Scripture that he died for many as well as for all as Isa 53.12 He bare the sins of many Matth. 20.28 He gave his life a ransome for many Heb. 9.28 Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many Which expressions import that he died not for all alike but for many in one sense and for all in another or else the expression of his dying for many were needlesse in that it is so oft expressed that he died for all Secondly Because it 's oft said that he died for his Church as John 10.15 I lay down my life for the sheep Eph. 5.25 Husbands love your Wives even as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it Which imports also that he died for all men in one sense and for his Church in another Thirdly because the Scripture hath in terminis in expresse words put a difference between his being a Saviour to all men and his being a Saviour to them that believe as in 1 Tim. 4.10 We trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all men specially of those that believe From whence I argue thus Christ died for all men as he is a Saviour of all men but he is a Saviour of all men in a different sense and sort namely generally of the universality of men and specially of his Church witnesse the distinction made by the Apostle in the fore-cited Text Therefore he died for all men in a different sense and sort namely in one sense and sort for the universality of men and in another sense and sort for the particularity of his Church To the third Quaery I answer That he died for all wicked men and unbelievers in these two senses according to Scripture 1. As suffering a satisfactory punishment for the sins of all the men in the world so as they are not left destitute of the means of remission of sins and of salvation according to the words of the Apostle 1 Tim. 2.6 There is one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransome for all a testimony in due time And again Heb. 2.9 the Apostle saith that He tasted death for every man 2. He died for them upon condition of their faith and obedience according to these Scriptures John 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And Heb. 5.9 He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him And so in like manner it 's the affirmation of sundry other Texts of Scripture But then he died not for them with an intention and purpose to give them grace to repent and believe and so to bring them to salvation which appears by Scripture to be a clear truth these two ways 1. Because Scripture hath revealed abundantly God's purpose to the contrary namely to save some men but not all The proofs whereof are so numerous that I need not quote any 2. Because if Christ died for all men with an intention and purpose to save all then either all shall be saved which is contradicted by a hundred places of Scripture or else Christ's purpose may be altered But his purpose cannot be altered or disappointed and therefore he died not for all with a purpose to save all That his purpose cannot be altered I prove both because he can neither alter it himself nor can any other alter it That he cannot alter it himself is oft taught in Scripture Mal. 3.6 I am the Lord I change not Jam. 1.17 With him is no variablenesse neither shadow of turning Neither can any other alter it for his purpose is immutable and his will irresistible Isa 46.10 My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure And 43.13 I will work and who shall let it And Rom. 9.19 Who hath resisted his will Thus then from the premises already sufficiently proved I conclude and determine the controversie thus That Christ died for all the men in the world in these two senses First As paying by his death a sufficient ransome for the sins of them all which the Scripture calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a price of redemption several times Secondly That he died for them all upon condition of their faith and obedience but died not for all men with purpose to bring all actually to salvation And so the old distinction of Christ's dying for all men either sufficientur or efficaciter sufficiently or effectually as it may be understood and applied stands still upon its basis and feet and challengeth all the desertors and rejecters of it to frame a more fit and proper distinction between Christ's dying for all men and his dying for his Church Seeing a distinction between them is to be made as hath been already declared by testimony of Scripture The third Controversie which is of all other the most difficult and knotty WHether an unregenerate man hath power to repent and believe and so be saved if he will Mr. Haggar answers hereto in the affirmative in Page the 25. of his fore-mentioned discourse I answer to it in the negative denying that a natural man hath power to repent and believe by the energy or strength of his own free-will but needs the help of the special preventing grace of God ere he can be converted or he cannot convert himself For the fuller opening and enodation of this controversie and because therein I have more learned adverseries to deal with then Anabaptists I will first speak out what the will of an unregenerate man is able to do towards his conversion without the help of God's special efficacious grace or preventing grace as the learned call it And then secondly How far it cooperates with God's grace in his conversion About the first notice is to be taken of a threefold liberty of Will namely The liberty of Nature the liberty of Grace and the liberty of Glory Of which though these two last we lost by Adam's fall yet the first was not lost but remains still so as by vertue thereof the Will hath liberty to will or nill without compulsion or constraint and that not only in natural and civil actions but also in moral and ecclesiastical In moral actions to practise virtue as Justice Temperance Liberality c. And so to do some things commanded in God's Law as both experience shews and Paul testifies Rom. 2.14 where be saith That the Gentiles did by nature the things contained in the Law In Ecclesiastical actions an unregenerate man hath liberty also namely to perform the duties of God's worship and service for the outward act as to come to Church hear and read the word of God pray partake of the Sacraments do works of charity and confer about Religion and the doctrine of faith as common experience shews all which are good preparatives to and ofttimes efficacious means of regeneration and conversion Yet must this liberty of Will about all these actions either
fire out of the earth where was no combustible matter and a voice told him that he should deliver the Jews and bring them into their Country whereupon without raising any force he by the counsel of his wives father declared the will of God to the King of Egypt who forthwith commitâ—ed him to prison but the prison doors were opened unto him by miracle and he went to the Kings bed side and summoned him again to obey God and when the King had asked him the name of the God Moses told it him in his ear whereat he fell into a swound But Moses raised him up again by the hand and the Priests that made a scoff at it died incontinently And afterwards this Author declareth how the King required signs and that thereupon Moses turned his rod into a Serpent and so in order recordeth almost all the wonders which Moses wrought in Egypt that are mentioned in the Scripture The miracles that were wrought by the prophet Elias as that of obtaining rain by prayer after a great drought in the dayes of King Ahab with some other are reported by one Menander an Ephesian in his Tyrian History (a) Mor. ibid. The miracles of our Saviour are avouched by a number and that both in general and in particular In general both Josephus in the place before cited and also Mahomet in his Alcaron confesse our Saviour to have wrought many miracles though Mahomet denied him to be God and affirmed that Christ had a check for it when he came to Heaven as Mr. Parsons hath it in his book quoted here in the Margint (a) Pason Resolut part 2. cap. sect 2. consid 3. In particular first the supernatural eclipse of the Sun at the passion of Christ is recorded by an old Astronomer called Aesculus who proveth by the aspect and posture of the Sun and Moon at that time that that eclipse could not be natural because all natural eclipses of the Sun are precisely at the change of the Moon and this was about the full for it was two dayes before Easter which solemn feast was always kept by the Jews in the full of the Moon as both Scripture testifies and that learned and credited Author before mentioned Philo Judaeus (b) Philo de Vita Moysis lib. 3. Of the truth of this miracle also I find a pregnant proof in an Epistle of Dionysius Areopagita to Polycarpus where Dionysius affirms that he and one Apollophanes being together in a City called Heliopolis at the time of this eclipse observed two supernatural occurrences in the same First they observed the Globe of the Moon to fall first upon that part of the body of the Sun which is toward the East and to proceed to a totall obfuscation or obscuration thereof and then to withdraw it self back again which it never doth in natural eclipses but begining to enter upon the Western surface of the Sun procreds to the Eastern where the eclipse ceaseth Secondly they observed again that by nine of the clock at night the Moon was withdrawn to a diametrous opposition to the Sun which by course of nature could not possibly come to passe in that space of time being but six hours And this miracle Dionysius entreated Polycarpus to urge Apollophanes withal to win him to the Christian faith in regard himself was an eye-witnesse thereof Again the resurrection of Christ hath open acknowledgement both from Josephus in the place twice above mentioned and from Pilate himself that put him to death by a Letter that he writ to his Lord Tiberius then Emperor of Rome wherein he certifies him how the Souldiers who were suborned and hired by the Jews to say that Christs Disciples came and stole him away in the night had confessed the plain truth unto him namely that Jesus was risen indeed to life again out of his Sepulchre and withall he sent to Tiberius the particular examination of divers other persons which he had taken about the same businesse who avowed that they had seen and spoken with such persons as were risen from death at that time with Jesus which said persons assured them also of his resurrection This Letter of Pilate's was laid up amongst the records of the Romans as witnesseth both Aegesippus in his History who lived in the next Age after the Apostles and immediately after him Tertullian in his book against the Gentiles where he professeth that upon his own knowledge such a Letter there was to be seen amongst the records of the Romans This Tertullian might very well know in regard he was a pleader of causes in Rome divers years before he was a Christian (a) Parson Resol part 2. cap. 4. sect 2. I might hereunto add sundry other testimonies out of Authors of adverse professions to Christian Religion to prove the truth of the miracles done by our Saviour and his Apostles for confirmation of the divinity of the Gospel but these are abundantly sufficient And therefore I hasten to the next argument of this sort Argu ∣ ment 3 which may be the infinite number of Martyrs that have laid down their lives and shed their blood in defence of the holy Scriptures and that with most admirable alacrity and cheerfulnesse and with most inseparable courage and fortitude For evidence hereof I will refer the Reader to these stories First For the Martyrs of the Old Testament to a very short story of the Martyrdom of the Macchabees written by the aforenamed Josephus and usually annexed to his other books agreeing with the 6. 7th Chapters of the second Book of the Macchabees at the end of the Old Testament a story it is worth the reading perhaps it may extract some tears which I speak out of experience but yet they may haply be sweetned with a mixture of gladnesse like those which dropped from Joseph's eyes at the sight of his brother Benjamin I will rehearse but one speech of the first of nine Martyrs there mentioned named Eleazar who when he had told the savage Tyrant Antiochus that instigated him to renounce Moses law that no torment should make him forsake Gods word and his Religion with undaunted courage and constancy turns himself away from him and addresseth his speech as it were to his Bible after this manner O sacred Religion I will never violate thee the foundation of my salvation the defence of the believer the ground of faith Never will I lift up my hands contrary to thy precepts never will I believe any thing to be just which is repugnant to that which thou hast taught me And whilst he spake thus saith the story he was haled to the torments For the Martyrs of the New Testament they are numberlesse and almost in every Ecclesiastical History as in Eusebius Socrates Evagrius Sozomen and many others who have recorded not only their sufferings for their witnesse bearing unto the Gospel of Christ but the manner thereof to have been in such sort that is with such innocency hilarity courage
In the Old Testament God commanded that the Levites who were the persons set apart to attend upon the service of God in those times under the Law as the Ministers of the word are under the Gospel should have allowance both by Tithes and other emoluments and profits out of sacrifices and oblations as every one knows and moreover they had given them by God's appointment 48. Cities with their suburbs and land annexed and appropriated to every one of them extending in quantity to 2000. Cubits of ground round about every City as it 's recorded in the 25th Chapter of the Book of Numbers and the first verse and so forward Secondly In the new Testament our Saviour Christ sending forth his 70. disciples to preach the Gospel bids them take neither bag nor scrip nor shooes but to eat and drink with those into whose houses they entred for the labourer is worthy of his hire Luke 10.4 5 6 7. verses S. Paul also justifies this at large and several times in 1 Cor. 9.9 10 11. verses He writes thus It is written in the Law of Moses Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the Oxe that treadeth out the corn Doth God take care for Oxen or saith he it altogether for our sakes for our sakes no doubt this is written that he that ploweth should plow in hope and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope If we have sowen unto you spiritual things is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things And then he addeth in the 23. verse Do you not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple and they which wait at the Altar are partakers with the Altar even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospell should live of the Gospell Here is no ambiguity nor obscurity in this Text but a plain and punctual affirmation that they which preach the Gospel should have their maintenance and livelihood for preaching of it But see yet further proof hereof to beat down if it may that unreasonable and unjust desire that is in some niggardly people who would have Ministers do all their work and labour for nothing Gal. 6.6 The Apostle gives this precept Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that teacheth in all good things And again in 1 Tim. 5.17 18. verses Let the elders which rule well be counted worthy of double honour especially they who labour in the word and doctrine For the Scripture saith Thou shalt not muzzle the Oxe that treadeth out the corn and the labourer is worthy of his reward Here then is plentiful proof of Scripture for the justification of this point But now see it proved also by force of reason which I have learned out of Scripture also namely out of 1 Cor. 9.7 8 12. here the Apostle reasons after this manner Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges who planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof or who feedeth a flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock Say I these things as a man or saith not the Law the same also And then in the verses following rehearsed before applies it to the Ministers of the Gospel As if he should have said Every vocation and profession from the highest to the lowest from the King to the day-labourer affords some emolument and recompence to them that labour in them this cannot be denied And therefore if all other men live by their functions and callings it 's just that Ministers also should also live by theirs Again I read in Scripture namely in 1 Tim. 3.2 That a Bishop should be hospitable Now if people should afford him no allowance and compensation for his labour and pains but rather subduct that which hath been formerly given both by God as I shall make appear hereafter and devout men to the support of the Ministry I demand which I know cannot be rationally answered by what means a Bishop should maintain hospitallity So that very reason equity and justice claim an allowance to be yielded to the maintenance of the Ministry 2. Now I shall prove That it stands with equity and justice That Ministers have Tithes for their allowance And this I prove four ways or by four Arguments Argument 1. First Because God himself appointed this payment of Tithes first to his Ministers the Levites as was mentioned before in way of compensation for their work of the Ministry And therefore it stands with equity and justice because it hath him for the first Author who doth all things justly Argument 2. Secondly Because the payment of Tithes hath been used and continued here in England many hundred years by the appointment of the supreame Magistrates from time to time without any interruption and hath been also confirmed and established by sundry laws under the Saxon Kings of this Realm long before the Conquest and by many Acts of Parliament since in their several Ages which never yet were repealed Who herein have followed the pattern which God had set them so that to charge them with injustice herein is both against Reason Religion Duty and charity From whence it 's clear that Beneficed Ministers of the Church of England in their several respective Incumbencies have as full just and legal title and claim to their Tithes and as much right thereunto as any Lord of a Mannour Freeholder or other person hath to any of the Lands or Goods whereof he standeth possessed to wit Per Leges Consuetudines Angliae Wherefore seeing it's evident out of the Chronicles and Histories of the Politick Government of this Nation that Tithes have been so long alienated from the Layity and dedicated and given to the maintenance of the Ministry by those persons in supreme power from whom Lay-mens title to their Lands and to the other nine parts of the increase and fruits of the same was derived it 's therefore contrary to all equity and reason that they should claim any property or interest in Tithes now who have been so long time out of possession of them and divested of all interest and property in them Argument 3. Thirdly Because Tithes are assigned to the Ministers in England by the peoples own consent and Vote in Parliament For the Parliaments Vote is their Vote the Parliament being the Representative body of all the people in the Land Furthermore it 's also to be considered for the defence of the justice of the peoples payment of Tithes to Ministers that seeing it 's not nominated in the New Testament where a compensation is allowed and enjoyned for the work of the Ministry what or how much this compensation or allowance shall be therefore there was great equity that the supreme lawful Magistrate and the Parliament should determine and appoint what it should be as being the fittest intermediate Judges between the Ministers and the People For it was neither fit that Ministers should have
Government of the World by Angels preached before the Astrologers in 4. Dr. Joh. Whincop God 's Call to Weeping and Mourning A Sermon preached at a Fast before the Parliament in 4. Mr. George Walker A Sermon preached at a Fast before the Parliament in 4. Richard Meggot The Rib Restored or the Honour of Marriage A Sermon preached in Dionis Back-Church occasioned by a Wedding the fifth of June 1655. newly published Mr. Valentine A Sermon preached at a Fast before the Parliament in 4. Mr. William Good Jacob Raised A Sermon preached at a Fast before the Lords in Parliament in 4. Mr. Thomas Goodwin The great Interest of States and Kingdomes A Sermon preached before the Parliament in 4. Mr. Samuel Kem The King of Kings His privy marks for the Kingdomes choice of new Members A Sermon preached upon the choice of Burgesses for the City of Bristol in 4. Mr. Ben. Hubbard Sermo Secularis Or a Sermon to bring to remembrance the dealings of Jehovah with this Kingdome of England in 4. Mr. J. P. A Sermon preached upon Matth. 22.21 wherein is set forth the King 's Due in part and the Peoples Duty in 4. Mr. Ambr. Stavely Iudex Expurgatorius Or a short Examination of the doctrine of Purgatory A Sermon lately published in 4. Mr. Peter Sterry The Clouds in which Christ comes A Sermon preached before the Parliament in 4. The teaching of Christ in the Soul A Sermon preached before the Parliament in 4. Mr. Robert Wilde The arraignment of a sinner at the Bar of Divine Justice A Sermon preached in St. Maryes in Oxon at an Assize there the 5th of March 1655. newly published in 4. Mr. Giles Firmin Stablishing against shaking or a discovery of the Prince of darknesse Scarcely transformed into an Angel of light powerfully now working in the deluded people called Quakers in 4. Mr. Stephen Marshall The Power of the Civil Magistrate in matters of Religion vindicated A Sermon preached before the first Parliament on a Monthly Fast day newly published Mr. Simeon Ash Good courage discovered and encouraged A Sermon preached before the Commanders of the Military forces of the City of London in 4. In Octavo large Mr. Robert Young A Soveraign Antidote against all Grief with the Victory of Patience in 8. Mr. Ben. Needler Expository Notes with Practical Observations upon Genesis lately published in 8. Octavo small Mr. George Hopkins Salvation from sin by Jesus Christ or the Doctrine of Sanctification which is the greater part of our Salvation founded upon Christ who is both the Meritorious and Efficient cause of sanctifying Grace purchasing it for working and perfecting it in his people c. newly published in 8. Mr. John Thrap Theologia Theologiae the true Treasure or a Treasury of holy Truths touching God's Word and God the Word in 8. Bp. Davenant An Exhortation to Brotherly Communion betwixt the Protestant Churches in 8. Bp. Cooper The Triumph of a Christian in three excellent Treatises 1. Jacob's wrestling with God c. in 8. The Bee-Hive of the Romish Church A work of all good Catholicks to be read and most necessary to be understood in 8. Mr. John Simpson The Perfection of Justification against the Pharisees the Purity of Sanctification against the Stainers of it the Unquestionablenesse of Glorification against the Sadduces in 8. Mr. Hall The Loathsomnesse of long hair A Treatise wherein the question is stated many arguments agaimst it produced with an Appendix against Painting Spots Naked Brests c. lately published in 8. Vindiciae Literarum The Schools Guarded or the excellency usefulnesse of Arts Sciences Languages History all sorts of Human Learning in subordination to Divinity with an Appendix in Answer to Mr. Webster lately published in 8. Mr. John Warren of Hatfield in Essex Principles of Christian Practice Illustrated with Questions and Scripture-answers lately published in 8. Mr. Daniel Evans A Baptismal Catechisme shewing unto what persons whether of riper years or as yet Infants the Sacrament of Baptism ought to be administred according to the Scriptures lately published in 8. Twelves large Mr. Thomas Gery The Fort Royal of Christianity Defended Or a demonstration of the Divinity of the sacred Scriptures with a discussion of the great controversies in Religion about universal redemption free-will original sin c. in 12. newly published The Practice of Christianity or the Epitome of Mr. Rogers seven Treatises in 12. Mr. Yhomas Jackson The true Evangelical Temper wherein Divinity and Ecclesiastical History are interwoven and mixt c. in three Sermons in 12. Twelves small Mr. Mullard Celestial Soliloquies composed of several divine Meditations and Prayers drawn from the holy Scripture in 12. Francis Thin Esq The perfect Embassador treating of the Antiquity Priveledges and Behaviour of men belonging to that Function in 12. FINIS