ABSOLUTE Election of Persons Not upon foreseen Conditions STATED and MAINTAINED In some Sermons preach'd at Hartford With some ANIMADVERSIONS on some Pelagian Passages in a Book entituled Vulgar Erros in Divinity removed written by Mr. Ralph Battell present Minister at St. Alhallows in Hartford By WILL. HAWORTH Servant of Jesus Christ in the Ministry of his Gospel Rom. 11.6 If it be of Works it is no more of Grace if Grace no more Works c. LONDON Printed for the Author and are to be sold at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1694. THE PREFACE TO THE READER THE Lord who hath determined the Bounds of our Habitation Acts 17.26 having cast my Lot at Hartford where I have continued in the Ministry of the Gospel above twenty Years yet not without Interruption and having from the time of my Conversion received in the Doctrine of Election much sweet and pleasant Comfort to my Soul as the Church of England's Phrase is speaking of it in the 17th Article I have been a constant Preacher of it and not without various Effects to several Hearers it hath been as the Apostles speak of their Doctrine 2 Cor. 2.16 A Savour of Life unto Life to others a Savour of Death unto Death Some that at first through Novelty stumbled at it now rejoice to hear it preached Others have so stumbled at it through Ignorance Conceitedness and Prejudice that to this day they have not recovered themselves Some forsook our Meetings and turned Quakers upon hearing of this Doctrine the now George Keith a chief Preacher among them owns the Doctrine of Election of a definite Number of Persons that shall infallibly be saved The Church-of England-Professors in Hartford are as far as I can learn most-what prejudiced against it tho it is owned so plainly in their Articles of Religion and no wonder when one of their Teachers is such an Enemy to it witness his slender Book entituled Vulgar Errors in Divinity removed printed 1683. wherein he doth with Bullets of Glass batter the Brazen Mountains of the absolute Decrees of the Supreme Soveraign Zech. 6.1 Who giveth not an account of any of his matters Job 33.13 but this Man impudently disputes with God contrary to that in Rom. 9.20 and arraigns his Creator saying Why hast thou made me thus and yet P. 8. confesseth God might have made him as to his Temporal Being a Dog a Hog or poisonous Serpent and bethinks himself and modestly in his Preface faith If his Superiours think he is in an Error he will disown it I am confident the late Reverend Bishop Barlow of Lincoln would have branded the Book had the read it as fulsome Pelagianism In the fifth Page he writes And what he saith to Moses is most equal I will have Mercy on whom I will have Mercy Thanks be to the Gentleman for that ingenous Judgment upon Jehovah's Dealings But now hear his own Comment that is It belongs to me to appoint upon what Terms I will shew Mercy and justify Men whether by the Law of Faith or by Works For as he that builds an Hospital hath an equitable Right to appoint the Qualifications of the Persons that shall partake in this Gift whether poor Children or Widows aged Persons or the like so it belongs to God to appoint upon what Terms he will justify me it should be Elect for of that he is treating whether by the Law of Works or Faith It is evident by this that the Author is for Election upon Conditional Terms and Qualifications and that it is a vulgar Error viz. Free Election of Persons unto Qualifications The Phrase shewing Mercy in this Paragraph can be no otherwise interpreted but of Election tho he adds the word justify to it Foreseen Faith according to this Author is the Cause of God's Election and that Faith must surely be accompanied all a Man's days with good Works else it is not true Faith so that Election is upon Works as much as Faith and there is no Election but at the utmost Period of a Man's Life Against this Arminian vulgar Error do I militate in the following Sheers wherein the Reader will I question not find sufficient Armoury against it As for absolute Reprobation no wonder the Author is against that whenas he is against absolute Election But that God of his own Will and Pleasure and for no other Cause should decree to damn any which this Author upbraids us withal was never asserted by any Divines that ever I read but they constanâ—â—y uno Ore affirm That God hath from Eternity determined to condemn Man of Sin persisting therein to the end of his days in Unbelief 2. They are all in one Mind That no Man whoever but sins freely when he sins notwithstanding the Decree to permit Sin Now it is no Injustice in God to condemn Man for final sinning and Impenitency therein nor to decree so to do from Eternity tho withal we say the desert of Sin is not the Cause of the Purpose and Decree it self And let them quarrel with us for that Thomas Aquinas a great School-man shall answer for us long since he writ viz. He is mad that saith there can be any Cause of the Divine Will that which is in Time cannot be the Cause of that which is eternal the Cause must exist before the Effect The foresight of the future Sin of Man in time before it hath Existence cannot have a causal Influence upon the eternal Will of God Neither can God fore-see any thing future before he had will'd it to be There could have been no Evil in the World if he had not decreed to permit it That the Decree of Damnation should precede the Decree of permitting Sin our Divines do not say but one of them saith This is the Order which God takes in his Decrees Dr. Twiss in his Answer to Hoard Book 2. p. 30. God at once decrees both to create Men and suffer them to fall in Adam and to bring them forth in their several Generations into the World and to bestow the Grace of Faith and Repentance upon one sort and so to save them and to deny the same Grace unto others permitting them to go on finally in their sinful Courses and so to condemn them for Sin and all to manifest the Glory of Mercy in one and the Glory of Justice on the other yea and his Soveraignty too But wherein not in rewarding the one with Salvation and inflicting Damnation on the other but only in giving Grace to the one and not to the other What fault can be found in this Order of God's Decrees Why should this Author exclaim and say that we make God to ruine the Innocent and make him like the Devil Pag. 8. to be a Murderer from the beginning These are but old cankered Pelagian Cavils against the Cause of God that will have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy and whom he will he hardens and yet is righteous How do we make God to
ruin the Innocent whenas we heartily declare that God never determined to ruin any but for Sin and never did execute his Will and Determination and so actually ruin any but for Sin contumaciously continued in to the end And is this to ruin the Innocent When the Decree was made Man was neither nocent nor innocent for the Creature had no Existence before the Creation nothing had a Being but the Decree and so that of Reprobation had a Being before the World was The Nature of God he saith cannot come so nigh the Nature of the Devil as to be a Murderer from the beginning intimating that by our Doctrine we make God to be like Satan a Murderer from the beginning But I doubt not but this Author will by this Crimination make himself like Satan a Liar and false Accuser of the Brethren Ad triarios ventum est Cannot we defend our selves Satan was the moral Cause of Eve's sinning and so of Destruction Did we ever say that God was the moral Cause of Eve's sinning I trow not And then how can he be said to be the Murderer He that is not Causa Causae how can he be said to be Causa causati Is the Judg that passes Sentence upon a Criminal a Murderer or the Sheriff that executes the Sentence We profess constantly steadily that God never did sentence any to Death but for final Sin we are speaking of the Adult neither did he decree any to Hell but for final Impenitency in Sin much less doth he execute any inflict Death eternal upon them but for persevering obstinately in Sin to the end of their days without Repentance And to say that the Judg of the Earth in executing Judgment upon Sinners is to make him like the Devil is Monstrum horrendum c. This is all that can be laid to our Charge that God denies Faith and Repentance to some which he gives to others and hath decreed so of his meer Will and Pleasure according to that in the 9th of the Romans He will have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy and whom he will he hardens not by infusing any Hardness into any but by not infusing Grace Is this to make God like Satan a Murderer Is Satan Sovereign Lord Hath he Power over the Creature as the Potter over the Clay But this Man doth apprehend God to be like Satan a Murderer because he wills to punish some for their Sin persisted in and because he will not give Faith and Repentance to all Who can think but he is for universal Salvation The Adversaries do much insist upon this Theam crying out that we render God cruel in this Point of absolute Reprobation One of them hath this strain 'T is contrary to sound Reason which cannot but argue such a Decree of extreme Cruelty c. But doth not sound Reason also argue the Prescience of God of as extreme Cruelty as this Doctrine of Reprobation and they cannot without offering Violence to the Light of Nature deny the Fore-knowledg of God and whatever Absurdity they would fasten upon us from our Tenet of absolute Reprobation shall necessarily divolve upon themselves in every respect if they preserve but the undeniable Doctrine of God's Prescience Another vulgar Error is concerning Free-will in Mr. Battell's Book why he should call the Calvinistical Tenets vulgar Errors is uncouth whenas the Pelagian Heresy sutes the Reason and Affections of all natural Men and is very plausible to the common People There is Popery and Pelagianism in every ones Belly by Nature whole Towns and Countries espouse this Harlot and wonder after her but strait is the Gate and narrow is the Way of Truth and few find it I have read over the Treatise of Free-will and find nothing but what is in Cardinal Bellarmine the Jesuit The Author describes Free-will in the same Terms with the Jesuit but how well does he agree with his Mother the Church of England hath he not undoubtedly spit in her Face while he contentedly sits in her Lap and sucks her Breasts Did he ever subscribe or swear to the tenth Article of Free-will is it not diametrically opposite to his Book Let the Reader judg The Condition of Man after the Fall is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself mark that by his own natural Strength and good Works to Faith and calling upon God wherefore we have no Power to do good Works pleasant and acceptable to God without the Grace of God by Christ preventing us Mark that that we may have a good Will But the Import of all this Treatise is viz. That there is a Free-will-in-fallen Man to spiritual and supernatural Acts tho indeed he calls it a remote Free-will to supernatural Acts that this Will of Man is not subject to the special Motion of God in the Act of Conversion so that the Grace of God is irresistably powerful P. 73. This as the Opinion of our Divines he disputes against that this Will is ready tho with some Remoteness to act with God's Grace and is as bent to chuse Good as to refuse and chuse Evil is not dead but sick and lame and this Power waits for God's Power that they may act evenly and jointly in the working out of Salvation pag. 81. And that Man's Will together with the Grace of God casts the Scale in Conversion not to wrong him he saith Grace hath the chiefest Stroke in it pag. 91. But which of them moveth first he saith not and surely the first Mover hath the greatest Stroke Now Bradwerdine asserts God to be the first Mover in all Actions and it 's most consonant to right Reason and if in all then surely in good Actions He hath it 's true mentioned preventing Grace In pag. 77. he is there setting forth the difference betwixt one dead naturally and one spiritually dead and the first difference is this viz. The one is capable of preventing Grace and the other is not but is not he that is naturally dead as capable of the miraculous preventing Power of God in raising him up from that kind of Death to Life as he that is spiritually dead is capable of Grace preventing to convert him And must not this Grace as really go before Conversion in Order of Nature at least as the other miraculous Power precedes the Resurrection or quickening of him that is naturally dead He saith one may be raised by Means the other only by Miracles we query what those Means are External only or Internal i. e. infusing of spiritual Life as a Principle and is not this a Miracle Job 5.25 compared with 28. there you plainly perceive there is as much Power exerted in raising the spiritually as the naturally dead but the Author supposeth external Means only according to that he writes p. 79. Efficacious Grace is nothing but Perswasion which doth not determine the Will This is noisom Pelagianism Our Opinion is plainly this and we have Boldness in the Truth viz. In our Conversion Free-will
is neither a total or partial Cause pre-operant co-operant but the passive Subject recipient of that Vim Gratiae verticordiam as Austin called it the changing Power of Grace The Will in Conversion is neither a free Agent nor natural Agent but an obedient Subject of the efficacious Grace of God This we are ready to maintain All the Author's Arguments are in Bellarmine Pelagius Arminius and fully answered by Bradwerdine Twiss Ames and Davenant a Bishop of the Church of England Is 't not pity that this Dish of twice sodden Coleworts should be made ready and set on the Table for the poisoning of so many Souls making them lazy proud and hypocritical Without an Answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to lay open the Fallacies and Absurdities of this vulgar Error it may be done in season In the Interim I offer a few things to manifest the Absurdities of this Tenet viz. The Power of Free-will co-operating with the Grace of God being a Partner with God in Conversion First See what Bellarmine saith of this matter The Concourse of God doth not impress or work any thing upon our Wills but immediately flows upon the Effects it is like to that of two carrying a great Stone which one of them singly cannot do the Will and God work together in one and the same moment of time but now mark the Author will not speak out so plainly but I suppose will not oppose the Cardinal yet God works because the Will works not on the contrary i. e. the Will works because God works because he did as it were oblige himself freely of his own accord when he created Free-will Now this is ingenuously spoken Against this we offer 1. This takes off from the Dominion of Providence and the efficacious Government of all the Operations of Human Will. 2. This takes away the Subordination of Second Causes to the First in their Operations 3. This makes Man not God's Subject but Companion not subordinate but equal to God 4. It makes the Gubernation and Directions of Human Actions and of whatsoever follows thereupon first and chiefly to depend upon Man's Free-will 5. It paints out God depending upon the nod and beck of Man in things of the highest Concernment 6. This Opinion inverts and subverts that Piety which God hath taught us in the Scripture James 4.15 which we should use our selves to in our Besolves viz. If the Lord will we will do this or that if Man will to do this or that 7. It is against not only Aristotle Augustine Aquinas and the Thomists and Jansenists but the very Trent-Roman-Catechism Art 8. Symb. n. 22. Deus Providentiâ suâ quae moventur agunt aliquid intimâ virtute ad Motum atque Actionem impellit God by his Providence doth impel with most intimate Power to Motion and Action all things that are moved and act any thing I cannot forbear adding as to the Description of Grace p. 72. It is Strength and Assistance from God to do something above Nature these Men think it enough when they speak or write of God's Actings of us to grant that he aids strengthens assists helps us Bellarmine argues thus The Scripture teacheth that we are helped of God in our Actions but he that doth nothing cannot properly be said to be holpen but he who labours in acting yet I remember that Christ healing the possessed casting out the Devils in which Men were meerly passive is called helping Mat. 15.25 Mark 9.22 Have Compassion and help us Lactantius long since did very well answer this of Bellarmine The Propriety of this word juvare help doth not hold forth to us Divine but only Human Help For Cicero interprets Jove and Juno to be called so from the word juvando to help and Jupiter is called so Juvans Pater the helping Father which Name doth not in the least sute God because to help belongs to Man bestowing something upon one that hath but little none doth so pray to God that he should help them but save them that he would bestow Life and Salvation upon them which is much more than to help And because we speak of a Father no Father is said to help his Sons when he begets them and brings them up this word is too light than that the Greatness of a Father's Bounty should be expressed by it How much more is it inconvenient and unbecoming God who is most truly our Father by whom we are whose we wholly are by whom we were made quickened inlightened c. He doth not understand the Divine Benefits that thinks himself only to be helped of God Therefore he is not only ignorant but wicked that by the word Jove doth impare diminish or lessen the Power of the Highest Now hear a few Queries that should be resolved by these Levellers Co-operators Coadjutors 1. Whether the Grace of Calling or the whole Work of God which he exerts to the converting of a Man be only moral only in perswading proposing inviting exhorting c. or also real and of proper Efficacy 2. Whether there be no Action of the Spirit acting immediately upon the Mind and Will which causeth us to believe but the proposing only of the things to be believed doth suffice to the begetting and bringing forth of Faith 3. Whether there be not the same manner of working as to the Efficacy of Grace in the quickening of the Intellect Affections and Will the Intellect and Affections being quickened in an irresistable but the Will in a resistable manner 4. Whether any other Powers are given to the Will to its Conversion besides the inlightening the Mind and the exciting the Affections 5. Whether besides the inlightening the Mind and the exciting the Affections Grace works any thing by way of Principle or antecedently unto Conversion but only accompanieth the Will already consenting 6. Whether there being all the Workings and Operations which God useth in the effecting Conversion in Men whether Conversion doth not always follow 7. When Conversion follows whether doth it follow and is effected by any Necessity of the Cause or Infallibility of the Event from the Intention and Action of God or only contingently and uncertainly as it pleased the indifferent Will of Man to incline it self Let these Queries be plainly answered A third vulgar Error is viz. That Christ died for the Elect only he is for universal Redemption Now this vulgar Error the Church of England is for with us for they are for the Election of Persons witness their 17th Article and it 's evident that these two Opinions are inconsistent viz. Election and universal Redemption As for those universal Terms he saith p. 101. the Church teacheth the Children in their Catechisms to answer viz. I believe in God the Son who redeemed us and all Mankind And that in her Collect for Good-friday she prays for the Conversion of Jews Turks and Infidels Indeed according to this Author's Opinion there needs no Prayer be made for them that have Power already in
Love holds as long as the Person holds God hath pitched his Love on thy Person therefore whatever hath been thy Hazard in the Way to eternal Life it is all but suffered for this End to make thee cleave to Christ in whom thy Strength is and to prize him and the Gospel the more Thou shalt never come into Condemnation tho thou may'st say God hath cast thee off I am but Reprobate Silver Why what is the matter why I have done Evil so and so why thy doing Good so and so was not the Cause of God's electing thee thy doing Evil is displeasing to him but his Love was not pitched upon thy doing so and so Well neither doth it cease when thou dost so and so Ill but if thou dost so he will bring thee by Weeping-cross because of his Love unto that eternal Glory to which he appointed thee Vse IV. That as to your Judgments ye would stand fast in this Doctrine viz. That God hath chosen Persons singular Persons and Means for them and will enable them to perform those Means believe repent and persevere and bring them infallibly to Glory Receive this and stand fast in it in this day when it is so much spoke against every where The other Doctrine as hath been said before casts great contempt upon the Godhead 1. To make God to be at the Will of the Creature is a very bad thing Now this is evident their Way by Election upon Conditions for according to them God that is the first Cause cannot determine of Love or Hatred whether the Man shall be elected or reprobated till such time as the Creature hath tried and so shewed whether he will chuse and embrace the Means or not he waits to see what the Creature will do before he determines any thing as to particular Persons It was so under the Law that if a Child or Wife had made a Vow without the Father's or Husband's Consent it was null and void Now to make God stand in the same Obedience to the Creature is a great Evil according to this Doctrine Man can make void all God's Desires and Ends that he hath as to particular Persons 2. Things wherein Contempt is cast upon the Godhead by this their Doctrine Bucer affirms that if any say there is any Good done which God doth not do he denies God for God is the Author of every good thing But now there is some Good done according to these by the Creature that is not done by God for it is Man makes that Love special which God made but common This is a Good done and makes those Means effectual which he did but leave at liberty and at the Will of Man Come to the Height and Critical Question Whether that which determined the Will and cast the Soul upon Christ by Faith and chuseth him be any thing on God's part or from it self If as they must say from it self he did it his Will determined the Business for that is the very thing we dispute about then some Good may be done which God doth not if from God on his part then we have done the Cause is ours 3. God cannot know who shall be saved and who not as to the Persons he cannot certainly know for there cannot be in God a Fore-knowledg of that which is uncertain but now nothing more uncertain than this what the Will of Man will do tho is hath the best Means God can give yet it must be left to its own Inclination how it will act otherwise the Nature of Free-will is destroyed according to them Now to say God doth not certainly foresee who shall be saved is to take away his Prescience and make him no God But the very Light of Nature will show you that God foresees all things 4. The Love of God is wronged mightily For what a Love is that worth Little be sure that doth not save a Man from Hell effectually that doth not effectually deliver him from the Danger he is in whenas he could very easily do it What Love had that Parent that seeing a Knife in the Hand of his Child and should know that his Child would certainly cut himself to Death with the Knife would so wound it self as to kill it self yet leaves the Child to it self to do as it will when as he could save the Child from killing it self satisfying it with some other thing as well as the Knife Now surely God is able to make our Wills consent and that infallibly and yet preserve their Freedom make us freely believe in Christ as he is able to raise from the dead create the World of nothing What Love then is that which is spoke of nothing but a poor low common Love that effects nothing You see God is abused by this Doctrine of the Adversaries 5. It wrongs the Soveraignty of God He may not do with his own as he pleaseth but according to the Law of distributive Justice He is bound up to such a Rule to respect Persons to give what is due to very one what he deserves Mat. 20.15 Is it not for me to do with may own as I will 6. It wrongs the Wisdom of God For according to this Man is not made to a certain End Now what wise Man is there but makes every thing he makes to some certain End or else God makes Man to such an End as he cannot attain without his Good-will 7. It takes off from the Grace of God for he gives eternal Life only for a Life of Faith and Works it is not Grace every way and so no way 8. It 's against his Perfection God wills that which shall never be giving them Conditions with a Desire they all may be saved and yet they are not saved and that befals God which he would not have come to pass viz. that any are reprobated and damned Is this for God's Perfection 9. It makes God changeable God's Will was that all shall be saved and thereupon gave them Means Preaching and Scripture or Light of Nature helped by the Works of Creation and Providence but upon their not fulfilling those Conditions of Faith and Perseverance he casts them off reprobates them is not this then a Change to love and hate the same Persons in a small time to elect and reprobate the same Persons 10. It makes God's governing the World to be in Weakness For his Government according to this Doctrine of Conditions is ordered according to the inconstant Mind of Man sometimes he hath this End to glorify his Mercy if Men accept believe obey sometimes to glorify his Wrath when Men refuse thus he is unsteady weak in his Goverment it makes as if God had not without depending upon Man determined from Eternity how his Mercy and Wrath should both be glorified 11. The Omnipotency of God is greatly wronged in this thing it makes Man stronger than God tho God puts forth all his Power yet if Man will he can refuse and disobey surely if God really
it 's said Rom. 11.7 the Election hath obtaiâ—… but now what Conditions did these Infants fulfil of obeying and perâ—â—â—â—ing when as they were cut off before they were capable of doing any thing or using any Means and God had decreed and determined them unto Death in their Infancy Remember now that elect Infants dying in Infancy make but one Body together with us of those that shall be saved Here are some elected without Conditions 3. Reason The Number of those that shall be saved is certain the Number can neither be increased or decreased added to or taken from there is a Book of Life spoke of in Scripture Rev. 20.15 it is a figurative Speech borrowed from Men it signifies the unchangeable Purpose of God in giving Salvation to some now as it is among Men Names are written in Books so the Names of them that shall be saved are in God's Mind and known to him certain as if they were written in a Book now this Book is so kept that none that are written here can be blotted out nor any written that are not already written from Eternity ther fore this is given as a Reason why some Men stood and persevered in Apostaâ—izing Times when others fell it was this their Names were written in this Book i. e. God had chosen them they must stand their Names could not be blotted out Rev. 13.8 All that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him and whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World Rev. 21. ult None shall enter into the City new Jerusalem but they that are written in the Lamb's Book of Life that Number written there and none but that Number shall be saved Rev. 20.15 And whosoever was not found written in the Book was cast into the Lake of Fire All went to Hell but they not any added to them the Number is definite Mat. 24.24 it 's said if it were possible the very Elect But if it were upon Condition that Men are elected this could not be for thâ—s â— are tendered to aâ—l Men and sufficient Means to believe and they have Power to believe or not then the Number must increase or decrease as they believe or not persevere or fall off to day there are more tomorrow less more again â—nd â—ess again as Men will hold on or not the Election of a definite certain Number to which not one can be added nor taken from doth diametrically oppose the Election of Conditions which all must be under equally and no onâ—â—eparated from the rest 4. If Election was upon Conditions if we believe and repent and persevere then would he have given Means to all to have known those Conditions else vâ—r little Love in God to set Terms upon which all Men may be saved and yet not to let all Men know these Terms now it is clear from Scripture that none knows the way to Eternal Life but those that have the preaching of the Gospel or the reading of the Scripture Rom. 1.16 it 's said of the Gospel it is the Power of God to Salvation to every one that believes for therein is the Righteousness of God revealed from Faith to Faith here is the Reason he tells after what the Gentiles could attain to by their Helps it was only to know there was a Godhead full of Power and Wisdom but they could not reach this to understand the Righteousness of God and how the Just should live by Faith and depend upon another for Salvation and receive the Righteousness of God 1 Cor. 1.21 it 's said the World by Wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe Acts 11.18 Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted Repentance unto Life This was when the Apostles came among them and preached to them till then notwithstanding all their Helps they were in Darkness and in the shadow of Death 5. To elect upon Conditions is to turn the Grace of God into a Covenant of Works and to put us into that Covenant This makes a Covenant of Works viz. That there is a Condition of Life given to us and it lies upon our Hands to do it we are to perform it be it what it will if we are to do it for Life the Condition to Adam was Do this and live but now it is Believe and live but it is all one as if he had said Do and live in case that our Election depends upon it The Article is changed only or the Act to be done but the Obligation and manner of Treaty is the same it lies upon us to do it otherwise we shall not have the Election of God or Salvation Object But we have Faith given us Answ This makes not a difference this alters it not to say we have Power given us or the Grace of Faith to believe for so had Adam Power given him to do whatever God should command or did command this Power he had given him before he sinned all his Abilities were given him with his Being from God so that they did not arise as some think I say his Abilities whereby he was to walk upon Terms of Justice did not arise from his natural Principle Thirdly Now hear the Inconveniences that follow upon their Doctrine that seems so plausible if you believe and persevere then God chuses you if you perform the Conditions he elects them first then Persons as they fall under them 1. This is against the Perfection of God for to will upon a Condition is but an imperfect Act of the Will it is but a Velleity a wishing or woulding because whatever is willed upon a Condition is willed disjunctively either I will do or I will not do it Now to say God doth imperfectly will is not becoming God who can do what he will do it only saves God's Credit however it falls out but it sutes not his Greatness and Goodness to wish a thing that is never accomplished 2. It doth not sute the Wisdom of God to proceed from Generals to Specials first he wills Conditions and then Men as they fall under these Conditions particular Persons as they fulfil them This argues Weakness in God's Knowledg as if he knew not who they should be before-hand 3. It makes void all Election of Persons thus their Election runs viz. He that believes shall be saved what needs any more except God's Fidelity be suspected If a Prince should say all Rebels that come in shall be pardoned what need any more mentioning of Persons except you will not give Credit to the Prince there needs no Act of Pardon to be granted when they do come in all that do come in enjoy their Pardon and it is not given them by any new Act except there be cause to suspect the Prince's or Magistrate's Fidelity There is no cause at all to suspect that God will not keep his Word and make it good for he hath said whosoever believes shall
be elected there needs no Election of particular Persons afterwards 4. It will not sute the Government of God to have his Will depend upon Man's frail fickle Will and that in the highest Things that concern his Glory to wait upon Man's Will to lacky it after Man's Will and be determined by it 5. It 's against the Nature of a Decree the Decree of Election is a severing some from others as it 's said in Scripture many are called few chosen Mat. 20.16 the Election obtains it the rest are hardened Rom. 11. See here they are distinct from others but now it belongs to all to be under a Condition viz. if you believe 6. This will follow upon it then those that are elected may be damned and those that are for the present Reprobate and do not fulfil the Condition may afterward fulfil the Condition and be elected and saved which is ridiculous and clean contrary to the whole Current of Scripture 7. If God chuses Conditions and not Persons until such time as they fulfil those Conditions then Christ is made a King without a Kingdom a Shepherd without a Flock a Husband without a Spouse a Head without Members a Saviour without a Body a Prophet tho he reveals not God's Will to any a Priest tho none be reconciled for it is possible none of these Conditions may be fulfilled 8. Yea this supposeth a Power in Man as to his own Conversion that it lies in him whether he will turn or no be converted or not be converted tho God hath done what is fitting for him and tho he hath done what he can do according to the Rule which he hath appointed to work by 9. It supposeth a Falling from Grace 10. It supposeth plainly Justification by Works for if a Man is elected if he continues in Faith and Obedience then is he also justified by Works The Consequence is easy Object 1. John 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth should not perish c. Now they form the Objection thus there is a Love of God common to all the World that upon Condition they do believe they may be saved therefore no difference of Persons only as they believe or not believe This they say it proves that God gives Christ for this End that every one might be elected if he would believe 1. The first Answer might be as to the word World here it is the Elect of God and this word is so used in other places God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself 2 Cor. 5. John 17. that the World may believe that thou hast sent me 2. Doth not the Text speak of our fallen Estate for it speaks of perishing but surely God did not then begin to elect when Man was fallen no the Fall of Man was decreed as a Means unto the Accomplishment of the Election what was done against the second Adam Christ was done by the determined Counsel of God Acts 4.28 so as to the first Adam all was decreed God who is infinitely wise and governs to accomplish his own End would not let Sin be in the World but that he knew how to make Grace abound thereby Grace began to appear at the Fall broke out was manifested thereby but Grace was given us in Christ before the World began 2 Tim. 1.9 therefore before God did consider or think of any thing or had any thing in his eye of what was done in the World by us 3. This Scripture tells you that what God did he did out of Love God so loved the World Now this Love of God must either be natural Affection in him or else it must be a Decree Natural it was not for then it must extend to all to the Devil and his Angels as well as to Men those that conceive that there is naturally in God an Affection unto those that are in Misery must needs conceive that Affection to be as well to the Devil and his Angels which were in greater Misery than Men as well as unto Men themselves no it cannot be that for those Affections that are in Men are to be ruled by Reason and their Will so are God's Affections likewise So that the Love spoke of here is God's Electing Love Love in his Decree Love with Choice 4. So loved It is the greatest highest Love God could show to us nothing able to parallel it nothing that can go beyond it so it is said Rom. 5.8 God commendeth his Love to us in that Christ was sent to die for us i. e. he could not have set out his Love more to us In this was manifested the Love of God to us because that God sent his only begotten Son that we might live through him 1 John 4.9 This Love is made equal to that Love that he gave Eternal Life by therefore it must be electing Love the highest Love now to elect upon Conditions is not the highest Love it 's greater Love to elect without a Condition than to elect after the Condition is fulfilled Object 2. If particular Persons be elected then they shall certainly be saved their Salvation is necessary and if it be necessary what need any Endeavours what need Men use the Means who shall be saved and it cannot be otherwise but Election makes it necessary that those Persons be saved and so takes away Endeavours we may live as we list Answ There is a double Necessity 1st Of Nature as a Stone that goeth downward and a Necessity of Compulsion when things are made to act against their own Nature as Stones to move upwards to ascend this Necessity takes away all Endeavours 2d There is a Necessity of Infallibity or Unchangeableness and this stands with Freedom As for Example the Apostle Paul said he must go to Jerusalem and yet he went freely Christ ought to suffer it 's said the things he was appointed to and yet he did suffer very freely he laid down his Life very willingly When things are ordained to some End they are so ordained that that End shall certainly be accomplished So when God saith we shall obtain eternal Life through Holiness we shall be holy that we may attain thereunto Look into Scripture and ye shall find that notwithstanding the Salvation of the Saints hath been certain this hath been so far from taking them off Endeavours that it hath been as a great Weight upon the Wheel to make them very obedient their Obedience and Holiness hath not been slackned at all but increased by this viz. that God hath taken so much care of them in his Election that they should not come short of Glory but certainly obtain it Paul said Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect and who shall condemn and who shall separate Rom. 8.33 34. And yet who more diligent than he abounding in Goodness and stirring up others thereunto his Spirit too big to be enticed with the Pleasures that are in Sin to sin against