make them confident and insolent and in a word Magnas Tragoedias excitare But take a way the confusion of things that differ their combes are cut their locks are shorne and they are but as another man Now having shewed in what sense every hearer is bound to believe that Christ died for him and in what sense not let us consider of what worth this Authors arguments are breathing nothing but smoak and fire I will not say like the great Potan but like fell Dragon but I nothing doubt we shall pare his nailes and make him calme enough ere we have done with him so that a little child shall be able enough to lead him Now that they cannot be justly bound to believe if they be absolute reprobates he takes upon him to prove by three reasons 1. The first is because it is Gods will that they shall not believe because it is his peremptory will that they shall have no power to believe I answere it is indeed the will of Gods decree that is he hath decreed not to give any Reprobate a justifying faith but hence it followeth not that therefore they cannot believe thus farre the contents of the Gospell namely that both Christ hath merited and God hath ordained that as many as doe believe shall be saved For this as I take it is not usually accounted by our Divines a justifying faith but rather it comes within the compasse of such a faith as is commonly counted faith historicall Secondly I answer it followeth not that because God hath decreed to deny them the grace of faith therefore they are not bound to believe which I prove by Scripture For was not Pharaoh bound to let Israel goe when Moses was sent to him from the Lord to command him in the name of the Lord to let Israel goe Yet the Scripture plainly teacheth us that the Lord told Moses that he would harden Pharaohs heart and that he should not let Israel goe What I pray is now become of his reason compared with the light of Scripture And what have we to doe to enquire into Gods counsells as whether he hath decreed to give us grace or no Is it not enough to bind us to obedience for God to command this or that unto us Did Abraham enquire in his thoughts whether it were his purpose yea or no that Isaack should be sacrificed Nothing lesse but upon the Lords command he forthwith addresseth himselfe to the worke rising early in the morning and going forward in the Lords businesse Then again we find by common experience that naturall men are too to confident rather and presumptuous of their power then diffident and distrustfull dicere solet humana superbia saith Austin si scissem fecissem it were better for them if they did acknowledge their impotency and by what means this corruption of theirs is brought upon them that would bring them nearer to the Kingdome of God But if I have a debtor whom I know to be a Bankerupt but he knowes it not but having many bagges of Brasse or Copper pieces which he takes to be Gold conceits himselfe able enough to pay all his debts and more too shall I be said to commit any indecent thing by urging him to pay that he oweth This argument is as old as Pelagius but what was Austin his answer In mandato cognosce quid debeas habere in corruptione cognosce t uo te vitio non habere in oratione cognosce unde possis habere 3. Lastly if God cannot justly command and by command bind man to obey in case he hath no power to obey in like sort God cannot justly complaine of their disobedience who being hardned by God cannot obey him And indeed as this Author argueth against the justice of Gods commands in this case so the Apostle brings in one arguing the injustice of Gods complaints in the like case For having delivered this Doctrine that God hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardneth forthwith he brings in one tumultuating against it in this manner Thou wilt say then why doth he yet complaine for who hath resisted his will And if any man be not ashamed to argue as he did saith Austin let us not be ashamed to answer as the Apostle did and how was that Surely only thus O man who art thou that disputest with God shall the thing formed say to him that formed it Why hast thou made me thus Hath not the Potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessell unto honour and another unto dishonour And albeit this I trow should be sufficient to satisfy a Christian yet we observe farther how this Author confounds impotency Morall which consisteth in the corruption of mans powers naturall and impotency naturall which consisteth in bereaving him of power naturall The Lord tells us by his Prophet Jeremy that Like as a Blackamore cannot change his skinne nor a Leopard his spotts no more can they doe good that are accustomed unto evill Now if a man taken in stealth shall plead thus before a Judge My Lord I beseech you have compassion upon me for I have so long time inured my hands to pilfering that now I cannot forbeare it will this be accepted as a good plea to save him from the Gallowes Again it is observed that men are naturally prone to runne upon the committing of things forbidden them Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas nitimur in vetitum yet this is no just excuse Lastly as for faith it is well known that Divines distinguish between fides acquisita and fides infusa that we may call a faith naturally acquired which is found in carnall persons whether prophane or Hypocriticall and this is a faith inspired by Gods spirit The object of each is all one and a Man may suffer Martyrdome for the one as well as for the other which manifesteth the pertinacious adherence thereunto And it appears that all professions have had their Martyrs Ucali Fartax a Calabrian borne endured the Gallies fourteen years rather then he would turne Turke yet at length he became a Turke and only in spleen to be revenged on a Turke who had given him a boxe on the eare and became a great man amongst them And at the famous battell of Lepanto he alone maintained his Squadron entire and beat the Christians But to returne albeit it be not in the power of nature to believe fide infusâ yet is it in the power of nature to believe the Gospell fide acquisitâ which depends partly upon a mans education and partly upon reason considering the credibility of the Christian way by light of naturall observations above all other waies in the World And when men refuse to embrace the Gospell not so much because of the credibility of it but because it is not congruous to their naturall affections as our Saviour tells the Jewes Light came into the World and men loved darknesse rather then light
thought that God elected some to bestow the Holy Ghost upon them that by working that which is good they might obtain everlasting life and who were those whom he thus elected namely such as whom he foresaw would believe and what was his reason for it surely this Quod ergo credimus nostrum est quod autem bona operamur Illius est qui Credentibus dat Spiritum Sanctum quod profeciò non dicerem si jam scirem etiam ipsam fidem inter dei munera reperiri quae dantur in eodem spiritu Marke I pray the manner of his Retractation I would not have said so if at that time I had known Faith to have been amongst the gifts of God which are given in the same spirit So then as soon as Austin came to acknowledg that Faith it selfe was the gift of God he therewithall came off from affirming that Quem sibi crediturum esse praescivit ipsum elegit cui Spiritum Sanctum daret ut bona operando etiam vitam aeternam consequeretur And like as before he maintained that God elected some to wit Believers to bestow the Holy spirit upon them that by working good workes they might obtain also everlasting life so now having found that Faith also is the gift of God he was accordingly to maintain that God elected some to bestow the Holy spirit upon them that both by believing and working good workes they might obtain everlasting life so that no longer was the foresight of Faith to precede election in Austins opinion to wit after once he knew Faith to be the gift of God And accordingly in his Book De Praedestin Sanctorum addressing himselfe to the rectifying of the Massilienses in the poynt of Predestination wherein they did not as yet discerne the truth of God Adhuc in quaestione caligant de Praedestinatione sanctorum Cap. 1. And againe Si quid de Praedestinatione Sanctorum aliter sapiunt Deus illis hoc quoque revelabit Ibid. Marke I pray you what course he takes to rectify them herein cap. 2. Priùs itaque fidem quâ Christiani sumus donum dei esse debemus ostendere and whereas he had performed this task very sufficiently before manifesting by divers pregnant passages of holy Scripture that Faith was the gift of God and the Massilienses did elude them by such a distinction as this Faith may be considered two waies either as touching Initium the first beginning of it or as touching Incrementum the augmentation thereof and accommodating this distinction said The passages of Scripture alleadged by Austin proceeded as touching the Augmentation of it which they willingly granted to be the work of God but not as touching the initiation of it which they still maintained to be the work of man Therefore Austin addresseth himselfe in that discourse of his to prove that the very Initiation of Faith is the work of God and not the Augmentation only His words are these Sed nunc iis respondendum esse video qui divina testimonia quae de hâc re adhibuïmus ad hoc dicunt valere ut noverimus ex nobis quidem nos habere ipsam fidem sed incrementum ejus ex Deo tanquam fides non ab ipso donetur nobis sed ab ipso tantum augeatur in nobis ex merito quo coepit à nobis And likewise in the 19. cap. of the same Book having propounded the opinion of the Pelagians namely that because God foresaw that we would be holy and unblameable before him in love therefore he elected and predestinated us in Christ before the foundation of the World and shew'd how this opinion contradicts that of the Apostle Ephes 1. 4 5. where it is said that God elected us in Christ and predestinated us before the foundation of the World that we should be holy and unblameable before him in love and perceiving withall how the Massilians did avoid this as nothing contrary to their Tenent though contrary to the Pelagian Tenent forasmuch as they maintained not that God foresaw any thing but our Faith and therefore God elected us before the foundation of the World that we should be holy and unblameable before him in love for these were their words Nos autem dicimus nostram Deum non praescisse nisi fidem ideo nos elegisse ut etiam sancti immaculati gratia atquè opere ejus essemus what course doth Austin take to beat them off but this namely to prove that Like as Holines so Faith also and that as touching the Initiation thereof is the work of God thus Sed audiant ipsi in hoc testimonio ubi dicit sortem consecuti simus praedestinati secundum propositum qui universa operatur Ipse ergo ut credere incipiamus operatur qui universa operatur So that it is cleer in the opinion of Austin that to take both himselfe and others off from premising the foresight of Faith unto Gods election it is sufficient to prove that Faith is the gift of God the work of God both touching the augmentation and touching the first introduction thereof And thus evincing the condition of Predestination as excluding all foresight of Faith from the condition of Predestination as being throughout the work of God in man rather then taking a contrary course as if the main 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were what is the condition of Gods decree of Predestination as here it is pretended and supposed And albeit it is commonly received of all sides as if it were without question that Faith is the gift of God yet we find practises on foot for the working of a manifest innovation herein For not to speak of their interpretations of their own meanings as in what sence they say God workes Faith in us it is apparent the Remonstrants now a daies doe as good as professe that Faith is not bestowed upon us for Christs sake in as much as they deny that Christ merited Faith for us For when the Author of the Censure passed upon the Remonstrants Confession disputeth thus At si hoc tantum meritus est Christus tum Christus nobis non est meritus fidem nec regenerationem the Remonstrants in the Answer hereunto forthwith confesse it in these words Sanè ita est Nihil ineptius nihil vanius est quà m hoc Christi merito tribuere Si enim Christus nobis meritus dicatur fidem regenerationem tum fides conditio esse non poterit quam a peccatoribus Deus sub comminatione mortis aeternae exigeret And by the way marke I pray that not any difference is put between Faith and Regeneration manifestly signifying thereby that as they grant it to be the work of man to believe so we are commanded to make our selves a new heart And as for ordering of the decrees which here is added to compleat the main 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as here is pretended that in my opinion is so farr off from being the main 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
at first fight and much more by the distinction following of Gratia sufficiens efficax which he so well perceived that he is content to clap it upon Austins back to beare the burthen of it and puts it but upon adventure that it may prove to be the Scripture meaning And in like sort when pag. 98. having proposed two things to be necessarily unfolded by him Primò de Gratiâ sufficiente efficaci Secundo de utriusque dispensatione dispensationisque Causis He leaves off there giving it over in plain ground What doth this argue but that he manifestly perceived he was not able in any tollerable manner to shape this distinction in congruity to his own Tenent Let this Author well consider this that talkes so much of our Divines unwillingnesse to come to tryall in the poynt of reprobation When Arminius durst not adventure upon the explicating of his own opinion touching the distinction of grace sufficient and effectuall and in giving us the definition of each The like to have been the course of other Arminians I have known declining the point of effectuall grace as a precipice and breakneck unto them And when others have been put upon it they have placed it in the grace subsequent and have not been ashamed to make it consist in this that God by effectuall grace doth work in man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Velle credere modo velit and why not as well that he workes in man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Credere modo Credat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Resipiscere modo Resipiscat This that I speake I can shew under the hand of one of them a great stickler for the Arminian Cause great I say in respect of affection not of judgement And I have cause to conceive that both this Authors Discourse and that others I have had to deale withall is but as a smoake that for a great part if not for the most of it comes out of the same Chimney 4. Let the argument stand as it doth let infidelity by Gods permission follow upon the decree of damnation and that necessarily Yet consider 1. Gods permitting of it is no other then the leaving of it uncured not that hereby infidelity followeth which was not before but being in all before as the fruit of that naturall corruption wherein all were borne as all confesse as many as concurre against the Pelagians in acknowledging Originall sinne By Gods permission of it it continueth to be uncured What actuall sinne is there in the World or habituall sinne arising thereupon which God cannot cure if it please him If then he will not cure it in some shall it not be lawfull for him to punish it where he findes the continuance of it unto the end without breaking off by repentance 2. Suppose all men had power to doe any good thing if God will not give them Velle quod possunt as Austin saith he dealt with Adam in his innocency and gave the Angels that stood amplius Adjutorium then he gave the others whereby it came to passe that they stood in obedience when the other fell what shall wee say in this case is it possible that they should Velle bonum if God will not work it in them of whom the Apostle professeth that he works in us both the Will and the Deed Or shall wee hereupon say they doe not sinne freely What shift have they to avoyd this but either by contradicting the Apostle and saying God doth not work in us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Velle or by saying that God doth work in us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Velle modò Velimus as plain a contradiction as ever proceeded from the mouth of any The selfe same act being made before and after it self for the condition is allwaies before the thing conditioned And is this to work in us the Will according to Gods pleasure or according to mans good pleasure What is it to say that grace is given according unto works if this be not 3. We deny that any evill act therefore comes not to passe freely because it comes to passe necessarily upon supposition of Gods denyall of grace to refraine from it For like as good works are not therefore not wrought freely by us because God by his grace workes us to the performance of them For who dares deny that it is in Gods power to make us work this or that freely in like sort and much more evill works are not done the lesse freely because God denies speciall and effectuall grace to abstain from them For want of grace doth not take away willingnesse unto that which is evill but leaves too much rather in man of that kind As Austin saith that Libertas sine gratiâ non est libertas sed contumacia Now where there is contumacy there is rather too much will then too little For Contumacy is Wilfulnesse 4. The Schooles teach that liberty of will consists only in electione mediorum in the election of means to certain ends Now when the Gospel is preached to a carnall man whose ends are only carnall as the Apostle saith Philip. 3. 20. They mind earthly things so farre forth as he shall find it serviceable to his carnall ends he may believe it and make profession of it as many times Hypocrites doe and sometimes in such sort as it is hard to distinguish between a true and an Hypocriticall professour This moved the Apostle to exhort the Corinthians famous for their faith to examine themselves and prove themselves Whether they were in the faith that is in faith unfaigned For there is not only a grosse Hypocrisy whereunto a mans own heart is privy but a secret Hypocrisy whereof the man himselfe is nothing conscious yet such a faith undoubtedly is performable by a naturall man Now when a man rejects the Gospell the faith and profession whereof he finds nothing serviceable to his carnall ends doth he not judiciously and deliberately yea and wisely too according to the wisdome of flesh and bloud reject it 5. Austin professeth Lib. 1. De Gen. contr Manich. cap. 3. That all men may believe if they will and justifies it in his Retractations But if the will of man be corrupt and averse from believing We justly say such a man cannot believe as our Saviour saith How can you believe that receive honour one of another and seeke not the honour that cometh of God alone Joh. 5. 44. yet this is an impotency Morall only which is to be distinguished from impotency Naturall For notwithstanding this it may be truely said that All men may believe if they will and herein consists the naturall liberty of the will The Morall liberty consists rather in a sanctified inclination unto that which is good whereby it is freed from the power of sinne and Sathan then in a power to doe good if they will and not otherwise But I never find that Arminians doe distinguish these 6. It is not sufficient for Arminians to conclude that such a
pray for we know not whom Again Gods love with this Author is extended as farre as his will to save and that is extended to all and every one and unlesse God be now changed it must extend to them now after they are damned and must our charity be extended towards them also But he proceeds let us proceed with him Now saith he all in the duty signifies every man but that we deny he gives his reason for no man though wicked and prophane is to be excluded from our Prayers Against this I have two exceptions and yet if the whole be granted him it maketh nothing for him my first exception is this he promised to give us satisfaction out of the Text it selfe but who seeth not but that this rule of his is brought in quite besides the Text I from the Text have proved and from the coherence between the generall and the speciall that the speciall being certain particular conditions of men the generall all must conformably be understood of all conditions My second exception is this he obtrudes upon us that no man though wicked and prophane is to be excluded from our Prayers I confesse I doe not find my selfe apt to exclude any from my prayers but I cannot endure that a bold fellow should obtrude his rules upon us as Oracles The Apostle Saint Iohn forbids us to pray for them that sinne a sinne unto death But let all this be granted what then If it extends to every one in the duty it must have the same extent in the motive too but this I deny he saith else the motive will not reach home nor have strength enough to enforce the duty but this likewise I deny and shew withall how the motive shall reach home and have strength enough even to enforce this duty according to this Authors accommodation of it albeit God hath a will not to save all and every one but of all sorts and all conditions some of Kings some of them that are in Authority some For seeing God saves of all sorts some why should not every Christian Subject pray for his Prince and Rulers seeing it may be they are those some whom God means to save even of the ranke of Princes of the ranke of Governors and of men in Authority For God hath not revealed to us who they are whom he hath elected and who they are whom he hath reprobated If he had Austin tells us what we should doe in that case De Civit Dei lib. 21. cap. 24. Si de aliquibus it a Ecclesia certa esset ut qui sunt illi etiam nosset qui licet adhuc in hac vitâ sint constituti tamen praedestinati sunt in aeternum ignem ire cum Diabolo tam pro i is non or aret quam pro ipso If it shall be farther urged that we are to pray for all Kings and all that are in Authority not only for our own I answer that this is nothing agreeable to the end of such prayers here expressed by the Apostle namely That under them we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all Godlinesse and honesty And what have we here in England to doe with the King of Bungo that we should pray for him or for the Kings in terrâ australi incognitâ discovered by Ferdinando de Quir or for the great Duke of Crapulia 3. As for the second interpretation I doe not find it so usuall with our Divines Cajetan distinguisheth here between voluntas signi and beneplaciti so doth Aquinas and this distinction of voluntas occulta and revelata is usually reduced to that of voluntas signi and beneplaciti But voluntas signi and voluntas revelata is more congruously applied to the things which God commands then to the things which God himselfe worketh as for example he commands faith and repentance and the commandements of God are usually called the will of God in Scripture though improperly and thus the distinction is plain God commands one thing but it is not necessary that he should will that that which he commands shall come to passe As for example God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaack yet he determined that Isaack should not be sacrificed as appeared by the event In like manner he commanded Pharaoh to let Israel goe yet withall told Moses he would harden his heart that he should not let Israel goe But this will of God called voluntas signi and Revelata cannot so congruously be said to passe upon mans salvation Yet because God may be said to command salvation in as much as he commands faith and repentance that we may be saved and in this sense men are exhorted sometimes to save themselves As Save your selves from this froward generation and Save some out of the fire with feare and That thou maist both save thy selfe and them that heare thee therefore we are content also to admit of this distinction and consider with what judgement and sufficiency this Author doth impugne it 1. By his first opposition it appears that meer ignorance bears him out against this distinction For we doe acknowledge that Gods revealed will and his words revealing it are true interpretations of his own mind and meaning though not of such a meaning as he expects should be fashioned For he conceives that Gods will in this case is only of what shall be done which is most untrue Hereby is only signified what is mans duty to doe although it may be God will not give him effectuall grace to doe it As for examples sake when God commanded Pharaoh to let Israel goe hereby was signified that God would have it to be Pharaohs duty to let Israel goe though withall he professes to Moses that he would harden Pharaohs heart whereupon he should refuse to let them goe So when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaack hereby it was signified that it was Gods will to make it Abrahams duty to sacrifice his Sonne albeit God had determined that when Abraham came to poynt of execution of that which was enjoyned him he would hold Abrahams hand and content himselfe with Abrahams readinesse and good heart to obey God in this 2. As to the second it is untrue that any such thing followeth as this Author pretendeth namely that two contrary wills shall be found in God For first there is no contrariety in the wills here shaped by the Author himselfe thus many shall be damned and those many may be saved As for the word irrevocable wherewith this Author stuffes his proposition that is no attribute of damnation or the manner thereof but rather of Gods decrees wherein still he proceeds and spares not to foame out his own shame desiring to make Gods decrees of a revocable nature Secondly he understands not the accommodation of the distinction aright which is not directly to salvation and immediatly but rather to praecepta consilia remedia as Aquinas expresseth it of voluntas signi which is all one in this case with voluntas
pleasing to them At saith he ut innotescat quod latebat suave fiat quod non delectabat Dei gratia est quae humanas adjuvat voluntates We doe not smother this truth of God that we may delude men we rather represent how all flesh are obnoxious and endangered unto God that all are borne in sinne and therewithall children of wrath and such as deserve to be made the generation of Gods curse and that it is at his pleasure to shew mercy on any only the word of God hath power to raise us from the dead his voyce pierceth the graves and makes dead Lazarus heare it and it is his course to call some at the first some at the last hower of the day Thus we desire to bring them acquainted first with the spirit of bondage to make them feare that so they may be prepared for the spirit of Adoption whereby they shall cry Abba father neither doe we despaire of any that are humbled with feare we count rather their case most desperate who are nothing moved hereby or that perswade themselves they have power to believe when they will and repent when they will we account no greater illusions of Satan then these yet these abominable opinions may be fostered by some and masked with a pretence of great piety forsooth and a shew of holinesse and a zeale of defending Gods glory and salving the honour of his mercy justice and truth 3. The third is in their obligation to believe and the aggravation of their punishment by not believing The Divells because they must be damned are not commanded to believe in Christ yet poore men must be tied to believe in Christ and their torments must be encreased if they believe not I make no doubt but this Author is as confident of his learned and judicious carriage in shaping this comparison as that the fruit of Adams sinne is the guilt of eternall death in all mankind But none so bold we commonly say as blind Bayard and it seems either he knowes not or considers not that the first sinne of Angells was unto them as death unto man that sinne placed them extra viam and in termino incur abilis miseriae as death only placeth wicked men in the like case Now we doe not say that God commands man after he is dead to believe in Christ any more then he commands obedience unto Angells since their case is become desperate The Divells are not commanded to believe or repent because God doth not nor never did purpose to damne any of them for want of faith or of repentance but for their first Apostacy from God But it is otherwise with man for God doth not purpose to damne any of them but for sinne unrepented of And therefore as good reason there is why their damnation should be encreased for want of repentance and acknowledging of Gods truth as why the Devills should be damned for their first Apostacy If perhaps as it is likely enough this Author to hold up his comparison shall fly to God decree of reprobation upon supposition whereof it was impossible that men should either believe or repent I answere first that in like sort upon supposition of Gods foreknowledge that they would neither believe nor repent it followeth as necessarily as it is necessary that Gods knowledge should be infallible that it was impossible they should believe and repent and the like followeth as necessarily of the Apostacy of Angells as of the infidelity and impenitency of man And as men are pretended to harden themselves in vitious courses upon supposition of the unalterable nature of Gods decree So Austin gives instance in like manner of one that hardened himselfe upon pretence of Gods infallible knowledge De bono persever cap. 15. Fuit quidem in nostro Monasterio qui corripientibus fratribus our quaedam nonfacienda faceret facienda non faceret respondebat qualiâ—cunque nunc sim talis ero qualem me Deus esse futurum praescivit Qui profecto verum dicâ—hat hoc vero non proficiebat in â—onum sed vsque adeo profecit in malum ut deserta Monasterii societâ—te fieret canis reversus ad â—uum vonutum tamen adbuc qualis sit futurus incertum est Secondly I answer that the like may be said of Angells upon presupposition of Gods decree to deny the grace of standing unto them which Austin professeth expressely namely that either in their creation minorem acceperunt amoris divini grattam or that afterwards the reason why the one sort stood when the other fell was this to wit because they were amplius adjuti then their fellowes and consequently the other minus adjuti And as God gave grace to the elect Angells which he denyed to others So it cannot be denied but that from everlasting he decreed both to bestow it upon the one and deny it unto the other Now howsoever I know the Arminian party cannot swallow this morsell yet by this it appears how supersiciary is that augmentation of the difference between Men and Angells wherewith this Author contents himselfe yet notwithstanding it is not want of faith alone that condemneth any man by want of Faith man is lest to the covenant of works to stand or fall according to his own righteousnesse or unrighteousnesse whereof if he faile and withall despiseth the counsell or God offered him in his Gospell is there noe good reason his condemnation should be the greater For certainly it is in the power of a naturall man to afford as much faith to this as to many a vile and fabulous relation which is farre lesse credible by judgement naturall we see both prophane persons and hypocrites so farre to believe the Gospell as to embrace a formall profession thereof and sometimes proceed so farre therein as that 't is a hard matter to distinguish them from sincere professors yet we say a true faith is only such as is infused into the heart of man by the spirit of God in regeneration Now what one of our Divines can be represented that ever was known to affirme that the damnation of any man shall be encreased because God did not regenerate him and in regeneration inspire a Divine faith into him As for our answer in generall to this argument considered in briefe and this Authors reply my refutation thereof I dispatcht in the first place Although he carrieth himselfe not fairely in relating the answer on our part in as much as therein he mixeth the consideration of justice divine which is aliene from the present purpose with the consideration of mercy divine which alone is congruous that so while he puts off the plenary justification of his reply to that which is aliene he may seem to undertake a full justification of his reply to the whole But I hope we shall be as able by Gods assistance to manifest his sinister carriage in the interpretation of Gods justice as we have done already as touching his accommodation of
the Gospell according to that Mar. 1. Repent ye and believe the Gospell Now to believe the Gospell is one thing the summe whereof is this That Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners but to believe in Christ is another thing which yet this Author distinguisheth not though it appears by the course of his argumentation that he draws to this meaning and that in a particular sense which is this to believe that Christ died for them as appears expressely in the latter end of this Section And no marvaile if this Author carry himselfe so confidently in this being as he is armed with such confidence But I am glad that in one place or other he springs his meaning that we may have the fairer flight at him to pull down his pride and sweep away his vain considence though we deale upon the most plausible argument of the Arminians and which they think insoluble My answer is first Look in what sense Arminius saith Christ died for us in the same sense we may be held to say without prejudice to our Tenet of absolute reprobation that all who heare the Gospell are bound to believe that Christ died for them For the meaning that Arminius makes of Christs dying for us is this Christ dyed for this end that satisfaction being made for sinne the Lord now may pardon sinne upon what condition he will which indeed is to dye for obtaining a possibility of the redemption of all but for the actuall redemption of none at all Secondly But I list not to content my selfe with this therefore I farther answer by distinction of the phrase of dying for us that we may not cheat our selves by the confounding of things that differ To dye for us or for all is to dye for our benefit or for the benefit of all Now these benefits are of a different nature whereof some are bestowed upon man only conditionally though for Christs sake and they are the pardon of sinne and Salvation of the Soule and these God doth conferre only upon the condition of faith and repentance Now I am ready to professe and that I suppose as out of the mouth of all our Divines that every one who hears the Gospell without distinction between Elect and Reprobate is bound to believe that Christ died for him so farre as to procure both the pardon of his sinnes and the salvation of his soule in case he believe and repent But there are other benefits which Christ by his obedience hath merited for us namely the benefit of faith and repentance For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulnesse dwell Col. 1. And He hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in Christ that is for Christs sake and God works in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ and therefore seeing nothing is more pleasing in Gods sight on our part then faith and repentance even these also I should think God works in us through Jesus Christ and the Apostle praies in the behalfe of the Ephesians for peace and faith and love from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ that is as I interpret it from God the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost as an efficient cause and from the Lord Jesus Christ God and Man as a meritorious cause thereof Now I demand whether this Author can say truly that t is the constant opinion of our Divines that all who heare the Gospell whether Elect or Reprobate are bound to believe that Christ dyed to procure them faith and repentance Nay doth any Arminian at this day believe this or can he name any Arminian that doth avouch this Nay doth himselfe believe this If he doth not if he cannot shew any Arminian that doth with what face can he charge this opinion upon us as if we should extend the obligation to believe much farther then the Arminians doe whereas usually they criminate us for not extending it so farre as we should And indeed there is a main difference between these benefits and the former For as touching the former namely pardon of sinne and salvation God doth not use to conferre them but conditionally to wit upon the condition of faith and repentance But as for faith and repentance doth God conferre them conditionally also If so then let them make known to us what that condition is on mans part and whatsoever it be let them look unto it how they can avoid the making of grace to wit the grace of faith and repentance to be given according unto works But if these graces are conferred absolutely and Christ dyed for all to this end that faith and repentance should be conferred absolutely upon all then it followeth manifestly herehence that all must believe and repent and consequently all must be saved So that not only Election as Huberus that renegate faigned must be universall but Salvation also Thus have I given in my answer distinctly to that which he delivered most confusedly Fourthly I come to the scanning of the particular opinion of Zanchy namely that every one that hears the Gospell whether elect or reprobate for so I suppose it proceeds to wit only of them who heare the Gospell though this Author takes no consideration of that neither but hand-over-head laies about him like a mad man is bound to believe that he is elect in Christ and will trye whether I cannot reduce that opinion of his also to a faire interpretation And here first I observe Zanchy is not charged to maintain that every hearer of the Gospell is bound to believe that he is elect in Christ unto faith and repentance but only to salvation that puts me in good heart that Zanchy I shall shake hands of fellowship in the end and part good friends Secondly I distinguish between absolute-Election unto Salvation and election unto Salvation-absolute The first only removes all cause on mans part of election the latter removes all cause on mans part of salvation By cause of salvation I mean only a disposing cause such as faith repentance and good works are as whereby to expresse it in the Apostles phrase we are made meet partakers of the inheritance of the Saints of light Now albeit Zanchy maintains as we doe that all the elect are absolutely elected unto salvation there being no cause on mans part of his election as we have learned yet neither Zanchy nor we doe maintain that God doth elect any unto salvation absolute that is to bring him to salvation without any disposing of him thereunto by faith and repentance Now to accommodate that opinion of Zanchy I say it may have a good sense to say that every hearer is bound to believe both that Christ dyed to procure Salvation for him in case he doe believe and that God ordained that he should be saved in case he doe believe where beliefe is made the condition only of salvation not of the Divine ordination and the confusion of these by the Arminians doth usually
is ingaged to give ability of believing unto men he may as well inferre that he is engaged to give ability unto men to the keeping of his law and what need was there of Christs coming into the world Seeing by his coming into the world we have gained no better condition by the Arminian Tenet than to be saved if we will and if men have ability to to keepe the law even by the law they may be saved if they will and it will follow as well that God without giving this ability to keepe the law cannot justly punish the transgressours of it as that God without giving men ability to believe cannot punish men for not believing no more than a Magistrate having put out a mans eyes for an offence can command this man with justice to read a booke and because he reads not put him to death But this is a very vile simile and stands in no tolerable proportion to that whereunto it is resembled For the man thus bereaved of his eyes hath a will to read and consequently it is no fault for not reading for all sinne is in the will But it is not so in not obeying either Law or Gospell If a man had a will to obey and believe but he could not in such a case it were unreasonable he should be punished But in the case of disobedience unto God we speake of all the fault is in the will voluntarily and wilfully they neither will obey the one nor the other like as they that have accustomed themselves to doe evill can not doe good as a blackemoore cannot change his skinne Yet with this difference that man is never a whit the more excusable or lesse punishable for not doing that which is good not so the blackemore for not changing his skinne But such is the shamefull issue of them that confound impotency Morall with impotency naturall as if there were no difference As wild is the comparison following of the Masters exacting from his Servant a just employment of that stock which he hath taken from him An evill servant may have a will to play the good husband in imploying his Masters stock where he pleased to intrust him with it But though he hath a will to be faithful and thrifty yet without matter to worke upon he cannot exercise this fidelity of his to his Masters behoofe Shew the like will in a carnall man to believe if he could and if God bereave him of power in such a case then conclude the unreasonablenesse of Gods courses herein But if the Master gave him a stock to employ upon a resonable rent to be payd him yearly for certaine yeares if so be the servant wast the stock Shall it not be lawfull for the Master neverthelesse to require his debt And bid him pay that he owes him This is the case we speake of In Adam we all have sinned saith the Apostle and thereby have wasted that stock of grace which God had given us and so disabled our selves to performe that duty we owe to God What therefore Shall not God call upon us to pay our debts because we are become bankrupts Especially considering the naturall man is proud enough of his abilities to performe any thing that is good And as for ability to believe is there not a kind of faith performed by prophane persons by Hypocrites who concurre with the best in the profession of the Gospell Nay Is there not a secret kind of hypocrisie as when a man thinks his heart is upright towards God when indeed it is not Otherwise what should move Saint Paul to call upon the Corinthians to examine themselves whether they were in the faith saying Know you not your selves how that Christ is in you except ye be reprobates 2 Car. 13. 5. 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 Now how well he hath proved that our Doctrine in the poynt of absolute reprobation is repugnant to Gods justice let the indifferent judge DISCOURSE SECT IV. Which I divide into Three Subsections SUBSECT I. THe Third Attribute which it oppugneth is the truth of God God is a God of truth Deut. 32. 4. Truth it selfe Ioh. 14. 6. So called because he is the fountain of truth and the perfection of truth without the least mixture of false-hood the strength of Israell cannot lye 1 Sam. 15. 29. Never could any man justly charge him with dissembling Let God be true and every man a lyar saith the Apostle that he might be justified in his sayings and overcome when he is judged Rom. 3. 4. That is men may lye for all men are lyars but God cannot lye for God is true if any man should goe about to challenge him of untruth his challenge would easily appeare to be a calumny The truth of God like a glorious Sunne will break through all those clouds of accusations which seek to obscure and hide it Simile gaudet Simili God loves such as are of a true heart Psal 51 6. And hath an hypocrite in utter detestation and therefore he must needs be true himselfe No man for ought I know doubts of it But by this decree is God made untrue and hypocriticall in his dealing with all men and in all matters that concerne their eternall estate particularly in his commands in his offers of grace and glory in his threats in his passionate wishes and desires of mens chiefest good and in his expostulations and commiserations also 1. In his commands for by this doctrine God commands those men to repent and believe whom he secretly purposeth shall never believe Now whom God commands to believe and repent those he outwardly willes should believe and repent For by his commandements he signifies his will and pleasure and he must inwardly and heartily will it too or else he dissembles For words if they be true are an interpretation of the mind when they are not are meere impostures and simulations 2. In his offers of grace and glory these offers he makes to such as refuse them and perish for refusing them as well as unto those who doe accept them to their salvation This is evident Math. 22. where those were invited to the wedding that came not And Acts 3. 26. Where t is said To you hath God sent his Sonne Jesus to blesse you in turning every one of you from your iniquities Math. 23. 37. How oft would I have gathered of you saith Christ speaking of such as neglect the day of their visitation and so lost their salvation This is evident also by reason for as many as are under the commandement are under the promise too as we may see Acts 2. 38 39. Repent and be Baptized every one of you and you shall receive the gift of the holy Ghost for to you and to your Children
knowledge of the truth there remaines no more sacrifice for sinne c. from whence we collect that men that sinne willingly and unpardonably may receive the knowledge of the truth yea and be sanctifyed by the bloud of the Testament and the Spirit of grace v. 29. 2 Pet. 2. 20. They may escape the filthinesse of the world i. e. be washed from their former sins by repentance the uncleane spirit may goe out of them Mat. 12. 43. They may receive the word with joy Mat. 13. 20. And many excellent graces they may have besides All which graces are not given them that they might abuse them and so purchase to themselves the greater damnation or that they might doe good to others with them but none to themselves but rather that as by the former gifts of nature so by these of grace they may obtaine Salvation If God aime at this in those gifts that are farther off much more in these which make those that have them like the yong man in the Gospel not farre from the kingdome of Heaven Thus we see what end God aimes at in his gifts to men TWISSE Consideration THese gifts this Author formerly described to be gifts of grace applying salvation unto men which he distinguisheth from gifts of grace purchasing salvation in the entrance upon this reason of his Now it is apparent that most of these gifts have been found in the heathen men and who was ever heard to call these vertues found in the heathen gifts of grace applying the salvation purchased by Christ whereof they were wholy ignorant like as of Christ himselfe And whereas he makes faith and repentance to be gifts communicated unto such who as he expresseth it doe prove Reprobates in the end Saint Austin to the contrary as formerly I have alleadged him out of his 5. lib. contra Julian Pelag. c. 5. Expressely professeth of the Non praedestinate that God brings not one of them to wholsome and Spirituall repentance whereby a man is reconciled to God in Christ And our Brittaine Divines in the Synod of Dort upon the 5 th Article and fourth position professe in like manner of all such as are none of Gods elect that it is manifest they never really and truly attaine that change and renovation of the mind and affections which accompanieth justification nay nor that which doth immediatly prepare or dispose to justification For they never seriously repent they are never affected with hearty sorrow for offending God by sinning nor doe they come to any humble contrition of heart nor conceive a firme resolution to offend any more And whereas he saith that such doe prove Reprobates in the end he may as well say of others that they prove elect in the end which doth wholly savour of shapeing the decrees of God to be of a temporall condition and not eternall unlesse he delivers it of the manifestation of it in the judgement of men which yet as touching Reprobates cannot appeare untill their death and 't is a very hard matter for any man to passe upon men generally the censure of elect or reprobates the hypocrisy of man hath such power to evacuate the one and the secret operation of Gods mercy and grace the other How farre reprobates may attain to the illunination of their mind and renovation of their wills and reformation of their lives is set downe more fully by our Brittain Divines in the Synod of Dort than by this Author not one particular if I mistake not being mentioned here as touching the places of Scripture containing the indication thereof which is not set downe there and some there are set downe which are not set downe here In their first position concerning those who are not elect upon the fifth Article this Authors quotation here leaving out the Article and by a wild reference to the page being fitter to confound a Reader than direct him the first position there is this There is a certain supernaturall enlightning granted to some of them who are not elect by the power whereof they understand those things to be true which are revealed in the word of God and yeeld an unfained ascent unto them And in the explication of it Luke 8. 13. The seed which fell upon the stony ground noteth unto us such hearers as for a while believe that is those that for a while give ascent to things revealed from above and especially to the covenant of the Gospell and thereby it is plaine that this their ascent is no way faigned because they received the word with joy Acts 8. 30. And afterwards they give a farther reason of it thus For it is not to be imputed for a fault to any man that he is fallen from an Hypocriticall faith neither can a shipwrack be made of a faigned faith but only a detection and manifestation of it nor indeed can he suffer shipwrack who was never in the shippe 2 Pet. 2. 20. Some are said to have escaped from the filthinesse of the world by the knowledge of the Lord whose latter end is worse than their beginning and of those Ioh. 12. 42. who believed in Christ but did not confesse him they write that they believed with an unfaigned dogmaticall faith which then lay secretly hid in their hearts but never shewed it selfe in any outward profession for feare of danger ensuing Thir second position is this In these fore-mentioned there doth arise out of this knowledge and faith a certain change of their affections and some kind of amendment of their manners This they prove out of Math. 13. 20. They received the word with joy and 1 Kings 21. 17. concerning Ahabs humbling of himselfe and out of Heb. 6. 4. alleadged by this Author and over and above out of v. 6. observe a renovation also in as much as it is said That it is impossible they should be renued againe which implyeth that they had been formerly renued in some sort and out of Chap. 10. 19. That they trod under foot the blood of the Covenant by which they are sanctified and that they attained to some amendment of life they prove both by the example of Herod and out of 2 Pet. 2. 20. where t is said of them that they had escaped from the filthinesse of the world And Chap. 1. 9. Where they are said to have forgotten that they were purged from their old sinnes And out of Math. 12. 43. Where 't is said the unclean spirit was departed out of them and that all this was not faigned but that they proceeded out of the power of those dispositions unto grace and from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost yet notwithstanding all this in their fourth position they pronounce that they never attaine unto the state of adoption and justification and in their explication of it that they never attaine the change and renovation of the mind and affections which doth immediatly prepare and dispose unto justification For they never seriously repent
oppointed men unto Salvation though they live as they list whereas our doctrine is directly contradictious here unto For we teach that God ordaines no man of ripe yeares to obtaine Salvation but by Sanctification of the spirit and faith of the truth as we are plainly taught 2 Thess 2. 13. And the Evangelist signifies as much where he saieth As many believed as were ordained to Everlasting Life Act. 13. 48. It may be as well said that as many repented as many gave themselves to worke out their Salvation with feare and trembling to purge themselues from all pollutions of flesh and spirit and to perfect Holinesse in the feare of God as were ordained to Salvation partly because we maintaine that God gives faith and repentance and regeneration to whom he will that is only to those whom he hath chosen denying the same grace and that absolutely unto all others which if it be not true but that God doth grant it or ordaine it according to mens workes then we must all turne Pelagians whom Austin calls inimicos gratiae Dei And in such a case judge I pray whether it be possible that such can be partakers of Gods grace namely if they are the enemies of Gods grace Is it possible that he who partakes of Gods sanctifying grace should stand out in hostile opposition against it Can we be at once both friends of the Bridegroom and enimies of his grace Further consider more particularly wherein doth this consist which he imputes unto us of drowning men in carnall securitie is it in denying unto man any grace that he attributes unto him Surely well we may deny unto every Reprobate such a grace as he himselfe hates and impugnes to wit grace effectually preventing the will and making man to believe and repent but if you scanne every particular of those which he calleth grace you shall find that we deny not any one of them unto Reprobates more then he doth This perhaps may seeme strange unto you therefore it deserves the more carefully to be considered for I doubt not but to make it good Grace subsequent is the only effectuall grace with them and that consists in Gods concurrence to the working of faith in the heart of man if man will worke it in him selfe Now dare they say we deny this namely Gods concourse to the act of faith whereas we maintaine with them that God concurres to every act even to the most sinfull act that ever was committed since the world began only we are a shamed to call this concurrence grace because it is found to have course as well in the producing of evill actions as in the producing of good So that if every man in the world should believe we deny not but that God should concurre with him to the working of that belief we professe that if every Reprobate in the world will believe God is ready to concurre with him to the act of that will of that belief From the consideration of their grace subsequent I arise to the consideration of their grace prevenient and that is two fold one is the grace exciting to wit by morall admonition suasion exhortation This act we are willing to call and account a gratious act we doe as willingly acknowledge that God affords it unto all Reprobates as well as to the elect within the pale of the Church For every one that appeares in any Congregation is equally exhorted to believe to repent to turne from their wicked wayes So that hitherto we find no difference We willingly acknowledge that Reprobates are partakers of these operations divine as well as the elect One grace prevenient remaines which is habituall and which our adversaries will have to be universall and it consistes in a power to believe and repent and to will any spirituall good whereunto they were excited and accordingly they call it the enlivening of mans will This I deliver by experience of what I have seen under the hands of some of them Yet they will not acknowledge that all are regenerate yet what is regeneration but the infusion of life spirituall and that chiefly into the will And they will have the will to be enlivened by grace which cannot be spoken in respect of life naturall therefore it must proceed of life spirituall unlesse they will devise a life intermediate between life naturall and life spirituall Some times they call it a power to believe if they will and such a power Austin acknowledgeth common to all lib. 1. Gen. ad liter cap 3. And justifies it in his Retract lib. 16. Now this seemes somewhat strange considering the very regenerate have not such strength of goodnesse as whereby they are inabled to doe what good they would as Rom. 7. 18. To will is present with me but I find not to performe that which is good And Gal 5. 17. The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary one to the other so that ye cannot doe the same things that ye would To helpe this and to cleare Austin from contradiction to expresse Scripture in this I find that posse si velit is one thing posse simply delivered is another thing And this I find distinguished in that very place of Austines Retractations For whereas as he had sayd in that lib. 1. de Gen. contr Man cap 3. That Omnes homines possunt si velint both credere and ab amore visibilium rerum temporalium se ad Dei praecerta implenda convertere And comming to retract this and perceiving what advantage the Pelagians might sâ—atch hence for the countenancing of their cause in extolling the power of nature he wisely prevents that by expounding himselfe and clearing his owne meaning thus Non existiment novi haeretici Pelagiani secundum eos esse dictum manifesting thereby that this was the Pelagian Tenet yet were they not to be blamed for this but only because they called not in Gods grace for further helpe then this save only in the way of instruction For Austin concurred with them still in this particular even then when he wrote his books of Retractations as there it followes in these words Verum est enim omnino marke by this Emphasis with what assurance of faith he delivered this Omnes homines hoc posse si velint Thus farre he goes along with them but then marke wherin he goes beyond them in these words following Sed praeparatur voluntas a Domino tantum augetur munere charitatis ut possint When he sayeth praeparatur voluntas a Domino the effect thereof undoubtedly is ut velint which is the state and condition of the regenerate who yet may complaine that they cannot doe that which they would as the Apostle formerly signifies that is that simply and effectually they have not yet power enough to what they will therefore Austin addes to the preparation of the will ut velint an augmentation of strength ut possint saying tantumque
new like as a man regenerate is called a new man though as he hath the same members of his body nor more nor lesse so he hath still the same faculties and passions of the soule no more nor no lesse but these faculties are better seasoned these passions are better ordered and in like sort these members of the body are better employed then they were before before they were made weapons of unrighteousnesse unto sinne now they are made weapons of righteousnesse unto God Rom. 6. 13. Thirdly let us enquire whether by this pretended enlivening of the will common to all men there are any new habits engendred For that is the most probable And so we commonly say that in regeneration besides the receiving of the spirit of God to dwell in our hearts which is a great mistery there are certaine habits whereby our naturall powers are elevated unto supernaturall objects and thereby fitted to performe supernaturall acts and these are but three and accordingly but three sorts of supernatuall acts and commonly accounted the three Theologicall vertues Faith Hope and Charity And all morall vertues which for the substance of them in reference to their acts whereby they are acquired and which they doe bring forth are found in naturall men doe become Christian graces as they are sanctified by these three and as their actions doe proceed from these By faith we apprehend things beyond the compasse of reason by hope we wait for the enjoying of such things which neither eye hath seen c. And by charity we love God whom yet we have not seene even to the contempt of our selves Now I presume they will not say that these habits of Faith Hope and Charity are bestowed upon all and every one by that fained universall grace of theirs And what other habits they doe or can devise I have had as yet no experience neither am I able to comprehend And indeed faith doth not leave a man in indifferency to believe or no nor hope to wait or no nor charity to love God or no but they doe all dispose the heart of man to believe only to wait upon God only to love God only they being the curing of infidelity and despaire hatred of God or rather the removing of them yet but in part as regeneration in this life is but in part there being still a flesh in us lusting against the spirit Gal. 5. 17. Thus we may maintaine that albeit every man hath power to believe if he will and repent if he will a will to believe and a will to repent being the greatest worke in the work of grace I meane the renovation of the will and making it willing to that which is good though it requires strength also to master the lusting of the flesh whereby it growes simply and absolutely potent to doe every good thing without any effectuall impediment from within yet neverthelesse till this renovation be wrought by the hand of God we may well say there is an utter impotency morall to doe any thing that is good and pleasing in the sight of God whereby they cannot believe they cannot repent they cannot be subject to the law of God And if to Preach this doctrine be to breed sloth to drowne men in carnall security and to countenance carnall liberty then our Saviour did breed sloth c. when he told his hearers plainly He that is of God heareth Gods words ye therefore heare them not because ye are not of God Ioh. 8. 47. As likewise when he Preached unto them in this maner No man can come to me except the Father which sent me draw him Ioh. 6. 44. And the Evangelist also in saying He hath blinded their eyes and hardned their hearts that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts and should be converted and I should heale them Ioh. 12. 40. And none more then Moses when he tells the people of Israel in the Wildernesse saying Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh and unto all his servants and to all his land The great temptations which thine eyes have seen those great miracles and wonders yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive and eyes to see and eares to heare unto this day Yet this Author confesseth that our Saviours hearers and Moses his hearers many of them might be Godly men but no thankes to this doctrine of theirs that they were so the true and naturall genius whereof to wit of Christs doctrine and Moses his doctrine for it is apparent that it is the same with ours in this particular we now speake of is to breed sloth to drowne men in carnall security and to countenance carnall liberty but to some thing else either to Gods providence who will not suffer this Doctrine for his own glory and the good of men to have any great stroake in their lives or to mens incogitancy who think not of reducing it ad praxim or drawing conclusions out of it but rest in the naked speculation of it as they doe of many others or lastly to some good practicall conclusions which they meet with in Gods word and apply to their lives as they doe not the former deductions such as these are Be ye holy as I am holy without holinesse no man shall see God Spectatum admissi risum teneatis amici Yet I pray restraine that and give your sorrow course rather in beholding such prophane aspersions cast upon the holy Doctrine of Christ his Prophets and Apostles as if thereby sloth were bred and men drowned in carnall security and carnall liberty countenanced We are of another mind for Wisedome is justified of her Children we observe the wisedome of God herein to prevent the greatest illusions of Satan and such Doctrines as stand in most opposition unto grace The morality of Heathen men was admirable yet were it farre greater we conceive no greater opposition unto grace then to look for justification by it In the next place we conceive there is no greater opposition unto grace then for a man to arrogate unto himselfe ability to doe that which is pleasing in the sight of God Our Saviour hath said Iohn 15. 4. that As the branch cannot beare fruit of it selfe except it abide in the Vine so neither can wee except we abide in him So that either all the World must be engrafted into Christ or else it is not possible they should bring forth sweet grapes Yet these men will have all and every one to have their wills enlivened and enabled to will any spirituall good whereby they shall be excited Is this doctrine of theirs fit to humble them and not rather to puffe them up with a conceit of their own sufficiency Is not our doctrine farre more fit to humble us and to what other end tendeth that of Moses The Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive eyes to see and eares to heare unto this
of our Children to love the Lord our God with all our hearts to take the stony heart out of our bowells and give us an heart of flesh and to put his own spirit within us as he seeth our waies so to heale them yea to heale our back-slidings to heale our rebellions All this this sweet comforter takes no notice of contenting himselfe with such a grace to be merited for him by Christ as this if he will believe he shall believe if he will repent he shall repent if he will love God with all his heart he shall love him with all his heart Yet when a man doth believe they are able to give him no assurance of his salvation or of his election because they maintaine that a man may totally and finally fall away from grace And all because their doctrine is that Gods effectuall grace in working the act of faith and repentance is given meerely according to mens works Tempted God purposed that his Sonne should dye for all men and that in his name an offer of remission of sinnes and salvation should be made to every one but yet upon this condition that they will doe that which he meanes the greatest part shall never doe i. e. Repent and believe nor I among the rest CONSIDERATION How doth God meane that the greatest part of men shall never believe and repent by our opinion Is it in this sence that they shall not believe and repent if they will When was it ever knowne that any of our Divines ever wrote or taught this We think rather it is impossible it should be otherwise therefore say it is a very absurd thing to call this Grace as the Arminians doe Indeed we say that God doth not meane by his preventing grace to work the wills of the greatest part of men to believe repent Doe not the Arminians say so too Yes verily and a great deale more for they deny that he workes any mans will to believe and repent in this manner but we say God purchaseth thus to worke the wills of all his chosen ones and when he hath wrought them to keepe them by his power through faith unto Salvation and put his feare in their hearts that they shall never depart a way from him Jer 32. 40. And upon this ground we can assure believers of their election which Arminians cannot And them that believe not keepe from dispaire in better manner then the Arminians can for they leave them to themselves to believe whereas the Scriptures shew that to be impossible so that they take upon them to comfort such quite against the haire But we comfort them with a possibility of being converted unto God by representing his allmighty power whose voyce is able to pierce into the graves and make dead Lazarus heare it This power he shewed in converting Saul when he marched furiously Jehu like against the Church of God Therfore be thou of good comfort especially considering thou art as it were under the wings of God thou hearest his voyce many come out of their graves at his call some at one time some at another and so maist thou God knowes how soone then shalt thou be assured of thine election which by Arminianisme thou canst not be in the meane time thou hast no cause to conclude that thou art a Reprobate Minister God hath a true meaning that all men who are called should repent and believe that so they might be saved as he would have all to be saved so to come to the knowledge of the truth and as he would have no man to perish so he would have all men to repent and therefore he calls them in the Preaching of the word to the one as well as to the other CONSIDERATION He keepes his course to afford thee the best comfort his doctrine yeelds which is as much as is incident to a Reprobate and how that should make thee conceive better of thy selfe then as of a Reprobate I doe not perceive Gods meaning is that as many as heare the Gospell should believe and repent ex officio that is that it shall be their duty for he commands it but he hath no meaning to bestow on all and every one the grace of faith and repentance as appeares by experience And if God did will they should de facto believe and be saved then either God is not able to bring them to faith and to save them or else his will is changed In like sort if it were his will that all and every one should know his truth then God is not able to make all and every one know his truth for it is apparent that all doe not it is apparent that all have not the Gospell The Apostle saith That God will not have any of us to perish but all to come to repentance he doth not say he would but he will And this is true of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as the Apostle speakes of believers and elect But as for others the Scriptures plainly professe that God blinds them hardens them and of Israell in the wildernesse The Lord saith Moses hath not given you an heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor eares to heare unto this day Deut 29. 4. He calls all that heare the Gospell indifferently by the Ministry of the Word but he openeth not the heart of all to attend unto it as to the Word of God like as we read he opened the heart of â—idia Acts. 16. 14. Tempted God hath a double call outward by his word inward by the irresistible work of his spirit with this he doth not call every man to believe but a very few only whom he hath infallibly and inevitably ordained to eternall life and therefore by the outward call which I enjoy among many others I cannot be assured of Gods good will and meaning that I shall believe repent and be saved CONSIDERATION Our Doctrine teacheth not that God calls every one by his Word that is an Arminian interjection But the outward call belongs to many more then are chosen as our Saviour sayth many are called but few are chosen Indeed he gives faith and repentance to a very few which no Arminian denyes only the Question is Whether God gives faith and repentance to whom he will or according to mens works We saytis to whom he will proceeding herein according to the meere pleasure of his will and not according to mens workes which to affirme is manifest Pelagianisme and publikely condemned many hundred yeares agoe It is true if thou dost not believe Gods Word doth not assure thee that he will make thee believe that were to assure thee of thine election before thy vocation a most unreasonable thing to be expected But God by his word assures thee that t is his meaning that without faith thou shalt not be saved Yet there is no cause thou shouldest think thy selfe a Reprobate for this was the condition of every one of Gods elect before their calling
most comfortable course and sets forth the danger of the other in farre more emphaticall manner then Melancthon doth and therewithall discovereth the true Balme of Gilead wherein it consists in the same manner that Melancthon doth and more fully but it served not this Authors turne to represent Calvin thus discoursing though he could not be ignorant there of if himselfe read the place which he alleadgeth out of Calvin and tooke it not upon trust at anothers hand By the way I observe he makes the universality of the promise mentioned by Melancthon all one with the universality of the Covenant of grace mentioned by him As if the Covenant of grace consisted only in this Whosoever believes shall be saved and accordingly you may guesse of his meaning as touching the universality of Christs death namely that the benefit thereof shall redound to all that believe as good as in plaine termes to professe that Christ dyed not to procure and merit faith for us which the Remonstrants doe now adaies openly professe but I doe not find that our Arminians hitherto dare to concurre with them therein And in like manner the universality of Gods love is to be understood namely of willing salvation to as many as believe not of willing grace unto them at least not of any meaning to bestow faith and repentance upon them Yet not any will yet shew themselves so ingenuous as to confesse in plain termes that God gives not faith and repentance to any man but leaves that to be wrought by the power of their wills pretending that God hath enabled all men with a power to believe And indeed if faith and repentance be a gift and speciall gift of God it is strange that God should bestow them upon us extra Christum not for Christ sake And whence it followeth that those gratious promises of circumcising our hearts of sanctifying us of writing his law in our mind and inward parts and his feare in our hearts never to depart from him of healing our wayes our backslidings our rebellions of taking away the stony heart out of our bowels and giving us a heart of flesh and causing us to walke in his statutes and keepe his judgements and doe them are nothing belonging to the Covenant of grace in this Authors judicious consideration And to conclude if all men be under the Covenant of grace what force or substance at all is there in that promise which God makes unto his people of Israell namely that he will cause them to passe under the rodde and bring them unto the bond of the Covenant As also in that Ezek. 16. 60. I will remember my Covenant made with thee in the dayes of thy youth and I will confirme unto thee an everlasting Covenant 61. Then shalt thou remember thy wayes and be ashamed when thou shalt receive thy sisters both thy elder and thy younger and I will give them unto thee for Daughters but not by thy Covenant 62. And I will establish my Covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. I come to the consideration of the reasons why these grounds are pretended to be able to healpe in such a case 1. Because they are directly contradictory to the temptation a will to save all a givinig of Christ to death for all and an offer of grace to all cannot possibly stand with an absolute anticedent will and intent of casting a way the greatest part of mankind or indeed any one man in the world To this I answer 1. Though they be contradictory to the temptation yet if they carry manifest evidence of notorious untruths in their foreheads delivered as they are without explication what true comfort shall an afflicted soule receive therehence when by embracing them he shall but hould a lye in his right hand For doe not these comforters themselves acknowledge that God hath from everlasting decreed the damnation of the greatest part of men Yet they would have a poore afflicted soule believe that notwithstanding this he wills the salvation of all even of them whom he hath appointed unto wrath it is the Apostles phrase 1 Thess 5. 9. To endeavour to perswade them of this what is it but to make a sickly creature to feed on fire or digest Iron as if that could ever turne into good nourishment In like sort to perswade him that Christ hath made satisfaction for all the sins of al mē merited salvatiō for all every one when notwithstanding Christs merits of their salvation the greatest part of the world shall not be saved And notwithstanding Christs satisfaction for their sinne they must be put to satisfy for them that by suffering the torments of hell fire that for ever 2. Let these points be explicated then no comfort at all will appeare therehence to an afflicted soule in some case As for example when they shall understand that Gods love tends only to the saving of them in case they believe repent mortify the deeds of the flesh persevere in such like gracious courses unto death alas what comfort is this to a sick soule when he feeles in himselfe no power to believe no power to repent no power to any spirituall good contrary wise prone to evill either not taking delight in Gods Word or nothing profiting by it Will it suffice to out face them herein tell thē they have power to believe if they will to repent if they will to mortify the deeds of the flesh if they will to crucify the affections lusts if they will yea to have victory over the world if they will and to quench all the fiery darts of the Devill if they will And withall that their wills are enlivened to will any of all these yea to will all these and any other spirituall good whereunto they shall be excited Whereas the Scripture teacheth us that men are dead in sinne before the time of their effectuall calling and that such was the condition of the Ephesians before the Gospell was Preached to them and they converted by it and that till they embrace the Gospell all men are led captive by the Divell to doe his will 3. What poore comfort is this to perswade a man that he is no absolute Reprobate when upon the same grounds namely that the number of Reprobates is farre greater even an hundred for one then the number of Gods elect he may still be perplexed with doubts and feares yea and with as strong an apprehension that he is a Reprobate And amongst all the examples that I have lighted upon of desperation upon this ground they have not proceeded according to this distinction of reprobats absolute or not absolute but simply upon an apprehension that they were Reprobates that not upon the consideration of the small number of Gods elect and the vast number of Reprobates but upon the conscience of some sinne or other which they conceived to be unpardonable a sinne unto death a sinne against
doe choose the things that God would not 2. If God doth will it but not by a powerfull and effectuall irresistable decree let him shew what that decree is whereby he wills sins Now this is commonly accounted a decree conditionall and let him speak plainely then tell us upon what condition it is that God doth will and procure sin in the world and I am verily perswaded he is to seek what to answer 3. If God doth will and decree it it cannot be avoided but it must be by a powerfull and effectuall decree which cannot be resisted seeing the Apostle saith plainly speaking of his decree that it cannot be resisted Upon these considerations I am perswaded that this Authour doth utterly deny that God doth at all will sin or decree that any such thing shall come to passe in the world that these attributes of powerfull and effectuall irresistable are used by him not for distinction sake but meerly for amplification that so he might speake with a full mouth Now having brought this Authour home to himselfe and delivering himselfe and his meaning plainely I am very willing to cope with him on this point Yet what need I having so fully disputed the point in a certaine digression in my Vindiciae lib. 2. Digrees 4. The title whereof is this Whether the holy one of Israel without any blot to his Majesty may be said to will sin And forthwith I answer that God may be said thus farre to will sin in as much as he will have sin to come to passe And for explication sake it is added that whereas God will have all the good things of the world whether naturall morall or spirituall come to passe by his working of them Only evill things he will have come to passe by his permitting them But this Authour affects to worke upon the ignorant and he doth not affect to trouble their braines with answering my reasons least thereby he should raise many spirits and afterwards prove unable to lay them And this discourse of M. Hord's some of that sect thought good to have it coppied out and communicated to people in the Country as accommodated to their capacities and so more fit to promote their edificatiō in the plausible way of Arminian religion well therefore in the proofe of this tenet namely that God will have sin come to passe by his permission I prove first by Scripture God hath put in their hearts that is in the hearts of the 10 Kings to fulfill his will Now marke what is the object of God's will in the words following and to agree and give their kingdōes unto the beast untill the words of God shall be fulfilled now by giving their Kingdomes unto the beast is not to depose or dethrone themselves or to part with their Kingdomes but only to submit their regall authority to the executiō of the beasts wrath against the Saints of God Like as in the dayes of Popery when the Saints of God were by Popish Prelates condemned for heresies then they were delivered into the hands of the secular powers the sherifes to burne thē at a stake Now this the holy Ghost makes the object of Gods will and their agreement thus to execute the Popes Antichristian pleasure is said to be Gods worke For God is said to put it into their hearts to doe this evill of his Of disobedient persons the Apostle professeth that they are ordained to stūble at Gods word wherein undoubtedly they sin Paul likewise testified of some that God sends thē strong delusions that they should beleive a lye of others that God gave them up to uncleanes through the lusts of their owne hearts to dishonour their owne bodyes betweene thēselves And to a Reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient Now let every sober man judge whether when God blinded the eyes of the one and hardned the harts of the other it were not his will that those foule things which were committed by them should come to passe by his permissiō Then consider what the Apostles with one consent testifie concerning those abominable acts committed against the holy son of God namely that both Herod Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles people of Israel were gathered together to doe what Gods hand his coūsell had before determined to be done This the Apostles deliver to the very face of God in their prayers holy meditatiōs And let every Christian consider whether it the Scripture had not made mention of this any one of us had used the like prayer meditatiō this Author all that are of his spirit would not have beene ready to spit in our faces cry us downe for notorious blasphemers Yet the Apostles indued with the spirit of God feared not to be found guilty of violating the Lords holinesse in all this Hence I proceeded to the passages of the Old Testament for the confirmation of the same truth As namely that whereas the desolatiō of the holy Land begun by the Assyrians finished by the Babylonians could not cōe to passe without many enormous sins Who can deny that it was Gods will that these things should come to passe considering that Assur himself is acknowledged by God to be the rod of his wrath and the staffe of his indignation whom God would send against an hypocriticall nation against the people of his wrath would he give him a charge to take the spoyle to take the prey to tread them downe like the mire in the streets Hence I proceeded to shew how that it is Gods usuall course to punish sin with sin Now when God exerciseth his judgments shall not those things justly be said to come to passe by his will which are punishments of foregoing sinnes See the judgment of God denounced against Amaziah the Preist of Bethell Thou sayst prophecy not against Israel drop not thy word against the house of Isaac Therefore thus saith the Lord Thy wife shall be an harlot in the Citties thy sons thy daughters shall fall by the sword And in like manner Solomon saith The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit he that is abhorred of the Lordshall fall therein The incest of Absolom defiling his fathers cōcubines in a shameles manner came it not to passe by the will of God whose word is this Behold I will raise up evill against thee out of thine owne house I will take thy wives before thine eyes give them unto thy neighbour he shall ly with thy wives in the sight of this sun The defection of the ten tribes frō the house of David came it not to passe by the will of God when God himselfe testifies that it was his worke not his will onely Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel I will rent the kingdome out of the hands of Solomon give ten tribes to thee speaking to Ieroboam here we have Gods will for it And
Utile est superbis in aliquod apertum manifestumque cadere peccatum I am bold to speake it It is good for a proud man to to fall into some open and manifest sin I come to the second stay whereby he objects to our Divines that they maintaine that God procures the sinnes of men and that is by his moving and inclining them by his irresistable and secret workings on their hearts to sinfull actions To which I answer first that not any of the passages alleadged by him out of Calvin who alone makes totam paginam in this of his makes mention of Gods irresistable working or of moving or inclining unto sinfull actions And let every sober man judge whether a bridle is fit to urge men to action and not rather to restraine from action and this is the force of the first Quotation But this Authour through heat corrupting his imagination tooke a bridle for a spurre His second testifies only this that man doth nothing but what God decreed and by his direction appointeth and this also upon pregnant testimonies of scripture never undertaking to shew Calvins interpretation to be false or his accommodation of them to be incongruous In the third he grants that God workes in the mind of men In the 4. he saith that God stirrs up the wills and confirmes the purposes of wicked men for the execution of his judgment by Satan the minister of his wrath Where consider he doth this by Satan that is he gives them over to Satan for this so that 't is Satan that stirres up their wills and confirmes their endeavours by Gods permission without restraint either immediate or mediate by the ministry of his good angells and all this is but to execute Gods judgments And that it is just with God to punish sin with sin both scripture testifies in divers places and Austin confirmes with variety of Scripture testimonies in his lib. 5. contra Julian Pelag cap. 3. The last is that God's worke it is to harden mans heart and thereby prepare him to destruction And let every sober reader that is not willing to be cheated both of his faith and honesty all at once examine these places in Calvin and the Scriptures whereby he proves that which he affirmes and let him but aske the Authour these questions If Calvin delivers nothing in all this but what he proves out of Scripture why is he found fault with more then the word of God If Scripture be mis-alleadged and mis-understood by him why do not you confute him 2 Though Calvin in all this makes no mention of Gods inclining wicked men to sinfull actions yet Austin doth as before I have shewed and that by variety of Scripture testimonies And if this be to make God the Authour of sin why hath he not so much ingenuity as to confesse at least in the close of all that Calvin makes God the Authour of sin no more then Austin doth and neither of them more then the word of God doth and therewithall renounce the Scriptures and turne Atheist 3 As the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh to his destruction so did he the heart of Sihon also Nowsee what Cardinall Caietan writes upon thisvery place Utramque homines partē spiritum cor hoc est superiorem inferiorem male dispositam à Deo intellige negativè penes dona gratuita positivè autem quoad judicium inclinationem prosecutionem bòni sensibilis Ita quod Deus spiritum Regis durum hoc est non cedentem petionibus reddit non dando ei gratiam acquiescendi coo operando eidem ad affectum securitatis boni proprii similiter roboravit cor ad affectum boni victoriae hujusmodi Each part of King Sihon his spirit and heart that is the upper and lower part being ill disposed by God understād this negatively as touching guifts of grace but positively as touching his judgment affection and prosecution of a sensible good So that the Lord made the Kings heart hard that is not to yeild to the request made both by not giving grace to rest satisfied and by cooperating with him to the affecting of security and his own good And in like manner he hardned his heart to the affecting of victory and the like I have not heard that this my opposite hath been ever ready to censure Caietan for making God the Authour of all this yet noe passage I am perswaded throughout all Calvin's works can be found comparable unto this Yet was Caietan noe Jesuite he need not spare his censures I come to the sum of that which he hath delivered in a whole leafe The first whereof is this that we teach That God appointed many miserable men from all eternity to unavoidable torments Now that God appointed many fom eternity to everlasting torments this Authour acknowledgeth as well as we As for the avoidable condition of them it is confessed on both sides that they are avoidable only by breaking off their sinnes by repentance before their death and by this we acknowledge them to be avoidable of all and every one as well as they But we say God doth not grant this grace to all For he is not bound to give it to all noe nor to any but he vouchsafeth this grace to whom he will and he denieth it to whom he will and this St. Paul hath taught us where he saith God hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardneth The second is that we teach that God to bring about their intended ruine decreed that they should without remedie live die in a state of sin To this I answer that it is a most absurd conceite to make the tormenting of any man God's end We have learnt of King Solomon that God made all things for himselfe here is the end of his actions the manifestation of his own glory And albeit he made the very wicked also against the day of evill yet the end thereof was for himselfe as formerly specified that is for the manifestation of his just wrath and that God hath power without any difference in the matter to make some vessells of wrath and some of mercy as he thinkes good The Apostle plainely teacheth us where he saith Hath not the Potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessell unto honour and another unto dishonour And if any man's wicked proud heart make insurrection against this truth the Apostle hath taught us to stop his mouth with this shall the the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus Shall not God have as much power over the masse of mankind as the Potter hath over the clay So that this is God's end not man's damnation but his own glory Haec loquendiratio saith Calvin this manner of speech finem creationis esse interitum aeternum the end of man's creation is his everlasting destruction nusquam apud me occurret shall never be found
good if he will but it inclines and disposeth the will unto vertuous actions So justice is not an indifferency of condition leaving it to man whether he will be just or noe but it makes him just and so disposoth him to just courses Againe if grace supernaturall doth only give power to believe if one will this being a free power it is indifferent as well not to believe as to beleive as well not to repēt as to repent For liberty is alwaies to act opposite whence it will follow that by vertue of supernaturall grace a man is disposed not more to faith then to infidelitie not more to repentance then to hardnesse of heart and Impenitency 4. Consider a man hath noe need of supernaturall grace to inable him to refuse to repent seing naturally he is sufficiently disposed hereunto necessarily by reason of that naturall corruption which is hereditary unto him By all this it is apparent that a power to believe wrought in a man by supernaturall grace is not a free power working freely but rather a necessary power working necessarily like unto the condition of a morall vertue which restraines man's naturall indifferency to good or evill and disposeth him only to good And consequently as many as maintaine no other power to be given unto man by grace then to believe if a man will they deale like Pelagians who called that which was meerly naturall prevenient grace Lastly if God be the Authour of man's conversion because he gives him power to convert if he will he may as well be called the Authour of non conversion and perseverance in sinne because God gives power not to convert and to persevere in sinne if he will 2. As touching the second If God be the Authour of man's conversion because he perswades thereunto then certainly he is not the Authour of sinne because he perswades not thereunto 3. If God be the Authour of conversion because he cooperates thereunto then certainly he may be as well said to be the Authour of every sinfull act For that he doth cooperate thereunto I am very confident this Authour will not deny Now I could earnestly entreate the Judicious Reader to examine well this Authour's opinion in these particulars and compare them with his former discourse that he may have a cleare way opened unto him to judge with what conscience he carried himselfe in his former discourse imputing unto us that we make God the Authour of sin albeit in treating of God's providence in evill we generally have the expresse word of God before our eyes and in our explication thereof doe rather qualify the seeming harshnesse thereof then aggravate it For undoubtedly by the tenour of his discourse looke upon what grounds he denies God to be the Authour of sinne he must withall deny God to be the Authour of faith of repentance of conversion And look upon what grounds he makes God the Authour of conversion upon the same grounds he must make God the Authour of sinne As in case to give power to believe if we will and to cooperate with us in the act of faith be to make him the Authour Or if only upon perswading us to believe God is said to be the Authour of faith then it followes as a sufficient Apologie for us that we make not God to be the Authour of sinne seing none of us conceive him to be a perswader of any sinfull act but rather a disswader and forbidder thereof and that upon paine of eternall damnation But on the contrary we make a vast difference between God's operations in sinfull actions and God's operations in actions gracious As first every sinfull act is alwaies within the compasse of acts naturall noe supernaturall act is or can be a sinne Now to the producing of any act of morality every man notwithstanding his corruption hath in him a naturall power But there is noe naturall power in man to the performing of an act supernaturall God must inspire him with a new life called in Scripture the life of God and make him after a sort partaker of the divine nature and give his own Spirit to dwell in him in such sort that being crucified with Christ we hence forth live no more but Christ liveth in us These supernaturall acts are but few according to the three Theologicall vertues Faith Hope Charity whose offsprings they are the love of God to the contempt of our selves hope in God to the contempt of the world as touching the worst it can doe unto us and faith in God to the quenching of the fiery darts of the devill As for all other good acts in the producing of them God hath a double influence one common as they are acts naturall touching the substance of them another speciall as touching the gracious nature of them proceeding from faith and love But as touching evill acts he hath noe influence in the producing of them but that which is common and to the substance of the acts none at all as touching the evilnesse of them the reason whereof is that which was delivered by Austin long agoe Malū non habet causam efficientem sed deficientem Evill hath no cause efficient but deficient only And it is impossible that God should be defective in a culpable manner The creature may the Creatour cannot And the ground of the creatures defective condition is accounted to be this that he was brought out of nothing consequently of a fraile condition And it is received generall as a rule in Schooles that a creature cannot be made impeccabilis per naturam that is such a one as by nature cannot sinne This was delivered long agoe by Anselme one of the first of School-divines In evill things God doth worke quod sunt that they are non quod mala sunt not that they are evill But in good things God doth worke Et quod sunt quod bona sunt both that they are and that they are good Here this Authour sets down our opinion concerning Election and Reprobation at his pleasure We say with Austin that predestination is the preparation of grace that is the Divine decree of conferring grace And both he and all confesse it is also the decree of conferring glory And because in making of this decree God had respect unto some only not to all both men and Angells therefore in this consideration it is called the decree of Election in distinction from the decree of reprobation Now this grace is of a double nature for either it is grace custodient from sinne and the decree of granting this was the election of Angells called in holy Scripture The elect Angells or grace healing after men have sinned and the decreee of granting this is the election of men commonly in Scripture called God's Elect in reference unto this It is farther to be observed that Austin grounds the Orthodoxe doctrine of predestination and election upon the Orthodoxe doctrine concerning grace And the absolutenesse of the one he
magistrates have spared such offenders as have been overswayed with passions which did but incline not determine them to their irregular actions they would never have punished any trespassers if they had thought them to be such by invincible necessity Or if offenders did thinke that their offences were their destinies and that when they murther steale commit adultery make insurrections plot treasons or practise any other outragious villanies they doe them by the necessity of Gods unalterable decree and can doe no otherwise they would and might compâ—aine of their punishments as unjust as Zenoes servant did when he was beaten by his master for a fault he told him out of his own grounds that he was unjustly beaten Because he was â—fato coactus peccare constrained to make that fault by his undeclinable fate The Adâ—umctine Monks misled by Saint Austin Epist 105. ad sixtum Presbyterum which he calleth a booke wherein he setteth downe his opinion concerning Gods grace did so teach grace that they denyed free will And this Saint Austin confuted in his booke De gratia liberoarbitrio And thinking the grace of God as Saint Austin taught to be such as could not stand with freedome of will they thought that no man should be punished for his faults but rather prayed for that God would give them grace to doe better Against this Austin directed his other booke De correp gratiá In which discourse though it be grace that is still named yet predestination is included For as Kimedontius saith truely in his preface to Luther De servo arbitrio Between grace and predestination there is only this difference as Saint Austin teacheth Libro de praedest Sanctorum cap. 10. that predestination is a preparation of grace and grace a bestowing of predestination As Zenoes servant and these Monks did so would all men judge did they considerately thinke that men could not choose but offend And what would be the resultance of such a perswasion but an inundation of the greatest insolencies and dissolution of all good goverment Indeed if our doctrine make sin to be no sin and therewithall take away the conscience of sin it is not to be marvailed if it take away the desert and guilt of sinne For as sinne is no sinne so likewise it is as fit that the desert and guilt of sinne should be the desert and guilt of no sinne and so no desert or guilt at all This Authour to serve his own turne takes great libery of discourse in talking of offences fatall these were called by Austin profane novelties of words Yet elsewhere he professeth that if no other thing were meant hereby then the divine providence Sententiam teneant linguaÌ„ corrigant let theÌ„ hold their orthodoxe meaning but let theÌ„ correct their language Now by providence divine is meant the will of God working every thing that is good and permitting every thing that is evill And without this will of God not any thing comes to passe in the judgment of Austin Non aliquid sit saith he nisi oÌ„nipotens furi velit vel sinenâ—o ut fiat vel ipse faciendo Not any thing comes to passe unlesse Almighty God will have it come to passe either by suffering it or by 〈◊〉 working of it to wit if evill suffering it if good working it but of each he professeth that God wills it The abominable outrages committed upon the person of the holy Son of God were such as God's hand and God's counsell sore determined that is as much as to say antecedently determined to be done And the â—en Kings in giving their kingdomes to the Beast are said herein to have agreed to dce God's will Yet this Authour dares not say that these actions could not be justly punished Yet the maintainets of destiny as I have shewed out of Austin denyed that the wills of men were subject to destiny while this Authour talkes in their language why doth he not talke in their meaning And if he talkes in our meaning why doth he not talke in our language Now Austin farther saith is I have shewed out of the same place that they who exempted the wills of men from all necessity seared a vaine and causelesse feare professing that as to some necessity the will is not subject such as is the necessity of death which befalls us whether we will or no. So to some necessity it may be subject without any danger and that necessity he expresseth to be such as when we say it must needs be that such a thing come to passe Now such a necessity and no other is granted by us as consequent to the will of God so that if God will give a man faith it must needs be such a man shall believe if he will give repentance it must needs be that such a man shall repent If he will keep such a man as Abimelech from sinning against him it must needs be that such a man shall be kept from sinning against him If God will not give a man faith nor repentance it must needs be that such a man will not believe will not repent In like manner if God will not keepe a man from sinne but suffer him to sinne it needs must be that such a one shall sinne If God harden the heart of Pharoah so that he shall not set Israel goe undoubtedly so it shall come to passe If God put it into the hearts of the Kings to give up their kingdomes to the Beast they shall infallibly give their Kingdomes to the Beast If he gives men over unto a Reprobate mind to doe things inconvenient undoubtedly being thus prostituted by God to their own corruption from within and to the power of Satan from without they shall doe those inconvenient things be they never so abominable yet not necessarily much lesse in the way of absolute necessity as this Authour wordeth it affecting to speake with a full mouth which is a quality naturall to these Arminians and runnes in a blood but proveth nothing but contingently and freely not only with a possibility but also with an active power to the contrary And if freely then surely their works are their own proceeding from their own power and soveraignty but yet not supreame and absolute dominion and independent in their operation on God their maker God must have the prerogative still of being the first mover the first cause the first Agent the first free Agent So farre off are we from maintaining that the actions of men have their being by absolute necessity that we utterly deny any thing in the world to have ' its existence by absolute necessity saving God alone as before I have shewed Sciendum saith Durand quod loquendo de necessitate simpliciter voluntas divina nec imponit nec imponere potest rebus necessitatem nec res creatae sunt capaces talis necessitatis We are to know that speaking of necessity simply so called the will of God neither doth
ought to doe or not in what manner he ought to doe it not one of all which is incident unto God All efficiency both divine and humane is found only about the act substrate unto sinne and all sides now a daies acknowledge that God is the author thereof as well as man by an effective concourse though difference there is about the manner of the concourse and particularly these Arminius will have Gods concourse to an evill act to be every way as much as his concourse to a good and that he concurres to the working of a good act no more then to the working of an evill act Which we utterly deny requiring a double concourse to every good act that is not supernaturall as touching the substance of the act One to the producing of the substance of the act another to the producing the goodnesse thereof that is the gracious manner of performing it For even a naturall man may abstaine from lying stealing whoring blaspheaming but no naturall man can abstaine from these in a gracious manner that is out of the love of God and that such a love as is Amor Dei usque ad contemptum sui the love of God to the contempt of himselfe For this manner of performing it is supernaturall Secondly as touching the matter of divine concourse to the substance of any naturall act We say God moves the will to the doing of it as it becomes the first cause to move the second but how agreeable to the nature of it that is like as he moves naturall agents to doe that which they doe necessarily so he moves all rationall agents to doe that which they doe contingently and freely What is the Arminian tenent to the contrary namely this that God workes in man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Velle modo velit as absurd an assertion as ever any man breathed It is true many times our Divines in speaking of the secret providence of God in evill doe expresse themselves in phrases of a very harsh accent in the judgement of flesh and blood but herein they doe nothing exceed sobriety forasmuch as usually they contemper themselves to Scripture phrase rather within the compasse thereof then beyond it Yet Blasphemy is usually imputed unto them without all feare or wit not considering that herein they impute blasphemy to the language of the Holy Ghost As for example What an horrible sinne is it for Kings and Princes to imploy their power and authority not for the supporting of the Kingdome of Christ by whom Kings reigne but for the supporting and establishing of the kingdome of Antichrist as in the Martyrdome of Gods Saints delivered over to the secular power to that end and that by censures Ecclesiasticall Now if we should say that it is God that works thus in the hearts of Kings thus to imploy their power for the supporting of Antichrist we should be censured for blasphemers Yet the Holy Ghost spares not to professe that God hath put into their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree and give their Kingdome to the Beast untill the words of God be fulfilled In like sort from the first Preaching of the Gospell unto this day many there have been and at this day are who are disobedient unto it and stumble at it either in the whole or in part If we should say that they who thus disobey and stumble at the word of God are ordained thereunto such as this Author and his Complices are ready to cry out upon us as Blaspheamers and to professe that they will rather deny that there is a God then hold with the Contra-Remonstrants Yet S. Peter budgeth not to professe that Christ is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence even to them which stumble at the word of God being disobedient whereunto also they were ordained When we professe that not any thing in the world comes to passe but Deo volente God willing it We are censured as Blasphemers in professing that God doth will that which is evill and sinne yet not only the Articles of Ireland Artic. 11. professe as much and Austin Enchir. 95. Non aliquid fit nisi Omnipotens fieri velit but the Apostles with one voyce as touching the contumelious usages of the Sonne of God both by Jewes and Gentiles Herod and Pilate in their picus meditation poured forth before the face of God professe that Both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and People of Israel were gathered together against the holy Sonne of God to doe that which Gods hand and Gods councell had before determined to be done In like sort when we speak of Gods giving men over to illusions to believe lies others to vile affections and to uncleannesse through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonour their own bodies between themselves which consisted in this that The Women did change their naturall use into that which is against nature and likewise the men leaving the naturall use of the Women burned in their lusts one towards another men with men working that which is unseemely and receiving in themselves the recompence of their errour which was meet and observe herehence that it is just with God to punish sinne with sinne And as it hath been observed before us from the daies of Austin who when Iulian the Pelagian said this was done deserendo replies taking him at his word who could not but professe that God doth thus the Scripture expresly testifying as much and touching the manner mentioned by him addeth whether God doth this deserendo or alio modo sive explicabili sive inexplicabili it matters not An Arminian spirit spares not to joyne himselfe with Iulian the Pelagian in affronting Austin thus discoursing out of the word of God and to professe that that doctrine of Gods punishing sinne with sinne is a common errour whereas the Apostle professeth in expresse termes that Herein they received such recompence of their errour as was meet and what is recompence here but punishment and wherein consisted it but in defiling themselves contrary to nature as the Scripture plainly testifies saying Men with men working that which is unseemely and receiving in themselves such recompence of their errour as was meet And Arminius spares not to professe that Omnis paena Deum authorem habet Wherein yet we concurre not with Arminius Wee deny that Omnis paena habet Deum authorem It is true that Paena positiva not of all punishment that consists in privation such as sinne is For Malum as Austin long agoe pronounced non habet causam efficientem but deficientem Yet we confesse that God could keep any man from any sinne but if he will not this is not sufficient to make him the author of it It is only a culpable defect that makes one the author of sinne that is when he failes of doing that which he ought to doe But God is bound to none to preserve him from sinne any otherwise then his own free will doth
naturall and carnall men and therein they doe abstaine from the committing of it freely And yet we say that even in abstaining from these acts they doe not abstaine from sinne for as much as they doe not abstaine from them in a gracious manner and all by reason of that originall corruption which remaines uncured in them untill such time as God who hath mercy on whom he will is pleased to cure it by the grace of regeneration 3. But because I imagine this Author le ts fly at randome and keeps not himselfe to the precise genius of the Tenent by him impugned but rather aimeth at our doctrine concerning providence divine and the decree of God according whereunto we willing professe with Austin that Non aliquid fit nisi Omnipotens fieri velit Enchir. 95. Therefore I answere in the third Place That the necessity following upon this will of God is nothing prejudiciall to the liberty or contingency of second agents in their severall operations Although I am not ignorant that now a daies it is the common and glorious course of our Adversaries very confidently to presume and presuppose that upon the will of God passing upon the action of the creature there followeth a necessity standing in flat opposition to the liberty of rationall agents and no marvail for sic factitavit Hercules Arminius the great Champion of their cause his learning served him to doe so before them As if the contumelious usages of our Saviour by Herod and Pontius Pilate together with the Gentiles and people of Israel were not performed freely but by meer necessity opposite to liberty For it cannot be denied but that all these were gathered together against the holy sonne of God to doe what Gods hand and Gods counsel had predestinated to be done Acts 4. 28. And in like sort they that through disobedience stumbled at the word of God did not freely disobey the Word because Peter professeth of them in expresse termes that Hereunto they were ordained And after the same manner it is to be conceived of the Kings that gave their Kingdomes to the Beast namely that they did it not freely in as much as the Holy Ghost saith that God put into their hearts to fulfill his will and to consent and give their Kingdome to the Beast Yet the Church of Ireland in their Articles set forth by as good Authority as the Articles of the Church of England Art 11. having professed that God from all eternity did by his unchangeable counsel ordaine whatsoever in time should come to passe to prevent such like objections as this Author fashioneth forthwith adde Yet so as thereby no violence is offered to the willes of reasonable creatures and neither the liberty nor the contingency of second causes is taken away but established rather And Austin in his Book De Grat. Liber Arbitr where he speaks as freely of Gods effectuall Providence working in evill as no where more in so much as our Adversaries take great exceptions against his speeches such as formerly delivered and that in expresse termes His main drift notwithstanding and scope in that Book is to prove that notwithstanding the divine operation in working the motion of the creature as he thinks good yet is the creature never a whit the lesse free in its own operation And indeed where grace is wanting there is too much will rather then too little unto that which is evill according to that he writes also elsewhere Libertas sine gratia non est libertas sed contumacia And if Gods operation prejudiceth not the liberty of the creature much lesse the will of God For though not any thing comes to passe unlesse God willeth it whether it be good or evill yet with this difference as Austin in the same place professeth He will have that which is good come to passe by the effecting of it but evill only by his permitting of it Non aliquid fit nisi Omnipotens fieri velit vel sinendo ut fiat vel ipse faciendo But though Austin and the Church of Ireland yea and the Word of God teacheth this yet the Tragaedian as this Author saith could see the contrary that is perceive the evidence of the contrary which none of these saw And is not this a pretty Comaedy that a Tragaedian and Zeno's servant must be brought in and that in a confidentiary supposition to out face not Divines only both antient and late but the very word of God For it is as clear forsooth that what comes to passe by the will of God and by the effectuall operation of God doth not come to passe freely and consequently that the doctrine which maintaines that evill comes to passe by the will of God as the crucifying of Christ by the predestination of God or by the operation of God as the Rent of the ten Tribes from the two and the hardning of Pharaoh's heart so as not to let Israel goe God professeth to be his work takes away all conscience of sinne All this I say is as cleare if we believe this Author as that Seneca's Tragaedies are the Oracles of God And I pray consider must it not take away as well all conscience of righteousnesse whether of faith or of repentance or of obedience unlesse we deny faith to be the gift of God repentance to be the gift of God unles we deny that God is he Who makes us perfect to every good work working in us that which is pleasing in his sight that God is he that putteth his own spirit in us and causeth us to walke in his statutes and to keep his judgements and doe them Yet what doth Seneca speak of the divine will or divine operation Did the Tragaedian under the terme of Fate denote the divine decree or the divine administration of things which is plentifully revealed to us in the word of God Austin I am sure thought otherwise in more places then one in Psalm 31. on these words Pronunciabo adversum me He blames those who when they are found in their sinnes say Fatum mihi fecit stellae meae fecêrunt But saith he Quid est fatum Quae sunt stellae certè istae quas in Coelo conspicimus Qui eas fecit Deus Quis eas ordinavit Deus ergo vides quod voluisti dicere Deus fecit ut peccarem Then he tells of others who said that Mars facit Homicidam Venus Adulterum So that Fatum with them were second causes which we all know in their operations doe both work by necessity of nature and have no power to maintain the free will of man and in Psalm 91. Quaeris ab illo quid sit Fatum dicit stellae malae Quaeris ab illo quis fecit stellas quis ordinavit stellas non habet quid tibi respondeat nisi Deus It 's true indeed the Pelagians did object the Stoicall Fate unto Austin as if his doctrine favoured of it and what doth he answer thereunto Nec
must needs be because he cannot save them this was Austins argument 1200 years agoe Enchirid. cap. 96. and 97. handling this very place of the Apostle 3. If God did from everlasting will the salvation of all and every one then either at this day he doth continue to will the salvation of all and every one and shall continue for ever to will it or no if he doth continue to will it and ever shall then say that God doth will the salvation of the damned both Men and Divells albeit it is well known he damnes them If he doth not continue to will it then is God of a changeable nature directly contrary to the word of God as well as to manifest reason With him saith Iames is no variablenesse nor shadow of change I the Lord am not changed Mal. 3. 6. As for that which he thrusts in to help make weight saying that there is no let in God but that all men may believe and be saved this is a most improper speech for no man is said in proper speech to be let from doing ought but upon presupposition that he would doe it now we utterly deny that God hindreth any man from believing and repenting whose will is disposed to believe and repent But seeing all men have infidelity and hardnesse of heart naturall unto them as a fruit of that corruption wherein all are borne we deny that God câ—â—es it in all but only in whom he will according to that of Saint Paul He hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardneth And our Saviour upon the same ground is bold to tell the Jewes saying Ye therefore heare not my words that is believe them not because ye are not of God 2. The first exposition here mentioned was given by Austin many hundred years agoe Enchirid. cap. 103. and he proves this his interpretation of the word all by the congruity of it to Scripture phrase in other places as where it is said of the Pharises that they tythe every herbe his words are these Iâ—to locutiâ—nis modo Dominus usus est in Evangelio ubi ait Phariseis Decimatis mentham rutam omne olus neque enim Pharisei quaecunque aliena omnium per omnes terras alienigenarum omnium olera decimabant Sicut ergo hic omne olus omne olerum genus it a illic omnes homines omne hominum genus intelligere possumus yet see the ingenuity of this great light of the Church of God for forthwith he gives leave to devise any other convenient interpretation provided that we doe not violate Gods omnipotency by saying that any thing that God would have brought to passe is not brought to passe his words are these Et quocunque alio modo intelligi potest dum tamen credere no cogamur aliquid omnipotentem Deum noluisse fieri factumque non esse qui sine ullis ambagibus si in caelo terra sicut veritas cantat omnia quaecunque voluit fecit profecto facere noluit quaecunque non fecit This interpretation is generally received by our Divines because of the congruity thereof to the Text it selfe for as much as the Apostle having first admonished them in the generall to pray for all forthwith he descends to specialls as Vossius acknowledgeth Generi speciem subjicit now look in what sort the Species is to be understood after the same manner is the Generall to be understood Now the Specialls mentioned are certain sorts or conditions of men as Kings and such as are in authority therefore the generall all must in like manner be understood of all sorts and all conditions of men upon this consideration also it was that Austin did insist in the place before alleadged Praeceperat saith he Apostolus ut or aretur pro singulis hominibus specialiter addiderat pro Regibus iis qui in sublimitate sunt qui putari poterant fastu superbia seculari a fidei Christianae humilitate abhorrere Proinde dicens hoc enim bonum est coram salvatore nostro Deo id est ut etiam pro talibus oretur statim ut desperationem tolleret addit qui omnes homines vult salves fieri in agnitionem veritatis venire Hoc quippe Deus bonum judicavit ut orationibus humilium dignaretur praestare salutem sublimium Now I come to consider what this Author hath to say against this exposition for he gives us very gravely to understand that it gives him little satisfaction we are therefore to expect some better satisfaction from him It is true that all is so used in Scripture not only some times but very frequently let him come to instance in his sense we are ready to instance with him for ours But the Text saith he shewes we are to understand the individualls and not the kindes Where first I doubt his ignorance in understanding the distinction aright is his best ground of opposition When Austin urgeth for his interpretation that of the Pharises tything omne olus every hearb who doubts but they tythe Individuall hearbs In like sort when Peter saw in a vessell let down unto him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every foure footed beast no question but Individuall beasts were let down unto him not every one of every kind but of every kind or of most kinds or of many kinds some so that the meaning of the distinction is not to exclude all individualls as this Author seems to carry the matter but only to exclude a necessity of understanding all individualls of all sorts It is enough if God will save some of all sorts that is of all conditions some individualls Then seeing he undertakes out of the very Text to give us better satisfaction then either Austin or our Divines have hitherto received it must needs be a shame for him to leave the present Text and fetch grounds elsewhere for the clearing of Pauls meaning here Now let us observe how congruously or incongruously to his own undertakings he carryeth himselfe in this businesse of the duty enjoyned and of the motive annexed there is no question but whereas he shapes the coherence thus and makes Paul in effect to speak after this manner our charity must reach to all to whom God extends his love to God will have all to be saved and therefore we must pray for all Though all this were granted him it makes nothing for him but over and above here are causelesse errours more then enough For first our charity must extend farther then Gods love was not Jacob bound to carry himselfe charitably towards his brother Esau though Gods hatred of Esau we know was as ancient as his love to Iacob 2. We are not bound to extend our charity so far as God extends his love for many thousands there be in the World not to speak of the Elect departed this life towards whom it may be God extends his love which yet are unknown to us are we bound to
of a thousand so much doth his justice come short of his mercy in the exercise of it And upon this poore interpretation he grounds the only substantiall part of his reply to our answer to this his argument For to say that Gods mercy is rich abundant long suffering beyond apprehension is nothing to the purpose For all this hinders not but that the application of it may be and is made only to certain vessells who are called vessells of mercy in distinction from vessells of wrath Rom. 9. 22. 23. Therefore he addes That it surmounts his justice in its objects and expressions wherein what he means by its expressions I know not For I find no comparison made by him between Gods mercy and his justice in its expressions but only in respect of the objects and there the expression of justice seems more quick then the expression of mercy And as for the extention of mercy to more then justice is extended to he dispatcheth in three lines as I said of these three leaves of his discourse But let us see what force he finds in that comparison to serve his turne First he saieth the comparison is between three and foure on the one side and a thousand on the other as if the odds were a thousand to three or foure but how doth he prove that The Text compares three or foure generations to thousands not to a thousand generations but to thousands and he boldly conceives it to be understood of thousands of generations though it be much more then the World consists of from the beginning of the World to the end of it For suppose the World shall last seaven or eight thousand years how many years will he allow to a generation Suppose he allow but twenty to explode the custome of the Germans of whom Tacitus writes that Sera virginum venus which to this day is continued yet a thousand of such generations must make the World to consist of twenty thousand years But if it consist but of seaven or eight thousand years you must allow but seaven or eight years to a generation to make up one thousand generations Then againe the World was now two thousand years old when this was delivered so that it had not above six thousand years to continue and accordingly but six years was from thenceforth to be allowed to a generation And all this liberality of allowance is no more then will make the child a coat to compleat one thousand generations whereas the Text speaks of thousands in the plural number and the least of plurality is two thousand so that to help this we must allow but three years to a generation by which account they had need be married at two and have a child at three and who then should rock the cradle But leave we these fooleries and content our selves with the plain Text and not piece it out with our brainsick additions We know that for Abrahams sake who feared him and for the covenants sake he made with him he had mercy on thousands of his posterity to bring them out of Egypt six hundred thousand men from twenty years old to threescore and take them unto him to be his peculiar people which continued for the space of about 1600 years and now for 1600 years they have been cast off from being his people And of the goodnesse of God towards Abraham in choosing his seed after him even many thousands of them the Jewes had sensible experience that very day he spake unto them from Mount Sinai he did not mean to trouble their braines with any Algebra in counting up a thousand generations But suppose this were granted him yet these that feare him being only within the pale of his Church what a small handfull were these in comparison to all the world of heathens besides that hated him Marke what difference S. Paul puts between the Jewes and the Gentiles when he saith we Jewes by nature not sinners of the Gentiles Gal. 2. And the Psalmist before him Psal 147. He sheweth his word unto Jacob his statutes and ordinances to Israel he hath not dealt so with every nation neither have they known his judgements According whereunto the Apostle having demanded saying What is then the preferment of the Jew or what is the profit of circumcision Answereth thus Much every way and chiefly because unto them were committed the Oracles of God Rom. 3. 1 2. And the same Apostle doth not acknowledge the Gentiles to have obtained mercy at the hands of God untill the time of their calling by the Ministry of the Gospell Rom. 11. 30. in these words Ye in times past have not believed God yet have now obtained mercy through their unbeliefe This might suffice for answer to this argument taking it in the full strength thereof But I am content to runne over the whole discourse and to take every part of it into consideration 1. He saith God is mercy in the abstract and Love By this it is apparent that the Attributes Divine are the very Essence Divine otherwise they could not be predicated thereof in the abstract and consequently they can no more be of the same nature with vertues Morall in us then the Divine Essence can be of the same nature with an accident 2. He is a Saviour of men true and it is as true that he saveth both man and beast and as for men though he be a Saviour of them all yet in speciall sort of them that believe 3. When he saith of the love of Christ that it is without height and depth and length and breadth he doth overlash for the Apostles prayer is in the place quoted by him on the behalfe of the Ephesians that Christ may dwell in their hearts by Faith that being rooted and grounded in love they may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth height For though the height of it be such as is incomprehensible by us in this World yet the Apostle supposeth an height depth length and breadth thereof rather then denies it 4. He saith Gods Mercy is advanced above his Justice not in respect of its essence for all Gods excellencies are infinitely good and one is not greater then another but in things that concerne the expressions of it Here we have words but can any wise man draw it to any sober sense What I pray is it to advance mercy above justice in things that concerne the expressions of it He saith it is more naturall and deare to God then his justice what reason is there for this if the one be equally as excellent as the other To make this good with some colour at least he alleadgeth Mich. 7. 18. Mercy pleaseth him or he delights in it The like we read Jer. 9 24. namely that God delights in mercy and in the same place the Lord professeth joyntly that he delights in judgement But Isaiah 28. 21. Judgement is called his strange worke Now three severall times
because their deeds are evill Is there any reason why their condemnation should be any whit the easier for this Neither have I ever read or heard it taught by any that men shall be damned for not believing fide infusâ which is as much as to say because God hath not regenerated them but either because they have refused to believe or else if they have embraced the Gospell for not living answerable thereunto which also is in their power quoad exteriorem vitae emendationem though it be not in their power to regenerate their wills and change their hearts any more then it is to illuminate their minds yet I never read that any mans damnation was any whit the more encreased for not performing these acts Thus farre I have been content to expatiate in the way of reasonable discourse to meet with this Disputer in his own element though every sober Christian I should think should rest satisfied with the word of God which both teacheth us that the naturall man perceiveth not the things of God neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned that all men are found dead in trespasses and sinnes before the spirit of regeneration comes that men cannot believe that they cannot repent that they that are in the flesh cannot please God and that a man hardned cannot obey and yet withall that God doth command faith repentance and obedience and complaines of default in performance And if any man charge such courses as unjust what is the Apostles course in meeting with such imputations but either to shew that the word attributes such a course to God and therefore it cannot be unjust as Rom. 9. 14. What shall we say then is there unrighteousnesse with God God forbid for he saith to Moses I will have compassion on him on whom I will have compassion and I will shew mercy on him to whom I will shew mecy or to fly to the consideration of the Lords dominion over all as Creator over his creatures I come to his second reason 2. And that is because it is impossible that they should believe they want power to believe and must want it still God hath decreed they shall have none to their dying day I answer This argument is the very same with the former not so much as differently drâ—st or crambe bis cocta and therefore my former answer will serve in every particular Yet adde this also this impossibility is only upon supposition of Gods Decree which nothing hinders the liberty of the creature in doing freely what he doth and freely leaving undone what he doth not as appears manifestly by divers instances For upon supposition of Gods decree that not a bone of Christ should be broken it was impossible they should be broken yet who doubts but that the Souldiers did as freely abstaine from the breaking of Christs bones as they did freely break the others bones And the Text notes the reason why they brake not Christs bones to wit because they saw he was dead already In like sort upon supposition of Gods decree that Josiah by name should burne the Prophets bones upon the Altar Cyrus by name should build him a Citty and let goe his captives it was impossible that it should be otherwise yet I think no wise man doubts but that Josiah did the one and Cyrus the other as freely as they did any thing in their lives And therefore this Author doth miserably overlash in the element of his Philosophy and rationall discourse in saying a man in justice can be tyed to believe no more then a man can be bound to fly like a Bird or to reach heaven with the top of his finger He might as well say that because God had determined that the Souldiers should not breake Christs bones therefore they had no more power to breake Christs bones then they had power to fly like a Bird or to reach Heaven with the top of their finger Certainly there is no man but by grace may be enabled to believe but never was any man known to affirme that by grace a man may be enabled to fly like a Bird or to reach Heaven with the top of his finger If this be not miserably to over-reach I know not what is As for his rule Nemo obligatur ad impossibile judge I pray of the truth of it by this What if a man by a vitious conversation hath made it as impossible for him to doe good as it is impossible for a Blackemore to change his skinne or a Leopard his spots Shall he therefore be obliged no longer to doe good And as by our own sinnes committed by our persons so by the sinne of Adam which was the sinne of our nature upon the whole nature of man was this impotency brought as the Scriptures teach and none that I know were known in the dayes of Austin to deny but the Plagians I come to the Third 3. Now this depends upon a notorious confusion of things that differ For I have shewed how the Lord hath given them a sufficient object of that faith which he requires of them as touching Christs dyeing for them namily to believe that Christ hath merited the pardon of sinne and salvation for as many as believe in him in such sort that if all and every one throughout the World should believe in him they should be saved by him And this depends meerely upon the sufficiency of Christs merits and undoubtedly it was the will of God that Christs merits should be of such a value as was sufficient for the salvation of all and every one otherwise it were not true that if all and every one should believe in Christ they should be saved by the vertue of Christ merits But as for any obligation to believe that Christ died to procure faith and repentance for all and every one I never yet heard or read of any Arminian that he believed it Nay in their Apologia Remonstrantium or Censura Censurae they plainly professe that Christ died not at all to merit faith and regeneration for any In like sort it is not credible to me that any Arminian believes that Christ dyed for any so as to procure pardon of sinne and salvation absolutely for him whether he believe or no provided that he live to be capable of faith and repentance and to enjoy the Gospell and the Preaching of Christ crucified And like as it is no lye but truth that Christ dyed to procure salvation to as many as believe in him so in being obliged to believe this or punished for not believing it is neither to be obliged to the believing of a lye nor punished for not believing it Therefore it is false to say there is no such matter For look in what sense they are bound to believe that Christ died for them in the same sense it is most true that Christ died for them they are bound to believe that Christ dyed to procure salvation for every one
to Preach unto all without difference yet so as aiming at the salvation of the elect I doe all things for all men saith Saint Paul 1 Cor. 6. 22. That I may save some and who are they Let himselfe answere where he saith I suffer all things for the elects sake and by the way where he distinguisheth of Gods willing outwardly and inwardly I willingly professe I never read nor heard of it before Gods words and commandements are outward and uttered by him but his will is alwaies inward though it may be and is signified by his words and so is his will signified alwaies by his commandements But what will Not that such a thing as God commands shall be done as this Author ignorantly conceives but that it shall be their duty to whom the commandement is given to doe that which is commanded for if Gods will were that such a thing should be done de facto undoubtedly it should be done and come to passe de facto for who hath resisted his will So that here we have a true interpretation of the mind of God by his commandement to wit quid ab homine fieri debeat but no interpretation of any such mind in God as if fieri vellet whatsoever he commands For the case is cleare and undeniable that Gods will was that Isaack should not be sacrificed as well as by his command to make it Abrahams duty to sacrifice him The like was the case of Pharaoh to whom the Lord sent a message by Moses to let Israell goe hereupon it was Pharaohs duty to let Israell goe and that upon Gods command God thereby signifying his will to make this act Pharaohs duty But was it Gods will also that Pharaoh should de facto obey and let Israell goe upon this command If so why doth God tell Moses that he will harden Pharaohs heart and that he shall not let Israell goe Where we have a manifest example of the great difference of the objects of Gods will the one what Gods will was that Pharaoh ought to doe and the other what his will was should be done by him the letting of Israell goe was that which Pharaoh ought to doe by the will of God but the not letting of Israell goe by Pharaoh was that which God willed should come to passe And why doth not this Author take boldnesse to censure these proceedings of the Lord with Pharaoh as hypocriticall proceedings The same spirit will serve the turne for both though not without betraying as much judgement as honesty In the like sort it might be urged of the very elect as of the reprobate for the very elect are not alwaies converted at the first hearing of the Gospell nor till the time God hath appoynted for their effectuall vocation yet from their first hearing of the Gospell this command is made unto them and thereby is signified Gods will that they ought to believe it yet is it not Gods will that they shall believe and be converted untill the time that God hath appoynted That which in my judgement is more to the purpose is this that by commanding to believe he supposeth them at least in pretence to be indued with a power to believe but then say I in like manner he supposeth them to be indifferent to believe or not to believe as they will that is either to yeeld or else to resist now this is indifferent to be objected as well against election as against reprobation For like as wee say it cannot be that the reprobate should believe de facto so wee say it cannot be that the elect should not beliefe at that time de facto which God hath appoynted for their effectuall conversion And what advantage this Author can hence worke to himselfe I will be ready to take into consideration as soone as it is offered So that hitherto I hope I have freed the divine course maintained by us from all just imputation of imposture and dissimulation let him looke to it how he can cleare his conscience from the impiety of his crimination I come to the Second 2. Here those offers of grace and glory which wee ascribe to God he chargeth with imposture and simulation But he contents himselfe with the generality of grace that is for his best advantage I will answere to each part As for glory or salvation wee offer it unto none neither doe we teach that God makes offer of it unto any but to such as finally persevere in faith and repentance according to that Revelations 3. To him that overcometh I will give to sit with mee in my throne even as I also overcame and am set downe with my Father in his Throne And be thou faithfull unto the death and I will give thee a Crowne of life And Gal. 6. Be not weary of well doing for in good time ye shall reape if ye faint not And accordingly we teach that it is the will of God that as many as believe repent and persevere therein shall be saved no other will of God is signified herein And if this be true that God doth will this and no other thing then this is signified in his offers of glory and salvation What colour of imposture and dissimulation doth appeare in all this For glory and salvation God doth not will that it shall be the portion of any one of ripe yeares absolutely but conditionally to wit if he repent and believe And in case all and every one of the World should believe and repent all and every one how notorious sinners soever they be found shall be saved such is the sufficiency of Christs merits I say this is true not of them only who are invited to the Wedding Math. 22. Nor of them only to whom Saint Peter speaketh Acts 3. 26. Or to them only of whom our Saviour speaketh Math. 23. 37. But of all and every one throughout the World and it is as true that none of them shall be saved if they dye in infidelity and impenitency this God himselfe signifyeth to be his will by his promise Acts 2. 28 29. on the one part and on both parts Mark 16. 16. And as God signifieth this to be his will so indeed is his will according to our doctrine and there is no colour of imposture or simulation in all this In like sort as touching the grace of pardon of sinne this also God offers unto all that heare the Gospell but how Not absolutely but conditionally in case they believe and repent and it is Gods will that every one who believeth shall have his sinne pardoned none that I know either thinketh or teacheth otherwise whether he falleth out either to be elect or reprobate though how to distinguish men according unto this difference I know not I leave that unto God And accordingly as touching the desire and hopes that hereupon arise in the thoughts of Reprobates I am nothing acquainted with them any more than I am with their persons as likewise neither
to have abstained from many of those foule sinnes yea from all of them wherewith God doth upbraid them albeit to abstaine from any sinne in a gracious manner be a worke of Gods speciall grace which he affords not according to mens workes which way tends all this eager but superficiary discourse but according to his own purpose and grace 3. Hosea 11. 8. God represents as it were a conflict within him between his mercy and justice and his mercy hath the glory of the day But wherein To spare them though their sinnes deserved at his hands that he should make them as Adma and Zeboim as Sodome and Gomorrah He would rather shew himselfe to be as he is God and and not Man And wherein But in this man may pardon his enemy but cannot change his heart it is otherwise with God he can both pardon our sinnes and change our hearts and to this purpose he becomes our Lord and our God and walkes in the midst of us as the holy one of Israell to sanctify us as it followeth in the same place of Hosea v. 10. They shall walk after the Lord he shall roare like a Lyon viz. In such expostulations comminations c. but the issue shall be gracious for when he shall reare then the children of the West shall feare that is feare unto him as Hos 3. 5. That is come flying unto him and to his goodnesse with feare like Birds scared from one place fly with greater speed to another so conscience affrighted with sense of sinne and apprehension of Gods wrath shall fly from his wrath unto his mercy to his goodnesse whereof God shall make unto them a full representation in David their King that is in Christ as in whom we behold the glory of Gods grace with open face and trepidare in Latine is found to be of the same signification with festinare And v. 11. Is manifested as much as where it is said They shall feare as a sparrow out of Egypt and as a Dove out of the land of Egypt and I will place them in their houses saith the Lord. That is come flying unto the Lord with feare As for that Math. 23. 37. O Jerusalem how oft would I c. This is of another nature as being delivered by Christ the sonne of God made under the Law who as in his manhood he might entertaine such desires in proper speech so by the Law of God was bound to desire the conversion of his brethren as well as any other Prophet or man of God or minister of his word But such confusion becomes this discourse right well In all this he saith there is little sincerity if there be a secret resolution that the most of these towards whom those wishes chidings and commiserations are used shall be unavoydably damned But what if but one of them towards whom these are used by a secret resolution shall be unavoydably damned is there sincerity enough in these courses divine Sureif this resolution concerning the unavoydable damnation of the one doth not prejudice Gods sincerity neither shall such a resolution concerning the damnation of two or of two hundred or thousands or the most any way prejudice sincerity divine But this kind of discourse is spread all over this Treatise like a scab only to worke upon vulgar affection where judgement is wanting to observe the frothy condition of it And whereas he saith that in all this God aliud animo vult aliud verbis significat its most untrue as to every one should be made manifest according to the right understanding of it had he been pleased to accommodate it severally and shew what that is which God signifies by his word and what that is which he willeth in his heart And indeed as in the poynt of Gods commandement I have shewed there is no colour of contradiction between it and Gods purpose but only according to this Authors superficiary interpretation For to command a thing is only to will that it shall be our duty to doe it notwithstanding which it is apparent God may purpose not to give grace to worke the doing of it So in every one of the rest had he instanced as it became him and shewed wherein the guile consisted the absurdity of this crimination might have been made as manifest as in this That which he conceales and which he would have his readers rather take to themselves than shew himselfe clearely to stand to the maintainance thereof seems to be this that every one hath power given him to believe to repent to change his heart yea to regenerate himselfe but it sticks in his teeth and he dares not speake it out plainly Only he keepes himselfe to Gods resolution concerning mans unavoydable damnation yet we maintaine not that any contingent things come to passe unavoydably that were utterly against the nature of a contingent thing which is to come to passe so as joyned with a possibility of not coming to passe And as for damnation in particular we acknowledge it throughout to be avoydable by repentance and not otherwise unto men of ripe years And as for repentance we say that there is no man but may repent as long as he lives through grace so that in the issue the maine poynt to be debated herein is whether every man living hath such a grace given him as whereby he may repent But upon this poynt though his whole discourse be grounded thereupon yet is he content to say just nothing least their shamefull and most unconscionable courses in dishonouring the grace of God should be discovered and brought to light But consider in a word or two as touching this universall grace which they make to consist in the inabling of the will to will any goodthing whereunto they shall be excited If such a grace be universall then every one hath power to believe and power to repent But this is untrue for the Apostle telleth us of some that they cannot repent Rom. 2. 4. of the naturall man that he cannot discerne the things of God and that they are foolishnesse unto him and while they seeme foolishnesse unto him is it possible that therein he should discerne the wisdome of God 1 Cor. 2. 14. our Saviour tells us of some that they cannot believe Ioh. 12. 46. and tells others to their face saying How can you believe when ye receive honour one of another and seeke not the honour that comes from God only Ioh. 5. 44. Likewise of them that are in the flesh Saint Paul saith They cannot please God Rom. 8. 8. 2. It is the habit of faith that inables us to believe so that if all men have power to believe it must be confessed that all men have faith but the Apostle saith Fides non est omnium 2 Thes 3. 2. Tit. 1. 1. he saith it is electorum like as Austin professeth Habere fidem sicut habere charitatem gratiae est fidelium de praedest Sanct. cap. 5. 3. Whosoever hath power to
they made profession of their faith and as for Infants they were also anciently said to be Baptized in fide Parentum Gods patience Rom. 2. 4. And the goodnesse of God manifested therein leadeth a Man to repentance so doe his judgements also Hos 5. In their affliction they will seeke me early and so doth Gods word and all this only in the way of a moving cause and exciting to repentance every morning God brings his judgements to light he faileth not yet will not the wicked be ashamed Zeph 3. 5. But it is the duty of all to be moved by his word by his works by his mercyes by his judgments to turne to the Lord by true repentance But God alone is he that workes them hereunto without whose efficacious grace none of all these courses will prevaile as Isai 57. 17. For his wicked covetousnesse I was angry with him and have smiten him I hid me and was angry They wanted neither admonition from his word nor from his corrections yet they profited by neither as it followeth yet he went away and turned after the way of his own heart yet what is Gods resosolution but to overcome their stubbornesse by the power of his grace as there we read I have seen his waies and will heale them now who are these whom he leads so as to bring them to repentance let Austin answer Contra Julian Pelag. l. 5. c. 4. Bonitas Dei te ad poenitentiam adducit verum esse constat sed quem praedestinavit adducit and he adds a reason Quamtamlibet enim praebuerit poenitentiam nisi Deus dederit quis agit poenitentiam And in the same Chapter professeth touching the Non-praedestinate that God never brings them to wholsome and spirituall repentance whereby a man is reconciled to God in Christ whether God affords them greater patience than he affords his elect or nothing lesse His words are these Istorum neminem adducit ad poenitentiam salubrem spiritualem qua homo in Christo reconciliatur Deo sive illis ampliorem patientiam sive non imparem praebeat God intends by this his patience that it is the duty of all to repent that is that they should repent ex officio but did he intend they should de facto repent what then could hinder it Then he would afford them efficacious grace to heale them as he promiseth Isai 57. 18. Then would he rule them with a mighty hand and make them passe under the rodde and bring them unto the bond of the covenant So then to the poynt in particular here observed 1. God leads all to repentance by his goodnesse manifested in his forbearance and long suffering by way of admonition that it is their duty to turne unto God by repentance while he gives them time and space for repentance 2. But as for those whom he hath elected he not only thus leads but also effectually brings them to repentance in the time he hath appoynted before which time they are found sometimes to despise the riches of his goodnesse and to have hard and impenitent hearts as much as any Reprobate who more foule in the committing of horrible abominations than Manasses Who more furious in persecuting the Church of God then Saul Yet God took away the stony heart and what is harder then stone out of their bowells and so he doth to all whom he regenerates 3. As touching a finall contempt of Gods patience that is peculiar unto Reprobates as for the elect though some are called at the first houre of the day some not till the last yet all are effectually called before they drop out of the World To say that God intends the everlasting good of Reprobates is to deny the first Article of our Creed even Gods omni potency as Austin hath disputed 1200 years agoe we find in our selves that whatsoever we will doe if we doe not it it is either because we cannot doe it or because our will is changed but to ascribe either mutability or impotency to God is intollerable in a Christian and it cannot be denied but God did from everlasting intend their everlasting damnation so that to say he did intend their everlasting good is flat contradiction neither is there any way to charme it but by saying God intends their everlasting good conditionally but to intend it after such a manner is apparently no more to intend their salvation than their damnation nay lesse rather considering the conditions of salvation are utterly impossible unto man unlesse God correct and cure his corrupt nature but this grace he dispenseth according to the meere pleasure of his will as the Apostle signifyeth in saying he hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardneth As for that 2 Pet. 3. 9. He is patient towards us not willing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any of us to perish it hath been already considered but here he interpreteth towards us as if it had been said towards us men and I hope the elect are men as well as others but what ground hath he for this liberty of interpretation Why may he not take the liberty in interpreting of Iohn as well as Peter both were pillars Gal. 2. where he saith They went out from us but they were not of us for had they been of us they had continued with us and still swalloweth a palpable absurdity following hereupon even to the denying of Gods omnipotency in as flat contradiction to the Apostle where he professeth that God hath mercy on whom he will which is not to have mercy on all but on some only hardening others as Rom. 11. The election hath obtained it but the rest are hardned DISCOURSE SECT V. IN the last place those other gifts of God whereby mens understandings are enlightened and their soules beautifyed which are knowledge repentance fortitude liberality temperance humility charity and such like are bestowed upon all them that have them among whom are many that may prove Reprobates in the end that by the exercise of them and continuance in them they might be Saved The Reprobates are adorned with many of those graces as apears plainly by many Scriptures especially Hebr. 6. 4. Where the Apostle sayes that it is impossible for those that have been enlightned tasted the heavenly gift been made partakers of the Holy Ghost tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come if they fall away should be renewed by repentance and the graces which the Apostle speakes of here are not ordinary and common but speciall graces illumination faith relish of the sweetnesse of Gods Word and the tast of Heaven The persons spoken of are Apostates such as are under the possibility of falling away for upon a dainger not possible cannot be built a solid exhortation and if Apostates then Reprobates and the thing intimated is that upon Apostates and Reprobates are these gifts bestowed The Like speech we have Hebr. 10. 26. For if we sinne willingly after we have received the
c. at large Now seeing God brings them no farther as he doth his elect with what sobriety can it be said that God intends their salvation And as for the poynt of sanctification which here is attributed to them other Divines doe not goe so farre as to interpet it of any inward sanctification as Paraeus Erat autem saith he Sanctificatio Apostolorum non interna sed externa in professione fidei participatione sacramentorum externa consistens erant sanctificati hoc est a Judaeis Paganis professione segregati pro veris Christianis habiti Loquitur enim secundum judicium charitatis quae omnes de doctrina for is consentientes habet pro sanctificatis licet non omnes cordibus vere sint sanctificati Non eergo hinc sequitur Apostatas Vere fuisse regeneratos Pro quibus enim Christus ne or are quidem dignatus est eos multo minus sanguine suo sanctificavit ideo Johannes Apostatas de Ecclesia renatorum fuisse negat ex nobis egressi sunt quia non erant ex nobis Et Petrus vocat eos canes porcos redentes ad vomitum volutabrum canis vero etiam post vomitum est canis sus lota est sus canem vero suem se semper mansisse ille ista per reditum ad vomitum volutabrum declarat Cameron likewise in in his Myroth p. 334. Dupliciter sanctificantur homines alii absolute ut soli fideles cum scilicet non tantum ab aliis hominibus segregantur hoc enim verbum sanctificare saepe significat in Scriptura a Deo sed remissione peccatorum apprehensa Spiritus Sancti virtute sanctificati in sanctitatis studio permanent Alii comparate qui scilicet separantur quidem ab aliis hominibus externa fidei professione aliqua fortè vitae instituti immutatione at non sanctificantur absolute ut fideles ad hoc posterius sanctificationis genus pertinet hoc Apostoli dictum in quo sanctificatus fuit But albeit they were truly sanctified to suppose that for the present yet if God purposed not to give them perseverance therein undoubtedly he intended not their salvation Nay no Arminian denies but that God did from everlasting intend the salvation of all such Apostates and to say that he had a velleity to save them is to dash a mans selfe against the rock of absurdity as to deny Gods omnipotency unlesse he will say Gods mind is changed and to talke of a conditionate will intending their salvation is no more to say that he intends their salvation in case they doe believe than to say he intends their damnation in case they doe not believe And as for his allegation out of the suffrages of our Divines in the Synod of Dort that is very wild neither mentioning the Article nor rightly quoting the page though the things here proposed are mostly taken out of the first and second Thesis concerning the Non-elect upon the fifth Article but no glimps doe I find there of any such end of Gods granting these dispositions as that thereby they might be brought unto salvation though as in the elect such like dispositions are so in the Reprobate they might be preparations to farther grace if it pleased God so to ordaine as to bring them on forward to justification and true sanctification conjunct therewith and thereby unto salvation As for the ends which God doth intend thereby to wit by bringing them so farre look whatsoever God doth bring to passe hereby that God doth intend For nothing can fall out casually unto God If they doe persevere in this condition to wit as touching the outward emendation of their life it is ut mitius puniantur as Austin expresseth himselfe somewhere which now doth not come to my remembrance if they fall from it whereupon they shall be more grievously punished this also was intended by God Or if others are bettered by them undoubtedly this also was intended by God as also to teach all others not to content themselves with superficiall renovation superficiall obedience and so likewise illumination clearely takes away that excuse which some are apt to make as Austin observes namely Dicere solet humana superbia si scissem fecissem Which how well this Author infringeth we are to consider in the next place DISCOURSE SECT VI. BUt there are some Scripturs which seem to say the contrary v g. Rom. 1. 20. Where God is said to reveale himselfe to the Gentiles by the creatures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they might be without excuse Luke 2. 34. Simeon said of Christ that he is appointed for the falling and rising againe of many in Israell and. 1 Cor. 1. 23. I preach Christ sayth Paul to the Jewes a stumbling blocke 2 Cor. 2. 16. We are the sweet savor of death unto death and it seems by these places that God gives these things to some that they may stumble and be left without excuse What shall we say therefore to these places Of all these Scriptures in generall I may say this that they are to be understood of the end which is many times effected by these gifts of God and not of the end that is primarily intended in them and they shew what Christ the Word Preached and the gifts of nature and grace are occasionally to some men through their voluntary rebellion against God and his Ordinances and not what they are intentionally in Gods first thoughts and resolutions He intends them for them for their good though many times they receive them to their hurt it is with Gods Ordinances and gifts and that very often too as it is sometimes with Physick it is given by the Physitian for the Patients good many times through the distemper of his body it doth him hurt And as it is with the Sunne God intends by the shining of it the enlightning and clearing of men and other creatures in this inferior World others are hurt by the light of it accidentally by reason of the climates wherein they live or the ill affectednesse of their eyes and bodies So the blessings of God which out of his abundant goodnesse are bestowed upon men for their eternall good through the ill frame and temper of their heart doe effect their hurt partly because lighting upon naughty hearts they loose their force and edge for quicquid recipitur recipitur ad modum recipientis and partly because of the severity of God who as he hath an antecedent and gratious will to doe men good so he hath a consequent and judiciary will of giving up wicked men to the lusts of their hearts and of permitting them to dash against Christ and other means of eternall life and so to fall into endlesse misery and mischiefe as we may see Psal 101. 11 12. and Rev. 22. 11. He that is filthy let him be filthy still Now if this be the meaning of those Scriptures then they thwart nothing that hath been said of Gods
manner who shall deliver me from the body of this death And receiving a gracious answer concerning this concludes with thankes I thank my God through my Lord Jesus Christ if I have a will to believe to repent I have no cause to complaine but to runne rather unto God with thankes for this and pray him to give that power which I find wanting in me And indeed as I may adde in the fourth place this impotency of believing and infidelity the fruit of naturall corruption common to all is meerely a morall impotency and the very ground of it is the corruption of the will therefore men cannot believe cannot repent cannot doe any thing pleasing unto God because they will not they have no delight therein but all their delight is carnall sensuall and because they are in the flesh they â—annot please God and because of the hardnesse of their hearts they cannot repent sinne is to them as a sweet morsell unto an Epicure which he rolleth under his tongue Fiftly dost thou blaspheame God because of Leprous Parents thou art begot and conceived and borne a leprous child What impudency then is it in thee to challenge him for injustice in that the spirituall leprosy of thy first Parents is propagated to thy soule Lastly if thou renouncest the Gospell what reason hast thou to complaine of want of power to embrace it so farre as not to renounce it hast thou not as much power to believe as Simon Magus had as many a prophane person and hipocrite hath that is bred and brought up in the Church of God Hadst thou gone so farre as they and performed submission unto the Gospell by profesing it surely thou shouldest never be brought to condemnation for not professing of it but rather for not walking according to the rule of it which thou promisedst when first thou gavest thy name to Christ I come to the third 3. Look what the Word promiseth that doe the Sacraments scale the word promiseth Justification Salvation to all that beleive the same doth the Sacraments seal As Circumsion Rom. 4. 5. Is said to be the seale of the Rightiousnes of faith so is Baptisme it did in our Saviours dayes and in the dayes of his Apostles seale to the believer and penitent Person the assurance of the forgivenesse of their sinnes over and above Baptisme is the Sacrament of our birth in Christ and the Lords Supper of our growth in Christ each an outward and visible signe of an inward invisible grace But what is the grace were of the Sacrament is a signe Is it a power to doe good if a man will Call you that grace which is not so much as goodnesse for certainly goodnesse consists not in a power to doe good if a man will but in a definite inclination of the will it selfe to delight in that which is good and to be prone to doe it But this grace whereof Baptisme is a signe is suo tempore conferenda like as Circumcision was even to those Jewes who yet were not regenerated untill they were partakers of the Gospell Jam. 1. 18. Of his own will hath he begotten us by the word of truth Writing unto the twelve tribes of the Jewes And it is very strange to me that regeneration should so many years goe before vocation But this opposite Doctrine and the sealing of a blanke is nothing strange to me I was acquainted with it twenty yeares agoe and I seeme plainly to discerne the chimney from whence all the smoake comes 4. As for other gifts bestowed on the Reprobates 1. We willingly confesse they shall never bring them to salvation be they as great as those who were bestowed on Aristotle Plato Aristides Sophocles and the most learned morall and wise men of the World that never were acquainted with the mystery of Godlinesse it was wont to be received generally for a truth that Extra Ecclesiam non est satus But Arminians take liberty to coyne new Articles of our Creed 2. But yet they may doe them good hereby they may Proficere ad exteriorem vitae emendationem quo mitius puniantur For certainly it shall be easier in the day of udgement for Cicero then for Cattline for Augustus than for Tiberius for Trajan than for Heliogabalus 3. And therefore it is certainly false that they are hurtfull and that they proceed out of extreme hatred And as for love the Scripture teacheth us that Jacob was loved of God and Esau hated each before they were borne Such is the condition of all the elect as Jacob of all the Reprobates as Esau and in Thomas Aquinas his judgement Non velle alicui vitam aeternam est ipsum odisse Knowledge I confesse of the mysteries of Godlinesse where life and conversation is not answerable doth encrease mens condemnation neither is God bound to change the corrupt heart of any man if they are workers of iniquity Christ will not know them at the great day though they have Prophesyed in his name and in his name cast out Devills neither was it ever heard of that the graces of edification and graces of sanctification must goe together and that God in giving the one is bound to give the other As for being proud of them pride for ought I know requires no other causes but domesticall corruption but he that acknowledgeth God to be the giver of any gift and hath an heart to be thankfull for it I make no doubt but he hath more grace than of edification only certainly the gifts they have sinke them not to hell but their corrupt heart in abusing them And hath a man no cause to be thankfull unto God for one gift unlesse he will adde another The Gentiles are charged for unthankfulnesse Rom. 1. But it seems by this Authors Divinity it was without cause unlesse we will with this Author say they all had sufficiency of meanes without and power within to bring them to salvation and what had Israell more Or the elect of God more in any age True for according to the Arminian tenet an elect hath no more cause to be thankfull to God for any converting grace than a Reprobate In a word what good act wrought in the heart of man whether of faith or of repentance or any kind of obedience hath man cause to be thankfull to God for when God workes it in him no otherwise than modó homo velit and so they confesse he workes every sinfull act Have they not in this case more cause to thank themselves than to thank God And unlesse we concurre with them in so shamelesse unchristian gracelesse and senselesse an opinion and in effect if God converts the heart of man according to the meere pleasure of his will and hardeneth others all the gifts that he bestowes on man are censured by this audacious censurer as Sauls bestowing Michal on David Jaells courtesy and usurers bounty c. or a baite for a poore fish as if God needed any such course
us that without holinesse no man shall see God That a man in good time shall reape provided that he faint not nor be weary of well doing Who seeth not that a necessity of Godly life is laid upon all that will be saved Now God hath revealed this latter expressely unto us in his word but as for the salvation of particular persons we have no such revelation at all set downe unto us in Gods word but in generall thus Whosoever believeth shall be saved whosoever believeth not shall be damned Be thou faithfull unto the death and thou shalt receive a Crowne of life Whosoever continueth unto the end shall be saved And good workes as Bernard saith are via Regni though not causa regnandi Therefore if any man desire to come to the Kingdome of Heaven he must be carefull to walke in the way that leadeth thither The Word saith not to any man in particular Thou shalt be saved but If thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Such was not the promise made to Paul concerning the saving of them who were in the ship with him but it proceeded in an ansolute forme Acts 27. 23 24. There stood by me this night the Angell of God whose I am and whom I serve saying Feare not Paul for thou must be brought before Caesar and loe God hath given unto thee freely all that saile with thee Here is a manifest signification of Gods decree and determination to save all that were in the ship yet did this make Paul or the rest negligent in using such meanes whereby they might save themselves It is apparent that it did not For the Mariners they thought to fly out of the ship and to that purpose had let downe the boat into the Sea under colour as though they would cast anchor out of the foreship meaning to provide for themselves and leaving others to shift for themselves But Paul perceiving this and the dangerous condition of it unto the rest as that which would bereave them of the ordinary meanes of preservation he said to the Centurion and the Souldiers except these abide in the ship ye cannot be safe Did not Paul feare the failing af his own credit and reputation Who having before assured them and that by the message of an Angell of their safe coming to land now on the other side tells them that unlesse the Marriners abide in the ship they could not be safe Nothing lesse neither did the Captaine and Souldiers fly in his face as an impostor and one that had abused them as by this Authors dictates they might especially if he had had the Catechising of them but rather of themselves conceiving it an unreasonable thing so to depend upon the promise of man or Angell as not to use the best meanes that lay in their power Forth with the Souldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let it fall away choosing rather to loose their boat which yet was of good use too then their Marriners This was not all but Paul useth spirituall meanes and by exhortation comforteth them that so they might take heart and the better set themselves to the use of the best meanes not weakely but couragiously for their preservation This is the Fourteenth day that y e have tarried and continued fasting receiving nothing Wherefore I exhort you to take meat for this is for your safeguard for there shall not an hayre fall from the head of any of you And when he had thus spoken he tooke bread and gave thankes to God in presence of them all and brake it and began to eate Then were they all of good courage and they also tooke meat Well at length the ship brake and the Centurion commanded that they that could swim should cast themselves first into the Sea and goe out to Land and the others some on boards and some on certaine pieces of the Ship Here to the end we see no meanes neglected And so it came to passe to wit by use of such meanes that they all escaped to Land Yet was the promise of their Salvation made to Paul in an absolute forme so is not the promise of Salvation made to us Now I leave it to the indifferent to judge of the wisdome of this Authors discourse Yet non deliberation is no suffitient evidence of the needlesse condition of meanes For Aristotle sayth that Ars non deliberat not because he useth no meanes to bring about his ends but because the Artificer which is his crafts-master is not to seeke of the meanes For the same reason deliberation is not incident unto God his wisdome is nothing the lesse in discerning congruous meanes to bring about his intended ends As for that of our Saviour Cur estis solliciti de vestitu Surely t is not of any thing above our power in respect of use of meanes Indeed to ad one Cubit to our stature is not in our power neither doe I know any that take thought thereof But it is no more in mans power to blesse his owne cares and labours for the procuring of himselfe meat drinke rayment then it is in his power to adde a cubit or two unto his stature Therefore it becomes us not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to distract our selves with carking cares as touching the end of our affaires but he forbids us not to be carefull in the use of means For to this purpose God would not have Adam to be idle in Paradise he must dresse the Garden though the thriving of ought thereby was not so much by his care as by Gods providence And therefore he hath given us six dayes to worke and commands us to doe all our works therein but as for the issue of our labours leave that to God his blessing And whether our labours are successefull or not successefull not to trouble our selves there abouts It was spoken to the singular cōmendation of D r Raynolds by him that Preached his funerall Sermon that he was most carfull of the means most carelesse of the end Thus I have endevored to distinguish those things which this Authours very judiciously confounds And as it was no folly for Paul to doe as he did that all good meanes might be used for their preservation so much lesse was misery nay they had bene in amiserable case had they neglected any due meanes to preserve themselves for S t Paul notwithhanding the message delivered unto him by an Angell and his promise therupon made unto the Centution spared not to professe that unlesse the Mariners staid in the ship they could not be Saved so that this Authours fable of Sysiphus is no better accommodated then the rest save that herein he may refresh his reader thank him for his curtesie for representing unto him as in a glasse the nature of his proceedings For in this his discourse he doth very accuratly play
law of God cannot doe good For this impotency is only morall and the subject of this impotency is only the will and it consists in the corruption thereof being wholly turned away from God and converted to the creature in an inordinate manner Enemies and strangers from God their minds being set on evill things Col. 1. 21. And to say that a man can believe if he will can from the love of visible and temporall things convert himselfe to the observation of Gods precepts if he will which Austin in his latter daies even then when he wrote his Retractations professeth to be true omninò And in his Book ad Marcellinum De Spiritu litera cap. 31. Professeth it an absurd thing to deny this namely that every one may believe if he will Vide nunc utrum quisque credat si noluerit aut non credat si voluerit Quod si absurdum est c. And cap. 32. Cum ergo fides in potestate sit quoniam cum vult quisque credit cum credit volens credit I say to affirme this namely that a man can believe if he will is no more then to say that a dead man can speake if he were alive For as the Scripture teacheth that all men are dead in sinne 'till the spirit of regeneration comes to breath into our hearts the breath of a spirituall life So this deadnesse is to be found no where so much as in the will And therefore Aquinas professeth that a man is more corrupt quoad appetitum boni then quoad intellectum veri The Heathen could professe Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor And in my experience I find that Arminians doe not satisfie themselves with this universality of grace as to say A man can doe good if he will unlesse they adde that also potest velle as I have observed in Corvinus And those whom I have in private been acquainted with doe not rest in this that All men can believe if they will but they say also that by universall grace the will is enlivened as I have seen under their hands and thereby enabled to the willing of any spirituall good whereto they shall be excited So that if they rested here to wit in saying that by universall grace all men may believe if they will there is no grace acknowledged by them tending to the furtherance of the good of mankind but we acknowledge it as well as they and make the extension of it as large as they And therefore the more vaine and voyd of all reason is their pretence that we for want of acknowledging such an universality of grace as they doe doe drowne men in carnall security and countenance carnall liberty Only though we grant the reality of that which they maintaine yet we deny that it deserves to be called grace as touching the first prevenient grace as they call it which we with Austin say deserves to be called nature rather then grace as we speake of grace to wit as distinct from nature and indeed supernaturall And as for grace subsequent that consisting only in concourse we deny that to be grace for as much as Gods concourse is granted as well to any sinfull act as to any gracious act as now adaies is commonly acknowledged on all sides But as for the enlivening of all mens wills and enabling them to will any spirituall good whereto they shall be excited for this is their very forme of words we utterly deny this and are ready to demonstrate the unreasonablenesse thereof For first seeing this cannot be understood of life naturall but of life spirituall it followeth that all men by this doctrine are regenerated and as they confesse this disposition continues in all unto death so it followeth that all and every one should dye in the state of regeneration also Secondly seeing there are but three sorts of qualities in the soule of a reasonable creature as Aristotle hath observed to wit powers passions and habits it followeth that this enlivening of the will must consist either in giving it new powers or new passions or new habits which it had not before But neither of these can be affirmed with any sobriety neither doe I find that they look to be called to any such account but in their aëriall contemplations of Gods attributes especially of his mercy and justice shaped at pleasure doe conceive hand over head that such an enlivening there must be of the will of man in all without troubling themselves to enquire wherein it consists But let us proceed in our triall of the soundnesse of it by the touch-stone of rationall and Christian discourse First therefore I say it can be no new power infused into the will by this enlivening For the will it selfe is a power and it was never heard that potentia can be subjectum potentiae a power can be the subject of a power and that a power should be in a power as an accident in the subject thereof Rationall powers are but two the power of understanding and the power of willing and both these are naturall following ex principiis speciei from the very nature of the humane soule as all confesse But some may say are there not supernaturall powers bestowed on man as well as naturall I answer these supernaturall powers are but the elevating of the naturall powers unto supernaturall objects as the understanding by enlightning it and the will by sanctifying it Never was it said I presume that a man regenerate had two understandings in him by the one to understand things naturall and by the other to understand things spirituall but that by the same understanding he understands both but by light of nature the one by light of grace the other The holy Ghost saith That they who are accustomed to doe evill can no more doe good then a Blackemore can change his skinne and a Leopard his spots Yet when men of evill become good they get not new powers properly but new dispositions rather of their naturall powers which we call habits and may be called morall powers but not of indifferency to doe good or evill such as the naturall power of the will is but such as whereby is wrought in the will a good likeing of that which is good an abhorring of that which is evill so that indeed these morall powers doe not make the will able to will but rather actually willing of that which is good in generall which generall willingnesse is specified according to objects present and opportunities offered of doing good in one kind rather then another Like as justice makes a man willing unto just actions which willingnesse is exercised this way or that way according to emergent occasions Secondly no new passions are given by this enlivening of the will well our passions may be ordered aright both touching their objects and touching the season and touching the measure touching the rule of them and in respect of this gracious ordering of them they may be called
of his word but rather good reason why I should embrace it and that with all earnestnesse Like as in case God hath ordained I shall have Children doth it hence follow that I neede not use the company of a Woman because seeing God hath decreed I shall have Children therefore I may be sure to have them whether I company with a Woman or no belike right as Capons come by Chicken On the other side suppose God hath not ordained me unto grace yet hence it followeth not that I should neglect all care of morall vertue yea or the use of Gods word First not of morall vertue for next unto grace morall vertue commends a man and like as many heathens were famous for morality without any sanctifying grace so may I be in the same kind of reputation also And seeing no better rules of morality are to be found then in the Scriptures therefore may I well be moved to give my selfe to the study thereof And Austin telleth us that some even of reprobates by the word of God may Proficere ad exteriorem vitae emendationem quò mitius puniantur Last of all consider how the like objections were made against that destiny which was maintained by the Stoicks Carneades was a great oppugner of the Stoicks yet was ashamed of such a kind of Argumentation as this Author affecteth For it was commonly accounted ignava ratio and thus Turnebus writes of it Ignava autem ista ratio captiosa cum esset calumniae plena a Carneade non probabatur alioque argumento factum sine ulla captione oppugnabat He had other manner of reasons to oppose Fate Stoicall then by so sorry an argumentation as this And this is delivered by Turnebus upon that passage in Cicero's book De Fato Where he sheweth how Chrysippus did make answer unto this very argument in effect above 1600 yeares a goe Take the words as they lye in Cicero Nec nos impediet illa ignava ratio quae dicitur Appellatur enim quidem a Philosophis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cui si pare amus nihil est omnino quod agamus in vita Hic enim interrogant now I beseech you marke the argument well si fatum tibi est ex hoc morbo convalescere sive medicum adhibueris sive non convalesces Item si fatum tibi est ex hoc morbo non convalescere sive tu Medicum adhibueris sive non non convalesces If it be destined that you shall recover out of this disease whether you use the help of a Physitian or no you shall recover Againe if it be destined that you shall not recover out of this disease whether you use a Physitian or no you shall not recover Now compare this I pray with this Authors argumentation in this place If I am chosen I must of necessity believe and be saved What need therefore to take thought either about meanes or end as much as to say either of believing or of salvation Againe If I be cast off I must as necessarily not believe and be damned In vaine therefore doe I trouble my selfe about meanes or end as much as to say about labouring and endeavouring for Faith whereby I may avoyd damnation And judge I pray whether there be one hayres breadth of difference between these argumentations For like as it is unreasonable to conceive that man is destined to recover out of sicknesse but by use of meanes such as is the use of a Physitian in like sort as unreasonable it is to conceive that God hath destined any man of ripe yeares to be brought to salvation but by faith in Christ or that God hath appoynted any man to be damned but for want of faith or want of repentance Observe I pray the censure that is passed upon it in Cicero Rectè hoc genus interrogationis ignavum atque iners nominatur quod eadem ratione omnis è vita tollitur actio And farther he sheweth how that the same argument if there were any force in it might have place without all mention of Fate Licet etiam immutare saith he ut Fati nomen non adjunges eandem tamen teneas sententiam hoc modo si ex eternitate verum hoc fuit ex iste morbo convalesces sive adhibueris medicum sive non convalesces Itemque si ex aeternitate hoc falsum fuerit ex isto morbo convalesces sive adhibuer is medicum sive non adhibuer is non convalesces deinde caetera In the next place there it is shewed how Chrysippus made answer to this argument Haecratio a Crysipo reprehenditur Quaedam enim sunt inquit in rebus simplicia quaedam copulata simplex est moretur eo die Socrates Hinc sive quid fecerit sive non fecerit finitus est moriendi dies At si ita fatum sit Nascetur Oedipus Laio non poterit dici sive Laius fuerit cum muliere sive non fuerit Copulata enim res est confatalis sic enim appellat qui a ita fatum sit concubiturum cum Uxore Laium ex eo Oedipum procreaturum Then he illustrateth the absurdity of the deduction in another manner thus Ut si esset dictum luctabitur Olympiis Milo referret aliquis Ergo sive habuerit adversarium sive non habuerit luctabitur erraret Est enim copulatum luctabitur quia sine adversario nulla luctatio est And he concludes all of this kind to be but captious argumentations and that they admit the same solution Omnes igitur istius generis captiones eodem modo refelluntur Sive tu medicum adhibueris sive non adhibueris captiosum tam enim fatale est medicum adhibere quam convalescere Haec ut dixi confatalia ille appellat And this manner of solution was so sufficient that Carneades disdained to presse the Stoicks with this kind of argumentation though opposite enough to their opinion as forthwith Cicero expresseth it Carneades hoc totum genus non probabat minùs inconsiderate concludi hanc rationem putabat itaque premebat alio modo nec ullam adhibebat calumniam So that he condemned this as a calumnious argumentation against the Stoicks though himselfe were a sore adversary of theirs And therefore if any Christians doe reason thus either in their hearts to countenance them in prophane courses or justify such reasoning thereby to oppose Gods free grace in election the unreasonablenesse thereof being thus set forth and acknowledged on both sides by the very light of nature let them take heed and feare least heathen men rise up in judgement against them As for Tiberius his opinion and perswasion Omnia fato agi it is apparent what he understood by Fatum for there it is said that he was Mathematicae addictus whereby it seems he went no farther then the starres for the originall of his fate But it Tiberius was circa Deos religiones negligentior were the Stoicks so too I had thought that
the word of God But Ecce Rhodus ecce Saltus we are come to the Dialogue it selfe where he undertakes to make good that which he saith And here begins the Enterlude Tempted Woe is me I am a Castaway I am utterly rejected from grace and Glory CONSIDERATION Let me take liberty to set down what I should think fit to answer unto such a complaint Now my Answer is this Who hath revealed this unto thee Art thou privy Councellour to the Almighty We are taught that secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things revealed are for us and for our Children to doe them Now where and when and how hath God revealed this his counsell unto thee namely concerning thy rejection from Grace Glory We know no other revelations divine then are contayned in his Word Now hath God in his word revealed unto thee more then unto me that thou art a reprobate The word saith unto thee If thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Rom 10. 9. Now how canst thou make it appeare that this belongs lesse unto thee then to any Martyr that ever was content to lay downe his life for Christ Wilt thou say Thy sinnes make thee to conceive so I answer are thy sinnes greater then were the sinnes of Manasses who made his sonnes passe through the fire to Molech gave himselfe to witchcraft and sorcery and filled Jerusalem with bloud from corner to corner If his sinns were not sufficient to conclude that he was a Reprobate why should thy sins be thought sufficient to conclude that thou art a Cast-away Are thy sinnes greater then Sauls were who was a Blasphemer a Persecutor of the Saints of God from Citty to Citty Yet was he received unto mercy Wilt thou say Thy sinnes have been committed since thy calling Yet are they greater then was the sinne of Peter in denying Christ his Master with execrations and oathes And these sinns were committed not only after his calling but even within his Masters hearing too Yet he went out and wept bitterly And Christ as soone as he was risen sent word of his resurrection by name to Peter to comfort him Nay hath not God taught us in his word that the bloud of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sinne 1 John 1. And how canst thou make it appeare that any one that ever was or is hath greater interest therein then thy selfe wilt thou say this remedy belongs unto none but such as believe and repent but I doe not I answere in like sort there was a time when Paul believed not and when every one believed not yet at length they believed and so maist thou wilt thou say But I cannot believe and repent I answer this is the condition of all till God takes away the stony heart out of their bowells and gives them a heart of flesh and puts his owne spirit within them wilt thou say God gives grace to others but not to thee I answer there was a time when God had not mercy on them at length an houre came wherin he called them so an houre may come wherin he may call thee And thou hast no more cause to conclude that he hath rejected thee then every Child of God had before his calling that God had rejected him without grace neither thou canst nor they could believe but grace can bring all to faith and repentance and thou hast no more cause to think that God will not bring thee to faith then any elect had before his calling to think that God would not bring him to faith Now seeing this grace is given in the Word doe thou wait upon God in his owne ordinance which any naturall man hath power to doe as namely to goe heare a sermon thou knowest not how it may worke upon thee yea though thou commest thither with a wicked mind For we read of some that comming to take Christ were taken by him And Father Latimer taking notice of some that come to Church to take a nap yet never the lesse saith he let them come they may be taken napping Minister Discourage not thy selfe thou poore afflicted soule God hath not cast thee off for he hateth nothing that he hath made but bears a love to all men and to thee amongst the rest CONSIDERATION And not only poore but miserable also is that afflicted soule that hath no better comforter whether we consider the nature of the consolation or the warrant of it For first hath not God made Froggs and Toades and Devills as well as man And hath an Arminian that boasts so much of strongest arguments of comfort no better comfort to an afflicted soule then that she is Gods creature which is the condition of a Frogge and a Divill and a damned spirit 2. Then as touching the warrant of it Is the booke of Wisdome the best store-house of comfort for an afflicted soule a booke writen by Philo the Jew that living after Christs passion resurrection and ascention yet never believed in him Againe speake out and tell us what is the fruit of that love which God beares to all men Hath he ordained to give Salvation unto all to this afflicted soule in particular If he hath not but damnation rather unto some and particularly to this soule for upon what ground darest thou say or canst assure he hath not art not thou as miserable a comforter to her as ever Jobs friends were to him Or hath God ordained to give all men the grace of regeneration the grace of faith and repentance if so then either absolutely or conditionally if absolutely then all must be regenerate all must believe and repent If conditionally speake it out and let thy Patient know what condition that is on performance whereof by man God will give him faith say what thou wilt the comfortable issue shall be this That grace is given according to workes and this indeed is the only Arminian consolation Tempted 1. God hateth no man as he is his creature but he hates a great many as they are involved in the first transgression and become guilty of Adams sinne CONSIDERATION Pooresoule suffer not thy selfe to be instructed by them that labour to deprive thee not only of the comfort of Gods grace but of the comfort of common sence Dost thou well understand what it is to hate a man as a sinner and not as a man If hatred be no more then displeasure surely whatsoever be the cause of it in hating thee he is displeased with thee as thou art his creature and that in thy proper kind of man if withall it signify punishment whatsoever the cause thereof be surely he punisheth thee as man though not for thy natures sake for that is the worke of God but for some corruption he finds in thee And we should prove very sorry comforters if on such a distinction as this we should ground any true
I will not leave thee nor give over all hope of thee for I am glad to heare thee confesse that though thou desirest thy sinne may be pardoned and thy soule saved yet thou hast no desire that thy soule should be sanctified therefore answer me but to one thing more and I have done with thee Is it thy griefe and sorrow that thou hast no desire that thy nature may be sanctified or is it no griefe at all unto thee If it be no griefe unto thee then still thou takest delight in sinne and how can delight in sinne stand with the feare of Gods judgements and if thou fearest not God how canst thou breake out into such complaints Woe is me for I am a Cast-away These motions usually proceed from the terrours of God And if thou art once acquainted with Gods terrours in consideration of thy sinnefull condition then be of good cheere for these symptomes are commonly as the pangs of Child-birth whereby it comes to passe that a Christian soule is at length brought forth into the world of grace And therefore the spirit of bondage to make us feare doth prepare and make way for the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father And by experience I have known some being thus cast downe and stricken with feares of being cast-awayes when they have been demanded which condition they have thought better of either this present condition of feare and terrour or the former condition of their prophanenesse when they were without all remorse or check of consciences they have readily professed that this present condition of feare and terrour was the better of the two Now let us heare how well the comforter plaies his part Minister God so loves all men as that he desires their eternall good for the Apostle saith he would have all to be saved and he would have no man perish nor thee in particular CONSIDERATION He proceeds very judiciously I confesse by way of gradation from the Apocryphall to the Canonicall but at once he makes use both of corruptor stilus and adulter sensus The very words of the Apostle he corrupts for the Apostle no where saith that God would have all to be saved that God would have none to perish 't is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who will have all to be saved in the one and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not willing any to perish in the other Men would doe many things that they cannot it is not so with God And if it be not adulter sensus to apply this to all and every one here is comfort indeed with a witnesse For if God will save every one and withall can save them whereof there is no doubt to be made then there are no Reprobates at all every one is predestinate to salvation by the will that is by the decree of God And who hath resisted his will saith S. Paul And will he not have all every one to believe repent If not then seeing he will have all to be saved it follows that God wil have all men to be saved whether they believe or no repent or no But if he will have all to believe repent by that will whereby he will have all to be saved seeing God can give all men faith and repentance what followes but that all and every one shall believe and repent be saved and consequently there are no Reprobates at all But I know full well what their interpretation of this is namely that God is ready to give faith and repentance unto all to wit in case they will but doth not God give the very will to believe and repent Yes in case they will Take this comfort then into thy bosome and make the best use of it to perswade thee that thou art no cast-away For if thou believest and repentest all is safe thou hast as good assurance of thy salvation as Gods word can give thee And though faith and repentance be the gift of God yet this comforter doth assure thee that if thou wilt believe thou shalt believe if thou wilt repent thou shalt repent For God doth not give the grace of faith and repentance according to the meere pleasure of his own will but according to mens workes for albeit the Apostle saith God hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardneth yet that is not to be understood of vocation but rather of justification And let it not startle thee that justification in Scripture phrase is opposed to condemnation and not to obduration but to thy comfort be it spoken it must be opposed to obduration here least otherwise faith and repentance should not be given according to mens workes but according to the meere pleasure of God which is a very uncomfortable doctrine But be thou assured that if thou wilt believe and repent thou shalt believe and repent such is Gods grace and though it be as true I confesse on the other side that if thou wilt not believe and repent thou shalt not believe and repent yet that is not to be accounted Gods grace least so we should say that Gods grace is as active to evill as it is unto good So that hereby thou maist still perceive that all thy comfort depends on this that the grace of faith and repentance is given according to mens works Tempted All is taken two waies for all sorts and conditions of men and for all particular men God would have all sorts of men to be saved but not all or mee in particular 2. Or if he will have all particular men to be saved yet he wills it only with a revealed Will but not with a secret will for with that he will have a great company damned Under his revealed will am I not the secret CONSIDERATION 1. That All is taken after these two waies in Scripture and that in this place 1 Tim. 2. it is to be taken of genera singulorum I have formerly proved both by the circumstances of the Text and by the analogy of faith for otherwise we should trench upon Gods omnipotency and unchangeablenesse and lastly by the judgement of Austin But take the meaning aright not that God would but that God will have all men that is of all sorts even of Kings and Princes some to be saved but not all and every one As for the distinction of a revealed will and secret will applyed to salvation thou maist learne that somewhere of Papists but not of us For the revealed will is Gods commandement now that which God commands is a part of his Law so is not salvation but rather a reward of obedience Yet they apply this distinction only in reference to faith and repentance whereunto God hath annexed salvation And it is Gods revealed will that all who heare the Gospell should believe and repent ex officio but it is not Gods will to give every one of them grace to believe and repent as we find by manifest experience It was Gods will in like
manner to command Abraham to sacrifice his sonne but it was not Gods determination that Isaack should be sacrificed In like sort he commanded Pharaoh to let Israel goe but withall he told Moses he would harden Pharaohs heart that he should not let them goe for a long time 2. But in the accommodation of these distinctions unto thy selfe What ground hast thou to affirme that God willeth not thy salvation in particular If thou believest Gods word assureth thee thou shalt be saved if thou believest not yet thou maist believe and Gods word hath power to bring thee unto faith as formerly I have discoursed And as for the best of Gods Children who doe believe to the great comfort of their soules rejoycing with joy unspeakable and glorious 1 Pet. 1. They were sometimes in as uncomfortable a condition as thou now art And the rather I put thee upon this because I see he that takes upon him to comfort thee doth take a course rather to feed thy humour then to remove it in as much as he never enquires into the cause thereof For albeit he gave to understand he would apply his argument with as much art and cunning as could be yet it may be that was rather with respect to the advantage of his own cause then to thy consolation But let us see whether he mends it in the next Minister Christ came into the World to seeke and to save what was lost and is a propitiation not for our sinnes only i. e. the sinnes of a few particular men or the sinnes of all sorts of men but for the sinnes of the whole World therefore he came to save thee for thou wast lost and to be a propitiation for thy sinnes for thou art part of the whole World CONSIDERATION Still he continues to afford thee as much comfort as any Reprobate in the world and if thou desirest no more thou maist rest satisfied with this but withall I confesse he affords thee as much comfort as he can afford any of Gods elect for he maketh elect and Reprobate all alike in receiving comfort from Gods Word Christ came into the world to save that which was lost but unlesse he came to save all that is lost it will not follow that he came to save thee We know that pardon of sinne and salvation is procured by Christ for none but such as believe and therefore be not deceived without faith looke for neither by faith be assured of both and that thou art one of Gods elect and no Reprobate And observe well he tells thee nothing of Christ meriting faith and repentance this now a dayes is plainly denyed by the Remonstrants and this Authour is content to say nothing of it when he is put to it we know what must be the issue of it if he sayeth Christ hath merited faith and repentance for thee the meaning is but this Christ hath merited that if thou wilt believe thou shalt believe if thou wilt repent thou shalt repent And that Christ hath merited that God should bestow faith and repentance not on whom he will according to the meere pleasure of his will but according to mens workes The comfort that our doctrine ministers unto thee is this If thou dost believe in Christ thou maist be assured thou art an elect of God if thou dost not believe there is no cause why thou shouldest thinke thy selfe a Cast-away for albeit thou hast not faith to day yet thou maist have faith to morrow Give thy selfe to Gods Word and waite upon him in his ordinances thou maist be so wrought upon as that unbeliever was 1 Cor 14. Who is there represented falling downe on his face and confessing that God was in the Preacher of a truth And though at first thou attendest to it but in a carnall manner yet God may open thy heart as he opened the heart of Lidia and make thee attend unto it in a gracious manner Tempted The World as I have heard is taken two waies in Scripture Largely for all mankind and strictly for the elect or believers In this latter sense Christ dyed for the World Or if for all yet it was only dignitate pretii not voluntate propositi thus only for a few selected ones with whom it is not my lot to be numbred CONSIDERATION Suffer not thy selfe to be abused by them who pretending thy comfort yet seeke nothing lesse but only the promoting of their owne cause And observe how he takes notice of no other benefits of Christs death then such as belong unto men upon the condition of faith to wit pardon of sinne and Salvation in which case the mention of Gods elect comes in very unseasonably And thus is the love of God set forth unto us so God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Sonne that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And if it be not thy lot to be numbred amongst believers then we can give thee by Gods Word no assurance of thy Salvation But if thou art not a believer yet thou maist be in good time as formerly I have spoken more at large and therefore no reason to think thou art a Reprobate And if once thou dost believe in Christ our doctrine gives thee assurance of Justification Salvation and Election the Arminan doctrine doth not As for faith and repentance we say Christ hath merited them also but to be bestowed how According to mens workes say our Arminians though forraine Arminians professe plainly that Christ merited not faith and regeneration for any And if thou relishest this comfort be satisfied with it we say faith and repentance are bestowed absolutely according to the meere pleasure of Gods will and accordingly Christ merited them but not for all for then all should believe and repent and be saved but only for some and who can these be but Gods elect whence it followeth clearly that whosoever believes may by our doctrine be assured of his election not so by the doctrine of Arminians but if thou believest not thou art in no worse case then the best of Gods childern have been for there was a time when they believed not therefore thou hast no more cause to think thy selfe a cast-away then they had Minister God hath founded an universall Covenant with men upon the bloud of Christ and therefore he intended it should be shed for all men universally he hath made a promise of salvation to every one that will believe and excludes none that will not believe CONSIDERATION This I confesse is to administer as much comfort as is administred to any Reprobate but how can this qualify thy discomfort and discontent which riseth from this conceit that thou art a Reprobate And the truth is that by our Doctrine wee were all in a miserable case if Gods Covenant of grace extended no farther then this But hath not God promised to be our Lord and our God that sanctifyeth us to circumcise our hearts and the hearts
which he will and proper in the thing whereto he sends it And remove all vaine grounds of apprehensions of terrible things against themselves What if a great many be reprobated from grace and shall never have any part in Christ it doth not follow that this afflicted soule is any of them what one is there of the children of God which was not sometimes dead in sinne and if pangs of childbirth goe before the delivering of a child into the world of nature why should it seeme strange that pangs of childbirth are suffered before a man be brought forth in to the world of grace And these feares and terrours wherwith this poore soule is perplexed may be unto her as pangs of childbirth to bring her forth into a new world We say that by Gods Word we are to conceive that ye are elected upon our faith and repentance Thus Paul concluded the election of the Thessalonians 1 Thess 1. 3 4. And 2 Thess 2. 13. Thus Melancthon would have us seeke it but by the Arminian doctrine it is in vaine to seeke after it for as much as none can find it We acknowledge that as our Saviour saith Few are chosen therefore we admonish every one to strive to enter in at the straight gate This was our Saviours exhortation delivered by way of answer to a question made unto him by his Apostles Whether there were but few that should be saved We teach that Christ hath died for the people of God for the elect of God for his Church for his body not only to make satisfaction for sinne and to procure salvation for them in case they believe but to procure also the Holy Spirit for them to make them believe and repent c. And this is wrought by the word which is the sword of the spirit We take not the course he obtrudes upon us We make no such distinctions for the consolation of the afflicted as he faignes We deale plainly and spare not to professe that albeit salvation is open to all that believe and that by the ordinance of God yet that no man is able of himselfe to believe or repent for as much as the Scripture testifies that all are dead in sinne in the state of nature and led captive by the Divell to doe his will and that the very Law of God doth strengthen sinne such being the course of mans corruption that the more he is forbidden this or that the more it provokes him to transgresse taking occasion by the law to work in mans heart all manner of concupiscence this is our course to beat downe the pride of man and beat out of him all conceit of ability to doe any good as of himselfe and so to cast him downe at the feet of Gods mercy Yet God is able by his grace to quicken him and being brought up in the Church of God wherein is the balme of Gilead able to heale our waies be they never so sinfull and that that is administred not according to the vile workes of men as if they had any power to prepare them for the participation of Gods grace but of the meere favour and good pleasure of God Who calleth as the Apostle speakes 2 Tim. 1. 9. with an holy calling not according to our own workes but according to his own purpose and grace And that for the merits of Christ who hath merited not only pardon of sinne and salvation for all that believe but faith also and regeneration for all his elect and being as we are members of Gods Church we have no cause to despaire but sooner or later God may call us as continually he doth some or other and we know not how soone our turne may come And as for Gods purpose touching the performance of the condition of faith we plainly professe That God purposed to give faith and repentance only to his elect according to that Act. 13. 48. As many believed as were ordained to everlasting life And Acts 2. last God added daily to his Church such as should be saved Now heare I pray their doctrine on the other side which set out our manner of consolation devised most ridiculously at their own pleasure so to expose our doctrine to scorne Doth God purpose to bestow faith and repentance upon any other besides his elect This they must avouch if they contradict us and that he purposeth to bestow it on all and every one but how Not absolutely on any that is not according to the meere pleasure of his will how then Surely conditionally to wit according to mens workes that so not Semi-Pelagianisme only but plain Pelagianisme may be commended unto Gods Church for true Christianisme And what is that worke in man whereupon God workes faith or repentance in them Surely the will to believe the will to repent So that if all men will believe will repent then in good time through Gods grace they shall believe they shall repent and if this be not to crowne Gods grace with a crowne of scornes as Christ himselfe was crowned with a Crowne of Thornes I willingly professe I know not what it is We utterly deny that God hath two wills one contrary to the other We acknowledge that in Scripture phrase Gods commandement is called his will as This is the will of God even your sanctification 1 Thess 4. 3. But this is not that will of God which the Apostle speakes of when he saith Who hath resisted his will Rom. 9. 19 For his will of commandement is resisted too oft But the will he speaketh off there is the will of Gods purpose and decree whereof the Psalmist speakes saying Whatsoever the Lord will that hath he done both in Heaven and earth Now suppose God command Abraham to sacrifice his sonne Isaack and yet decrees that Isaack shall not be sacrificed both which are as true as the word of God is true yet there is no contradiction For as much as his commandement signifies only Gods will what shall be Abrahams duty to doe not what shall be done by Abraham On the other side Gods decree signifies what shall not be done by Abraham Now what contradiction I pray is there betweene these It is Gods will that it shall be Abrahams duty to sacrifice Isaack but it is not Gods will that Isaack shall be sacrificed by Abraham for as much as when Abraham comes to the poynt of sacrificing Isaack the Lord purposeth to hold his hand In like manner God commanded Pharaoh to let Israell goe It was his will then that it should be Pharaohs duty to let Israel goe but withall he toâ—d Moses that he would harden Pharaohs heart that he should not let Israel goe whereby it is man iâ— est that God decreed that Israel should not be dismissed by Pharaoh for a while and that as is signified in the Text to make way for his judgements to be brought upon the land of Egypt whereby God meant to glorify himselfe as in the sight of Pharaoh and of his
doth obtrude upon us that Manoahs Wife had no faith but only a probability of this that is his glosse yet this acceptation of a burnt offering at their hands was manifested by no lesse then a miracle and the difference between Abels offering and Caines offering is laid downe to be this that The Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and to his offering he had no regard Gen. 4. 4 5. And Davids prayer for acceptation and finding favour at the hands of God is set downe in this manner amongst other particulars Let him remember all thine offerings and turne thy burnt offerings into ashes Psal 20. 3. Yet why should he conceive that Manoah and his Wife were not in temptation and that a very sore one strēgthened with the expres word of God namely that No man can see God live which in these days was generally received amongst thē applyed by thē in this particular For Manoah said unto his Wife we shall surely dye because we have seen God could a probability to the contrary put by such a temptation as this How was the great Prophet Esay exercised with this when he cryed out Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of polluted lipps and dwell in the midst of a people of polluted lipps for mine eyes have seen the King and Lord of Hosts What temptation hath he that thinkes himselfe a reprobate like unto this excepting still the guilte of that sinne which is unto death What ground of Scripture can they represent to prove that they are reprobates as those Ancients had ground for this that they must dye who had seen God It is one thing to be in temptation it is an other thing to yeeld to the temptation and to be overcome with it and that upon no ground which yet this Author confounds as a course very propitious for his turne and suitable with the part that he acteth As for Jacob the cause was this he that now enjoyed as it were the death of Joseph for many yeares his sonnes pretending they knew not what became of him yet brought his Coat imbrued with bloud unto their old Father who there upon conceived some evill beast had devoured him and who could expect that at the first hearing he should believe now the report of the same sonnes to the contrary especially considering how those brethren of Ioseph were astonished when Joseph himselfe told them saying I am Joseph doth my father yet live for the text saith his brethren could not answer him for they were astonished at his presence And though Iacob at the first believed not the report they made to be true yet neither is it said or likely that he believed it to be false But the Text saith his heart failed him denoting a condition betweene hope and feare as the Geneva noteth in the Margent As for Thomas his incredulity which he ascribeth unto a temptation he may as well ascribe the infidelity of Turkes Jewes unto a temptation The person tempted here represented doth not say I hope as Thomas did Except I see in his hands the print of the nailes and put my finger into the print of the nayles and put my hand into his side I will not believe it And what power doe Arminians attribute unto temptation doe they ascribe more unto it then to the operation of God which with them extends no farther then this as touching grace then to excite them to believe which yet they may resist if they will And may they not also resist the Divells temptations if they will Especially considering that in perswading them that they are Reprobates the Divell proceeds upon no ground which is not common to every one of Gods elect when he saith They will not believe any thing that is said for their comfort till it be made so apparent that they have nothing to say to the contrary It seemes this Author hath had some extraordinary experience of the condition of persons tempted I had thought the condition of persons not tempted only but giving way to the temptation had been for the most part unreasonable untill it pleaseth God to bring them to their right wits and like as feares property is to betray the succours that reason offereth so is the Devills practice to take them off from attending that to they cannot answer and holding them to their uncomfortable conclusions in despight of the weaknesse of their own premises and strength of contrary principles Excepting the case of finning against the Holy Ghost which was the case of Francis Sptra and accordingly his conclusions were most true as his premises strong and his comforters had little or nothing to say to the contrary And in such a case the only course to quench the fiery darts of desperation is to enquire diligently about the matter of fact whether he hath committed any such sinne as he layeth to his charge and thereupon to discourse of the nature of that sinne which is commonly called a sinne unto death and not only so but a sinne against the Holy Ghost which our Saviour pronounceth to be unpardonable and the Apostle signifieth as much when he saith that in such a case there is no more sacrifice for sinne but a fearfull expectation of fire And it may be this Authors discourse runneth with reference to such examples as this of Spira but fashioned at pleasure to serve his turne as formerly he did set down the story out of Coelius Secundus Calvin as he said but without any quotation of the place where But to enter upon a comparison between their doctrine and ours and that upon supposition of this rule delivered by him I say first that by our doctrine we can make it so evidently appeare that the tempted hath no ground at all to conceive himselfe to be a reprobate whatsoever his condition be except guiltinesse of the sinne against the Holy Ghost I say we can make it so evident that neither he nor any Arminian can say any reasonable thing to the contrary not denying but that they may say enough to the contrary in an unreasonable manner And my reason is because whatsoever his condition be it is no other then is incident to one of Gods elect Secondly I say as touching the Arminian doctrine two things The first is this There is no condition of man so holy in this life as whereby any man can have any assurance by Arminian doctrine that he is an elect of God and consequently no reprobate much lesse can they give any assurance to any man in the time of temptation as this Author speakes of it that he is no reprobate The Second is this Arminians can give assurance to no man that he is no reprobate for as much as all their grounds of comfort are common to the reprobate as well as to the elect wherehence it manifestly followeth that their doctrine can afford no better comfort then a reprobate
no supernaturall act is or can be sinfull every sinfull act must needs be an act naturall and power either to doe or to abstaine from any naturall Act is not to be denied to any naturall man But it is impossible that any naturall man should abstaine from any sinne or doe any naturall good act so commonly accounted in a gratious manner untill grace comes so to season the heart of man as to love God even to the contempt of himselfe and out of his love to doe that good which he doth and to abstaine from that evill from which he abstaineth 2. But if the question be of the manner how this necessitie of sinning is brought upon the nature of man we say it is not by the pleasure of God But by the sinne of Adam according to that of the Apostle Rom 5. By one man sinne entred into the world and death by sinne for man by reason of sinne was justly bereaved of the Spirit of God and begetting children in this Condition he begets them after his owne Image and likenesse that is bereaved of the Spirit of God And we hold it impossible for a man bereaved of God's Spirit either to doe that which is good or abstaine from doing that which is evill in a gratious manner 2. Secondly I come to the Synod of Valense when they say the wicked not perish because they could not doe good but because they would not These words may seeme to imply that even the wicked could doe good if they would and truely I see noe cause to deny this But that we may safely say with Austine that omnes possunt Deo credere ab amore rerum temporalium ad divina praecepta servanda se convertere si velint Believe God if they will and from the love of all things temporall convert themselves to the keeping of God's Commandements if they will for if a man would goe to Church but cannot because he is lame would read in God's word but cannot because he is blind These impotencies are naturall not morall but the impotency brought upon mankind by the sinne of Adam is morall not naturall Now morall impotency is found noe where but in the will or at least is chiefly there and secondly in the understanding also as touching knowledge practicall and accordingly when Scriptures testifie that they who are in the flesh cannot please God Rom 8 cannot repent Rom 24 connot believe Ioh 12. This impotency consist's cheifly in the corruption of their wills noted by the hardnesse of heart Rom 2. 4. Eph 4. 18. Againe I have already shewed out of Remigius that a wicked man can doe that which is good but by what meanes to wit by grace not otherwise The words are these Si dixisset generaliter nemo hominum sine Dei gratia libero bene uti potest arbitrio esset Catholicus had he said generaly not any man can use his free will without grace he were Catholique And pag. 36 the same Remigius hath these words In infidelibus ipsum liberum arbitrium ita per Adam damnatum perditum in operibus mortuis liberum esse potest in vivis non potest free will so damned and lost in Adam may be free in dead workes in living workes it cannot Yet pag. 174 thus he distinguisheth answerably to the passage alleaged by this Authour De reprobis nullum salvari ullatenus existimamus non quia non possunt homines de malo ad bonum commutari ac de malis ac pravis boni ac recti fieri sed quia in melius mutari noluerunt in pessimis operibus usque ad finem perseverare voluerunt And pag. 143. Florus of the Church of Lyons where Remigius was Byshop sets downe the same truth more at large thus Habet homo post illam damnationem liberum arbitrium quo voluntate propria inclinari potest inclinatur ad malum habet liberum arbitrium quo potest assurgere ad bonum ut autem assurgat ad bonum non est propriae virtutis sed gratiae Dei miserantis Nam qui mortuus est potest dici posse vivere non tamen sua virtute sed Dei Ita liberum arbitrium hominis semel sauciatum semel mortuum potest sanari non tamen sua virtute sed gratia miserantis Dei ideo omnes homines admonentur omnibus verbum praedicatur quia habent posse credere posse converti ad Deum ut verbo extrinsecus admonente intus Deo suscitante qui audiunt reviviscant Man hath after that damnation to wit such as followed after Adam's fall free will so that of his owne will he can be inclined and is inclined to evill he hath free will whereby he may rise unto a good condition but that he doth arise to that good condition is not in his owne power but of the grace of God compassionating him for of him also who is dead it may be said that he may live yet not by his owne power but by the power of God Soe man's free will also being once wounded once dead may be restored not by his owne power but by God's grace pitying him and therefore al men are admonished to all the word is preached because they have this that they may believe they may be converted unto God that by the word outwardly admonishing God inwardly raising they which heare may revive As touching the last condemning those who say that any should be so predestinated to evill by God that they cannot be otherwise this Authour would faine insinuate into his Reader an opinion That wicked men may change from evill to good of themselves But neither doth the Councill of Valens or Remigius a chiefe man therein intimate any such thing But only that it is in God's power by his grace to change them and so hath changed and will change the hearts of many namely of all his Elect but not of one other That the Remonstrants did not at that time desire that it should be talked of among the common people who might have stumbled at it but disputed of among'st the Judicious and Learned who as the threshing Oxen who are to beate the corne out of the Huske are to bolt out those truthes which are couched and hidden in the letter of the Scriptures That the doctrine which is loath to abide the triall even of learned men carrieth with it a shrewd suspicion of falshood the heathen Oratour shall witnesse for me who to Epicurus seeing that he would not publish his opinion to the simple people who might happily take offence at that answereth thus Declare thy opinion in the place of Judgment or if thou art affraid of the assembly there declare that in the Senate amongst those grave and judicious Persons Thou wilt never doe it and why but because it is a fowle and dishonest opinion True religion as Vives saith is not a thing guilded over but gold it selfe the more it is scraped and
hath a being and by consequence some thing that is good Now this argument cometh nerest to Maldonats discourse upon that of our Saviour speaking of Iudas It had been good for that man he had not been borne Some saith he dispute subtilly more then enough how it could be better for Iudas not to have been whereas not to be is no good to be damned is some good For he that is damned is somewhat And every thing that is as it hath a being is good And we know that man's being is no common good but a speciall one as being made after God's owne Image and likenesse And looke with what judgment this Author extenuates being humane calling it a poore little entitative good with the same judgment he might extenuate Angelicall being For even among Angells some have their portion in hell fire But now he comes to his first proposition that unavoidable damnation of so many millions can not be absolutely and antecedently intended by God without the greatest injustice and cruelty The question is of the suffering of hell paines whether it be worse then to be annihilated This Authour runnes upon the terme damnation which is a civill and judiciall act Is there no difference between these They that say Christ sufferd the paines of hell doe they say Christ was damned Then to speake with a fuller mouth he puts in the damnation of so many millions whereas if the damnation of one may be intended by God without injustice after what manner soever undoubtedly the damnation of never so many millions may Then he helps himselfe with the Epithite of unavoidable added to damnation and the terme absolutely affixed to God's intention to no purpose that I know but to abuse himselfe and others by confusion for feare least the truth should break forth to their conviction To intend damnation avoidable what is it but to intend it conditionally And to intend damnation not absolutely is all one with to intend it conditionally Now to intend the damnation of any man conditionally is with this Author as much to intend his salvation as his damnation Yet this he calls the intention of damnation And Bradwardine hath long agoe maintained and demonstated by evidence of reason that there is no conditionate will of God And this Authour will not say I suppose that God did intend that Christ should suffer hell paines conditionately or that if he did intēd it absolutely he was unjust in so doing Now both D. Iackson expresly confesseth that the distinction of will antecedent and consequent in God is to be understood not as touching the act of willing but as touching the thing willed And Gerardus Vossius acknowledgeth that after the same manner must the conditionate will which is ascribed unto God be interpreted Now we willingly confesse that the thing willed and intended by God to Reprobates namely damnation befalls none but in case they dye in sinne without repentance And as already I have shewed not any of our Divines maintaine that God intended to damne any man but for sinne Only the maine point of difference between us is as touching the conferring denying grace even the grace of regeneration the grace of faith and repentance Herein we willingly confesse that God carrieth himselfe merely according to the pleasure of his own will according to that of the Apostle He hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth Now on this point this Authour keeps himselfe close and earthes himselfe within his own concealements lest he should betray the bitter Leven of Pelagianisme in maintaining that grace is conferred according unto workes which cannot be avoided by him if once he comes to deale on this Argument He thinks he hath great advantage in the point of Reprobation and very free he is here but declines the point of election and point of conferring grace which argueth a naughty disposition practising by indirect courses to circumvent and suppresse the truth rather then conferre any thing for the clearing of it yet see his confused carriage in the very point For when he speakes of damnation avoidable and unavoidable he takes no paines to manifest in what sense he takes it to be avoidable as whether by power of nature or power of grace Is it his meaning that any man's damnation is avoidable by grace We deny it not Or is it his meaning that it is avoidable by nature we utterly deny this But this man counts it his wisedome not to speake distinctly but worke his advantage upon confusion of things that differ but let all such take heed least utter confusion be their end But if it be his meaning that all men have power to avoid damnation if they will to wit in as much as they have power to beleive if they will to repent if they will I would he would deale fairely once and come to this The Scripture is expresse That they that are in the flesh cannot please God that the naturall man discerneth not the things of God that they are foolishnesse unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned That they cannot beleive cannot repent Of the Children of Israel in the wildernesse that God had not given them eyes to see eares to heare nor hearts to perceive fourty yeares And truely we take faith and repentance to be the guift of God And the habits of them not to be a power to beleive and repent if a man would but an habituall and morall inclination of them to believe to repent And habits as it was wont to be said Agunt ad modum naturae doe worke after the manner of nature And it is very strang that supernaturall grace should not And long agoe I have learnt in Austin that to doe good and obey God if a man will is rather nature then grace For the will alone is all in all as touching acts morall good or evill and till the will be changed we are as farre off as ever from performing any thing that is pleasing in the sight of God This is the peculiar glory of God's grace To make us perfect to every good worke and to worke in us that with is pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ and this he doth according to his good pleasure For grace is not conferred according unto workes That was condemned as a pestilent doctrine long agoe in the Synod of Palestine and all along in divers Councells against the Pelagians How gladly should I imbrace any delineation of this Authours opinion in the point of grace and free will the rather because I seem to smell who he is by this which followeth For I remember sometime under whose hand I read it namely that Plutarch speaking of the Pagans who to pacifie the anger of their gods did sacrifice to them men and women should say It had been much better with Diagoras and his fellowes to deny the being of a God then confessing a God to think he delights in the blood
on earth and makes him the Authour not of the sinne only that entred by Adam into the world but of all other sinnes that have been are or shall be committed to the worlds end No murthers robberies rapes adulteries insurrections treasons blasphemies persecutions or any other abominations whatsoever fall out at any time or in any place but they are the necessary productions of God Almightys decrees The Scripture I am sure teaches us another lesson Thou art not a God saith David that hast pleasure in wickednesse And the Prophet Esay tells the people that when they did evill in the sight of the Lord they did choose the things which he would not Let no man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God For God cannot be tempted with evill neither tempteth he any man but every man is tempted when he is drawen away with his own concupiscence And St. John when he had referred all the sinnes of the world to three heads the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life tells us that they are not of the Father but of the world To which speeches let me adde the speech of Stracides though not of the same authority Say not thou it is through the Lord that I fell away for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth Say not thou he hath caused me to erre for he hath no need of the sinfull man 2. Pious antiquity hath constantly sayd the same and prest it with sundry reasons some of which are these as follow If God be the Authour of sinne then he is worse then the Devill because the devill doth only tempt and perswade to sinne and his action may be resisted but God by this opinion doth will and procure by a powerfull and effectuall decree which cannot be resisted This is Prospers argument who to some objecting that by St. Austin's doctrine when Fathers defile their own Daughters and Mothers their own Sonnes Servants murther their masters men commit any horrible villanies it cometh to passe because God hath so decreed Answereth that if this were layd to the Devills charge he might in some sort cleare himselfe of the imputation Quia etsi delectatus est furore peccantium probaret tamen sc non intulisse vim criminum Because though he be delighted with man's sinnes yet he doth not he cannot compell men to sinne What a madnesse therefore is it to impute that to God which cannot be justly fathered upon the Divell 2. He cannot be a punisher of sinne For none can justly punish those effences of which they are the Authors This is Prospers argument too It is against reason to say that he wich is the damner of the Devill would have any one to be the devills Servant This reason Fulgentius useth likewise illius rei Deus ultor est cujus Auhor non est Tertullian also before them hath sayd He is not to be accounted the Author of sinne who is the forbidder yea and the condemner of it 3. He cannot be God because he should not be just nor holy nor the Judge of the world all properties essentiall to God And this is Basil's reason who hath written a whole Homily against this wicked assertion It is all one saith he to say that God is the Author of sinne and to say he is not God 3 Upon these and the like considerations I may well conclude that the opinion which chargeth God with the sinnes of men is neither good nor true It is first layd to the charg of our Divines that by this their opinion they make God the Authour of sinne not of the first only that entred by Adam into the world but of all other sinnes that have been are or shall be committed in the world as murthers robberies rapes adulteries insurrections treasons blasphemies heresies persecutions or any other abominatiōs But in all these wastfull discourses not a word of proofe The charge is made in the first place the proofe last All that he labours to prove here is that God is not the Author of sinne Bellarmine hath bestowed or rather cast away a whole book on this crimination to him Arminius referrs Perkins telling him that he should have answered Bellarmine I have taken some paines to performe that taske upon that motion of Arminius I would I could receive from this Authour a reply to any materiall particular thereof the rather because I understand in part his Zeale for Bellarmine in his age correcting the harsh exceptions he hath made against him in his younger dayes And let every indifferent Reader compare this Authors discourse with that discourse of Bellarmine and judge indifferently what an hungry peece this is in comparison to that of Bellarmines And whether his paines had not been better bestowed in replying upō my answer thereunto then to adde such scraps as these to that full table of Bellarmin's provision and whether these deserve any answer that whole discourse of Bellarmine being refuted throughout Bradwardine disputes the question Si quomodo Deus vult non vult peccatum I say he disputes it indifferently on both sides and let every Schollar judge and weigh whether it be not a very ponderous argument and consider well his resolution and where he differrs any thing from our Divines in this Calvin observing how frequent the Scripture is in testifying God's hand to be operative in abominable courses thereupon writes a Treatise De occultâ Dei providentiâ in malo in all which he exactly conformes himselfe to Scripture expressions And these and such like vile Criminators may as well taxe God's word for making God the Author of sinne as Calvin who most accurately conformes himselfe to the testimonies of Divine Scripture I remember to have heard a disputation sometimes at Heidelberge on this Argument where Copenius the President or Moderator made manifest that look upon what grounds they criminated Calvin for making God the Authour of sinne upon the same grounds they might criminate the very word of God to make him the Author of sinne For Calvine throughout in his expressions conformes himselfe to the language of the holy Ghost Yet what one of our divines can he produce affirming that God takes pleasure in sinne Piscator confesseth that God taketh no pleasure in the death of him that dyeth upon that place in Ezechiel how much lesse in wickednesse And he illustrates it in this manner For albeit it cannot be denyed but that God willeth the death of him that dyeth For he is the God to whom vengeance belongeth yet he takes no pleasure in it Like as a sick-man would be content to take a bitter potion for the recovery of his health yet he takes no pleasure in that bitter cup. And in like manner albeit God hardened Pharaoh's heart that he should not let Israel goe and as the Apostle speaks hardeneth whom he will Whereby it comes to passe infallibly that they doe not obey
the Gospell as appeareth by the objection following Why then doth he complaine For who hath resisted his will And albeit the Saints of God expostulate with him in this manner Why hast thou caused us to erre from thy wayes and hardened our hearts against thy feare Yet we know that God takes no pleasure in disobedience or in the hardnesse of any mans heart nor can be the Authour of evill with Sir Francis Bacons distinction in the booke formerly mentioned by this Authour Non quià non Author sed quià non mali So that albeit he hardens whom he will unto disobedience in the prophet Esayes phrase causeth men to erre from his wayes Yet the Lord himselfe we know is righteous in all his wayes holy in all his workes though we are not able to dive into the gulfe and search out the bottome of his judgments and no marvaile For they are unsearchable Yet we make no question but through Gods mercy convenient satisfaction may be found without any such shaÌ„efull course of dismeÌ„bring scripture and taking notice only of such passages as represent Gods displeasure against sin sinners and dissembling all other passages which drave Austin to confesse occulto Dei judicio by the secret judgement of God fieri perversitatem cordis the perversity of mans heart hath its course much lesse by setting theÌ„ together by the eares And I nothing doubt but the issue will be on the part of such as are of this Authours spirit either wholly to deny originall sin or so to emasculate the vigor of it as to professe that it is in the power of maÌ„ to cure it or notwithstaÌ„ding the strength of it to beleive repeÌ„t if he will which though they preteÌ„d to be wrought by a certain universal grace Yet I nothing doubt but we shall be able to prove that such a power is mere nature and no grace Be it so that wicked men in their wicked courses do chose the things that God would not Who would thinke that this Author who makes such a florish should content himselfe with such beggarly arguments or that the world should be so simple as to be terrifyed with such scar-crowes For is it not apparent that in scripture phrase there is voluntas praecepti a will of commandement as well as voluntas propositi a will signifying Gods purpose and decree So theÌ„ though they chuse the things that God willed not in reference to his will of commandement yet it might be Gods will that is his purpose that even such sinnes should come to passe For was it not the will of God that Pharaoh should not let Israel goe for a while Did he not harden him to this purpose that so he might make himselfe knowne in the land of Egypt by his judgemeÌ„ts did he not reveale this to Moses to the coÌ„fort of the childreÌ„ of Israel keepe theÌ„ from despaire in conteÌ„plation of the obstinacy of Pharaoh's spirit when they were assured that God had an haÌ„d in hardening Pharaoh to staÌ„d out And doth not Bellarmine professe that maluÌ„ fieri permitt sin Deo bonuÌ„ est it is good that evill should coÌ„ to passe by Gods permission And shall it be unbecoÌ„ing the divine nature to will that which is good And where is it that Bellarmine affirmeth this even there where he opposeth the same Doctrine of ours which this Authour doth but with more learning an 100 fold then this Authour betrayeth and withall carryeth himselfe with farre more ingenuity For he takes notice of those places of Scripture whereupon our Divines do build and accommodates himselfe to aswer them by some intepretation that he thinks good to make of them which this Authour doth not 2. But what if there be no such text as this Authour builds upon For looke what the word is used in the originall Ps 5. 4. the same is used Es 66 4 Now that in Ps 5. 4 This Authour renders not that wouldest not iniquity but that hast no pleasure in iniquity And why then shall not that Es 66. 4. be accordingly rendred thus They choose the things wherein I had no pleasure or wherein I had no delight and not as he expresseth it the things that I would not Hereupon I imagined our Enlish tranlation had thus rendred it but consulting that I found the contrary For thus they render it They choose the things wherein I delighted not It is true the Geneva renders it thus But doth it become him to preferre and follow the Geneva translation before the last and most authenticall translation of the Church of England In like manner the practise of Geneva must be of authority to cry us downe in the point of the morality of the fourth commandement Were not the man well knowne to be sound at heart his favourites might well suspect him to praevaricate in making so great a cry and yet yeilding so little wooll In the next place he alleadgeth that of Iames. Let no man say when he is tempted that he is temptedof God For God tempteth no man But every man is tempted when he is drawen away with his owne concupiscence Now Peter Martyr on the first to the Romans deales at large upon this place and disputes strangely indiscoursing of Gods providence in evill I would this Authour had taken the paines to answer him at least that he might performe somewhat tanto dignum hiatu worthy of the great gaping he makes It is true Bellarmine hath taken him to taske after a sort in his eigth chapter of his second book de Amiss gratiae statu peccati And I have replyed upon Bellarmine at large in my Vindiciae in that large digression wherein I take Bellarmine to taske in that book of his whereunto I referre the Reader Yet to say somewhat of this place befor I passe It is apparent that the Apostle in this place doth not so put off from God the workes of tempting as to cast it upon Satan but onely so as to shew that whatsoever the divine providence is there about either by the ministry of Satan who is God's minister in hardening men to precipâ—tate courses I Kings the last or otherwise yet still the sinner is unexcusable for as much as he is then only tempted effectually For so it is to be understood otherwise it were not true as it appeares in the case of Joseph tempted by his Mistris when he is drawen away by his own concupiscence It is true the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and pride of life is not of the Father but of the world they are the members of that body of sin which we brought with us into the world This is propagated unto us all by naturall generation Holy Iacob the Son of holy Isaak a Patriach of holy Rebeccah a Prophetesse was borne in sin as well as Esau and Seth as well as Cain and this seemeth to be called the image of Adam
againe the word of God came to Semaiah the man of God saying speak to Rehoboā the son of Solomon King of Iudah unto all the house of Iudah Benjamin to the remnant of the people saying Thus saith the Lotd ye shall not goe up nor fight against your brethren the children ef Israel returne every man to his house for this thing is from me Here we have Gods word for it Who can deny that the hardening of Pharohs heart that he should not let Israel go the selling of Ioseph into Egypt by the hands of his unnaturall brethren came to passe by the will of God I proceed to prove the same truth by evidence of reasō First because God permits sin to come to passe as all confesse though he could hinder it if it pleased him that without all detriment to the free will of the creature why then doth he permit it but because he would have it come to passe accordingly permission is reckoned up by Schoole Divines amongst the sinnes of Gods will like as allso is Gods commandment Now what God commandeth if it be done it is said to come to passe by the will of God albeit the things that God commandeth seldome the things he permits allwayes come to passe according to the common tenet of Divines even Vostius Arminius not excepted Againe it is the common opinion of all that therefore God permits sin because he can and will worke good of it which plainly supposeth that sinne shall come to passe if God permits it consequently it must needes be the will of God it shall come to passe Thirdly it is granted on both sides that the act of sin is Gods worke in the way of an efficient cause not the outward act onely which is naturall but the inward act of the will which is morall even this as an act is the worke of God How can it be then but the deformity and vitiousnesse of the act must come to passe God willing it though not working it considering that the deformity doth necessarily follow the act in reference to the creatures working it though not in respect of Gods working it Lastly all sides agree that God can give effectuall grace whereby a man shall be preserved from sin infallibly Wherefore as often as God will not give this grace which is in his power to give doth it not manifestly follow that he will not have such a man preserved frō sin To these I added the testimony of divers as that of Austin Not any thing comes to passe unlesse Good will have it come to passe either by suffering it to come to passe or himselfe working it If good he workes it if evill permits it 't is true of each that he wills it cap. 96. It is Good saith Austin that evill should come to passe And Bellarmine himselfe so farre subscribes hereunto as by professing that It is good that evills shoul come to passe by Gods permission The same Austin confesseth that The perversity of the heart comes to passe by the secret judgment of God And againe that after a wonderfull and unspeakable manner even those things which are committed against the will of God to wit against the will of his commandment do not come to passe besides the will of God to wit the will of his purpose Anselme the most ancient of schoole Divines in his booke of the concord of foreknowledge with free will Considering saith he that what God willeth cannot but be when he wills that the will of mā shall not be constrained by any necessity to will or no and withall will have an effect follow the will of man In this case it must needs be that the will of man is free and that also which God willeth shall come to passe to wit by that will of man Now observe what in the next place he concludeth hence In these cases therefore it is true that the worke of sin which man will doe must needs be though man doth not will it of necessity And in his concord of predestination and free will In Good things God doth worke both that they are and that they are good in evill things he workes onely that they are not that they are evill Hugo de sancto Victore 1. De sacr 4. p. 13. When we say God willeth that which is good it sounds well but if we say God willeth evill it is harsh to eares neither doth a pious mind admit of the good God that he willeth evill for hereby he thinkes the meaning is that God loves and approves of that which is evill therefore the pious mind abhorres it not because that which is said is not well said but because that which is well said is not well understood To these I adde the testimony of Bradwardine at large A man reputed so pious in those dayes that the Kings prospe ous successe in those dayes was cheifly imputed unto his piety who followed him in his warres in France as Preacher in the camp In the last place I make answer to the Sophisticall arguments of Aquinas and Durandus and the frothy disputation of Valentianus all of them standing to maintaine the contrary Now let every sober Christian judge of this Authors proposition when he saith that If God doth will and procure sin c. he is worse then the Devill For I have made it evident by variety of Scripture testimonyes by reason and also with the concurrence of diverse learned Divines that it is Gods will that sin should come to passe even the horrible outrages committed against the holy sonne of God were before determined by Gods hand and counsell Now what followes herehence by this Authours dicourse but that the holy Apostles yea and the Spirit of God do make God worse then the Devill So little cause have we to be impatient when such horrible blasphemyes are layd to our charge when we consider what honourable compartners we have in these our sufferings Yet see the vanity of this consequence represented most evidently For albeit the will of Gods decree be powerfull effectuall and irresistable and consequently every thing decreed thereby shall come to passe powerfully effectually irresistibly yet this respects onely the generality of the things eveniency not the manner how For onely things necessary shall by this irresistible wil of God come to passe necessarily But as for contingent things they by the same irresistable will of God shall come to passe also but how not necessarily but contingently that is with a possibility of not comming to passe Now the free actions of men are one sort of contingent things They therefore shall infallibly come to passe also by vertue of Gods irresistible will but how Not necessarily but contingently that is with a possibility of not coming to passe in generall as they are things contingent And in speciall they shall come to passe not contingently onely but freely also that is with a free power in the
to have that to exist which before had no being And why may not the will of God be sufficient for the existence of the motion of each creature after it hath existence But supposing these determinations of the creatures wills to be necessary if God will not determine them to good what will follow herence Surely nothing but evill unlesse man can determine himselfe to that which is good without God For as for simple concurrence without subordination in working as I said before that cannot be affirmed without palpable and grosse contradiction as I have proved in the digression formerly mentioned proceed we yet farther I know nothing doth more intimately concerne God's secret providence in evill then the hardning of the creature to disobedience Now the Scripture which is the very word of God and the dictates of the Holy Ghost doth plainly and expressely teach that albeit God commanded Pharaoh to let Israell goe yet withall he hardened his heart that he should not let Israell goe for a long time which refusall of his was wilfull and presumptuous disobedience In like sort as touching obedience and disobedience to the Gospell the Apostle tells us plainly that God hath mercy on whom he will to performe the one and whom he will he hardeneth thereby exposing them to the other And hereupon this objection is made Why then doth God complaine to wit of man's disobedience for who hath resisted his will And we know what answer the Apostle makes hereunto O man who art thou that disputest with God shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus Hath not the Potter power of the clay of the same lump to make one vessell unto honour another unto dishonour Now will any sober Christian conclude herehence that because God hardned Pharaoh that he should not let Israell goe therefore he is the Authour of sinne The Lord hath bid Shimei to curse David Consider what Austine writes upon this Quomodo dixerit Dominus huic homini maledicere David quis sapiens intelliget Non enim jubendo dixit ubi obedientia laudaretur sed quod ejus voluntatem proprio vitio suo malam in hoc peccatum judicio suo justo occulto inclinarit ideo dictum est Dixit ei Dominus How said the Lord to this man that he should curse David Who is wise and he shall understand For he said this not by commanding Shimei so to doe in which case his obedience had been commanded but in as much as Shimei's will through his own vitiousnesse being evill the Lord inclined it to this sinne by his just and secret judgment Thus saith he The Lord useth the hearts of the wicked to the praise and benefit of the good so he used Iudas betraying Christ so he made use of the Jewes crucifying Christ And how great good did he procure therehence to all believers Who also useth the Divell who is worst of all yet he makes best use of him to exercise and prove the faith and piety of the godly So he wrought in the heart of Absalom to refuse the counsell of Achitophell and make choice of that counsell which was nothing profitable Who may not well tremble in the contemplation of those Divine judgments whereby the Lord workes in the hearts of wicked men whatsoever he will yet rendring unto them according to their merits Then he proceeds to give other instances of Scripture to manifest God's working in the hearts of men and when he hath done he concludes in this manner His talibus testimoniis divinorum eloquiorum satis quantum existimo manifestatur operari Deum in cordibus hominum ad inclinandas eorum voluntates quocunque voluerit sive ad bona pro suâ misericordiâ sive ad mala pro meritis eorum judicio utique suo aliquando occulto semper autem justo By these and such like testimonies of Divine Scripture I take it to be sufficiently manifested that God doth worke in the hearts of men to incline their wills whithersoever he will either to those things that are good of his mercy or to such things that are evill for their deserts in the way of judgment which is sometimes known sometimes secret but alwaies just And all this he shewes to be wrought by God without prejudice to the freedome of their wills And why should David pray after this manner Lord incline mine heart to thy testimonies and not to covetousnesse If it were not in God's power to incline the hearts of men to covetousnesse Yet I trust no sober Christian will conclude from this prayer of David that God by executing such a power is the Author of sinne Lastly this argument is drawne from God's justice so is the third which is to confound rather then to distinguish the reasons produced by him We say that God cannot possibly be the Author of sinne the necessity of his nature stands in opposition thereunto For first sin hath no cause efficient but deficient only as long agoe it hath been delivered by Austin 2ly a cause deficient or defective is either in a culpable manner or in a manner nothing culpable As for example that Agent is defective culpably that either omits the doing of that which he ought to doe or omits to doe it after that manner which he ought to doe it now I say it is impossible that the divine nature can be defective either of these waies and consequently it is impossible that he should be the Author of sin whereas he saith this is Prosper's argument it is untrue He saith indeed it is against reason that God who damnes the Devill should will that any man should be a Servant to the Divell but forthwith he expounds himselfe 1. Expounding what that cōdition is of being the Devills servants whereof the objection did proceed Now the objection was this That the greatest part of men were created for this that they should doe not the will of God but the will of the Devill Now this objection saith Prosper proceeds from the Pelagians Qui Adae peccatum transiisse in omnes diffitentur who deny the sin of Adam to have passed unto all So that to doe the will not of God but of the Divell is to be in the state of naturall corruption and under the power of originall sinne whereby they are not God's servants but the Devills this is not the condition of God's children in the state of Grace Now Prosper shewes how originall sinne passeth over all not by the will of God and secondly how it passeth over all by the will of God Not by the will of God instituente but by the will of God judicante His words are these Haec servitus non est institutio Dei sed judicium This slavery of sinne which came upon all by Adam's sinne is not God's institution but his judgment As much as to say it came not upon a man by God's first creation but by his judgment upon him because of his
holy Ghost himselfe whose expressions are the same for substance with the expressions of Piscator It is farther observable that Piscator saith That Reprobates by reason of this Divine ordination doe sinne necessarily I answer Piscator was an excellent Scripture Divine but noe School-divine and therefore noe marvaile if he want the accuratenesse of Scholasticall expression Yet I salve him thus They sinne necessarily upon suspicion that God will have them to sinne by his permission but this is noe necessity simply so called but only secundum quid But God decrees the manner of things comming to passe as well as the things themselves as before I shewed out of Aquinas Soe that all be it it must needs be that sinne come to passe in case God hath decreed it shall come to passe yet if the question be after what manner it shall come to passe I answere not necessarily but contingently and freely that is not onely with a possibility of not comming to passe but with a free power in the creature to abstaine from that sin which is committed by him For God ordained that every thing that doth come to passe shall come to passe agreably to the nature thereof and accordingly moves every creature to worke agreeably to their natures Necessary agents necessarily contingent agents contingently Free agents freely And as formerly was mentioned every sinfull act is a naturall act and a man hath free power even in the state of corruption either to doe or to leave undone any naturall act And Piscator in other places dealing with Vorstius clearely professeth as I well remember though the the place come not to my memory that wicked men doe commit those things freely which are committed by them And it is an excellent saying of Austine that Libertas sine gratiâ non est libertas sed contumacia Liberty without grace is not liberty but wilfullnesse indeed they shew too much will therein rather then too little and in denying liberty to them that want grace he speakes of liberty morall which is only unto true good not of liberty naturall which hath place only in the choice of meanes and is inseparable from the nature of man But true morality sets a mans soule in a right condition towards his right end 4. It may be this Authour could not be so inconsiderate as not to perceive that even those expressions concerning Gods decree which he criminates in our Divines are Scripture expressions therefore to helpe his cause here he imputes unto them that they maintaine that God decreed this immutably as if himselfe could be content to grant that these things are decreed by God but not immutably And would this Authour have the will of God to be of a mutable condition like unto ours I am confident he dares not professe so much for albeit he licks his lips at a conditionall decree yet how doth he conceive this to be mutable For to resolve to save men upon condition of faith and repentance and perseverance and damne others in case they continue in infidelity and impenitency if accordingly none be saved but such in whom faith and repentance and finall perseverance therein is found none damned but such as persevere in sinne unto death what change is there in all this Unlesse this be it that God did not resolve to save any particular person untill his finall perseverance was accomplished And so God may be said in processe of time to change from not willing to willing one man's salvation and another man's damnation In which case God's decree also should not be eternall but begin in time Againe as touching that which followes of of God decreeing that Reprobates shall live and dye in sinne I answer to decree not to regenerate Reprobates is to decree that Reprobates shall not be regenerated for they are not able to regenerate themselves and to decree that they shall not be regenerated is to decree that they shall live and dye in sinne by God's permission he resolving never to shew such mercies to take them of from their sinfull courses by repentance And so long as they are not borne of God they will not heare his words as our Saviour testifies saying Yee therefore heare them not because ye are not of God As for sinne procured by the hand of God which he obtrudes upon our Divines not one passage doth he produce for that Yet as I remember I have read such an harsh expression in Piscator dealing against Vorstius which at this time doth not come to my remembrance but withall I remember that Piscator being charged therewith by Vorstius forthwith represents certaine passages of Scripture concerning Gods's providence in evill and appeales to the judgment of every sober Christian whether to do that which therein is attributed to God be not to procure sin It is apparent that Joseph acknowledgeth that the Lord sent him into Egypt yet was this brought to passe by the parricidiall hands of his brethren And it is no lesse plaine that God hardened Pharaohs heart that he should not let Israel goe And by Arminius his Definition of effectuall grace it is evident that by Gods denying it sin doth follow infallibly And so likewise upon Gods permission of willing this or that he professeth that it must needs be that by noe kind of argument shall such a one be perswaded to nill it I come to the meanes whereby he is said to procure it The first is by withdrawing grace necessary for the avoyding of sin Now of this he gives no instance out of any of our Divines 2 I know no grace which this Authour accounts necessary that any of our Divines teach to be withdrawen by God 3 God indeed doth not determine their wills to that which is good but this Authour doth not account any such determination necessary to the avoyding of sin 4 Prohibition denuntiation of judgment dehortation and such gracious actions God doth neither withdraw nor withhold from the wicked who are partakers of this grace as well as Gods children as often as they meet in the same congregation for the hearing of Sermons 5. An effectuall restraint from sin I know none but the feare of God yet this he withdrawes not from the wicked for they never had it nor from the children of God only he doth not stirrre it in them at all times so often as he suffers them to sin which yet may be to gracious ends As I for the confirmation of their faith that nothing no not sin shall separate them from the love of God when they shall find the goodnesse of God minding them of their errours and bringing them to repentance 2 As also to make them smart for their former security and wantonnesse in beholding the uncomfortable issue of it 3 To provoke them to walke more carefully and circumspectly for the time to come standing upon their guard and keeping the watch of the Lord. 4. To cure their pride according to that of Austin Audeo dicere
for the preservation of the integrity of her mind in the opinion of the world and that they might know that she consented not unto Tarquinius but was forced by him So then the act is it they doe or choose to doe for some motive or other which whether it be pleasure or profit or credit they get thereby that makes not the act sinfull but only that it is against some law or other forbidding it And this act all sides confesse is the worke of God as well as the worke of man as in whom we move like as in him we live and have our being And Bradwardine maintaines that of every act of the creature God is a more immediate cause then the creature it selfe whoâ—e act it is This he proves of the creatures conservation of the creatures action of the creatures motioÌ„ to this he proceeds by certaine degrees And in all this God doth not transgresse any law as man doth too often in the performing of many a naturall act and only in performing acts naturall is sinne committed never in performing any act supernaturall all such acts are in a peculiar manner the work of grace 2. God overruleth no man's good projects or purposes otherwise then as when accepting their intentions he will not have them put such in execution because perhaps he hath reserved that for another time person As when David was purposed to build God an house was encouraged therein by Nathan yet the Lord sent Nathan shortly unto David to give him to understand that he reserved that work for Solomon his Son yet so well accepting David's purpose that he promised to build his house But if God at any time overruleth the wicked projects and purposes of men whether good or evill let us blesse him rather for this then curse him by cursing them that maintaine this good providence Yet in overruling them whether he doth it immediately or by the ministry of his good Angells not by working immediately upon the will as this Authour dreameth For that is not the way to worke agreably to the reasonable nature of man though so he worke also by generall influence affoarded coÌ„mon to all agents but by representing to the understanding congruous motives to divert them from that they doe intend whether in a gracious manner as he diverted David from his purpose to massacre the whole house of Nabal or only in a naturall way whereby he diverts wicked men from their ungodly designes by representing the danger thereof to make them feare so to restraine them Will the Devill himselfe be over prone to blaspheme God for this yet in this alone he doth more then either the Devill or man can doe though this be not all that he doth For he doth cooperate to every designe and execution of the creature be it never so abominable which neither man nor Angells can doe And he hath power to give over unto Satan and to harden any man and that more effectully then any Devill can doe The Devill could not say with truth that He would harden Pharaoh's heart that he should not let Israel goe Nor when he had let them goe I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he shall follow after them to bring them back The Devill could not say in truth as the Lord did to David I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them to thy neighbour and he shall lye with thy wives in the sight of the sunne Nor as he said to Ieroboam Behold I will rent the kingdome out of the hands of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee Nay the very permissioÌ„ of sin so as whereby it shall infallibly come to passe is not in the power of any creature but in God alone And shall it follow that because God doth more both as touching the act it selfe and touching the sinfull condition of it then any creature can doe therefore God is the Authour of sinne whereas when God moves a man or carrieth him on to any good morall workes whether in doing that which is vertuous or abstaining from that which is vitious this man shall certainely sinne though not in so great a degree unlesse God be pleased over and above to regenerate him and to bestow faith and love on him for as much as in this case though he doe an act vertuous yet shall he not doe it in a gracious maÌ„ner though he doe abstaine froÌ„ an act vitious yet he shall not abstaine froÌ„ it in a gracious manner Let this man therefore proceed maintaine if he thinks good that except God doth bestow the spirit of regeneration upon all and every one throughout the world he is the Authour of sinne not only when he moves them to such acts which are evill but also when he moves them to the doing of such as are vertuous or to the abstaining from those that are vitious As for his phrases noe wise man will regard them but only such as are content to feed on huskes for want of better food As when he talkes of motion uncontroulable which makes a noise as if men's wills would controule his motion but cannot whereas God as the first mover moves the creature most congruously unto his nature without which motion of his the creature could not move at all The like noyses makes the phrase immutable decree as empty things many times give the greatest sound whereas by vertue of God's immutable decree it is that it cannot otherwise be then that as necessary things cannot but come to passe necessarily so contingent things cannot but come to passe contingently and the free actions of men freely But by the way he manifest's how he licks his lips at a Mutable decree of God even of that God with whom as St. Iames speaketh there is no variablenesse nor shadow of change He doth acknowledge we maintaine potentiam in se liberam but then he saith we doe not maintaine liberum usum a most absurd distinction For noe power deserves to be stiled free save that it is of free use and exercise And what a prodigious thing is it to affirme that it is not within the almighty power of God to cause that this or that shall be done by a reasonable creature freely this is it that Bradwardine proposeth to the judgment of all to consider whether it be not an unreasonable thing to deny this unto God God doth determine their will before it hath determined it selfe and maketh them doe those only actions which his omnipotent will hath determined and not which their wills out of any absolute dominion over their own actions have prescribed Thus he relates the opinion of our Divines whereas neither determining nor necessitating as I said before are the expressions of our Divines but of Papists yet he laies not this to the charge of Papist's Noe nor to the charge of Bellarmine for saying that God doth not only rule and governe but wrest and bend them and that to one evill
for hereby many times men are drawen full sore against their wills to doe that which they would not It is true God's power cannot be resisted but neither hath any man any will to resist that motion of God whereby he workes agreable to their natures then indeed there were place for resisting If the Lord carrieth on a covetous person such as Achan to covet a wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment and coveting it move him accordingly to take it and convey it away secretly and hide it in his tent what resistance doth he make in all this Or what is done in all this lesse agreably to his covetous disposition then to the disposition of Toades and Addars when he moves them according to their nature to sting and poyson So he moved the Babylonians compared to Serpents and Cockatrices to sting a wicked people Doe not the Scriptures plainly professe that God did send them Is not Assur in this respect called the Rod of God's wrath and the staffe in his hand Was it not called the Lords indignation Is he not compared to an axe and a sawe shall the axe boast it selfe against him that heweth therewith Or shall the saw extoll it selfe against him that moveth it Still he confounds the act with the sinfulnesse thereof speaking of God's producing sinnes whereas sinne is never produced it being only an obliquity consequent unto the act of such a worker as is subject to a law And our Adversaries confesse that God is the cause of the act as well as we Yet will they not hereby be driven to professe that in producing the act he produceth the sin As for that which he speaks of Inforcing we may well pitty him that when he wants strength of reason he supplies that by phrases We deny that God inforceth any man's will Nay it is the generall rule of Schooles that voluntas non potest cogi the will cannot be forced We maintaine that every act of the will especially in naturall things such as a sinfull act must needs be for only gracious acts are supernaturall is not only voluntary which is sufficient to preserve it from being forced but free also by as much libertie as the creature is capable of only we deny that the will of man is primum liberum a first free agent that is the prerogative of God alone the first mover of all and the supreme Agent thus I have dispatched my answer to his first reason consisting of three parts I come unto the second Sect 4. If we could find out a King that should so carry himselfe in procuring the ruine and the offences of any Subjects as by this opinion God doth in the affecting of the damnation and transgressions of Reprobates we would all charge him with the ruine and sinnes of those his Subjects Who would not abhorre saith Moulin a King speaking thus I will have this man hangâ—d and that I may hang him justly I will have him murder or steale This King saith he should not only make an innocent man miserable sed sceleratum but wicked too and should punish him for that offence cujus ipse causa esset of which himselfe was the cause It is a cleare case Tiberius as Suetonius reports having a purpose to put some Virgins to death because it was not lawfull among the Romans to strangle Virgins caused them all to be deflouered by the hang-man that so they might be strangled Who will not say that Tiberius was the principall Authour of the deflouring of those Maides In like manner say the Supralapsarians God hath a purpose of putting great store of men to the second death but because it is not lawfull for him by reason of his justice to put to death men innocent and without blame he hath decreed that the Devill shall defloure them that afterwards he may damne them It followeth therefore that God is the maine cause of those their sinnes If a King should carry himselfe as God did in hardning Pharaoh's heart that he should not let Israel goe and when he had let Israel goe to harden his heart that he should follow after them we would acknowledge such a one not to be man but God And then surely whatsoever our Arminians would thinke of such a one we would thinke noe otherwise then Solomon did of him of whom he professed that he made all things for himselfe even the wicked against the day of evill If God doth but permit a man to will this or that necesse est saith Arminius it must needs be ut nullo argumentorum genere persuadeatur ad nolendum that noe kind of argument shall perswade such one to abstaine from willing it And I hope Arminius hath as great auhority with this Authour as Mr. Moulin deserves to have with us Noe King hath power to dispense any such providence as this St. Paul tells us plainly that God hath ordained some unto wrath and as he hath made of the same lumpe some vessells unto honour so hath he made other vessells unto dishonour The Lord professeth that he kept Abimelech from sinning against him Thus the Lord could deale with all if it pleased him Why doth he not is it not for the manifestation of his own glory For to this purpose he hath made all things And that he suffers with long patience vessells of wrath prepared to destruction And what to doe doth he suffer them But to continue and persevere in their sinfull courses without repentance the Apostle plainly tells us that it is to declare his wrath and make his power known This is not the voice of any Doctor of ours now a dayes but of St. Paul And shall Mr. Moulin be brought in to affront St. Paul For recompence let the Jesuits be heard to whom the nation of the Arminians are beholden for their principall grounds Wherefore doth God give effectuall grace unto one and not unto another but because he hath elected the one and rejected the other And I appeale to every sober Christian whether the absolutenesse of reprobation doth not as invincibly follow herehence as the absolutenesse of Election But touching Mr. Moulin I have heard that Doctor Ames somtimes wished that he had never medled in this argument I am not of Doctor Ames his mind in this though it were I thinke most fit every one should exercise himselfe in those questions wherein by the course of his studies he hath been most conversant so should the Church of God enjoy plus dapis rixae multo minus invidiaeque I doe admire Mr. Moulin in his conference with Cayer as also upon the Eucharist and on Purgatory he hath my heart when I read his consolalations to his Breathren of the Church of France as also intreating of the love of God I would willingly learne French to understand him only and have along time desired still to get any thing that he hath written I highly esteem him in his Anatomie though I doe not
like all and every passage yet but few are the passages wherein I differ from his opinion I have been very sory to observe how by his doctrine in the point of reprobation he overthrowes his own Orthodox Doctrine in the point of Election I would he would answer Sylvester who hath replied to his admirable letters written to Monsieur Balzak I could be well content were I once free to supply what is wanting to Waleus his Apologie for him against Corvinus But to the point the passage here proposed by him is I willingly confesse somewhat harsh I will have this man hang'd and that I may hang him justly I will have him murther or steale But compare it with that of St. Paul formerly mentioned God suffers the vessells of wrath prepared to destruction that he may declare his wrath and make his power known And that of Eli's children They obeyed not the voice of their Father because the Lord would slay them And that Amaziah would not heare For it was of the Lord that he might deliver them into his hands because they sought the Gods of Edom. And that of Ieremiah Doubtlesse because the wrath of the Lord was against Ierusalem and Iuda till he had cast them out of his presence therefore Zedekiah rebelled against the King of Babel And observe how neare Mr. Moulin is to expose these holy passages of Scripture and the doctrine contained in them in like manner unto scorne ere he is aware And let him soberly consider and without any humour of complying with our Adversaries out of a desire to charme them who will not be charmed to what end God doth finally permit some to persevere in sinne and can he find any other but this for the manifestation of the glory of his vindicative justice in their condemnation And without any desire to charme I have shewed plainly that God doth not permit any man to sinne and finally to persevere in sin to the end that he may damnethem But that he both permits them finally in sin and damnes them for their sinne for the declaration of his wrath and power on them and also that he may declare the riches of his glory upon the vessells of his mercy whom he hath prepared unto glory If he put a difference between permission of sinne and a will that they shall sinne I would entreate him not to stumble at this For what difference between God's will to permit man to sinne and to will that man shall sin by his permission And the tragicall acts committed on the holy Son of God by Herod and Pilate the Gentiles and people of Israel the Apostles say not they were permitted by God but that they were predetermined by the hand and counsell of God Mr. Moulin's care is to avoid harsh expressions it is a commendable care For why should we causlesly expose the truth of God to be the worse thought of and provoke men to stumble at it by unnecessary harshnesse Yet I find the Scripture it selfe delivered by the holy Prophets and Apostles is nothing so scrupulous Malim dicere saith Mr. Moulin I had rather say Deum non decrevisse dare alicui gratiam quâ convertatur credat that God hath decreed not to give some one grace whereby to be converted and believe quâm dicere eum decrevisse ut homo sit incredulus impoenitens then to say God hath decreed that man should be incredulous and impenitent And he gives his reason thus Vox enim decernendi aptior est ad ea designanda quae Deus statuit facere quà m ea quibus statuit non mederi For to decree is fitter to denote such things as God hath purposed to doe then such things as he hath purposed not to cure And indeed the Ancients in this sense take the word predestination to be only of such things as God himselfe purposed to worke as Grace and Glory and the damnation of impenitent sinners But if God decrees not to cure impenitency and infidelity in some judge whether upon this ground it may not well be said that God decrees that the impenitency and infidelitie of some shall continue uncured And Mr. Monlin confesseth that God decreed that the Jewes should put Christ to death His words are these Deus vetuit homicidium idem tamen decrevitut Iudaei Christum morte afficerent God forbad murther yet he decreed that the Iewes should kill Christ Yet by the way consider God hath no need of the sinne of man that he may put him to death justly For undoubtedly God could annihilate any creature that he hath made the most holy Angells without any blemish to his justice Yea by power absolute he could cast the most innocent creature into hell fire and continue yet just still as formerly hath been shewed and Raynaudus justifies and represents variety of testimonies for this not only of School-divines one of whom professeth that it is concors omnium Theologorum sententia the common opinion of Divines but of the Ancient Fathers also And therefore though to strangle Virgins was not lawfull for Tiberius yet a greater more severe worke then this is lawfull for God Neither doth God cōmand any impure course to any but under pain of eternall damnatiō forbids it But as he hardened Pharaoh's heart that he should not let I srael goe so can he harden any man's heart to doe as foule a work as this And St. Paul testifies that he gave up the heathens to their hearts lusts unto uncleanes to defile their own bodies between themselves which turned the truth of God into a lie worshipped served the creature forsaking the Creatour who is blessed for ever amen For this cause God gave them up to vile affections for even the women did change the naturall use into that which is against nature And likewise the men left the naturall use of the women and burned in their lusts one toward another and man with man wrought filthinesse And this is noted by the Apostle to have been a work of judgment For it followes they received in themselves such recompence of their errours as was meet I grant Tiberius was the principall Authour of deflowring those Maides For he commanded it and that as I have shewed makes a man the Authour of a crime both out of School-divines and out of Oratours but God gave no such cōmand to these heathens thus to defile themselves And this Authour doubts not but God cooperates to the substance of every act notwithstanding the absoute dominion of the will over her actions for which he pleades And it cannot be denied unlesse the word of God be therewithall denied that in him we move as well as in him we live and have our being And though God gave not commandement to Absalom to defile his Fathers Concubines yet he tells David saying I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them to thy neigbour and he shall lie with thy wives in the
of Adrumetum were the Authours of it And this Interpolatour takes Vossius his part and labours by certaine arguments to make it good against he judicious observations of that most reverend and learned Arch-Bishop of Armagh It may be I shall represent my answer thereunto by waâ—â—â— digression but first I must dispatch my answer to this I have in hand Sect 6. Many distinctions are brought to free the Supralapsarian way from this crimination all which me thinks are noâ— better then mere delusions of the simple and inconsiderate and give noe true satisfaction to the understanding There is say they a twofold decree 1. First an operative by which God positively and efficaciously worketh allthings 2. A permissive by which he decreeth only to let it come to passe If God should worke sinne by an operative decree then he should be the Authour of sinne but not if he decree by a permissive decree to let it come to passe and this only they say they maintaine It is true that God hath decreed to suffer sinne for otherwise there would be none Who can bring forth that which God will absolutely hinder He suffered Adam to sinne leaving him in the hand of his own counsell Ecclus 15. 14. He suffered the nations in time past to walke in their own waies Act 14. 16. And dayly doth he suffer both good and bad to fall into many sins And this he doth not because he stands in need of sinne for the setting forth of his glory for he hath noe need of the sinfull man Ecclus 15. But partly because he is summus provisor supreme moderatour of the world and knoweth how to use that well which is ill done and to bring good out of evill and especially for that reason which Tertullian prelleth namely because man is made by God's own gracious constitution a free creature undetermined in his actions untill he determine himselfe And therefore may not be hindred from sinning by omnipotency because God useth not to repeale his own ordinances 2. It is true also that a permissive decree is noe cause of sinne because it is merely extrinsecall to the sinner and hath noe influence at all upon the sinne It is an antecedent only and such a one too as being put sinne followeth not of necessitie And therefore it is fitly contradistinguisht to an operative decree And if that side would in good earnest impute noe more in sinfull events to divine power then the word Permission imports their maine conclusion would fall and the controversy between us end But first many of them reject this distinction utterly and will have God to decree sinne efficaciter with an Energeticall and working will Witnesse that discourse of Beza wherein he a verreth and laboureth to prove that God doth not only permit sinne but will it also And witnesse Calvin too who hath a whole section against it calling it a carnall distinction invented by the flesh and effugium a mere evasion to shift off this seeming absurdity that that man is made blind Deo volente jubente by Gods will and command who must shortly after be punished for his blindnes He calleth it also figmentum a fiction and saith they doe ineptire play the fooles that use it By many reasons also doth he indeavour to lay open the weaknes of it taxing those who understand such Scriptures as speaks of God's smiting men with a Spirit of slumber and giddinesse of blinding their minds infatuating and hardening their hearts c. Of a permission and suffering of men to be blinded and hardned Nimis frivola est ista solutio saith he it is too frivilous a glosse In another place he blameth those that referre sin to God's prescience only calling their speeches argutiae tricks and quirks which Scripture will not beare and those likewise that ascribe it to God's permission and saith what they bring touching the Divine permission in this businesse will not hold water They that admit the word permissive doe willingly mistake it and while to keep of this blow they use the word they corrupt the meaning For 1. Permission is an act of God's consequent and judiciary will by which he punisheth men for abusing their freedome and committing such sins day by day as they might have avoided and to which he proceedeth lento gradu slowly and unwillingly as we may see Psal 81. 11. 12. Israel would none of me so I gave them up c. Ezeh 18. 39. Goe and serve every one his Idoll seeing ye will not obey me c. Rom 1. 21. 24. Because when they knew God they glorified him not as God therefore God gave them up unto their hearts lusts to vile affections and to a Reprobate mind Rev. 22. 11. He that is unjust let him be unjust still In these places and many more we may see that persons left to themselves are sinners only and not all sinners but the obstinate and willfull which will by noe meanes be reclaimed But the permission which they meane is an act of God's antecedent will exercised about innocent men lying under no guilt at all in God's eternall consideration 2. Permission about whomsoever it is exercised obstinate sinners or men considered without sinne is no more then a not hindring of them from falling that are able to stand supposeth a possibility of sinning or not sinning in the parties permitted but with them it is a withdrawing or withholding of grace needfull for the avoiding of sin and so includeth an absolute necessitie of sinning For from the withdrawing of such grace sin must needs follow as the fall of Dagon's house followed Sampson's plucking away the Pillars that were necessary for the upholding of it Maccovius in two disputations expounding this word Permission circumscribes it within two acts The first of which is a Substraction of Divine assistance necessary to the preventing of sinne And having proved it by two arguments that none may thinke he is alone in this he saith that he is compassed about with a cloud of witnesses and produceth two The first of them is our reverend and learned Whitaker some of whose words alleadged by him are these Permission of sinne is a privation of the aid which being present sinne would have been hindred The second is Pareus for saying that that helpe which God withdrew from Adam being withdrawen Adam could not soe use his endowments as to persevere And this doctrine saith he is defended by our men as it appeareth out of Pareus lib de grat primi hominis c. 4 p. 46. Their permission therefore of sinne being a substraction of necessary grace is equivalent to an actuall effectuall procuring and working of it For Causa deficiens in necessariis est eficiens a deficient cause in things necessary is truely efficient and so is but a mere fig-leafe to cover the foulenesse of their opinion Here we have a very demure discourse proceeding in a positive manner proceeding from one that takes upon him to
God willing it he denies not any more then Beza doth that it comes to passe by God's permission of it But Calvin rests not in a bare permissions and no marvaile For the Scripture saith not that God permitted Pharaoh to refuse to let Israel goe but plainly and energetically thus I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he shall not let Israel goe I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he shall follow after them I will rent the Kingdome from Solomon not I will permit it to be rented and so throughout Bellarmine himselfe contents not himselfe with a bare permission but farther saith God doth rule and governe the wills of wicked men yea torquet flectit he wrests and bends them And Austin often saith he enclines them unto evill And whereas it is farther added out of Calvin that a man is blind volente jubente Deo God willing and commanding it Is it not expresse Scripture Es 6. 10. Make the heart of this people fat make their eares heavy and shut their eyes So that Calvin doth but accomodate himselfe to Scripture phrase But when we come to the explication of this either in Christian reason or by comparing one place of Scripture with an other we say that to Make their hearts fat their eares heavy and to shut their eys And to give them the Spirit of slumber eyes that they should not see and eares that they should not heare Is no more then not to give them hearts to perceive nor eyes to see nor eares to heare Yet where Calvin saith this I cannot find the quotation here is so disturbed but I guesse the Authour would referre us to lib. 1. Institut cap. 18. prima secunda Sect But I find no such thing there but speaking of God's providence in blinding Ahab thus he writes Vult Deus perfidum Ahab decipi God will have perfidious Ahab to be deceived This is plaine out of the 1 Kings 22. 20. Who shall entise Ahab that he may goe and fall at Ramoth Gilead operam suam offert Diabolus ad eam rem The Divell offers his service for this saith Calvin And doth not the Scripture expresly testifie as much There came forth a Spirit and stood before the Lord and said I will entise him And the Lord said unto him wherewith And he said I will goe out and be a false Spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets Calvin goes on Mittitur cum certo mandato ut sit Spiritus mendax in ore omnium Prophetarum God sends him with a certaine command to become a lying Spirit in the mouth of all Ahab's Prophets This also the Scripture testifies as expresly as the former Then the Lord said thou shalt entise him and prevaile also Goe forth and doe so Now let the indifferent judge whether this Authour might not as well calumniate the Holy Ghost the Inditer of this Scripture as Calvin who proceeds but according unto Scripture in that which he delivers Now let every sober man judge whether hereby it doth not manifestly appeare Excoecari Achabum that Ahab was blinded by the Devill Deo volente ac jubente the Lord willing and commanding it but this taken apart from the instance in reference whereunto it is delivered a man might suspect his meaning were that God commands a man to shut his own eyes blind himselfe And judge I pray whether to say that this whole providence of God concerning Ahab was no more then permission deserves not to be called figmentum a fiction as indeed Calvin calleth it To this he addes the joynt profession of the Apostles touching God's providence in crucifying of Christ in Absalom's incest the Chaldees bloudy execution in the land of Iuda and the Assyrians before them which in Scripture is called the worke of God c. And concludes it to be manifest Nugari eos ineptire qui in locum providentiae Dei nudam permissionem substituunt that they doe but toy and trifle who in place of God's providence substitute a naked permission And this Authour doth but calumniate Calvin's expression in rendring the word ineptire by playing the foole Ineptire in the proprietie thereof is in this case to faile of fit and congruous interpretation and accommodation And may he not justly taxe those who understand such Scriptures as speake of God's smiting men with the Spirit of slumber and giddinesse of blinding their mindes infatuating and hardning their hearts of a permission and suffering of men to be blinded and hardned I had thought common sense might have justified him in this taking Calvin aright who denies not permission in all this but nudam permissionem naked permission as much as to say these Scripture passages doe signifie more then permission And as I have said before Bellarmin himselfe doth not satisfie himselfe with a naked permission in such like providence divine as here is mentioned I thinke he may justly say that to explicate excecation and obduration by permission is such an explication as will satisfie no sober man and that such a solution is too frivolous And as for God's prescience it is apparent that the horrible outrages committed upon the holy Son of God the Scripture testifies not to have been foreknowen only by God but by the hand and counsell of God predetermined also more then this cleare reason doth justifie that the ground of God's foreknowing ought is his foredetermining of it as I have often proved by invincible demonstration 2. Who mistakes the nature of permission most we or this censurer let the indifferent judge It is apparent that he puts no difference between permission humane and permission Divine Sure I am Suarez requires to permission divine a concurrence to the act the obliquity whereof is permitted And more then that both Scotus of old without question and the Dominicans of late and Bradwardine before them maintaine this concurrence to be by way of determining the will to every act thereof But all these mistake the nature of permission if we believe this Authour upon his word wherein he carrieth himselfe very authoritatively no Pope like him Yet he is ready to give his reason for it though with manifest contradiction to himselfe but let us consider it 1. Permission is an act of God's consequent and judiciary will by which he punisheth men for abusing their freedom c. Most untrue and manifestly convictable of untruth by that which himselfe delivered but a little before in this very Section where he said It is true that God hath decreed to suffer sinne for otherwise there would be none By this it is manifest that whensoever sinne is committed there had place God's permission of sinne otherwise there would have been no sinne therefore permission had place in the very first sinne that was committed by man and Angells Judge Reader with what felicity he comes to censure and correct the mistakes of others about permission As Austin sometimes said of one opposing him noverit se esse
abstaine from sinne when such a grace is granted him and consequently in granting such a grace he permits him still to sinne as well as in denying it and in denying he permits him to doe good as much as in granting it So that still it is not God that keepeth a man from sinne as often as he abstaineth from it but merely the power of his own free will Whereby it is evident that this Authour as well denies that God is the Authour of any good as that he is the Authour of any evill But man is Authour of the one as well as of the other The power of doing good he will grant is from God neither can it be denied but that the power of doing evill is from God He will grant likewise that God is ready to concurre to any good act if man will and I presume he will not deny but that God concurres also to the substance of every evill act The only difference that remaines is this God perswades only to good and disswades only that which is evill Now this third and last assertion we grant as well as he Yet he layes to our charge that we make God the Authour of evill but cares not at all how he denies God to be the Authour of any good in the actions of men and makes noe place for any grace save such as is hortatory which is performed usually by the ministery of men Yet consider what Bradwardine sometimes Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Elect hath written in this kind before Luther or Calvin were borne The title of the fourth chapter of his second booke is this That free will being tempted cannot of his own strength without the helpe of God and his grace overcome any temptation Of the first this that free will strengthned with what created grace soever cannot without another speciall succour of God overcome any temptation of the sixth this that That speciall succour of God is the unconquerable grace of God Of the seventh this That no man though not tempted can by the strength of his free will alone without created grace or with created grace how great soever it be without the speciall asistance of God avoide any sin all these propositions he demonstrates with variety of argument Behold the ingenuity of this Authour He flies in the face of Calvin and Beza and other our Divines for maintaining that unlesse God by his grace keep and preserve a man effectually from sinning it cannot be that he should abstaine from sinne Bradwardine maintained the same before any of these were borne yet he saith nothing to him le ts all his arguments alone but upbraides us for maintaining the same doctrine without giving any reason to convict us of our errour Adde to this which I have omitted the Corolary of that seventh chapter in Bradwardin formerly mentioned is this That it is the will of God which preserves them that are tempted from falling and them that are not tempted both from temptation and from sinne Not one of the arguments whereby he confirmes any of these positions doth this Authour goe about to answer In like manner Alvarez Positâ permissione divinâ infallibiliter peccat homo upon supposition of God's permission man sins infallibly The proposition he intends to prove in that disputation is this Therefore a man is not converted because he is not aided of God But both he and we deny that hereupon a man sinneth necessarily alwaies but only in some cases In some cases it followeth as namely a man borne in sinne and in the state of corruption the naturall fruits whereof are infidelity and impenitency untill God affords a man the grace of regeneration he cannot believe he cannot repent They that are in the flesh cannot please God Thou after the hardnesse of thy heart that cannot repent Therefore they could not believe In which case God is not the cause of infidelity and impenitency but these proceed naturally and necessarily from that originall corruption wherein they are conceived and borne God is only the naturall cause why this their naturall corruption continues uncured For none can cure it but God it being a work nothing inferior to the raising of them from the dead Yet he is no culpable cause of this For as much as he is not bound to any but he hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardneth So that necessarily without the grace of regeneration every man continueth in his naturall corruption devoyd of faith of hope and love These being supernaturall and whereunto no man can attaine with out supernaturall grace In like manner hence it followeth that no naturall man can performe any morall good act in a gracious acceptable manner in the sight of God because â—he fountaines of such performances are not found in naturall men But they have a free power as to commit any naturall evill worke so to abstaine from it though not in a gracious manner Free power as to abstaine from any vertuous act so to performe it also though not in a gracious manner They may be temperate chast just and the like but their vertuous actions are not truly vertues in a Christian account because they know not God nor Christ much lesse doe they believe in him and performe these vertuous actions out of their love unto him If Maccovius and Whitaker and Pareus be of the same mind and the Dominicans with them and Bradwardine before them all let the indifferent Reader consider what an hungry opposition is made by this Authour not offering to answer any one of their Arguments nor of mine neither in my Vindiciae Nor saith ought by way of reply upon any answer to the like argument of Arminius The resolution of all that here he delivers determining in a rule himselfe proposeth without reason or authority to justifie it A rule as here it is applyed conteining a notorious untruth For causa deficiens in no case can be efficiens in proper speech any more then causa efficiens can be accounted deficiens unlesse it be understood in divers kinds As for example efficiens naturaliter may be deficiens moraliter and deficiens moraliter may be efficiens naturaliter An efficient cause naturally may be deficient morally and so a cause deficient morally may be efficient naturally Least of all can it have place in the present question which is of the cause of sinne For sinne as sinne evill as evill non habet causam efficientem sed deficientem hath no cause efficient but deficient only as Austin hath long agoe determined and it is a rule generally received and never that I know denied of any Againe causa deficiens in necessariis may be culpable I confesse and so interpretativè as they say may be interpreted to be as good as an efficient As in a civill consideration it is said of the Magistrate that Qui non vetat peccare cum possit jubet He that forbiddeth not a man to sinne when it
declaring God's justice in mens punishments God doth not predestiminate men to sinne as it is sinne but as a meanes of their punishment He is not therefore say they the Authour of sinne 1. A good end cannot moralize a bad action it remaineth evill though the end be never so good Bonum oritur ex integris â—end manner yea matter too must be good or else the action is naught He that shall steale that he may give an almes or commit adultery that he may beget Children for the Church Or oppresse the poore to teach them patience Or kill a wicked man that he may doe no more hurt with his example or doe any forbidden thing though his end be never so good he sinneth notwithstanding And the reason is because the evill of sinne is greater then any good that can come by sinne forasmuch as it is laesio divinae majestatis a wronging of God's majesty and to Divino bono opposita directly prejudiciall to the good of Almighty God as much as any thing can be This Saint Paul knew very well and therefore he tells us plainely that we must not doe evill that good may come thereof Whosoever therefore willeth sin though for never so good an end he willeth that which is truly and formally a sinne and consequently God though he will sinne for never so good ends yet willing it with such a powerfull and effectuall will as giveth a necessary being to it he becommeth Authour of that which is formally sinne 2. The members of this distinction are not opposite for sinne as sinne and in no other consideration is meanes of punishment If God therefore willeth it as a meanes of punishment he willeth it as a sinne his decree it determinated at the the very formality of it 3 This distinction fastneth upon God a further aspersion and loadeth him with three speciall indignities more 1. Want of wisedome and providence His counsells must needs be weak if he can find out no meanes to glorifie justice but by the bringing in of sinne which his soule hateth into the world and appointing men to commit it that so he may maaifest justice in the punishment of it 2. Want of sincerity and plaine dealing with men Tiberius as Suetonius reports having a purpose to put the two sonnes of Germanicus Drusius and Nero to death used sundry cunning contrivances to draw them to revile him that reviling him they might be put to death and herein is justly censured for great hypocrisie And so if God having appointed men by his absolute will to inevitable perdition doe decree that they shall sinne that so they may be damned for those sins which he decreeth and draweth them into he dissembleth because he slaughtereth them under pretext of justice for sinne but yet for such sins only as he hath by his eternall counsell appointed as the meanes of their ruine 3. Want of mercy in an high degree as if he did so delight in bloud that rather then he will not destroy mens soules he will have them live and dye in sinne that he may destroy them like to those Pagan Princes of whom Justin Martyr Apol 2 two or three leaves from the beginning saith They are afraid that all should be just least they should have none to punish But this is the disposition of Hang-men rather then of Good Princes And therefore farre be those foule enormities and in particular this latter from the God of truth and Father of mercies And thus notwithstanding these distinctions it is in my conceit most evident that the rigid and upper way makes God the Authour of mens sins as well as punishment And so much for the first generall inconvenience which ariseth from this opinion namely the dishonour of God I willingly professe I am to seeke what that Divine of ours is that saith God doth predestinate men to sinne as a meanes of their punishment Here this Authour is silent names no man quotes no place Like as in the former he carried himselfe in this manner The Ancients generally take predestination in no other notion then to be of such things which God himselfe did purpose to bring to passe by his own operation not of such things as come to passe by God's permission Neither can I call to remembrance any Divine of ours that talkes of God's predestinating men unto sinne But the Scripture affords plentifull testimony of God's will ordination and determination that the sins of men come to passe by God's permission Was it not God's will that Pharaoh's heart should be hardened so as not to let Israel goe for a while when he told Moses that he would harden Pharaoh's heart that he should not let Israel goe Was it not God's appointment that Absolom should lye with his fathers Concubines when he denounced this judgment against him that he would give his wives unto his neighbour who should lye with them before the sun Was it not his will that the ten tribes should revolt from Rehoboam when he protested of that businesse that it was from him Was it not God's will that the Jews and Gentiles should concurre in crucifying Christ when the Apostles professe that both Herod Pontius-Pilate with the Gentiles and people of Israel were gathered together to doe what God's hand and counsell had before determined to be done Doth not Saint Peter professe of some that stuÌ„bled at the word being disobedient that hereunto they were ordained And that the ten Kings in giving their Kingdomes to the beast did fullfill the will of God as touching this particular But that God should will or ordaine it as a meanes of punishment as if the end which God aimed at were the punishment is so absurd and contradictious unto Scripture that in my opinion it cannot well enter into any judicious Divines heart so to conceive And marke how this Authour shuffles herein for first he saith that sin may be considered either as sinne or as a meanes of declaring God's justice in punishing it And why doth he not keep himselfe unto this especially considering that not permission of sin only but the punishment of sin also are jointly the meanes of declaring God's justice And where King Solomon professeth that God made the very wicked against the day of evill in the same place he manifesteth what is the end of this namely in saying that he made all things for himselfe that is for the manifestation of his own glory And this glory is not only in the way of justice but in the way of mercy also which this Authour as his manner is very judiciously conceales this attribute of mercy lying not so open to this Authours evasion as that of justice And is it possible God's mercy and the demonstration thereof should have place where there is no sin considering that no other evill or misery had entred into the world had it not been for sin according to that of the Apostle By one man sin entred into the world death by
corrupt affections and customes as to make the last resolution of our faith concerning the waies of God thereunto or the understanding of such as he is whether best or worst or of both sizes upon a mere pretence of their indifferency for the entertainement of truths We willingly grant with Zanchy that God can will nothing which is not just Not that hereby we make any justice to precede the will of God but because he hath a lawfull power to doe what he will And there is a justice of condency consequent to all his actions It is otherwise I confesse with a man though the greatest of men as wise as Solomon though vessells after God's own heart as David But hence it followeth not that because in an earthly King there is a justice antecedent to his will therefore it is so in the King of heaven and earth If this Authour thinke otherwise let him know I am not yet sufficiently convicted of the purity of his understanding purged from prejudice and false principles c. as thereinto to make the last resolution of my faith Yet I confesse he carrieth himselfe magnificently as if he had attained to this purgation as when he saith That these absolute decrees of salvation and damnation are not part of God's revealed will But where hath he proved the conditionall decrees that he stands for are any part of God's revealed will Where doth he find that God decreed to bestow faith and repentance upon a man because of some good works of his or deny it to others for failing of some good worke As for salvation and damnation we plainly professe that God intended not to damne any man but for sinne nor to bestow salvation on any man of ripe yeares but by way of reward of his faith repentance obedience and good works Doth not he begge the question all along whē he carrieth his conditionall decrees in a confidentiary manner without once offering to prove thè by any one place of Scripture Here Iexpected he would not begge the question when he chargeth us to begge the question most insipidly When it is well known that our Divines are frequent in proving their doctrine out of Scripture which if it faile of sound proofe in the judgment of his understanding purged from prejudice and false principles yet with no modesty whatsoever their judgment be can he taxe them for begging the question For to begge the question is not once to offer to prove what they say which is this Authour's discourse all along But to supply the place of arguments he usually foist's in a phrase at pleasure in expressing our Tenet of God's decrees as of Decreeing immutably and unavoidably Or as here he speakes of Damnation and salvation inevitable whereas we doe not use to clogge our own expressions or our Readers apprehensions with any such bugheares We rather say that God decrees all things to come to passe that do come to passe and that agreably to their natures as necessary things necessarily and contingent things to come to passe contingently And surely for doctrines of faith I thinke every sober Christian hath cause to entitle the King to be the Authour of them this Authour doth not so much for his Nay the Scripture to him seemed so evidently to make for us which I desire every wise Reader well to observe that this drave him to such a sluttish shift as to except against our interpretations of Scripture upon noe other ground but this that the Doctrine confirmed thereby is not consonant to the understanding of men purged from prejudice and false principles corrupt affections and customes in the designing of what is just and what is unjust And let every indifferent man judge whether this be not a desperate course carying with it a secret acknowledgment that the Scripture indeed doth favour the way we take in the Doctrine of predestination and reprobation And indeed the ninth to the Romans Gerardus Vossius calls Gorgons head whereby we thinke so evident is the Apostles meaning on our side to turne all our opposites into stones though such vants are none of ours but himselfe it seemes had been stupified by it had he not timely taken hold of Scientia media the Jesuites invention and as vile an invention as ever reasonable men conceived 3. Lastly he tells us like a resolute Sir that absolute reprobation can be no part of God's revealed will and his reason is because it is odious to right reason He doth not shew how it is contrariant to God's word but bravely presumes that his reason is right as if he were of the number of that synedrion whose understandings are purged from prejudice and false principles from corrupt affections and customes and ere he is aware bewraies what he meanes by reason when he attributes hatred unto it And I verily believe his best reason is the strength of his affection By the way let the Reader observe that he is as opposite to absolute election as to absolute reprobation only he dischargeth his right reason and the spleen thereof against absolute reprobation not against absolute election We may easily guesse the true notion of his right reason in this his whole discourse savouring farre more throughout of the foxes then of the Lyons skin Now I have given him six reasons for the absolutenesse of reprobation because he appeales to reason purged from prejudice and false principles and not one of them hath he answered though they went out of my hands now full three yeares agoe I will adventure to give him some reasons for it also out of God's word For I desire to follow the crooked serpent which way soever he winds and turnes Therefore thus I dispute Predestination is absolute therefore reprobation is absolute For if reprobation be not absolute but proceeds according to mens evill works then predestination is not absolute but proceeds according to mens good works whether faith or other obedience according to that of Austin If Esau be hated for the merit of unrighteousnesse incipit Iacob justitiae merito deligi Iacob beginnes to be beloved for the merit of his righteousnesse and a little before Si enim quia praesciebat Deus futura Esaui opera mala propterea eum praedestinavit ut serviret minori propterea praedestinavit Iacob ut ei major serviret quia futura ejus bona opera praesciebat falsum est jam quod ait non ex operibus For if therefore the Lord praedestinated Esau that he should serve the younger because he foresaw his evill works For the same reason he predestinated Iacob that he should rule over the Elder because he foresaw his good works and so false is that which the Apostle saith not of works Now that predestination is absolute I prove thus It is not upon the foresight of faith much lesse of works therefore it is absolute The anteceedent I prove thus That which proceeds according to the good pleasure of the Lord's will is not
give them the grace of believing without will no man can believe What therefore is God an Hypocrite Away with such a blasphemy He alone is to be accounted an Hypocrite who counterfeits holinesse when he has none Such counterfeiting is not incident to God And let the Reader observe well the immodest cariage of this Authour Piscator when he saith that God in words professeth he will have Reprobates to believe he shewes withall in what respect he doth so to wit quatenus mandat ut credant in as much as he commands them to believe And indeed God's command is usually called God's will and by none more then by these our opposites But this Authour drawes this to the signification of God's will simply so called which is the will of purpose And to that purpose leaves out the words whereby Piscator explicates himselfe Who knowes not that God commanded Pharaoh by his servant Moses to let Israel goe this is to professe with the tongue in Piscator's phrase that God would have Pharaoh to let Israel goe And God's commandement is called God's will in Scripture This is the will of God even your sanctification But to speake properly it is but the signification of God's will of good pleasure properly called the will of God that it should be Pharaoh's duty to let Israel goe but withall he revealed to Moses that he would harden Pharaoh s heart that he should not let Israel goe Now let the indifferent judge what this Authour hath gotten by these passages of Piscator save only the displaying of his own immodest and calumniating courses then he thinks to please his Reader with the story of Tantalus wherein there is no congruity to that whereunto it is applyed For Tantalus à labris sitiens fugientia captat Flumina He was an hungred and would faine eate but could not He was a thirst and would faine drinke but could not God deales so with no man neither reprobate Jewes nor Gentiles had any desire to be partakers of the mercies of God offered them in Christ The Gospell was a scandall to the one and foolishnesse to the other But to them that are called it is the power of God and wisedome of God And as they hunger and thirst after God's righteousnesse in his deare Son so are they satisfied therewith Let him that is a thirst come and drinke of the water of life freely And He every one that is a thirst come ye to the waters and ye that have no silver come buy and eate come I say buy wine and milke without silver and without money Wherefore doe ye lay out your silver and not for bread and your labour without being satisfied Hearken diligently unto me heare and your soules shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David Here is no sending of them away empty which thirst after these waters of life They all shall draw waters of the wells of salvation So that here is no such dealing with them as the Poets feigne was their Gods dealing with Tantalus My answer to that which he produceth out of Zanchy and Bucer the Reader shall find in my answer to M. Hord. Pag. 76. 77. In the point of threats and comminations after these words We never read that threats are thundred out against us for originall sinne In M. Hord's discourse it is added Or for that corruption of nature which we brought with us into the world But this Authour leaves it quite out with what mind let the Reader judge and whether he can well brook that originall sinne should be stiled a corruption of nature which we bring with us into the world Pag. 78. In the same second sub-section after that of Abslaon's feast Ioab's congy the kisse of Iudas and the Hyaena's teares c. There is a good passage left out which followeth in M. Hord and in the place thereof this which here followeth foysted in Let the Reader consider with himselfe wherefore that was left out it seemes he was asham'd of that calumniation But thus it followes here Nay the whole ministry wherein God commandeth offereth chideth entreateth lamenteth c. if this be true is but a mere imposture a giving of words without any meaning of answerable deeds And an imposture so much the greater by how much the shew of kindnesse is the heartier For how can a good thing be offered with stronger shewes of a good meaning then when it is offered with exhortations and entreaties to accept it with cleare demonstrations of the excellency of it unfeigned wishes that the parties to whom it is offered would accept it and bitter lamentations for their folly in refusing it With all these enforcements i◠Gods tenderof salvation to Reprobates accompanyed and therefore in shew most hearty and serious In a word thusspeaks God by this doctrine to Reprobates in the ministery O ye Reprobates once most dearely beloved of me in your father Adam but now extreamly and implacably hated and by mine eternall uncontroulable order scaled up under invincible sinne and misery amend your lives and believe in the name of mine only begotten Son If you repent and believe not there is no remedy you must be damned but if you repent and believe ye shall be saved Though your sins be as red as scarlet I will make them to be as white as wooll Thinke not that I would have you dye For I sweare as I live I will not the death of him that dyeth I would have no man to perish but all to come to repentance I beseech you therefore be reconciled I have cryed and called unto you I have a long time waited upon you that you might repent And still am I knocking at the doores of your hearts for entrance O that there were an heart in you to feare me and keep my commandements that it might goe well with you for ever What shall I doe unto you how shall I intreate you will you not be made cleane when shall it once be Can God speake thus to reprobates who by his own decree shall never repent nor be saved without the deepest dissimulation Judge indifferent Reader whether ever more passion were shewed with lesse common sense For let the enforcements be never so great and serious in the ministry of the word under which all the expressions here mentioned are comprehended yet is it possible that men can yeild unto them obedience by faith and repentance unlesse God gives faith and repentance For doth not the Scripture clearely testifie that faith is the gift of God To you it is given both to believe in him to suffer for him that it is the worke of grace Act. 18. 27. What hast thou that thou hast not received And doth not the Apostle accordingly pray on the behalfe of the Ephesians not for peace only but for faith and love also from God the father and our Lord Jesus Christ Is not repentance also the
ministery is a mere imposture because all the inforcements wherewith the tender of salvation unto Reprobates is accompanied is in shew most hearty serious but indued nothing so For what have the elect of God no part in the ministery Or dates he say that by our doctrin these insorcements are nothing hearty serious to them Thou wilt say the Authour's meaning is that the whole ministery is a mere imposture towards reprobates but he saith not so but thus The whole ministery is a mere imposture and afterwards in giving his reason for it he pleads that inforcements in shew hearty serious made to reprobates are nothing so hence he concludes that the whole ministery is a mere imposture without any distinctiō of persons to whom it is a mere imposture 4. Yet I willingly confesse that it is foul enough that God's courses should be courses of imposture towards any even towards reprobates But how doth he prove that God takes any such course with reprobates To whom hath God sent his word vouchsafed the ministery hereof according to all the enforcements mētioned accompanying his tender of salvation unto them is it not unto his Church What is the preserment of the Jew above the Gentile much every way saith Paul chiefly because unto thē were committed the Oracles of God And was the Church of Jewes a Church of reprobates Were they not the City of God but the city of the Devill If these enforcements had been used to the Nativites there had been some colour for such an imputation but seing 〈…〉 of God's word in all these enforcements is used to the people of God his pretious people chosen out of the world to put his name among'st them shall this ministery be so carryed as concerning reprobates All that he hath to say for this is no other but that a great part or the most part of the people to whom he sends his prophets are reprobates Be it so but how doth he prove that God intends this ministery for the salvation of reprobates or that he intends it at all for them If God commands them as he commanded Ieremiah saying Goe cry in the eares of Jerusalem Thus saith the Lord they must doe so without difference For they are not able to put a difference between the Elect and Reprobate to know who are the one and who are the other Austin was willing to pray for all but yet he professeth that if they knew who they were whō God had ordained unto damnation they would pray no more for them then for the Devill himself so that either the Prophets were not of Austin's mind or else that they thought that their ministery in God's purpose and appointment tended to the salvatiō only of Gods elect But because they knew not who they are therefore they prayed for all and used their ministeriall enforcements indifferently towards all But like enough this Authour will deny that the Prophets were of Austin's mind Therefore I will prove they were in this The Prophets were undoubtedly of St. Paul's mind but St. Paul was of St. Austin's mind in this therefore the Prophets also were of St. Austin's mind Now that St. Paul was of St. Austin's mind and that his ministery though performed towards all yet was intended for the salvation only of God's elect I prove thus Though I be free from all men yet have I made my selfe a servant unto all men that I might winne the more Observe he doth not say that he might winne all Againe I became all things to all men that I might save some Who are these some at whose salvation he aimes I answer they are God's elect and none but they and this I prove out of those words of his where he saith Therefore I suffer all things for the elects sake that they might also obtaine salvation which is in Christ Iesus with eternall glory Now if his sufferings were for their sakes undoubtedly his whole ministery was for their sakes for this alone brought his sufferings upon him The holy Ghost witnesseth in every City saying that bonds and afflictions abide me But I passe not at all neither is my life deare unto my selfe so that I may fulfill my course with joy and the ministration that I have received to testifie the Gospell of the grace of God 5. But be it that God intends it for Reprobates also yet not for their salvation But first to take away excuse from them as to this purpose he sent Ezechiel Son of man I send thee to a rebellious nation For they are impudent children I doe send thee unto them and thou shalt say unto them Thus saith the Lord God but surely they will not heare neither indeed will they cease for they are a rebellious house yet shall they know that there hath been a Prophet among them Or otherwise as Austin hath observed ut proficiant ad exteriorem vitae emendationem quo mitius puniantur that they may profit to an outward amendment of their lives that their punishment may be the lesse And consider whether in all this he doth not openly invade not so muchour doctrine as the manifest evidence of God's word For it is apparent that God gives commands to those whose hearts he means to harden that they shall not obey those commands though those commands were not made in a cold manner but with strongest enforcements Thou shalt say to Praraoh thus saith the Lord Israel is my son even my first borne wherefore I say to thee let my son goe that he may serve me If thou refuse to let him goe behold I will slay thy son even thy first borne Yet before this he told Moses saying I will harden his heart and he shall not let the people goe And after this The Lord hardned the heart of Pharaoh and he hearkned not unto them as the Lord had said to Moses And hereupon the Lord deales with him in the way of greater enforcement then before For the Lord said unto Moses Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and tell him Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews let my people goe that they may serve me For I will at this time send all mine plagues upon thine heart and upon thy servants and upon thy people that thou maiest know that there is none like me in all the earth For now will I stretch out mine hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence and thou shalt perish from the earth And indeed for this cause have I appointed thee to shew my power in thee to declare my name thoroughout all the world Yet thou exaltest thy selfe against my people and lettest thē not goe Behold tomorrow this time I will cause to raine a mighty great hayle such as was not in Egypt since the foundation of it was laid And The lord said unto Moses Goe to Pharach for I have hardned his heart and
repentance and that by instruction admonition and exhortation therefore I doe instruct them in the knowledge of God that made them after his own Image and how this image of God came to be defaced in them to wit by the sinne of our first parents and how hereupon we became to be shapen in sinne and borne in sinne and therewithall children of wrath and such as deserve to be made the generation of God's curse then I represent unto them the mercy of God towards man in giving us his Son to beare our sins in his body upon the tree and suffer a shamefull and bitter death upon the crosse for them and that for this his Son's sake he offers unto us the pardon of all our sins upon our repentance and faith in Christ and thereupon I exhort them unto repentance We farther say that God takes no pleasure in the death of him that dieth but takes pleasure in a man's repentance We doe not say neither doth the word of God say that he willeth not the death of him that dyeth For undoubtedly he willeth the damnation of all them that dye in their sins without repentance We doe not say that God would have no man to perish but all come to repentance Neither doth the Scripture say any such thing For that were to deny God's omnipotency For seing many there be that perish if this were contrary to God's will then God's will should be resistible and we should be driven to deny the first Article of our Creed As Austine hath long agoe argued the case But indeed Peter writing to them who had obtained like pretious faith with the Apostles themselves and such as were Elect unto sanctification of the spirit and were begotten againe to a lively hope by the resurection of Jesus Christ from the dead to them he writes saying The Lord of that promise is not slack but is patient towards us not to us Reprobates God forbid that we should so corrupt the interpretation of his words but rather to us Elect to us called to us begotten of God not willing any to perish to wit of us but all come to repentance to wit all of us whensoever through our frailty we turne out of the good wayes of the Lord. God cries unto you by us and calls upon you by us and hath along time shewed great patience and long suffering and hereby led you unto repentance by his word stands knocking at the doores of your hearts and calling upon you to open unto him And the more to move you he is pleased to expresse himself in the affections of a weake man who is not able to accomplish his desires O that there were an heart in you to feare me and keep my commandements and with great passionatnesse cryeth out unto you What shall I doe unto you how shall I intreat you As if he were to seek what course to take and willing to use every provocation to excite you and stirre you up sometimes by gracious promises as Come and let us reason together though thy sins were as scarlet c. Sometimes by threatnings Woe unto thee ô Jerusalem wilt thou not be made cleane when shall it once be And withall he gives us to understand requires us to preach as much unto you also even to acquaint you with the whole counsell of God tell you that as many as are ordained unto eternall life as many as to whom the arme of the Lord is revealed as many as are of God they obey this calling they believe they heare God's words and turne unto him by true repentance sooner or later They that doe not it is because they are not of God And albeit those words are the words of Moses O that there were an heart in you to feare me speaking to them in the name of the Lord yet the same Moses tells the same people plainly that The Lord had not given them an heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor eares to heare unto that Day And albeit the Lord professeth in like manner by his Prophet Esay O that thou hadst hearkned unto my commandements then had thy prosperity been as the flood and thy righteousnesse as the waves of the sea Yet this very disobedience of theirs was consequent to the Lord's obduration of them as appeares Es 6. 9. Goe say unto this people ye shall heare indeed but ye shall not understand ye shall plainly see not perceive Make the heart of this people fat make their eares heavy and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and heare with their eares and convert and he heale them Then said the Lord how long should this obduration continue And he answered untill the Cityes be wasted without inhabitant and the houses without man and the land be utterly desolate And the Lord have removed men farre away and there be a great desolation in the midst of the land Yet I dare not say of any of you that ye are Reprobates For God may open your eyes before you dye to see your sins and touch your hearts that ye may bewaile them And whensoever this blessed condition doth befall you I will stirre you up to give God the glory of it who alone it is that worketh in us that which is pleasing in his sight Yea both the will and the deed according to his good pleasure If he never workes any such thing in you the more inexcusable are you who presuming of your own power to believe to repent yet are nothing moved with such passionate expressions unto repentance If you doe believe there is such impotency in you to good and that it must needs continue in you while God continueth to harden you by denying his grace and thereupon ye except against Gods course in complaining of their disobedience whom he hath hardned saying Why then doth he complaine For who hath resisted his will I put all such over to St. Paul to receive answer from him Rom 9. 20. 21. 22. As touching this Author's conclusion Dares he himselfe say that by God's decree Reprobates shall ever repent or be saved What then is his meaning why doth he not expresse himselfe in this particular but most unshamefastly earthes himselfe like a foxe unwilling to bring his vile opinion to the light which I take to be no other then this that God's decree of giving faith is not absolute but conditionall namely to give faith to as many as shall prepare themselves for it And to deny it to none but such as faile to prepare for it as much as in plaine termes to professe that Grace is given according unto workes The very filth of Pelagianisme Yet hath he no where discovered wherein this preparation consists that he keeps to himselfe and to his own Muses P. 80. I find another addition to the third Sub-section in these words To offer salvation under a condition not possible is in circumstance a great deale worse For it is a
is sufficient to disparage his cause with all that are indifferent and judicious The Scripture plainly professeth that faith is the gift of God repentance is the gift of God But as he carrieth the matter nothing lesse appeares then that this is his opinion Yet I know he dares not in plaine termes oppose the cleare evidence of Scripture in this Now if faith be the gift of God withall he gives it without difference to all thē all must believe which is notoriously palpably untrue If he gives it only to some thē all the rest are mocked by God according to this Authours discourse as often as he saith unto them believe and ye shall be saved And to whom he saith this to them he saith also Oh that there were such an heart in them to feare me c. If he saith he gives faith absolutely to none but conditionally and upon the same condition he is ready to give to all this is clearely to confesse that the grace of God is given according to man's workes Againe 't is God that worketh in us both the will and the deed and that according to his good pleasure if according to his good pleasure How can it be said that it is according to the preparation of the creature Then what condition can be devised whereupon God workes in us the will If he say the grace which God gives to all and whereby to believe to repent is made a thing possible unto all For thus we must proceed groaping after his meaning he affecting nothing more then to sculke and earth himselfe in his concealements I answer first The Scripture makes no mention of any such power given to any but to the contrary professeth of all persons unregenerate that they cannot please God that They cannot discerne the things of God 1 Co 2. 14 that They cannot believe that They cannot repent Ro 24 that they are not subject to the law of God nor can be 2ly The Scripture plainly saith that faith is the gift of God repentance is the gift of God It doth not say that the power to believe if they will is the gift of God If he saith by faith is meant such a power whereby a man may believe if he will I prove the contrary then all men should have faith For in this mans opinion all men are indued with this power But the Apostle plainly saith that All men have not faith Againe faith is described to be The faith of God's Elect but a power to believe if we will this Authour makes common to the Elect with Reprobates Moreover if to give power to believe if a man will be to give him faith then in as much as God gives power to sinne if he will he may be said as well that God gives sinne Adde to this that to have power to believe if one will is rather nature then grace For it is no more then posse fidem habere and this is the nature of man as Austin testifies Posse fidem habere naturae est hominum fidem habere gratiae est fidelium 'T is the nature of man that he may have faith but it is of the grace of the faithfull that a man hath faith And indeed if faith given us of God did only inable us to believe if we will it were farre inferiour to a morall vertue which doth not give man power to be vertuous if he will or to performe a vertuous act if he will but makes him vertuous and disposeth the will to vertuous acts only and leaves him not indifferent whether he will performe vertuous acts or no. To returne then if no other grace be required to free God from mocking and deriding his creature surely we are as free as our adversaries from making God to deride and mocke his creature For we are ready to grant that all men may believe if they will repent if they will with Austin l. 1. de Gen cont Man cap 3. De spiritu liter â ad Marcellin cap 32. De praedest in Sanct cap 5. And our reason is this Not to be able to doe that which a man will doe is impotency merely naturall but the impotency that we speake of which is hereditary to all mankind by reason of the fall is impotency morall and resident in the will of man For who doubts but that the will to believe is to believe For credimus si volumus So the will to repent is to repent For repentance in the root thereof is nothing else but the change of the will And Pelagius of three things proposed Posse Velle Agere he willingly granted the first to wit Posse bonum to be from God but he denied the other two to be the works of God but of our free wills which if he had acknowledged to be the workes of God as well as the first Austin tells him that ab Apostolicâ doctrinâ abhorrere non videretur he should not seeme to vary from the doctrine of the Apostles And for ought I see this Authour goes not one step beyond Pelagius He acknowledgeth that God doth perswade and exhort to believe so did Pelagius ibid. cap. 10. He saith also that God doth concurre to the act but so he doth in his opinion to every sinfull act so that this is but a generall concourse and what Pelagian was ever known to deny but that God might have as great an hand in any good act as in any naturall act Now since we acknowledge all this as well as he what colour hath he to impute unto us that we by our doctrine so fashion God's providence as to make him deride and mock miserable people Though the Jebusites did mock David as this Authour gives his word for it though I doe not find that Ribbi David Kimhi or Piscator count it any derision but a plaine representation of their confidence that David was never able to take it such was the strength of the tower◠that the weakest even the blind and the lame were sufficient to defend it Though withall Kimhi acquaints us with a strange story out of the Jews Darashe of a Covenant made between Abraham and King Abimelech and that concerning not him alone but his Son and his Nephew to suffer them quietly to enjoy their own And that the Nephew of that Abimelech was alive at that time when David came to besiege that fort And that therein the Jebusites had erected two Images the one blind to represent I saack who in his old age was blind and the other lame representing Jacob who by wrestling with God became lame and in the mouthes of these Images was kept the Covenant which was made between Abraham and Abimelech The instance he gives of a proclamation which takes up the greatest part of this supplement as a great part of this Authour's discourse is spent in such insicete representations is most incongruous not only to the matter whereunto it is applyed but to
the parts of it selfe 1. To the matter whereunto it is applyed For it is proposed in such a case as men could not obtaine a certaine incorporation though they much desired it Now such a thing is not incident to Reprobates namely that they cannot believe though they would For had they a will to believe undoubtedly that would be accepted of God Then 2 it is incongruous to the parts of the Simile it selfe For incorporation only is precluded unto Germans by the unrepealable law he feignes without common understanding For undoubtedly all lawes of men are repealable by the same authority whereby they are made And afterwards the condition of obtaining certaine bountifull gratuities by vertue of the foresaid incorporation is proposed most undecently not of their being incorporated into that society but of their will to be incorporated Now it is apparent that by the case feigned their incorporation only is precluded unto them not their will to be incorporated In the accommodation he saith God hath made a decree by our doctrin that such men shall never believe Now what one of our Divines can be produce to justifie this We say God hath decreed not to give them grace to work them unto faith but to leave them unto themselves And is not this Authour of the same opinion Nay doth he not extend it farther then we doe even to the Elect as well as Reprobates We say not so but that his elect he doth not leave unto themselves to worke out their faith if they can but workes them by his grace and holy Spirit thereunto Himselfe seemes to be conscious of the falshood of this his imputation dealing upon the point of God's justice Sub-sect 2. For having there proposed three causes why Reprobates cannot justly be bound to believe The second of them was this in M. Hord's discourse Because it is impossible that they should believe because God hath decreed they shall have no power to believe till their dying day This reason is changed in this Authour 's refining of that discourse as indeed all these reasons are changed by him more or lesse without replying upon ought that I have answered thereunto but only putting out or putting in at his pleasure to cast a shew that the former discourse of M. Hord's is not answered such is his subdolous cariage to undermine that truth which he is not able to oppose in a faire manner with any sound reason least of all by evidence of Scripture that flying in his face at every turne and therefore his best wisdome is to shut his eyes against it And here he sayth not in representing his second reason that God hath decreed they shall have no power to believe to their dying day but thus rather Because it is not God's unfeigned will they shall believe But now againe in this supplement of his he returnes to the first and saith that by our doctrine God hath made a decree that such men shall never believe Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo But I confesse it is an honour to God's truth that it cannot be opposed but in so vile a manner Yet I have already shewed that we deny not unto reprobates a power to believe if they will We deny not the ministery of the word unto them exhorting them to believe We deny not but that whosoever hath a will to believe or doth believe God must necessarily concurre to the producing of that will and that act of his All this we grant which is the uttermost whereunto this Authour comes but over and above we say that God doth not only give his elect a power to believe if they will and perswade them to believe but that also he works them to believe and not only concurres with them in producing gracious acts but makes them to concurre with him also this is the grace and this alone that he denies to reprobates Pag. 85. Treating of the use and end of God's gifts the Authour hath an addition of some seven lines concerning the Lord's supper but nothing at all to purpose Pag. 87. Of the fift Section next following The passages out of the suffrages of our Brittain Divines in the Synod of Dort quoted by M. Hord here they are expressed namely that there are certaine internall workes preparing a man to justification which by the power of the word and Spirit are wrought in the hearts of men not yet justified such as are the knowledge of God's will and sense of sinne feare of punishment Now I have shewed that these our Brittish Divines goe much farther and yet in their fift Article and fourth position they professe of all such as are none of Gods Elect that it is manifest they never really and truly attaine that change and renovation of the mind and affections which accompanieth justification nay nor that which doth immediately prepare and dispose unto justification And therefore the preparation that this Authour speaks of as out of them must needs be a remote preparation And withall they adde that They never seriously repent they are never affected with hearty sorrow for offending God for sinning neither doe they come to any humble contrition of heart nor conceive a firme resolution not to offend any more Now let every sober person judge whether God proceeding no farther with them then this can be said to intend their conversion and salvation The other position of theirs is this Those whom God by his word and Spirit affecteth after this manner those he truly and seriously calleth and inviteth unto conversion I make no question but whom God calleth he calleth seriously and whom he inviteth unto conversion that is as I take it unto repentance he inviteth truly seriously thereunto But that God intendeth either their conversion or salvation I utterly deny For did he intend it undoubtedly he would worke it For certainly this is in his power Faith is his gift and repentance is his gift and perseverance in both is his gift And unlesse he gives faith and repentance we hold it impossible that any man should believe or repent And what a monster is it in Divinity to maintaine that God's intentions are frustrated which cannot be maintained without denying God's omnipotency For no man's intentions are frustrated but because it lyeth not in his power to bring to passe the things intended by him Pag. 88. In the next section following is inserted a sentence of Prosper which no man denies It is this They that have despised God's inviting will shall feele his revenging will but it is rightly to be understood namely of despising his inviting will all along and finally Otherwise if they break of their contempt by repentance there is mercy enough in store with God to pardon them and his revengefull hand shall not be felt by them Pag. 89. And seventh section concerning the use and end of God's gifts divers passages of our Divines are mentioned shewing the end of God's providence in affording his word unto reprobates As first
these two wills must needs enterfeere and contradict one the other IEANES THis you gather from what you have not at all proved but only pretended to have proved viz. that the precept or injunction of faith and repentance is properly the will of God And for the contrary I have brought undeniable proofes and therefore though there be any secret or unrevealed will in God whereby he willeth the destruction of any man at the same time when he willeth or enjoyneth his faith and repentance those two wills doe not as you say enterfeere or contradict one the other For unto contradiction it is required that all the termes must be taken in the same sense and signification now this condition is not here observed For that he willeth the destruction of any man is with a will in proper speech that he willeth the faith and repentance of all men unto whom the Gospell is preached is with a will improperly so called viz his commandement M r GOODWIN NOr will that distinction of the late mentioned Author salve a consistency between them wherein he distinguisheth betwixt the decree of God and the thing decreed by him affirming that the thing which God decreeth may be repugnant to or inconsistent with the thing that he commandeth though the decree it selfe cannot be repugnant to the command IEANES THis is not barely affirmed but strongly proved by D. Twisse and of his proofes you take no notice but only object against what he saith This if it be a laudable is a very easy and compendious way of handling a controversy for it would save a man the labour of that which hath still been accounted the most difficult taske in Polemicall Writers to wit solution of Arguments but I shall acquaint the Reader with what you conceale and I doe not doubt but upon representation thereof he will acquit the Doctor and his distinction from that vanity which you lay to his charge Rem a Deo decretam cum re a Deo mandata pugnare posse dicimus interea decretum Dei cum mandato pugnare posse non dicimus uirumque demonstramus Rem a Deo decretam cum re a Deo mandata pugnare posse sic oftendimus sacrificatio Isaaci non-sacrificatic Isaici pugnant inter se sunt enim termini contradicentes At harum altera fuit a Deo mandata Abrahamo uti docet Scriptura simulque eodem tempore non-sacrificatio fuit à Deo decreta ut colligitur ex eventu Nam Deus eam efficaciter impedivit ne fieret Quare res a Deo mandata pugnare potest cum re a Deo decreta Rursus dimissio populi Israelitici ex Aegypto non-dimissio pugnant inter se sunt enim sibi invicem contradicentes at altera nempe dimissio fuit a Deo mandata Pharaoni altera puta non-dimissio fuit a Deo eodem tempore decreta Nam mandavit Pharaoni per Mosem Aaronem ut populum dimitteret simul etiam significavit se obduraturum cor Pharaonis ut non dimitteret ergo res a Deo mandata pugnare potest cum re à Deo decreta That things commanded and decreed by God may be contradictory the Doctor proveth by undenyable instances The sacrificing of Isaack and the not sacrificing of Isaack are termes contradictory but the sacrificing of Isaack was the object of Gods command to Abraham Gen. 22. 2. The not sacrificing of Isaack was the object of Gods decree as appears by the event v. 11. 12. Therefore the object of Gods commandement and the object of his decree may be contradictory Againe the letting of Israell goe out of Aegypt and the not letting of Israell goe out of Aegypt are termes contradictory but the letting of Israell goe was commanded unto Pharaoh his not letting of Israell goe was decreed and determined by God Exod. 7. 2 3. and 10. 1 2. God told Moses that he would harden Pharaohs heart that he should not let Israell goe Therefore a thing commanded by God and a thing decreed by God may be contradictory Concerning the first of these instances you say something pag. 451 452. But there is nothing argumentative in what you say but may receive an answer from your own rule of interpreting Scripture pag. 92. 99. 108. 109. In the next place the Doctor proves that the commandements and the decrees of God are not repugnant Nec tamen decretum pugnare cum mandato sic probamus Mandato significat Deus quid sit nostri officii ut a nobis fieri debeat decretum vero divinum nihil aliud est quam propositum divinum de aliquo ut vel fiat vel impediatur ne fiat idque efficaciter Mandatum docet quid ipse probaturus sit si modo ab homine fiat quid improbaturus si non fiat decretum statuit quid ipse facturus sit aut impediturus ne sit Ista autem non pugnant tui est officii ut hoc facias sed non est mei propositi per gratiam efficere ut facias Pari ratione potest Deus mandare alicui fidem resipiscentiam interea apud se statuere quod non credat aut resipiscat negando scilicet gratiam efficacem qua sola fieri potest ut credat aut resipiscat God by his command signifieth and sheweth what is our duty what ought to be done or left undone by us Gods decree is nothing else but his purpose that things shall come to passe or not come to passe the command teacheth what God will approve or disapprove his decree determineth what he himselfe will doe or hinder c. Now these are no waies repugnant It is thy duty to doe this but it is not Gods purpose to give thee grace for the doing of it Thou art bound or obliged to doe this but yet thou shalt never actually doe it faith and repentance are thy duty and yet thy faith and thy repentance shall never actually exist or come to passe By this that the Doctor hath said it is plaine that there is no opposition between Gods command to all that heare the Gospell believe and repent and his purpose of denying faith and repentance unto many nay most of them And thus you see what the Doctor hath to say for himselfe let us next heare what you can say against him Mr GOODWIN THe vanity of this distinction cleerely appeareth upon this common ground viz. that acts are differenced and distinguished by their objects therefore if the object of Gods decreeing will or the thing decreed by him be contrary unto the thing preceptively willed or commanded by him impossible it is but that the two acts of his will by the one of which he is supposed to will the one and by the other the other should digladiate and one fight against the other IEANES FIrst here againe you perplexe the disputation with talking of two acts of Gods will but supposing that by one of them you meane Gods decree which is in him and
Baptist Preached yet was it nothing congruous but contrariant rather to the Evangelists scope to write so His purpose being to set downe of what estimation was the authority of Iohn by the confluence of all people from all parts unto him therefore when he writes that all Judea and all Jerusalem went forth unto him the meaning can be no more than this namely that from all parts of Judea and of Jerusalem some flocked unto him IEANES I come unto the third and last exception in your Book against Doctor Twisse pag. 245. Mr GOODWIN HAnging upon the Crosse he prayed for his enemies and those that crucified him that they might be forgiven May it not as well be inferred from hence that therefore all his enemies and all such who in any sense crucify him shall be forgiven by God as it is argued from his praying for Peter that his faith might not faile that the faith of no true believer shall faile Doctor Twisses notion upon the case is not so authentique and though admitted will not heale the difficulty Christ saith he prayed for his enemies ex officio hominis privati i. e. according to the duty of a private man but for his elect as Mediator This is said but not proved nor indeed probable For very unlikely it is that Christ being now in a full investiture of his great office of Mediator should wave his interest in Heaven by meanes hereof in his addressements unto God for men and pray only in the capacity and according to the interest and duty of a private man This would argue that he prayed not for them with his whole heart nor with an effectualnesse of desire to obtaine what he prayed for But let it be granted yet still it followes that whatsoever Christ prayed for was not simply or absolutely granted or done and if whatsoever Christ prayed for was absolutely granted it is not materiall as to matter of impetration whether he prayed as Mediator or as a private man But the intent of Christs Prayer for those that crucified him was not that all their sinnes should be forgiven them much lesse that simply and absolutely i. e. without any intervening of faith and repentance they should be forgiven which had been to pray for that which is expressely contrary unto the revealed will of God but that that particular sinne of their crucifying him shold be forgivem them i. e. should not be imputed unto them by way of barre unto their repentance either by any suddaine or speedy destruction or by delivering them up to such a spirit of obstinacy or obduration under which men seldome or never repent IEANES THis exposition of D. Twisse proceeds upon supposition not grant that Christ prayed for all that had a hand in his crucifying and taking this supposition to be true this following argument for the proofe of this exposition may easily be gathered out of D. Twisse If Christ prayed for all that crucifyed him then either according to the duty of a private person or by vertue of his office as he was Mediator but he prayed not for all his persecutors by vertue of his office as he was a Mediatour therefore if he prayed for them it was only in answer of his duty as he was made under the Law and a private person The Minor which is only likely to be questioned is thus confirmed some that were guilty of his crucifying were in all likelihood Reprobates as is not only confessed but proved by Arminius Oravit saith he pro iis qui crucifixerunt eum pro inimicis suis inter quos non-electi fuerunt Pincipes enim saeculi crucifixerunt illum at plurimis illorum sapientia Dei virtus quae est Christus non est revelata The Princes of the World crucified the Lord of Glory 1 Cor. 2. 8. And unto most of them the wisdome and power of God which is Christ is not revealed Now in Ioh. 17. 9. where we have the modell rule or Epitome of Christs intercession that is of his praying as Mediator he disclaimes all prayer and consequently mediation for Reprobates I pray not for the World but for them which thou hast given me Where World is taken pro turbà Reproborum c. saith D. Twisse for the rout or rabble of Reprobates and he proves it thus In his Mundus opponitur iis qui dantur Christo a Patre at dari a patre significat statum electionis Ioh. 6. 39. Significat enim statum bonum praecedaneum vocationi efficaci omne quod dat mihi pater veniet ad me Venire autem ad Christum est credere in Christum per vocationem efficacem Vind. l. 1. p. 2. pag. 181. The World in these words is opposed unto them which are given unto Christ by the Father but to be given unto Christ by the Father signifieth the state of election for it signifieth a good and happy estate or condition precedaneous unto effectuall vocation Ioh. 6. 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me but to come unto Christ is to believe in Christ by an effectuall vocation Thus you see that notwithstanding your pleasure to say otherwise it is not barely said but proved by him that Christ prayed not for all his Crucifyers by vertue of his office as he was Mediator In the next place that Christ according to the duty of a private man might pray for all that crucified him even for those of them that were not elect is rendred probable by two arguments in D. Twisse The first is Christs subjection unto the Law Gal. 4. 4. He was made under the Law and therefore bound to fulfill all righteousnesse Math. 3. 15. And one branch of the Law as is evident by Christ his own glosse upon it Math. 5. is to love our enemies to forgive private personall wrongs to pray for them which despitefully use us and persecute us this was a poynt that he pressed much upon his Disciples in his life time and it being a duty though of frequent use yet difficult and harsh unto flesh and bloud it is not unlikely but that he might exemplify it by his own practice at his death A second Argument in D. Twisse to prove that it is not improbable that Christ as a private man affectu humano prayed on his Crosse for all his Crucifyers even such of them as he knew not to belong unto the election of grace is drawn from comparison of such a prayer with the like prayer that Christ made in his agony in the Garden O my Father if it be possible let this cup passe from me Math. 26. 39. Father if thou be willing remove this cup from me Luk. 22. 42. This bitter cup of his death and Passion he knew full well that he was to drinke up as a Mediator for his elect both by his Fathers decree call command as also by his own voluntary undertaking for to this end and purpose he came into the World and sanctified himselfe
Ioh. 17. 19. and therefore though these words were part of a most solemne addressement unto God yet were they not put up by him in the capacity and according to the duty and interest of a Mediator for his elect Twisse Vindic. l. 1. p. 2. pag. 188. And this is enough to satisfy you that you are out in passing your censure upon D. Twisse his notion on this place that it is said not proved which I am perswaded you would have forborne if you had so throughly perused him as it was fit you should before you had in publike thus censured him Let us see in the next place with what strength of Argument you oppose his exposition M. GOODWIN NOr indeed is this probable for very unlikely it is that Christ being now in a full investiture of his great office of Mediator should wave his interest in heaven by meanes hereof in his addressements unto God for men and pray only in the capacity and according to the interest and duty of a private man this would argue that he prayed not for them with his whole heart nor with an effectuallnesse of desire to obtaine what he prayed for IEANES FIrst you cannot deny but that in these words of Christ Father if it be possible or if it be thy will let this cup passe from me Christ prayed not as a Mediator for his elect for so he was ingaged to drinke off this Cup but as a man naturally declining and abhorring death and the ignominy of the Crosse as they are in themselves evill and yet all your arguments mutatis mutandis with due change may be applied unto this interpretation as well as unto D. Twisse his notion as you call it upon Luke 23. 34. Secondly in answer unto your objections we may make use of a distinction of prayer brought by Suarez in tertiam partem Sum. Aquin. q. 21. Art 4. Prayer is nothing else but an unfolding of the will unto God Now in Christs manhood there was a twofold will one absolute and effectuall another conditionall and uneffectuall which may otherwise be termed a velleity a will of simple complacency a will of a thing only secundum quid in some particular respect according to some particular consideration of such a will of his we read Mar. 7. 24. He entred into an house and would have no man know it but he could not be hid Answerable unto these two acts of the will in Christ there may be attributed unto Christ two sorts or kinds of prayer one proceeding from an absolute and effectuall will and this was alwaies heard the other from a conditionall and uneffectuall will and this was not alwaies heard such was his prayer in his agony let this cup passe from me and of this sort or kind of prayer is that passage Psal 22. 2. In reference unto Christ understood O my God I cry in the day time but thou hearest not and in the night season and am not silent Now to apply this distinction Christ could not pray as a private man for those of his persecutors for whom he did not pray as a Mediator if we speake of that kind of Prayer which cometh from an absolute and effectuall will which is styled by Gregory de Valentia Voluntas rationis undequaque deliberatae because it proceedeth upon regard had to all circumstances And the reason is because with this kind of Prayer he never prayed for any thing but what he knew would be granted for he never absolutely and effectually willed any thing but what was agreeable unto Gods absolute will the will of his decree or good pleasure and this is all that your arguments can prove But yet notwithstanding this he might pray taking prayer for a representation of a conditionall or uneffectuall will for the pardon of even those of his persecutors who he knew should be condemned and for whom therefore he prayed not as Mediator or more plainly he might expresse a velleity a gracious mercifull and charitable desire to have all his crucifyers pardoned so as it were not contrary unto Gods decree unto which he did submit and in which he did acquiesce as he did in his prayer for the removall of his Passion not my will but thy will be done An answer very like unto if not coincident with this may be easily gathered out of D. Twisse and it is that Christ as a private man prayed for the pardon of all his persecutors taking prayer for an expression of Christs antecedent will not as prayer is a representation of his consequent will An Antecedent will as Alvarez explaines it is the willing of a thing considered absolutely as it is in it selfe abstracting from all other considerations of it A consequent will is the willing of a thing considered with all circumstances wherewith it is clothed Thus a Merchant willeth the preservation of his wares with an antecedent will as the preservation of his wares is considered in it selfe but he doth not will it with a consequent will as it is considered with this circumstance as 't is accompanied with hazard and danger of his life Thus also a judge with an antecedent will willes the life of a Prisoner because his life is in it selfe a thing good and desireable but he doth not will it with a consequent will as he is guilty of Murther incest or any the like capitall crime Now D. Twisse though he reject the application of this distinction to God with whose simplicity and infinite knowledge severall successive considerations of one and the same thing are utterly incompetible yet he denyeth not but it may have place in the manhood of Christ Ratione diversarum considerationum non nego saith he distinctionem istam competere posse in hominem quippe cui variae considerationes occurrere possunt invicem succedentes sic Christus naturali sui conservandi desiderio ferebatur cum a patre peteret ut calix transiret at consideratâ voluntate decreto patris de Calice isto ad bibendum ipsi propinato eidem se submittere consultum duxit This distinction in regard of diverse considerations of one and the same thing may be ascribed unto man in whom are found severall considerations of the same thing succeeding one another So Christ as man out of a naturall desire of selfe-preservation prayed that the cup of his passion might passe from him but the will or decree the command of his Father his owne office and mans salvation being considered he submitted himselfe to the drinking up of this cup even to the very dreggs neverthelesse not my will but thy will be done Luk. 22. 42. If this cup may not passe away from me except I drinke it thy will be done Mat. 26. 42. He did not will his passion with an Antecedent will but he willed it you see with a Consequent will Joh. 4. 34. And so he prayed against it as a prayer is a proposall of an Antecedent not consequent will Now that Doctor Twisse resembles
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as that it is not to be accounted any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at all Theologicall but meerly Logicall Let the condition of the decrees be rightly explicated according to Divinity and we shall have no need at all of Divinity for the right ordering of them A meer Logicall faculty by light of nature will serve for this For the decrees whereof we treat are meerely Intentiones rerum gerendarum Now for the ordering of these in what kind soever we have received Rules of the Schooles never yet that I know contradicted by any namely that they are to be ordered according to the condition of the things intended which are but two to wit the end and the means and all doe attribute priority to the intention of the end and posteriority to the intention of the means It is true men may erre in designing the right end as also in designing the right means and these errours are to be discovered and the truth cleered by that science whereunto the consideration of the end and means belong and not by Logick But agreement being made concerning the end and means there is no doubt to be made but that according to the most received Rules of Schooles the end must be acknowledged both first in intention and last in execution and contrarily the means last in intention and first in execution 2. But come we to the Decrees themselves the different opinions thereabouts which follow in the next place Now here I looked for different opinions about decrees in the plural number but I find the relation extends no farther then to one decree and that of Reprobation So at the first entrance reasons are promised even in this writing to be exhibited of chang of opinion in certain controversies in the plurall number when in the issue all comes but to one controversy and that about Reprobation Yet the Scripture speaketh fully of Election sparingly of Reprobation in most places leaving us to judge thereof by consequence from the doctrine of Election Yet some passages we have I confesse that give light and evidence to both alike For like as it is said Acts 2. last that God added daily to the Church such as should be saved so 2 Cor. 4. 3. it is said If our Gospell be hid it is hid to them that are lost and as it is signified Math. 24 24. that T is impossible seducers should prevaile over the elect so 2 Thes 2. both as much is signified ver 13. and also expressed ver 10. 11. that they shall prevaile among them that perish and the 1 Cor. 1. 18. we are given to understand joyntly that the preaching of the Crosse is to them that perish foolishnesse but unto us which are saved it is the power of God and Rom. 9. 18. that as God hath mercy on whom he will so also he hardneth whom he will And like as Acts 13. 48. we read that as many believed as were ordained to eternall life which phrase of ordaining to eternall life I conceive under correction to be all one with the phrase of Writing our names in Heaven Luke 10. 20. and writing us in heaven Hebr. 12. 23. and this phrase I take to be all one with the writing of us in the Book of life So on the other side we read that Whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the World should wonder when they beheld the Beâ—st and not so only but worship him also But give we every vessel leave to vent that liquor whereof it is full I come to the consideration of the different opinions here proposed concerning the decree of Reprobation and herein I will endeavour to open a clear way to the right understanding of the truth that your judgement may have the more free course in discerning it and withall to represent unto you the unreasonable carriage of our Adversaries in the setting downe of our Tenent whereby you may guesse what you are to expect from them prosecuting against it And herein I will insist upon these particulars The first shall be the Things Decreed The second the Cause of this decree The third the Persons on whom this Decree doth passe The fourth shall be that claw of Unavoydable Sin and Damnation 1. The Things Decreed are here said to be The casting off from grace and glory and the shutting of men up under Damnation Now I pray observe here in the first place that by casting off from grace and glory we mean no other thing then the not giving of grace and glory and by grace we mean the grace of Faith and Repentance the grace of Regeneration For like as in Election God purposeth we say to give this grace unto some which is the same with shewing mercy on them Rom. 9. 18. as we suppose so on the other side God purposeth to deny this grace unto others which in Scripture phrase is to harden them that being made opposite to Gods shewing mercy Rom. 9. 18. And for the farther clearing of the termes we say that God by giving Faith and Repentance doth cure that infidelity and impenitency which is naturall unto all as being borne in sin and by not giving this grace of Faith and Repentance unto others God leaves their naturall infidelity and impenitency uncured And if this Author means ought else by shutting up under sin then the not curing of their naturall infidelity and impenitency he doth us wrong and what he means thereby I know not As for shutting up under damnation that is not our phrase but we love to speak in plain tearmes and say that God doth purpose to inflict damnation on them whom he Reprobates Thus much for the cleering of the tearmes as touching the things Decreed Secondly observe I pray which is of principall consideration that here we have no cause at all specified why he refuseth to give them grace cunningly leaving it to an improvident Reader to conceive that the cause of the decree which is here specified to be the meer pleasure of Gods will is indifferently applyable to the not giving of grace and glory and to the shutting up under damnation as the cause thereof which is a notorious imposture yet I doe not think this Author guilty of it but others rather who abuse their witts by cunning courses to deceive the hearts of the simple Amongst the Fallacies observed by Aristotle there is one called Fallacia plurium interrogationum as when many things are put together and an answer is required to be made either affirmatively or negatively to them all as if they were but one when indeed the answer cannot be made aright without distinction of the things demanded the one whereof perhaps requires an answer affirmative the other negative As for example to instance as touching one of the Controversies here declined We are often demanded whether every one that heareth the Gospell be not bound to believe that Christ died for him Now I say this phrase Christ died