the Earth But SECT 5. How and in what sense the foresaid operations of hardning blinding c. are Attributed unto God and how he worketh in and unto them LEt us view now how or after what manner God may be said to harden blind deceive men and turn their heart to hate his people as Psal 105.25 tho that might be rendred their heart returned to hate his people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in Exod. 14.5 Their heart was turned against the People Seeing it is said That God is not a God that hath pleasure in iniquity he hates the workeâ— of it Psal 5.4 5. Ezek. 33.11 and he himself swears that he hath no pleasure in the Death of the wicked namely that they should continue in their Sins and dye but rather that they should turn and live Surely they are not his operations properly and directly aâ— those of his mercy in drawing men to himself and framing them to his mind 〈◊〉 but by a kind of indirect permissive accidental operation as the Sun may be said to cause darkness by leaving the Horizon or to make men blind that look against it and not by it or the like 〈◊〉 yet they are ascribed to God because against his will setting it self to hindâ— them effectively they could not be wrought or because also it is with 〈◊〉 will as a just and righteous thing that such things as hardness blindness deceâ— should befal them for their punishment by running therethrough upon their own Calamities and because they are occasioned by something properly and directly wrought and done by him we may say that by such ways as these God may be said to do them 1. By permitting leaving and giving to men to themselves and to their own imaginations and lusts to be hardned by them not giving forth his grace any further as to such and such a particular or in a total hardning not at all to hinder and keep them back from such hardness and blindness but letting them have their wills and liberty to follow after their â—wn devices and purposes and so to run themselves into desperate stiffness of heart against God and his counsels as in Psal 81.11.14 Israel would none of me So I gave them up to their own hearts lusts and they walked in their own counsels And so the Gentiles becoming vain in their own imaginations and not likeing to retain or have God in their Knowledge God give them up to vile affections and to a mind void of Judgment Rom. 1.21 25 26 28. And so as the Sun going from us causes darkness so Christ who is the Light of the World hiding himself from a people it follows upon it Joh. 12.39 40 42. that their â—ryes are blinded and he hath blinded their eyes namely by taking away his Light from them not by imparting or â—utting malice into them but by withdrawing his mercy from them as Augustine well says Non impartiendo malitiam sed non impertiendo misericordiam 2. By giving leave and commission permissively to Satan to enter into them as it were and possess them with lying and false imaginations hopes and fears and so to deceive Job 1. and blind and harden them So the Lord took away all that Job had by permitting 2 Sam. 24.11 with 1 Chron. 21.1 1 King 22.20 21 22 23. and giving leave to Satan to do it And he is said to have moved David against Israel to say Go number the people in letting Satan provoke David to it So he hardned Ahabs heart by giving leave or commission to a lying Spirit to intice him to go to Ramoth Gilead by promising him by the mouth of his false Prophets success and prosperity in his so doing And he may be said to have deceived those Prophets not by his Spirit dictating any deceit to them far be it from us so to Blaspheme him but by giving way and leave to the False Spirit to enter into them and deceive them as in the same way he is said to send men strong Delusions that they may believe a lye c. namely by letting Satan who is forward to such work 2 Thess 2.10 11 12. if permitted bring strong Delusions to men and insinuate them into their sancies as he might be said to * Mark 5.12 13. with Math. 8.31 32. Luk. 8.32 33. send the unclean Spirit into the Herd of Swine when upon their desire of it he gave them leave to go 3. By ordering such good and holy Providences to men as by which their hearts especially if left to themselves and Satan will take occasion to harden â—lind and stiffen themselves in their resolutions for Sin and against God So his very suffering the Magicians to do such â—ings by their Inchantments as Moses and â—aron did by his Finger or ordering Moses and Aaron to do such things as they could do the like occasion'd Pharaoh to 〈◊〉 light by those Judgments yea his gradous readiness to remove the Judgment and give respite to Pharaoh so easily at his promise of doing better and intreaty of Moses to pray for him hardned â—baraoh ' heart or rather as the Apostle says Rom. 2.4 5. He after his hardness and impenitency despising or looking overly upon God's easiness to be intreated and so upon his goodness and long-suffering which should have moved him to Repentance hardned his heart against God and treaâ—red up wrath to himself against a day of Wrath according to that in Psal 50.21 These things hast thou done and I kept silence thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a me as thy self c. And that in Eccles 8.11 Because sentence against an evil doer is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the Sons of Men is fully set that is is hardned and made obstinate in them to do evil So that accidentally and eventually God's goodness and forbearance to them hardens them and blinds them because they take boldness thence-through their wickedness to presume to Sin yet more and becoming 〈◊〉 in their imaginations blind themselves and are made uncertain whither God dislike their ways or not or whither there be any God or providence of God because he doth not punish the evil of their ways Again by ordering Israel to march through the Wilderness where according to probability it might be thought they would be intangled and so by ordering a kind of Tryal to Pharaoh whether by all his fore-past Judgments he would yet stand in awe of him seeing he would yet hold fast his covetous design of enriching himself by their bondage He also permitted Satan to put into his heart such a thought that now he might have a good advantage to force them back and so he was strengthned and animated to pursue after them to his Destruction And so God turned the hearts of the Aegyptians to hate his people by ordering such blessings and multiplication to his People as provoked them being evil to envy and fear them and then permitting them
they are not â—s works or doings in a proper way 〈…〉 speaking or in a direct or proper way 〈◊〉 operation no more then darkness can 〈◊〉 properly ascribed to the Sun how â—uld so holy a Tree bring forth fruit so â—trary to his Holiness Or how should 〈◊〉 punish men for their Iniquities if he â—o work incite or frame men unto wickâ—ness It would be great iniquity in a â—dge or Magistrate to provoke incite to â—uch more to necessitate men to things â—idden by the Law and yet more if 〈◊〉 be a Law whereof he was Law giver 〈…〉 and then to hang and draw him â—r what he was so the cause himself of â—nd shall God be like to such unjust Perâ—ns God forbid yet after some manner â—f speaking and in some way suitable to â—s holiness those things also are ascribed 〈◊〉 him which remains with sobriety to â—e inquired into by us SECT 2. That those Operations as ascribed to God are Judiciary Acts consequential both to Gods preventing grace and mens abuse of it DOubtless this first may be Asserted That these kind of Acts or Operations as ascribed to God are ever Judiciary acts and ordered to men by way 〈◊〉 Punishment and Judgment for their abuses of and Rebellions against his goodness and gracious Operations first preventing them These are none of his first operations in and with men but he first extends his goodness and mercy leading to Repentance yea mixeth such too with these sadder operations and for mens hardning and blinding themselves there against hardens and blinds them according to that in Isa 66.3.4 They have chosen their own ways and their soul delighteth in their abominations I also will chuse their delusions and will bring theâ— fear upon them Because when I called none did answer when I spake they did not hear but did evil before mine eyes and chose that in which I delighted not And that in Rom. 1.21 26 28. â—use when they knew God they did not 〈◊〉 him as God neither were thankful c. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections c. And even as they did not like to retain God in their Knowledge God gave them up to a Reprobate mind This also may be seen in those instances of Gods hardning and blinding before mentioned For certain it is That Pharaoh was a proud Tyrannical Oppressor of Israel See Exod. 3.14 with 4.21 before God hardned his heart God says of him That he knew surely that the King of Aegypt would not let them go but by or no not by a mighty hand before he spake of hardning his heart And we and that upon Moses's first speaking to him in the Name of the Lord to let the people go to Worship or hold a Feast to the Lord in the Wilderness Chap. 5.1 2 3. which was but a reasonable demand yet he behav'd himself proudly against the Lord and said Who is the Lord that I should they his voice to let Israel go I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel go Yea and after Moses had told him who the Lord was even the God of the Hebrews and had used Arguments to perswade him to let them go yet Vers 6 7 8 9. he was so far from hearkning to them that he increased their burdens and oppressions exacting their â—umber of Brick but denying them necessary Materials to be brought to them as before to the greater imbittering of their Spirits and to the exposing them to their Taskmasters rage and cruelty yea and after God had bid Moses work Miracles before him and the Aegyptians and shew them some Signes that God had â—â—t him to him on that Message yet it 's said Chap. 7.13 That Pharaohs heart hardned as Ainsworth reads it suitable to the Hebrew Vers 14. Or Pharaoh hardned his heart as the Greek reads it And God says of him Pharaohs heart is hardned Vers 23. he refuses to let the people go And after their Waters were turned into Blood Pharaoh turned and went into his house and it 's said Neither set he his heart to this also And after God had smitten him with the Plague of the Frogs and his heart began to yield so that he promised upon God's removal of that Plague Chap. 8.8 to let the people go yet when God had at Moses's request removed it it 's said That when Pharaoh saw that there was respite he hardned his heart and hearkned not to them as the Lord had said namely that he would do Chap. 3.10 Yea and when God had sent the Third Plague the Plague of Lice in which the Magicians could not do so but confessed it to be the Finger of God yet it 's said That Pharaohs heart was hardned and he hearkned not unto them as the Lord had said Yea and yet again when God had threatned him with the Judgment of Flies Vers 28. and inflicted it because he would not by the threatning be admonished and that also made his heart to bow again and yield so as to promise upon the removal thereof they should go and worship God in the Wilderness Yet after that Judgment was removed Vers 32. it is said Pharaoh hardned his heart at this time also neither would he let the people go Yea and after the Fifth Judgment upon their Cattle in which as in the former Chap. 9.7 God severed between the Aegyptians and the Israelites smiting the Aegyptians Cattel onely and not Israels yet it 's said Pharaohs heart was hardned remained in that stiffness and obstinacy of purpose to which he had set it upon the former respite and not all this while is it said That the Lord had hardned his heart Till after the Sixth Judgment Chap. 9.12 And then is it said The Lord hardned Pharaohs heart And yet after and in the Seventh Judgment he made it yield again so as to confess his Sin and justifie the Lord and intreat their Prayers for him with promise thereupon of letting them go and they should stay no longer yet Chap. 10.1 after it was over it is said His heart was hardned And God says Chap. 10.1 Go in unto Pharaoh for I have hardned his heart and the heart of his servants c. So that it appears that Pharaoh was proud and wicked and hardned his heart against the Lord before God is said to have hardned his heart Aud the like we may say of Sihon King of Heshbon and the Canaanites Josh 11.20 The measure of their Iniquity was now full so as it was not in Abrahams time Gen. 15.16 And yet more plain it is in that of Israel in Isa 6.10 To which that in Joh. 12.40 Isa 1 2 3 〈◊〉 5. hath reference it is Go make the heart of this people fat And it was such a people whose eyes he blinded as of whom he had said I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me a sinful Nation a people laden with iniquity a
and take heed of provoking him to these kind of judiciary proceedings against them such is the import of those sayings worthy our diligent consideration SECT 4. That God in hardning and blinding men doth it by degrees and with such mixture of mercy that till they be totally hardned there may be remedy YEt it 's to be minded too that this hardning and blinding men is not done at once usually but by degrees and till it be fully done there is hope for mercy yea the hardning men in part so as that they run upon their own ways and counsels is ordered of God who is slow to wrath and ready to fongive and delights not in the death of the wicked but rather that they turn and live as a means to bring men upon such rocks and difficulties as by which they may be forced to cry to God for and accept of his mercy and so it 's said Israel is in part blinded Rom. 11. â—5 32. or blindness is in part happened to them till the fulness of the Gentiles be come in and that God hath shut them all up in unbelief that he might have mercy upon them all and so in Isa 63.17 when through their hardness they have run themselves upon miseries and then begin to see the error of their ways they are put upon crying mightily to God look down from Heaven and behold the habitation of thy Holiness and of thy Glory where is thy zeal and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercy towards me are they restrained and O Lord why hast thou madeus to err from thy ways and hardned our hearts from thy fear Return for thy Servants sake the tribes of thine Inheritance yea we may see that Gods hardning Pharaoh occasion'd him to rush himself upon such judgements as somewhat softened him and made him cry for mercy and forgiveness and upon crying for it he had it so rich in mercy is God even to his enemies when by his judgements they are moved to repentance and to relent from their purposes Exod. 9.27 28. yea and had he not then hardened his heart again he and his Servants and so provoked God to harden it too vers 33.34 Chap. 10.1 he might have escaped further judgements But he there again hardening his heart God hardned it more or gave him up to greater hardness even to his surther misery and destruction but we may see how long it was before God came to that with him he had before that hardened his own heart as we noted before Hardening himself after the judgment of the Frogs Exod. 8.8.12 his heart was or remained hardened so as not to take notice of the following judgments tho confessed by his Magicians to be by the finger of God and not by any such arts as they practised and that rushed him upon a another judgment in and by which his heart was some what softened and made 〈◊〉 yield so as to promise to let the people go and to intreat Moses to cry to God for him Who also readily heard him yet then also hardening his own heart again he provoked the Lord to harden it too till he threatens him to send all his Plagues upon his Heart and upon his Servants and upon all his People to make him know that there was none like Him in all the Earth And sure that might have such tendency as in Psal 83.16 That knowing him to be such a one he might seek his Name and indeed adds the Lord for this cause or purpose have I raised thee up made thee to stand or as the septuagint reads it preserved thee namely from perishing in the former plagues from which he was raised up or out of that I might shew in thee my power and that my Name may be declared in all the Earth which might have been all accomplished too without his ruin had he by that forbearance and long suffering in which God yet endured him though a Vessel of wrath madeup or fitted to destruction been led to repentance as his long suffering and goodness doth lead to that Rom. 9.21 with 2.4 5. God says not as some rashly from that conclude that he raised him up much less created him that he might destroy him But he preserved and endured him yet that he might shew his power in him and that his Name might be declared which might have been also in his overcoming his obstinacy and making him yield to seek him as at length he did make him yield to let Israel go upon their own terms and had he then also submitted to have sought Gods Name his power had appeared and his Name might have been declared by him or by occasion of him throughout the Earth with his safety and welfare as it was by Nebuchadnezzer after wand humbling himself before God after judgment executed upon him Dan. 4.1.2 3.34.35 36 37. But he then also yet retaining his wickedness and not seeking the Lord who had so clearly and notoriously made known himself both in the power of his wrath and readiness to shew mercy in his humbling himself before him Exod. 14.3 4. provoked God to harden him further even to give him up to a total hardness to run himself into utter ruin and so accomplish Gods purpose that ways by opposing him And yet that also even his total bardning men to Destruction as destruction follows thereupon and his destroying men when fully hardened as it is a judgment that he is slow in passing and bringing upon men he had rather the issues of their own ways in and upon his hardening them in part might a waken them to repentance Ezek. 33.11 18.32 and that they would thereupon turn to him and live so when he is provoked to it and doth it it is in mercy to other men and for their admonition and warning to listen to him not rebelling and hardening their hearts against him or upon sight of former Rebellions and Self-â—dnings which hath provoked God to â—rden or blind them in part to return to God and put away their iniquities that he may have mercy upon them and not â—ave them and give them up also to â—ter ruine So it 's said That God would harden Pharaohs heart at the last to pursue after Israel when he had let them goe and when his heart and the heart oâ— his Servants turned against Israel to lay Why have we done this that we have 〈◊〉 Israel go from serving us yea Exod. 14.3 4 5 8. he did also accordingly after their so recoyling actually harden it to this end That the â—gyptians might know him to be the Lord even that the remainder of them might know him and so as in Psal 83.6 Seek his Name as also is implyed in the last Verses of that Psalm That the â—ter and everlasting shame trouble confusion and perishing of the obstinate Enemies is ordered to this end That men may know that he whose Name is Jehovah is most high over all
to Satan and their own hearts to stir up envy and hatred against them Thus we find too God threatning obstinate people that refuse to walk in his ways or be warned by the sound of his Trumpet that he will lay stumbling blocks before them and the Father and Son shall fall together upon them Jer. 6.17 Isa 8.13 14. Rom. 9.33 18 21. Such was Christ's weakness Cross and abasement and the Fathers withdrawing from him 1 Cor. 1 2â— on the Cross to the Jews and Pharisees who out of envy put him to Death and the Preaching of the Cross to the generality of them 4. Yea we may add if we can conceive otherwise of it then as included in what is said By cursing his Blessings and even his own Ordinances to Men as Mal. 2.1 2. That they should be made as snares and traps to them for their abuse of them as in Psal 69.22 23 24 25. Let their table become a snare and that which was for their welfare a trap c. Yet this is so accidentally as it were by reason of their pride covetousness c. which apts them to take offence and boggle at the Word of God which altogether speaks in such was against them vexing galling and inraging them they loving their deeds that are evil and so becoming a Savour of Death unto Death to them Yea the very Spirit of God may work such Discoveries of their resisting and rejecting them to their very hearts as may occasion the heart retaining its love to iniquity to exert its wickedness and so occasionally harden it to desperate Rebellion and so may his Judgment too as in Rev. 16 8 9. And thus I conceive of God's hardening Operations or such Operations as attributed to him I shall close up this Chapter with Mr. Mallers Exposition of those Words in Psal 105.25 He turned their hearts to hate his people Not that God saith he was the Author of Pharaohs and the Aegyptians evil Counsels or that he put those crafty and wicked counsels into their minds For God is a God that wills not Iniquity c. Which sentence is repeared often in the Scriptures as in Deut. 32. Hos 11. Psal 92. Ezek. 33. Which with both hands or rather with our whole Soul is to be held fast by us that we may know that God is not the cause of any Sin nor doth he will effect or approve of the wickedness and obstinacy of the Wicked but the cause of Sin is the corrupt will of Man and the suggestion of the Devil but God is said to have perverted or turned Pharaâ—hs and the Aegyptians hearts in that he forsaking them left their preverse hearts such as they were naturally that they might pour out their hatred conceived against Israel which hatred was not of God but of their inbred malice pride covetuousness which because God did not correct or take away by his Grace he is said to have perverted or turned their hearts that the Godly might understand that those things which happen to them from such evil men come not unto them without his will This says he is the most sincere meaning of it and most consonant to the Scriptures To which agrees Aug. Tom. 2. contra Pelag. p. 300. God hardens not by putting Malice into men but by withdrawing his mercy from them And in his First Book against the 2 Epist of Pelag. chap. 18. No man is compelled by the power of God against his will either to good or evil but God forsaking men deservedly they go into evil and helping them undeservedly they are converted to good That Phrase of perverting them and hardning them used sixteen times in Exodus is not to be understood of any efficacious action of God but of his permission and forsaking as Aust Lib. 5. contrae Julianum For it is usual in the Hebrew Tongue that Verbs or words signifying Actions are put for the causes of Actions either truly such or such as without which they would not be which seeing they are the Will Power Permission it often falls out that they are to be expounded by I will I can I suffer or permit and by their own infinitive as Gal. 5. So many as are justified by the Law that is desire to be justified 1 Cor. 10. I please all men that is desire or endeavour it Luk. 8. Hearing they bear not that is will not hear Why hast thou made us to erre from thy ways and hardned our hearts from thy fear that is Why hast thou left us and suffered us to erre c. And not rather drawn us back and governed us by thy Spirit that by our negligence malice or wickedness we rush not into evil c. Thus he which soberly construed and looked upon as the Judicial acts of God after Grace extended and rejected I conceive to be very right and Orthodox For which cause I have thus noted and transcribed it as worthy to be credited and received And thus much for the kinds of God's operations in which also we have shewed the manner of God's working in operations of this latter kind which respect the working of men to Sin or rather in what sense such operations may be Attributed to God I might have noted also That the same sentence of Truth or providence of God may have diverse operations in divers men as that saying of Christ to the Jews Joh. 8.32 If ye continue in my words then are ye my Disciples indeed and Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free As it occasionally offended and inraged those Jews so it might comfort others and instruct others in the way to obtain freedome and admonish others of and cause them to fear departing from his words and as the same cloud that protected the Israelites blew the Aegyptians into the Sea But I pass it and come to what remains viz. The manner of God's working in his Gracious Operations which are more properly directly and effectively his CHAP. X. Of the manner of God's working in Men by his grace preventing accompanying and following them SECT 1. That God's gracious operations are according to the counsel of his will and in some sense different and unlike IT is most certain that God as the Apostle says Ephes 1.11 worketh all things according to the counsel of his will All things namely that he worketh or we may not say That he worketh â—ens Sins and Evils in them or the works of the Devil which he came to destroy 〈◊〉 all things that he worketh he worketh according as his most infinitely wise â—nderstanding directeth and his will â—herein determineth without asking advice of or submitting himself to the guiâ—ance of any Creature whatsoever â—hough yet heither doth the Apostle thereâ— mean that he worketh nothing with respect to our wills and works for sureâ—y that is not so but in all his punishments and rewards as properly such he hath respect to the wills and workings of Men and so the counsel of his will