St. Paul 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a Faithful Saying and worthy of all Acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to Save Sinners The stress of my Argument hence lyeth here that the Doctrine of our Redemption by Christ is a most comfortable Doctrine Not only a Truth but a most acceptable Truth a Principle that sufficiently recommends it self to every Man and Deserves to be Received by every one in the World for the inestimable Consolation it carryeth along with it Now this necessarily implies and proves That Christ came into the World to make every Sinner in it capable of Salvation in a better World because this is the onely substantial ground of that Comfort I speak of the only Principle whence we can with Reason gather that Satisfaction which makes the Doctrine of our Redemption worthy to be Accepted by us all A Man's Soul had neeâ— have all possible satisfaction touching the Reasonableness of his Hopes especially when he prepares himself for important Offices of Religion or is about to Die Then it stands in need of a solid and sure bottom to support it and give it rest nor do I see any other such grounds for reasonable satisfaction and the Comforts of a Man as this great Truth That Christ Died for the good of all Mankind Though some are ready to flee to God's Decrees for succour and to Cherish themselves with a confident perswasion that they were Elected to Salvation from Everlasting yet this is no sure Foundation to build on 't is unreasonable to take Sanctuary there and to fly for Refuge to the secret Counsels of God's Will This is the Work of Fancy and strong Imagination and many People may be willing to work themselves into it partly out of a principle of spiritual Pride and partly to quiet an evil Conscience and heal some inward sores which a Vicious Life hath made Nor are any so ready to run to God's Decrees as immoral People whose Sins pursue them with a great Cry Alass it is impossible for any of us without immediate Revelation which is not afforded now to Read our Names in the Book of Eternity or to know Infallibly that they are there those secret things belong unto the Lord our God by us they are Unsearchable and past finding out and therefore we cannot gather any reasonable Comforts that Way NOR Indeed doth the Revealed Will of God the Holy Scriptures themselves afford us much without that most acceptable Doctrine which I am now defending For neither in this Book can any of us find our Names Written no more than in the Volum of God's Decrees The Scripture is silent as to the state of particular Persons and all the Comfort any single Man can gather from it comes by making reasonable conclusions as to himself out of general Premises There are in the Bible many necessary Laws prescribed and many excellent promises given to the Faithful indefinitely and at large and when a particular person compares his private state with the common Rule and upon a due comparison discovers that according to his Power he hath sincerely and honestly observed God's Commands or doth now do so and resolves stedfastly by God's Grace to persevere to the end in so doing he may then very reasonably Hope and Cherish himself with an Humble Modest Confidence that he shall be Happy Yet all this is upon a supposition that Christ Died for him for if Christ be not a propitiation for his Sins such a Man is lost and utterly undone notwithstanding all his performances And how I pray can any particular Man be reasonably assur'd of that but by being assur'd first That Christ tasted Death for every Man This general Truth being believed That Christ was a Sacrifice for all Mankind and for the whole World it is easy and necessary for that particular Person to conclude That Christ was a Sacrifice even for him because he is one of Mankind and a part of the World But without this most Acceptable Principle I cannot see with what Reason and Comfort he can conclude for himself the Scripture tells him nothing of that as to his own particular all that he hath reasonably to rely on is That the Son of God Died for all Take away this Principle and farewel all Faith all Obedience all hope and comfort with it I mean all solid Reason of Hope and Comfort Fancy and Imagination there may be in this Case too but I speak now of Rational Convictions and Rational Consolation all that must depend upon this bottom and foundation that Christ came into the World to Die and offer himself up for every Child of Man This makes the Doctrine of our Redemption a most Acceptable Doctrine indeed a most Comfortable Saying worthy of all Men to be received whereas without this Latitude and as some People are willing through the pride of their Hearts to understand it 't is so far from being Acceptable unto all Men that it seemeth a very Frightful Doctrine For if the Son of God Died not for all Men to the utmost extent though he had past by but One in the whole World and had excluded but One from having any Benefit by the propitiation upon the Cross that one Person being not Known nor Mentioned how could any one of us all tell but he was that Person I might have been fearful it was my self another might have been though with less Reason as fearful as I a third as fearful too a fourth as fearful as the rest and so on ad infinitum For every one in the World might have thought himself equally concern'd to Fear and consequently to Despair as well as another Every one would have been in suspence and perplexity at least as People that are forced to draw Lots for their Lives not knowing how the chance would fall out till the Day of Judgment To be sure this Tormenting Doubt would be incident to all People of scrupulous Minds and great numbers of very Pious People are such and then what would become of Christianity Considering the Hereditary Weakness of our Nature the many Actual Sins we are Guilty of and how unworthy the very best are of eternal Happiness what Heart or Encouragement would any one have to undertake or persevere in Religion if Christ by passing any one by had put every one thus under Fears and Dangers of being Cast-aways at last This would have served to spoil the whole Work of Redemption and to have damp'd the Faith of all at least it would have brought on such a Faith as St. James speaks of in those most Miserable Spirits who Believe and Tremble I have insisted upon this Argument the longer to shew you of what great Consequence this Point is and what weighty Reasons we have to inculcate and urge the Belief of it The Interest of Christ's Religion and the Peace of every Christian's Mind depends upon it for which cause the Catholick Church of Christ hath maintained it from the Beginning to
means of Grace to the Gentiles as well as he had to them Had bestowed many Privileges upon the Gentiles as well as upon them had Adopted the Gentiles as formerly he had Adopted them nay had called the Gentiles to be his peculiar People and Rejected them because of their Unbelief the Apostle shews that the Jews had no Reason to Stumble and be Offended at this for this was no unjust or unusual Act of the Divine Oeconomy God did not bind himself to observe Privileges or to consider Precedency witness his dealing with Ishmael first his passing them by and his granting the Land of Canaan to Isaac though he was the younger Brother and witness his dealing also with Esau his passing him by too and his continuing the former grant to Jacob though he waâ— the younger Brother likewise Upon this Account the Jews should not depend upon their Primogeniture neither It was not an Unrighteous thing in God to grant now the outward means of Grace and and Privileges Evangelical to the Gentiles and to make the Gentiles his peculiar People to enjoy them in a high degree and to take away those singular Prerogatives and outward Blessings from the Jews though they were the Elder People This is the plain Account of St. Paul's design and meaning in the ninth Chapter to the Romans and all that can be reasonably gathered thence out of the instance of Esau is what I observed before in the instance of Ishmael namely that God did not give him such outward Advantages in this Life as he gave his Brother Jacob but deny'd him special Favours for some Reasons best known to himself And in all this there is nothing of God's laying Esau under the dismal Curse of Eternal Reprobation There is not a Word of Esau's Damnation nor any thing like it nor do we meet with any thing I think in the Scriptures sufficient to make Men conclude that he was a Damned Person Indeed the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews calls him a Prophane Person because for one Morsel of Meat he Sold his Birth right to which the Kingly Power and the Priestly Office did in those Days belong But that single Act is the only great Wickedness that is Recorded of him and of that in all probability he did Repent too when he besought his Father to Repent of giving away the Blessing from him However that was we do not Read that he ever Apostatiz'd from God or that in the whole course of his Life he deserted the true Religion Practised by his Father Isaac and therefore there is no apparent ground for the heavy Sentence which is commonly past upon him by some who perhaps are more prodigal of other Mens Souls than they are careful of their own I have insisted the more copiously upon these Famous instances because the true account of them is not vulgarly known and because some who should have understood these things rightly have quite misapply'd them and have argued from them to destroy the Belief of God's Love to the World which is one of God's great Glories and the great Hope of all the Ends of the Earth AND now to draw this point to an end God's dispensing of his special Favours in this Life whether they be bestow'd upon particular Persons or on whole Nations can be no Token of their Fortunes in another Life and therefore we must not Measure God's Love to Mankind by the Proportions or Disproportions of his Providence in distributing and ordering Affairs here God hath a sincere Love for the whole Race of Adam though he be not pleased to give us all here the same equal Advantages and in all this God is Righteous because it is an Eternal Rule that we find Luk. 12. 47 48 That Servant which knew his Lords Will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many Stripes but they that know not and do things worthy of Stripes shall be beaten with few Stripes For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more We must not conclude that all People are in a Lost condition who do not enjoy those singular Blessings which others have especially if they make a due use of the Advantages which God hath given them For these are things which God hath a Power and Right to dispose of according to his own will and pleasure And however he is pleas'd to dispose of them he doth no wrong to any Besides this World is not the place for Rewards and if some fall short as to these outward Matters here they are capable of having an abundant compensation made them in a Future State But this is not their case who once fall under everlasting Condemnation and therefore Mens Lots in another World ought to be determin'd not according to Pleasure but according to Righteousness Their sad condition there is Remediless and unchangeable and the Torments they endure are not only Simply and Infinitely Evils but they are Evils too which are supposed to be inflicted on them under the notion of punishments and therefore they must be in consideration of antecedent Crimes Knowingly and Deliberately and of choice committed for to Inflict Eternal Torments upon Men for what they cannot avoid is Inconsistent with the Righteousness of God contrary to Eternal Reason and utterly Repugnant to the infinite excellency and perfections of his most Blessed Nature CHAP. VII That we must not judge Uncharitably of other People upon a Presumption that we our Selves are of the Number of those who are Elected to Everlasting Life and what the Scripture means by the Elect. Fourthly CONSIDERING God's Love to the whole World we must be careful not to Judge Uncharitably of others upon a Presumption that we our selves are of the Number of those who are Elected to Everlasting Life Divines usually give us a Scholastical Distinction between Election unto Glory and Election unto Grace By Election unto Glory they mean God's purpose of bringing all those and only those unto Eternal Life who Believe in Christ and observe his Laws Now though the consideration of this be of great Comfort to all who Love the Lord Jesus in Sincerity yet the Decree it self as far as it is known to us is General it is Revealed to us in general Terms as to particulars it is secret particulars are not to be known nor can any ordinary Christian be Infallibly certain that he is chosen to Everlasting Happiness till he is gone out of the World WE Read indeed of a Book of Life wherein Men's Names are said to be Written St. John speaks of such a Book he saw in his Vision the design whereof was to represent things to us in a way which was most adapted and suitable to our Capacities The meaning of the Vision as to that is that God doth infallibly Know and at the Day of Judgment will openly Declare Reveal and Reward those who
Pray to him and in the same Breath Asperse him that at once they Fear him and Hate him and that though they go to his Temples to Worship and to offer Sacrifices to him yet this is such a sort of Courtship wherewith Flatterers accost Tyrants they Hate and Curse them in their Hearts the very time they seem to Honour them Plutarch thought all frightful Ideas to be unsuitable to the Nature of a Deity God saith he is the Hope of Vertue not a Formidable Dreadful object Though Artificers are wont to represent him by Images that have a terrible Aspect yet Philosophers will tell you that God's Majesty is attended with Goodness with Benignity with a kind and careful Providence And he was of Pythagoras his Mind how slightly soever some thought of it That wise and Vertuous People are in the best Temper when they approach unto God because their Devotions are mixt with fair Opinions of him and with sincere Affections towards him These you will think were great things for an Heathen to say and so they were But we find by constant Experience that 't is natural for us to Hate those we are Afraid of and Nature will work after the same manner when we have to do with God if we conceive of him under such scaring notions as to believe him to be a Sowre Harsh Angry and Tyrannical Being Such Qualities are very Hateful they create Horror and Aversion but 't is impossible for them to beget any Love and therefore they must be utterly incompatible with the Glories and Excellencies of God whose Mercy is over all his Works and who sheweth his Almighty Power most chiefly by doing works of Pity and Compassion and to entertain such apprehensions of him as are a disparagement to his great Goodness is the ready way to bring us to the condition of those old Pagans who Worship'd Evil Doemons meerly for Fear lest they should Hurt them I deny not but there may be some Kind and Measure of Love in those who look upon God as a stern and rigorous Being if they can but perswade themselves into a Belief that God is so Partial to Their Souls as to make them his particular Favourites by a fixt and unconditional Decree But this degree and sort of Love is meerly a Passion of the Sensitive Soul raised by the power of Fancy because the Belief of this absolute purpose towards Them in particular wanteth the Authority of Divine Revelation Rational Affection or that Love towards God which is necessary to make all our performances a reasonable Service is quite another thing It is a fervour of Heart excited by the rational Faculty the Understanding upon full and clear Conviction of the Mind out of the Word of God which Conviction is wrought by the frequent Account we find in the Holy Scriptures touching the intrinsick Excellence and Goodness of God's Nature and touching his great Love and relative Goodness towards all Mankind This is the proper true Ground of that Divine Love I have spoken of and Ardent and Genuine affection of the Heart which the consideration of God's Universal Goodness is apt to kindle in the Soul of every Man who is not conscious of any willful and gross Wickedness which maketh him afraid of the Justice of God AS far as Nature could help them the wiser and more considerate Heathens attained to the Love of God by those weak discoveries they had of the Divine Goodness There are says Seneca de Ira lib. 2. cap. 27. Some things which cannot Hurt they are so Beneficent and Succouring in their Nature as the immortal Gods which neither will nor can be Mischievous because their Nature is Mild and Gentle He speaks in the Plural Number to gratifie the Humour of those Times but he means that one Supream God whom the more Intelligent Pagans Worshipp'd nay Worshipp'd with Affection as Seneca saith elsewhere de Benef. lib. 4. cap. 19. No Man in his right Senses will be horribly afraid of God because it is madness to Dread that which is Beneficial nor can any Man Love that object which they Fear after that manner Accordingly Maximus Tyrius tells us That the truly Religious Man is the Friend of God or one that loves God and that he is therefore Happy because he is a lover of God Dissert 4. Such considerable Notions those observing Men had of the Goodness of God as naturally produced great Affection to him And if we Christians who have besides the Book of Nature the Divine Writings would but attentively consider by what we read in them what a great lover of Souls that most Perfect Being is and what various Methods he hath used to save all our Souls from Perishing Everlastingly it would be the most Astonishing thing in the World if such considerations did not render him the most indearing Object since the very Publicans loved those who loved them nay since the very Ox knoweth his Owner and the Ass his Master 's Cribb 2dly HAVING thus shewed the proper way of Acquiring the Love of God I proceed now to consider how we are to Express it And that our Practice as to this may be Regular we must note what indeed is clear to all Men from the natural Operations of this Affection that Love excites us powerfully to these three Things 1st To observe the Will 2dly To resemble the Temper And 3dly To desire the Fruition of the Object we have an Ardent Affection for FIRST True Love makes us observe ones Pleasure seeing this Affection is made up of Esteem and Honour in the Judgment and of Complacency in the Heart a ready Compliance of the Will must be the next thing because this is only the Paying of that Deference which we Conceive to be Due and an Act of Respect whereby we are willing and delighted to Oblige In all Cases it makes us to be yielding But when it comes to be a Divine Love and hath the Blessed God for its Object it cannot but engage us to Entire and Universal Obedience because the Soul hath God's Soveraign Authority in its Eye besides those Beauties and Excellencies of his Nature which are so Amiable and so Powerful in their Influence God being the sole Governour of the World that hath a right to give Laws to our Souls and a Power to Dispose of them we are indispenfibly Obliged to make his Will when once it is Revealed the Rule and Measure of our Actions And the Necessity of this adds a mighty force to those Inclinations which Love alone createth evermore in the Mind to clasp with his Holy and Righteous Precepts Hence it is that the Scripture interprets Obedience as the only Sign and Argument of a Divine Love I will shew Mercy unto Thousands of them that Love me and keep my Commandments saith God Exod. 20. 6. If ye Love me keep my Commandments saith Christ Job 14. 15. This is the Love of God that we keep his Commandments saith the Divine Apostle 1 Joh. 5. 3.