Lord at the last opened mine ears and eyes and enlightened my mind gave me understanding and made me see what I would not see he touched my heart with his grace and the power of his Spirit and changed my Affections whereas before I had no mind of heaven no desire of salvation untill he made me see what I have not he hath not dealt thus with all many thousands there be that go on without this touch of heart and remorse of conscience without this powerful work of grace they go on in their sins though they hear the Word from Sabbath to Sabbath what was I better then they surely nothing at all by Nature Oh then how am I bound unto God nothing moving the Lord to shew mercy unto me but onely his mere good will and pleasure how am I bound to magnifie the goodnesse of God And indeed this is that glory of the free mercy of God which the Lord would have us to yeeld unto him he would have us to yeeld unto him this glory of his free mercy and how pleasing this is to God and how the Lord esteemeth of this magnifying of his mercy may appear by that description Exod. 34 6 7. The Lord the Lord strong merciful gracious slow to anger and abundant in goodnesse and truth Reserving mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin c. Thus the Lord doth proclaim himself for this is that wherein the Lord doth take delight to have the glory of his free mercy given unto him And this is the name by which the Lord Jesus will be known to his Elect and chosen in all ages I am a merciful God this is the name by which I will be magnified and in which he delighteth that we should give him the glory of his mercy that we can say when the Lord vouchsafeth mercy unto us that it proceedeth onely from the Lords free will And know that it is not more vile pride in a Begger to attribute the almes that is given unto him unto his own deserts then it is for us to ascribe any the least mercy that God vouchsafeth unto us to our own worthinesse it is monstrous pride in a beggar to ascribe the almes that are given him to his own deservings But it is far more for thee to ascribe and attribute that to thy self which is freely given of God Let us therefore consider that every rag we have it is of the free mercy of God Oh did proud persons consider this they would not so gorgiously adorn themselves and disgrace the holy profession of God if they did consider they have nothing but from the free Fountain of Gods mercy nothing moving him they would not be such carelesse fellowes in their careless bands which sheweth their carelesnesse as they be Vse 3 Again Is Gods mercy reached out unto his chosen most free and depending upon nothing out of God himself surely then a child of God one to whom God hath reached out saving mercy may conclude and gather to his comfort that Gods saving mercy it shall never be removed from him but abide with him for ever for why it dependeth upon the free will of God and that is unchangeable even as God himself And I may say as Pilate saith in Joh. 19.32 when he had written a superscription over Christ and they demanded why he writ so he answered quod scripsi scripsi what I have written I have written so may the Lord say I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy Mal. 3.16 I am Jehovah I change not Mercy is mine and who shall take it from me shall the devil no nor all the powers in hell can hinder or frustrate the will of God Oh then consider to thy comfort God hath reached out his mercy to thee and he will never take it from thee for he hath said I will have mercy on whom I will VERSE 16. So then it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth But God that sheweth mercy THe Apostle in this Verse determineth the point touching Gods Justice in his free choyce of some particulars amongst men to life and salvation In the Verse foregoing he proveth it by the speech of God unto Moses that God hath free liberty and absolute power to shew mercy unto whom he will and compassion to whom he will without respect had to any thing in them Now the Lord having thus described his shewing of mercy merely to depend upon his good will and pleasure hereupon our Apostle in this 16. verse doth bring in a consectarie and infer this conclusion that therefore Gods eternal election of some to life and salvation is not to be ascribed unto the will or unto the works of any man but unto Gods free grace in shewing of mercy So then it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercy In this 16. verse the general things are two First a removal of that which is not the cause of Gods eternal election of some to life and salvation and what is that mans willing and mans running it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth Secondly the describing and the assigning of the onely true and proper cause of Gods choosing of some to salvation and that is Gods shewing of mercy but in him that sheweth mercy Now I will lay forth the sense and meaning of the words of this verse So then or So therefore it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the text Original these words it is are not to be found but they are necessarily to be supplyed So then it is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth what is that that is not in him that willeth nor in him that runneth surely that which the Apostle had spoken of Gods eternal election of some to life and salvation that is not in him that willeth nor runneth Some do here understand Jacobs willing and running particularly but by their favour that is too narrow and too strict for the purpose of the Apostle is more large and general these words being a conclusion of the verse foregoing I will have mercy on him on whom I will And this word him must have as large a sense as the words in the verses foregoing yet Jacob is not to be excluded but rather included and so the meaning is it is not in Jacob or in any other man that willeth or runneth in him that willeth That is in him that willeth and desireth good and endeavoureth after that which is good and that by the power and strength of his mind will and affections or any part or all the powers and faculties of his soul nor in him that runneth We are not to understand as some do Esau's runing onely no nor yet Jacobs running to the fold to fetch a Kid for his father Gen. 27. but the meaning is it is not in him that worketh as it is not in
matter of comfort to believing soules and particularly comfort those that are capable of comfort He telleth him that he believing in these promises shall certainly be saved For thus runneth the tenour of the Word and the Gospel Whosoever truly believeth in Christ Jesus shall certainly be saved hereupon the Minister standing in the room and place of Christ being his Ambassadour doth make this particular application and draw out this conclusion The text saith he that believeth shall be saved The Minister saith Believe thou Richard Thomas William or whatsoever thou art and thou shalt surely be saved And this is as much as if Christ himself did preach by his immediate voyce from heaven For why Christ hath committed to us Preachers the delivery of his Word as appeareth 2 Cor. 5.19 20. And therefore upon the ground of believing the general promises of the Gospel that such shall be saved they may assure themselves they shall be saved And a man finding faith in his heart and soul which he may prove by the fruits and works of faith may thereupon assure himself that he is in the number of Gods chosen and shall certainly be saved And thereupon we may see it is but a cavil that these enemies of God affirm That the Minister knoweth not whether a man belong to Gods election or no when the Minister assureth him not upon that ground but upon the ground of believing Is this so that the Minister of the Word must not onely make known Vse 2 general Doctrines but particularly apply them Surely then the hearers of the VVord must not onely hear the general truth of the VVord made known unto them but they must also be content to have those truths applied unto them particularly by way of instruction by way of exhortation and by way of just reproof as occasion is offered And beloved men must not start aside and fret and chafe and take on when that the truth of the word is brought home unto them and applied particularly unto their souls for the discovery of their particular sins as their pride and vanity of apparel or whatsoever it is no they must willingly chearfully and readily yield and submit themselves unto it and not begin to quarrel with the affection of the Preacher and say now he speaketh out of malice and spleen and distemper and now he speaketh against such a man as if the man and the sin were one substance the Minister cannot speak against pride garishness of apparel long shagged hair but he speaketh against the man as if the sin were the man and the man and the sin all one therefore take heed of being in a chafe when thy sins are reproved And know that if thou thus do fret and chafe it is not onely an Argument that thou art possessed with a spiritual pride and a spiritual frenzy and madness but it is a sign of Gods heavy wrath and judgment ready to break out upon the souls of those men that so fret and chafe and take on in impatiency It is an immediate fore-runner of Gods heavy wrath when men cannot abide to be touched or to have the word of God applied particularly they are impatient of reproof and must have the Preacher to speak pleasing things and to daube them up with untempered morter this bringeth upon them the hand of God unto remediless and easless Destruction Esay 30.13 14. of saith the Prophet this is a foul sin when men teach their Preachers what to say it is like the breaking of a high wall that is sodain or like a bump in a wall a swelling knob that upon a sodain falleth down to the ground and is broken all to pieces like a Potters Vessel that is broken in shivers and there is not so much left as to hold fire or water so it is with those that repine at the particular application of the word their destruction is sudden Again further consider we if so be we be willing and ready to hear the word of comfort applied unto us though it belongeth not unto us and we can accumulate the preaching of the Gospel and yet put away from us the word of reproof we cannot endure that surely the Lord will then punish us in the same kinde he will deal with us proportionably and accordingly he will make his word of comfort that we so eagerly take hold on an unprofitable word and a word that shall yield no comfort unto us when we lie on our sick beds and in the hour of death because we receive the word of comfort that appertaineth not unto us and put away the word of reproof therefore he will make the word of comfort comfortless Consider to this purpose the example of Herod Mark 6.20 Herod heard and did many things gladly that John Baptist taught and found much comfort in hearing of him but when John came to touch him and to hit him on the bare his beloved sore and pleasing Dalilah that it was unlawfull for him to have his Brothers Wife then Herod shewed what he was he carried then a splenative minde and a grudge in his heart and never left till he had his head what touch my beloved Sin And the Lord dealt with Herod accordingly for those comforts that he appropriated to himself from Johns preaching were fruitless he went on in his sin and perished fearfully in his folly Then learn we to hear the word not cunningly for our instruction and comfort but in matter of exhortation and just reproof to be taxed for our sins And when the Lord meeteth with us in his word for our particular sins to say it is his Mercy and his blessing and to thank God that we have Ministers which do not daube us with untempered morter and to say as David saith in Psal 141.5 let the righteous smite me it is a pretious balm this is the affection of the godly but if we do accumulate to our selves the comforts that are promulgated in the Gospel and cast away the reproofs denounced against our sins God will then make his comforts comfortless and they shall do us no good So then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy HAving formerly handled the reference this verse hath with precedent matter I now come to handle the matter of the verse it self And first of all we see the Apostle in the first place doth deny Gods eternal election of some to life and salvation to be in him that willeth good or worketh good And so the observation is briefly this That nothing in man or done by man coming from him Doctrine is the cause and ground of mans election or salvation Neither any mans willing of good or working of good no not the willing or working of good by a regenerate person by a person truly sanctified and in the estate of grace not his willing or working of good that is the cause and ground of his election or salvation And so to prevent an
him He appointeth the drops of rain to fall in this place and not in that so he doth cause the dew of his Word to fall upon the clay the Gentiles in Matth. 10.6 into the Cities of the Samaritans enter not and in Acts 16.6 7 we find that Paul and Timothy they were forbidden of the holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia Yea when they had a mind to goe to Bythinia the Spirit of God would not suffer them but sent them to Macedonia Acts 16.9 Come over into Macedonia and help us so that the outward preaching of the Word it is vouchsafed to some and not to others as when Christ lived upon the face of the earth the bodily eyes of all men were not opened but onely some and others remaine blind some blind persons were left in their blindness And the dead bodies of all were not raised though some were at the death of Christ so dealeth the Lord with the minds and souls of men he onely out of his gracious pleasure doth open the minds of some men and make them to see know and understand and believe by the preaching of the Word according to his gracious pleasure therefore we may resolve upon it as a certain truth that God doth call men out of the estate of nature into the estate of grace effectually out of his free grace and mercy Vse 1 If this be so it is not then upon foreseen merit that God doth call men effectually and doth work upon them powerfully by his Spirit that is the error of the Papists they hold indeed that the election of God and consequently the revelation of the truth of God it is upon their merit foreseen because God doth foresee some worthiness in them we are to renounce this as a gross Popish errour yea the truth now made known unto us being duely considered and thought upon it beareth strongly against that position that is held by some that redemption wrought by Christ is universal that Christ died for all men universally without any exception of any Now not to stand upon this erroneous position which is a dangerous errour in the ground of it it making the sin of men the sins of the world death and hell to be stronger then Christ that Christ should die for all men and yet some of those men goe to hell a fowl and a gross errour besides this it cannot stand with the truth now delivered that Christ died effectually for all men without exception of any for if so be Christ did die for all men generally and universally then doubtless all are acquainted with it savingly as a benefit belonging to themselves such as are redeemed assuredly God doth bring them to the saving knowledge of their redemption Now this is not so the preaching of the Word and plain experience doth tell the contrarie for God out of his mere good will and pleasure doth call none effectually but such as are redeemed by Christ and so all men are not for then they should savingly be brought to the knowledge of their redemption but all are not so for as in the time of Christ all men that were blinde had not their eyes opened so all have not their minds enlightned and therefore universal redemption wrought by Christ is a meer fancie of the brain of man forged in hell and there is no truth in it to say that Christ died for all and if we rest upon this we shall finde a deceiving ground of comfort Howsoever some will say how shall we comfort a poor soul a prisoner that is to be executed but by telling him Christ died for all upon what ground No Christ died not for all Again is it so that God worketh freely upon the minds and souls of men out of his free grace and mercy Oh then such as find themselves to be in Vse 2 the number of the called of God and throughly wrought upon by the power of the preaching of the Word that are brought to the saving knowledge of God in Christ they are bound to acknowledge the riches of his free grace and mercy and be thankful unto God for the same Consider it thou that hast good evidence of thy effectual calling that art transformed and changed and brought into a new mold and fashion consider with thy self that many are left in their natural ignorance and unbelief yea many are given over to Popish superstitions many living in the same place frequenting the same means hearing the same sermons sitting in the same seat with thee they remain ignorant in their blindnesse of minde and hardnesse of heart but God hath given thee not onely his Word and Gospel preached but a heart enlightned to receive it therefore thou hast cause to magnifie the mercy of God for this blessing of all blessings And learn thou to break out and say Lord what am I that thou shouldest vouchsafe unto me such a mercie I see thousands in their natural estate and ignorance I was born and brought forth in sinne like other men and have increased and multiplied my sinnes exceedingly my unthankefulnesse is great and my unworthinesse greater and yet thou hast vouchsafed mercy unto me above many thousands Lord thou art gracious and merciful unto me Thus we ought to be stirred up our selves to magnifie the mercie of God in that many thousands are given to Popish superstition and God hath given thee a flexible heart to his Word Oh thou canst not be sufficiently thankful for so great a favour As he saith also in Hosea I will call them my people which were not my people and her beloved which was not beloved COme we now to the very words of the text to enter into the bowels of it In these words as I have shewed you we have a double description of the Gentiles First of their estate before their calling when they were not the people of God by nature Secondly of their condition after their Calling that they were now become the people of God and beloved of the Lord hence then first of all appeareth the estate of man by nature as yet unconverted and not wrought upon by the Spirit of God through the preaching of the Word and Gospel hence the Doctrine is this Doctrine That men who are in their natural estate as yet not effectually called and as yet not wrought upon by the Spirit of grace by the preaching of the Word and Gospel are in a miserable estate and condition they are not the people of God nor beloved of God so saith the Text and we find that that the Scripture setteth out the miserable estate and condition of men in their natural estate by many notable speeches in Rom. 5.6.8 it is said that they were sinners in a high degree ungodly yea enemies unto God and unto Christ such as are in their natural estate they are enemies unto God and there is open defiance between God and them and they may look that the Lord shall deal with them as a professed
so much as is needful to be known unto salvation this being the very end of God as appeareth Joh. 20.31 saith the Evangelist Many other things Jesus did but these are written that you might believe that Iesus Christ is the Son of God and by believing might have life i. e faith and salvation through his name so that this is undoubtedly true that the pen-men of the Scripture have thus explained it Vse 1 Wickedly then deal the Papists in that they lay a hardnesse and obscurity on the Word of God and teach that though the Scriptures be delivered in our Mother tongue yet they are so hard to be understood not onely of the ignorant and common sort of people the laity but the learned among themselves they cannot tell when they have the true sense and meaning of the Word of God no not of the things that are fundamental unlesse the Church consent with them Nay the greatest Rabbins and Doctours amongst us cannot understand the Scriptures without consent of the Church Oh consider hath God sent unto us his Word as a Letter and Epistle to testifie his mind unto us and unto his Church and hath he shut it up in such doubtful terms that a man cannot tell when he hath the understanding of it he sendeth it to testifie his mind and will unto us and hath he so shut it up that we cannot tell when we have the sense of it Oh fearful blasphemy why It were better that we had no Scripture written at all far better then to have it so doubtful But there is no jot of it but serveth for the good of his people both in this life and the life to come God hath so ordered the tongues of the holy Writers and Pen-men of Scripture his Prophets and Apostles that the meaning is easie to be understood by such as come unto it with attentive minds that do read diligently mark attentively judge humbly and pray heartily Vse 2 But to make use of this to our selves Is it so that the holy Prophets and Pen-men of Scripture do deliver plainly in one place what is hard in another upon this ground it followeth that the best way of expounding Scripture is by Scripture it self we commonly give thus much to a man that he is the best expounder of himself so then learn we to apply and compare Scripture with Scripture and in that we do not apply Scripture with Scripture it is the reason why we do let slip other places that may help us in the true Application of Scripture it is a subtilty that Satan or the Divel and our hearts are ready to joyn with him that he maketh men to hale and draw unto themselves such places of Scripture as they think do favour them in their sin by their abuse of it they lay hands upon those places that so seem willingly and purposely forgetting other places that do draw them back from such conjecturing as the Usurer wil draw such places as may countenance his sin to his seeming and neglect those that draw him to the contrary Yea many men they turn Gods grace unto wantonnesse to go on in sin with an high hand and stiffe neck adding drunkennesse to thirst they are impenitent in their sins and will not be reformed and yet for all this they perswade themselves that they shall find mercy from the Lord And why whence cometh this The Devil is ready to suggest unto them and to furnish them with remembrance of a number of comfortable places of Scripture that set forth Gods mercy as that in Psal 103.8 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy slow to anger and of great kindnesse and in Psal 145.9 The mercy of the Lord is over all his works these the devil maketh to intitle to themselves yea with a Psalm of mercy to carry them up to the highest pitch of presumption and to lay violent hands upon those places of Scripture that are full of comfort and to say certainly God is merciful and forgivenesse is with the Lord and though I go on in sin yet I shall find mercy purposely forgetting many other places of Scripture that shew God is a revenging God and a consuming fire that punishes those that go on in sin Psal 25.10 that mercy and truth go together God is merciful but he is also true true in his threatnings as well as in his promises yea forgetting to apply these places full of comfort with the consideration of that which Moses saith Deut. 29.20 If any man go on in the stubbornnesse of his own heart and adde Drunkennesse to thirst one sin unto another the Lord will not be merciful to that man They never remember this the devil teacheth them to forget that God is just and full of judgment and that his jealousie shall smoke against those that go on in their sins surely the Lord will render vengeance upon them Oh therefore in the fear of God take notice of it of this manner of expounding and applying of Scripture therefore learn we to compare Scriture with Scripture and see what qualification thou hast before thou lay hold on the promise of God and learn to compare Scripture with Scripture that we may mitigate the comfort of it and draw us back from wresting and perverting of it else we shall make that which should be our life our death and that which should administer comfort and sweetnesse unto us to be a means to encourage us to sinne and to adde sinne to sinne and so to rush upon our own ruine and destruction In the fear of God therefore consider it and the Lord give you all understanding That is they that are the children of the flesh are not the children of God but the children of the Promise are accounted for the seed TOuching the Apostles Denyal that they that came of Abraham according to the flesh are not the true seed these words being an Exposition of the words foregoing the point hence offered is the same which hath been stood upon before which I think needlesse to stand upon the Doctrine being That the coming or descending of good and godly parents is not sufficient to intitle us to be heires of the promise and Gods children I say the point hence arising being the same therefore I will not here meddle with it But come to the Apostles affirmation leaving his negation That they onely are accounted the true seed of Abraham who are the children of the promise that is as we shewed you in opening the Text they only that are after the manner of Isaac children of the promise belonging unto Gods election by the special grace of God and made Gods children hy the vertue of Gods promise they onely are reckoned and accounted for the true seed of Abraham to whom grace and salvation belongeth Now from these words thus understood two things are offered unto our consideration to be stood upon in particular the first is the efficacy and force of the words of Gods promise
judgement he will come to be glorified in his Saints and to be made marvelous and wonderful in all that believe He will invest his Saints then with heavenly glory and manifest his rich grace and abundant mercy upon them and that to the admiration and astonishment of all the world that shall looke upon him and be eye-witnesse of it in 1 John 3.2 Dearly beloved saith the Apostle We are now the Sonnes of God yet it doth not appear what we shall be is not now apparant nor evident to the eye of the world but the time shall come when it shall be apparant and manifest and that shall be when Christ shall come in glory unto judgement then the Saints of God then the true believers and the Chosen of God shall be made like unto him in fulnesse of grace and in fulnesse of glory not equal unto him but like unto him a plain Text evidencing and confirming this Truth That God will one day manifest his exceeding greatnesse and mercy to his chosen and make it appear to all the world to men and Angels that he is a merciful God to the confusion of the wicked and the admiration of the Angels Now beloved if so be we desire to be further enformed touching this what shall make men and Angels to admire the wonderful mercy of God to his Chosen Beloved it shall be not onely in respect of the abundant greatnesse of Gods mercy to his Chosen but also in respect of the freeness of Gods grace and of Gods glory that God bestoweth abundance of grace and of mercy and that freely for when as the wicked and reprobates shall at that day have justly according as they have deserved inflicted upon them even everlasting wrath and vengeance so on the other side God hath revealed the greatnesse of his mercy upon his chosen not for any merits or deserts of theirs and herein appeareth the wonderful admiration of Gods mercie in that he giveth it not in respect of any merit or desert of theirs for they have deserved the same wrath with the Reprobates but onely of his free mercy this shall make men and Angels to wonder at it that God vouchsafeth such a weight of glorie which they have not deserved freely out of his own mercie and it must needs be so for these Reasons Because the glorie of his mercie is as dear unto him as the glorie of his Reason 1 Justice and he will no more loose the glorie of his mercie then the glorie of his Justice Because God having promised grace unto his Chosen yea fulness of Reason 2 grace and fulness of mercy according to their measure The Lord will be justified in his Word and in his sayings and in his promise he will make it good yea the most wicked in the world shall one day justifie the goodness and the mercie of God to his Chosen and he will make them one day will they nill they to confess his goodness and this is not done in this world but in the world to come then he will wring a confession from them howsoever now they will not confess it yet then they shall manifest the riches of Gods grace to his Chosen The due consideration of this yieldeth matter of sweet and excellent comfort to Gods Children two waies First in respect of the cause and estate of Gods Children as it standeth with them when they are under some great and grievous affliction or under some strong temptation and violent assaults by Sathan in that he feels such a weight of sinne and such a burthen of corruptions lying and pressing down his heart and soul as for the present he hath no apprehension of the special love of God unto him nay he concludeth the Contrarie even against himself as that God hath forgotten him and left him though there be no such matter but God is pleased to exercise his Faith and to trie the soundness of his grace and he will have him to know that his faith and grace is even as pure gold tried in the furnace 1 Peter 1.7 That the trrial of your Faith is much more precious then gold Now in this case a Child of God may call to minde in this miserable estate he thinketh himselfe may call to minde what comfort and what mercie the Lord hath vouchsafed upon me and what pledges of his saving goodness the Lord hath vouchsafed and then he may consider that though the saving mercy of God be now hid from him for a time and that he can finde no comfort yet he having had experience of his saving grace formerly he may resolve that he will again return and manifest his mercie unto him for consider to reason thus Will God one day make it apparant to all the world that he is a merciful and gracious God to his Children and will not the same God make it manifest and apparant to thy soul here in this life at one time or other it cannot possibly be thou having had love tokens of his favour though they seem to be lost yet the Lord will come with abundance of grace and goodness Romans 15.13 Yea the Lord one day so exprest his grace as that the Child of God shall himselfe wonder and magnifie the grace of God unto his own soul yea he shall be ravished with the wonderful mercie of God unto his Chosen in general and to himselfe in particular For though when the Devil opposeth the godly by temptations they feele not the mercie of God to them yet the time shall come when it shall be manifest to all the world much more then to themselvess and to their own souls Again will God one day manifest his abundant mercie unto his Chosen Vse 2 making it to appear to the view of men and Angels it yieldeth a matter of comfort to Gods Children in respect of the censure and judgement that they pass upon Gods Children The men of the world seeing Gods Children walk humbly before the Lord and looking upon their humble and low carriage and behaviour which they account baseness they presently shoote out their fools bolt that they are the Reprobates they look upon the outside and see not what is within they are not able to see what mercy the Lord vouchsafeth unto his Children even in this world in that he giveth them assurance of his love unto them in Jesus Christ and a feeling of the sweetness of his grace and of mercie and the pardon of their sinnes this they are not able to see through the darkness of affliction and the cloud of their miserie Now this is to be remembred and to be thought upon for our comfort that are Gods Children in respect of this censure that howsoever the grace and the mercie of God be obscured and they cannot see it yet comfort thy self the time shall come that God-wil make it appear to men and Angels that he is a gracious God and that he is rich in mercy unto them and that the love of God is
spread abroad in thy heart yea the time shal come that men and Angels shal se thee Crowned with a Crown of glorie and a Crown of mercie that they shal be driven to an admiration of it and then they shal befool themselves and say we fools thought these mens lives to to be madness yea we accounted them contemptible and base fellows but now behold the riches of Gods mercie that he is wonderfully gracious and merciful unto his Children they shal befool themselves to see the greatness of Gods mercie unto his Chosen which shal be so great that they shal admire at it yea the verie Angels shal wonder at it Angels that are able to understand more then all the men in the world they shal be amazed and wonder at the riches of Gods mercie unto his chosen Therefore let the calumnie and the slander of the wicked pass by unregarded for the Lord wil one day manifest his mercie to the admiration of Men and Angels And that he might declare the riches of his glorie unto the vessels of mercy prepared unto glorie AGain observe we here the Apostle putteth glorie for mercie and maketh them both tending to one end from hence the Doctrin is this viz. Doctrine That God in shewing of mercie unto his Chosen intendeth the glory of his grace and the glorie of his mercie The Lord in shewing of mercie unto his Chosen doth it to this end that he might have his praise and glorie by it he aimeth at this end that it might be known and admired and spoken of and magnified and that he might have glorie by it as good Kings and Princes next after the things that concern Religion they doe esteem this above all the honour of their name that they might be respected of their Subjects for their Clemencie and bountie unto their Subjects so it is with the Lord the great King of Heaven and Earth all the graces and favour and mercy that he vouchsafeth unto his Chosen from the first mercie to the last from their Election to their glorification in Heaven it tendeth to this end that his grace and mercy unto his Chosen may be manifested and appear and that he may have the praise and the glorie of his grace and of his mercie In Ephesians 1.5 God saith the Apostle He hath Predestinated us to be Adopted through Jesus Christ in himself nothing moving him thereunto out of his own blessed Majestie according to the good pleasure of his Will to what end To the praise of the glory of his grace of his rich and abundant grace and mercie And as glorifying of the riches of his grace and mercy is that which the Lord delighteth in so he aimeth at it as the supream and highest end in shewing of mercy And the Lord may safely seek his own glory and praise without any danger of pride in it as it is in man for they looking at their own praise and estimation among men they are tainted with pride but it is not so with the Lord because indeed he is the highest and there is none above him And hence it was in Exod. 34.6 7. when the Lord shewed himself unto Moses he magnified his mercy above all other attributes and he proclaimeth his mercy by many several titles and passages The Lord the Lord strong merciful and gracious slow to anger abundant in goodnesse and in truth reserving mercy unto thousands forgiving iniquities transgressions and sins there is mention of Gods power in a word very sparingly but there is nothing sufficient to extol the glory of his mercy explicating that in variety of expressions and setting it out to the full Now this being a truth first of all this serveth to stir us up to give God Vse 1 the praise and glory of his mercy vouchsafed unto us in any kind whatsoever this is the main thing the Lord aymeth at in shewing of mercy unto his chosen that it might be known and glorified Oh then surely we ought never to let the grace and the mercy of God to be out of our mouthes this is that he delighteth in and therefore we must have his mercy in our mouthes especially we professing our selves to be his children and servants for consider I beseech you how will those servants that belong and appertain to bountiful Lords and Masters how will they be ever setting forth and extolling the bounty and beneficence of their Masters in what company soever they are commending their frank House-keeping and good hospitality in being beneficial to the poor and good to their followers And so indeed they are not the children of God that do not thus magnifie the riches of Gods mercy unto them and have them in their hearts and mouthes continually crying out Oh the mercy of God to us is large else they are bastards and not the children of God for such as belong unto Gods grace God giveth them grace unto this end that his grace and mercy might be known and magnified that they may say Oh what hath God done for my soul this is the practise of a holy servant of God therefore we are to be stirred up for any mercy the Lord hath vouchsafed in any kind not onely for health restored or for any such things that are temporal but also for things that are spiritual or for any mercy that he hath bestowed upon us we are to be thankful and especially we are to give praise and thanks unto God for his great and wonderful mercy bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus in that he gave Christ Jesus to be a Saviour for our soules this we ought to be thankful unto God for above all other mercies Again is this so that Gods shewing of mercy unto his chosen it tendeth Vse 2 to the glory of his mercy surely then it cannot be that life and glory is given unto Gods chosen from the hand of Justice as a thing due unto them by their meritorious deserts this cannot possibly be for mercy is given for the magnifying of his mercy for if it were so as the Papists teach given for their merit by the hand of Justice surely then God should aym at his Justice as the main and highest end of all in their glorification which is not so for he aymeth at the glory of his mercy for indeed as God intendeth and aymeth at the glory of his Justice and power as the highest end in the destruction of the Reprobate and wicked and so he aymeth at the glorification of his mercy as the highest end in the salvation of the Elect and godly And whereas the Papists say that life and glory is given as an act of mercy and of Justice and so they would make a hotch-potch and a compound of that which cannot be compounded for it is as possible that God should send a man to hell and condemn a man out of his revenging Justice and saving mercy at the same time as that God should give a man mercy and salvation out of his hand
are not Gods by their faith and troths which are not gods and in Zephan 1.5 The Lord threateneth to cut off all that swear by the Lord and by Malcham by Masse or by Jesse or by Laking it sheweth that they have no grace in their hearts yea it discovereth the cursed corruptions of their hearts and soules and therefore thou that art guilty of this sin think upon it fot thou sinnest fearfully against God and be sure to cry to God for mercy and for pardon of this sin for this sin if thou hadst no more were sufficient to throw thee down to hell Oh but those that swear by faith and troth will say they are no great swearers that swear by such like oathes But I say these sins are weighty enough to plunge thee headlong into hell without repentance for thou mayst not swear at all without a calling and that either before a Magistrate or in private and then it must be with reverence and a good conscience in truth in righteousnesse and in Judgment with deliberation and a Serious consideration of the Name of God in such causes as are lawful namely the great and glorious Name of God or such like particulars I say the truth in Christ and I lye not The Apostle sheweth here the sincerity of his heart that he spake the truth simply and plainly and with an honest and upright heart without any manner of doubling or dissembling I will not here enter into the common place of lying which is not here meant but take the thing naturally and hence observe That truth in word and simplicity of heart must ever go together Doctr. when a man is called to speak a truth either in matter of Religion or Civil causes he must deliver it without equivocation or mental reservation the tongue must agree with the heart and the heart with the tongue a man must not speak the truth deceitfully for so the Devil doth speak the truth with a purpose to deceive the soules of men and if men so do speak the truth falsly with a purpose to deceive they lie in speaking the truth the tongue and heart must agree it is a note of a Child of God one that is a Member of the Church Militant and Triumphant that he speaketh the truth that is in his heart Psal 15.2 But to passe by this onely touching it in a word That the same truth must be in the tongue as in the heart there must be truth in the tongue and simplicity and sincerity in the heart without equivocation or mental reservation My Conscience bearing me witnesse That is my Conscience witnessing with me that I speak the truth Hereby the Apostle putteth down one special office and act of the Conscience of man that the act and office of the Conscience of man is to bear witnesse to give evidence and testimony so that from hence it is clear Doctrine That God hath placed the Conscience in the soul of man as a witnesse of all his words and deeds yea of his very thoughts and of the motions of his will and of his inward affections how he standeth affected For here the Apostle bringeth it as a witnesse that he was truly sorrowfull which none but himself could tell and therefore he bringeth his Conscience as a witnesse so that the conscience in the soul of man beareth witnesse and giveth testimony of whatsoever a man doth think will affect speak or do and to this purpose the Apostle speaketh in Rom. 2.15 of the Gentiles that had not the Law of God but were led by the glimmering light of Nature these poor Gentiles shewed the effect of the Law written in their hearts their Consciences bearing witnesse and their hearts either accusing or excusing so in Eccle. 7.22 where the Preacher oftentimes thine own heart knoweth that is thy own conscience witnesseth that thou hast cursed others do not regard every idle word thine own conscience witnesseth thou hast cursed others and in 2 Cor. 1.12 our rejoycing is this that we have the testimony of a good conscience that in simplicity and godly purenesse we have had our conversation c. So that we see by these places God hath placed the Conscience in the soul of man as a witnesse of whatsoever man doth think or will affect like or do The Reason Reason is because God hath put into the conscience of man a power of observing and remembring all things that passe from one man to another and of man himself whether thoughts or speeches or actions either in thought in word or in deed we may see it in Josephs Brethren they remembred what they had done to Joseph even many yeares after they had done it Gen. 42.21 and in Gen. 50.15 their consciences do tell them did not we sin against our Brother it is an observer and remembrancer unto them even of their thoughts words and actions we may see it in our own experience twenty or thirty years ago do not our consciences tell us and witnesse the evil things done then by us And in this respect the Conscience may be fitly compared to a Recorder or Register That as he hath his pen in his hand alwaies ready to set down whatsoever is spoken or done so is the Conscience a register to set down remember and record all our actions and all our words and thoughts many years agone yea to witnesse when it is done as the Register turneth over his book and findeth the act done many years agone so is conscience a witnesse to us Vse This truth yeeldeth unto us a strong argument against the hellish atheists of this time that do open their black mouthes against God himself and stick not to say in plain termes that there is no God this may prove that there is a God and may wring from them this confession that there is a God for why the Conscience is a witnesse of the soul of man and that witnesse not onely of the words and deeds of men for of those men and Angels may take notice but it is a witness of the thoughts of thy heart and of thy inward and secret motions of thy soul now to whom doth that bear record not to man or Angels they cannot take notice of them but to him that hath an al-seeing eye and that is God himself and the witnesse of thy conscience is marvellous secret it is not known to any but is a secret and that secret witnesse neither man nor Angels can hear or receive for neither men nor Angels can tell what is in the heart or soul of man but the secret motion of the soul God onely knoweth for if it were not so the witnesse of the soul were to no purpose unlesse there was one that knew the witnesse of the conscience for the conscience speaketh not properly but onely by way of allusion we say it speaketh and therefore there is no other but God that knoweth the secrets of the heart and therefore let Atheists bark against it as
them his sons Ishmael and Isaac Isaac was the chosen seed Ishmael was not Isaac belonged to the election Ishmael did not Isaac was the child in whom God would fulfill his promise Ishmael was not but Abraham respected both alike untill the Lord did cast out Ishmael hence we are to understand thus much That there is no manifest difference between Gods chosen and others Doctrine in regard of their spiritual estate untill God put a difference between them by his Word and the works of his Spirit I grant there is a difference between Gods chosen and others even from everlasting and before they have a being in the world but it is not known unto us and there is no difference between them touching their spiritual estate manifested known and discernable either by our selves or by others untill God do put and make a difference between them by calling and converting the one by his Word and the work of his Spirit and leaving the other uncalled effectually Before the effectual calling of Gods chosen they are in the same estate and condition with those that belong not unto Gods election they are prone unto evil as well as others they are as vile in the practise of sinne as any other unlesse God do restrain them No man can say this is one that belongeth to Gods election and this is not untill God do put a difference between them And this truth hath not onely ground here but also plentiful evidence in many places of Scripture in 1 Cor. 6.9 10. The Apostle having reckoned up many grosse sinners and given them their doom that they can never come to inherit Gods Kingdome as neither Fornicators nor Adulterers nor Wantons nor Buggerers nor Theeves nor Drunkards nor Raylers nor Extortioners shall never inherit Gods Kingdome living and dying so he subjoyneth vers 11. such were some of you you were no better but now you are washed and justified and sanctified now God hath put a difference between you and others by the work of his grace and power of his Spirit you were as vile as any debauched sinner untill you were cleansed and in Ephes 2.1 2 3. The Apostle saith of the believing Ephesians they were now believers but in times past they were dead in trespasses and in sinnes yea they walked before their calling and conversion after the fashion of the world and followed the Prince that ruled in the ayr that is the Devil that now worketh strongly in the children of disobedience you were dead and you walked how could that be you had the life of nature and you walked after the Fashions of the World yea I and other believing Jewes we had our conversation in the lusts of the flesh and were by nature children of wrath as well as others there was no difference untill God put a difference Thus the Apostle speaketh of the believing Romans Romans 6.17 That they had been servants of sinne and slaves thereunto but ye now God be thanked through grace have obtained a form of godlinesse whereunto you are delivered So likewise the Apostle speaketh of himself and other true believers in Titus 3.3 4 5. We our selves were in times past disobedient deceived servers of lusts and pleasures hateful and hating one another But when the bountifulnesse of God appeared through Christ Not by the works of righteousnesse that we have done but of his mercy he saved us by the washing of the new birth and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost now there is a difference but before there was none So that this doth manifest unto us that there is no known difference between Gods chosen and others in regard of their spiritual estate and condition untill God put a difference between them by the work of his grace and Spirit The Reason Reason is manifest because Gods Children have no priviledge above others in regard of their birth they are born and brought forth in sinne as well as others they are tainted and stained with the pollution of sin as well as others and Nature in them is as vile and corrupt as in the vilest sinner upon the face of the earth yea it is as predominant and powerful in them as in any so that we see that Gods Children have no manifest difference between them and others till God put a difference Vse 1 Upon this ground in the first place learn we to take heed that we take not upon us to determine of the Final estate of any man being yet in his natural estate and condition we may not be so bold as to say this man or that woman is a Reprobate and a cast-away it is bold presumption in any Abraham could not discern that his son Ishmael was one that had no right and title to the Covenant of grace till God saith I have cast him off And there is no manifest difference between Gods chosen and others touching their spiritual estate untill God do difference them by working upon the one and leaving the other unwrought upon and therefore judge not of the future and final estate of any man by his present condition we may lawfully judge a carnal man to be a carnal man and in the way that leadeth to hell and damnation and if he do hold on in that way and not repent he shall be damned but to go beyond this is to break into Gods several and secret counsel what a carnal man may be in after time leave that unto Gods determinate counsell Vse 2 In the second place the truth now delivered is to be thought upon by as many as find tnemselves to be effectually called by the Word and the holy Spirit of God the consideration of this ought to stirre them up to blesse God and magnifie the mercy of God for that great mercy and benefit bestowed upon them they are bound in this respect so to do what were they before they were so wrought upon they were in the same estate and condition even with others that belong not unto Gods election there was no manifest and known difference between them and others either in the eye of the world or the judgment of others neither could themselves judge themselves in a better estate it was not discernable unto them or unto others they were as prone to evil as others as vile in the practise of evil as others they were wallowing and tumbling in sin and had no more desire of good then the vilest miscreant upon the earth Now who hath put a difference between thee and them that remain uncalled surely onely the Lord and that of his mere goodnesse and mercy and if thou throughly consider it thou canst not be sufficiently thankful to God and therefore when thou seest them wallowing and tumbling in sin and taking much delight and pleasure therein passe it not by without consideration but consider of it not to insult over them but to pity them and thereby call to mind what thou wast before the Lord wrought upon thee by his Word and holy Spirit
the force and strength and vertue of it concerning mercy grace righteousnesse life and salvation to all that believe in Christ and repent of their sins In a word the efficacy and force of the Word of the Gospel which indeed is a word of promise it propoundeth to all true believers that are repentant for their sins mercy grace righteousnesse life and salvation the observation is this That the Word of Gods saving promise the Word of the Gospel is a most powerful and a most effectual Word it is of a begetting nature it is able as an Instrument to beget children unto God and it doth in Gods appointed time effectually work upon Gods chosen and make them actually the Children of God so that they may be truly called the children of the promise as that special promise in Gen. 18. Sarah thy wife shall have a son as that gave birth and being to Isaac when there was no likelihood or possibility of his being and birth from his parents Abraham and Sarah so the Word of Gods saving promise the words of the Gospel giveth a spiritual being and birth to Gods chosen and make them actually the children of God in his appointed time when there is no likelihood nor possibility in nature Yea when their Nature is in flat opposition and contrariety unto it then doth the Word of the Gospel make them actually the children of God And to this purpose speaketh that holy and Evangelical Prophet the Prophet Esay Esay 11.6 7 8.9 the holy Prophet sheweth that in the dayes of Christ such should be the force and powerful working of the Gospel that it should make men of Wolves to become lambs and of Leopards as meek as kids and men that were as Lions of a Lionish nature to be as meek as a fat beast and as gentle that children should lead them such as were of a wolvish and lionish Nature for so we are by nature fierce and cruel and savage to become meek and gentle and so he goeth on in setting forth the powerful working of the Gospel so in Joh. 5.25 saith the Lord Jesus Verily verily I say unto you the hour cometh and now is when the dead shall hear the Word of God and they that hear it shall live where by dead ' we shall understand those that are spiritually dead and not corporally dead for of those he speaketh in the 28 verse he saith that the voyce of the Spirit of God shall come to those that are in the graves and they shall arise but hereby those that are dead in sins and trespasses Ephes 2.1 and such as are spiritually dead to put the life of grace and of faith and of holinesse into their hearts and soules in the 1. of James 18. saith the Apostle speaking of God of his own will begat he us with the Word of truth by an emphasis or excellency a begetting word the word of the Gospel and not to adde more places this doth sufficiently prove that the Gospel of God is an effectual Word and doth work upon Gods chosen in time and make them to become Gods children actually whereas before they were potentially and may be called the children of the Promise The Reasons and grounds are these First of all the Gospel it is the arm of the Lord so saith the Prophet Reason 1 Esay 53.1 to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed that is the word of the Gospel yea it is the power of God so the Apostle saith Rom. 1.16 1 Cor. 1.18 it is the arm of the Lord and the power of God it is a power far passing the power of man or of hell it self and of all the devils it is strong powerful and prevailing there is no opposition whatsoever is able to gainsay it or withstand it but it is able to bear it down to the ground The word of the Gospel it administreth to Gods chosen Gods Spirit Reason 2 whence it is that the Apostle in Gal. 3.2 demandeth of the Galathians What saith he Received ye the Spirit by the preaching of the Law or rather by the preaching of the doctrine of Faith the doctrine of the Gospel that is the means of conveying unto you the Spirit namely the Gospel of God which conveyeth it Now the Spirit of God stirreth up the unbelieving that are Gods chosen and inableth them to believe yea it doth beget faith in their hearts and doth certainly and infallibly and that without resistance actually incline their hearts to believe in Christ and so to become actually Gods children thus doth the holy Spirit of God given to Gods chosen bend and bowe their hearts inabling them to believe and make them certainly and infallibly Gods Children such is the power of the Gospel This Doctrine in the first place doth point out unto us one main difference Vse 1 that is between the Law and the Gospel the law doth onely discover sin unto man and what the least sin of man deserveth and is able to go no further it cannot deliver unto a man any means of comfort but seaveth a man liable to the curse of the Law it sheweth them not the means to escape the curse onely as a Schoolmaster it sendeth men to Christ not by teaching and instructing but by whipping and scourging by terrifying upon the sight of sin it sheweth them no pity nor no compassion it driveth them from it self to seek unto a better Schoolmaster and better Physitian to go unto Christ Gal. 3.14 the Law is our Schoolmaster to drive us to Christ But now the Gospel is of force to work upon Gods chosen effectually it is able to confer and to administer unto Gods chosen the Spirit of God which Spirit doth beget faith in their hearts and so they become actually the Children of God this is the efficacy and power of the Gospel Is this so that the Word of Gods promise the Gospel is so powerful Vse 2 and so effectual and able as an Instrument to beget children to God Oh then I beseech you in the fear of God look unto it learn we upon this ground that the Word of the Gospel we living under the preaching of it be thus powerful in our hearts and soules in particular let us never rest untill we find that the preaching of the Gospel hath so wrought upon our hearts and soules that it be so effectual in us to bear down the strength of nature and whatsoever standeth in opposition against it and to cast down the strongest hold of sin and Satan in our hearts and that it hath conferred and conveyed the holy Spirit of God and thereby wrought faith in our hearts Oh let us never rest untill we find this working And consider the Gospel it is the arm of God it hath made some men of wolves to become as lambs of Lions fat beast it hath beaten down the pride of their hearts it hath hammered their hard hearts it hath quelled and overmastered their over-ruling and predominant corruptions take onely the
persons and not of all generally Reason And the ground of it is only the good will and pleasure of God it hath so pleased him to make this difference to chuse some and to refuse others Ephes 1.5 who hath predestinated us to be adopted through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the riches of the glory of his grace Vse This serveth to shew unto us the errour of such Divines and their opinion to be false that do hold that God for his part hath elected all men to salvation and so the Arminians say also and that man is reprobated is from himself for when we do ask them if God hath elected all for his part why are not all saved they answer because they will not it is their own default man is the cause of his reprobation but this is erroneous and false and contrary to the truth yea this opinion of theirs maketh mans will to over-rule Gods eternal counsel and the purpose of God to depend upon the will of man if man will he may be saved if not he may be damned this is like bills of the Chancery but there is no unablenesse in God for the will and counsel of God is the chiefest cause of all causes and we may certainly conclude that because all men are not saved therefore God doth not appoint all men to salvation And upon this ground learn to renounce this also as erroneous that Christ dyed for all universally effectually as some Divines teach universal redemption for Gods eternal election being not universal Christs redemption is not universal for Christ dyed only for the chosen of God only for the elect and he is the Saviour of his body Ephes 5.23 This is a common thing when men are convinced of their sins to say we are sinners but Christ dyed for all this is a staffe of rest to rest upon and will fail in time of tryal thou must have a better ground if thou wilt look for salvation how is that Thus thou must not only find thy self freed by Christ from deserved condemnation but also from thy vain conversation for certainly whomsoever Christ is a Saviour to by the merit of death to them he is also a Saviour by the power of his death and by the works of his Spirit turning them from sin to God Titus 2.14 Christ gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity that he might purge us to be a peculiar people to himself therefore if thou findest not thy self purged from sin from the rottennesse of thy heart thou art not wrought upon by the Spirit of God Therefore rest not upon that ground that Christ dyed for all For the Children being not yet born neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to Election might stand not of works but of him that calleth It was said unto her The elder shall serve the younger COme we now to stand upon these two Verses more particularly and in that the Apostle here saith Before the children were born when they had neither done good nor evil it was said unto Rebekah by God himself that cannot lye from his Oracle it was said the elder shall serve the younger thereby implying the words having respect to spiritual things that the one of the children of Rebekah which she had in her womb was elected to life and salvation and the other rejected and refused this being the implication of that speech the Apostle pointeth out unto us thus much That Gods fore-appointing of some particular persons amongst men to life and salvation from everlasting Doctrine and his refusing and rejecting of others it is most free most absolute it dependeth not upon any thing in man or done by man but onely upon the good pleasure of God it dependeth upon nothing out of God himself but upon God merely and onely the Lord from everlasting appointing some to life and salvation and refusing others did it out of the good pleasure of his will merely without respect had to any thing in men themselves any quality good or bad or any thing done by them good or bad as a cause moving him hereunto Indeed to prevent an Objection in the beginning I deny not but I may safely speak it and hold it that there was reason and cause in the general why God would appoint some to life and salvation and why he would refuse and reject others why God would have some to be saved and others to be cast off and refused never to attain salvation I grant that why Because both the mercy of God in pardoning sin and the Justice of God in punishing sin might appear and be glorified God is a just God and a merciful God that these two might be manifested and declared for if all had been saved there is no place for his Justice but that his mercy and justice might appear the one is saved and the other rejected this is the reason in the general but why this or that particular man or woman was appointed to life and salvation and not the other man or woman why Peter and not Judas the onely reason of this is the good will and pleasure of God Gods fore-appointing of some amongst men to life and and salvation it did wholly and onely depend upon the good will and pleasure of God it had respect to nothing in man no difference between man and man arising from men themselves that the one was of a better nature and temper or thus and thus qualified or any thing done by them good or evil but onely in God himself Ephes 1.4 saith the Apostle God hath chosen us in Christ before the foundations of the world was what for any goodnesse or holinesse that was in us or he foresaw would be in us no but that we should be holy and without blame He hath chosen us not for foreseen holinesse but that we should be holy this is the language of Canaan then he subjoyneth in the fifth verse who hath predestinated us to be adopted through Iesus Christ himself according to the good pleasure of his will without respect had to any thing in us or any thing done by us so also in 2 Tim. 1.9 the Apostle speaking of God saith thus he hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works still he renounces that but according to his own promise and grace which was shewed unto us through Iesus Christ when before the world was before Jesus Christ was incarnate yea before there was a world and before we had a being And in Jude 4. verse we read that the Apostle speaking of some which were ordained of old when was that surely from everlasting before the world was or they had a being they were ordained of God to this condemnation these places doth sufficiently evidence unto us the truth of the point that God from everlasting foreappointed some particulars amongst men to life and salvation and refused and
whatsoever they be Doctrine no not the good works of men have any hand or stroke in Gods election of some to life and glory in heaven and his effectual calling of some in time these two things they are merely and onely of the free grace of God and not of the works of man whatsoever their works be be they never so good or excellent works in themselves And this being the proposition that it may rightly be conceived and that we erre not in the beginning we must know that Gods grace in Scripture hath a threefold acception First it is taken for Gods free favour which is of the nature of God and essential unto him the places of Scripture are obvious and plain unto us Secondly The grace of God in Scripture it is taken for the working of grace so some Divines take it for the operation extending and reaching out that free favour unto others Thirdly it is taken for the gifts of grace whether those gifts be habitual or actual as faith love joy hope peace patience and the like these are stiled by the name of grace now the proposition that we deliver is That Gods election is of his free grace my meaning is it is not the gifts of grace but by grace we are to understand the free grace and favour of God and the reaching and extending of that grace in time so that this being premised the point is to be thus conceived That Gods eternal election of some to life and glory in heaven it is of the free grace and favour of God being extended and reached out to his chosen and not of the works of man be they never so good or excellent though they be the works of grace and for the proof of this it is manifest in Rom. 11.5 The Apostle saith that at this very day there is a certain remnant of the Jews under the election of grace then he subjoyneth in the sixth verse Now if it be of grace then not of works for then were grace no grace and if of works then not of grace for then were works no more works so that the Apostle maketh a flat opposition and a contrariety between works and grace that the one of these being admitted and granted the other cannot stand but must fall grace and works cannot stand together in the same case Ephes 2.8 9. saith the Apostle by grace you are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God and then he subjoyneth not of works lest any man should boast 2 Tim. 1.9 The Apostle speaking of God saith he hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own eternal purpose and grace and Titus 3.4 5. VVhen the bountifulnesse and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by the righteousnesse that we had done but of his own mere mercy he saved us These and many others do sufficiently evidence unto us the truth of the point That Gods free grace and favour is the cause of eternal election and not the works of men which are but splendida peccatam glittering sins Because God will have all the glory of all the good that cometh to his Reason 1 chosen or is done to them he will not impart his glory unto any other he will have the beginning the increase and consummation of it to come of his free grace and not of the works of man lest any man should take any part of the glory to himself Ephes 2.9 no not of the best works lest they should pride presume and magnifie themselves in their own good works and so detract from the glory of God and so mans mouth might be stopped Reason 2 The Lord will have his chosen to have sound and solid comfort in the certainty of their election and of their effectual calling not a comfort upon a rotten ground but sound comfort when Gods chosen come to be assured of it that they are in the number of Gods elect and have evidence that they are effectually called God will have that evidence and assurance of theirs to be built upon a sure ground namely upon his own free grace which is indeed unchangeable as his own blessed Majestie and essential in him and so a ground immoveable not built upon any works of theirs because they are variable and changeable in their own Nature it is true indeed Faith shall never fall away not by any immutability in faith it self but because grace doth continually support and uphold it but faith and good works of men in their own nature are variable and changeable weak and imperfect corruption cleaving unto them and unchangeablenesse belongeth neither to Saint nor Angel nor any thing but God himself it is his Attribute so that upon these two grounds we may resolve that Gods election and effectual calling is onely of his free grace and not of mans works Vse 1 First of all this truth is of great force and beareth strongly against the merit of good works which is held and taught by the enemies of Gods grace those of the Antichristian Synagogue of Rome whether it be merits of congruity or merits of condignity for this is their tenent the good things done by men before their conversion those do merit ex congruo but such as are done after calling those they magnifie and say they merit ex condigno by a kind of dignity equal to the works of glory that it is just with the Lord to give them salvation for it yea the point now delivered meeteth directly with that Popish conceit that grace and works do concur say they and so make a mingle mangle and hotch-potch grace and works do concur and meet together in the justification and salvation of a sinner they are good friends and at amity in flat opposition to the words of God which do teach that in the matter of justification and salvation these two are at odds in matter of good life faith and good works must be but not in matter of justification or salvation as they teach Again we find that justification and salvation they are by the Apostle derived and fetched from the very same beginning and cause namely the free grace and eternal love of God as well as election and vocation Rom. 8.30 Whom he predestinated them he called whom he called them he justified whom he justified them he also glorified so that election vocation justification and glorification come all from the same grounds Object 1 But yet further the Papists do seek to elude and to put out the clear light by many shifts as first of all say they the places alledged in Rom. 11. Ephes 2. and others where the Scripture maketh an Antithesis and opposition between grace and works you must know the meaning of the Holy Ghost his meaning is Ceremonial works not Moral works Ceremonial works have no hand in Justification Answ To this I answer The Apostle speaketh indefinitely shutting out all works whatsoever they
be in the matter of justification and sanctification but to answer more fully I hope the Papists will not deny but that Abraham and David had as well Moral works as Ceremonial works if they do they deny the plain truth of God and yet the Apostle saith Rom. 4.4 5 6. These two holy men they were not justified or saved by any thing done by themselves but even by the faith of Jesus Christ being imputed unto them for righteousnesse Object 2 Again say the Papists we grant they were justified by faith why then Faith is a work and therefore works have some stroke in the Justification of a sinner I answer Answ It is true faith is a work it is a work of God Christ calleth it so Joh. 6.29 when the Scribes and Pharisees say what shall we do that we may do the works of God Christ saith believe in God that is a work of all works the best work but we must know that faith doth not justifie as it is a work no not by the worth and goodnesse of faith the very act of believing justifieth not for the vertue and goodnesse of it but it justifieth relativè as an instrument or hand applying and taking hold of the Lord Jesus Christ and so doth faith justifie apprehending Christ as the matter of Justification Yet further they object say the Papists in the places alledged where Object 3 there is an opposition between grace and works the Holy Ghost meaneth works of nature such as are done by the strength of nature and not of the works of grace no these two may well stand together works that come from the grace and Spirit of God and grace these two may well stand together in the matter of salvation To this I answer Answ I beseech you consider with me that place in Ephes 2.8 9. where the Apostle saith by grace you are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God then he subjoyneth not of works lest any man should boast of what works doth the Apostle speak of works of nature no such matter but works done by the power of grace how may that appear in the tenth verse he saith we are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus to good works plainly teaching us that the works he speaketh of are works done by us framed anew in Christ Jesus by the power of his Spirit and grace we being in Christ made new creatures so to leave the Papists Is it so That Gods eternal election of his chosen before all time and Vse 2 effectual calling in time is merely and onely of Gods free grace and favour and not of the works of men upon this ground we must learn our Lesson and duty howsoever we are bound to the doing of good works of all sorts and kinds within the compasse of our place and callings both duties of piety to God duties of love equity mercy and justice to men and are bound to be rich and plentiful in all good works for necessary uses that they may be fruits of faith evidences of Gods love and favour unto us in Christ testimonies of our thankfulnesse unto God for his mercy and necessary antecedents to God before the reward of life and glory in heaven so that good works are necessary yet mark the Lesson howsoever we are thus bound to good works yet we must renounce the merit of them take heed that we rest not upon the merit of good works we must renounce all trust and confidence in them and stick onely and wholly to the free grace of God for our justification our comfort here and happinesse hereafter all from the beginning to the consummation from predestination to glorification is all of the free grace and favour of God Many silly ignorant people there be that say they hope to be saved but ask them the question how you shall have a blind answer by their good dealing by their good serving of God and by their good prayers they are just and true and by this means they hope to be saved they have no other ground but that which is merely natural Popish and carnal and doth shoulder and thrust out the free grace and favour of God alas if there were no other way to come to heaven but by our good dealing and good serving of God woe be unto us for then no flesh shall ever be saved no mere man shall ever come to heaven if all our happinesse depend upon our own goodnesse all our comfort were at an end For the best of our works are stained like menstruous clouts your hearing the Word our preaching and prayer they are but as menstruous and filthy clouts and have many imperfections cleaving unto them and herein learn a trick and subtilty of Satan if Satan cannot prevail with a man to be abominable and vile in his life to be a debauched creature but that he will live civilly and orderly and will be doing good things then he will temper with him and stirre him up to be conceited of his goodnesse and to rest upon it as the ground of comfort when a man doth avoid the bloody-faced sins of the world then the devil maketh him to think he is a right honest man and make that the ground of salvation but this is as pleasing to the devil as a lewd and a wicked course of life for assuredly the trust and ground of comfort in any thing done by us shall assoon bring a man to hell as the most vile and debauched course of life Oh then trust perfectly to the grace of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 1.13 the word is very significant and signifieth soundly holily and solidly trust to the free grace of God for if thou trust upon any thing else it will plunge thy soul into the bottomlesse pit of hell yea if we rest upon the grace of God though the Lord do afflict and bring us under in grievous afflictions yet happy are we we are built upon the free grace of God and he will never take his grace and mercy from us as he saith to David 2 Sam. 7.14 15. if thy son sin against me I will correct him with the rods of men but my mercy will I never take from thee thou art in a blessed estate that resteth upon the mercy of God VERSE 12. It was said unto her The elder shall serve the younger IN this Verse our Apostle putteth down the speech of God unto Rebekah which we read of in Gen. 25.23 the Holy Ghost in that Chapter telleth us that Rebekah having conceived twins two children in her womb and feeling the children to strive in her womb she went to ask counsel of the Oracle of God touching that matter and the text saith God gave her this Answer two Nations are in thy womb Rebekah two manner of people shall be divided out of thy bowels and the one people shall be mightier then the other the elder shall serve the younger these were the very words of
to that there is no truth in them they are lying spirits and I may justly say to such as Abraham said to the rich man in hell Luk. 16.29 thy friends have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them so we have the writings and the words of the Apostles and holy Prophets of Jesus Christ and God speaketh unto us therein there is the Oracle of God and we must give leave and liking to them and not upon the fancies of men that say such and such a day shall be great disasters Oh but say some these things sometimes come to passe It may be so in Judgment they come to passe because men give ear unto them what saith the Lord by Moses Deut. 13.1 2 3 4 5. If a lying prophet or a dreamer of dreames do tell you of strange things and they come to passe believe him not for the Lord doth it to try you and it is the just hand of God to bring it upon you because we give ear and liking to them Again observe we the Apostle bringeth these words of Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy to prove that God was not unjust in loving Jacob and hating Esau he having denyed this with a God forbid he subjoyneth presently as a reason to prove it For he saith to Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy A man would think this were a strange kind of clearing God from injustice is not God therefore unjust when he loveth Jacob and hateth Esau without cause because he saith I will have mercy because I will hath God no other reason to give But we must learn to acknowledge that this is the soveraign power of the great God of heaven and earth that his will must be reason enough to rest upon and this is the true obedience that is acceptable and pleasing to his holy Majestie Doctr. That Gods will and pleasure and his appointment touching all things that are in the Word and touching the ordering and disposing of all things and coming of all things to passe in this world it is holy just and good and it cannot be taxed as unholy and unjust though we cannot dive into the depth of it the will of God that is holy just and good though we cannot comprehend the depth of it And the reason and ground is Because it is the very nature of the Will of God he doth all things Reason 1 most freely and justly as in Ephes 1.5 He hath predestinated us to be adopted through Christ Jesus in himself nothing out of himself according to the good pleasure of his will Again secondly the will of God is the square and rule of all goodnesse Reason 2 and righteousnesse whatsoever God willeth it is good because he willeth it but whatsoever is in Scripture is agreeable to the will of God is good and whatsoever dissenteth from the will of God it is evil so that upon this ground Gods will and pleasure it is holy just and good and cannot be taxed with evil because he willeth it How is the good will and pleasure of God just and holy in respect of sin for he doth appoint it else it could not be in the world Object It is true sin could not be in the world unlesse God did appoint it Answ and yet Gods appointment is good God willeth the being of sin in the world not simply as it is peccatum sin but as it is a pupishment for some evill foregoing and so he maketh it to serve for the manifestation of the glory of his Justice in this respect the being of sin is good and so God who is able to bring light out of darknesse good out of evil he doth righteously and willingly permit evil Upon this ground we must learn to lay aside all reasonings of the flesh Vse against the will and appointment of God touching all things that come to passe in the world we must learn not onely in our words but thoughts also to justifie the will of God as holy and just in respect of the being and coming to passe of every thing in the world But to apply this a little nearer and to another purpose to teach us that as we must justifie the working will of God so we must justifie his signifying will in his Word whereby he doth signifie his mind to acknowledge that to be holy just and good yea we must learn to esteem and to hold every Commandement of God every denunciation threatening and every promise of God that we find in the holy book of God to be holy just and good Rom. 7.12 And it is a sure sign of grace when we can acknowledge the wisdom of God in his Word and every Commandement of God to be holy and righteous as when a man can justifie the Commandement of the Sabbath the Commandement against uncleannesse usury or any Commandment that doth crosse and thwart and contradict our sins whatsoever that we can say Lord thou art just and upright in thy Commandements howsoever I am sinfull this is a sign of a sanctified soul whereas every worldling will be disputing against every Commandement of God and will pick a quarrel with them at the Commandement of the Sabbath that requireth we should not think our own thoughts speak our own words nor do our own works on that day Esay 58.13 Oh saith the carnal man may I not walk to Taverns and Ale-houses and talk of matters of the world this is too strickt and rigorous And so in the matter of apparel whereas the Lord requireth our apparel should be modest befitting such as fear the Lord Oh say they this is too strict if I should not follow the fashions of the world I should be accounted as an Owl and as no body in the world thus they wrangle and cavil against the Commandements of God but they that do justifie the Word of God as holy and true though it meeteth with our dearest lust yet we subscribe unto Gods Commandements this is a signe of true grace in our hearts Oh therefore labour to subscribe unto the Commands of God if we will be assured of grace For he said to Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion Object VPon occasion of these words I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy A blasphemous Heretick did hold That mercy was not a natural property in God but an act of the will of God Because that Moses bringeth in the Lord saying I will have mercy upon whom I will And thus he reasoneth God doth alwaie suse his natural properties such as be essential in God they are in exercise and he useth them continually but saith he mercy whereby God doth offer grace unto sinners and pardon of sin unto man is not alwaies exercised and shewed forth as namely to all sinners impenitent And the Apostle affirmeth that God hath mercy upon whom he will And so the Apostle
doth limit and restrain the mercy of God to them to whom the Lord vouchsafeth mercy and therefore mercy is not a natural property in God Answ To this I answer First of all this Cavil is grounded upon a mistaking and misconstruction of the words of the Apostle For the Apostle doth not here intend and mean the natural property and essential attribute of mercy in God but he meaneth the act exercise and work of that property which is extended and reached out unto man and that is ever guided by the holy will of God Again it is false and utterly untrue that this heretick affirmeth that all the natural properties of God are ever in use to us for justice mercy goodnesse and power and the like be essential and natural in God and yet God doth extend and reach them out to whom he pleaseth according to his own purpose when he will and where he will and how it pleaseth him so that it is false and blasphemous to say that mercy is not natural and essential in God for the testimony of Scripture contradicteth it in Exod. 34.6 the Lord there proclaimeth himself in this manner The Lord the Lord strong merciful gratious and abundant in goodnesse and in truth yea this might be illustrated by many testimonies of Scripture but I forbear it in so pregnant and plain a truth And come we then to that which may be truly concluded from these words I will have mercy upon whom I will And compassion upon whom I will These words being understood as heretofore I have explained them That the act the exercise and the work of Gods mercy and pity and compassion it is ever by God extended to them to whom he pleaseth Hence then we are given to understand thus much Doct. That Gods mercy reached out unto his chosen it is most free and voluntary it dependeth upon nothing out of God but cometh onely and merely out of his own good will and pleasure That the Lord is merciful unto any or that he sheweth any fruit of his love or mercy to any one it is merely from his own good will and pleasure and not depending upon any thing out of his holy and blessed Majestie the Lord being the author of mercy pity and compassion he extendeth his mercy pity and compassion to those to whom he will Or more briefly thus The reason why the Lord doth extend and reach out mercy unto any is his mere will and nothing else And to clear this a little further mark what the Apostle saith in 2 Cor. 1.3 the Apostle there calleth God Pater misericordiarum the Father of mercies shewing that God is the Father and begetter of mercy and that mercy and love are as it were his children coming from him and in Joh. 1.15 saith the Evangelist of him we receive grace for grace one grace to another And Christ Jesus saith Luke 10.12 Father I confesse Lord of heaven and earth thou hast hid these things even the things of thy Gospel from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes even so because it pleased thee It was so of thy good will and pleasure nothing moving thee thereunto so that the reason why the Lord doth vouchsafe mercy unto any it is the free will and favour of God nothing else moving him But haply then some may say to me It seemeth not to be true Object that God vouchsafeth mercy unto his chosen and pardon for their sins for the sake of Christ if he shew mercy of his own free will then not for the sufferings of Christ which were a grosse errour to conclude To this I answer that these two things are subordinate Answ as we speak in schooles they do and may well agree and stand together God vouchsafeth mercy to his chosen for the sake of Christ and merely out of his own will how can these two stand together yes very well for why God vouchsafeth mercy to his chosen for the sake of Christ the will of God is that his chosen should have the pardon of their sins through Jesus Christ and that pardon of sin should not come without Christ as Christ affirmeth John 6.40 for this is the will of him that sent me that every one that seeth the son and believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Now if any do object that of the Prophet Esay 43.25 Object I am he that hath put away all thine iniquities for mine own sake therefore it seemeth it is not for Christs sake but for his own sake as the Lord professeth I answer Answ God doth therefore pardon the sins of his chosen for his own sake because he doth it for Christs sake for all the works of every person is the work of the whole Trinity that which the Son worketh the Father and Holy Ghost worketh in Unity of Godhead so that mercy cometh only from God the Father And the reason why God vouchsafeth mercy to any is nothing else but Gods free will This first meeteth with a false conclusion of Arminius and of the Arminians Vse 1 that say God may decree to shew mercy unto such as believe and repent and such as persevere in grace and sanctification Now this is to restrain Gods shewing of mercy to mens qualification And to make something in man to be the cause and reason of Gods shewing mercy Where as these two stand together never they can possibly agree being contraria contraria sine medio That Gods will is the cause of his mercy to man and that God sheweth mercy because of their faith vertue and qualification in good things they are two opposites but to leave them Farther this being so That Gods mere Will is the cause of his mercy Vse 2 unto us and nothing else hereby then we must learn to magnifie the mercy of God vouchsafed unto us in any kind whatsoever hath God vouchsafed mercy unto us in regard of our bodies but especially in respect of our soules hath he converted our sinful soules from wickednesse to himself hath he reached out his mercy so far as that he hath extended his saving grace unto our soules Oh then learn we to acknowledge that it is most free and that it hath been vouchsafed merely from God himself nothing in us as a reason or cause to move him why he should shew us the least mercy And thus meditate and think with thy self whosoever thou art that hast found Gods mercy and his saving grace reached out unto thy sinful soul Oh consider surely I was in the common estate and condition of all men I was guilty of damnation by reason of the sin committed by Adam I was begotten and brought forth in sin and lived therein in a miserable estate and condition and I had no feeling of my misery no desire to be saved and when God sought me I desired him not I closed mine eyes against him and would not see the light I stopped mine eares and would not hear his voyce But the
first of all from the first act of God that God hath mercy on whom he will the words being understood of the extending and reaching out of Gods mercy Here again the same point is offered unto us which before we handled in the 15. verse namely Doctrine That Gods mercy reached out and extended to his chosen is most free and voluntary it dependeth upon the free will of God and upon nothing else it dependeth upon nothing out of God but upon his meer love yet this point is not to be passed over without some further use and applicacation then heretofore was made Vse And for the Application of it we are to consider it as a guide and rule unto us in our shewing of mercy to our brethren in our reaching and extending of mercy here is a rule and guide to direct us Doth God extend and reach out his mercy to his chosen freely and voluntarily nothing moving him but his own free will and good love surely then we must thus do we must be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful Luke 6.36 Now how is he merciful freely out of his own free love and mere goodnesse nothing moving him thereunto but his own free love thus must we do we must shew mercy and exercise the works of mercy towards our brethren freely not respecting their merits nor their deservings yea beloved our mercy and doing of good and the comfort we administer and yeeld to any either in word or in deed must proceed from the inward movings of our hearts and the yearning and tendernesse of our bowels towards those to whom we do any good out of pity and compassion towards them even as God doth freely nothing moving us thereunto in Esay 5.10 the Prophet saith if thou pour out thy soul to the hungry mark this you that are fast fisted the Lord doth not onely require the pouring out of food but of our very hearts and soules to feed the poor with the Affections of thy heart And indeed it is not an act of mercy pleasing to God that the Lord delighteth in that cometh either from our abundance and superfluity or else the importunity of those that are in great want and need nor yet from the example of others inviting us thereunto or for the desire of praise and seeking of Commendations amongst men that we would be well thought on no these are not works of mercy pleasing unto the Lord nor yet a work of mercy that is forced from men by some torture and torment to stop the mouth of an accusing and guilty conscience as for example when wicked rich men that are guilty to themselves how they have gotten their goods by evil meanes and have hoarded up abundance of wealth by the damnable sin of Usury by griping and oppressing the poor and such unlawful means And when they lye upon their death-bed gasping for breath then they are forced to bestow something to religious uses they give nothing before they dye but when they lye upon their death-bed and their Consciences flye up in their faces then they will give to an Hospital or an Almes-house or to the poor or Church to stop the mouth of the Conscience But this is no better then Sauls sacrifice of which we read in 1 Sam. 15. when he had transgressed the Commandement of God in reserving the best sheep and oxen he thought he would stop the mouth of the Lord with a Sacrifice so when men have gotten their goods by oppression and usury then when they are upon their death-beds then they will give unto the poor But the shewing of mercy that is pleasing unto God must come out of a tender and free heart as God is free in mercy so we must be free in exercising the works of mercy the works of mercy must come from the tendernesse of our hearts and without that surely all our shewing of mercy and doing of good though we build Hospitals as it is 1 Cor. 13.3 If I feed the poor with all my goods it is nothing without the heart the Lord looketh rather at the inward affections of the heart then the outward actions and duties of love and mercy 2 Cor. 9.7 every one as he is able must give not grudgingly because he is compelled to do it but the Lord loveth a cheerful giver And consider what moved the Lord to have mercy upon me or upon thee or upon any nothing so must we have mercy upon others freely and out of the tendernesse of our bowels pitying and commiserating their estate then thou art like unto God and this will yeeld thee true comfort else thy shewing of mercy is no better then Sauls sacrifice 1 Sam. 13. Again in that the Apostle faith God will have mercy upon whom he will The Apostle sheweth plainly that Gods shewing of mercy is indeed limited and reached out unto some and not unto others even to whomsoever it pleaseth him he hath mercy upon whom he will and not upon all the Apostles speech implyeth a limitation the point hence lyeth plain before us viz. That Gods will it is to extend and reach out his saving mercy Doctrine not to all men generally without exception of any but onely unto some amongst men The Lord out of his own free will and good pleasure doth extend and reach out his saving mercy in the act and exercise of it onely unto some amongst men and not to all men generally without exception And this may appear to be a truth by considering the saving mercies of God the mercies of God that are extended and reached out from the hand of God to men As first of all the saving mercy of Election unto life and glory it is according to the good will and pleasure of God extended and reached out onely unto some the Text is clear Ephesians 1.4 5. where the Apostle saith God hath chosen us not all the world but us in in Christ and hath Elected and Adopted us through Christ himself how according to the good pleasure of his will so also the saving mercy of God touching effectual Vocation and Calling it is according to the good will and pleasure of God extended to some amongst men in Matth. 11.25 I thank thee saith Christ O Father God of heaven and earth I thank thee that thou hast hid these things what things the saving comforts of the Gospel to be called to know thee through me thou hast hid these things from the wise and revealed them unto babes thou hast hid them from some and revealed them unto others and he subjoyneth even so it is O Father because it so pleaseth thee and in 2 Tim. 1.9 God hath called in by an holy calling according to his purpose and grace Rom. 3.24 we are Justified freely by the free grace of God without respect had to any thing in us thus the Holy Ghost speaketh in James 1.18 of Sanctification out of his own free will we are begotten and sanctified and renewed And touching Glorification the
consummation of all Rom. 6.24 it is the special gift of God bestowed upon some and not upon all according to the will of Christ Joh. 17.24 Father saith the Lord Jesus I will that those whom thou hast given me be where I am and behold my glory and be everlasting partakers of my glory so then we see that the saving mercies of God from the beginning to the consummation they are reached out according to the good will and pleasure of God Hence it followeth in the first place that they erre grosly who do hold Vse 1 and affirm that God hath elected all men to life and salvation if they will and that God would have all men to be saved and to come to life and salvation if they will and that men are not saved that cometh to passe because men themselves will not This was the opinion of the Pelagins and now of the Papists in part Anabaptists and Arminians and others Now this opinion is not onely erroneous and false in the ground making the absolute and unchangeable will of God to depend upon the will of man that if man will be saved God hath chosen him but also this opinion of theirs cannot stand with the truth now delivered that God giveth his saving mercy to whom he will Object I but say they now they take hold of the Scripture the Apostle in Rom. 11.32 saith that God hath shut up all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all so in 1 Tim. 2.4 God willeth that all shall be saved and come to the knowledge of his truth therefore your doctrine is not true Answ To this I answer it is true indeed God hath shut up all men in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all what all without exception of any upon every man without exception no but upon all that believe upon all the faithful ones among the Jewes and Gentiles of whom the Apostle speaketh in this 11. Chapter of whom he speaketh of the estate of the Jewes and Gentiles I but say they this is a false interpretation mark then and to this purpose read a paralel place unto this in Gal. 3.22 where the Apostle saith The Scripture hath concluded and shut up all under sin that the promise of God what promise the promise of mercy and faith in Christ Jesus might be extended and reached out what to all without exception no saith the Apostle unto them that believe so the Apostle doth there limit the universal particle all to all believers and so the place is to be taken Again for the place in Timothy that God will have all men to be saved First to answer to it the word all in that place is not taken Collective but Distributive as they speak not collective and gathering all men in the world but distributive by way of Distribution some of all sorts of all states conditions and degrees and calling in the world and that this is a truth mark what the Apostle saith in the first verse of this Chapter I do exhort that prayers and supplications be made for all men what shall we understand all mankind no he subjoyneth by way of distribution for all men in all callings and conditions for Kings and Magistrates he ranketh them into their several degrees so when God saith I will have mercy upon all his meaning is not all men shall be saved but some of all sorts and again as One saith God will have all men salvos fieri to be saved but God will not salvos facere make all men to be saved but he reacheth out his mercy to some of all sorts Vse 2 Is this so that Gods mercy is to be reached out not to all but onely to some amongst men surely then it behoveth us to look unto it and to take heed that we deceive not our selves touching Gods saving mercy as many there be that live in their known sins and go on in the practice of them wittingly and willingly and presume upon this ground Oh say they God is merciful but they deceive themselves and build upon a rotten ground God is merciful and pitiful It is true indeed God is infinite and endlesse in his mercy but remember what hath been delivered that the Lord will not extend and reach out his saving mercy unto all but onely to some amongst men he will not save the soules of all men generally because he is a merciful God but to some of all sorts And therefore we must labour to find our selves in that Number of whom God will vouchsafe saving mercy and save their soules Quest Alas some will say how shall we come to know that God will reach out his saving mercy unto us Who knoweth the mind of God how can we be acquainted with the will of God that God will reach out his saving mercy unto me Answ Yes we may know the mind and the will and the purpose of God to us in particular how by the Spirit of God even by that Spirit of God which searcheth the deep and hidden things of God and maketh known the gracious purpose of the Lord 1 Cor. 2.12 we have not received the Spirit of the world but we have received the Spirit which is of God whereby we know the things that are given unto us of God even the love and the mercy and the favour of God unto us in Christ And if we have that Spirit of God when we find and feel that Spirit in our hearts and soules working there convincing us and doth check us in our hearts and soules and we are able to expresse and shew forth the fruits of the Spirit in our life and conversation Gal. 5.22 23. Whose effects be joy peace love meekness long suffering patience and we are able to expresse it in our lives and conversation And hereby we may come to know that Gods good will is towards us in Jesus Christ even by the work of Gods Spirit which testifieth what God hath Purchased indeed if men live in their known sinnes and fancie unto themselves the Gospel and the saving mercies of God in Christ they deceive themselves and it is a true saying as one saith as they that have the fruits of the Spirit against them is no Law so they that have not the fruits of the Spirit there is no Gospel for them therefore in the fear of God labour we for this for the Spirit of God making known unto us the good will of God what he hath sealed unto us from everlasting convincing us of our known sins and showing forth the fruits in our lives and conversations then we may assure our selves that God will bestow upon us life and salvation and hath conferred his graces unto us Therefore he hath mercy upon whom he will and whom he will he hardneth THe next thing observable and to be stood upon in this point of Gods reprobation that God hardneth whom he wil the Lord out of his own good pleasure denieth mercy and saving grace and withholdeth it
work grace in the soules of men to mollifie and soften the hearts of men are vouchsafed and yet all are not softened but some continue in their hardnesse living under the means of softening because the powerful meanes of grace are uneffectual unlesse it please God to put life unto them and to give efficacy by the work of his grace Now the Lord is pleased sometimes to withhold his saving and softening grace from men and to inflict hardnesse upon them as a Judgment and then no marvel it is that they continue in their hardnesse and sins and stiffe-neckednesse And beloved upon this ground the Preachers and Ministers of the Word may stay themselves when they see that after their labour and pains taking with the soules of men they see little or no fruit of their labour he seeth that the profit of the same Word delivered by him to one and the same people is so divers and different that some are bettered by it and yeeld obedience to it and do according to it and some do clean contrary unto it it is a savour of life unto some and a savour of death unto others thus it was in Exod. 9.20 21. with the preaching of Moses those whom God gave grace unto yeelded others yeelded not The Lord is pleased sometimes to withhold his softening grace from men and to leave them to themselves And beloved the Lord commonly dealeth thus with hypocrites and such as come unto the means of grace onely out of form and of fashion and of custome and are asleep when they come unto it they come without any longing desire to profit by the means they have no more desire to profit by it then the seats they sit upon then when they so come without a desire to profit and onely for form and fashion then the Lord suffereth them to go on in blindnesse of mind and hardnesse of heart that though they hear a hundred Sermons yet they are dull and dead and have no more good by them then the seats in the Church And hereby the Minister may cheer up himself that the Lord hath hardened their hearts and will not suffer them to profit by the means but permits them to post on the way to hell Is this so that Gods will is to harden some amongst the sons of men and Vse 2 inflict hardening upon their hearts how are they then to magnifie the goodnesse of God to them to whom the Lord hath given soft and melting hearts and such as are flexible pliable and yeelding to the will of God in the admonitions and threatenings of it yea such a heart as good Josiah had in 2 Chr. 24.27 that when he heard the Book of the Law read his heart melted and dissolved with tears so dost thou when thou hearest the threatenings and denunciations of the Word against thee tremble and is thy heart humbled when thou hearest the sweet comforts of the Word of God even as the matter is so is thy heart affected if matter of comfort thou rejoycest if matter of threatening thou art humbled yea though it be against a sin thou art not guilty of when thou hearest the threatenings of God against sins thou art not guilty of thou tremblest considering he is a just God thy heart is flexible pliable the text is clear in Ezek. 36.25 26. Here we find that those whom the Lord doth please to justifie and sanctifie and to pour the clean waters upon their soules and to cleanse them from the filthinesse of their sins to them he giveth a heart of flesh this is a work of God vouchsafed to such that God doth cleanse mollifie even a flexible plyable and yeelding heart to the Word of God and the means of grace and of salvation Oh hast thou such a heart blesse God for it this is a special mercy of God for of all the plagues that befall men in this world hardnesse of heart is the worst none worse then that that is the most dreadful so softnesse of heart assuredly is a special blessing of God and given to none but those whom God loveth Oh then labour to have this bowing bending yeelding heart to the good hand of God labour to cheer it up and to have a plyable heart yeelding not stubborn and to that end use these meanes that may mollifie thee more and more namely be frequent and often in hearing and reading of the holy Word of God and when thou hast heard and read it second it by meditation Oh what enemies are they that hear the Word and do not respect to call to mind what they have heard but let it slip away and secondly be often and frequent in thinking upon the sweet and comfortable mercies of God in Jesus Christ that will soften thy heart and keep it soft the heart of the prodigal when it began to relent to yeeld and to be moved and to come to himself and to consider the tendernesse and love of his gracious Father Oh saith he I am a poor wretch here and an outcast but I have a good father I have sinned against heaven and against thee Luke 15.17 18. he will entertain and receive me again so the consideration of the tender mercies of Christ Jesus to consider what the Lord hath done for thee hath he not vouchsafed his mercy in Christ Jesus And last of all be thou earnest above all be earnest with God in prayer that he would be pleased to vouchsafe unto thee the Spirit of grace and of softening and continue in thy breast a soft heart Oh Lord never suffer me to be given over to hardnesse of heart Lord keep this heart of mine soft plyable and yeelding to the Word of God Thus we are to hear it and to read it and to meditate upon it and to pray unto God to keep the heart in us for it is the greatest blessing of God that can befall a man in this world as hardnesse of heart is a great curse so softnesse is a great blessing therefore labour for to get and increase it VERSE 19. Thou wilt say then unto me Why doth he yet complain Who hath resisted his Will OUr Apostle having cleared God from the imputation of inconstancy and of unfaithfulnesse in his promises notwithstanding the rejection of the Jewes for the body of them from the sixth verse of this Chapter to the 14. verse and having proved from the 14 verse to the 19. verse that God is not unjust in that he hath out of his own absolute good will and pleasure chosen some to life and salvation and hath passed by and rejected others and that without respect had to any thing in them or foreseen in them having I say cleared God from this slander He now in this 19. verse falleth upon a new and a further Cavil and reasoning of the flesh namely such a Cavil as doth charge God with no lesse then cruelty and with Tyrannical dealing with some men and from this the Apostle cleareth God also Now
Now more particularly we have in these two Verses the 22. and 23. two things laid before us First of all a description both of Reprobates and of Gods Elect. And secondly that which the Apostle affirmeth and putteth down concerning Reprobates these be the main general things Reprobates are thus described by the Apostle vessels of wrath and those prepared to destruction Gods Elect are thus described vessels of mercy prepared unto glory both vessels but the one of wrath and the other of mercy one prepared to destruction the other prepared to life and glory Now the thing which the Apostle putteth down concerning Reprobates is that God suffereth them with long and much patience and that out of his own mere will and good pleasure what if God would suffer the vessels of wrath then the Apostle amplifieth this long-suffering of God to Reprobates by the ends of Gods long-suffering and patience namely in respect of Reprobates themselves to declare and manifest his just wrath and vengeance upon them for the Manifestation and Declaration of his just power in punishing of them then in respect of Gods Elect that thereby he might shew forth the riches of his glorious mercy to the Elect in the 23. verse that he might declare the riches of his mercy unto them that are prepared for glory so we have the general things of these two Verses Come we now to the opening of the sense of these two verses Explication of the words and first of all of the 22. verse What if God would What if God being willing or it being his good pleasure and here something must be supplyed to make it a perfect sentence something must be conceived as a Consequent what if it be the good will and pleasure of the Lord to suffer the vessels of wrath to go to destruction with long patience what if God will so do what is that to thee this maketh it a perfect sentence what canst thou accuse God of in this particular to shew his wrath By wrath is here meant both Gods displeasure for and against sin and Gods vengeance for the same and God is said to manifest and shew his wrath when he conceiveth just displeasure against men for their sins and doth inflict just Judgment and just punishment upon them for the same and to make his power known Or as it is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make it possible to make it appear that it is possible and easie unto God that God hath power to confront and bear down the Reprobates be they never so mighty with a stroke of his hand and to send them soul and body to destruction as it is 1 Sam. 2.10 all the adversaries of the Lord shall perish they shall be destroyed and confounded suffer with long patience Or with long-suffering for the word is the very same as in Rom. 2.4 where the Apostle saith despisest thou the patience and long-suffering of the Lord now Gods long sufferance is his slownesse to anger Exod. 34.6 where the Lord is described to be slow to anger and Gods long sufferance and slownesse to anger is when he beareth with them a long time and keepeth back his wrath suffering them to go on and to add sin unto sin he spareth them a long time when he might strike and suddenly send them to hell vessels of wrath The Apostle still is in the comparison of a Potter and compareth man to a vessel a vessel of wrath and though by vessel may be understood any instrument or utensel used about a house yet hereby is meant such a vessel which by reason of his concavity and hollownesse is fit to receive and contain either things liquid or dry so the Reprobates being vessels they have this concavity this hollownesse in them they are fit receptacles and vessels to receive the wrath of God and the arrows of his vengeance yet for the better understanding of this we must put here a difference between a vessel of wrath and a child of wrath these are not both one Now a child of wrath for the present estate Difference between a vessel of wrath and a Child of wrath may be a vessel of mercy so was Paul so were the Elect Ephesians Ephes 2.3 we were by nature children of wrath as well as others but a vessel of wrath cannot become a vessel of mercy and of those speaketh our Apostle here prepared to Destruction Expositors in this place do make a very curious distinction between these termes prepared to destruction and prepared to glory the one say they is spoken in the passive prepared to destruction the other in the active he prepareth them to glory but this is a needlesse distinction for this is to be expounded by some other places of Scripture as that in 1 Thess 5.9 where vessels of wrath are said to be prepared and ordained of God the Lord having in his eternal decree ordained and appointed them to everlasting shame and confusion as a potter maketh a vessel to receive excrements so these are appointed to destruction not as it is a misery of the creature but as it is a manifestation of his glory who is the Creator which he will have made known to all the world So then thus conceive we the meaning of the Apostle in this 22. verse Sence and meaning of the words of the 22. verse What if God be willing out of his good pleasure that he might conceive just wrath and inflict and execute just Judgment and that he might make it appear that he is a God of power and able to confront the Reprobate and to bring them to destruction What if God willing to keep back his wrath even with long patience suffering such as are fit receptacles to receive his vengeance as any vessel by reason of concavity to receive water I mean Reprobates such as God hath eternally decreed to destruction not as it is the misery of the creature but as it maketh way for the manifestation and declaration of the Justice of God but if the Lord will so do what is that to thee what canst thou say against it if the Lord will so do Observ Come we now to the Observation You see here in the general that both Gods Elect and Reprobates are compared to vessels framed by the hand of God the heavenly Potter hence note we thus much Doctrine That Gods Elect and Reprobates differ not in their matter at all they are both of them vessels and have both one general nature and are alike but the difference is in the use They are both made of the same lump by the same Potter but they differ in the use he useth the one as vessels of mercie the others as vessels of wrath Gods Elect they are vessels fit to receive grace goodnesse holinesse sanctification all good things are poured into their hearts and soules but the other they are fit to receive nothing but the sinke of sinne and all manner of uncleannesse it
and the reason why the Lord is thus pleased so to do is this Because that so they might have both space and time of repentance given vnto them Reason and that they might hereby be stripped of all excuse and may have nothing to plead for themselves they shall have their mouthes stopped in the day of the Lords visitation Therefore the Lord is pleased to vouchsafe the means of mercy of grace and of repentance that they might have nothing to plead for themselves and they still despising the riches of Gods mercy of his patience and of his bountifulnesse Romans 2.4 which is manifested in the means of grace that leadeth unto repentance which is still sounding in their ears and still goe on in sinne so that when they come before the Judge of the World they can have nothing to say they cannot say if we had had such and such means and such time we would have amended but they have all means and they despising the bountifulnesse of God are left without excuse Object But happily some may say it seemeth it is but in vain that God giveth wicked men a time and space of repentance and sendeth his Gospel unto them and invites and cals them to amendment because the Lord having decreed their everlasting destruction they can never come to repentance therefore it seemeth a vain and an idle thing in God may some say to give unto them time and space of repentance and to crie out unto them come out of your sins turn to God repent of your sins and here is mercy for you God having decreed their destruction they can never come to repentance Answ It is true indeed God having decreed the everlasting destruction of reprobates they can never come to repentance and yet it is not in vain that God is pleased to give them space and time of repentance and to invite and call them and crie unto them Oh sonnes of Men when will you turne unto God For though the Lord is not bound together with the means of grace to give grace and to make the means effectual for the conversion of Reprobates yet thereby the Lord doth manifest and make it to appeare that he doth approve of the worke of Conversion and of Repentance in all men yea the Lord doth approve of the work of Conversion in Reprobates as a good thing in it selfe and hence it is in 2 Peter 3.9 it is said God will have all men to come to repentance Hath God decreed some to destruction and yet will have all men to come to repentance in his will approving and it is not in vaine that God calleth for it thereby approving of the work of Conversion in Reprobates as a good thing in it self and thereby he leaveth them without excuse Object But if any plead and say alasse they cannot doe otherwise God denying his grace unto them what can any man doe They cannot but continue hard hearted and obstinate If God denie his grace they cannot doe otherwise but continue hard hearted and obstinate To this I answer Answer it is true indeed that God denying his grace men cannot possibly come out of their sinnes to Repentance and amendment of their lives yet for all this God doth reprobates no manner of wrong at all in calling upon them and approving of that work in them he is not to be taxed because in the beginning before man was created God was not bound to create man in holinesse in the estate of Innocencie which he made them and much lesse is the Lord bound to restore these things unto them they having lost them they having forfeited the bond they having wilfully and rebelliously deprived themselves of these things having wilfully broke the Covenant and made a defection and a falling away from God so that God is still cleare and doth them no wrong at all Vse Is it so that God is so patient toward wicked sinners and such as are appointed to everlasting destruction that he forbears them and of a long time they provoking him to anger everie minute of an houre when he might throw them down to Hell Oh then let men and women whosoever they be that go on in their sins let them not thinke that they are in no danger of the wrath of God and punishing hand of God because God beareth with them and doth not speedily execute his vengeance upon them and cast down his thunderbolt upon them Oh let them not think that therefore they are free from the wrath of God though beloved it is a common Conceit of wicked and ungodly persons even of such as goe on in the practise of known sinnes of drunkennesse of uncleannesse to imagine within themselves that they are in no such danger as the Preacher will make them believe no saith a wicked and gracelesse wretch let the Preacher speake his pleasure and threaten me with the curse and the vengeance of God to light upon my soul and bodie and threaten me with damnation What need I fear Why for all this I am sure I thrive I goe on and I prosper I have good successe in the world he telleth me of the curse of God because I break the Sabbath yet I thrive I goe forward I have good successe in my businesse Oh let them take heed you are onely under Gods long patience and Gods long suffering and there is but a step between thee and Hell if death come you must to hell without repentance there is but a hairs breadth between you and hell It is a common saying forbearance is no acquittance you are but spared as the Amorites Genesis 15.16 Vntill your sinnes be at the full and you fil up the daily measure of your sinnes and then commeth the hand of God down upon you in a fearful manner and the longer that God is a striking the more fearful is his blow and the more deadly after long forbearance as Solomon saith Eccles 8.12 13. Though a sinner doe evil an hundred times many times together yet it shall not be well with him in the end howsoever he may thrive and grow great and prosper in the world and have blessings powred upon him abundantly yet it will not goe well with him in the end Nay I beseech you remember Gods patience abused it turneth into fury and into rage and Gods mercie despised and neglected Patientia lasa fit furor not leading to repentance becommeth judgement mercilesse Now is the day of grace and mercie is offered unto thee while the Lord giveth thee means of grace and of mercie but there will come a day of wrath and of vengeance upon thee it will come certainly and without mercie and without pittie now is the time of patience and of long forbearing Now is his voice calling upon you if you make a pish and a tush at it the time will come when the Lord will rise up in wrath and vengeance and bring woe unto your soules Again for a second use this being so that God
the meanes of our Lord Jesus Christ So then thus conceive we the meaning of the Apostle as if he had said And in like sort that God might make it known to all the world both to men and Angels his exceeding great and abundant grace and mercy toward and upon his Elect who are vessels as capable of mercy as any vessel to receive water the Lord having from everlasting ordained and appointed them to the Kingdom of glory Now the words being thus understood I will onely point at one thing briefly We see here the Apostle maketh it apparent and known that God sheweth his Justice and maketh his power known upon the Reprobates thereby to amplifie and to set forth the greatnesse of his mercy toward his chosen and make known the riches of his mercy upon the vessels of mercy This is the ground of the Observation And the Doctrine hence arising is this viz. Doctrine That Gods mercy vouchsafed to his Children in any kind whatsoever whether concerning soul or body it appeareth the greater and is felt the sweeter by considering Gods wrath and punishment in the same kind inflicted upon the wicked The riches and the greatnesse of Gods mercy toward any of his children is more evident more apparent and more conspicuous and the better discerned by comparing it with his just punishing hand that he layeth upon others And to this purpose we have many evidences of Scripture the mercy of God in saving Noah and his Family in the Ark when the flood was upon the earth being considered with the Lords wrath and vengeance upon the whole world besides it made the mercy of God to be more conspicuous and better discerned of Noah So the freedome that the people of Israel had in the Land of Goshen in Egypt from the plagues of Egypt when the heavy hand of God was upon the Egyptians being considered with those heavy plagues did exceedingly set forth the riches of Gods mercy to his Children that they should be saved and the other punished in the same land and in Exod. 14.30 31. the Text saith of the Israelites they saw the Egyptians dead upon the bank and saw their final overthrow and no doubt that Gods Justice in their overthrow made the mercy of the Lord in their deliverance appear the better and thereupon they were stirred up to praise God after an extraordinary manner for an extraordinary blessing in the 15. Chapter And to these places I might adde many more all expressing that the mercy of God vouchsafed to his Children feeleth sweeter and the more comfortable Considered together with Gods wrath in punishing the wicked and reprobate yea it doth ravish the soul of a Child of God and maketh it more comfortable The Reason Reason and ground of it is from that Logical rule Contra juxta se posita c. Contraries set in opposition maketh them the better to appear black and white set together it maketh white more resplendant and appear the clearer so Gods mercy opposed to Gods Justice maketh his mercy appear more conspicuous And for the Application Vse let this teach us to consider the mercy of God to us that are his Children in comparison of his Judgment to others as for example thou being a Child of God consider God hath given thee sanctification in thy heart and soul a feeling of thy sins and groaning under it then consider this thy Illumination and sanctification together with the Ignorance and obdurancy of others and it will make thee to praise and set forth the greatnesse of Gods mercy so again in outward mercies the Lord hath given thee abundance thou hast strength and ability of body thou hast liberty and freedom from imprisonment and thou seest others that are blind sick lame and under the heavy hand of God in some Affliction they are weak and poor And in this hard time that now is upon us thou seest others wanting firing wanting lodging wanting means to defend them from the injury of the weather surely the Lord setteth these before thee not onely that thou shouldest be pitifull unto them and help and relieve them but herein also to see the greatnesse and goodnesse of Gods mercy towards thee Lay not out so much upon thy pride in excesse of Apparel but extend some to the poor and praise the Lord for his greatnesse and goodnesse that hath made thee rich and healthfull and others lye up and down ready to be famished Oh consider this what the Lord hath done for thy body and soul he hath inlarged his hand to thee inlarge thou thy hand in giving to others and inlarge thy heart in praising of God and let it stirre thee up to great thankfulnesse unto God for this his mercy to thee And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had before prepared unto glory ANd in the next place observe that the Apostle here saith not barely God will extend and reach out his abundant mercy toward his Children or that he might shew his mercy upon them abundantly but mark the manner of his speech he putteth down his mind and meaning in these tearms that God might declare the riches of his glorie upon his I hil dren every word is very emphatical and full of weight and the meaning is that God might make known to all the world to men and Angels his exceeding great and abundant grace and mercy upon his Elect and toward his Children Hence then we may easily gather this conclusion Doctrine That God will one day manifest his exceeding great and abundant mercy toward his chosen and he will one day make it appear to all the World to Men and Angels that he is a most wonderful and gracious God unto his Chosen indeed God is exceeding gracious and abundantly merciful unto his Chosen at all times especially after their effectual Calling and Conversion and turning from sinne unto him from the estate of Nature unto the estate of Grace then giving unto them the pardon of all their sinnes sealing his love unto them in Christ as it is in Romans 10.5 Then giving unto his Children libertie to approach and come near unto his holy presence with comfort and thankesgiving then beautifying their soules with many excellent gifts of his Spirit with Faith with Zeale and with Humilitie so that God is exceeding great and abundantly merciful unto his Chosen yet let me tell you that his abundant grace and mercie to his Elect is not so apparent to the eyes of men It lieth hid and obscured either under that excellent grace of Humilitie or under their afflictions so as that the world seeth it not yet the time shall come that howsoever it is now darkned it shall appear to men and Angels yea men and Angels shall admire at the wonderful mercie of God to his Chosen and to this purpose is that of the Apostle in the 2 Thessalonians 1.10 where the Apostle saith that Christ Jesus at the day of
of Justice and of mercy it is as possible that God should be merciful to a man that he sendeth to hell as to be just to a man that he giveth salvation unto these two can never stand together revenging Justice and saving mercy for the Lord vouchsafeth salvation that his mercy may be glorified and not his justice so that mercy cometh not from the hand of Justice but of mercy Again in that the Apostle saith that God declareth the riches of his mercy to the Elect hence I might note That Gods grace and mercy vouchsafed unto his chosen it is full and perfect fulnesse of mercy and perfect mercy when God forgiveth the sins of his chosen he forgiveth them not in part or by the halves as the Papists teach that God forgiveth the sinnes of his chosen in respect of the eternal punishment but he leaveth the Temporal punishment for them to do penance for in the time of Lent whereas God doth give unto his children full and perfect remission full and perfect Justification full and perfect glorification Heb. 7.25 He is able perfectly to save all that come unto him saith the Author to the Hebrewes not to give a half salvation but a full salvation but to passe from that And in the last place observe we that the Apostle affirmeth it of Gods chosen that they are vessels of mercy prepared unto glory that is God in his eternal decree hath ordained them to everlasting glory so that hence I might shew that some particular persons amongst men are appointed of God to salvation in heaven but that I have often met withal and therefore passe by it but hence we may truly take up this Observation That life and glory and happinesse in heaven it cometh unto Gods chosen in time Doctrine most freely from the free grace and mercy of God without any merit or desert of theirs at all it was prepared for them and they for it before they had a being and before the world was Matth. 25.34 Come you blessed inherit a Kingdome prepared for you before the world was or from the beginning of the world saith our Saviour and this truth the Scripture saith in Ephes 2.8 by grace yau are saved and that not of your selves it is the gift of God and in Titus 3.5 Not according to the works of righteousnesse that we have done but according to his mercy he hath saved us still running upon the free grace and mercy of God in Luke 12.32 Fear not little flock saith Christ it is your Fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdome it is the free gift of your Father without any of your deserts And also in Rom. 6.23 the Apostle having said the wages of sin is death then presently he subjoyneth unto it not as the sequel of the Text doth require as the Remists themselves do confesse in their Annotations he saith not the wages of sin is death and the wages of holinesse is salvation but he changeth the term saith he the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life thereby evidencing that the eternal life and salvation of the godly in heaven it cometh freely without any merit or deserts of theirs at all and hence it is that eternal life in heaven it is called in Scripture an inheritance in Coloss 1.12 giving thanks that he hath provided for us an inheritance 1 Pet. 1.4 an inheritance immortal and undefiled Now who knoweth not this that an inheritance cometh to a child from the father out of the mere love of the father when the child it may be is not born and cannot do any thing to merit it so the inheritance of heaven being prepared for the godly and they for it it must needs come from the grace of God And the Reason Reason and ground of this is because that the whole glory of this may be unto the Lord the Lord will have the glory in the salvation of his chosen in Ephes 2.9 you are saved by grace through faith not of works lest any man should boast and brag of it that he brought something to his salvation Now this being so it meeteth directly with the opinion of our adversaries the Papists Vse those of the Antichristian Synagogue of Rome it quite over turneth their opinion in that they hold teach that life and glory in heaven belong to such as are first of all justified by Christ as admitted for the merit and desert of their own good works and it belongeth to them for the merit of their own good workes Now this errour besides the errour in the ground of it supposing a two-fold Justification in the sight of God which can never be proved in the Book of God when God justifieth he justifieth once for all besides this errour in the ground it cannot stand with the truth of God now delivered for if so be life and glory come unto Gods chosen in time most freely then not for their deserts for free gift and due debt cannot stand together with relation to the same subject But say the Papists life and glory in heaven it is called a reward therefore merited To this I answer The Holy Ghost hath taught us to distinguish of reward as two-fold in Rom. 4.4 and that is either of favour or of debt now eternal life is a reward indeed not of debt but of favour But whereas the Papists further reply Christ hath merited that the good works of his Chosen should be meritorious to life and salvation A mere idle shift we find in the Book of God that Christ hath merited for his chosen and died for their sins but we never find he died for their good works to make them meritorious no it is a thing altogether impossible that the best works of Gods chosen should have in them the true and whole nature of merit because they be imperfect and they are stained with sin the best work that a man can do when he hath striven to do his best he must go to God to crave pardon for his imbecility now these two cannot possibly stand together to stand in need of mercy and yet be meritorious Yea let me tell you we must take heed we do not abuse this Doctrine of Vse 2 God and savour it to our destruction and hereupon do as many do cast off all care of good works because they do not merit yet it is our duty to shew unto God our thankfulnesse for his mercy unto us in giving us right and title to heaven and to expresse our thankfulnesse unto him in all holy obedience yea without question we are bound to thankfulnesse for external and temporal good things because we find that the use and comfort of it cometh from God Oh much more are we then to be thankful unto God for heaven and in giving us hope of inheritance in heaven And now because every one will be ready to sooth up himself and to say I hope I shall come to heaven and I am thankful for it