3. Chap. 49. 10. Psal 2. 7 8. and 110. with innumerable other concerning his life office and redeeming of his people for surely they were obliged to beleeve the promises of God Secondly those many cleare expressions of his death passion and suffering for us as Gen. 3. 15. Isaiah 53. 6 7 8 9 10 c. Chap. 63. 2 3. Dan. 9. 26. but what need we reckon any more our Saviour taught his Disciples that all the Prophets from Moses spake concerning him and that the sole reason why they did not so readily embrace the faith of his passion and resurrection was because they beleeved not the Prophets Luk. 24. 25 26. shewing plainly that the Prophets required faith in his death and passion Thirdly by the explicite faith of many Iews as of old Simeon Luke 3. 34. of the Samaritan woman who looked for a Messias not as an earthly King but as one that should tell them all things redeeme them from sinne and tell them all such things as Christ was then discoursing of concerning the worship of God Ioh. 4. vers 25. Fourthly by the expresse testimony of Christ himself Abraham saith he reioyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad Ioh. 8. 56. his day his houre in the Scripture principally denote his passion and that which he saw surely he beleeved or else the father of the faithfull was more diffident then Thomas the most incredulous of his children Fifthly By these following and the like places of Scripture Christ is a Lambe slaine from the foundation of the world Revel 13. 8. slaine in promises slaine in Gods estimation and the faith of beleever he is the same yesterday to day and for ever Heb. 13. 8. under the law and the Gospel There is none other name under heaven given unto men whereby they must be saved Acts 4. 12. never any then without the knowledge of a Redeemer participation of his passion communication of his merits did ever come to the sight of God no man ever came to the Father but by him hence St. Paul tels the Ephesians that they were without Christ because they were aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel Ephes 2. 12. intimating that Gods Covenant with the Iews included Christ Iesus and his righteousnesse no lesse then it doth now with us on these grounds holy Ignatius called Abel a martyr of Christ he died for his faith in the promised seed and in another place all the Saints were saved by Christ hoping in him and waiting on him they obtained salvation by him So Prosper also We must beleeve that never any man was iustified by any other faith either before the Law or under the Law then by faith in Christ coming to save that which was lost Whence Eusebius contendeth that all the old Patriarchs might properly be called Christians they all eate of the same spirituall meat and all dranke of the same spirituall drinke even of the rocke that followed them which rocke was Christ Secondly if the ancient people of God notwithstanding divers other especiall revelations of his will and heavenly instructions obtained not salvation without faith in Christ much lesse may we grant this happinesse without him to them who were deprived of those other helps also so that though we confesse the poore naturall indeavours of the heathen not to have wanted their reward either positive in this life by outward prosperitie and inward calmnesse of minde in that they were not all perplexed and agitated with furies like Nero and Caligula or negative in the life to come by a diminution of the degrees of their torments they shall not be beaten with so many stripes yet we absolutely deny that there is any saving mercy of God towards them revealed in the Scripture which should give us the least intimation of their attaining everlasting happinesse for not to consider the corruption and universall disability of nature to doe any thing that is good without Christ we can doe nothing Ioh. 15. 5. nor yet the sinfulnesse of their best works and actions the sacrifices of the wicked being an abomination unto the Lord Prov. 15. 8. Evill trees cannot bring forth good fruit men doe not gather grapes of thornes nor figs of thistles Matth. 7. 16. the word of God is plaine that without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11. 6. that he who beleeveth not is condemned Mark 16. 16. that no nation or person can be blessed but in the seed of Abraham Gen. 12. and the blessing of Abraham comes upon the Gentiles only by Iesus Christ Gal. 3. 14. He is the way and the truth and the life Ioh. 14. 6. none comes to the Father but by him he is the doore by which those that doe not enter are without with Dogs and Idolaters Revel 22. So that other foundation of blessednesse can none lay but what is already laid even Iesus Christ 1 Corinth 3. 12. in briefe doe but compare those two places of Saint Paul one Rom. 8. 30. where he sheweth that none are glorified but those that are called and Chap. 10. 14 15. where he declares that all calling is instrumentally by the preaching of the Word and Gospel and it will evidently appeare that no salvation can be granted unto them on whom the Lord hath so farre powred out his indignation as to deprive them of the knowledge of the sole means thereof Christ Iesus And to those that are otherwise minded I give only this necessary caution let them take heed lest whilest they indeavour to invent new wayes to heaven for others by so doing they loose not the true way themselves S. S. Oh fooles and slow to beleeve all that the Prophets have written ought not Christ to have suffered these things Luk. 24. 25 26. Abraham reioyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad Ioh. 8. 56. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant iustifie many for he shall beare their iniquities Isa 53. 11. see the places before cited At the time they were without Christ being aliens from the Common-weath of Israel and strangers from the Covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world Eph. 2. 12. There is no other name under heaven given unto men whereby we must be saved but only by Christ Act. 4. 12. The blessing of Abraham comes on the Gentiles by Iesus Christ Gal. 3. 14. he that beleeveth not is condemned Mark 16. 16. without faith it is impossible to please God Hebr. 11. 6. Other foundation can no man lay but what is already laid even Iesus Christ 1 Cor. 3. 12. Lib. Arbit There is no place in the Old Testament whence it may appeare that faith in Christ as a Redeemer was either enioyed or found in any then Rem Apol. Abrahams faith had no reference to Christ Armin. The Gentiles living under the Old Testament though it was not revealed unto them as unto the Iews yet were not excluded from the Covenant of grace and
regard it may be hindered or resisted but as it is considered to follow any act of man it is alwaies fulfilled by which latter member striving to mollifie the harshnesse of the former he runs himselfe into inexplicable non-sense affirming that that act of the will of God whereby he intendeth men shall doe any thing cannot be hindered after they have done it that is God hath irresistibly purposed they shall doe it provided they doe it in his following Discourse also he plainly grants that there is no act of Gods will about the salvation of men that may not be made voide and of none effect but onely that generall decree whereby he hath established an inseparable connexion betweene faith and salvation or whereby he hath appointed faith in Christ to be the meanes of attaining blessednesse which is onely an immanent act of Gods will producing no outward effect so that every act thereof that hath an externall issue by humane co-operation is frustrable and may fall to the ground which in what direct opposition it stands to the word of God let these following instances declare First Our God is in heaven saith the Psalmist he hath done whatsoever he pleased Psal 115. 5. not onely part but all whatsoever he pleased should come to passe by any meanes He ruleth in the kingdome of men and giveth it to whom he will Dan. 4. 23. The transposition of kingdomes is not without the mixture of divers free and voluntary actions of men and yet in that great worke God doth all that he pleaseth yea before him all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and he doth according to his will in the Armie of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him What dost thou vers 35. My counsell saith he shall stand and I will doe all my pleasure Isa 46. 10. I have purposed I will also doe it vers 11. Nay so certaine is he of accomplishing all his purposes that he confirmes it with an Oath the Lord of Hoasts hath sworne surely as I have thought so it shall come to passe and as I have purposed so it shall stand Isa 14. 24. and indeed it were a very strange thing that God should intend what he fore-seeth will never come to passe but I confesse this Argument will not be pressing against the Arminians who question that praescience but yet would they also would observe from the Scripture that the faylings of wicked mens counsels and intentions is a thing that God is said to deride in heaven as Psal 2. 4. He threatens them with it Take counsell saith he together and it shall come to nought Isa 8. 10. speake the word and it shall not stand see also Chap. 29. 7 8. and shall they be enabled to recriminate and cast the like aspersion on the God of heaven no surely saith Saint Austine Let us take heed we be not compelled to beleeve that Almightie God would have any thing done which doth not come to passe to which truth also that the Schoole-men have universally consented is shewed by Alvarez disput 32. pro. 3. and these few instances will manifest the Arminian opposition to the word of God in this particular S. S. Our God is in heaven and hath done whatsoever pleaseth him Psal 115. 3. I will doe all my pleasure Isa 46. Who can stay his hand or say unto him what dost thou Dan. 4. 35. I have purposed I will also doe it Isa 45. As I have purposed so it shall stand Chap. 14. 24. Lib. Arbit We nothing doubt but many things which God willeth or that it pleaseth him to have done do yet never come to passe Corvin We grant that some of Gods desires are never fulfilled idem It is in the power of man to hinder the execution of Gods will idem It is ridiculous to imagine that God doth not seriously will any thing but what taketh effect Episcopius It may be obiected that God faileth of his end this we readily grant Remonstr Synod CHAP. VI. How the whole doctrine of Predestination is accounted by the Arminians THe cause of all these quarrels wherewith the Arminians and their abettors have troubled the Church of Christ comes next unto our consideration the eternall predestination of Almightie God that fountaine of all spirituall blessings of all the effects of Gods love derived unto us through Christ the demollishing of this rocke of our salvation hath been the chiefe indeavour of all the Patrons of humane selfe-sufficiencie so to vindicate unto themselves a power and independent abillitie of doing good of making themselves to differ from others of attaining everlasting happinesse without going one steppe from without themselves and this is their first attempt to attaine their second proposed end of building a tower from the toppe whereof they may mount into heaven whose foundation is nothing but the sand of their owne free-will and indeavours quite on the sudden what they have done in effect to have taken away this divine praedestination name and thing had beene an attempt as noted as notorious and not likely to attaine the least successe amongst men professing to beleeve the Gospel of Christ wherefore suffering the name to remaine they have abolished the thing it selfe and substituted another so unlike it in the roome thereof that any one may see they have gotten a bleare-eyed Leah instead of Rachel and hugge a cloud instead of a Deitie The true Doctrine it selfe hath beene so excellently delivered by divers learned Divines so freed from all Objections that I shall onely briefely and plainly lay it downe and that with speciall reference to the seventeenth Article of our Church where it is cleerely avowed shewing withall which is my chiefe intention how it is thwarted opposed and overthrowne by the Arminians Predestination in the usuall sense it is taken is a part of Gods providence concerning his creatures distinguished from it by a double restriction First in respect of their Obiects for whereas the Decree of providence comprehendeth his intentions towards all the works of his hands predestination respecteth onely rationall creatures Secondly in regard of their ends for whereas his providence directeth all creatures in generall to those severall ends to which at length they are brought whether they are proportionated unto their natures or exceeding the sphere of their naturall activitie Predestination is exercised onely in directing rationall creatures to supernaturall ends so that in generall it is the counsell decree or purpose of Almightie God concerning the last and supernaturall end of his rationall creatures to be accomplished for the praise of his glory But this also must receive a double restriction before we come precisely to what we in this place aime at and these againe in regard of the objects or the ends thereof The Object of Predestination is all rationall creatures now these are either Angels or men of Angels I shall not treat Secondly the end by it provided
perversly said that originall sinne makes a man guilty of death Of any death it should seeme temporall eternall or that annihillation they dreame of and he said true enough Arminius doth affirme it adding this reason because it is onely the punishment of Adams actuall sinne now what kinde of punishment they make this to be I shewed you before But truely I wonder seeing they are every where so peremptorie that the same thing cannot be a sin and a punishment why they doe so often nick-name this infirmity of nature and call it a sinne which they suppose to be as farre different from it as fire from water is it because they are unwilling by new naming it to contradict St. Paul in expresse termes never proposing it under any other denomination or if they can get a sophisticall elusion for him is it least by so doing Christians should the more plainely discerne their heresie or what ever other cause it be in this I am sure they contradict themselves notwithstanding in this they agree full well That God reiecteth none for originall sinne onely as Episcopius speakes and here if you tell them that the question is not de facto what God doth but de iure what such sinne deservers they tell us plainly That God will not destinate any infants to eternall punishment for originall sinne without their owne proper actuall sinnes neither can he doe so by right or in iustice so that the children of Turkes Pagans and the like Infidels strangers from the covenant of grace departing in their infancie are farre happier then any Christian men who must under-goe a hard warfare against sinne and Satan in danger to fall finally away at the last houre and through many difficulties entering the kingdome of heaven when they without further trouble are presently assumed thither for their innocency Yea although they are neither elected of God for as they affirme he chooseth none but for their faith which they have not nor redeemed by Christ for he died onely for sinners he saved his people from their sinnes which they are not guiltie of nor sanctified by the holy Ghost all whose operations they restraine to a morall swasion whereof infants are not a capable subject Which is not much to the honour of the blessed Trinitie that heaven should be replenished with them whom the Father never elected the Sonne never redeemed nor the holy Ghost sanctified And thus you see what they make of this originall pravitie of our nature at most an infirmitie or languor thereof neither a sinne nor the punishment of sinne properly so called nor yet a thing that deserves punishment as a sinne Which last assertion whether it be agreeable to holy Scripture or no these two following observations will declare First there is no confusion no disorder no vanitie in the whole world in any of Gods creatures that is not a punishment of our sinne in Adam That great and almost universall ruine of Nature proceeding from the curse of God overgrowing the earth and the wrath of God revealing it selfe from heaven is the proper issue of his transgression It was of the great mercy of God that the whole frame of Nature was not presently rolled up in darkenesse and reduced to its primitive confusion Had we our selves beene deprived of those remaining sparkes of Gods Image in our soules which vindicates us from the number of the Beasts that perish had we beene all borne fooles and voyd of reason by dealing so with some in particular he sheweth us it had beene but justice to have wrapped us in the same miserie all in generall all things when God first created them were exceeding good and thought so by the wisedome of God himselfe but our sinne even compelled that good and wise Creator to hate and curse the worke of his owne hands Cursed is the ground saith he to Adam for thy sake in sorrow shalt thou eate of it all the dayes of thy life thornes also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee Gen. 3. 17 18. hence was that heavie burden of vanitie that bondage of corruption under which to this day the whole Creation groaneth and travelleth in paine untill it be delivered Rom. 8. 21 22. Now if our sinne had such a strange malignant influence upon those things which have no relation unto us but onely as they were created for our use surely it is of the great mercy of God that we our selves are not quite confounded which doth not yet so interpose it self but that we are all compassed with divers sad effects of this iniquitie lying actually under divers pressing miseries and deservedly obnoxious to everlasting destruction so that Secondly death temporall with all its antecedents and attendants all infirmities miseries sicknesses wasting destroying passions casualties that are poenall all evill conducing thereunto or waiting on it is a punishment of originall sinne and this not onely because the first actuall sinne of Adam is imputed to us but most of them are the proper issues of that native corruption and pollution of sinne which is stirring and operative within us for the production of such sad effects our whole nature being by it throughly defiled hence are all the distortures and distemperatures of the soule by lusts concupiscence passions blindnesse of minde perversenesse of will inordinatenesse of affections wherewith we are pressed and turmoiled even proper issues of that inherent sinne which possesseth our whole soules Vpon the body also it hath such an influence in disposing it to corruption and mortality as it the originall of all those infirmities sicknesses and diseases which make us nothing but a shop of such miseries for death it selfe as these and the like degrees are the steps which leade us on apace in the road that tends unto it so they are the direct internall efficient cause thereof in subordination to the justice of Almighty God by such meanes inflicting it as a punishment of our sinnes in Adam Man before his fall though not in regard of the matter whereof he was made nor yet meerely in respect of his quickning forme yet in regard of Gods ordination was immortall a keeper of his owne everlastingnesse Death to which before he was not obnoxious was threatned as a punishment of his sinne In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die the exposition of which words given by God at the time of his inflicting this punishment and pronouncing man subject to mortalitie cleerely sheweth that it comprehendeth temporall death also dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt returne our returne to dust is nothing but the soules leaving the body whereby before it was preserved from corruption Further Saint Paul opposeth that death we had by the sinne of Adam to the resurrection of the body by the power of Christ for since by man came death by man also came the resurrection from the dead For as in Adam all die so in Christ shall all be made alive 1 Cor. 15. 21. 22.
all this discourse concerning the meritorious cause of Salvation with their shutting out of Christ from being the onely one and absolutely necessary meanes to bring us unto heaven to make us happy this is the last Pile they erect upon their Babylonish foundation which makes the Idol of humane selfe-sufficiencie every way perfect and fit to be sacricrificed unto untill these proud builders to get materials for their owne Temple laid the Axe to the root of Christianitie we tooke it for grounded that there is no salvation in any other because there is none other name under heaven given unto men whereby we must be saved Acts 4. 12. Neither yet shall their nefarious attempts frighten us from our Creed nor make us be wanting to the defence of our Saviours honour but I shall be very briefe in the consideration of this Heterodoxie nothing doubting but that to have repeated it is fully to have confuted it in the judgement of all pious Christians First then they grant salvation to the ancient Patriarches and Iewes before the coming of Christ without any knowledge of or faith in him at all Nay they deny that any such faith in Christ was ever prescribed unto them or required of them It is certaine that there is no place in the Old Testament from whence it may appeare that faith in Christ as a Redeemer was ever enioyned or found in any of them say they joyntly in their Apologie the truth of which assertion we shall see hereafter onely they grant a generall faith involved under types and shadowes and looking on the promise as it lay hid in the goodnesse and providence of God which indirectly might be called a faith in Christ from which kinde of faith I see no reason why thousands of heathen Infidels should be excluded agreeable unto these assertions are the Dictates of their Patriarch Arminius affirming that the whole description of the Faith of Abraham Rom. 4. makes no mention of Iesus Christ either expressely or so implicitely as that it may be of any one easily understood and to the testimonie of Christ himselfe to the contrary Ioh. 8. â—6 your father Abraham reioyced to see my dayes and he saw it and was glad he answereth he reioyced to see the birth of Isaac who was a type of mee a goodly glosse corrupting the text Secondly what they teach of the Iews that also they grant concerning the Gentiles living before the incarnation of Christ they also might attaine salvation and be justified without his knowledge for although saith Corvinus the Covenant was not revealed unto them by the same means that it was unto the Iews yet they are not to be supposed to be excluded from the Covenant of grace nor to be excluded from salvation for some way or other they were called Thirdly they are come at length to that perfection in setting out this staine of Christianitie that Bertius on good consideration denied this proposition that no man can be saved that is not ingrafted into Christ by a true faith and Venator to this question Whether the only means of salvation be the life passion death resurrection and ascension of Iesus Christ answereth no thus they lay men in Abrahams bosome who never beleeved in the sonne of Abraham make them overcome the serpent who never heard of the seed of the woman bring goats into heaven who never were of the flock of Christ never entred by him the doore make men please God without faith and obtaine the remission of sins without the sprinkling of the blood of the Lambe to be saved without a Saviour redeemed without a redeemer to become the sons of God and never know their elder brother which prodigious errour might yet be pardoned and ascribed to humane imbecillitie had it casually slipt from their pens as it did from some others but seeing it hath foundation in all the grounds of their new doctrine and is maintained by them on mature deliberation it must be looked on by all Christians as an heresie to be detested and accursed For first deny the contagion and demerit of originall sinne then make the Covenant of grace to be universall and comprehend all and every one of the posteritie of Adam thirdly grant a power in our selves to come unto God by any such means as he will appoint and affirme that he doth assigne some means unto all and it will naturally follow that the knowledge of Christ is not absolutely necessary to salvation and so down fals the preheminence of Christianitie its heaven reaching crown must be laid levell with the services of dung-hill gods It is true indeed some of the ancient Fathers before the rising of the Pelagian heresie who had so put on Christ as Lipsius speaks that they had not fully put of Plato have unadvisedly dropt some speeches seeming to grant that divers men before the Incarnation living 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the dictates of right reason might be saved without faith in Christ as is well shewed by learned Causabon in his first excercitation on Baronius but let this be accounted part of that stubble which shall burne at the last day wherewith the writings of all men not divinely inspired may be stained it hath also since as what hath not been drawn into dispute among the wrangling Schoolemen and yet which is rarely seene their verdict in this particular almost unanimously passeth for the truth Aquinas tels us a story of the corps of a heathen that should be taken up in the time of the Empresse Irene and her sonne Constantine with a golden plate on his brest wherein was this inscription Christ is borne of a virgin and I beleeve in him oh Sun thou shalt see me againe in the dayes of Irene and Constantine but the question is not whether a Gentile beleeving in Christ may be saved or whether God did not reveale himselfe and his Sonne extraordinarily to some of them for shall we straighten the brest and shorten the arme of the Almighty as though he might not doe what he will with his own But whether a man by the conduct of nature without the knowledge of Christ may come to heaven the assertion whereof we condemne as a wicked Pelagian Socinian heresie and thinke that it was well said of Bernard that many labouring to make Plato a Christian doe prove themselves to be Heathens and if we looke upon the severall branches of this Arminian novell doctrine extenuating the precious worth and necessitie of faith in Christ we shall finde them hewed off by the two edged sword of Gods word First for their denying the Patriarchs and Iews to have had faith in Christum exhibendum moriturum as we in him exhibitum mortuum it is disproved by all Evangelicall promises made from the beginning of the world to the birth of our Saviour as that Gen. 3. 15. The seed of the woman shall breake the Serpents head and Chap. 12.
and yet Chapter 36. vers 36. He affirmeth that he will doe this very thing that here he requireth of them a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you an heart of flesh and I will cause you to walke in my statutes c. In how many places also are we commanded to feare the Lord which when we doe I hope none will deny to be a performance of our dutie and yet Jerem. 32. 40. God promiseth that he will put his feare in our hearts that we shall not depart from him Thirdly those two against which they lay particular exceptions faith and repentance are also expresly attributed to the free donation of God he granteth unto the Gentiles repentance unto life Acts 11. 18. and of faith directly it is not of our selves it is the gift of God Ephes 2. 8. To which assertion of the holy Spirit I shall rather fasten my beliefe then to the Arminians affirming that it is no gift of God because it is of our selves and yet this hindereth not but that it may be stiled Our most holy faith Iude 20. Let them that will deny that any thing can properly be ours which God bestoweth on us the Prophet accounted them not inconsistent when he averred that God worketh all our workes in us Isa 26. 12. They are our workes though of his working the Apostle laboured though it was not he but the grace of God that was with him 1 Cor. 15. 10. He worketh in us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his good pleasure Philip. 2. 13. and yet the performance of our dutie may consist in those acts of our wils and those good deeds whereof he is the Authour so that according to Saint Austins counsell we will still pray that he would bestow what he commandeth us to have Fourthly 1 Cor. 4. Who made thee differ from another or what hast thou that thou hast not received Every thing that makes us differ from others is received from God wherefore the foundation of all difference in spirituall things betweene the sonnes of Adam being faith and repentance they must also of necessitie be received from above In briefe Gods circumcising of our hearts Colos 2. 11. His quickning us when we are dead Ephes ◠1. 2. Begetting us anew Iohn 1. 13. Making us in all things such as he would have us to be is contained in that promise of the New Covenant Jerem. 32. 40. I will make with them an everlasting Covenant that I will not turne away from them to doe them good but I will put my feare in their hearts that they shall not depart from me and is no way repugnant to the holy Scripture declaring our dutie to be all this that the Lord would have us and now let all men judge whether against so many and cleere testimonies of the holy Ghost the Arminian reasons borrowed from the old Philosophers be of any value the summe of them all you may finde in Cicero his third Booke De Natura Deorum Every one saith he obtaineth vertue for himself never any wise man thanked God for that for our vertue we are praised in vertue we glory which might not be were it a gift of God and truely this in softer termes is the summe of the Remonstrants Arguments in this particular Lastly observe that this errour is that which of all others the Orthodox Fathers did most oppose in the Pelagian heretiques yea and to this day the more learned Schoolemen stoutly maintaine the truth herein against the innovating Iesuits with some few of the testimonies of the Ancients I will shut up this discourse It is certaine that when we doe any thing we doe it saith Saint Augustine but it is God that causeth us so to doe and in another place Shall we not account that to be the gift of God because it is required of us under the promise of eternall life God forbid that this should seeme so either to the partakers or defenders of grace where he rejecteth both the errour and the sophisme wherewith it is upholden So also Coelestius Bishop of Rome in his Epistle to the Bishops of France So great saith he is the goodnes of God towards men that he will have those good things to be our good duties he cals them merits according to the phrase of those dayes which are his owne gifts to which purpose I cited before two Canons out of the Arausican Councel and Saint Prosper in his Treatise against Cassianus the Semipelagian affirmeth it to be a foolish complaint of proud men that Free-will is destroyed if the beginning progresse and continuance in good be said to be the gifts of God and so the imputation of folly wherewith the Arminians in my first Quotation charge their opposers being retorted on them by this learned Father I referre you to these following excerpta for a close S. S. Circumcise the fore-skinne of of your hearts and be no more stiffe necked Deut. 10. 16. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart and the heart of thy seede Chap. 30. 6. Make you a new heart and a new spirit O house of Israel Ezek. 18. 31. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you Chap. 36. 36. If you will feare the Lord and serve him then shall you continue following the Lord your God 1 Sam. 12. 14. And I will put my feare into your hearts that ye shall not depart from me Ierem. 32. 40. He hath wrought all our workes in us Isa 26. 12. He worketh in us both to will and to doe of his good pleasure Philip. 2. 13. He hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in him Ephes 1. 3. To you it is given in the behalfe of Christ to beleeve in him Philip. 1. 29. The bloud of Christ purgeth our consciences from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9. 14. Lib. Arbit This is most certaine that that ought not to bee commanded which is wrought in us hee foolishly commandeth that to be done of others who will worke in them what he commandeth Rem Apol. It is absurd to affirme that God either worketh by his power or procureth by his wisedome that the elect should doe those things which God requireth of them Episcopius Faith and conversion cannot be acts of our obedience if they are wrought by God in us Rem Col. Hag. That God should require that of us which himselfe will worke in us is a ridiculous action scarce fit for a stage Rem Apol That saying of Augustine that God crowneth his owne gifts in us is not easily to be admitted Ibid. There is nothing more vaine and foolish then to ascribe faith and regeneration to the merit of Christ Idem CHAP. XI Whether Salvation may be attained without the knowledge of or Faith in Christ Jesus I Shall shut up