Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A51603
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Truths in a true light, or, A pastoral letter to the reformed Protestants in Barbados vindicating the Non-Conformists from the misrepresentations commonly made of them, in that island and other places : and demonstrating that they are indeed the truest and soundest part of the Church of England / from Francis Mackemie.
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Mackemie, Francis.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing M308; ESTC R31151
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20,261
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41
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uppermost they are as severe as any The former is natural for all men that when they are mastered or like to be conquered they cry out for Quarter and plead moderation as we find the Church of England shewed as much of it as any when there was occasion and ground for it What condescensions and fair promises did they allow K. Charles II. to make yea and to take the Coronation Oath of Scotland to maintain Presbyterian Government there and also to give Solemn Protestations at Breda to Dissenters of England confirmed by a Declaration for Liberty to all tender Consciences but soon after the Restoration all was violated and soon forgot The next time they were under any fears was at the Discovery of the Grand Popish Plot and fresh pretences for moderation were then Published but continued not long ending in a Sham plot and a new Persecution And the next trouble the Church of England was in was when the Seven Bishops were in the Tower only for refusing to engage upon their Honours to answer at the K Bench to what should be objected against them and then in their Petition to the late K they professed a great deal of tenderness to Dissenters and about the time of the Prince of O. his landing all their Discourse was of Vnion and Comprehension and afterwards confirmed it by an Address and their Majesties promised to endeavour an Agreement between the Church of England and Protestant Dissenters and in adhering to his Royal Promise and design first secured to Dissenters an established Liberty and soon after issued forth a Commission founded on the Preface to the Common Prayer which the Convocation after they were secured and safe from their late fears and troubles took no further notice of but in opposition to all their lately professed tenderness refused to part with one indifferent Ceremony in obedience to their Majesties Authority or for Vnion with Dissenters That the God of all Grace would bless the World with a better Spirit is the Prayer of Sirs Your devoted Servant in all Civility FRANCIS MACKEMIE Barbades December 28. 1697. POSTSCRIPT AMong the misrepresentadons of the principles and practices of the Presbyterians in this Island I cannot for bear taking special notice of one because it strikes so very deep into the Vitals of Religion 'T is that the Doctrine of Election and Reprobation as taught by the rigid Presbyterians of the Kiâ—k of Scotland is contrary to the Word of God and a great discouragement to Piety Tho' I owe not my birth but a part of my Education only to that Kingdom yet having read many of their Books heard several of their Ministers for several years on all Doctrines of the Christian Religion and having alwayes with me their Confession of Faith their Catechisms with many found and excellent Treatises I do profess my self fully of their Sentiments in this and all other Doctrines of Faith and in Gods strength shall never swerve nor prevaricate And in their behalf do profess and declare they hold no Predestination but what is maintained in all the Calvinist Reformed Churches abroad and by all the Presbyterians in England and Ireland and further the same which is held and maintained by the Estabeished Church of England If I prove this I hope you will own they have been palpably misrepresented And that I may effectually and undenyably do it I shall first lay down the Doctrine of the Church of Scotland both from their Catechisms and Confession of Faith In their Shorter Catechism learned taught by many in the Church of England they teach That the Decrees of God are the eternal Counsel of his will whereby for his own Glory he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass In their larger Catechism they are some-what fuller and teach that the Decrees of God are the wise free and holy acts of the Counsel of his Will whereby from all Eternity he hath for his own Glory unchangeably foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time especially concerning Angels and Men And in the following Q they further teach That God by an eternal and immutable Decree out of his meer Love for the Praise of his Glorious Grace to be manifested in due time hath Elected some Angels to Glory and in Christ hath chosen some men unto Eternal Life and the means thereof and according to his Sovereign power and the unsearcheable Counsel of his Will whereby he extendeth or with holdeth favour as he pleaseth hath passed by and fore-ordained the rest to dishonour and wrath to be for their Sin inflicted to the praise of his Justice And what is for our purpose in their Confession of Faith is this 3d. Parag. By the Decrees of God for the manifestation of his Glory some Men and Angels are Predestinated unto everlasting Life and others sore-ordained to everlasting Death 4. Those Angels and Men thus predestinated fore ordained to everlasting Life are particularly and unchangeably designed and their number so certain and definite that it cannot be either encreased or diminished 5. Those of mankind that are predestinated unto Life God before the Foundation of the World was laid according to his eternal and immutable purpose and the secret Counsel and good pleasure of his Will hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting Glory out of his meer free grace and love without any fore-sight of Faith or good Works or perseverance in either of them or any other thing in the Creature as Causes or Conditions moving him thereunto and all to the praise of his glorious Grace 6 As God hath appointed the Elect unto Glory so hath he by the Eternal and most free purpose of his Will fore-ordained all the means thereunto wherefore they who are Elected being fallen in Adam are redeemed by Christ are effectually called unto Faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due season are Justifyed Adopted and Sanctifyed and kept by his power through Faith unto Salvation neither are any other redeemed by Christ Effectually Justifyed Adopted Sanctifyed Saved but the Elect only 7. The rest of mankind God was pleased according to the unsearchable Counsel of his own Will whereby he extendeth or with holdeth mercy as he pleaseth for the glory of his Sovereign power over his Creatures to pass by and ordain them to Dishonour and Wrath for their Sin to the praise of his glorious Justice 8. The Doctrine of this high Mystery of Predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care that men attending the will of God revealed in his Word and yielding obedience thereunto may from the certainty of their Effectual Vocation be assured of their Eternal Election So shall this Doctrine afford matter of Praise Reverence and Admiration and of humility diligence and abundance of consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel Let any man make it appear that this is not the unanimous Doctrine of the Church of Scotland and that they teach any other Doctrine disagreeing hereunto Et erit mihi magnus Apollo I must
confess I have oft heard how some upon all occasions have bitterly run at the Doctrine of Predestination as if none maintained such a Doctrine but we And a Minister of your Island called it A damnable Doctrine and I now justly wonder to receive such a Character of Predestination from some that it is contrary to the word of God and a great discouragement to Piety Therefore I am now to produce the received and approved Doctrine of the Church of England concerning Predestination since the Reformation to this Day and shall begin with the 39 Articles agreed upon in a Convocation held at London 1552 in the Reign of Edw 6 and requently renewed ratifyed in the following Reigns and continued the established Doctrine of the Church to this day which Dissenters with some allowed exceptions subscribe as their own Doctrine as a legal qualification for our Liberty I wish you would read and consider again the 17th Article Viz. Predestination to life is the everlasting purpose of God whereby before the foundations of the World were laid he hath constantly decreed by his Counsel secret to us to deliver from curse damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ Jesus out of mankind and to bring them by Christ to everlasting Salvation as vessels made to honour wherefore they that be endued with so Excellent a benefit of God be called according to Gods purpose by his Spirit working in due season they through Grace obey the calling they be Justifyed freely they be made Sons of God by Adoption they be made like the Image of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ they walk religiously in good works and at length by Gods mercy they attain to everlasting felicity As the Godly consideration of Predestination and our Election in Christ is full of sweet pleasant and unspeakable comfort to Godly persons and such as feel in themselves the workings of the Spirit of Christ mortifying the works of the flesh and their earthly members and drawing up their mind to high heavenly things as well because it doth establish and confirm their Faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth frequently kindle their Love towards God so for curious and carnal persons lacking the Spirit of Christ to have continually before their eyes the sentence of Gods Predestination is a most dangerous downfall whereby the Devil doth thrust them either to desperation or into wretchlessness of most unclean living no less perilous than desperation Furthermore we must receive Gods promises in such wise as they be generally set forth to us in the holy Scriptures and and in our doings that will of God is to be followed which we have expressly declared to us in the word of God And as to the sense of this Article take it from the Learned of the Church of England Dr. Whitaker in his Cygne a Cantio pag. 16 17. Dr. Bridges stiles this The chiefest Article of the Church in Doctrine Mr Thomas Rogers in his Analysis bound up formerly with the Articles Dr. Thysins in his Commentary on Lambeth Articles sully explain this Article raise these conclusions from it 1. That there is a Predestination of certain men to eternal Life a preterition predestination or Reprobation of certain men unto Death 2. That this Predestination is no manifest no open Decree into the grounds causes of which every mean capacity may dive but a hidden purpose counsel or decree of God which is kept secret from us 3. That this Predestination to life is from Eternity 4. That it is altogether immutable and unchangeable as God himself This is the established Doctrine which all the Clergy of the Church of England subscribe or assent unto at Ordination The next demonstration and discovery of the Doctrine of the Church in this point is from the Lambeth Articles agreed upon at Lambeth House by John Arch-bishop of Canterbury Richard Bishop of London Richard Bishop of Bangor D◠Tindall Dean of Elie Dr. Whitaker professor of Divinity at Cambridge with several learned Divines of the Church with the approbation of Matthew Arch-Bishop of York composed at first in Latin and sent to the University of Cambridge to prevent and crush some Arminian Controversies that were beginning to be raised there yet I shall give you in English Four of Nine that relate to Predestination never yet impeached or rejected by the Church as inconsistent with the 39 Articles but inserted in the Ireland Articles and allowed of in the conference at Hampton Court 1. God from eternity hath Predestinated certain men unto Life certain men he hath Predestinated or reprobated unto Death 2. The moving and efficient cause of Predestination unto Life is not the fore sight of Faith or Perseverance or good works or of any thing in the persons Predestinated but only in the good will and pleasure of God 3. There is a Predestinate number of Predestinate which can neither be augmented nor diminished 4. Those who are not Predestinated unto Salvation are necessarily damned for their Sins This is more plain and particular than any thing I have heard taught by Presbyterians and yet it is the Doctrine of the Church of England The next Testimony from that Church for Predestination is the Articles of Ireland agreed upon by the Arch-Bishops Bishops and the Clergy of that Kingdom in a Convocation held at Düblin 1615. seeing they were English Divines and a part of the English Church under one King they were received approved and licensed by the Government as agreeable to the 39. Articles and also those of Lambeth therefore I shall record out of them what concerns Predestination or the Decrees of God Art 11 God from all eternity did by his unchangeable Counsel ordain whatsoever in time should come to pass yet so as thereby no violence is offered to the wills of the reasonable Creatures and neither the Liberty nor Contingency of Second causes is taken away but established rather 12. By the same eternal Counsel God hath Predestinated some unto Life and Reprobated some unto Death of both which there is a certain number known only to God which can neither he encreased nor diminished 13. Predestination unto Life is the everlasting purpose of God whereby before the foundations of the World were laid he hath constantly decreed in his Secret Counsel to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind and to bring them by Christ to everlasting Salvation as vessels made unto honour 14. The cause moving God to Predestinate is not the fore-seeing of Faith or Perseverance or Good Works or of any thing in the persons Predestinated but only the good pleasure of God himself for all things being ordained for the manifestation of his Glory and his Glory being to appear both in the works of his Mercy Justice it seemed good unto his heavenly wisdom to choose out a certain number toward whom he would extend his undeserved Mercy leaving the