28. 28. Joh. 12. 32. The Truth and Faithfulness of God in these and other Prophecies is evidently exposed past all security their Principles can possibly give So it is likewise in the Promises and the Covenant of Grace styled Everlasting everlasting Truth and Faithfulness being ingaged for the Performance of it Jer. 32. 39 40. Ezek. 36. 26 27. Every Clause of this may prove false and not be fulfilled to any one Person in the World For with them the Lord does nothing which will certainly change the Hearts of Men but only offers Arguments to move them to renew their own Hearts and so leaves it to the arbitrement of their own Wills whether ever the Promise shall take effect or not Now if it were possible that it should prove true that Man should make himself a New Heart yet it is more likely that it should prove false because Mans corrupt Will to which it is left is more inclined to make it false than true Take it at the best to make the Truth of God in the everlasting Covenant to depend on Mans Will supposing it indifferent is bad enough For if it be indifferent whether God shall be True or no it must be indifferent whether he be God or no. Thus it will be not only as to the Promises made to us but also those which are made to Christ Isa 49. 6 7. 53. 10. 55. 5. Psal 2. 8. 72. 8 9 10 11. Jer. 23. 5 6. These and the like may all prove false Mans Will to which it is left may so carry it and this unavoidably that not one of them shall be made good Nor will they allow the Lord to take any course with Mans Will or have any such influence on it as will be sure to prevent this or make it any way certain that his Truth herein shall not fail He must not determine the Will that way which is necessary to secure his Truth in performing his Promises Nor in the Threatning neither Rev. 17. 16 17. Whatever be said of Gods putting it into their Hearts yet they will not have us imagine that the Lord will effectually determine their Wills to this but these must be left free and indifferent either to Love or Hate the Whore either to do what is foretold or not to do it to make it true or to make it false Now if these parts of the Word of God may prove false or if they be not certainly true all the rest will be suspected the Truth and Certainty of all the Scripture is overthrown If the Truth or Faithfulness of God may fail us here where can we be sure of it The glory of this Divine Perfection is uttetly defaced The Truth and Faithfulness of God is the ground of all Divine Faith. We believe God because he is infallibly True and what he says cannot prove false But it may prove false by their Doctrine and so the ground of all Christian of all Divine Faith is quite razed and the Foundation of all Religion is hereby undermined yea quite blown up 4. It destroys the Government of God as to the greatest Concerns of the World. By their Hypothesis the Will of Man is not cannot be ruled by him He must not touch it immediately it is a thing so Sacred that a touch even of God may violate it He must not Inspire it with any new Quality nor Move it by any real Influence but only make his Addresses to it at a distance by proposing an Object and offering Motives and Arguments And if this will not do as it does not nor alone ever can do in the Concerns of Salvation he must leave it to it self to do what it list Now that which is left to do as it list is not Ruled it is not under Government They will have the Lord to treat it as an Orator not as a Soveraign Ruler The Will with them seems to have a Soveraignty exempted from the Soveraignty of God not subordinate to it if not above it not subjected to the Soveraign Government of God further than to do what it list Hereby God is excluded from the Government of the World. Men are governed by their Wills that is the Ruling the Commanding Faculty therefore if the Will be not under his Government Men will not be under it nor the rest of the World so far as it is governed by Men. If he Dispose not of that which orders the rest what is there left at his Disposal All the Affairs of the World which depend upon humane Conduct will be governed more by the Will of Man than by the Will Power and Providence of God By the Will of Man independently as if he were God but by the Lord of Heaven and Earth only Precariously and at the Pleasure of Mans Will as if he were a Subject an Underling an inferior Creature 5. It denyes the Almighty Power of God will not admit him to be Omnipotent and his Power Infinite It is not Infinite if it be bounded and limited yet Mans Will bounds and limits the Divine Power By their Principles the Lord can no way deal with the Will but so that it may resist him and render all his Actings and Operations on it ineffectual He cannot prevail with it in any thing so far but that it may at once stand out and repell his Motions render every Divine Attempt upon it succesless When he has done all that can be done by the Power of his Grace the Will may be too hard for him it must be always left to do what it list He cannot Save a Man how much soever he intends or desires it unless it be the Wills Pleasure Nor can he take any Course to make the Will pleased with it He can neither so Change the Faculty nor so represent the Object but the Will may still reject it He cannot work Faith in him nor bring him to Repentance nor Create Holiness in his Heart nor can he Continue him in a state of Holiness unless it please the Will to submit nor can he bring it to submit so but that it may refuse when all is done that his Grace can do He can make no particular Decrees concerning Man that are Positive and Peremptory because he cannot master Mans Will His Purposes must be Conditional and Respective to Free-will He cannot make good his own Word not verifie what he Asserts nor accomplish his own Prophecies nor perform his Promises if Mans Will stand in his way Nor can he clear his way of it in any Method but what the Will of Man may defeat He cannot Accomplish his Desires and Intentions if Mans Will resist him and can never put the Will out of a Capacity of resisting and opposing while it is a Will. It is essential to the Will to be always able to resist and if they stand not to this they yield all Psal 135. 6. No must they say there are innumerable which God cannot do unless Man pleases Phil. 3. ult
the Apostle says 1 Joh. 4. 10 19. He did not Choose us first but we did Choose him whatever Christ says Joh. 15. 16. Thus they stop up the Spring of our Love to God they destroy the reason and raze the ground of our Love to him if that be it which the Apostle assigns It is the greatness the riches the freeness of Divine Love that ingages that constrains us to Love him But this Doctrine not only defaces the Riches and Freeness but in a manner takes away the true Naure and Notion of his Love when it makes it an Affection so indifferent to Mans Happiness or Misery 9. It destroys the Exercise of Faith and takes them off from a continued dependance on God and trusting in him It is inconsistent with that Life of Faith which must be the Life of every Christian This takes them off from depending on God both in their spiritual Concerns and in common and humane Affairs 1. For those Affairs which depend on the Wills of other Men They cannot depend on God for the ordering of them for none are to depend on him for things which are not at his disposal But the Wills of Men and so the Affairs which depend thereon are not with them at Gods disposal since by their Principles he cannot sway their Wills effectually one way or other for this in their Account is to destroy their natural Liberty 2. As to spiritual Concerns for the making of Grace or the means of Grace effectual For the Promoting of Holiness for the Growth or Exercise of it or for Perseverance in it there is no need to depend on God For it is not necessary to depend on another for that which is in his own Power Now these things and the like are in the Power of his own Will he is the Master of them if he will not be wanting to himself Indeed it is more in their own Power than in the Power of God for every Mans Will can determine it self to these things but God cannot without destroying the Will For if he determine it he leaves it not indifferent and if it be not indifferent it is not free and if it be not free it is not an humane Will And therefore they have more reason to depend on themselves where they believe the Power is than on God where they say it is not If there be any reason to rely on God it is for further continuance of that which they call sufficient Grace But there is no more need to depend on him for this than the other for this is never withdrawn unless they be contumacious and obstinately resist it But then it is in their Power not to resist but comply with it and if they will not God cannot help it For when he has put forth all the Operations of his Grace upon the Soul the Will is at liberty and has Power to do as it list The Power is most in Man still and where the Power is there must be the Dependance upon themselves rather than upon God though this Self-dependance be under the Curse of God in Scripture and plainly deserves his heavyest Curse 10. It overthrows Humility and Self-deniâ—l One may smell from whence it comes by the rank Tendency of it to Pride and Self-exaltation The design of the Gospel is clearly to debase man and take from him all occasion of Boasting or Glorying in himself or of ascribing the Praise either of his State or Actions to himself Rom. 3. 9. 27. 1 Cor. 1. 29 30. But this Doctrine obliges a Believer to ascribe the difference which is betwixt him and others who are in the State of Sin and Misery not unto Grace but to himself leaves him no ground to imagine that it was Grace which made the difference Grace is with them indifferently afforded unto all Sinners under the Gospel at lest Others had the same Light the same rational Proposals with as much Clearness and Earnestness in the same Degree and of no less Power and sufficiency it is common in all respects That which is every way common and indifferent could not possibly make us to differ But when they had it in common this man would make good use of it without any other help from Grace than the rest had they would not His Will complyed with the Proposal their Wills no less assisted than his resisted Grace brought it equally to the choice of their Wills and there left it His Will determined it self to comply their Wills determined against it that made the difference not Grace which was alike in all but Free-will which he used better than Others If my Will may he say had not been better to me than Grace it had been as bad with me as them For Grace was as good to them as me The Apostle asks Who made thee to differ 1 Cor. 4. 7. supposing none would have the Confidence to arrogate this to himself But he that is for Free-will must say I made my self to differ Grace brought it to the choice of my Will whether there should be any difference or no it does no more for any if there be any difference made it is Free-will that makes it Those of them that are so ingenuous as to use plain dealing speak out and say expresly Ego me discerno I make the difference my self The Apostle says By the Grace of God I am what I am 1 Cor. 15. 10. but they must say By the good use of Free-will I am what I am For Grace is such a thing with them as moves all affects all leaves all alike If any one be better than another as to state or actings it is not Grace that makes him so for the worst have as much of their Grace as the best the difference must be ascribed to Free-will Nor can their Doctrine shew them any Reason why they should not ascribe it to themselves and glory in it whatever become of the Glory of Divine Grace 11. It makes it Vnnecessary or Vnreasonable to Pray for themselves or others for those things which we should most of all Pray for This is evident enough in that it leaves not place for Faith and Dependance on God in common Affairs or spiritual Concerns as was shewed before For we are not to Pray to God but where we may rely and depend on him nor seek him for what we may not trust him Rom. 10. 14 But further the things that Christians are principally to Pray for are spiritual and heavenly Blessings these are all comprized in or depend upon Grace Let us see how favourable their Principles are to Praying for Grace either effectual or preventing As to the former they need not Pray for Efficacious Grace for it is in their own Power to make it effectual and who needs beg that of another which he has in his own Power Their Grace is effectual in the Soul when it becomes willing for then it has its effect but with them nothing is more in their Power and
in the Will already All that it can justly pretend to is to Excite what it sinds not what it gives It does not it cannot subdue the Wills Corruptions natural and contracted which is its Moral Impotency And that which leaves it Impotent as it found it gives it not Power it plants no Principle of Spiritual Life and Strength in the Will but disclaims these expresly And as it does not give the Power so neither does it give the Act it determins not the Will nor causes it to Act but leaves it to incline as it list when there is no Principle in it to incline it towards that which is Saving and Corruption enough to incline it the other way The Case standing thus if the Will comply with the Terms of Salvation it must be by its own Power since it has no more from above And then in Opposition to the Text Salvation will be of our selves by our own Strength not by Grace nor will Grace which is Saving be the Gift of God For if he give neither the Power nor the Act who can imagine how it can be counted his Gift They may as well say we are Saved by the Power of Nature as that the Conditions of Salvation are to be Performed by such a Power without any other Assistance of Grace 3. No Legal Conditions no Conditions performed by us nor our Righteousness The Righteousness by which we are justified the Righteousness by which we have Pardon or by which we have Right and Title to Salvation Neither Faith nor sincere Obedience are required of us for this end nor can they when Performed by us be any such Righteousness It is Christ and he alone that is our Righteousness it is by his Righteousness and that alone that we are Justified It was he who by his Obedience to Death satisfied Divine Justice and procured Title to Eternal Life It is not pretended that any Performances of ours do or can satisfie Divine Justice nor can it with more reason be pretended that our Performances give us Title to Life Those that say he did not both may as well say he did neither Our Performances may evidence our Title but they give it not nor are the Ground of it It is Christ his Righteousness that is the only Foundation of our Title Rom. 10. 4. The End of the Law i. e. of the Covenant of Works was that Man by the Righteousness of Perfect Obedience might have Title to Eternal Life this being rendered Impossible in Mans fallen and sinful State how shall the End of the Law which the Lord aimed at be attained Why Christ attains the End of the Law by his Righteousness giving Title to Life to those who believe Faith and Obedience are not our Righteousness now as Perfect Obedience was to be in the State of Innocency they are not in the stead of it they have not the Vertue and Office of it they are not Conditions of the Covenant of Grace as that was of the Covenant of Works i. e. They are not the Righteousness by which we are Justified and have Title to Life It is Christ that is the End of the Law for Righteousness to those Purposes and to ascribe that to our Performances which is proper to him is injurious to the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ And how is it of Grace upon these Terms how is the Covenant of the Gospel more Gracious than that of Works It cannot be said that it is more Gracious because it requires and accepts less sincere Obedience being not so much as that which is Perfect For sincere Obedience may be counted as much to Man in his present State of Sin and Impotency as Perfect Obedience in the State of Innocency and Perfection But the transcendent Graciousness of the Gospel Covenant consists not in requiring less Righteousness to give Title to Life than was due at first but in not requiring a Perfect Righteousness of us Personally for that end but providing and accepting that of a surety according to that of the Apostle Rom. 8. 3 4. The Law could not give us Life because being weakened by sin we could not Perform the Perfect Righteousness which is required but what the Law could not do Christ has done giving us Title to Life fulfilling the Righteousness of it in our behalf But does not the Scripture declare that our Obedience is the Obedience which gives Title to Life Rev. 22. 14. I Answer There is a double Right Jus ad rem and Jus in re a Right of Title and a Right of Possession Holy Obedience gives us not the Title but leads us into Possession It gives not the Title for that we have in Justification Rom. 5. 18. Now Obedience is after Justification and so cannot give that which is before it self and does not give that which is given already But it leads us into Possession it is the Way by which we enter so the Word immediately sollowing will have it understood When the Apostle had declared that we are Saved by Grace Eph. 2. 8. and so excluded Works Vers 9. that we may count this to be our Title to Salvation yet he adds Ver. 10. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them These are the Ways wherein we must walk if we will arrive at Salvation but they are not our Title to it as Perfect Obedience would have been in the first Covenant the Law of Works they are not such Conditions they are not our Righteousness upon which our Title is Founded as that was designed to be They are not Legal Conditions 4. Obliging Conditions There is no performance of ours that can of it self oblige the Lord to perform any Promise the reason because it is defective and falls short of what is required And amongst men he that promises upon Conditions is not obliged if the Terms be not duely observed The Law of our Creation required of us perfect Performance and no less than perfect Obedience to God will be due from us while we are Creatures It is true Man now wants Power to answer his Ingagements but that was through his own fault and the Lord does not lose his due because Man sins against him Now being defective and falling short of his Duty it is sinfull and that which is sinfull is to be punished not rewarded as such it has not a Moral fitness for promised Reward that which is sinfull brings the performer under the Curse Gal. 3. it deserves eternal Death Rom. 6. and so cannot oblige the Lord to reward it Upon this account the best performance of any supposed Condition is so far of it self from making any promised Blessing to be due in point of Justice that it cannot make it due in point of Faithfulness That which needs Pardon cannot of it self make any thing due to us but Punishment Our Faith our Repentance our Obedience being sinfully defective cannot as such make any thing