his own Essence can produce effects of anger or hatred * Simile A prisoner at the Bar looks upon the Judg as angry and hasty to destroy his life when the Judg as he ought is of the prisoners counsel and out of love and tender pity to the prisoner sheweth him all the favour the Law will admit We Adamites through guilt of our own consciences for breach of a righteous Law behold God as angry or displeased but the Lord is Kind and Merciful and of his Goodness there is no end * Simile In gloomy weather we are apt to say the Sun hath not shined when Clouds and Vapours only interpose the Sun being wholly composed of light never ceaseth to put forth his beams If we taste not of the loving kindness of God or behold not the comfortable light of his countenance our iniquities are the clouds that separate these good things from us and not the Will or Ordination of Almighty God who is Goodness it self and How often would I and ye Would not c. Again If you take up from these words viz. Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated this conclusion That Jacob and his posterity simply as persons fore known were the objects of the Love of God and consequently appointed for Salvation and Esau with his posterity objects of Gods Hatred and so undoubtedly reserved for destruction I pray my Masters give me your thoughts of these Scriptures Isaiah saith Though Israel be as the sand on the Sea yet a Remnant shall be saved Our Saviour saith That Many shall come from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the Children of the Kingdom shall be thrust out To which I add that of Paul Jew and Gentile male and female are All One in Jesus Christ Which as to other Nations so to us Englishmen is a comfort though we should be of the race of * Certain it is we are not of Jacobs posterity Esau And thus I hope I have plained this Mountain which so frequently with such confidence is set in opposition to the Doctrine viz. It is the good Will and Pleasure of c. But the whole substance of the Chapter doth imply Election and Reprobation of persons 4 Object as Vers 15. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion Vers 18. Therefore he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth I give my judgment Answ That the main drift and scope of the Apostle in these words is to take off the self-conceit or priviledg that the Jews took to themselves touching their descent from Abraham with their imaginary righteousness by the works of the Law and to fix them upon expectation for righteousness from free grace in Jesus Christ and that no action of the creature can merit or challenge any priviledg in the favour or love of God because when we have done All We are unprofitable Servants which the Apostle doth illustrate from the Speech of God to Moses when he desired to see the face of God Exod. 33.19 I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious We may apprehend that the words were spoken to declare That although Moses was a faithful Servant in all his house yet the favour granted him was not out of consideration of any merit in Moses but an act of grace from God for saith the Lord I will be gracious unto whom I will be gracious c. and for the positive conclusion viz. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth To prevent the preposterous administration of Love and Judgment which from these words many conclude to be in God Exod. 20. the Scripture shall unty this knot The Lords will and pleasure is to Have Mercy on such that fear him and those that like not to retain God in their knowledg 2 Command such he is said to harden Rom. 18. or rather giveth them up to a reprobate sence to perish through their wickedness 5 Object But is it not in express words said GOD hardened Pharaohs heart Answ Cooks Instit pag 27. I make answer to this Objection as a learned Lawyer did of the Law When any point through Nicety thereof doth admit of a doubtful interpretation such a construction is to be made as may avoyd absurdity All you that hear me will go along with me in this That it was an evil in Pharaoh to have a hard heart against the Commands of Almighty God if so will it not be absurd to conclude God the Author of this evil Again you all grant That it was just with Almighty God to destroy Pharaoh for his hard heart against the Israelites and will it not be preposterous for you to make God the Author both of the evil and the punishment * Simile If a Colonel should command a party of his Regiment to march out upon a design and afterwards cause them to be condemned at a Councel of War for being out of their Quarters were not this unequal My beloved Friends That Moddel of Righteousness and Justice which is in Mankind is but a glimpse or beam of the God of Righteousness placed in the creature having allusion to the Apostles words The Foolishness of God is Wiser then the wisdom of men then I say That the unrighteousness of God if such a thing could be imagined is more righteous then the righteousness of men So then you may perceive how obscaene and absurd it is to conclude God the Author of sin and punishment in the Creature this is the only property and practise of Satan mans adversary and not of God who is a Lover of all mankind And I give my judgment That the Lord cannot be said without absurdity to harden Pharaohs heart as by putting therein a malevolent disposition contrary to his will but the Lord ceasing to exercise further patience and his goodness standing in the abstract unto Pharaoh in that sence God is said to harden Pharaohs heart * Simile A man that is towing a Barge up the river letting go the cord is said to send the vessel down the water but it is the stream that carryeth the Barge away So the Lord ceasing to draw or make use of cords and administrations of his Love the creature being left in the corrupt channel of his own affections is hurried down the stream to destruction by force of the strong current of his lustful inclinations Neither do we read that the Lord doth inflict this Judgment of desertion upon Pharaoh or any others till a manifest opposition doth appear against the way and light of God made known in them Take the Apostles words before cited Even as they did not like to retain God in their own
then reprove the Legal Teachers in our generation who present the terrors of the Law to reduce persons to the obedience of the Gospel and by coercive power if they had it beat mens spirits into a conformity Christ satisfied Peter that his Kingdom was not of this world From which I apprehend we may gather That majesterial or worldly power hath no cognizance over the things of God Paul telleth Timothy who as all conclude was a famous Bishop 2 Tim. 2.24 25. The servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if peradventure God will give grace to repentance How unsuitably then do those persons act who under pretence of * â—Nabâ—th blasphemed c. only a sleight to get his Vineyard Cave C. O. Heresie and Blasphemy condemn men first and give them time to repent afterwards Harken unto me ye fiery Zealots let us reason the matter suppose there were in this Congregation one that is a Jew pleading for a necessity of Sacrifices Circumcision c. Another a Turk pleading the interest of Mahomet A third of Aristotle and Pythagoras his Judgment denying both Diety and Resurrection I pray let me ask you this question Is it not more Christian-like to instruct these men then destroy them Should not these poor Souls be objects of pity rather then fury seeing they must all stand at the Judgment seat of Christ and to torment them before the time is to do that to them which as I understand Scripture Christ permited not to be done unto Devils Now if such civility is to be used unto Aliens and Forreigners who are Strangers in person and Religion will you that be fellow Natives desire Laws of cruelty to be exercised upon those that are neerer by affinity both in birth and judgment Again Coercive power at the best makes men but Hypocrites when perswasion through love maketh a change in the minde and what is it to drive the person of a man into a little outward conformity when in his minde he is always free to affect that which his judgment gives him to be truth * Simile A Lion chained is a Lion still the chain mitigateth not but exasperateth the fierceness of the creature Outward forcings onely chain the out side it is love onely that can change the minde Saint Paul exhorteth Titus to be gentle and shew all meekness unto all men and by a self-experiment he encourageth him to that duty For saith he Tit. 3. We our selves also were sometimes disobedient serving divers lusts c. but after the kindness of the love of God appeared c. Then there was an alteration If the men of our generation that stile themselves Ministers of the Gospel had labored to beget love in the people towards God by presenting the Love of God in our Saviour to the people in a gentle and meek way according to the Gospel the rent amongst themselves would not have bin so great and * Bellum episcopale hinc iliae lachrymae divisions of the people less One thing more observe from the connexion of this Discourse The precedent Verses speak that these Athenians worshipped the true God after an ignorant way As God may be truly worshiped by a form so the true God is often worshipped in a form after a false manner I pray God the whole Kingdom be not guilty of it The outward deckings and adornments of you that hear me speak forth a good time or some high * It was Easter day in the afternoons Exercise day but how fitted and prepared your hearts be for reception of the substance of these formalities God and your Consciences are your Judges The Apostle Paul telleth the Colossians of us rising with Christ as well as the rising of Christ Col. 3.1 If ye be risen with Christ seek those things that are above c. To beleeve Christ in history as to be born dead and risen again at Jerusalem Rome Spain France acknowledg as much yea the Devils beleeve confess it and tremble but the Unity and participation in the mystery of this history is that which must be of Soul-concernment unto every one of you Prove your selves whether you be IN the Faith or no Know ye not that except Jesus Christ be IN you you are reprobates If you know any thing of the new-birth of Regeneration or of Christ being formed in us by a manifestation of God in Our flesh then you may keep Christmas at Mid-Lent Or if you know what it is to have your conversation in Heaven and understand that of the Apostle Col. 2.12 Buried with him in Baptism wherein also you are risen with Him by faith through the operation of God then you may keep Easter and Good Friday all of a day I know many of you here have this morning observed the solemnity of the Passeover by eating or breaking bread God forbid that I should discourage you in any thing that you apprehend to foe of God in this Form but give me leave to declare what Bread the Apostle would have the Corinthians observe the Passeover with 1 Cor. 5.8 Therefore let us keep the feast not with the Leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of Sincerity and Truth And further when he speaks as to wise men 1 Cor. 10.16 The Cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ By which expressions you may observe the Apostles drift was to fix their hearts upon the Substance which is Spirit and Life in it self and the very Soul of the Sacrament One word more to the Military part of this Auditory for whom this Discourse was more precisely intended Gentlemen having been your fellow-Soldier in the Nations cause I take the more boldness and freedom to speak a word of Exhortation to you You have heard what hath been pressed viz. Gods Goodness unto Mankinde The consideration whereof taking impression upon our spirits will be a strong motive and provocation to us for to repent and be changed in our mindes from the love of the world to the love of God If this duty be to be practised by all then more especially by you that be Soldiers I have observed one notable stratagem of Satan in transporting the minde of the creature above its proper sphere Take it for granted in the generality that those societies of men that are in most danger of death are most careless in their living * Quatuor aut septem si sit latissima â—aeda Seamen and Soldiers in what haâ—ard do they lead their lives yet how vainly do they spend their time and how improvidently fitted for death My Masters I knew the time when the hearts of wel-affected were refreshed to hear the goodness of God manifested in your meetings but how have you sadded the spirits of good men to observe so much
at my reproof c. Under favour my Masters this Wisdom here spoken of cannot be interpreted as a Herauld or Cryer publishing such an Oration in a City Palace or such like convention of people but it is the voyce of God fixed or proclaimed in the market place or heart of every Creature that is to say of mankind where the assembly and concourse of the affections have their place of meeting and the faculties of rationality sit in councel there the voyce of Almighty God is present by a manifestation of his Wisdom or motions of his holy Spirit reproving and condemning all adverse and repugnant intentions of our hearts in dissonancy or contrariety of his Will I pray answer me this question What is that which giveth a check to yours and my Conscience when we intend evil against God or our Neighbor and whether or no upon the commitment of sin there hath not been a voyce of God speaking in every one of our hearts this ought not to be done I think the worst of men wil acknowledg it onely such excepted who liked not to retain God in their knowledg such indeed are given up to strange delusions Rom. 1. Satan as he dealt with Eve presents the beauty of the apple but God said In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye Mark this well Satan pleaseth the fancy of the Creature the better to accomplish his ruine God informeth the judgment of man for his preservation I remember a precious expression in the Prophet Isaiah Look up unto me all ye the Isles of the earth and be saved Isaiah 45.22 Here you may perceive the plenitude of Gods Tender even unto all Nations upon the face of the earth All men every where as the Text hath it Observe my beloved Friends if God commands all men to repent and turn unto him wisheth all Nations to look up to him for Salvation certainly God hath not mental reservation but as we say speaks the Truth from his heart willing None should perish but All to partake of everlasting life Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money Isai 55.1 come ye buy and eat c. Whosoever will Rev. 22 17. let him take of the water of life freely By which Scriptures you may apprehend that Almighty God lest the Creature should plead ignorance or unworthiness maketh proclamation of his free goodness unto mankinde without restriction or exception of any as persons and that from these words Ho and Whosoever And now from this argument I thus infer If God by his wisdom which is the voyce of his Spirit to the heart within and if God by his Word or Ministry which is his outward means wooeth and inviteth all Mankinde to partake of his Love and Goodness is it not to declare the truth of the Doctrine now insisted upon viz. That it is the good will and pleasure of Almighty God that every Creature should come to the attainment of Life and Salvation The third Argument is drawn from the sorrow or complaint that Almighty God is said according to the Scripture sence to take up 3 Argument drawn from Gods sorrow or complaint Deut. 5.29 upon consideration of the deviation or destruction of the Creature Oh that there were such an heart in them Oh that my people would but harken Why will ye dye O house of Israel See here Gods expressions of love not onely desiring Israels conformity but argueth out the case Why will ye dye What reason have you to destroy your selves Is there any cause that necessitates you to perish It s strange to me it should be so As I live saith the Lord Ezek. 33.11 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked should turn from his way and live turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye dye O house of Israel c. Here the Lord doth declare his disaffection to the Creatures ruine by Oath which as the Apostle hath it is used for confirmation and ending of all strife As I live saith the Lord I desire not the death c. It is recorded of a Roman Emperor when he pronounced sentence against a Malefactor he used this language * Utinam nescirem Legâ—s Nero. Would to God I had not known the Laws Whether there be truth in this story or reality in the expression it matters not but most sure it is that Almighty God the great King of Heaven and Earth proceedeth not to sentence for sin without reluctancy The Prophet Jeremiah in his Lamentations readeth thus He doth not afflict WILLINGLY Lam. 3.33 nor GRIEVE the Children of men It is worthy of our serious consideration to observe what sorrow of heart and tenderness in affection our blessed Saviour expressed over Jerusalem when he sentenced their ejectment or rendred them uncapable of any further favor O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets Mat. 23 37. and stonest them that are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy Children together as a Hen gathereth her Chickens and ye * 'T is not said Ye could not Would not Behold your house is left desolate If thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes When he approached neer the holy City saith the Evangelist he wept over it Strong are those affections that break forth in Weeping and great was that LOVE that drew Tears from the Son of God I pray consider by what pertinent similitude our Saviour maketh out his Love to Jerusalem As a Hen gathereth her Chickens c. Amongst other Creatures that are indulgent for procreation the Hen is observed by great diligence to bring her brood to maturity how careful is she to cover her charge and during time departeth not therefrom unless necessitated by extream hunger when her charge is brought to perfection how doth she endevor to rally her young ones together never at rest longer then they are under covert of her own feathers and in case violence be offered to her young what creature is it that with undaunted courage she will not fly in face on Much more might be said by way of illustration but ye are to understand that the end of Similitudes or Parables is to declare not to compare as may be instanced by the Parables of the unjust Steward unjust Judg c. So here the similitude of the tenderness of the Hen over her young doth manifest something of Christs Love all comparisons in the world being too low to parallel the extent thereof Luke 15. I remember when Christ was accused by the Pharisees for having society with Publicanes and sinners taking boldness to paraphrase upon the Discourse he reasoneth after this manner Well Sirs saith he I perceive I am the object of your discontent and that in reference to my familiarity among wicked and ungodly men Come now let
knowledg so God gave them over to a reprobate sence c. And touching Pharaoh the Scripture readeth thus And when Pharaoh saw there was respite He Hardened his Own heart Exod 8.15 and hearkened not unto them c. Unto which you may add the argument that the Priests of the Philistines used to their Princes about sending away the Ark of God to its own place Iudg. 6 6. Wherefore then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts and would not let the people go c. By the harmony of these Scriptures you plainly see That the evil qualification viz. hardness in Pharaohs heart did arise from the aversness of his own will and as the Wrath of man shall turn to the praise of God so the Lord got him a name upon Pharaoh and his Host and rewarded their stubbornness in the Red Sea and so I hope my Doctrine will appear firm viz. It is the good Will and c. If God gave Christ to All and Christ dyed for All 6 Object then All of necessity must be saved for GOD or CHRIST did nothing in vain I reply That although God gave Christ to All Answ and Christ dyed for all yet the benefit of this act in Gods Love and Christs indefinite Tender of Salvation is appropriated only to Believers such persons as through faith apprehend the same God so loved the World that Whosoever Believeth Iohn 3.12 c. By these words you may perceive that although the act in God was free and Tender in Christ Universal yet the benefit is conditional through believing As for instance * Simile God hath placed the Sun in the Firmament to be a light to all the World and there is sufficiency of light distilled from the Sun for the whole Universe doth it therefore follow that men closing their eyes or walking under ground in dark places receive the benefit of this light And thus I hope you see the vanity of this Objection 7 Object Well suppose it be granted That Gods Love or Christs Tender be proposed indefinitely to All yet when you say the benefit thereof is conditional on believing doth not this Doctrine establish Free-Will Answ I humbly conceive there cannot be imagined to be in any creature such a thing as Free-Will being God alone is Independent acting from a principle of his own Mind For Who hath been his Counsellor but man mediately from a power of God Work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling for it is God that worketh in you Phil. 1. c. Here the creature is concerned in action and God in power A Tree is concerned in fruit-bearing and the planter in manuring of the same Take a similitude of the Vineyard spoken in reference to the children of Israel in Isai 6. which after God had planted hedged and manured putting it into a capacity of bringing forth good grapes complaint is made of the Vineyard that it brought forth wilde grapes By this allusion you may gather That God giveth man a capacity to act and man according to this capacity is to make improvement Mark it well you never read of any condemned for want but mis-use of power as you may observe from the Parable of the Talents in the Gospel 8 Object If GOD be good unto All why then doth He condemn some Answ The condemnation of ungodly persons is no diminution of his goodness no more then the just expulsion of a prophane person in a godly family doth prejudice the reputation of the religious governor thereof The wickedness of the creature cannot prevaricate the goodness of God as the Apostle hath it in another sence Vnbelief cannot make the promise of none effect * Simile A General is good to his Army though he sentenceth death to the Mutineers thereof In all humility I leave my Answer to these Objections to be seriously ruminated according to the strength of your understandings in the things of God and crave favour to be patiently heard in what shall be offered in the applicatory part of this Discourse Thus far we have gone viz. Text. And the times of this ignorance God winked at Sum of all but now he commandeth all men every where to repent Doctr. It is the good will and pleasure of Almighty God that every Creature should come to the attainment of Life and Salvation 1 Reason grounded upon Gods Propriety in all Creatures 2 Reason grounded upon the several Invitations of God to Mankinde 3 Reason grounded upon the sorrow God is said to take up upon the Creatures ruine The Objections with their Answers you have heard now I come toVses As Observation is the life of Understanding so Application is the very Marrow of all preaching As every line points at the Centre so all Sermons centre in Application Now if it be an undeniable truth That it is the good will and pleasure of Almighty God that every Creature should come to the attainment of Life and Salvation what Use then may you and I gather out of this First This may be an Application of Comfort to every Soul here present when he considereth the extent of the goodness of God 1 Vse Is God good and good unto All Did Christ suffer and suffer for All Oh what comfort may the consideration of this be to our Spirits How should we be ravished with admiration as Paul was of his thoughts of these words viz. That God had concluded all under sin that he might have mercy upon All Oh the heighth and the depth of the goodness of God! How unsearchable is his wisdom and his ways past finding out Now we may say with Peter God is no Respecter of persons for he is not the God of the Jews only but of the Gentiles also What say you to this ye fleshly Abrahamites Cease your boasting The partition wall is broken down She that was desolate hath more children then she that hath an husband which children cry Abba Father the Spirit witnessing with their spirit that they are the sons of God if sons thâ—n heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Hallelujah 2 Vse In the second place May not this reprove the generality of the Clergy so called whose teachings are That God is good indeed but it is but to some Christ dyed indeed for the whole world but it is to be understood for some of the world which had a prerogative before they were born If the Apostle Paul or Peter when they went forth to preach the Gospel should have told their hearers My Masters We are sent to preach the Gospel of Salvation unto you but there is not one amongst ten that is permitted to receive the benefit thereof we are commanded to declare Jesus Christ unto you to be the Saviour of the world but you must understand he dyed only for a few persons that were elected from all eternity I marvel what entertainment or comfort such a