium est 6. Praed physica propter naturalem indifferentiam voluntatis exigitur Gratia non ita 7. Praed physica statui innocentiae necessaria dicitur Gratia Christi non ita ergo hi Dominicani magis Aristotelici quam Augustiniani sunt Gratia tamen est Praed physica And grace and free-will are reconcilable as Predetermination and free-will are l. 8. c. 2 3 4. Summa est quod Gratia Amantem Volentem facit non tantum posse velle dat In conclusion he belyeth Calvin 1. As denying in man boni mali electionem and so in many â—ther points cap. 21. XXII His doctrine of Predestination as congruous to this I pass by â—nly adding that he denyeth Angels to be elected of grace or to perseveâ—ance which was but foreseen and they were made to differ not by â—race but by merits Man is elected to merits and glory but to glory â—efore the foresight of merits The Reprobation of Angels was after the â—urpose of giving them sufficient grace and the foresight of sin Permisâ—â—on of sin was no effect of it But the Reprobation of men was by Gods positive absolute will of men in original sin and the effect of it excaecation and obduration but not the permission of the first sin lib. 10. This is the Epitome of Jansenius as far as concerneth our present business The Animadversions § 2. I. IT seems Augustine and Pelagius were both pious men that differed in the methodizing and wording those fundamental conceptions in which they agreed by which Pelagius ran into errors And I doubt he was not so innocent as Jansenius intimateth when he maketh Augustine to be the first true Teacher of grace and Pelagius his Opinion to have been so antient And if it were not too bold to say so against one that read over all Augustine ten times and all his writings against the Pelagians thirty times I would say that I think that Austin owned more universal grace and free-will than Jansenius supposeth him to have owned Of Prosper and Fulgentiuâ— it cannot modestly be denyed who I think were of Augustines mind II. He confesseth that self-determining free-will and sufficient Grace were the condition of the Angels and innocent man and so that it is not alien to Gods government or prerogatives for subjects to be so Ruled and Judged III. He seemeth to me to ascribe far too much to innocent man and Angels in using sufficient grace when he maketh their wills the chief laudable cause of the effect I rather think that no Angel ever did any good the chief praise of which was not due to God as the principal first cause God giveth them all the power liberty help means motives by which they do it Besides that they did nothing but what he fore-decreed and willed they should eventually do Therefore there is no good but of him as the first cause though not
doctrine of faith and Law and promises of Christaâ—e the Means which the Spirit useth in operating our Faith Love and Obedience And it is not two Covenants that give these two but as soul and body make one man so the Word of Christ and his Spirit make up one total cause of our sanctification The Spirit causeth us to believe that which the Word revealeth and to love the good which it proposeth and to obey the Precepts of the Word Therefore the Gospel is Grace and the Spirit is Grace that is a free gift of God to miserable sinners for their recovery and inward holiness is the effect of both And to feign that all obedience as it is performed to Christs Law upon its proper motives is therefore not of the Spirit or is our own Righteousness opposed to Christs because our own reason and free-will is exercised in it is Phanaticism and subverteth the Gospel and the Prophetical and Kingly Office of Christ II. God never gave a Law no not to the Jews only to convince them that they could not keep it but to be the Rule of their obedience And the Just did keep it in sincerity But the Law of Moses as separated by the ignorant Jews from the promise and grace of Christ could not be kept by any to Justification To say that Christs Laws now have no higher end than to tell us that we cannot keep them is Antichristianity Are we commanded to repent believe love God only to tell us that we cannot do it It 's true that without the Spirits help we cannot But it 's as true that the Command is the Rule of our duty and all the Gospel and Covenant of Grace is the means of exciting us to our duty by which the Spirit worketh in us faith repentance love and obedience But saith Jansenius the Law of Christ is to humble men in the sense of their disability and drive them to seek to Christ for his grace I answer 1. Is not humbling men and driving them to Christ a good effect If so then his Law is the means of all that good 2. Were the Gospel and all the Apostles Epistles written only to drive men to Christ and not to edifie them and make them perfect to salvation Were not the Precepts of Love and Holiness means of working Love and Holiness in men Is not the Word the seed that begetteth men to eternal life and is not the receiving of this seed into good and honest hearts made by Christ the cause of holiness and salvation Were not the Disciples clean by the word that Christ spake to them and doth he not say that his Word was spirit and life as being the concause of the Spirits vivification He that never received more benefit by Christs Doctrine Law and Gospel than to be convinced that he cannot believe repent obey or love God hath not yet the benefit which they are principally intended for But suppose that by Law he had meant the meer penal part or threatning as some words would make a man suspect 1. It 's a strange description of a Law to exclude the precept and premiant part and include only the penal part which is the last and least 2. As it is the same Man that hath Love and Hatred Hope and Fear so it is the same Law of Christ which hath precept and prohibition promise and penalty And it is the same Holiness or New Creature which is a conformity to all together Of which more anon III. He can never prove that all unbelievers have no Power to â—â—e any means which tendeth to â—aith by a preparatory grace nor that the use of all such means is Impossible to them XIII His distinction of Natural and Moral Impotency is good But then that Moral Impotency it self must not be made the same with the Natural else there will be the same reason for excusing sin by it If mans Will had been made by God such as could not possibly love him or holiness it would not have left a man unexcusable in judgement that his enmity was Voluntary It is reason enough for a man to kill a â—oad or Serpent as malum sibi naturale because it is a hurtful creature But this is no Moral Evil in them nor is their death their punishment nor yet in any ravenous creature which preyeth on the rest that are innocent And so would it be with bad men if God had made them bad Indeed if Adam have made them all bad and God have given no Saviour Grace or Remedy they are conâ—emnable and unexcusable as they were virtually in Adam if judged only by the Law of Innocency as made to Adam But they are excuseable if judged by Christ by the Law of grace which condemneth no man meerly as not innocent or a sinner but as a rejecter of grace These things are so plain and weighty that Jaâ—senius should not joyn with the Antinomians in opposing them XIV While he confesseth that Christ so far dyed for all as to procure them all the mercy which he giveth them I have no further quarrel with him but to prove that a Condition pardon of sin and grant of Life eternal with much means and help to make men perform the Condition which is but a suitable Acceptance is indeed mercy XVI That Christs grace is Love or Complacency in good is a truth which I highly value but with all these exceptions to his doctrine 1. It is the Heart of the new Creature and that which must communicate it self to all the rest or else they are lifeless and unacceptable For the will is the man in Gods account And complacency or love or appetite is the first act of the will which is it that he calleth with Augustine Delectation Grace lyeth principally in a Placet But the man hath more parts than his Heart And all other parts of sanctification are graces of Christ in their several places and not love only 2. Though no man is to love himself as God nor instead of God nor above God nor as the noblest ultimate object of his love yet all men are necessitated by nature to love themselves and therefore to desire their own felicity in loving God next to God as the final object of that love And so our end is finis amantis vel amicitiae which includeth mutual complacency and union though not in equality And to such an end grace causeth us to use the means And Christ is proposed to us as our Saviour and all his grace as for our good and all Gods commands as necessary for our happiness and sin is described to us to be hated as our oâ—â— evil and destruction and against our good as well as against Gods will and honour And with us this is denyed scarcely by the Antinoâ—ians themselves Much less by any judicious Christians 3. It is past the reach of any of us to prove that our actual love is the first effect of the sanctifying Spirit on the soul
regenerate men have free-will to do good and forbear evil even when Grace effecteth not the event B. This is an English Objection What men that write in Greek or Latin deny Free-will Did not all the ancient Fathers and Churches hold it till Augustine's time of whom we have any notice And are you coming to turn Christ's Body into a Heresie or the members of an Harlot by your charge Did not Augustine Prosper and Fulgentius hold it VVho denied it for above a thousand or thirteen hundred years after Christ And do you deny all free-will your self C. No but it is free-will to spiritual good B. What need I tire you with the same things again 1. Read but what I said to A. of Free-will 2. And see the Table of it in the Second Book 3. And peruse what I have just now said of the power of the Will and you will see that here is no more necessary Make not new words to seem a new Controversie Put but Liberty for Power and and the answer to the last Crimination serveth to this C. The tenth Article of the Church of England saith The condition of man after the Fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength and good works to Faith and calling upon God wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God without the Grace of God by Christ preventing us that we may have a good Will and working with us when we have that good Will B. I had rather you dealt plainly and kept close to the word of God and evidence of Truth than seek shelter from the words of those in power But what Jesuite or Arminian will not subscribe to this Who doubteth of it How oft do they all maintain the necessity of this preventing and co-operating Grace But by the words no Power you must not understand no natural power or faculty but no moral power For 1. Else man is no man 2. It is a moral Subject which they speak of and must accordingly be understood But what Free-will is it that you deny Tell me what you mean by Free-will C. If you know what Will is and what Free is you need no exposition the words are plain enough of themselâ—â—s B. Thus do men strive about words that profit not to subvert the hearers and increase to more ungodliness Answer me these Questions Quest 1. Hath not the Will more than a Liberty Political or by Gods Law to forbear sin and to do all good Doth God forbid it C. No he commandeth it which is more than leave or licence B. Quest 2. Do you think that the Will is forced Is it not a contradiction to Will unwillingly eodem respectu C. Yes we all hold freedom from compulsion B. Quest. 3. Is not mans Will a self-determining faculty or principle naturally so as to be Domina suorum actuum under God C. Yes under God the understanding directing it B. Quest. 4. Hath not the Will power and liberty to choose evil or to sin without Gods predetermining premotion C. I dare not deny it though many do B. Quest 5. Hath not the Will a certain command over the inferior faculties respectively and can move or not move them C. Yes supposing it moved accordingly it self B. Quest 6. Can Angels or Devils necessitate the Will by any efficient predetermining premotion C. No I think not for its commonly thought so B. Quest 7. Can any man by force or flattery necessitate another man to will any thing evil or good efficiently C. No They may strongly tempt but not necessitate B. Quest 8. Can meer Objects as such necessitate the VVill to a comparative The Opinion of Aegidiuâ— Roman how the Will is actuated determined I will set down though not wholly approving it Quodlib 3. qu. 15. p. 177 178 A fine ab â—o quod apprehenditur sub omni ratione boni voluntas Activatur Necessitatur Ab his autem quae sunt ad finem ab his quae non apprebenduntur sub ratione omni boni potest Actuari sed non necessitari A â—ullo autem potestviolentari Ad finem nec activando nec determinando semovet Ad ea autem quae sunt ad finem facta in actu per finem potest se determinare sed non activare Quantum ergo ad actuationem nihil seiplum secundum seipsum movere potest aliter idem secundum idem esset actus potentia Nunquam voluntas per sâ— directe actuat seipsum sed bonum apprehensum est quod causat Volitionem in voluntate quod actuat eam Sed super hujusmodi Volitione voluntas habet dominium quia in potestate voluntatis est sistere vel non sistere in tali Volitione Libâ—ra est quia cum intellectus â—ffert ei e. g fornicationem sub utraque ratione sub mala sub bona oportet quod utraque consideratio sit Volita Quamdiu enim stat in utraque tamdiu vult de utraque considerare determinat autem se hoc modo Quia est domina sui actus potest totaliter desistere a consideratione unius totaliter insistere in consideratione alterius Vel potest non totaliter desistere ab uno nec totaliter intendere aliâ—d sed magis esse intenta ad unum quam ad aliud Si autem totaliter desistat velle considerare de inordinatione vel notabiliter sit attenta ad considerandum de delectatioâ—e modicum autem attendat ad inordinationem tunc fornicatio sic apprehensa activabit cam causabit in â—a volitionem So that he thinketh that the free omission of the Wills command of necessary thoughts is the beginning of Sin But what he saith of the Wills being actuated per finem non per seipsam needeth better explication Objects actuate but morally that is are occasions and quosi materia disposita ad actuâ— terminationem but it is the faculty or form that actuateth by proper vital agency Et postea Qu. 16. pag. 183. Etsi entitas effectus reducatur in entitatem causae non tamen defectus reducitur in defectum â—â—â—sdem causae Non deficit causa sed effectus ille deficit a causa Etsi non sit voluntas in actu nisi prius sit in actu intellectuâ— non sequitur quod non possit voluntas deficere nisi prius deficiat intellectus Absque enim eo quod intellectus male proponat voluntati potest se voluntas determinare male viz. si sit intenta circa delectationem non circa inordinationeâ— act that is to choose this rather than that de mediis C. To good they cannot but I doubt of it as to evil whether Objects do not necessitate some men so that they cannot forbear B. Who made these Objects and causeth their nature and existence C. God made all things Meat Drink Pulchritude Money c. B. Doth God then necessitate men efficiently to Sin by
hundred and twenty ancient Writers and sixty three Protestant Synods Churches and Divines for Universal Grace read Dallaei Apolog. part 4. A. I am sure God saith That he would not the death of a Sinner but rather that he repent and live and that he would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth which they deny B. No man denieth it who denieth not the Scripture And I can hardly believe that really you differ about the meaning of the words Quest. 1. Do you believe that God is absolutely unwilling that any perish and absolutely willeth that all shall be saved A. No but conditionally he is B. Quest 2. Do you think that he absolutely willeth the performance of that condition A. I know you will say If absolutely it must come to pass or God must be overcome If conditionally how doth he will that condition and so in infinitum But I will say that he willeth it absolutely and yet is not overcome or srustrate by a greater Power For he willeth it only voluntate inefficaci or with a velleity which is not a willing to do it all himself but that it be done by man B. If he will that man repent eventually with an absolute Will the Impenitent then frustrate his Will or Desire And it is a note of infelicity to have absolute Desires not obtained If Gods Will be not done is it not for want of Power or Wisdom to accomplish it A. No it is because he willeth not to effect the thing but that man effect it B. If you had said that he conditionally willeth that man effect it the failure had been no frustration But that had been but to say that he willeth that man shall will if he will or at least if he excite his own Will and so the question would recur How he willeth that excitation But seeing you say that God absolutely willeth that man shall will or excite his own Will you must needs mean that God desireth that which he cannot obtain and so is imperfect A. No I only say that he desireth that which he cannot obtain by mans free agency without exerting more of his own efficient power to obtain it He could obtain it if he would do all that he can B. * Hoc vâ—lt Dtus ut omneâ—â—jus vitâ— participes sâ—â—t circumstaâ—tiâ— vero pâ—nâ—rum non ipsius vâ—lâ—â—tatâ— fiunt sed pro merito â—â—ruâ—â— qui pâ—ccaverunt inferâ—â—tâ—â— Vitam Deâ—â— cuique propria voluntatâ— tribuitâ—ram vero sibi quisque theâ—aurizat Basil in Psal 26. This is no more than to say that either properly he doth not will that man excite his own Will to the act in that he will not do that without which he knoweth it will not be done or that he willeth it but conditionally If so much help will procure it And for want of plain opening the case as it is you do but entangle your self in unintelligible words when you talk of uneffectual velleities of the event which yet are absolute A. How will you explain it better B. As is sufficiently done before 1. God absolutely willeth that it shall be mans duty to repent and believe Duty is the thing antecedently willed with an absolute Will 2. God willeth that Heaven shall be his due if he perform that condition 3. But if he will not perform it that Hell be his due This Will is conditional as to the thing willed 4. These Volitions of God belong to him as Rector supposing him a Benefactor giving out his benefits by a Law And this Will is expressed by Gods Law which actually constituteth the absolute Debitum obedientiae and the conditional debitum premii vel poenae 5. The condition being past Gods consequent Will is absolute de premiando vel puniendo He willeth the death of the Impenitent consequently And this is but Gods Will qua judex expressed by his Judgment actually 6. Though in strict sense the thing that God antecedently willeth is not the event but the debitum vel jus man's duty and his due thereupon yet because it belongeth not to a Legislator as such to do any more towards the event than command it supposing necessary power and helps therefore after the manner of men it is said that God willeth the event Repentance and Salvation because he willeth to do so much towards it even all that concerneth him to do as a meer Rector besides the donation of necessary power or help as a Benefactor And this is all that you mean in which both sides are really agreed A. I confess we use to explain it by his Antecedent Will and saying that quantum in se he would have all repent and live But by quantum in se we do not mean that God doth as much as he is able to it Therefore your explication seemeth true as well as conciliatory that he doth quantum in se as Rector per leges supposing also his necessary help B. So God delighteth not in the death of Sinners because it is not his Antecedent Will that they die but only his consequent on supposition of impenitency which he willeth not And also because it is the good of Justice and not our death and hurt as such or for it self that God loveth and delighteth in But when men return and live they fulfil his antecedent Will and do that which he loveth as good in it self And he would have all men come to the knowledge of the Truth and be saved that is He obligeth both Ministers to preach to them and others to pray for them and help them and themselves to obey and receive his Grace And he giveth them means and giveth Christ and Life by free donation to all on condition they will but accept the Gift And he that strictly willeth this much may be said after the manner of men to will the event And this is all that both sides mean if they understood themselves The second Crimination A. The great difference between us is that they hold Gods Grace to be unresistible * Okam Gabriel and Catherinus do hold that there are three ranks of men in Gods Decree 1. One of persons eminently predestinated to whom God will give such extraordinary Grace as shall ex se ascertain their Conversion and Salvation 2. Another of the the ordinary Elect who are fore-seen to use well sufficient Grace and so elected to Glory upon that fore-sight 3. The Reprobates who are decreed to Hell for their fore-seen sin Vide Okam in 1. d. 41. q. 1. Gabr. ibid. q. 1. a. 2. de hisce Vasqutz in 1. Tho. q. 23. disq 90. c. 1. who contradicteth them cap. 2. 23. Yet denieth that in man there is any cause condition or occasion of his predestination disp 91. Tilenus against Camero layeth all upon the resistibility of Grace but never sufficiently explaineth the word The Arminians Synod p. 15. assert Etiam supernaturalem potentiam voluntati conferri hac ratione Deum immediate
commonest observation 3. All other Habits follow the Acts and therefore we have little reason to say it is otherwise here C. Doth the Soul believe before it is inclined or disposed to it B. Inclination is a hard word and belongeth both to Natural Inclination such as we have to Felicity and to Habits and to meer Dispositions And a pre-disposition we grant As when you spur your Horse you make him first the patient of your act and by suscitating his natural faculty you dispose him to a speedy motion though the similitude doth not quadrare per omnia because Gods influx is on the whole Soul it self But this Disposition to the present act is far less than a proper Habit or it 's another thing C. When I spur my Horse or whip my Dog I do but stir up a former faculty or slothful power But God giveth a new life and power to them that were dead in sin B. Yet I cannot take words for matter 1. It 's nothing but the natural faculty or power which you suscitate in the beast And hath not an unbeliever the Natural faculties or power Is he not a man Why do you not bury him if he be not alive 2. Death in sin is relative or real The Relative is Reatus mortis which denominateth men filios mortis and is done away by pardon The real is the Privation of a holy disposition to the act of Faith and Repentance c. or of the Act it self or of the Habit. You can name no other Now 1. the death which consisteth in the privation of the first disposition to act supposing all natural dispositions is taken away by the first influx or suscitation of the Holy Ghost 2. And by the same in secunda instanti is caused the Act and the death gone that lay in its privation 3. And in the third instant or afterward by degrees is taken away the death which lieth in the privation of the Habit. And this giving the Habit is called in Scripture and by Divines Sanctification as following Vocation and it is wrought in us by degrees and not all at once and that by the Spirits power with and by our exercised Acts. In my youth I was so prematurely confident of the contrary that the first Controversie that ever I wrote on was a Confutation of Bishop Downam Amesius Medall de Vocat Mr. Tho. Hooker c. in Defence of Pemble herein but riper thoughts made me burn that Script C. But the spur or rod putteth no new power at all into your Horse but Gods Spirit putteth a new Power into us B. I have talkt long enough to you about Power before and therefore would not turn back needlesly to say it over again Gods Spirit putteth no such thing into us as we call a faculty or natural power For that is the form or essence of the Soul and our Species is not chang'd by Grace But he giveth us that which is called a Moral Power which consisteth conjunctly in the concurrence of means and objects and the disposition of our faculties to the act Hear Dr. Twisse against Hord pag. 12. lib. 2. He secretly maintaineth that every man hath such a power by Grace by which he may repent if he will Concerning which Tenet of his we nothing doubt but every man hath such a power but we say it is nature rather Page 18. Truly I see no cause to deny this that even the wicked could do good if they would We may safely say with Austin Omnes possunt Deo credere ab amore rerum temporalium ad Divina praecepta servanda se convertere si velint Here is posse se convertere id est velte si velit But saith Twisse pag. 170. l. 1. But such is the shameful issue of them that confound impotency moral with impotence natural as if there were no difference which he oft sheweth is but the want of actual and dispositive willingness Now the rod or spur may cause both a present disposition and an act of will C. But is this all the new Life and Spirit and Divine Nature that is given us Sure it is much more B. No doubt but it is much more But that Spirit Life and Nature is promised and given to Believers and is promised on condition of our accepting Christ in whom is our life And therefore it is that habitual Grace which followeth the first act of Faith and is a nobler disposition to the following acts C. Will one act of ours cause a Habit B. Not as ours only But when the Spirit will work by it it will But even that Habit I told you is weak at first and increased by degrees But proceed and tell me Quest 7. Are you sure that in the Acquisition of Habits there is no immediate operation of God on the Soul that causeth them C. We all hold an immediate Influx necessary to the Being and Action of every Creature natural and free but not an immediate Infusion B. What 's the difference between Influx and Infusion C. The first is an universal operation the other a particular B. Do you mean that the difference of the acts or operations is at all ex parte agentis sen act us ut est agentis antecedent to the effect or only in the effect it self C. I dare not say that there is any difference in God for it is against his simplicity and his very will and act as in himself is his Essence though varioâ—sly related and denominated by cannotation Therefore I must needs confess that the diversity is only in the effect B. Do you not see then what a delusory and troublesome stir men make for and about meer words What 's the Crimination come to then about Acquired and Infused Habits when the difference is only in the effects You confess that all proper Habits Infused are by our cogitation and use of means and so are also acquired And you confes that all Acquired Aabits are wrought besides our cogitation and use of means by an immediate influx of God so that as to the Causes you can name no difference And yet the words Acquired and Infused signifie a difference in the Causes and their operation and not in the Effect by their notation Is not this deceit then C. Tell me what you take to be the difference your self B. 1. I suppose that ab uno omnia God without diversity causeth all diversity which is only in the Creatures and not in him 2. I suppose that God hath appointed natural means and second causes for common natural effects and his Will is that they shall operate according to their aptitude And that he hath appointed extraordinary means even Christ and supernatural Revelation for the production of saving Faith And it is his will that they shall work usually according to their aptitude 3. It is his command that we use these several means natural and supernatural accordingly 4. As these means are special extraordinary and for a special end
never read that any mans damnation was any whit the more increased for not performing these acts And again page 170. It is true there is a Faith infused by the Spirit of God in regeneration But who ever said that any man was damned because he doth not believe with such a Faith As much as to say that non-regeneration is the meritorious cause of damnation C. I am amazed at this especially his supposing that no man ever said that which I thought no man of us had denied B. I would think that his meaning is that men are not condemned for want of Gods infusing act but their own believing act or for the privation of Infusion but for the privation of Faith or of Faith not quatenus infused but as they ought to have believed without infusion But he was not so wanting in accurateness but that he knew how to have exprest himself had that been his meaning And then I know not how his words will consist with this sense I never read that any mans damnation was the more increased for not performing these acts where changing their own hearts is one And whoever said that any man was damned because he did not believe with such a Faith Here it is the Faith as such which is supposed spoken of the privation whereof is not the meritorious cause of damnation And indeed though the power of this Faith would have been in us had there been no Sin or Saviour yet there would have been no obligation to believe in Christ as Mediator And therefore if the Law of Innocency had stood alone even the want of an acquired Faith in Christ would have been no sin But this is the unhappiness of such as must read Controversial Writings There is no end of searching after the Writers meaning But the thing it self I think is plain c. that only an effectual special Faith will save us and it is such a Faith of which Christ speaketh Mat. 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned though he believe with any other Faith whatsoever which he calleth acquired Perhaps this his opinion hath some dependance on what he saith before ibid. He punisheth the disobedient with eternal death True but according to what Covenant Not according to the Covenant of Grace that is only a Covenant for Salvation but according to the Covenant of the Law the Covenant of Works Woful error and confusion The Covenant of the Law is almost as bad a phrase as the Covenant of the Covenant 1. Gods Law of Innocency was a Law and Covenant in several respects 2. So was the Jewish Law which Paul meaneth by the Law of Works 3. So is the Christian Law of Christ and of Grace No man is now condemned by the Jewish Law of Works as such it being ceased and never did it bind the Gentile world The Law of Nature and of Innocency indeed condemneth the disobedient but the Law or Covenant of Christ or of Grace doth condemn them to much sorer punishment Luke 19. 27. Those mine enemies that would not I should reign c. Mark 16. 16. He that believeth not shall be damned Heb. 10. 29. Mat. 25. throughout But this confounding of the Covenants I must not here rectifie But yet I hope he meant only that men suffer not for want of Gods Regenerating Infusing Act but for want of their own act of Faith The fifth Crimination C. I find Dr. Twisse ibid. alibi saepe charging it on them as holding that Grace is given according to Works which is Pelagianism For they think that God looketh at some preparation in the Receiver and giveth it to some because they are prepared for it and denieth it to others because they are unprepared whereas it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in him that of his meer good pleasure sheweth mercy B. There is enough said of this after about differencing and effectual Grace But if we must say more I ask you Quest. 1. Do you by this phrase according to Works mean to urge the Scripture that speaketh in that phrase in its proper sense or do you Vulgatum illud facientâ— quod in se est Deus non denegat Gratiam intelligitur de faciente â—â— gratia auxilie Pet. â— S. Joseph Thes Univers de auxil pag. 83. Idem pag. 90. Nequidem ipsius Christi opera fuerunt actu meretoria citra promissiâ—nem Dei usi ex se essent valoris inâ—â—â—iti which needeth explication only use the phrase in some other sense of your own C. I use Scripture phrase in Scripture sense because I rest on its Authority B. Quest 2. Are we not also saved without Works in Scripture sense And would it be contrary to Paul to say we that we are saved by Works yea or according to them in that sense that he speaketh of them See James 2. 14 c. Tit. 3. 5. Ephes 2. 5 8 9. Gal. 3. 2. 5. 10. Acts 15. 11. c. and 16. 31. Rom. 5. 10 And yet saved according to Works in another sense James 2. 14 c. Phil. 2. 12. Gal. 6. 4. Rom. 20. 12 13. 2 Cor. 5. 10. C. In several senses of Works we deny it not B. Quest 3. At least you will grant that we are not justified by Works and yet that we are justified by Faith yea in another sense by Works Quest 4. Is not believing and repenting in order to Justification and all holy obedience in order to Salvation as truly opâ—â— a work and in a far nobler sense than preparation for Faith is C. That cannot be denied B. Then you cannot affirm that the phrase not according to Workâ— which excludeth not Faith Repentance holy Obedience to justification and salvation doth intend the exclusion of all preparation in order to Conversion or Faith in Christ when by Works excluded it meaneth the same thing or sort in all C. But saith Dr. Twisse ibid. page 154. Pardon and Salvation God doth confirm only on condition of Faith and Repentance But â—â— for Faith and Repentance doth God confer them conditionally also If so whatsoever be the condition let them look to it how they can avoid the making of Grace to wit the Grace of Faith and Repentance to be given according to Works B. I know he frequently saith the same But 1. I speak now only of the sense of that Scripture and say that this goeth upon a most false and dangerous supposition that Justification and Salvation are given according to Works though Faith and Repentance be not whereas in the sense of Works there meant by Paul no man can be justified by Works And though Christ saith This is the work of God that ye believe in him whom the Father hath sent yet it is not that which Paul meaneth Let not therefore Scripture words be abused to mislead mens understandings 2. But as to the matter of the Controversie I spoke to it enough
other and giveth real Grace to both But because the intellect is in the natural order the first in acting and the will but second and because the act is commonly and reasonably supposed to go before the Habit though not before all Divine Influx ad actum therefore men are uncertain whether God who first acteth the Intellect do not by its act first operate on the will But this dependeth much on the Physical Controversie whether the Intellect determine the will ad speciem actus or at least really and efficiently move it or rather only present the object to it and so work but in subserviency to the material cause which is constitutive indeed of the act in specie but not efficient and the perception of it goeth to the conditio objectiva without which it is no object to the will This I incline to with Scotus and suppose that the Intellect moveth not the will per modum naturae by necessitation But while we know not the order and nature of the operations of our own souls how shall we know the unsearchable way of the operations of the Holy Ghost The seventh Crimination C. They make Gods Grace a resistible thing which man can frustrate and so God worketh at uncertainties * Mans ignorance of the way of Gods operation on second causes told us by Christ himself Job 3. should end such quarrels and teach us all with judicious Davenant to prosess uncertainty and with judicious Jos Placeus de lib. arb p. 174. speaking of the dependance of the second cause on the first and the Papists digladiations about concurse and predetermination to say Nos quidem qua reverentia erga infinitam Dei majestatem ducimur non audemus definire quanta sit dependentia causae secundae a prima Nobis sufficit modo ne Deo ullam peccatorum nostrorum vel minimam labem aspergat non posse nimiam statâ—i To which also the very judicious Lt Blank subscribeth Thes 51. de concursu c. The Remonstrants Syn. ar 3 4. p. 15. c. do profess that Gods operation of the Intellect Affection and Will do thus differ that the converting work on the will is more resistible than the other And to the question An conversâ—o contingens sit et in certa an vero necessitate causae aut eventus insallibiliter sequatur in â—o qui convertitur Respondent conversionem esse contingentem quia Libera est nec tameâ— Dâ—o incertam quia praecognita est nec sequi necessitate causae sive consequentis quia resistere poterat homo sed necessitate consequentiae c. Et pag. 17. Declarat Quare dicimus hominis voluntatem ad volendum bonum non necessitari sed hominem posse resistere hoc est non-velle et saepe actu non-velle et resistere gratiâ— sufficientis operationibus B. I have said so much of this before that I need not tire you with much more Quest 1. Do you know of no way for God to work with certainty of success if Grace be resistible C. I will not say so I know what you have said to this before B. Why then do you speak that which is not valid in your own judgment Quest. 2. Dare you undertake to justifie all the world against the accusation of having resisted the Grace of God C. No I dispute not on such hard terms B. Quest. 3. Did you never repent your self for resisting Grace C. Yes in some sense but not as I now mean it B. How is that C. To resist the Gospel and Ministry is a resisting of Grace and the Holy Ghost Acts 7. and so I have done But I speak of immediate resisting God B. 1. Remember that here you confess that the Gospel is Grace even to them that resist it 2. God himself cannot be resisted immediately where he worketh not immediately 3. But where he doth so he is said to be resisted 1. Not by any repelling of his strength 2. Much less by opposing a greater strength 3. Nor by acting by any strength but what he giveth 4. Not by causing any difficulty to him 5. Not by frustrating any absolute will of his But 1. Passively by being ill disposed to the reception of that Grace which he offereth and that operation which else might effect it 2. And actively by doing that which rendereth us yet more ill-disposed both naturally and morally by commerit 3. As also in that we do that which is contrary to Gods actions in their tendency to the effect When he moveth us to hear read meditate pray love trust c. and we do the contrary this may be called a resistance C. If God intend the effect it will be done but if he intend it not how is he resisted in that which he never intended to do B. You know the Scripture speaketh not at these rates but when men will set their silly wits against Gods Word thus they will seem subtiler than he But it 's but a dream 1. God may be resisted when he intendeth not the effect in that his Law is resisted and with it that necessary measure of Grace by which the effect might have been wrought Though his Decree be not resisted yet his Law and his Grace and help which had a tendency to the effect and a sufficiency on its part may be resisted 2. And he is ordinarily resisted in that which he doth both intend and do For he seldom doth us any good without resistance though he overcome But he that overcometh resistance is resisted C. But I mean by Resisting Overcoming B. Why then did you not speak as you meant None dreameth that Omnipotence is overcome by a greater strength much less by the derived power of us worms But the Case is weighty which you and others perilously overlook C. Let me hear your explication of it B. God doth not work like necessary agents to the utmost that he is able His Wisdome hath diversified Creatures and his Wisdome hath appointed even in the works of Grace a stablished order of second causes and means which he will use for the effect And his Wisdome and Free will hath fixed a certain degree or proportion of his concourse suitable 1. To the nature of man 2. And to the nature and use of all those means 3. And to the effect as it is to be ordinarily accomplished Even as in nature he concurreth with all causes agreeably to their stablished nature and use Now though Omnipotency cannot be overcome yet the same creature that hath a certain stated proportion of natural activity and Gods suitable concourse e. g. to a healthful body which hath strong appetites and also a congruous proportion of Gracious means and concurse and helps of Grace by which he can rule the foresaid appetite may yet by neglect of that help and by wilful indulging of that appetite make the appetite stronger than his ordinary degree of help and so overcome the Grace of God though he overcome not Gods Omnipotence or Decrees
cannot answer what you have said for it And when I read Dallaeus Apolog. and in him almost all ancient Writers and late Churches for it I dare not be so singular as Spanhemius and a few more of late in denying this Grace of God Though I once thought that it had been Objective only and with Amyrald I noted little more in the Controversie than between the Objective and Subjective grace as if there had been no other Efficient grace to come in question But I am convinced 1. that de facto there is a degree of Grace ad posse that leaveth men unexcusable which is not effectual in the event For I dare not say that I could never have sinned less or done better than I did 2. And that the same degree of the Spirits help is not sufficient to an utterly unprepared Soul as to the prepared or to cause a man to believe and love God above all as may cause him to forbear some sin or to use some means Non possunt initia illa accendi aut fides inchoata retineri dum voluntas omnino repugnat Non enim Efficax est Spiritus Sanctus in eo qui ne vult quidem audire Evangelium excuteretur si voluntas succumberet dubitationibus Loc. Com. de lib. art c. 7. for further Grace Therefore such a thing as is called sufficient and universal Grace or help I do confess But by the way if Christ be the universal Dispenser of this Grace how reacheth it to those that know not Christ B. 1. I have shewed you in Cain's instance and his posterity that it reacheth not Equally to all no more than the Sun to the Southern and the Northern Nations 2. I have proved to you that Christ was after the fall made the Head of the new Covenant and that this Covenant was made with all Mankind And that he is the Administrator General to all Mankind and all things Power and Judgment is committed to him that he is now the Owner Ruler and Judge of all 3. Therefore all the Light Means and Mercies that are in any parts of the world are as truly from Christ as the universal Mediator as all light is from the Sun Even in Dungeons and Caverns and where there is least And as the Sun sends forth some light before it ariseth and some after it is set and some in the night even by the Moon c. so doth Christ enlighten all the world so far as they have light though in very various degrees 4. You will not say that Christ by his Incarnation did put all the rest of the world into a worse condition than they were in before his coming and to take away from them any of the mercies of the Law of Grace which God had made with them in Adam and Noah C. I am afraid you go about to confound the world and the Church while you make all to be the Kingdom of Christ and to be under the Law and Covenant of Grace B. I must still call you to difference the question de re from that de nomine Whether all should be called the Church is one question And how really they stand related to Christ is another To that de re I say 1. It is past doubt that Christ the Mediator is the Owner and Ruler of all the world de jure even jure Redemptionis as all are given to him of the Father 2. It is doubtless that all are under his foresaid Law of Grace as that which is in force to oblige them and to punish them if they break it and to reward them if they keep it For they are not Lawless nor hopeless 3. It is doubtless that all are possessed of many and great Mercies as well as obliged to many duties as tending to their recovery and salvation And thus they are so far the Kingdoms of Christ But yet de nomine they are not to be called the Church because the Church is Regnum peculiaritatis As the Israelites had the foedus peculiaritatis and were Regnum peculiare before Christs coming and yet not the only people in the world that were under a Law of Grace for that was universal So is it now with the Christian Churches and much more Briefly Christ hath three sorts of Subjects in the world 1. Subjects quoad obligationem and so all the world are his Subjects because first his beneficiaries 2. Subjects by professed Consent which is 1. A half consent as many without the Church 2. A full consent by Baptism and these are the Church visible 3. By sincere Heart-consent and this is the Church mystical or regenerate that shall be saved In this I think we are agreed C. Well Supposing an universal help of Grace how answer you the question Under fit Efficax B. Do you grant me then that this universal Grace is ever effectual C. Stay there You told me that 's the turning point where Dr. Sanderson and Dr. Hammond came to a ne plus But 1. As to preparatory Acts we shall not deny it I find not that our Divines do assert the necessity Vasq in 1. Tho. q. 23. Disp 88. Reciteth various opinions of the Schoolmen of the nature of operating and co-operating Grace 1 Vega's in Conc. Trid. l. 6. c. 8. That operating Grace is each holy cogitation and first motion of the will in which God acteth Physically and Man is but Passive And so the Nominals who make God only Active and Man Passive in the efficience of Intellection and Volition as he saith And some Thomists 2. The way of Aquin. Coâ—rad Cajet Dur. Anton Sot Dried Tapper Who say that Gratia operans is in the first free motion of the will circa finem whence the will is moved ad media c. 3. Greg. Armine's which many follow supposing it Augustines Omnâ— opuâ— intellectuâ— voluntatis non solum a Deo fieri sed etiam a nobis tanquam a causa secunda efficientâ— Physice produci Deum tamen sola sua virtute primo voluntatem applicare ad libere volendum non jolum â—am praeveniendo praevia Cogitatione ex parte intellectus primo motu non deliberato timoris aut spei sed etiam â—am impellendo ad consensum liberum Hâ—nc impulsum putat Gregor esse medium quid inter ipsum consensum liberum ad quâ—m cooperatur voluntas primum motum non deliberatum voluntatis Iâ—u cogitationem intellectus appellati ab Augustino Initium boni operis 4. This Vasquâ—z confuteth and asserteth that Gratia operans quam sine nobis in nobis Deus operatur according to Augustine is no such middle impulse but â—psam Sanctam cogitationem quae est ante consensum motum voluntatis subitum sine nostra libertate ex pia illa cogitatione ortum quo deterremur a malo he meaneth some passion ad bonum provocamur And that co-operating Grace is Ipse consensus liber in quo meritum reperitur Etiam circa
your mind A. That is because of some better Principles which they hold and because they see not the contradiction and inconsistence B. You come near to this truth Indeed there are Principles better than either of your controverted Opinions common to both sides which may afford us great Consolation and which sound Christians live upon And I doubt your Disputes on both sides do more disturb than comfort most But this must be granted that Opinions are not true because they are comfortable nor all false that have any thing in them apt to trouble men who have the sinful matter of trouble in themselves no more than Physick is naught that maketh men sick We must take our Comforts on Gods terms The truth is your Doctrine seemeth more comfortable in the respects which you have named as to the assurance of present Justification and theirs more comfortable in another respect viz. as to the continuance of it when they have it But if this Doctrine were to be chosen by the comfortableness yea and usefulness of it there is a middle way of some Schoolmen which would be preferred before both That is that neither any of the Elect nor any that have attained to confirmation â—r a fixed degree of Grace do ever fall away But that there are some not-Elect who are sincere and justified but weak and mutable as Adam in Innocency and not confirmed who fall away and perish And this Vossius thinketh was Augustine's Opinion And Grotius in his excellent Epistle against Molin lately translated into English by Mr. Barksdale affirmeth it to be the common judgment of the Fathers which will be no small advantage to it with me And 1. This avoideth the uncomfortable Doctrine which you charge on them For this holdeth that a weak Christian may have the comfort of present Justification that is not certain to persevere nor that he is any better than some that fall away 2. And it avoideth the uncomfortableness which they charge on you viz. that no man can be assured of his Perseverance and Salvation For these hold that all the consâ—med may be assured of it And that all weak Christians may possibly attain to confirmation 3. And it only leaveth weak unconfirmed Christianâ— uncertain of Salvation which both sides are agreed in For they confess that weak Christians are seldom if ever sure of their present sincerity and Justification And you hold that they are uncertain to persevere And so both of you hold them to be uncertain of Salvation But proceed The fourth Crimination A. They do reproach the Holiness of Gods people and his â—mage and encourage most horrid wickedness while they make all the sâ—â— that ever was committed by any man after his Regeneration to be consistent with Holiness and Justification not only Noah 's Drunkenness Lot 's being Drunk and Incestuous two nights together David's hâ—rrid Murder and Adultery Peter 's denying and forswearing his Lord but for instance Solomon they say was a Saint and justified when he gave up himself to all manner of pleasure and denied himself nothing and Paul saith The carnal mind is enmity to God and if ye live after the flesh ye shall die when he clave in love to many Idolatrous women having seven hundred Wives and three hundred Coâ—cubins and his Wives turned away his Heart after other gods and his Heart was not perfect with the Lord but he went after Ashtoreth the Goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the abomination of the Amorites and built an High Place for Chemoth the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of Ammon and likewise did he for all his strange Wives which burnt Incense and sacrificed to their gods his Heart was turned from the Lord that appeared to him twice 1 King 11. 1 to 12. All this say the Calvinists you may do and yet be Saints and justified and saved * Bradwardine li. 3. c. 27. having maintained that all things come to pass by necessity and cap. 29. p. 734. answering the Objection that this will make men cast all their sin on God and be ungodly answereth that it will do so by none but the Reprobate and confesseth that so one of his Monastery did argue and turned thereupon to a wicked life but that he cannot help that for he cannot predestinate men that are reprobated All this may stand with Gods Image and true Holiness B. As to all the rest except Solomon the sin being one or two particular Acts contrary to the main bent and scope of their lives which were holy you seem 1. To deny an evident truth viz. that the habitual love of God was not extirpated by those Sins Can you think that habitually though the act was hindred Noah Lot David Peter did not then love God and Holiness better than sinful Pleasures And the Papists confess that Sin is not mortal that is an evidence of spiritual death till it conquer the habit of the love of God 2. You seem to take your offence at the Mercy of God himself because he will not disown men for such a particular sin contrary to their general will and life As if you provoked him to deal hardlier also with yourself lest he deal too easily or mercifully with others 3. But they are in these resolved that no man hath true Grace that loveth not God and Holiness above the World and sinful Pleasure And they and you are agreed in this And in the hypothesis if you can make them believe that any of these lost that predominant habitual love they would grant that they fell from saving Grace So that thus far you agree 4. And as for Solomon's case it is too hard for us all Some think that he had but common Grace till that Repentance which he published in Eccles And that so much might produce his Proverbs which say they were but spoken by him and written long after by others as some by Hezekiah's men Others think that he did but tolerate his Wives Idolatry and that he aggravated his own sensuality in hyperbolical words and so that his sin did stand with true Grace Others think that he fell into a state of damnation in which had he died he had been damned but yet neither totally from all feminal Grace nor finally and that others may do the like In a word the case is too hard for us But our comfort lieth not in being sure what condition Solomon was in either first or last And also as Means and Grace are greater under the Gospel than they were to Solomon and Life and Immortality more brought to light so more spirituality and heavenliness is now required of us than was then of them As long as Christ hath fullier described to us the title-title-conditions of Salvation we have better means to judge of our states than the deciding of these Difficulties about Solomon would be A. This is true but nothing to the purpose we prove by Solomon that a man may fall from Grace B.
as in many other Points and therefore not the same consent and concord among the learnedest Divines and the godliest Christians And in my Observations most on each side are more moved to their Opinion in this from the congruity that they think it hath with other Verities or the Analogy of Faith than from the proper plain sense of the Texts which they themselves alledge So that though no doubt the Truth is to be found in the Scriptures yet not with such ease and certainty as will allow us to make the decision of this Point any part of the terms of our necessary Concord THE Tenth Days Conference Between B. and C. OF PERSEVERANCE B. You have now some advantage for your censure of Dissenters See Ruiz de Praedes d. b. Sect. 4 5 6. Proving that Faith and certain Perseverance of all the Elect proceed from Gods decrees or predefinition and that all things work for their good c. This the Jesuites acknowledge where the difference is real But I am loth you should make it greater than it is or make as hot and contentious work about it as Marbachius and Zanohy did How odious soever Thompson and Bertius have been made by our side and Jovinian Calvin and his followers by the other though I wish there were no difference at all I undertake to prove that the difference is not of so great moment as is commonly on both sides pretended And no greater than should consist with true Love and Communion even between the Members yea the Pastors of the same Church who are therein of differing opinions But first let me hear what you have to aggravate it The first Crimination C. Their Crime is that they overthrow the comfort of Believers by denying them any certainty of Salvation * Paraeus himself maketh such an Intercision of Justification in Believers as I cannot own in Bellarm. de Amiss Grat. l. 1. c. 7. Fides tunc dicitur Justificare quum actum proprium accipiendi remissionem peccatorum exercet Hinc vero actum non exercet neque exercere potest fides aegra saucia sordibus carnis oppressa peccatorum compedibus quasi ligata Justificatiâ— laâ—â—iâ— Dâ—â—â— non imputat peccata nempe resipiscentibus Ante resipiscentiam certe imputat infligendo poenas temporales imputarit â—tiam â—â—fligendo poenas aeternas nisi resipiscerent Tunc igitur fides in lapsis habitualiter tantum â—aneâ—s proprie Justificans dici aut cos Justificare non potest But his reason is bad For faith is not called Justifying for the Reason which he giveth The like say the Polonian Protestants in Colloq Thorun de Grat. Sect. 2. n. 11. Falso accusamur quasi statuamus semel justificatos Dei Gratiam â—jusque certitudinem ipsum Spiritum Sanctum non posse amittere quamvis in peccatis pro lubitu volutentur Cum contra potius doceamus ipsos etiam renatâ—s quoties in peccata contra conscientiam recidunt in iisque aliquandum perseverent nec fidem veram nec Dei gratiam justificantem nedum ejus certitudinem aut Spiritum Sanctum pro tempore retinere sed novum irae ac mortis aeternae reatum incurrere Ac propterea nisi Speciali Dei gratia excitante quod in electis fieri non dubitamus ad resipiscentiam iterâ—m renoventur reipsa etiam damnandos esse This is the same with the Doctrine of Augustine and Musculus or near it Yea both Ursine and Pareus seem to come as far Catech. de Peccat actuali Peccatum regnans est cui peccans non repugnat ideoque fit obnoxius aeternae morti nisi c. Propter quod non tantum ex ordine justiâ—iae Dei sed ex reipsa aeternarum poenarum reus est qui illud habet Talia sunt omnia peccata in non renatis quaedam etiam in renatis ut error in fundâ—mento fidei lapsus contra conscientiam cum quibus fiducia remissionis peccatorum consolatio vera non consistit donec resipiscant Quod enim etiam renati possâ—t cadere in peccatum regnans satis ostendunt tristissimi lapsus Sanctissiomrum hominum ut Aaronâ—s Davidis c. Rob. Baronim in his excellent little Treat de Pec. Mort. veniali saith that by Mortal Sins the regenerate may 1. Be excluded from that Grace and favour of God by which he before loved them yeâ— he incurreth Gods hatred and displeasure so far c. 2. Their Prayers Thanks Obedience yea nothing that proceedeth from them is then acceptable to God 3. In that state God cannot forgive them and give them peace of Conscience and joy B. To be absolutely certain of Salvation no doubt would be a very great comfort But let us enquire I. What number will be by this Doctrine hindered from this certainty II. In what degree this tendeth to their discomfort 1. And by the first enquiry I doubt we shall find that you also hold Doctrines that hinder most men from concluding themselves certain of Salvation and yet perhaps be very true These Questions therefore I crave your answer to Q. 1. Do not you grant that we must take no comfort but what God giveth us and on his terms and that the false comforts of presumption are worse than none or not desirable And that all Doctrine is not true that were it true were comfortable C. Yes none will deny it you B. Q. 2. Do you not find by experience being a Pastor who hath discoursed with your Flock man by man about their state that of those that you account truly Godly persons there is not one of fifty yea of an hundred yea of many hundreds that will say that they are certain of their Salvation properly and fully certain C. I suppose your question implyeth your own observation which I contradict not B. Q. 3. And as for the multitude of more careless and loose Christians do not you think that whatever they say their certainty is less than these Godly persons C. Yes no doubt for their evidence is less or none B. Q. 4. Do you not think that it must needs be so that certainty of Salvation must be exceeding rare considering that all these things must go to it 1. There must be a certainty that Gods promises are true whereas the faith of most is weak 2. There must be a certain understanding both of the meaning of the promise and what are the true Conditions of it and the difference between true saving Grace and all that is but counterfeit or common Whereas most are uncertain and dark herein if not mistaken 3. There must be these Evidences in the person himself not only in reality but in ascertaining-discernableness which cannot be unless it be 1. Much and strong for that which is small is so like to the common and counterfeit that it is seldom certainly discerned 2. It must be in Activity For Grace out of Act is not discernable 3. It must be powerfully operative without and in the
and not have spoken evil of what you understand not But it 's better now than not at all Our judgement is as followeth I. That God hath three Essential Attributes which he expresseth and glorifieth in his works His Vital Power or Activity his Wisdom and his Will or Love That all these are and operate conunctly but yet each appeareth in eminency in its special effects That Gods Power eminently appeareth in the Being and Motion of things and his Wisdom eminently in the ORDER of things and his LOVE in the Goodness and Perfection of things That accordingly he is 1. The first Efficient 2. The chief Dirigent 3. The ultimate Final Cause of all II. That as to man he is Related to us 1. As our Creator the Cause of our Being Nature and natural Motion as the Fountain of Nature where Power is most Eminent 2. As our Governour and the God of ORDER and the Dirigent Cause where all Attributes concurr but Wisdom is most Eminent 3. As our most Bounteous Benefactor and most Amiable Good and End where Goodness or Love is most eminent III. That accordingly God is the Author of Nature Grace and Glory and since the fall of Natura Medela Sanitas of our Nature our ORDER and Gracious Government and of our Holiness and Happiness and so is our Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier IV. That neither Man Angel or any Creature can possibly have any good but by Gods gift any more than they can make themselves or a World And this Gift must needs be free seeing the Creature hath nothing that is good but what it hath of God and nothing to give him that can add to him or but what is absolutely his own V. God is to us 1. Our OWNER 2. Our RULER 3. Our BENEFACTOR antecedently And no man can Merit of God as he is an Owner or a meer Benefactor for so he freely disposeth as he pleaseth of his own But only of God as a Ruler as is after opened VI. Therefore it is blasphemy to hold that man or Angel can Merit of God in point of proper Commutative Justice which giveth in exchange one thing for another to the benefit of the receiver For as is said God cannot Receive any addition to his perfection nor have we any thing but his own to give him Luke 17. 10. we are thus unprofitable servants as to a Proprietor in point of Commutation though the unprofitable servant be daâ—â—ned Matâ—h 25. 30. in another sense that is who improveth not his Masters stock to the benefit of himself and others and the pleasing of his Ruler VII Mans Duty therefore meriteth only in point of Governing distributive Justice And not every way neither in respect of that For Governing Justice is distinguished according to the Law that governeth us which is either 1. The Law of Innocency or 2. The Law of Grace And no man since the fall can Merit of God according to the Justice of the Law of Innocency which exacteth personal perfection VIII The Law of Grace is in its first notion a free gift of Christ Pardon and Right to Life Eternal by Adoption to all that will Accept it believingly as it is offered that is according to the nature of the Gift And this Gift or Conditional promise and pardon no man can merit For Christs perfect Righteousness and Sacrifice hath already merited it for us and so hath left us no such work to do Nor is there the least place for any humane Merit or Rewardableness from God but on supposition of 1. Christs Merits and Meritorious Righteousness 2. And of this free gift or Act of Oblivion and Life already made to us without our desert IX But yet this is not a meer Gift but also a true Law God is still our God and Governour and Christ is Lord of all Rom. 14. 9. He that is a King and Ruler hath his Laws and Judgement That which is a Gift in the first respect hath 1. It s condition 2. Many commanded duties and so is a Law of Grace in other respects And it is only in respect to this Law of Grace that man is Rewardable or can Merit X. The Gift is from God as Benefactor considered as Good and in it self But it is from God as Sapiential Rector quoad ordinâ—m conferendi as to the Order and Reason why one man rather than another receiveth it So that we Merit not of God as Benefactor nor as Rector by the Law of Innocency or Works nor yet as to the Value or Goodness of the Benefit which is a free Gift But only of God as Rector by the Law of Grace which regulateth the Reception of his free gifts merited by the perfect Righteousness of Christ and so only as to the Order and Reason why one more than another receiveth that free gift As if a Father hath many Sons One living obediently Others playing the prodigals and upon his freely-offered pardon and grace one receiveth it thankfully and the other refuseth it scornfully Here both the obedient and the penitent son have all upon free gift as to Commutative Justice but on various terms And yet both merit in point of paternal Governing Justice but very differently One meriteth of strict Fatherly Justice The other only of a forgiving Father quite on other terms And it is a Comparative Merit by which he is fitter for pardon than the Sons that despise it and spit in the Fathers face XI God as a Benefactor and a Governour giveth some benefits Antecedently to any duty of man And these are never a Reward to us but of Christ perhaps in some instances As Legislation so the benefits of it and that attend it are before Reward and Judgement But other benefits are given by God both as Benefactor and Legislator upon condition of some duty of ours in the Antecedent gift and so in the Judicial sentence and execution that duty is rendered as the reason of our actual Right to them And these are a Reward XII Our first Grace is no Reward nor merited because it antecedeth all conditional duty of ours XIII Our first Reception of Right to Christ Pardon and Life being given on the condition of penitent Acceptance in faith may be called a Reward because they are consequent gifts on condition But because the condition is so slender a thing as the thankful Acceptance of a free gift Divines agree not of the fitness of the name Reward and Merit while they wholly agree about the thing But our after-mercies and final Glory being promised on the condition of such a faith as worketh by Love obedience and improvement of Gods mercies in good works and patience perseverance and conquest of the Flesh the World and the Devil therefore they have more unanimously agreed not only de re but that the names of Reward and Rewardableness or Merit and Worthiness are here fit but used only in the fore explained sense XIV And though the Scripture oftest use the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
not L. I had rather they did differ less and if it be so I had rather know it than not But I would not hear that it is so when it is not R. Take heed that your heart deceive you not and that you be not averse to know the truth lest it should cross your own and other mens former censures Quest 2. If it prove true that the difference is less than most take it to be is he that falsly aggravateth it to the procuring of unjust odium or he that truly openeth and extenuateth it the more to be commended or approved L. If you have the Truth on your side no doubt but you do well because Love and Peace also are on your side and our fault is great that quarrel with you R. Quest 3. Do you think it is justice in any Papists to charge the crude unsound expressions of particular Writers on the Protestant party as their Doctrine as Mr. Parker Mr. Patrick Mr. Sherlock are blamed for doing by the Non-conformists or for us to do the same by them L. No but where their Doctors agree we may go further R. Quest 4. Do you think that the bare name of Merit is cause enough to accuâ—e any of false Doctrine who meaneth by it nothing that is unsound or that the name is reason enough for sharp accusations of such men L. I am willing to difference the controversie de nomine from that de re and not to make a greater matter of a name than there is cause But yet ill names do tend to introduce ill Doctrines R. Quest 5. Do you hold that well-doing hath any Reward from God L. It is not vain It hath that blessing freely given which is improperly called a Reward R. It is figuratively called Wages And yet this is the commonest Scripture title and cannot you bear with Gods Word But it is not improperly called Praemium a Reward that is A benefit given to one for well doing Indeed if with the new Atheistical Philosophers you take God but for a Physical Motor and his Government and Laws and Judgement to be all but Motion improperly and popularly so named then you may say the same of his Rewards and Punishments L. Well you know that Protestants deny not Reward R. Quest 6. Is not Reward formally Related to some well-doing as the moral aptitude of the Receiver L. Yes it is such a Relation formally R. Quest 7. Are not they then of your judgement as to the Matter who hold Merit in no other sense than as it is Rewardable well-doing or a Moral aptitude for Reward L. I deny not that with such I differ but in the Name R. Quest 8. Do not you know that it is the common usage of the word in Civil and Ecclesiastical Writers to take Meritum and Praemium so far for Relatives as that omne Praemium est meriti praemium though omne meritum be not Praemii meritum Reward and Rewardableness are thus meant as related It 's true that Meritum is sometime taken less properly for any Dueness â—s a man is said to Merit his Fathers Legacie that is hath right to it sometimes it is taken for any Moral Congruity sometimes in malam partem for Commerit of punishment and sometimes for a fault it self As Calvin noteth on the word But still every Reward is formally related to Merit or Rewardableness L. But not only our late Lectures against Popery but many Protestants say that It is not Merit unless there be an Equality of it in worth to the Reward And therefore their Arguments against Merit are as there 1. The Reward is meerly of Mercy and Grace therefore not of Merit 2. It is Gods Gift therefore not deserved 3. It is by Inheritance 4. We owe all to God and therefore cannot Merit 5. Our works are imperfect 6. We need pardon 7. Our works are not equal in Goodness and Value to eternal life 8. We cannot recompence God for what we have 9. We cannot profit God 10. Grace and debt are opposite 11. We may not Trust our works faith or love therefore they merit not So that the question is but of such a Merit as by equal worth maketh the Reward due in point of Justice R. All these reasons sufficiently confute Merit in point of Commutative Justice But they go upon a meer mistake as if this were the state of the controversie between us and the Roman Church or they took Merit in any such sense unless it be some rare ignorant fellow such as Romaeus seemeth by some words and some few others But do you grant that you differ but de nomine and not de re with those that take not Merit in any such sense but mean as you do de re ipsa L. That I must needs grant R. Before we proceed then let me briefly and plainly open the case 1. God standeth related to Man 1. As the Owner of us and all things 2. As our Rector by Laws 3. As our Benefactor 2. To Merit 1. Of a Proprietor or Owner must be giving him somewhat to his gain or pleasure for the worth of which he is bound by Commutative Justice to requite us 2. To Merit of a Ruler is to do that which he is bound to Reward in Distributive Justice to perform his Rewarding promises or at least for the Ends of Government 3. To merit of a meer Benefactor is no more than not to be uncapable of his Gift which is improperly called Merit 3. All our controversie is about the second God as our Governour ruleth us 1. At first by the Law of Innocency 2. By the Law of Grace and that 1. As delivered to the World in Adam and Noe 2. Or to the Jews with the addition of the Mosaical Law of Works 3. Or as delivered in the Gospel by Christ and his Spirit 4. To dream of that Merit from God as a proprietor in point of Commutative Justice which our Arguments militate against is tantum non madness and is not the Doctrine of the Church of Rome that I know of 5. To assert our Meriting of God as Rector by the Law of Innocency is dotage And I know none that hold that we do so by our selves though some hold that we do so per alium 6. Nor do any but Jews that I know of assert Merit after the Jewish Law of Works 7. But they that hold that Christ hath Merited and freely Given a Conditional pardon and right to life to all mankind even on condition of a penitent believing acceptance of the free gift and this by a Law of Grace which we must now be Ruled and Judged by do hold that this Law hath its Reward and mans acts accordingly their worth or Merit 8. This Merit in point of Distributive Justice is to be conceived of and defined according to the Regiment which it respecteth which is Gods Paternal Government of freely Redeemed sinners by a Law of Grace freely pardoning and saving them if they will
believe and accept the gift So that it is only Meriting under a Law made by a Governing Owner and Benefactor for the sapiential orderly disposal of a free Gift As a Father will teach a Child Obedience by telling him that he will give him Gold or Meat if he will thankfully accept it 9. It is not true therefore that it is only a free Gift For as it is a free Gift in regard of the Value and quoad rem so that Gift is a Reward in regard of the Order of Conveyance and tenour of the Donation and the moral capacity of the Receiver which men call Merit 10. That we cannot per impotentiam voluntariam moralem perform the Condition without Divine Grace is nothing against the Tenour of the Donation nor the nature of the Relation of a Reward 11. But Reward and Merit in this case are furthest from that of Commutation and leaveth least to man to boast of 12. Yet may he truly glory in the effects of Grace with thankfulness to God as Paul did 2 Cor. 1. 11 12. that in simplicity and godly sincerity c. and 2 Tim. 4. 8. that he had fought a good fight c. And he may justifie his sincerity with Job chap. 13. 15 16. And Christ will say Well done good and faithful servant c. Let him that glorieth glory in this that he knoweth me saith the Lord c. And Paul would rather dye than any should make his glorying void as to his free preaching the Gospel 13. And it is very false that in this sense a Christian is not bound to trust to his Faith Repentance Love Obedience only in their own place and office assigned them by God but no further As we may trust to the Bible Preacher Parents so to hearing reading praying c. for their proper part else we shall take them all to be in vain Are they Means or no Means If Means they must be judged and trusted as they are and no further And people are not to be frightned from necessary truth by putting an ill sense upon words 14. And though here be nothing of Commutative Justice yet there is that which Justifieth the name of Wages used analogically in the Scriptures Because Love in a Father maketh a Childs interest to be partly his own and the Pleasure of his Will is that to God who is Love it self and delighteth in his Childrens good which Profit is to a humane proprietor And now I will proceed with you in my Questions Quest 9. Do you think that Papists or Arminians do believe that either Man or Angel or Christ can merit of God by Profiting him in Commutative Justice Or that it is possible for any creature to have any Good which is not the free gift of God supposing man a free agent in his duty L. I have hitherto thought that they so judge Why else talk they of Merit of Congruity and Condignity and that say some ex dignitate yea and ex proportione operum R. It seemeth you think not that you hold all this your self Let us try 1. By Merit they still mean a subordinate Merit which supposeth the Benefit 1. To be Gods Gift 2. Merited by Christ L. How prove you that R. It is the express words of the Trent Council de Justif Can. 8 We are said to be Justified gratis because nothing that goeth before Justification whether it be Faith or Works doth merit the Grace it self of Justification For if it be Grace it is no more of Works else Grace is not Grace Can. 16. Though so much be given in Scripture to Good Works that Christ promiseth him that giveth but a Cup of cold Water to one of the least that he shall not lose his reward yet far be it from a Christian to trust or glory in himself and not in the Lord whose Goodness is so great to all men that he wills those things to be Their Merits which are His Gifts And Anath C. 26. they thus open their Doctrine of Merit If any say that the Righteous ought not to expect eternal retribution from God by his Mercy and Christs Merits for the good works done in God if by well doing and keeping God Commandments they persevere to the end let him be Anathema C. 31 32. If any say that a Justified mans good works are so Gods Gifts that they be not also the Justified mans good merits or that the Justified do not truly merit increase of grace and life eternal by the good works which are done by Gods Grace and Christs Merit of whom he is a living member c. Anath sit C. 16. To them therefore that do well to the end and hope in God Life eternal is to be proposed both as Grace mercifully promised to the Sons of God through Jesus Christ and as a Reward faithfully to be given by Gods own promise to their Works and Merits L. Yes this ridiculous Doctrine of our Meriting by Gods Grace and Christs Merits I have often read and heard of in them R. It is somewhat bold to deride that which Scripture Reason and all the antient Churches do accord in That Christ merited that we should subordinately merit that is be Rewardable as before explained hath no less consent And Contra Rationem nemo fobrius Contra Scripturam nemo Christianus Contra Ecclesiam nemo Catholicus L. But if the Council of Trent deny that Justification is at all merited what is meant by the Papists Merit of Congruity R. II. I think you hold not only as much of that as they but do you think it somewhat more 1. As much For 1. De nomine some of them deny that this is any merit at all as well as you And their Council asserteth it not that I see 2. De re They mean the same thing by Merit of Congruity which Mr. Rogers Bolton Hooker and the rest call Preparation for Christ or for Conversion And so the Council of Trent calls it Which maketh a man a more Congruous Receiver of Grace than the unprepared but doth not prove God obliged to give it him as a Reward And do not you hold all this de re 2. Yea and more For the Council of Trent taketh Justification for Remission of sin and sanctification together as after Faith And so hold that Faith it self doth not merit Justification But do not you hold more de re that Faith hath a flat promise of Justification which is true And so God hath as it were obliged his fidelity to give it which is it they mean by Merit L. But what is their Merit of Condignity then Is not that abominable R. III. 1. You know that the words Worthy and Worthiness are used in the Scripture Bear therefore with Scripture words 2. And de re they mean not all one thing or use not the same expressions at least Some and many with Scotâ—â— say that it is ex pacto from Gods Promise that the Merit and dueness do result or from Gods
promised as if he had been surprized into a promise not suited to the nature of the thing this would be abhorred by the same professours who in other words as it seemeth to be against Popery will applaud it But in all this you must remember that it is presupposed that mans soul is before made Immortal by God as Creator and that he might anniâ—â—â—late the most holy Creature if he will But he hath declared that he will not partly by the Nature of his soul and partly by his natural and positive revelations so that it is presupposed that God will continue us men and then Holiness will be a proportionable Happiness L. But I pray you give me further proof that the Papists mean so well and near us â—s you describe the case Cite me the Authors R. 1. You must take nothing for their Religion but what is in their Councils And you must charge no errour on them but what you can prove For the Accuser is the prover And I before cited to you the words of the Trent Council But I justifie not all that they there say And one passage as it soundeth I greatly abhorr which is that a Just man doth not venially sin much less deserve hell in every good work Can. 11. de Justif whereas I doubt not but the very culpable defect of Love to God and other holy qualifications defileth our best works with sin and every sin deserveth some degree of a hell according to the Law of Innocency But if they mean 1. That Good works as such are not sin 2. Or that our infirmities are not such as to which the Law of Grace threatneth hell and will condemn us we are then of their mind but we much mislike their words For were there not an antecedent desert of hell and a sinfulness so deserving though not by an unremediable guilt there would be no need of pardon But to speak freely the Council Doctors seemed not well studied in the doctrine of the Covenants even Suarez de Legibus one of the best is herein short and so to speak confusedly of these matters But they seem mostly to take notice only of the Law of Grace and because that accepteth sincerity and condemneth none for meer Infirmities therefore they thence measure both fault and guilt which they should not do For I find that they still presuppose Redemption and Pardon of sin in the present case But to proceed to their Doctors Vega q. 4. defineth Merit thus Meritum est actio libera acceptata ad aliquod praemium And de re do you deny this Davenport thus amendeth it Meritum de condignâ— est actio libera ab homine in gratia elicita qua ex Justitia acceptatur ad praemium c. meaning Justitia promissoris Scotus 1. d. 17. q. 1. c. will not have it meritorious because is done by grace but by Divine decree promise and acceptance And this he calleth Justice ex suppositione decreti promissi Non igitur ex natura actus oritur obligatio ad praemium saith S. Clara factâ autem pactione est debitum ex justitia And thus say the generality of the Scotists Yet some will not yield that God is so much as a Promiser lest he be obliged but only an Assertor as S. Clara noteth Tho. Waldensis and some others deny all merit fitly so called De sacram tit 1. Eckius Marsilius and Bellarmine saith S. Clara deny all merit of congruity Greg. Arim. 1. d. 17. q. 1. a 2. saith that there is no merit of blessedness by condignity Durandus 1. d. 27. q. 2. saith there is no merit of condignity with God nisi largo modo So Marsilius in 2. d. 27. Brugensis in Psal 35. Eckius in Cent. de Pradest Cusanus Stapleton and others of whom S. Clara referreth you to Suarez in 3 Tho. disp 10. sect 7. q. 3. Bradwardine c. 39. fol. 338. laboureth to prove that the increase of Grace or Glory is not merited de condigno but de congrâ—o and that all Catholicks so hold And next denyeth merit de congruo and all by reasons which S. Clara taketh to be valid Soto a Thomist denyeth all merit de congruo and saith the Fathers held it not 4. d. 14. q. 2. a. 5. l. 2. de nat Grat. c. 4. Bonaventure 2. d. 28. a. 2. saith Pelagius erred 1. In holding that the first grace was merited 2. That by the strength of Free-will we can dispose or prepare our selves for grace S. Clara saith Aestimo esse omnium Scholasticorum non dari ex parte peccatoris ullam causam meritoriam dispositionem aut conditionem ad primam gratiam For which he citeth August P. Innoc. 1. ad Concil Carth. Concil Arausic 2. can 3 4 5. Concil Trident. Sess 6. c. 5. concluding Et sine dubio hoc est de fide apud omnes Catholicos Doctores nec ullus unquam oppositum tenuit Et Bradward optimus divinae Gratiae propugnator dicit expresse esse Pelagianismum licet intelligeretur solùm de merito de congruo Yea Aquinas denyeth all merit de congruo as to Justifying grace 1. 2. q. 14. a. 7. in Rom. c. 4. Vega's judgement is commonly known See Carthusian in Jac. 2. c. I may conclude then with S. Clara that Cassander spake not unreasonably when he said Quo sensu hoc vocabulo Meriti Merendi usi sunt Patres Catholici obscurum non est nempe ut per illud gratiae Dei ex qua merita omnia oriuntur nihil detrahatur Quare nil est cur aut Ecclesiastici à loquendi forma sententia in Ecclesia jam olim usitata discedant aut Protestantes eam tam odiosè repudient aut condemnent And that Bucer said well colloq Ratisb Si sancti patres aut alii intelligunt Promereri facere ex fide gratiae dei bona opera quibus Deus mercedem promisit hoc sensu usurpare illud verbum minimè damnabimus L. Thus you seem to like the very word merit which in your confession you do not R. 1. I like the Scripture word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And they that translate it worthy and account condignity the highest notion of merit seem to allow that it may be translated Meriting 2. I would fain find a word to serve instead of merit answering Reward and I cannot What word can you find Premiability and Rewardableness are long and unhandsome and I remember no other without using many words 3. Yet I wish it disused to avoid abuse and offence L. But when Cassander saith It is used as not encroaching on grace I take all merit to encroach upon it and injure it R. I ask you Quest 1. If you preach that a Holy Lover of God is fitter for Heaven and Happiness in Gods love than a wicked man and hath a promise of it and another preach that the Saints are no fitter for Gods love and happiness than the wicked but only it 's promised
as the sole cause IV. Whether the best actions of Infidels or ungodly men be properly to be called good is but a Logomachy Call them but a Less evil or the abatement of evil and actions that tend as Means to their repentance and salvation and I shall not disagree with you in this V. His concession that the first sin was not necessitated is of great moment But it is a great mistake that following sins are necessary because they are punishments It is not the existence of the sin that is a punishment but the hurtfulness of it supposing the existence If drunkenness or gluttony be themselves noxious and penal that is but a consequent of their existence which was not necessitated by God as punishing them that caused them VI. The sixth I think sound and the Schools pure nature as if Adams Love in the principle was not his necessary Sanity is unsound VII Here again 1. I think he giveth too much to free-will in innocency and too little to God For Gods Help did not then serve mans will so much as Gods and God fulfilled all his will while Angels used their power and liberty and they did no good but what God willed and caused as he saw best And while man and Angels used their liberty they fulfilled Gods will in all their duty as much as if they had been necessitated by natural predetermination 2. And it is not true that their sufficient grace gave not Merit to the will For it followeth not that because they could have omitted a duty therefore in doing it they did any thing of which God was not the prime cause He that gave them all their power disposition objects helps and motives did give them that which he calleth Merit 3. It is his grand error that Gift and Reward are repugnant and that Life would not have been to Adam and was not to the Angels of free gift though of Reward For it is impossible that any creature can merit of God as a Proprietor in point of Commutative Justice seeing God is the absolute Owner of us and all things and no creature can give him any thing but what is his own Therefore there is a natural impossibility that quoad valorem rei aut ipsum beneficium a creature can have any thing but of free gift But God who is an Owner and Benefactor is also a Rector and so the cause of Moral Order as well as of real Benefits And so that which as a Benefit is a meer gift yet quoad ordinem conferendi is given by God per modum praemii to those that will Accept the Gift according to its nature and denyed to those that will despise it and refuse it As a Father will give a purse of Gold to the Child that will thank him and humbly take it and not to the Child that will spit in his face Jâ—nsenius doth so weakly open the nature of Merit and Reward as that alone would shew that he was not meet for his great undertaking Though he excellently shew that God is our Reward himself yet the Ratâ—â—nes praemii he â—aith little to that can satisfie the judicious Of which more anon 4. Angels were differenced inter se by Gods will and their own And we confess that so far as sin made the difference it was by their own will and not by Gods But was he sure that no such difference is made since the fall among men He will confess that when Eve sinned before Adam it was she that made the difference And how can he prove that it was not Cain who by sin first differenced himself from Abel or the Prodigal Luke 15. that by forsaking his Father first differenced himself from his Brother According to his own principles who holdeth falling away from Grace and Justification doth not he that falleth away difference himself from him that standeth He can never prove that now two men may not have equal help from God to go to Church or read a good Book and one do it and the other go to the Tavern or read a Play-book VIII 1. God doth not so use man as his Instrument in good but that he giveth the Instrument its proper aptitude and action as to the effect And that which it is and doth may be spoken of it To say a thing is gud is to praise it and good must be called good And to say that you were the Actor of Good and that Voluntarily is to praise you Therefore the Actor of good ex natura rei deserveth praise seeing Truth must be spoken of all things 2. God himself doth so often praise his servants and promise to honour them that honour him that to say no praise is due to them is to charge God with error 3. To deny all Reward and Merit as it signifieth Rewardableness or Moral â—ptitude for Reward is to deny the greatest part of the Scripture to deny God to be our Rector and so to be our God to deny the whole frame of his Sapiential Government and his glory therein and so to deny his Laws Judgement and Execution Sin Duty Heaven and Hell Thâ—â— summ of all is this â— No man or Angel can merit of God in Commutative Justice as Proprietor But only as Rector All is as is before said of free gift from God as â—roprietor and Benefactor 2. The same God who is Omnipotent is also sapientissimus optimus And he that glorifieth his Power eminently as the Author of Nature as Creator Conservator and Motor doth also glorifie his Wisdom in rerum Ordine And he ordereth Moral Agents eminently per sapientâ—am â—t Rector per media moralia viz. Doctrinam Leges Judicia And he glorifieth his Goodness and Love partly Antecedently to mans Actions and as a free Benefactor partly consequently according to the order of his Laws So that as his Attributes are inseparable so are herein the operations of them And the same Benefit is ut quid productum the effect of Gods Omnipotency and Dominion and ut Bonum Beneficium the effect of the Benefactors Love and yet quoad ordinem conferendi it is Prâ—mium à Rectore adjudicatum And between all these there is no repugnancy 3. We grant that God Rewardeth no man now according to the Law of Innocency for that condemneth every sinner 4. Nor according to or for the works of the Mosaical Jewish Law 5. Nor for any sincere obedience to the Law of Nature or any other without Redemption by Christ 6. We are agreed that the Reward is now doubly and eminently a free gift and the reward of Christs merits It is not only free as all Benefits from God to man are as to commutation but also after forfeiture freely given to sinners and it is procured by the merits of Christ who was freely given to be the Saviour of the world and it is given us by Christ as free gifts are upon condition of Acceptance and an Accepting Will is Gods free gift and they that
have it not want it because they refused Preparatory grace which they were able to have better used oâ— submitted to So that the Reward is only such as a free gift which quoad ordinem conferendi rationes adjudicandi is given by God as a Father who at once useth Power Love and paternal Justice according to the tenour of his own Law of Grace which is founded in Christs perfect merits and is Christs own Law VIII and IX 1. That quoad eventum the good Angels grace was effectual and Adjutorium quo as well as sine quo non he granteth And Adams till he fell Let us find out the difference then To say that yet They could have sinned is a doubtful speech If could signifie Pâ—tâ—â—â—iam naturalem it is noâ— for want of Natural Power that Christ himself sinned not but because perfection caused the right use of that Power To be able to sin or not to believe or not to love God if it signifie any more than the Natural power which men abuse is an improper speech for sin is from moral impotency or indetermination and not an vaâ—t of other power But a Logical Possibility of any event but what â—ame to pass Gods very fore-knowledge will exclude and so his Decree And if the question be Whether Adam could not have stood when he fell it is agreed that he could It seemeth then that our Controversie lyeth plainly â—â— these two things 1. Whether any man now Holy or unholy have any help from God by Christ by which he is truly able to do any one good action more â—â—â—â— other than he doth or to forbear any more evil 2. Whether all Divine causation or operation â—e such as of it self alone will inferr the â—â—â—tainty of mans Volition as the Effect We gâ—ant that Divine prescieâ—â—â— doth inferr it eâ—â—â—oessitate infallibilitâ—â—â—â— Divine Volitions some think are ever efficient of all that is willed and that God hath no other operation but Volition as Bradwardine and others Others deny this 〈…〉 that God hath Power operative as much distinct from Volition aâ—â—â—tellection is and also that God willeth more than he operateth or totally causeth And of this opinion must Jansenius needs be because he held that the free-will of Adam before his fall and of the good Angels caused more obedience than God caused as to the totality of causation And yet â—ethinks he should be loth to say that it was more than God willed or decreed However the former is but a wordy strife For if God operate only Volendo yet his will as Immanent and a meer will as mans must be distinguished from his will as transient and efficient by operation So then the thing in question is Whether Gods power or will so far only as it is operative be so total a cause as that hac posita ex vi causandi necessario sequitur effectum viz. fidem charitatem humanam secuturum And we grant that as ex perfectione Intellectus it followeth Deus praescâ—t hoc futurum ergo futurum est so ex perfectione Voluntatis summo Imperio foelicitate Divina it followeth Deus vult hoc futurum esse ergo futurum est and that ex necessitate existentiae no doubt it is a good consequence Deus hoc fecit ergo factum est But Whether from his meer adjutorium or prime efficiency limited by his own will it be a good consequence God giveth as much help as is of necessity to mans volition ergo man will consent or will is the doubt He granteth that in Innocency it would not have followed but he thinks that now it will We grant that God giveth not only the posse velle but the ipsum velle to those that have it His giving it being but a causing their faculties to Act And we grant that wherever God absolutely willeth that his Help shall be successful it is so And also that whereas all the effect cometh from our natural Power and Gods grace conjunct God is the cause of both And is ever the total cause quoad effectum that is totius effecti And we grant that Gods causing Impress on the will is such on some and perhaps on all in the act of special sanctification as ex vi causae will inferr the effect and is unresistible and doth not only determine the will but so determineth it as overcometh all moral power or disposition to the contrary But yet that there is a Grace or adjutorium of Christ which giveth a power either not necessitating the act or when the act followeth not such as he calleth sine quo non I think for these reasons 1. Because else no man can do any more good or less evil than he doth which I believe not 2. Because else All men that perish are damned only for original sin and its consequents which they had never power to avoid which is quite contrary to the tenour of the Scripture 3. And then God would judge them only by the Law of Innocency whereas he will judge them by Christ and by his Remedying Law for rejecting the remedying grace 4. And then the Conscience of the damned would have nothing to torment them with or accuse them for but original sin and its unavoidable consequents And it would give them this excuse and ease God never made it Possible for me to do otherwise 5. Because it teacheth men great ingratitude to say I never had any help of Christ 6. And so it teacheth them impenitently to extenuate their sin if they do but find themselves wicked and to say I never sinned against any Grace of Christ 7. And it feigneth God to give men all that reprival and mercy which the reprobate have from some other Cause and not by Christ And so to make a kind of grace common in the World which the Scripture knoweth not nor is according to the Covenant of Innocency or of Grace 8. Because God is Immutable and too gross mutations are not without proof to be imputed to his Laws and Government Therefore it seemeth to me an injurious fiction to say as Jansenius that God had such Laws as supposed mans self-determining will and governed so as to use sufficient Grace or adjutorium sine quo non to man and Angels at the first and thaâ— now he hath no such at all but only a moving efficiency I should sooner yield to the Dominicans and Hobbes that no other than necessitated Volitions are possible or ever were than to hold as he that there were other before the fall and none ever since For as to his great argument vitiated nature I answer it 1. Man is man still And therefore God ruleth him as man And that in via And if then man and Angels were supposed to have a self-determining free-will that could do this or not do it we have reason to think it is so still Why is not grace meerly sufficient as consistent with Lapsed as Innocent nature supposing that it is not the