will tell me then we must say Christ is a Door a Way a Vine and the Bread is his Body c. But this is nothing to what I am speaking of For I did never say that we must take the literal sense in opposition to the figurative but only the plain obvious sense in opposition to a wyer-drawn extorted sense Some figurative speeches are so usual or plain and well known that he that should interpret them literally would be derided by any Plowman And every ignorant man useth figurative speeches in his common talk and use makes the true sence as plain and obvious as if they were not figurative You can scarce hear three sentences from any Countryman but will convince you of this If any man of common reason had heard Christ say I am the way to the Father would he have thought his plain obvious sense to be I am an Earthly or other Material way to be trodden on by the Feet of them to come to God What will not the lust of contradicting persuade men to Now I would know of any man would you believe that Christ died for all men if the Scripture plainly speak it If you would do but tell me what words can you devise or would you wish more plain for it than are there used Is it not enough that Christ is called the Saviour of the World You 'l say but is it of the whole World Yes it saith He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole World Will you say but it is not for All men in the World yes it saith he died for All men as well as for all the World But will you say it saith not for every man Yes that it doth he tasted death for every man But you may say It means all the Elect if it said so of any Non-Elect I would believe Yes it speaks of those that denied the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction And yet all this seems nothing to men prejudiced 3. Furthermore it deserves consideration whether men can considerately go against the plain light of so many express Texts of Scripture without some reluctancy and regret of Judgment And then whether using a mans Judgment to such a course to bear down the evidence of of many express texts of Scripture be not a matter of a dangerous nature both symptomatically and effectually Doth it not signifie a defect in our belief of the truth of Scripture Or at least of our reverend esteem of it when we dare use it as a Leaden rule and Nose of Wax as the Papists presumptuously call it He that can think it will endure such bending is in danger of thinking it may endure breaking Hath it not too plain a tendency to infidelity and disobedience It is the truth of this word that must preserve us from both And he that thinks so meanly of the Scripture as that it will patiently endure such violence and stretching is in great danger of being drawn to question whether it be Gods Word or no and of venturing over its bounds in practicals in case of temptation For what have we to persuade us that Christ is the eternal God but plain Scripture And is it plainer in this than in its affirming that Christ died for All All tender conscionable Christians should be as fearful to adventure against the plain meaning of Scripture in the matter of Faith as to adventure against its plain precepts and prohibitions in matter of practice And therefore I conclude that when God saith so expresly that Christ died for All and tasted death for every man and is the Ranfom for all and the propitiation for the sins of the whole World It beseems every Christian rather to explain in what sense Christ died for All men then flatly to deny it The first text of Scripture ordinarily used and which I shall insist on is Job 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Here it is plainly expressed that the giving of Christ proceeded from Gods Love to the World as the principal efficient and that it was to this end that whosoever of this World believe in him should be saved One would think all were plain here yet men have found or made almost as many knots as words If a King had his whole Army prove false to him and turn to the Enemy and when they are in his power the Enemy Imprisoneth them and maketh them Slaves in this misery the King saith of them I so love my Army that I give so much money or my own Son in Ransom that whosoever will thankfully accept my kindness and return to his Allegiance shall not remain in slavery but be delivered fully into my favour and their dignities would not ordinary men easily understand this speech Would so many doubts be raised whether he mean the whole Army or part What is meant by Love by Whosoever c. yet here we have such a dust raised in as plain a case or as plain words as such Divine mysteries could well be expressed by 1. It is doubted what is meant by the World 2. And then what is meant by Loved 3. And what is meant by Whosoever The 4. What is meant by Believeth in him we need not here stand on And for the first some say by the VVorld is meant the Elect part of the VVorld some say as Dr. Twiss and others it is meant of Mankind as distinct from Angels excluding none and not of the Elect only and withal that it speaks only of the sufficiency of Christ's Satisfaction which if it were not sufficient for All there were no place for the General Promise Whoever believeth shall be Saved There is more truth and soundness in this exposition than will stand with some other contradictory passages in the same Authors For my part I stand to this exposition of Dr. Twiss as you may find him industriously explaining this text Vindic. Grat. lib. 1. part 2. § 7. pag. mihi 203. I will repeat part of his words Ad locum illum Joh. 3. 16. quod attinet negamus ex his evinci posse Mundum eo in loco significare Electos in mundo degentes Ad cujus loci majorem elucidationem observandum est cum decrevisset Fidem Rescipiscentiam electis suis non modo concedere sed easdem modo naturae ipsorum rationali convenientissimo nempe per Suasionem exhortationem in ipsis operari consequenter Evangelium sub generali invitationis formâ proponendum esset in hunc modum Quisquis crediderit salvus erit qui non damnabitur hinc evincitur mittendi Mediatoris duplicem Deo habendam fuisse rationem alteram Pretii alteram Efficaciae Nam Pretium oportuit sufficiens esse redimendis omnibus alias enim tam generali promissioni quisquis crediderit salvus erit locus nullus fuisset rursus oportuit
fruit in all the World but that it is come into all the World and bringeth forth Fruit viz. in some where it comes 2. But suppose it were otherwise doth not Christ say that the Gospel doth bring forth fruit in more than the Elect viz. in many that fall away when Persecution ariseth Mat. 13. And in whom the cares of the World do choak that Fruit. 3. Were these Colos all Elect to whom Paul speaks 4. It is a known truth that the Gospel comes to more than the Elect for many are called but few chosen next they alledge 2 Cor. 5. 19. which makes sufficiently against their whole cause as shall be shewen anon when we come to it Another place cited by them is 1 Joh. 2. 2. Christ is the propitiation of the sins of the whole World Ans If they may thus beg the question all Texts shall mean as they would have them Of this anon Another place cited is Psal 22. 27. All the ends of the World remember and turn unto the Lord And all the Kindreds of the Nations shall worship before thee For the Kingdom is the Lord's and he is the Governour among the Nations Ans 1. All the ends of the World is not so large as all the World 2. It is plain that this Text speaks of the establishment of Christs visible Kingdom which contains more than the Elect. The Net of the Gospel brings Fishes good and bad The Heathen Countries that have turned to the Lord from Paganism and Infidelity have not all believed to Salvation The Kingdoms of the World shall become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ But they are not all Elect. These are all the Texts that I find urged to to prove that by the World is signified only the Elect. 2. And what if it were so in some places 1. It follows not that it is so here 2. The usual Sense must not be forsaken without cause Nor is it sufficient that unusually it is otherwise taken 3. The conjoyned words will shew the necessity of a restrained Sense where such a Sense is necessary to be received but so they do not here but contrarily as hath been shewed Their 4th Reason to prove that by the World is here meant the Elect only is this If every one in the World be intended why doth not the Lord in the pursuit of this Love reveal Christ to all so loved Ans This is to be fully answered anon among the main Objections by it self Lastly they say else all these will follow 1. That some are beloved and hated also from Eternity 2. That God's Love towards innumerable is fruitless and vain 3. That the Son of God is given to them that never hear word of him and have no power granted to believe in him 4. That God is mutable in his Love or else he still loveth those that be in Hell 5. That he gives not all things to them to whom he gives his Son 6. That he knows not certainly before who shall believe and be saved Ans To the first I thought no Antiarminian Divine ever denied it God hateth all the Workers of iniquity Psal 5. 5. You will not say that he hated them not from Eternity Many of the Workers of iniquity are Elect and so loved from Eternity God's Love is spoken say Divines ab effectu potius quam ab affectu God from Eternity so loved Men not Elect as to give them on Creation Everlasting Life in Adam on condition of fulfilling the first Covenant and to give them everlasting life in Christ on condition of believing according to the second Covenant And yet he decreed not to give any Men Grace to perform the condition of the first covenant nor to give all men Grace to perform the condition of the second To the 2d Consequence I shall answer fully by it self anon among the contrary Arguments To the 3d. also I shall there answer To the 4th I say for it is not worth a fuller answer 1. All Divines that I know say that God loveth those in Hell as his Creatures and as Men Aquinas and the rest of the Schoolmen have it frequently Yea Ursine Rob. Baronius and many of our Protestant Divines say that he punisheth those in Hell short of their deserving and so sheweth some mercy there that I will not meddle with 2. If you speak of God's Love as it is in effectu and not in affectu then it is certainly mutable He gives Men those mercies which for their â—buse he removeth or turneth to judgments He gives to all a conditional Pardon and Life And after condemneth most to Death for not performing the condition To the Elect themselves these Effects are changeable 3. If you say God's Love is but his Velle bonum alicui and therefore he cannot be said now Men are in Hell to continue to will them a conditional Pardon and Life Therefore God's Love must be mutable I answer Let those Owls that love to blind themselves by gazing on the Sun of God's undiscernable Infiniteness undertake to tell what God's Love is and what his Will is and how he Wills that which is past c. For my part I pretend not to a capacity of discerning any such things 2. You may enforce your objection as strongly concerning God's Love to the Elect He once willed their Creation then he willed to redeem them by Christ then he willed to call them and to give them their first justification to deliver them from this sickness and that danger then he willed that they should die and then that they should rise again If you will tell me how God after the Resurrection will continue to all Eternity to will to create Man to redeem him to call him justifie him deliver him raise him c. then I will tell you how God will Eternally will the giving Christ Pardon and Salvation conditionally to all If you say he Wills them as preterita and not as presentia vel futura you may say so by this If you say that there is no preteritum vel futurum with God but all present and therefore he willeth them as preterita sic dicta quoad hominem vel fidem mensuram humanam sed ut presentia quoad Deum the like you may say here also To the 5th Consequence I must answer anon by it self when we speak of their Argument from Rom. 8. 32. To the 6th It is a naked affirmation as easily denied Dare Men say that it was no mercy or love of God to give mankind in Adam Eternal Life on condition of keeping his Law because God foreknew or foredecreed they would not or should not keep it And so not attain the fruit of that Govenant thereby Dare these Men pretending to preach the Gospel tell their hearers that to all of them except the Elect the preaching the Gospel and therein the offer and conditional gift of Christ Pardon Justification and Salvation is no mercy nor from any love of God to
Men from the Accusation of the guilt of these Sins at the Bar of Christ and dare any that now boldly maintain this cause in dispute undertake to justifie and vindicate them at Judgment and prove that it was never their duty to love Christ or be thankful to him for Redeeming them and therefore that it was not their Sin that they did it not This will be a harder task then it is now to find a flourish of words which seem to prove it 6. And worse then all this They will condemn Christ for condemning them for these Sins When he hath sentenced them Go you cursed For not loving him and shewing it to his Members Mat. 25. And pronounced that Man Anathema Maranatha that loves not the Lord Jesus if these Men can prove that it was none of their duty then they must accuse Christ and his Law of injustice and condemn his condemnatory sentence 2. And as they owe Christ this Love and Gratitude so the thing that they owe it for is his Redeeming them or dying in their stead or satisfying for their Sin For 1. It is doubtless that they owe it him not only as Creator but as Redeemer and if so it is either for Redeeming others or themselves Not only for Redeeming others For 1. The nature of gratitude is to respect some benefits that our selves receive either in our own Persons or in those whose welfare is part of ours And 2. Man is naturally so near to himself and the love of himself so deeply rooted by God in his nature that he naturally looks at himself before others and values things as they respect himself 3. Others good is no mercy to us further then we participate with them in the benefit Yea Divines generally conclude that it will be so far from comforting the damned to see that the Godly are in Heaven that it will encrease their torment 4. Else it would lay no greater an obligation on these Men to love Christ and be thankful to him than it doth on the Devils that Men are redeemed or than they owe God that the good Angels are preserved while themselves are condemned 5. Scripture not only alloweth Men to love and be thankful in reference to our selves even for that which is good to us but shews it to be our duty and the nature of those affections and that for our own mercies received we are obliged hereto 2 Thes 2. 10 Men are forsaken and damned for not receiving the love of the Truth that they might be saved How oft are the Israelites all of them Commanded to love the Lord with all their Hearts as their Redeemer from Egypt which was both an effect and Type of Christs work of Redemption Deut. 6. 5. and 10. 12. and 11. 1 13 22. and 19. 9. and 30. 16. 20. Yea all Gods mercies as well as this deliverance from Egypt is made in divers of these Texts the motive that should provoke them to love and thankfulness And doubtless these are all effects of the Death of Christ for them To love for love and for benefits is that which Sinners do Luk. 6. 32. Not as Sinners but from the common humanity that is left in them We love him because he first loved us 1 Job 4. 19. This because is not meant only Effectivè but also objectivè as to Gods love The first love of the Soul to Christ cannot be moved from the knowledg of Christs special love to the Soul For 1. Love accompanieth justifying Faith in the same moment And indeed in some Sense is part of it And doth not stay till the Soul discern his own believing and thence discern Gods special love 2. There is a love of desire which goes before the knowledg of Gods special love 3. Many a poor Christian loves Christ long before they know the special love of Christ And therefore this first sincere love must needs be raised from the apprehension of Christs excellency as to us and his general love to mankind Which can be no other then that which is manifested in their Redemption Object Wicked Men are bound first to believe and thtn to love when they know by their believing that Christ died for them Ans They are bound immediately in the same instant to love Christ as to believe and not to delay their love till they try their Faith or by discerning it get assurance of Gods favour They are bound to accept Christ as good for them when he is offered them And that acceptance is essentially love as it is said to be in the rational appetite He that loveth not truly believeth not truly And how can any Man prove Gods special love by the evidence of a false Faith Must Men first believe without love that by the Mark of such a Faith they may have ground for love That will be a deceitful ground as it is a deceitfull Mark Object At least Men are bound to be humbled first and believe that there is no other name under Heaven but Christs by which they can be saved and then to rest on him and love him Ans This is answered before If the humiliation and Assent that they mention be proper to the Regenerate and so be a true note of Gods special love 1. Then it will follow that other Graces go before that Faith which unites us to Christ Which few will grant 2. Then Men must find special Marks Antecedent to Faith that from thence they may gather a warrant to believe Which is false Doctrine I think in the judgment of all 2. But if these Antecedent Acts be common and such as reprobates also may perform then either every Man that performs them is bound to love Christ as his Redeemer And to rest on him for pardon Or only some If every Man then some reprobates are bound to love Christ as their Redeemer And to rest on him for pardon by his Blood-shed for them And to be thankful for his satisfaction And then certainly Christ did Redeem them by satisfying for them If but some then how shall any Man know that he is one of them So that I think I may conclude that they that deny universal satisfaction by Christs bloodshed do leave Men no ground for their first special love to Christ as Redeemer For that first love must be raised upon the knowledg of Christs general love and mercy or be groundless Seeing there is no knowledg of special love and Mercy Antecedent Object But how can the knowledg of Christs common love cause in us a special love to him Then we must love him first with a special love Ans Christ hath a special love to us before we have a special love to him But we cannot know it and therefore cannot love him for it His special love is the efficient cause of our love to him but not the objective or moving cause of our first love The love of Christ is not the less because its manifestation is general And therefore that glorious mercy of general
satisfaction though common not only may be but is the ground or motive of our first special love if it be orderly and rightly raised though Christs special love be the efficient Object Then none do love God a right at first but those that hold Universal Redemption Ans 1. Yet they may love him sincerely though they are brought to it through the fault of their Teachers in a disadvantageous and disorderly way 2. Young Converts are not used so soon to be troubled with the Controversy of Universal Redemption 3. I have known few in my observation but at their first closing with Christ they have had the same judgment of the Universality of Christs satisfaction so as to be sufficient for all Sinners and wanting only their own Faith to make it effectual to Remission which I plead for 4. It is the usual way of Preachers in their popular Sermons to speak far more soundly in these points then in their disputations And indeed their way of Preaching for the Conversion of Sinners doth plainly intimate Universal satisfaction For they use to lay all the blame on the Wills of Sinners and justly as that only which can deprive them of the benefits of Christs sufferings and to urge them to accept him and to let them know that their case is not left remediless and desperate Yea and to tell them plainly that Christs Death is sufficient for all to pardon all their Sins be they never so many or great and if they will believe they shall have the Fruits of it Which is in other words to say Christ hath satisfied for all So that upon these right grounds they use to bring Men to believe and love Christ at the first and then they must have some longer time before they can pervert them again by working out these apprehensions and acquainting them that Christ hath not satisfied for all but for the Elect only Object Mens first love to Christ is not to him for what he hath done but for what he can do for us and as he is to us a desirable good because it is but Amor Concupiscentiae Ans It is also a love of gratitude And all the good that we can expect from him for the future or desire him for is but the fruit of what he hath done for us already and therefore presupposeth it And he that looketh for Mercy from Christ as not procured by his satisfactory sufferings knows not the Gospel nor what he expecteth The Gospel at its first Preaching is glad tidings and brings news first of what Christ hath done for Men and next of what he will further do Object But it is not for Dying for me in particular that I am first obliged to love Christ but for paying a sufficient price Ans 1. If by For me in particular you mean more for me then others I grant it But it is for dying and satisfying for fallen Mankind in general of whom I am a Member 2. I have shewed that according to this New Doctrin Christs Death is not sufficient to pardon all if they did repent nor formally a sufficient price but only materially or Aptitudinally sufficient to have been a price Now that this can engage any to love or thankfulness is past my reach to apprehend For it is not a benefit to such as for whom it was no price If 100 Men lie in Prison for debt and one shall pay as much for the debt and discharge often of them as was sufficient to have satisfied for the debts of them all and yet would not pay it for them but rather give it superfluously then that they should have any benefit by it how doth this oblige these Prisoners to love and thankfulness to this Man At least not as any Redeemer or Friend of theirs Rather they will think him envious and an Enemy to them that would rather cast away his Mony Giving for one that which was sufficient for all then they should have any benefit by it Object But it is not for his Death that Men are bound at first to love Christ and be thankful but for the free and general offer of himself and his benesits to them in the Gospel Ans 1. The negative is wicked and Unchristian 2. The part affirmed is a contradiction to their denial of Universal satisfaction For Christ is offered to Men as their Redeemer only And the Word Redeemer signifies 1. One that hath paid a price for them already 2. One that will recover them by the effectual conveyance of his benefits if they accept his offer And the later always implies the former The effect cannot be without its cause He is no Redeemer to them for whom he suffered not And he cannot be a Redeemer to them by Pardon and Salvation for whom he hath not been already a Redeemer by satisfaction And he doth not offer to satisfie for them de futuro a new and therefore the offer certainly proves a general satisfaction as is shewed before 3. And if Christ offer himself to any Men as their Redeemer whom he never did Redeem no nor can Redeem by Remission and Salvation because he hath not first Redeemed them by price and satisfaction charging the refusal upon them to their deep damnation doth this oblige Men to love and gratitude If he procure by his Death no possibility of their Salvation but induce a necessity of their deep condemnation If he offer them the benefits of a death never suffered for them that is effects without their cause and which he cannot give them and destroy them for not receiving them Is this all the obligation Object But it is the Law of God that obligeth them to love and gratitude And therefore they are obliged though Christ be none of their Redeemer and though his Death were not a benefit to them Ans 1. These are duties that result ex natura rei viz. boni oblati beneficii â—ollati and so from the Law of nature and not from a meer positive Law Love and gratitude are not ceremonies and therefore where the nature of the thing obligeth not there is no obligation 2. There must be an objective cause of love and gratitude as well as an efficient and exemplary cause And therefore our question is only of the objective cause God doth not alter the nature of love and gratitude by commanding them He doth not command love that hath not good for its object for there is no such thing in rerum natura nor doth he command a gratitude that is not for a benefit Object But it is unknown to them whether Christ died for them or not For ought they know he did And therefore they are bound to love and gratitude Ans 1. An unknown benefit bindeth not to love and thankfulness 2. It is Real favours and not feigned that Christ obligeth Men by As it is real love and thanks and not feigned that he expecteth from them 3. Else that common love and thankfulness which the Non-elect
Young Converts that hold not Universal Satisfaction may be sincere though not rightly ordered grounded or raised Answ True for if one should conceit that Christ Dyed but for Englishmen or for a very few at least and that he is one of those few he might truly love Christ for dying for him though yet he grounded his apprehension amiss of his interest in Christ But still here is no certainty of Faith without certainty of Love Nor certainty or any knowledge of Election without the knowledge of both Faith and Love Object Then a Socinian can have no â—ertainty of Election For he that believeth not Christs Satisfaction can have no Love or Thankfulness for it Answ No wonder if he have no certainty of Election who can have no grounded hope of Salvation If it be not only some circumstances or Terms or Law-notions but the substance of this Doctrine which any Man shall deny viz. That Christ hath taken away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself and having made Purgation of our sins is ascended c. And hath by one Sacrifice perfected for ever them that are sanctified and became a Curse for us to free us from the Curse and so hath taken away the Sins of the World quoad pretium And hath born our transgressions that we might be healed by his stripes and hath Dyed for us the just for the unjust so that now we must be justified by his Blood I say he that believeth not this I think is no Christian See 1 Cor. 5. 7. Heb. 9. 26. and 10. 1 2. c. and 1. 3. and 10. 14. Gal. 3. 13. Isa 53. 4 5. John 1. 29. 1 Pet. 3. 18. Eph. 1. 17. Rom. 3. 25. and 5. 9. Col. 1. 20. Heb. 9. 22. and 13. 12. 1. Pet. 1. 2. 19. I know nothing more of moment that can be here objected and therefore will go to the next Reply 2. Which was that men may know their Election by the Testimony of the Spirit To which I answer 1. The Spirit sheweth to us the things given of God of which Love to Christ is a principal 2. The Spirit witnesseth our Election mediately and not immediately that I know of 1. By giving those graces that will prove it and do flow from it 2. By exciting them 3. By illuminating us to see them and try by them 4. Filling the Soul with those sweet affections which are a kind of tast of the Love of God But all affections are raised mediante intellectu and therefore knowledge goes before them Who can know that he rejoyceth Spiritually and that his Joy is a fruit of Election that knoweth not why he rejoiceth 3. However it is desperate Doctrine to teach poor Christians that they have no ground to Love or Thank Christ for Redeeming them till the Spirit have without any signs revealed their Election to them which I think it never doth Lastly The Spirit witnesseth with our Spirit Now our Spirit witnesseth only from evidence that we are Gods Children and not without and therefore whether the Spirit be a concurring witness in the same Testimony or its Testimony be a concomitant Testimony distinct from though conjunct with that of our Conscience I think the former yet all 's one to the point in hand seeing they witness together So much for the Minor viz. that the Elect are bound to love and thankfulness for Redemption before they know themselves Elect. Now for the consequence of the Major it it clear from what is said that the Elect could not be bound to this except the Non-Elect are also Because as is proved no Man can know whether he be Elect or not before he know himself so much as obliged to love and gratitude for Redemption For Elect and Non-Elect are not to to be discerned till Faith and love do put a difference And therefore methinks I may conclude confidently that the Non-Elect are bound to love and thankfulness for Redemption or satisfaction and therefore they are redeemed or satisfyed for If any shall make the common objection viz. The Non-elect or the Elect not yet converted are bound to love and gratitude to Christ for satisfying for all that will believe I have answered this oft already 1. The Doctrine which I oppose is that Christ hath not only died for Men if they will believe but died only for the Elect that they might believe so that it is determined by name for whom he Died and the rest he Died not for at all and therefore his Dying for another is not that which obligeth a man to Thankfulness And their Ignorance that they are excluded I have shewed can add no obligation 2. Mens believing will not cause Christ to Die for them nor is it a condition of it as if Christ would Die for Men if they will believe Believing presupposeth Christs Dying for us and what then can be their meaning that say Christ Died and Satisfied for all men if they will Believe When they say absolutely withal that he Died not for all at all but only for the Elect that they might believe Will they say that he Died for the Non-elect if they will believe Then either they must mean that he underwent the Penalty and left it undetermined quorum loco in whose stead and for whose sins it should be till their believing determine it But 1. This is as much denyed by those whom I oppose as by me 2. And it is a contradiction For it is Essential to Punishment to be propter peccatum that Relation is its formal Nature as it differs from Affliction in general And therefore Christ suffered no Punishment if it were not determinately for Sin And the meritorious cause is considered as before the effect and not after it Or else if they speak of Believing not as any condition on mans part but a Divinely-infused Character of those for whom Christ Died then the sence of their words is but this Christ Died for the Non-elect if they be Elect or Christ satisfied for all men if all men be Elect or Christ Died in stead of all if he will give Faith to all And who sees not that these words are a plain Negation and all one with these Christ satisfied not for all q. d. I leave in my Will such a Legacy to Titus if Titus be not Titus but Sempronius what Lawyer knows not that is a denyal or an illusory nothing And how then can this bind men to Love and Gratitude If I could bethink me of any other considerable Objection I would answer it But I cannot Furthermore for the Antecedency of the obligation to love mark how Christ maketh it a condition to his own Love and his Fathers as in a greater degree and as manifested Joh. 14. 21. He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Christ Loveth Men before they Love as he is Dominus Absolutus and a free Benefactor and as a Natural Lover of his own
Workmanship But he loveth man after his Faith and Love to him as Rector per Leges as putting on the resemblance of goodness and justice in civil Sense and as he now stands in that Relation to them in which he is by his own Law as it were obliged to do them good Note this difference of Christs love Prov. 8. 17. I love those that love me and those that seek me early shall find me So ver 21. Luke 7. 47. Many sins are forgiven for she loved much If it be meant therefore she loved much yet it would not make against this From John 3. 19. I argue thus If men are condemned for loving darkness rather than Light and Christ is this Light then they were obliged to love Christ the Light But c. Ergo c. And I have shewed it is as Redeemer that he must be loved For to Love Christ as an excellent Prophet only that a Turk may do for Mahomet so confesseth him to be Mat. 10. 37. It is Christs condition propounded to all That if they love not him better than Father Mother House Land or Life they cannot be his Disciples So that those that are not yet his Disciples are obliged at once to love him above all and become his Disciples 1 Cor. 16. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maran-atha And then more specially for Gratitude because I have hitherto insisted on the other species Love there are many Parables in the Gospel that shew that wicked men are condemned for ingratitude to their Redeemer Mat. 21. 37 40. c. Christ convinceth his Auditors that those unthankful Husband-men that refused to pay the Fruits and killed the Son that was sent to them he was sent to be entertained as Redeemer would deservedly be destroyed with a miserable destruction and the Vineyard let out to others i. e. that the Kingdom of God should be taken from them and given to a Nation bringing forth the Fruits thereof And what is that Kingdom here meant but the Gospel The proclaiming and offer of Christ as Redeemer and of mercy in and with him Mat. 22. 8. It is unthankful refusal of the feast prepared when all things were ready and they invited which was the unworthiness that there is mentioned which shut out those Guests Mat. 18. 32. Unthankfulness is intimamated as part of the Sin of that wicked Servant who took his fellow Servant by the throat for 100. Pence when himself had been forgiven 10000 Talents I forgave thee all the debt signifieth such a mercy as Men may have that perish as is plain verse 34. 35. and yet certainly presupposeth Christs dying for them and obligeth them to thankfulness If any ask the sense of the Text I shall give it after by it self more fitly Let me therefore conclude thus That Doccrin which subverteth a very great part of Religion is not of God But so doth this which denieth Universal satisfaction Therefore it is not of God The Minor is proved from what is said It destroyeth the ground of all Mens first love to Christ for Redeeming them It justifieth all the Non-Elect in their ingratitude and not loving Christ as their Redeemer Besides what was said before of its destroying the use of repentance and all Means But we shall recollect more of these consequences in the end and shew you more fully the face of the Doctrin which I dispute against I have proved that all Men that hear the Gospel owe Christ love and thankfulness for Redeeming them by dying for them I should next shew that all Men in the World do owe God love and thankfulness for those mercies which are the effects of Christs satisfaction But especially those within the Church who have in the New Covenant made over to them a conditional remission of their Sins and adoption and everlasting life viz. If they will accept Christ with his benefits Those that are sanctified with the Blood of the Covenant and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost and were escaped from the pollutions of the World through the knowledg of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and and have tasted the good word of God and the Powers of the World to come c. Certainly these have received the fruits of Christs satisfaction for which they were bound to be thankful But of those more particularly in their place Arg. 14th Acertitudine fidei possibilitate rectè credendi If Christ hath not satisfied for the Sins of all then no Man hath a sufficient ground for his first justifying Faith All Men are left at an utter uncomfortable uncertainty whether they may believe to Justification or not But the consequent is false Therefore so is the Antecedent That which is said before doth shew so much of the grounds of this Argument that I shall be the shorter in it now All the doubt is of the consequence of the Major and to clear that I suppose it is granted that all firm sufficient Faith for justification must not only have a command to warrant it but also a fit object about which it must be exercised God commandeth no Man to believe a falshood to make it become true by believing it nor to trust to a person or promise that is not to be trusted as being not only fallible but certainly will deceive As for the Act of affiance or recumbency commonly called the justifying Act no Man can groundedly or comfortably rest on Christ for justification by his Blood who doth not first know that his Blood was shed for him and hath satisfied for him Else he must rest on that which he knows not to be sufficient for him to rest upon For it hath been proved that Christs death is not sufficient to justifie any for whom it was not suffered though they should believe He suffered not superfluously as I have shewed Take the confession of a Divine that for fear of Arminianism joyned Hands with the Antimonians Maccovius colleg disp de justif disp 5. § 22. Quoad substantiam poenae nihil olus perpessus est Christus quam per legem debebatur Neque enim vel Amor Patris vel etiam justitia permittere potuit plura ut filio imponerentur quam quae illi necessariò tanquam sponsori ferenda erant Quoad circumstantias autem patientis personam patiendi causam passionis efficaciam plusquam sufficiens satisfactio Christi Neque enim lex requirebat ut Deus moreretur neque ut sine peccato proprio quis moreretur neque morstalis quae suffecisset pro peccatis totius mundi sive pro omnibus singulis hominibus Here he confesseth that Christ suffered no more than was due by Law and than was necessary for him to suffer as Sponsor And yet that his Death was sufficient for the Sins of all the World even for all Men and every Man And if so then either he suffered as Sponsor for all Or else circumstances did make that Death sufficient for
all Men to believe in Christ as their Redeemer when they know he redeemed but the smallest part Or to charge them to rest on his Blood for Remission when he knows it was shed for the smaller number and will profit none but those whom it was shed for Yea how can he urge any to rest on Christ at all For till they know they are Elect they know not that Christ died for them according to the opposed Doctrin And till they know that Christ died for them they cannot rest on him as their Redeemer nor on his Blood as sufficient to procure their pardon seeing as is confessed it is but materially and not formally sufficient to pardon them if they should believe And they cannot know that they are Elect or that Christ died for them till they rest on him And therefore I see not how any Minister can press Men groundedly to rest on Christ by a justifying Faith or to accept him as their Lord-Redeemer And then for the duties of repentance Love and Thankfulness to Christ for redeeming them I have shewed before how this Doctrin evacuates them all and so that no Minister can groundedly press them 3. And for the promise how can any Minister in Christs Name assure a sinner of pardon by that Blood which was never shed for him on condition he will believe As if you should say to a Debtor believe that such a Man hath paid thy debt or trust him and then thy debt shall be discharged when you know he hath not paid it or know not that he hath Indeed a Man may come off with some kind of truth in his words if he certainly know that the Party will not believe But the certain knowledg that Men will not believe is not the reason why God calls them to believe and offers them Christ and Life 4. And for the threatening with what Heart can a Minister tell Sinners Christ is a Redeemer but to the Elect yet all the rest of you shall perish for not taking him for your Redeemer and for not resting on that Blood that was never shed for you And that as to the ends of preaching 1. How will the divulging of these glorify God When he hath purposely designed the glorifying of Love and Mercy directly and justice accidentally by this great work of the Redemption of the World and hath unhinged the Sabbath which was for Commemoration of the work of Creation to the first day of the Week for the Commemoration of the Work of Redemption which he will now have admired as his most glorious work which as Ames in the place cited in Argument 18. saith is to the works of Grace the same that Creation is to the works of Nature and so is the ground of Gods New Right of Dominion and Empire and of his governing and judging the World And how is this glory eclipsed by the opposed Doctrin 2. And for Mans Convesiron to the Faith I have shewed how unfurnished a Minister is rightly to endeavour it on the opposed grounds Whereto let me add this The Soul is never closed to Christ sincerely till it close in Love Love â—eing as all Divines say at the same moment of time as Faith produced And as Maccovius before-cited truly saith and so doth Chamier and many more Love to the Redeemer the object of Faith is of the Essence of justifying Faith it self Now it is Love that must cause Love I mean objectively and not only efficienter He cannot close in Love with Christ that knoweth nothing of Christs Love to him though he know it to others so near is Man to himself and Christ is to be received as my Redeemer and not only as another Mans. Now no Man can know that Christ loveth him with a special love before he know that he himself loveth Christ that 's past question And yet no Man can soundly love Christ as Redeemer that knows not Christs love to him What remains therefore but that it must be Christs common love in redeeming the World and making the conditional gift of pardon and Life and this offered to me in particular among others that must first cause my grounded love to Christ Let us see what Scripture saith of the ground of Ministerial duties Math. 22. The work of the Ministers was to invite the Guests and compel them to come in And the ground was all things are ready Else might not the Guests have said If we should come there is nothing for us we may go as we come You do but take this advantage to jeer us because you know our minds that we will not come 2 Cor. 5. 18 19 20. The work of Preachers is the Ministry of teconciliation And wherein lies it vers 20. Now then we are Embassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye Reconciled to God so then the work of the Ministry is to beseech Men in Christs stead and Gods name to be reconciled to God But on what ground is this verse 19 21. To wit that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their Trespasses to them and hath committed to us the word of Reconciliation which Text we shall afterwards further explain and vindicate Is there not an absolute necessity that the price of Reconciliation be first paid to God and accepted by him before any Sinner can be intreated to be reconciled to God on the ground of that price paid and accepted Let me desire Ministers seriously to consider with what Face they can stand up in the name of the Lord Jesus to beseech poor Sinners to be reconciled to God and tell them that else they shall be doubly miserable when yet there is no price paid for making them way to God nor Gods justice satisfied for their Sin which is supposed before any of their own endeavours can do any thing towards Reconciliation Let me imagine such a Dialogue as this between such a Teacher and a Sinner Minister Sinner I beseech thee in Christs stead be reconciled to God Sinner I have Sinned so much that he will not be reconciled to me All that I can do will do nothing to bring me again into his favour Min. Christ hath satisfied for all the Elect. Sinner But what 's that to me unless I knew my self to be Elect. M. But Christ hath satisfied for all if they will believe Sinner Did you not tell me he satisfied only for the Elect and that determined by name Either he hath satisfied for me before I believe or not if not my believing will not satisfie nor cause him to do it now If he have how shall I know it Min. You must believe first and then you shall know it afterwards For God hath ordained inseparable connexion between Christs dying for Men and their believing And therefore for all my beseeching you to believe if you be not one that Christ died for you neither will nor can believe for none is able
but no doubt it is mediante Sanguine Christi and in a remote sense are fruits of Christ's death By what hath been said it may appear that Faith is not the proper effect of satisfaction as satisfaction nor is it any neer or inseparable effect of satisfaction as it is meritorious God did not give Christ Faith for his bloodshed in exchange the thing that God was to give the Son for his satisfaction was Dominion and Rule of the Redeemed Creature and power therein to use what means he saw fit for the bringing in of Souls to himself even to send forth so much of his word and Spirit as he pleased both the Father and Son resolving from Eternity to prevail infallibly with all the Elect. But never did Christ desire at his Fathers hands that all whom he satisfied for should be infallibly and irrisistibly brought to believe nor did God ever grant or promise any such thing Jesus Christ as a Ransom dyed for all and as Rector per Leges or Legislator he hath conveyed the Fruits of his death to all that is those Fruits which it appertained to him as Legislator to convey which is right to what his New Law or Covenant doth promise But those Mercies which he gives as Dominus Absolutus arbitrarily besides or above his engagement he neither gives nor ever intended to give to all that he dyed for no nor to all his Elect doth he give all those fruits of his death nor for ought I know to any in the same degree for these are but remotely the Fruits of Christ's death and not constant nor inseparable Fruits Peruse the foresaid Table of the Fruits of Christs death and it will shew you which the mercies be that Christ gives by Law and which arbitrarily as besides his engagement Is it not manifest then that it is a desperate charge against the Lord Christ to say that he is an imperfect Saviour if he do not perfectly save all that he Died for or convey to them all the fruits of his Death The Preaching of the Gospel expresly is a fruit of Christs Death Some have this in great power clearness and constancy some but weakly darkly or seldom and some not at all Shall they that have been at one or two dark Sermons of Christ in all their Lives say That either Christ Died not for them or else was an imperfect Saviour Some are endowed with the gift of Prophecy Tongues Miracles as fruits of Christs Death shall all that receive not these say that Christ is an imperfect Saviour because he gave them none of these fruits of his Death Some are made Kings and Rulers and some Apostles Evangelists Pastors Teachers c. and all are fruits of Christs Death Yet all are not Apostles Pastors Teachers c Some have Learning and some none Some have good Parents and good Education and some bad Some of the Elect have Health of Body and Helps Opportunities and Advantages to to serve God which others want Some are permitted to live long in sin as Manasses And others converted in the morning of their Days Some are preserved in a more even and comfortable walking with God And some are permitted to fall into most hainous scandalous sins to the great dishonour of God and their Profession and to walk sadly for it all their Days Nay some to suffer Death by the hands of publick justice Shall all these say Christ is an imperfect Saviour to them Some are kept in vigor and growth in grace and some remain Infants and some lose their first degree of Love and grow more luke-warm and Die in a very low ebb of Grace Comfort and Assurance Some enjoy much fellowship with the Father and Son in the Spirit And others are almost wholly strangers to it Some are made instruments of doing God abundance of service and the Church much good and bringing home or building up many Souls and that to the end of their Lives Others are kept without parts and gifts next to useless if not burdensome Some Distracted and after a Godly Life fall into stark madness and so spend their days as being uncapable of making use of their Affliction or of any Mercy And some are cut off in Infancy or in the Womb before they did ever believe or love God or do him any service And is Christ an imperfect Saviour to all these Nay and he hath revealed to us that according to this diversity here in degrees of Grace Holiness and Obedience so will be the diversity in the degrees of glory One shall be Ruler of ten Cities and another but of two For he will reward every Man according to his works How vast a difference then is there like to be between the Glory of an Infant that being born of a weak believer Died from the Womb and the Glory of Peter John Paul or those to whom it shall be given to sit on Christs Right Hand and Left Hand in his Kingdom And yet all these are Elect. Where is it then that the force of the Argument lyeth that would prove that all must needs have Faith for whom Christ Died If he be an imperfect Saviour except he save all alike or give to all that he Died for all the fruits of his Death then such a charge might as truly be grounded on his dealings with the Elect themselves as with others Object But he saveth all the Elect though not all alike He bringeth them all safe to Heaven at last but so he doth not others Answ That 's true But then 1. It 's yielded that it belongs not to the perfection of Christs Office or Work to give all the fruits of his Death quoad speciem to all that he Died for 2. It belongs as truly to his office of saving to save men from sin and to give them a full degree of Grace and Glory as to give men Faith And yet it belongs not to his office necessarily to give these to all that he Died for No doubt a greater measure of Glory is a greater good than that small measure which some enjoy Specially if the joy of some saved Infants were no greater than Nazianzene Orat. 40. and other antients did think the pain of some condemned Infants would be 3. Some of these parts of Salvation which the Elect themselves do come short of are penally denied them and so are given by Christ as Legislator being propounded on a condition and they not performing the condition to the performance whereof Grace was necessary to assist them If then Christ may give good things by a conditional grant as Legislator to his Elect and yet not give them that Grace which may cause them infallibly to perform the condition and so deny them the benefit conditionally given for want of that performance what reason can be given why he may not do so by the Non-Elect in respect of Salvation and Faith and Repentance the Conditions thereof So that all the weight of their Argument lyeth on this
all materially then it was more than was sufficient for the Redemption of the Elect. Our Divines generally disclaim and exclaim against that presumptuous fancy of the Fryers that say Minima guttula sanguinis Christi sufficeret ad redimendos mille mundos Vid. Parker de Descens l. 3. p. 107 108. And I meet yet with few that like John Geodwins conceit of the sufficiency of Christs meer willingness and readiness to suffer without any actual suffering They that say the same degree of suffering is sufficient for a thousand men as for one may as well say next that one sigh or groan or one drop of Christs Blood had been sufficient for all And next they may as well say it had been sufficient though he had only been willing to suffer and next that his suffering was needless Socinianism if not Infidelity may easily creep in at this Gap 3. And as thus it is evident that Christs suffering for some had been enough to have redeemed all doth make him to suffer in vain as to the proper end of his suffering viz. Expiation of Sin so they that go this way have not yet shewed us to what other end or use such great sufferings of Christ were necessary And till they have done that we must take it as if they charged Christ with suffering in vain 4. Moreover the consequence is fully granted by themselves For they accuse those that maintain Universal Satisfaction as making Christ to suffer in vain if he suffered for those that after perish though we can easily repel that vain objection by shewing them many excellent ends and effects of those his sufferings How much more evidently do they themselves make him suffer in vain that feign him to have suffered the same degree of Punishment even enough for all the World when yet they say he suffered it not so much as in the stead of all nor as any satisfaction for their sins We say his Death was for all in some kind and therefore not vain They say it was for them in no kind and yet enough for them and therefore he suffered Superfluously Arg. 11th Ab absurdo injuriâ contra Justitiam Divinam If Christ suffered enough for to have been a satisfaction for all and yet not for all then God did inflict on him more sufferings than were due to him But God did not inflict on Christ more sufferings than were due Ergo c. He that denyeth the Minor doth directly accuse God of injustice The consequence of the Major is proved thus He that inflicteth that or requireth as much for the Sins of the Elect only as is due for the sins of all the World doth inflict and require more than is due for there is not so much due for the sins of the Elect only as for the sins of all the World But thus they suppose God to have done which is not to be supposed Ergo c. They that will fly from the force of these Arguments by flat denying even the Material and Hypothetical sufficiency of Christs satisfaction for all men will fall under many and great inconveniencies before intimated and also under the force of this next Argument Read my Answer to their Fourth Argument asserted Arg. 12th Ab injuriosa negatione Passionum Christi It is very injurious to Christ for men to extenuate or deny his sufferings but so do they that deny that he hath satisfied for all men Ergo c. When God hath laid upon him the Iniquity of us all and he hath born the sins of the whole World and was a Propitiation for them doth not that man vilifie that I say not blaspheme his sufferings who shall say it is not so he bore the Sins but of the few that are chosen he suffered no more than was due to them he paid no more than would discharge their Debt If he that denyeth all Christs satisfaction do sin so damnably then sure he that denyeth the greatest part both of his satisfaction formally and his suffering materially doth not lightly offend If he should sin so hainously that should deny God to be Creator of the greater part of the World and so rob him of the honour of the most of his Workmanship then it cannot be a trifle to deny the greatest part of Christs sufferings and satisfaction and so rob him of so much of the honour of the work of Redemption by the extenuation of his sufferings For God hath set up the work of Redemption as that wherein he expecteth to be as much honoured as in the work of Creation Suppose the Kings Messengers Mat. 22. should have told those whom they invited Though we are commanded to invite you all to the Wedding yet the truth is there is not half provision enough made ready for you all if you should come but yet we are commanded to perswade you all because the King knows your minds that you will not come should these Messengers have deserved thanks for such a Message Arg. 13. A Debito Amoris gratitudinis erga Redemptorem If all Men do owe Love and thankfulness to Christ for his satisfying for their Sins and for the Fruits of that satisfaction then he hath satisfied for all But all Men do owe him love and thankfulness c. ergo c. I mean all Men that hear of Christ are bound to love him as Redeemer and be thankful to him for making satisfaction for them and those that never heard of him are bound to love Deum Miserecordem God as merciful to them and to be thankful for those mercies which are the Fruits of Christs Death The Antecedent hath two Parts 1. That all are bound to love and gratitude 2. That they owe these for Christs dying for them And as to the debt it self I hope few Christians will deny it For if they do 1. They will deny a great part of the Law of Christ and if such a curse be denounced against him that addeth or diminisheth as to the Law of ceremonies what shall be due to him that wipeth out so great a part of the Gospel at a dash 2. It is plainly High Treason to discharge so many of Christs Subjects of their Allegiance or of the chief part of their duty even Love and Gratitude His Subjects I may call them though Rebellious because though they acknowledg him not or not sincerely yet he is their rightful Lord. 3. It is notorious compliance with Satan to say Duty is no Duty and that so great Duties as these and that Sin is no Sin and that such hainous Sins 4. If tendeth most desperately to the Damnation of Souls by drawing them to neglect these duties and hardening them in impenitency when they have done For if it be no duty to Love Christ for Redeeming them and to be thankful for it then it is no Sin not to love him and not to be thankful and if it be no Sin they need not repent of it 5. They will wickedly justifie
do give Christ as their Redeemer would be a mistake 4. And when their Eyes were opened in Hell they would repent that they loved Christ at all and were thankful to him at all seeing they would then discern it was upon a mistake and for a benefit that was never given them or for them Whereas contrarily they will be convinced then of their Sin and folly in loving Christ no more and being no more thankful Yet further that these Men are bound to love and gratitude to Christ as their Redeemer I will add some more Scripture proof 1. If the Non-elect are not bound to love Christ for Redeeming them or not dying for them then the Elect are not bound to it till they know themselves to be Elect But the consequent is false therefore so is the Antecedent He that dare say No Man in the World is bound to love Christ and be thankful to him for dying for him till he know he is Elect That is have assurance of Salvation which so so few attain to at all or at least so many Christians want Dare say that which I dare not Rom 5. 8. But God commended his love to us in that while we were yet sinners Chrift died for us Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever c. 1. If Gods love to the World and Sinners before Conversion in his Redeeming them by Christ be propounded to the consideration of unconverted Sinners then it is to manifest that they owe him love again and thankfulness for it But the Antecedent is true therefore so is the consequent These Texts and many other do propound the consideration of Gods love in Redeeming them to Men before Conversion as might abundantly be proved and that must need intimate their duty of love and gratitude or else the Law of nature is abrogated which bindeth us to return love and thankfulness for love and benefits 2. Let me add one other Argument for the Minor viz. that the Elect are bound to love and gratitude to Christ as their Redeemer before they know themselves to be Elect and it is such a one as I think makes the case so clear that it will be hard for the most prejudidiced not to discern it if they will consider it If the Elect are not bound to love and gratitude for Christs Redeeming them before they know themselves to be Elect then they are never bound to it at all and so never ought to perform it But the consequent is intollerable Ergo c. The consequence is proved thus They cannot know themselves to be elect unless by extraordinary Revelation till they first know their love and gratitude to Christ for Redeeming them Therefore if they are not bound to love and gratitude before they know themselves Elect then they are never bounnd to it The reason of the consequence is that the same thing cannot be Before and Not before before their knowledg of Election and not before it If it must go before the knowledg of Election then they were obliged to it before for that we are not obliged to is no duty and that which is no duty is no Mark of Election but it must go before Ergo c. The Antecedent is proved thus There is no other sign without this love and gratitude which is sufficient to discover a Man to be Elect Therefore no Man can know himself to be elect by ordinary means without the knowledg of these Two things will be replied to this 1. That Faith is before love and gratitude and a sufficient sign 2. That it may be known without signs by the Testimony of the Spirit To these in order And 1. For Faith as it is in the will and is the acceptance of an offered Christ is the same thing with love as love is in the rational appetite as I have elsewhere fully proved Aquinas oft expresseth this love to be but velle bonum 2. If love be distinct as it is exercised on the same object for else there 's no question of it Yet it is certain that it is concomitant and doth not in one moment of time come after Faith Much less so long as that a Man must first by reflection discern his Faith before he be obliged to love 3. Faith is no true Faith that is not accompanied with love and a false faith can be no true sign of Election as is said before The Acts of Justifying Faith in the Will are principally these two 1. To accept of Christ as he is offered Now he is offered as a Redeemer i. e. 1. As one that for the time past hath paid the price of our Redemption 2. And for the time to come will give us the benefits of it on his own terms Now Christ cannot be received as a Redeemer without respect to both He that receiveth him to pardon and save him any other way then by the price of his Blood already shed doth not receive him as he is offered nor as the Redeemer And if it be necessary that he must be received in respect to what he hath done for us as well as what he will do then it is as necessary that he be loving and thankfully received For as bonum recipitur volendo which is our love and cannot possibly be received qud bonum but lovingly so bonum preteritum is the object of this Amor Gratitudinis The benefit may remain but the act of the benefactor is past as bonum futurum is the object of Amor Concupiscentiae Bonum Presens of Amor Complacentiae So that no Man living can know that he hath received Christ as a Redeemer if he do not know that he hath lovingly and thankfully received him And no Man can know the good that Christ will do for the future nor receive it without knowing the good that he hath done in his Sacrifice for the time past and thankfully acknowledging it 2. After acceptance of an offered Christ the next Act is affiance which most Divines make the Principal and some the only justifying Act And this presupposing the loving consent acceptance the Velle before mentioned I do not need to prove that affiance is no certain Mark of Election without love Nay moreover as it presupposeth love so it containeth love in its own nature as every Act of the will toward goodness must needs do I rest on Christ as one to do me good for the future by virtue of his ransome already paid and so here is still the double good past and present which affiance doth respect or else it is not in Christ as Redeemer that we have affiance 3. The like I might easily shew in respect of desire after Christ An early Grace and before which none finds a distinct certain sign of his Election Yet goodness is its object and love is in its nature from whence we use the term of Amor Concupiscentiae Object But you said before that the Faith and Love of
of our recovery as all Gospel Repentance is And it was not in our power to give hope to our selves by causing Christs blood to be shed for us had we been never so willing 4. How could we love God as merciful in Redeeming us or love Christ as our Redeemer when we knew him not to be our Redeemer and it now appears he never was our Redeemer 5. How could we love the Brethren as our members of the same body and our fellow-redeemed ones which is the new commandment when they were none of our Brethren in that sense nor could we prove that they should be so 6. Why should we be thankful to Christ for Redeeming us when he did not at all redeem us Should we be thankful for nothing 7. How could we obey Christ as our Lord-redeemer who was not our Lord-redeemer How could we hear him as such and call on him as such or trust him as such If his offices are all of equal extent and it be certain that he was no Priest to us as not offering himself a sacrifice for us at all then he could be no King or Prophet to us And why then should we obey a King that is not our King Or Why then should we hear that Prophet who was no Prophet to us 3. And then as to the last accusation if men be accused as being lyable or obliged to the penalty for non-performance of the condition or for want of a Saviour Every true Believer hath two things to answer for his full Justification 1. That Christ hath satisfied for him and therefore the Laws obligation is justly dissolved 2. That he hath himself performed the condition of the new Covenant and therefore hath part in Christs satisfaction and is not to be condemned as an Unbeliever or ungrateful Rebel and therefore ought not to be deprived of the reward or benefit given which is deliverance from the Curse of the Law and the guilt of sin and deserved punishment together with a greater superadded glory Nor yet to suffer the positive penalty which is both the Non-liberation from the foresaid misery and the greater torment threatned to unbelievers Now the unredeemed may all plead that the said penalties are not due to them 1. Because no redeemer did ever satisfie for them and they could not satisfie for themselves nor cause Christ to satisfie for them which is ever presupposed to their own believing seeing believing is but to give them a right to the satisfaction and benefits of Christ and not to be our righteousness as of worth in it self now all the believing in the World would not make that satisfaction to be for me which was never made for me but only for another no more than believing that another man hath paid my debt would make it true or make a payment to be for me which was only for another As Mr. Perkins saith and least any should imagine that the very act of Faith in apprehending Christ justifieth we are to understand that Faith doth not apprehend by power from it self but by virtue of the Covenant If a man believe the Kingdom of France to be his it is not therefore his Yet if he believe Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven by Christ to be his it is his indeed Not simply because he believes but because he believes upon promise and commandment for in the tenor of the covenant God promiseth to impute the obedience of Christ to us if we believe Vol. 1. True Gain page 662. So that the unbeliever hath this excuse that his believing supposed the Gift and Promise and he could not by believing have made satisfaction to Gods Justice Faith having no such worth nor being ordained to that end nor yet could he get interest in a satisfaction never made for him Nor would God have imputed such a satisfaction or obedience to him had he never so much believed Indeed he deserves the misery threatned by the first Law for sin against the Creator or for sin as sin but not the penalty proper to the new Law either privative consisting in non-liberation or positive as in sorer punishment 2. Besides he is excused by the former reasons which excuse him for non-performance of the conditions for then he cannot be punished for that non-performance If the Devils were accused for not believing in Christ as their Redeemer and consequently being obliged to the penalties of the new Covenant would not they have all this excuse Argum. 28th A natura poenae infernalis positivae If Christ Died not for all but only the Elect then Conscience will not torment the Damned for rejecting Christ their Lord-Redeemer or the fruits of his Redemption But Conscience will torment them for so rejecting Christ and his benefits and thereby wilfully procuring that destruction which else they might have avoided Ergo c. The Argument seems to me so clear that I need not say much in confirmation of any part of it 1. For the Minor it is generally granted 1. That the Torment of Hell lieth much in the Horrors and Accusations of Conscience 2. And that this is a right judging and not an erring Conscience It is not melancholy mistakes that torment poor Souls in Hell as to think they have sinned when they have not but the apprehensions of real evils in and upon them 3. Conscience will never torment men for that which never was in their power to avoid directly or indirectly in it self or in the means though he had been never so willing Did you ever see a rational man wounded in Conscience for not being an Angel or not seeing God face to face or not redeeming his own Soul But it is for wilful sinning that mens Consciences scourge them When there was a possibility of being saved yea a probability put into our hands yea a certainty if we would yield to Christs conditions and yet men did negligently and wilfully slight all this will wound them everlastingly This will feed the never-dying Worm and make them cry out against themselves for ever O what a fool what a wilful wicked self-hater was I that had a price in my hands but had not a heart to improve it That had a Redeemer offered me that suffered for my sins and had not a heart to receive him That had his blood tendered me for the washing of my Soul and the healing of my Wounds and had not a will to accept it That might have had Christ and Pardon and Adoption and Salvation and would not I thought my pleasures and profits better than Christ and Glory I chose dung and dross before the Crown of Life How justly am I now excluded from that blessedness which I set so light by and endure that misery which I wilfully run into See more of this in the Third Part of my Book of Rest in the aggravations of the Damneds Torments But if the damned should then truly know that there was never any possibility of their recovery and that Christ never died at
Law is a proper penalty of the second because the New Law doth restore to all Men their lost right to Life on an easy condition and therefore as the Privation of Life is first given or promised in the first Law was the penalty of that Law so the Privation of the same Life as redeemed and restored by the Mediator is the penalty of the new Law So that it is a recovered happiness that they this way lose and so are twice dead as Jude speaks 5. The very Non-Liberation of the new Law in denial of Remission and Salvation is a great and proper penalty As the Non-continuation of Adams happiness in paradise was a penalty of that Law and the not-giving of a greater if that Law did promise a greater If a Prince make an Act of pardon and oblivion for a company of imprisoned condemned Malefactors in these terms that if they will repent and thankfully accept his favour they shall all be pardoned and also dignified to be Princes and his Favourites If they will not none of them shall be pardoned but all shall die by a more cruel Death Here this Law of Grace hath as its peculiar penalty 1. Their Non-liberation and so their first deserved Death not as first deserved but as confirmed and peremptorily adjudged to them for their ingratitude and so 2. The loss of Life as it was conditionally restored and was in Law as it were a new Life 3. And the loss of the promised offered dignities 4. And the sorer kind of death so is it in the case in Hand For the confirmation of the Minor I need not to say much more seeing for ought I know it is generally granted I never met yet with any that durst say that all the Non-Elect do undergo none of the fore described penalties of the new Law but only the meer penalties of the first Law Doubtless God is offended specially at their unbelief and will destroy them as Christs Enemies because they would not that he should Reign over them Luke 21. 27. and Christ will come in flaming fire rendring vengeance to them for not knowing God and not obeying the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 2. Thes 1. 7. 8. 9. and he will damn them all that obeyed not the Truth of the Gospel but had pleasure in unrighteousness 1 Thes 2. 10. 11. 12. And this is the condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men love darkness rather then light because their deeds were evil And because when Christ came to his own his own received him not Joh. 1. 10. 21 11. For it shall come to pass that every Soul that heareth not the voice of this Prophet shall be destroyed Acts 3. 23. And they that believe not Jesus is the Christ shall dye in their sins And except men repent they shall all perish Luk. 13. 3 5. yea whoever believeth not shall be damned Mar. 16. 16. For he is the Author of Eternal Salvation to them only that obey him Heb. 5. 9. So that as men suffer for sin against the new so also from the obligation of that Law binding them over to Judgment and therefore they are judged by that Law Mat. 25. yea I doubt not but all the World shall be judged by the Redeemer for misimploying his Talents of Grace those that perish and not only for not perfect fulfilling the Law of Works none is condemned meerly for that And if it be so then the same Law of Christ must needs constitute the penalty to be executed Nor did I ever meet with any that durst say that it was no punishment to Unbelievers to be denied Pardon and Justification and Salvation from their deserved damnation which were all offered to them in the Gospel and which Believers do receive much less should any say that the additional torments of such and the loss of the greater promised glory are no punishments Yea even in this life the non-elect receive of the punishments proper to the new Law viz. non remission and non reconciliation and the forsaking of God when he casts them off and gives them up to themselves because they would none of him Psal 81. 11 12. and leaves them desolate because when Christ would have gathered them to him in tender mercy they would not Mat. 23. 37 38. and gives them over to believe lyes because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be saved 2 Thes 2. 10 11. and takes his holy Spirit from them because they grieved and quenched it And all this will be out of doubt if we consider the definition of Punishment which is a natural evil inflicted because of a Moral or the hurt of our persons inflicted for sin Now there is no doubt but all these forementioned are evils to us or hurtful to mens persons and no doubt but they are inflicted for sin and then as to the species They are inflicted for sins against the Law of Christ by force of the obligation of the commination of that Law and the sentence past by Christ as Redeemer and Author of that Law Yea what if I said that strictly and directly men suffer not at all the penalty of the Law of Works For all are delivered from that penalty on condition they Repent and Believe and so the obligation of that Law is suspended to all though not strictly abrogated and transferred and as it were sequestred into the hands of Christ to be disposed of by him inflicting or not inflicting it as men deal with him according to his terms of Grace so that now the penalty is immediately and strictly the penalty of the Law of Christ as it doth both non-liberare and peremptorily bind men over to it and it is properly the loss of a Life recovered by Christs blood which is the punishment though remotely it be also from the obligation of the first Law which being but suspended by Christ and conditionally dissolved remaineth in force upon the non-performance of the condition as soon as the time of performance is expired So that it is undeniable that the damned suffer the privation of the fruits of Christs death and satisfaction yea and of his satisfaction for them in perticular For as it is certain that there is no remission without blood and no Justification or Salvation without Christs satisfaction so it is as much beyond doubt with all sober men that Christs satisfaction for one man will not procure Pardon and Salvation for another So that the Minor is fully clear And for the Major proposition it is as clear For there can be no effects without a cause As no man can receive the effects of Christs Death but those for whom he died so no man can lose or be deprived of those effects but those for whom he died for the cause is presupposed A Negation is no Punishment It is not a punishment to a Stone that it is not a Man that it is mute liveless c. nor to a Beast not to be saved nor
Non-Elect to use no means at all for their Recovery and Salvation or else to have appointed them means which are all utterly useless and insufficient for want of a prerequisite cause without them yea which imply a contradiction 7. It maketh the True and Righteous God to make promises of Pardon and Salvation to all men on condition of believing which he neither would nor could perform for want of such satisfaction to his Justice if they did believe 8. It denieth the true sufficiency of Christs Death for the pardoning and saving of all men if they did believe 9. It makes the cause of mens Damnation to be principally for want of an expiatory Sacrifice and of a Saviour and not of believing 10. It maketh Christ to have suffered much in vain enduring as much for the sins of the Elect only as if the sins of all men had layen on him 11. Or else it dangerously extenuateth and denieth the sufferings of Christ as if he did not suffer as much as was due for the sins of all and it extenuateth his love as if he took on him only the sins of the Elect. 12. It either denieth that any but the Elect should love Christ or be thankful to him as their Redeemer yea or any Elect that have not the knowledg of their Election and so should not repent of the want of this love and thankfulness or else that they should love him and be thankful for that which never was true and never was done for them or given them 13. It maketh God to have inflicted more on Christ then was due even as much for the Sins of the Elect only as was due for the Sins of all the World 14. It leaveth all the World Elect as well as others without any ground and object for their first justifying Faith and in an utter uncertainty whether they may believe to justification or not 15. It maketh the knowledg that we have justifying Faith to go before the having of that Faith 16. It denieth the most necessary humbling aggravation of Mens Sins so that neither the Minister can tell wicked Men that they have sinned against him that bought them nor can any wicked Man so accuse himself no nor any Man that doth not know himself to be Elect They cannot say my Sins put Christ to Death and were the Cause of his sufferings Nay a Minister cannot tell any Man in the World certainly thy Sins put Christ to death because he is not certain who is Elect or sincere in the Faith 17. It subverteth Christs new Dominion and Government of the World and his general legislation and Judgment according to his Law which is now founded in his Title of Redemption as the first Dominion and Government was on the Title of Creation 18. It maketh all the benefits that the Non-Elect receive whether Spiritual or corporal and so even the relaxation of the curse of the Law without which relaxation no Man could have such mercies to befall Men without the satisfaction of Christ and so either make satisfaction as to all those mercies needless or else must find another Satisfier 19. It maketh the Law of Grace to contain far harder terms then the Law of Works did in its utmost rigor 20. It maketh the Law of Moses either to bind all the Non-Elect still to all Ceremonies and bondage-ordinances and so sets up judaism or else to be abrogated and taken down and Men delivered from it without Christs suffering for them 21. It destroys almost the whole work of the Ministry disabling Ministers either to humble Men by the chiefest aggravations of their Sins and to convince them of ingratitude and unkind dealing with Christ or to shew them any hopes to draw them to repentance or any love and mercy tending to Salvation to melt and win them to the Love of Christ or any sufficient object for their Faith and affiance or any means to be used for pardon or Salvation or any promise to encourage them to come in or any threatening to deter them 22. It makes God and the Redeemer to have done no more for the remedying of the misery of most of faln mankind then for the Devils nor to have put them into any more possibility of pardon or Salvation 23. Nay it makes God to have dealt far hardlier with most Men then with the Devils making them a Law which requireth their believing in one that never died for them and taking him for their Redeemer that never redeemed them and that on the meer foresight that they would not believe it or decree that they should not and so to create by that Law a necessity of their far sorer punishment without procuring them any possibility of avoiding it 24. It makes the Gospel of its own Nature to be the greatest Plague and Judgment to most of Men that receive it that ever God sendeth to Men on Earth by binding them over to a greater punishment and aggravating their Sin without giving them any possibility of remedy 25. It maketh the case of all the World except the Elect as deplorate remediless and hopeless as the Case of the damned and so denieth them to have any day of Grace Visitation or Salvation or any price for happiness put into their Hands 26. It maketh Christ to condemn Men to Hell Fire for not receiving him for their Redeemer that never redeemed them and for not resting on him for Salvation by his Blood which was never shed for them and for not repenting unto life when they had no hope of mercy and Faith and repentance could not have saved them 27. It putteth sufficient excuses into the Mouths of the condemned 28. It maketh the torments of conscience in Hell to be none at all and teacheth the damned to put away all their sorrows and self accusations 29. It denieth all the privative part of those torments which Men are obliged to suffer by the obligation of Christs Law and so maketh Hell either no Hell at all or next to none 30. And I shall anon shew how it leads to Infidelity and other Sins And after this what Face of Religion is left unsubverted Not that I charge those that deny Universal satisfaction with holding all these abominations but their Doctrin of introducing them by necessary consequence It is the opinion and not the Men that I accuse 2. Next let me give you some express Texts of Scripture which I shall anon run over more fully and vindicate and see which opinion is the truth of God Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life 2 Pet. 2. 1 20 21. But there were false Prophets also among the People even as there shall be false teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction 20. 21. And as Jude hath it 4. There are certain Men crept
in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation ungodly Men turning the Grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 2. 5. 6. For there is one God and one mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransom for all to be testified in due time 1 Job 2. 2. He is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the Sins of the whole World Rom. 5. 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all Men to condemnation Even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all Men to justification of Life Heb. 2. 9. That he by the Grace of God should tast Death for every Man Tit. 2. 11. For the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men 1 Tim. 2. 3 4. Who will have all Men to be saved and to come to the knowledg of the truth Joh. 3. 17. 18. God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the World but that the World through him might be saved He that believeth on him is not condemned But he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God And this is the Condemnation that light is come into the World and Men loved darkness rather then light because their deeds were evil 2 Cor. 5. 14 15. For the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judg that if one died for all then were all dead And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again 1 lim 4. 10. We trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all Men specially of those that believe Mat. 22. 2 3 4. The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain King which made a Marriage for his Son And sent forth his Servants to call them that were hidden to the Wedding and they would not come And he sent forth other Servants saying tell them that are bidden behold I have prepared my dinner my Oxen and Fatlings are killed and all things are ready Come unto the Marriage And vers 8. Then said he to his Servants The Wedding is ready but they which were bidden were not worthy Add vers 12. 13. So 2 Cor 5. 18 19 20 21. And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the Ministry of Reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of Reconciliation Now then we are Embassadors for Christ as though God did heseech you by us We pray you in Christs stead be reconciled to God For God made him sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Joh. 4. 42. This is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the World 1 Joh. 4 14. 15. And we have seen and do testify that God sent his Son to be the Saviour of the World Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he in God 1 Joh. 5. 9. 10 11. For this is the Witness which he hath testified of his Son He that believeth on the Son of God hath the Witness in himself He that believeth not God hath made him a Lyar because he believeth not the Record that God gave of his Son And this is the Record that God hath given us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son He that hath the Son hath Life and he that hath not the Son hath not Life Heb. 6. 4 5. 6. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the World to come if they shall fall away to renew them again to Repentance seeing they crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame Heb. 10. 26 27. 28 29. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledg of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sins But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the Adversaries He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three Witnesses Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the Blood of the Govenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despight unto the Spirit of Grace Heb. 4. 1. 2. Let us therefore take heed lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it For unto us was the Gospel preached as well as unto them But the Gospel preached did not profit them not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it Heb. 2. 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation c. Joh. 12. 47 48. And if any man hear my words and believe not I judg him not For I came not to judg the World but to save the World He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words he hath one that judgeth him The word that I have spoken the same shall judg him at the last day Luke 13. 39. How oft would I have gathered thy Children together as a Hen gathereth her Brood under her Wings and ye would not Behold your House is left unto you desolate c. Mar. 16. 15. Go ye into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every creature He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned Act. 13. 38. 39 40 41. Be it known to you therefore Men and Brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of Sins And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses Beware therefore least that come c. Behold ye despisers and wonder c. Verse 46. Seeing ye have put it from you and judged your selves unworthy of Everlasting Life c. Mar. 18. 27 32 34 35. Then the Lord of that Servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt c. Then his Lord after that he had called him said unto him O thou wicked Servant I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst me shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow Servant even as I had pitty on thee And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him So likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also unto you if ye from your Hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses Joh. 6. 51. I am
little know we of the History of those remote parts of the World that have not now the Gospel among them that it is very hard for any man to know that those Countries never had the Gospel in any measure revealed to them We may discern that now they want it and that they know not themselves that ever they had it But how far their contempt of it may in many places cause God to give them up to that Barbarism and Sottishness as may obliterate all former Revelations and bury them in oblivion this we cannot tell the rather because that the Apostles and many other Christians of that Age did travel so far in execution of their Office and the Gospel is then said to be Preached to all Nations and the sound of it to have gone to the ends of the Earth and through all the World and because there hath been so much entercourse between some Christians or other and most of these Nations since then yet is it most probable that there are many savage parts where the name of Christ was never revealed with a competent sufficiency yea or at all Prop. VIII The Heathens that never heard the Name of Jesus have yet sufficient means afforded them to know among many others these following Truths 1. That there is a God and only one God 2. That this God is Infinite in Being Immense and Eternal and Infinite in Wisdom Omniscient Goodness and Power and so Omnipotent 3. That he is the Maker Preserver and Governour of all and therefore that all men do by the strongest obligations owe him the most perfect obedience 4. That he being Ruler must needs give us a Law that is some sign of his Will constituting our duty and determining what shall be our reward and punishment 5. That God being perfectly Holy and Just he must needs make a wide difference between the Righteous and the Wicked and cause Malum Passionis vel Physicum ordinarily to follow Malum Morale vel Actionis vel Omissionis ut benè tandem sit bonis male malis And that the same Cause which was for the enacting of his Penal Laws requireth the execution of them ordinarily at least in as high a measure as Worldly Princes are engaged to execute all their Laws 6. That the Soul of Man shall in another World everlastingly partake of exceeding misery or happiness according to what they have done in this World 7. That therefore it should be every mans chief care to provide for his Everlasting Salvation and to escape everlasting Damnation or Misery and that all things in this World are vanity and will not satisfie the Soul or make men happy and therefore that our care and labour for this World and our Love of it should be nothing in comparison of our love to that to come and of our care and labour for it and that no man can be too diligent in seeking after his Everlasting Happiness 8. That God is to be loved honoured obeyed trusted feared and that above all Creatures whatsoever and that he is the most happy man that is most in his favour and that we should Worship him frequently reverently and heartily and that according to his own will and that we should honour our Superiors and love our Equals also and do no wrong to any man in Soul Body Friends Name State or Chastity but do as we would be done by 9. That all men are Sinners and every man for himself may know by experience not only that he hath broke these Laws but often and heinously broke them yea breaketh them every day 10. That a very grievous punishment is due to them for these sins 11. That God being the Righteous Judge and Governour of the World it beseemeth him to do Justice on those that so offend him and to adjudge them to their deserved misery except on some valuable Consideration he forgive them 12. That it is past their reach to discover of themselves what such a valuable Consideration may be or what God will accept of as sufficient to be a ground for Remission of this Sin and Punishment 13. That it is past their own power to make any satisfaction seeing all that they can do which is good is but the remainder of their duty which yet is depraved by the daily mixture of Sin and all that they can suffer here is but part of their desert All this the light of Nature may shew them as is evident by the clear deductions and inferences of Reason and all this is Antecedent to any thing Evangelical But besides all this God's Providential dealings may teach them some things of another Nature even concerning God's mercy and their own Recovery As particularly 1. That God doth not deal with Mankind in general or themselves in particular according to their desert This they may find by his patience and the multitude of mercies that they enjoy 2. Nay that he dealeth with them so much contrary to their desert as to give them abundance of precious mercies through all their lives when they had deserved the greatest misery 3. That therefore God hath found out some sufficient means grounds or terms on which he both may and doth actually dispense with the rigour of exact Justice 4. That therefore their case is not utterly desperate and remediless 5. That they cannot of themselves discover what those satisfactory grounds are on which God so suspendeth the rigour of Justice and dealeth with them so contrary to their deserving 6. That therefore they should use all possible means and industry for the fuller knowing of these great things and therefore send to enquire of all others in the World as far as is possible who are likely to know more of them than they 7. That they should for the time to come repent unfeignedly of all their sins not only as they are hurtful to themselves but as against the publick Ruler of the World to whom they were so many ways obliged and that for the time to come they should to the utmost of their power sin no more 8. That they ought frequently and fervently to pray to God both to reveal to them fully their Case and his Will concerning their Recovery and Duty and importunately day by day to beg mercy at his hands 9. That all this must not be done in desperation but as a means to their own deliverance and God is to be sought and worshiped by them as a merciful God as having proved him so to be and that the use of his means is not like to be in vain 10. That ◠careful seeking and diligent obedience they should continue to the death against all Temptations to the contrary All these Truths may those come to know by the use of Reason from the Creatures and Providences and specially their own experiences who never heard of Christ or Scripture And how much Socrates Aristotle Plato Plotinus Seneca Cicero Plutarch c. did know may partly be seen in the Monuments of their
acknowledged or pray'd for Remission of such a Guilt nor any Ministers that ever acquainted them with it yet Ursine and some few I find make it doubtful yet here is no ground for their objection who say that then for the Sin of Cain or Cham God may destroy all their present Posterity To which I Answer 1. According to the Law of Works he may 2. According to the Law of Grace if there have been no Godly intermediate Progenitors which is false or improbable 3. Or if the Children prove wicked and rebellious themselves God may bring on that Generation the Evlis deserved by the foregoing Yet is there a great difference in degree between guilt from Progenitors and guilt from our own Personal voluntary Actions and therefore God never imputeth the former where men are personally obedient and penitent but lays it as an addition to their personal guilt on the Impenitent and Disobedient Prop. XX. I cannot find in Scripture where it is clearly revealed to us on what terms God will Judge those that heard not of Christ In general we find that he will judge them according to their usage of the Talents of Mercy received and not according to the rigour of the Law of works as it stands alone but particularly how God will proceed with them or whether any Heathen be ever saved I cannot find that he hath revealed For indeed it doth not concern us to know it I dare not say that any of them Socrates Seneca Plato c. are saved Nor dare I say that I am certain they are not They that are certain let them be thankful for their knowledge and not be angry with me for confessing my Ignorance And I hope they will distinguish between Ignorance and Error and therefore not charge me with Error in this It seems to me that these men being not under any conditional Promise of Life for Faith is the condition therefore they cannot lay claim to Salvation by the Tenour of the Covenant Though some think that the Promise of Pardon and Life to them that Repent may give them an interest But yet God is not engaged to the contrary but dealeth Arbitrarily with them and therefore we cannot know his dealings particularly and fully herein Prop. XXI Those Scriptures that speak of the necessity of Christ to mans Salvation for satisfying Justice do plainly extend it to all men in the World but those that speak of the necessity of believing seem to limit it to them that hear the Gospel or might have heard it but for their own fault It is true of all men that there is no other name given under Heaven by which they can be saved but the Name of Jesus There is no Remission but by his Blood nor Acceptance with God but for the sake of his Satisfaction and Merits But it may be observed from the Context that when it is said He that believeth not shall be Damned it is plainly fore-implyed that they are such as are called to believe It hath the Nature of a threatning and therefore presupposeth the sin of Unbelief and that it be not meer Negative Unbelief but Privative and that supposeth the duty of believing and that supposeth the command constituting the Duty and that supposeth Natural Power in Man though not Moral and the Natural possibility of obeying Peruse each particular Text of this Nature and you will find this true Prop. XXII Personal Believing was never commanded to Infants or Ideots nor required as necessary to their Salvation Prop. XXIII The same Faith which is now among us of absolute necessity to our Justification and Salvation was not so to those before Christ therefore it is not per se of absolute necessity to Justification by Christ Therefore if God so please those that hear not the Gospel may be Justified without that Faith which to us is necessary If we believe not that Jesus is the Christ we shall Die in our sins But this was not necessary to the Jews before Christs coming Nay it appears by divers passages in the Gospel that Christs own Twelve Apostles after they had long heard his Teaching and seen his Miracles did not believe that Christ should be put to Death and be made a Sacrifice for Sin much less his Resurrection c. And how unlikely is it then that all the true believers of the World long before should believe this However some Prophets might discern much of it Do but well peruse every example of believing in Heb. 11. and see what Faith it was that then saved them Yet to think that the same would save us now were a desperate mistake Prop. XXIV God can if he please pardon and save men for the sake of Christs satisfaction without letting them once know that Christ satisfied for them else he cannot save an Infant or an Ideot Some Divines as Twisse c. are so bold as to say that God could have pardoned Sin without Christs satisfaction I dare not say so But methinks the same men should never make mans knowledge or belief of Christs satisfaction to be absolutely necessary to Salvation if the satisfaction it self be not Dare any say My own Faith was more necessary than Christs Death I could have been saved without Christ but not without Faith God could have forgiven men absolutely if he would or else have made some other condition when once his Justice was satisfied And therefore we cannot conclude that this is the condition to any further than Scripture saith so Prop. XXV Yet is Repentance Belief in God Love to him and sincere Obedience of Natural necessity For God cannot be enjoyed in Glory but by these Graces nor as a Just Rector can he save them that love him not and that Rebel against him Prop. XXVI Those who think it possible for a Socrates Seneca c. to be saved or one that never heard the Gospel do not hereby equal Heathenism with Christianity nor make our Religion needless For they 1. Make their Salvation less certain and ours most certain 2. And their Salvation most difficult as for a man to hit a narrow way in the dark and ours incomparably more easie as for a man to hit the right way by day-light 3. And that therefore they are very few of them that are Saved but Multitudes with us 4. That their Glory shall be lesser as his that improved the two Talents and ours greater as his that improved the ten Besides many more differences Prop. XXVII If all the Heathen be Damned though their loss will be materially equal with ours yet formally as a privation for they were never in our capacity of Glory and their poena sensus will not be near equal to ours either materially or formally For their Consciences will never torment them for the refusal of Christ revealed and Heaven offered to them or any other sins which they were not capable of committing Nay if it were true that some teach that they had no Gospel Mercy or Grace given
gift of God Joh. 3. 27. A man can receive nothing except it be given him from Heaven If nothing then not Faith If they say they received it not the Apostles question may shame them What hast thou which thou hast not received Obj. That 's meant of gifts that were for Edification Answ I. Much more of Faith which is a special Grace II. It is General implying that we have nothing that we received not that thence he might conclude Therefore not such Gifts Joh. 6. 44. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him ver 65. Therefore said I unto you No man can come unto me except it were given to him of my Father Obj. God drawing Morally those that will not follow him Answ I. The Drawing here mentioned is the same with giving to come to him II. It is given as the Reason why some Believed not because none can come except it be given them and they be drawn Those that believed not had your Moral drawing which was uneffectual but it is evident they had not the drawing which Christ mentioneth Luk. 17. 5. Lord increase our Faith Therefore he must give it Obj. That is a Faith of Miracles Answ Saving Faith is as much Gods Gift as that and the Soul as unapt to it till he give it Mark 9. 24. Lord I believe help thou mine Unbelief He that must Help our Unbelief that is give us more Faith must help our total Unbelief by giving us our first Faith which we are most unable to perform of our selves Gal. 5. 22. The fruit of the Spirit is Love Faith c. Obj. That 's meant of Fidelity Answ I. That 's unproved that it 's only meant of that II. If common fidelity must be wrought by the Spirit much more Saving Faith in Christ To all these it 's further objected that God giveth Faith equally to All that is his help to Believe but it is only the Materia Disposita that receiveth it and the reason why some have it not is because they are not disposed or prepared Ans 1. If this be so that this is the Reason of his denying faith to some yet the contrary disposition is not the Reason of his giving faith to others And therefore the Undisposedness is only a Reason sufficient to Justifie God's denial of Grace but not Disabling him to give it or necessitating him to deny it Else all men should perish who are undisposed unless they dispose themselves And this is plain Semi-Polagianism that Grace is tyed to such Dispositions of our own 2. Prove if you can that ever God hath made a Promise of Faith to men on condition of any prerequisite Dispositions I find no such thing in the Word 3. Are those Dispositions Gods Gifts or not If not then all is ultimately resolved into mans will and we have something that we have not received If they be then they are given Absolutely or Conditionally If Absolutely then they are not so given to All else All should have them and so Believe If Conditionally 1. What is the Condition They say our Non-resistance But our Resistance is either Habitual or Actual The Actual is our Actual Niâ—ing The Habitual is our Habitual Unwillingness Deadness c. Must we cure all this of our selves before God will give us Faith I will not say as Dr. Twisse that Non-resistance is Credere that is Faith it self that is the contrary to this Resistance or Unwillingness because you may tell me that to be unwilling of Christ as offered and to be Unwilling that God should make me willing of Christ or give me Faith by the means of my hearing is not all one But this I say that the best did resist and were unwilling both of Christ and Faith till God did overcome their Resistance And that God hath not promised Faith on condition of mans Non-resistance that I know of 2. Is this Non-resistance or Willingness to Believe the Gift of God or not If not then we have somewhat which we did not receive and then all Grace still is ultimately resolved with the Pelagians into mans will and man makes himself to differ which I disproved in the last days Exercise If it be Gods Gift then either Absolute and so proper to some Or Conditional and then that must have a Condition and so in infinitum till you stop in some Absolute Gift not common to all Object God is not the total but partial Cause and therefore he doth quantum in se give Faith to all and that some are yet without it is long of themselves Answ I. I confess that it is long of themselves that any are Unbelievers II. Though man believe yet it seems to me that God is not to be called Causa partialis but totalis in that Supream Causality which he exerciseth III. That God doth quantum in se give all men Faith may be understood either 1. Quantum in se quoad potentiam as much as â—e can But that 's Blasphemy 2. Quantum in se quoad Decentiam as much as is meet for him to do But who dare say that it is unmeet for God to give men such effectual grace as shall Infallibly cause them to Believe He giveth such to his Elect and therein doth not any thing that is unmeet 3. Or else it is meant that God giveth so much help to unbelievers as leaves all the blame of their unbelief upon themselves and justifieth him from being the culpable deficient or efficient Cause And this I grant but this is no advantage to the Adversary But I have been too long on this first Argument Arg. II. Jesus Christ dying intended the Infallible Glorification of Gods free grace in the certain Regeneration Justification and Glorification of certain men therefore he intended the infallible certain Regeneration or Faith and Justification and Glorification of those men That Christ came into the World with a certain intention to accomplish the glorifying of God as his end is undoubted For to say either that he undertook so great a work without an end or that the glory of Gods grace and love was not that end are both impious And as certain is it that it was the glory of Gods grace in the certain Salvation of some men that was intended For as there is no other way of this full glorification of Gods grace manifested to us but only by mans Salvation so the Scripture most frequently tells us that this is the way and this was God's design and therefore Christ is stiled the Saviour which certainly implyeth that he hath some infallibly to save and that he came to seek and to save that which was lost And if it were not the Salvation of Determinate Persons that God intended to glorify himself in then was it not in the Salvation of any man at all for all Salvation is some ones Salvation Accidents exist not without a Subject And if it were not a certain obtaining of this end by