them with eternall torments This therefore must firmely be resolved vpon that al those things which are brought to passe either by God he himselfe effecting them or which are done by other by his permission are not exempt from his providence but are brought to passe by his iust iudgement And God seeing he is the onely and soveraigne goodnes could not but make man good at the first and like vnto himselfe For every piece of worke vsually is like and correspondent to the workeman because that every cause bringeth forth an effect like it selfe So that it is often seene that a good cause generally and naturally bringeth forth a good effect and an evill cause likewise an evill and corrupt effect But when God by his eternall and vnchangeable decree had appointed mankind for the manifestation partly of his mercy and partly of his iustice it was therefore necessary that man should be created such a one by God as should be meete and fit to attayne vnto those ends for which he was created Therefore although man were created by God good and without sinne yet notwithstanding he was created good and without sinne in such sort that of good he might become evill otherwise God could have neither manifested nor exercised his iustice nor mercy in him and those ends which were fore-knowne and appoynted of God from everlasting had fallen to the ground and had not come to their proper effect and purpose Man therefore was to be created of God not necessarily good but changeably so that in respect of the things that happened in his way he might be changed and become otherwise But if he had bene created necessarily and vnchangeably good he had been rather a God then a creature For vnchangeablenesse in it selfe is the propriety of God alone and cannot be found in any creature which alone is or may be changed But God only is one and the same alwayes constant ever like himselfe and is never changed And howsoever the holy Angels are already and holy men shall be in the world to come placed in such degree of goodnes as that they may by no meanes fall from it into the contrary yet in both these this vnchangeablenes is not a naturall propriety but is and shall be the free gift and benefite of God Moreover God was not the proper author of this change in man from God to evill For he created man such an one that if he would himselfe he might have remayned without sinne For as his will was made free by God so he also of his owne accord without any outward constraint or compulsion chose the evill that was forbidden by God and by choosing that did contrary to the will of God and so sinned But if God should have made that change in man from good to evill certainely he should have been no lesse accounted the cause of the evill then if he had created it from the beginning For if he had eyther constreyned man to do evill by some forced and violent motion or by any other meanes inclined his will to this evill certaynely God himselfe had sinned together with man yea had sinned much more then man For there remayneth more evill in the cause that doth compell then in the cause that is compelled But in as much as man of his owne accord leaned vnto the perswasion of the Devill and withall of his owne free will without any outward compulsion desired the evill that was forbidden by God and so fell from God this change therefore from good to evill did arise from Sathans perswasion and from mans will freely choosing and committing the evill Therefore Adams free will and the Devils motion are the true causes of mans misery So that although our first Parents were created by God according to his owne image in holines and righteousnes both in body and minde and had free will given vnto them yet this their free will was not sufficient of it selfe to retayne Gods image and originall righteousnes because they were overcome by temptation and sinned But if the participation and ayde of the divine grace had vpheld them they had not fallen but had remayned innocent as at the first they were created Therefore although man was deceived by the temptation and subtilty of Sathan and brought into sinne yet notwithstanding because that of his owne free will he did assent and agree vnto the perswasion of the Devill therefore he himselfe was the first and chiefest cause of his owne ruine and decay for Sathan may perswade a man to evill but he cannot by force draw or compell any man to evill Therefore this willing revolting from good to evill is the cause of originall corruption which first began to be in the first mans will and afterward that infection and corruption by the iust iudgement of God descended and was derived vnto all and every of his posterity which hath made them altogether and every one apart by himselfe subiect to Gods iust iudgement and guilty of eternall damnation and that so that God the continuall enemy and revenger of all evill may iustly suffer all and every of them to be destroyed and to perish in that corruption without doing iniury to any of them because he is indebted to none of them So that the first man was so created of God and so left vnto the free choyse of his owne will that he might remayne in his innocency or fall from it if he would himselfe Although therefore that to fall and not to fall were vnto man indifferent and contingent and eyther of them as well one as the other might have happened and fallen out yet of these things which were otherwise meere matters of contingency that only fell out which God from everlasting had foreseene and decreed that it should happen So that those things which in respect of man are doubtfull and of their owne nature apt to fall out on either side which may happen or not happen or which may come to passe otherwise then man had purposed these very same things I say in respect of God are certayne and determined so that they cannot fall out otherwise then God from everlasting hath fore-ordained Hereby it is manifest that in things that pertayne vnto man if a man respect the counsell and end of man they are as it were matters of chaunce But if a man consider Gods decree and the end appoynted of him there are no matters of chance at all in inferior things nor in any thing els whatsoever For the creatures which are said to be second causes by reason of the want of wisedome do not foresee and know the future events of things and if peradventure they do foresee any yet they have them not in their power nor are indued with any such ability as to accomplish them and bring them to their wished and appoynted end wherefore many things oftentimes fall out and happen contrary to their intent and meaning and even their setled counsels are many times broken off and
hindred that they cannot come to their purposed and determined end so the effect and end doth not alwayes answere the purpose and intent of the doer because one thing is intended and an other thing happeneth But God doth now see the future events of things and beholdeth them as if they were present and by his almighty power can direct and bring them to their foreappoynted end and scope against all lets and hinderances whatsoever The event therefore and end is alwayes answerable to his eternall intent and purpose so that that commeth to passe in time which he purposed to himselfe before time The will of God is the precise and absolute necessity of things as Augustine elsewhere speaketh Moreover although the first man could not of himselfe change his will that was created good into evill without the motion of God comming in and concurring with it for in God all things are moved and without him there is no motion yet the fault and crime that was committed by the first man can not nor ought not to be ascribed vnto God for that remayneth onely in the will of man That this may be vnderstood more plainely and distinctly of every man there are two things to be considered in sinne to wit the action and the evill that is annexed and knit vnto the action For the action it selfe as far forth as it is an act and worke is good and God doth begin and finish it but as farre forth as it is wicked and hath evill annexed vnto it it proceedeth and floweth from the corrupt nature of man Moreover although God may produce and performe some worke in the evill actions of men yet God doth nothing but that which is good for in him there is no evill therefore also out of him can proceede no worke but good Seeing therefore that he is wholy good likewise must all his works be good also For the effects are wont to imitate and resemble their causes so that they are such as their causes have been before them So that whomesoever God stirreth vp and moveth he doth it well and right wisely although the creature so moved by him may sinne and so fall from him But man sinned against the expresse commaundement of God in that he freely chose the evill therefore the sinne that was committed by him is to be ascribed properly to his owne will and to be iudged as proceeding from it Therefore although the fall of the first man did proceede of his owne free and voluntary will yet could it by no meanes be done without Gods eternall decree because that onely falleth out which God from everlasting did purpose and foresee But sinne it selfe as it is a thing contrary vnto God did spring from the will of man approoving and committing it Gods heavenly will suffering and permitting it Therefore it may be gathered by the fall of man that the first man was pliant and easy to be inclined on eyther side For such a will was given him that if he would he might have stoode still and remayned innocent but he had no promise nor constancie given him to continue so and therefore did he fall so easily and tooke the fruite that was forbidden by GOD and did eate it Wherefore this change and fall from good to bad was by all meanes necessary for the accomplishment of Gods eternall counsell For by it on the one side there was as it were an open dore and a most fit occasion offered for God to shew his mercy by and on the other side an open gappe and a most iust cause given him to exercise his iustice For as the elect could not have been saved by mercy except they had first sinned and thereby deserved Gods most iust wrath and eternall damnation so likewise the reprobate could not have beene condemned by his iustice except they had beene first subiect vnto iust condemnation by reason of their sinne and falling from God So God on the one side did erect his everlasting iudgement seate and on the other side opened and layde forth the infinite treasures of hys mercy God therefore that he might shew forth his power and his wisedome together with his vnspeakeable goodnes thought it better of evill things to produce good things then to suffer no evill things at all In Enchirid cap. 21. sayth Saint Augustine For what can be better and wiser then hee is who knoweth how to bring forth exceeding great goodnes out of that which is very bad and to convert vnto salvation those things that are ready for destruction For except God could have produced good out of evill he would never have suffered the evill to have beene committed In as much therefore as he hindred not the fall of the first man who shall call him into question and who can or dare accuse him of vnrighteousnes for by permitting that fall he gat a most ample occasion to shew forth his glory by So that the fall of the first man Adam was no lesse necessary then the manifestation and execution of Gods eternall purpose By all this it is manifest that God is such a worker that he is able to fulfill and performe his good will even by the wicked and vngodly wills of men not that the wicked have any purpose to be obedient vnto Gods will but because by the secret working of God and his direction they are drawne vnto it themselves not knowing of it For God by his hidden power as with an invisible cord doth draw the wicked although they know it not to the performance of those ends which themselves never aymed at So the vngodly are directed to an end which themselves know not of by the secret power of God without any purpose or indeavour of theirs like as arrows flye without any feeling vnto the marke to which the Archer directeth them Heere behold and admire Gods provident bounty and favour which disdaineth not for our sake to direct the wandring steps and indeavours of the wicked vnto an wholesome end to turne the greatest hurt into the chiefest health and a desperate evill into good In as much therefore as the wicked sinne and do wickedly it is their owne worke but in as much as they bring to passe this or that by their sinning that is by the power of God sayth Saint Augustine Epist 48. ad l'incentium And although that God and wicked men seeme to do one and the selfesame worke yet the men are faulty and God only iust because in that one thing which they do there is not one cause for which they do it Lib. 21 de Gratia libero Arbitrio sayth Augustine So the wicked do not become good nor are held excused although they do the same things which God would have done because in their actions they have not respect vnto the will of God with a desire to obey it but follow their owne lewd counsels and wicked desires So also God becommeth not evill and vniust but remayneth good and
wicked so that out of them Gods saving good Will cannot be knowne For many abound heere with riches and honour which yet come not to eternall Life Luk 13.19 as we may see in the rich glutton and in many other And it is an other thing to elect in Christ those that were lost to forgive them their sinnes and to draw them vnto Christ by an effectual calling to sanctify them by the power of his spirit and in the end to crowne them with eternall glory This mercy of God is wonderfully and singularly extolled and commended in many places of the Scripture This is erected as an heavenly banner vnto which as to a sanctuary and a most safe haven the elect children of God are called by the glad tidings of the Gospell This excelleth and beareth the prize amongst all the workes of God This breaketh the gates of hell and setteth open heaven doore this is the onely sacred refuge which whosoever layeth hold vpon swimmeth happily out of the waves of every storme and avoydeth the danger of death which otherwise would be at hand and escapeth without making shipwrack of salvation This mercy of God is a most soveraine balme to a dismayed minde which healeth their wounds without any payne To this appertayneth that golden sentence of Augustine whereas he sayth when man prayseth himselfe there is vanity and pride when God prayseth himselfe there is grace and mercy for what he prayseth in himselfe that will he give to them that put their trust in him As often therefore as he prayseth himselfe so often doth he invite and call men vnto his mercy In this mercy of God there are two vertues to be considered The first is that it is by infinite degrees greater then can be in any creature For what kindnesse and mercy soever is in any creature it floweth and issueth only out of this mercy of God as out of the onely living fountayne So that although there be a great and an earnest affection of kindnes in many creatures yet compared with the mercy of God it will scarce be a little part or sparkle thereof Psal 103.11.12 Ephes 3.18.19 For this mercy of God doth not onely farre exceede the capacity of mans mind but is also higher broader and deeper then the whole vniversall world Wherefore although that love which is in parents be a most earnest and tender affection whereby they love and embrace their children as their owne bowels yet that love and goodnes of God is farre above and much exceedeth all the love of men This God himselfe testifieth in Esay Esa 49.15 Although a Mother doe forget her childe yet will I not forget thee but will alwayes be mindfull of thee What compassion soever therefore can be found in man it is farre inferiour to Gods mercy For looke how great God himselfe is so great also is his mercy Therefore like as God in his essence is infinite so likewise is he infinite in mercy for with it the whole earth is filled sayth the Psalmist Psal 33.5 It is given and aplyed vnto all the elect children of God throughout the whole world which could not bee if it were finite and bound vnto one certayne place but seeing that at one time it sheweth forth the saving vertue thereof in divers places it followeth therefore that it is infinite in all places This mercy of God is too basely and meanely esteemed of vs except this prayse be given vnto it as an honour due vnto it That it doth infinitely exceede all the senses of flesh and all the affections eyther of Fathers or Mothers Psal 27.10 This the Psalmist signifieth when he sayth My father and my mother have forsaken me but the Lord hath gathered me vp This therefore is farre above and exceedeth the compassion of all creatures The other vertue of Gods mercy is that it is altogether a free gift that God found in vs nothing at all but most absolute and extreame misery and that he was induced by his owne meere grace and mercy to save vs that he elected man that in himselfe was vtterly a castaway and appoynted him to salvation And that election is the free and vndeserved gift of God it may be proved by many reasons and arguments First because he elected man from everlasting before he was and had neyther done good nor evill Hence it playnely appeareth that in electing man God had no respect of his merites or worthines For if there had beene any merites it should necessarily follow that man should first have beene and have done some good for the effects are not before their causes but after But seeing man was not then when he was elected vnto life therefore also could there then be no worke of his For the causes goe before their effects in the order of nature and in the manner of working and effects can in no wise be produced except the causes first be by whose power and vertue the effects be brought forth Therefore out of this circumstance of eternity it is playnely gathered that election is the free gift of God For I would fayne knowe what man could doe or deserve before the world was made and before his owne creation Therefore whatsoever the Papists dreame of heere concerning godlines and faith foreseene is absurd and false as hereafter shall be declared But that election is free and floweth from the meere favour of God and that it excludeth all the indeavours and workes of men the holy Scripture doth expressely teach in many places For Paule to Timothy sayth 2. Tim. 1 9. Rom. 16.25 Ephes 3.11 that GOD saveth vs not according to our owne workes but according to his owne purpose and grace which was given vnto vs through Christ before the world was Heere Saint Paule for the better cleering and expressing of it setteth downe mans workes and the grace of God as two contraryes opposite one against an other and severeth salvation from mans merites and attributeth it wholy to the grace of God And agayne man take him at the best is so corrupted polluted with sinne that there is no good thing in him which remayned vnspotted vnsteined from sin Therefore whole man is not onely turned away from God and all goodnes but withal is so prone vnto evill in the whole affection of his nature and in all the parts thereof that of himselfe he can bring forth nothing else but sinne and all manner of wickednes that sheweth it selfe even in his least thoughts because man without the grace of God and the benefit of regeneration is so wicked and perverse that he cannot thinke much lesse do any good thing as the holy scripture testifieth and proveth 2. Cor. 3.5 yea he is so farre out of love with goodnes Genes 6.5 that he cannot without offence indure that once it should be mentioned For when some evill is forbidden him of God and the good commanded then doth he set himselfe wholy against it and
our selves and the truth is not in vs. These testimonies of scripture teach vs that not one liveth heere which is not a sinner So S. Austine sayth in an other place most fitly to this purpose Wo vnto the life of men although most holy if it be examined iudged without Gods mercy But surely although regeneration be heere but onely begun and be vnperfect yet for all that it is not vnprofitable but is very commodious vnto the elect for from thence a most sure and evident token of their election and salvation is ministred vnto them But of this matter shall be spoken more largely and purposely in the end of this treatise Regeneration hath also this commodity which is very great for when men are regenerate they are not onely delivered from the most miserable slavery of sinne and tyrany of the Devill but also are made partakers of the life of God for then are they truly grafted into Christ and Christ is ioyned vnto them agayne so that they are made one with Christ by the spirit and Christ is made one with them Also Christ then liveth in them savingly and raigneth effectually so that he giveth and bestoweth vpon them life everlasting for whom he once hath begun to renew those he never forsaketh for he leaveth not this holy and chiefe worke of all his works as it were broken of Psa 138.8 but bringeth it vnto the end and accomplishment thereof Mala. 3.6 therefore it cannot be made voyd because God doth not change his nature nor disroabe himselfe of that goodnes wherewith he is endued In this goodnes of God the salvation of the godly is grounded and setled so that what the elect have once layd hold on by a stedfast faith that doth God never take from them for the gifts and calling of God are such as are without repentance for which cause Paul sayth playnely boldly Rom. 11.29 that God would performe that which he had begun in the Philippians Phil. 1.6 and bring it vnto the last end and perfection vntill at the last after their happy resurrection their vile bodies be fashioned vnto the glorious body of Christ So this regeneration is the neere fellowship and strong band of Christ and the regenerate And where this grace is effectuall there eternall salvation and life and happines everlasting followeth and ensueth for the old man with the concupiscences perisheth and is abolished 2. Cor. 4.16 but the new man is renued and fashioned vnto the image of God This grace therefore bringeth with it a double benefit for on the one side the strength and body of sinne is weakened and decayed and on the other side our lost righteousnes is repayred and the image of God restored so that we proceede from the abolishing and putting away of the one vnto the restoring of the other as from one contrary vnto an other Therefore regeneration is the onely remedy of the grace of God by which the corruption of nature is heere after a sort restrayned and amended which renewing of nature shall be wholy perfected in the world to come for then shall we necessarily love that which is good with a perfect liking and necessarily hate that which is evill with a perfect hatred Furthermore we must note heere and diligently observe that this power of renewing is in God by nature and is changed by no outward cause or mutable occasion whatsoever and therefore is as sure and certayne as God himselfe in his essence is everlasting for God is as constant in his promises as he is vnchangeable in his essence So that seeing he is alwayes the same and continually as good as his word and ever remayneth like himselfe therefore also doth he truly and indeed perfourme and fulfill those things which he hath promised in his word for the promise of God is sure because that grace whence it dependeth and springeth is sure and grace is onely of that which is both by word promised and indeed perfourmed freely and mercifully without any expectation of reward They therefore which doubt of the promise of God and the accomplishment thereof they do rather by deedes then words accuse and argue God of vnconstancy and falsehood therefore the distrust of the good and favourable will of God and of the perfourmance of things promised is without doubt a very great sinne for God by his almighty power doth begin continue and end this his worke of regeneration wherein it consisteth and is grounded therefore this worke can no more be broken off and fall to the ground then God can of any man be vanquished and overcome The workes and obedience of the godly howsoever they be imperfect and interlaced with divers blemishes yet God in that his fatherly goodnes loveth and accepteth them Then some things are propounded and dilated somewhat largely and plainely concerning the meaning and true vse of good works that the Papists errour might be the more evident in any mans sight CHAP. 30. FVrthermore seeing this regeneration is in this life maymed and imperfect hence it followeth necessarily and infallibly that all good works also which proceede out of it as streames out of a fountayne are maymed and imperfect for such as the cause is such an effect likewise vsually followeth Therefore seeing those workes are vnperfect they can deserve nothing as due debt for to the producing and effecting of any thing there is required necessarily sound and sufficient causes for maymed and mangled causes have never brought forth any thing for imperfect causes are esteemed as no causes And although the workes of the godly be interlaced and stayned with many blemishes and imperfections yet they are pleasing and acceptable vnto God because in them he acknowledgeth the image of his spirit which maketh the persons whence those works proceed acceptable vnto God and mixeth a good quality among their good workes in which being dipped as in an heavenly and spirituall perfume God doth approve and accept them God in his fatherly compassion doth pardon the staynes and defects of good workes so that the works when the corruption of them is abolished and wiped away are accounted iust and righteous and the satisfaction of Christ is imputed vnto them for righteousnes like as it is to the persons from whom they doe proceede therefore as he doth by his favour love and iustify his Saincts vnto death for the righteousnes of the most perfect man consisteth alwayes in faith and the dayly forgivenes of sinnes so also with the same favour doth he love and iustify their workes that is to say he blotteth out and wipeth away the faults which remayne in them in this life and imputeth righteousnes vnto them As therefore the Moone doth borrow and take her light of the Sunne so also faith iustifieth the works of the faithfull and maketh them have a good savour therefore faith getteth the reward and name of righteousnes both vnto the works and also vnto the persons So that although those works
vpholdeth by his mighty Power against all the sleights of Sathan and against the devices and iniuries of his instruments These and such like vnvsuall workes and more then marveilous wonders of God are so cleare and manifest that no man can doubt of them though never so little except hee desire willingly and obstinately to bee blinde and ignorant Now of these things that are spoken here it may clearely and strongly be gathered and prooved that there is Predestination And these things shall suffice concerning the first thing now we must speake something of the second To predestinate therefore is to purpose and determine something with ones selfe that it should have a being before such time that it be or doe any thing and withall it is the setting apart and ordeining of that thing vnto some certayne ende This belongeth not peculiarly onely to God himselfe but also ought to have relation vnto every wise and prudent man which before hee take in hand to bring to passe any thing is wont seriously and advisedly to have some consultation concerning the end for which he will bring that thing to passe But when this is attributed vnto God it is also very large and is extended generally vnto all creatures which God from everlasting by his certaine decree hath ordeined and disposed to this or that vse and ende before they were created But here when we speake of Mankinde and their ende this word of Predestination is to be referred vnto that deepe and hidden Counsell of God by which hee hath from everlasting firmely decreed and appointed what hee would have done with every particular man Further that the nature of Predestination might the more rightly be vnderstood it must be explaned by certayne degrees The first degree therefore of Predestination is That God from euerlasting before the foundations of the world were layd decreed to create Mankinde in true holinesse and righteousnesse according to his owne Image And that this is so the Scripture witnesseth in many places and the event it selfe confirmed it by experience of the deed done The second degree of Predestination is whereby God in his most iust and most wise iudgement determined to permit and suffer that Mankinde should be tempted of the divell and should fall into sinne and eternall destruction Here is inserted a certayne Digression of the Fall of our first Parents which although they consented vnto the Serpents perswasion by their owne proper and voluntary Will and so fell from God yet this their falling away was not altogether without Gods eternall purpose CHAP. 6. AS God from everlasting did fore-see and ordayne all other things so among these this Fall of Mankinde in the person of our first Parents and all other evilles which followed and flowed from thence So that hee was willing to suffer and not to hinder this Fall that it might be done by others and not by himselfe otherwise it had beene even as easie for him to have kept our first Parents from falling as it was to create them For looke how easie it is for him to doe that which he willeth so easie likewise is it for him to hinder that which he willeth not as Saint Augustine sayth Lib. de corrept grat ca. 96. Neyther was it any iniustice in him but altogether iust in that hee did not keepe them from falling but suffered them to bee overcome by the Serpents perswasion and so to fall into eternall Death For God was not bound vnto them that hee should preserve them and keepe them from falling because hee did not promise it Nay God was not bound vnto them to create them according vnto his owne Image because hee is a most free Agent therefore much lesse was hee bound vnto them to save them from falling Yea our first Parents of their owne voluntarie and free-will without any constraynt did treacherously fall away from God and so falling away did infect both themselves and all their posteritie with sinne and made them alliable vnto eternall Destruction But God not vnwillingly but willingly permitted them to fall otherwise if any thing though never so little could be brought to passe God not being willing thereunto then God should not be God Our first Parents therefore in regard of themselves did that which God would not have them but in respect of the omnipotencie of God they could by no meanes doe it Wherefore it is not to be doubted but that God doth righteously in suffring those things which are done wickedly Lib. de corrept grat capit 100. as S. Augustine sayth And although God do suffer this or that evill to be committed and not hinder it yet for all that hee doth not of himselfe bring to passe that evill nor allowe of it But good things which are conformable to his heavenly wisedome those he fore-saw from everlasting and decreed to bring to passe and effect them Therefore God by himselfe is the first cause and the only effecter of these things because that good things spring and flow forth out of the power of his divine Providence as out of the onely fountayne that is never dryed vp But evill things although God also fore-saw them from everlasting and knew that they would come to passe yet hee himselfe neither approoveth them nor furthereth them nor helpeth them nor bringeth them to passe directly but by his iust iudgement suffereth them to bee committed and done by others Therefore God is not to bee counted as the first cause and effecter of them but Sathan himselfe and mans free-will do beginne them and end them So that Sathan and wicked men are the true and proper causes of evill All things therefore whatsoever are done although they be done by Gods Providence from which nothing can be exempted yet some of them are done his Providence effecting them and some of them are done his Providence permitting apoynting and directing them to their proper ends Therefore all evill and wicked deeds whatsoever are committed and done Gods providence not effecting but suffering them because that God decreed not that he would himselfe effect them from everlasting but because he decreed to suffer and not to hinder them to be done of others So that God not vnwillingly but willingly suffered our first parents to sinne They therefore which attribute vnto God a permission which should be contrary to his will they deny him to be omnipotent For he that permitteth any thing to be done which by no meanes he would have done surely he is not of such power as to let and hinder that which he would not have done Therefore what things soever God suffereth to be done he suffereth them willingly for nothing can possibly be done if he be vnwilling or against it Hence it followeth not that God alloweth and approveth sinnes in themselves as they are things simply evill and contrary vnto his will but rather he hateth them with his whole will and nature and except he mercifully pardon them he revengeth and punisheth
holy although he willeth those things which the vngodly do because God willeth them with a farre other manner of counsell and end then the vngodly do will and do them So in the death of Christ the action of the wicked was so evill that in respect of them it could not be worse nor more vile for they slew the innocent and killed the Lord of glory and intended in that one consent and outrage of theirs to hinder the salvation of mankinde yet that very same action in respect of God was so good and holy that no other coulde bee better nor more holy because he by the death of his sonne would redeeme miserable sinners from eternall death and translate them into heavenly glory and eternall life Wherefore wicked and vniust men oftentimes vnwittingly and intending some other thing doe fulfill and performe the good and righteous will of God Yet notwithstanding afterward God iustly punisheth condemneth them because they pursue their owne wicked desires and vngodly enterprises and respect not nor regarde Gods will at all They preferre their owne perverse affections before God and before his will So the actions of Almighty God and of wicked men differ by their diverse purposes and are distinguished one from another in their diverse ends So also at this day God suffereth many sinnes to bee committed of wicked men throughout sundry Nations and in the greatest kingdomes where he doth not vouchsafe them his word nor reforme them by his spirite and doth not enlighten their mindes with the knowledge of himselfe nor governe and incline their willes and affections so that they may propose to themselves this principall end as their onely marke namely to endevour to execute Gods knowne will earnestly and continually and to frame and fashion themselves their life and their manners vnto it as vnto a continuall rule to walke by and to honor God by their obedience in eschewing of evill and dooing of good these things except God worke in them by his word and spirite whatsoever they intend or doe howsoever before men it may seeme good and iust yet all that in the sight of GOD is nothing else but vglie and execrable sinne For God doth not at all regard nor respect the outward workes except the integrity of the heart go with them and appeare in them therefore where that wanteth there sinnes are accounted for no sinnes and vertue with vices and one thing with an other are confounded and so there will be but little difference betweene honesty and dishonesty Heere the author returneth to his purpose and ioyneth the third degree of praedestination then the causes of praedestination are vnfoulded next the definition of it is given and lastly praedestination is distinguished from providence CHAP. 7. THese things it seemed good to touch by the way and lightly to handle concerning permission which is the second degree of predestination now we must come vnto the third degree of predestination Thirdly to predestinate heere is nothing els then to purpose to choose some and to adopt them for sonnes in Christ out of the vniversall company of wicked men For God by his mercifull foresight did ordayne and appoynt from amongst sinfull men and such as were past cure in respect of themselves to receive some vnto mercy without any merit of theirs to redeeme them through Christ and by him also to bring them vnto eternall life But heere more properly and peculiarly is meant the other acceptation of this word election as in the definition heereof a little before we have declared This word election is taken diversely in the scripture so that sometimes it hath reference vnto some office or duty and sometimes to life eternall After the former manner Saul and Iudas were elected the one of which was chosen to a Kingdome and the other to an Apostleship neyther of them to eternall life But seeing that no definition can rightly be made or vnderstoode vnlesse the causes of which it is compounded and made be well perceived and knowne therefore I thinke I shall not do amisse if first I lay open the causes of predestination before I set downe the definition of it As for the efficient and first moving cause of predestination there can no other be set downe and appoynted but onely the eternall and onely purpose and good pleasure of God For God onely is hee which by his most wise counsell and iudgement doth discerne betweene men and men and hath decreed from everlasting what shall become of every man God hath lively expressed and declared this in his word manifestly and playnely for men considered in themselves and by themselves are all alike corrupted so that some are no whit better then other some Therefore in the iudgement of man some cannot be preferd before others because there is one and the selfesame condicion of all But God the highest iudge of all hath elected some men to eternall life in Christ and hath in his iust iudgement appoynted others to everlasting destruction and whome he hath chosen vnto salvation those hath he chosen by his owne meere mercy and vndeserved grace hee regarded nothing that is without himselfe but whome he hath elected he did onely for himselfe and in himselfe and not for any other cause Moreover he could finde nothing in those whome he hath chosen that might be worthy of election because they were all defiled and strangers from God also he could foresee no good thing in them as proceeding from them for which they should be chosen If he foresaw any good thing in them himselfe wrought it wholy and altogether in them For there can be found no good thing in them nor elsewhere of which God is not the sole author and onely effector Therefore what good thing so ever is and abideth in them that God himselfe wholy beginneth and finisheth in them And he beginneth and finisheth nothing in them but he decreed from everlasting that he would begin it and finish it in them For if in time he should worke any thing in them how little soever which he decreed not before time then should there be found manifest change in God which should do some thing by a new will and not by his eternall will Those things which the Papists pratle of here concerning workes foreseene whose cause and beginning should be man are vayne and frivolous fictions which after in their places shall more largely be confuted and reiected seeing the efficient and first moving cause of election is onely and alone Gods mercy and goodnesse hee by his bountifull and more then fatherly good will hath from everlasting made and finished the whole decree of Election Ephes 2.5 moreover Election is altogether the free and vndeserved favour of God For all men by nature were wholy corrupt and the children of wrath therefore in them God could foresee nothing at all but extreame and most absolute wretchednes They also which take the name of election which is found in many places of the
rageth and is angry against God and his wicked affections breake forth openly like vnto wilde and vntamed beasts and run out like wilde horses and the more severely that God forbiddeth any evill the more egerly doth miserable man rage and resist it so that a man may sooner wring oyle out of an hard stone then that a man not regenerate should do any good thing that should please God or be avayleable for his salvation Seeing then that man in his whole nature and will is a foe and an enemy to God I see not by what meanes he may deserve life at Gods hands Moreover seeing that man was drenched through sinne in so deepe a pit and bottomlesse gulfe of damnation that he could not vnderstand nor comprehend it therefore also he had perished for ever in it if God by his grace had not plucked him out of it and delivered him through Christ his only begotten Sonne For miserable man is so blinded through sinne that he cannot vnderstand his owne evill much lesse can he cure it Sinne therefore as an vnavoydable destruction lurketh in mans nature as in a deepe pit of hipocrisy and if God had not revealed it in his lawe and withall found a remedy for it in his Gospel man altogether ignorant of his mystery had runne headlong into eternall destruction Againe the least sinne that is in the nature of it is so vgly that it redoundeth to the dishonor of God and deserveth his fierce indignation the greatnes whereof no creature is able to suffer and overcome as a man may see in the Angels that fell and were condemned So that man had for ever perished in his misery if God by the death of his Sonne had not drawne him out of it This vntowardnes of mans nature and backwardnes to all good doth wonderfully set forth Gods mercy and proveth it to be free because God in choosing man being such as he is vnto life doth declare his free bounty and vndeserved mercy Vpon this mercy of God is grounded the hope and consolation of all the faithfull wherefore although they excell in no worthines nor have any merites which they may bring vnto God yet this one thing may be sufficient for them to come to all happines namely that God in his nature is good and mercifull and so far forth good and mercifull as that he would rather help and advance vnto happines miserable men such as were almost past help then those that were of great account and trusted in their owne strength They therefore which trust that God will be their Saviour even for his owne free goodnes sake it necessarily followeth that they have their faith grounded vpon and correspondent vnto the grace of the Gospell But they which trusting in their owne merits thinke that God will be their rewarder have their hope in no wise framed according to the tenor of the Gospell so that they waver in doubtfull and hurtfull perplexities till being at the length overcome they are at the last cast downe and swallowed vp of desperation This therefore is the mutuall and continuall relation betweene a Christian mans faith and Gods free bounty that an humble and prostrate sinner should by fayth lay hold on Gods mercy though he bring nothing else vnto God but a contrite and a broken heart Psa 51.17 for he exacteth this one thing and requireth nothing else Therefore out of this mercy of God miserable sinners may suck this most sweete comfort that by theyr humble and lowly confession and loathing of their sinnes they have Gods exceeding mercy prepared and exhibited vnto them as a certayne and present remedy for all theyr evils Also heere is a thing worthy to be noted that God who of his vndeserved favour did deliver miserable mankinde from so great a mischiefe doth teach and commaund vs by his example that to our power we should helpe those that are in misery Yea and the greater that their misery is the more should every of vs know that we are bound vnto God for to helpe them and if wee do not helpe them as much as we can when neede requireth by that wee shewe our selves to be enemyes and adversaryes to God For they which are wicked against God can not be good towards men And they do indeede declare that they are man-sleyers in the sight of God For if others should forsake them likewise and not helpe them they should decay and perish in their misery and so they are the occasion and cause of theyr death as farre-forth as in them lyeth and therefore are iudged and shall be condemned of God as manifest man-sleyers This the Scripture setteth downe in expresse words saying that iudgement mercilesse shall be to him that sheweth no mercy Heere the wicked and fond fiction of the Papists concerning faith and good works foreseene which they dreame to be the causes of election are confuted as false by playne testimonies of holy scripture CHAP. 12. NOw whatsoever the Papists doe talke of concerning fayth and godlinesse fore-seene is nothing else but a most vayne dreame and foolish fiction For in that they say that God from everlasting knew such or such that they would be good and that they would deserve election by their good workes it is to forge a weake and fond fable about which they may trifle at their pleasure and without feare For God is so the cause and beginning of all good that the least drop of goodnes cannot any where be found of which he is not the onely author and finisher The Papists in this doctrine are confuted by many places of holy scripture and are convinced of manifest vntruth For holynesse and a godly life are the fruites and effects of election For God did elect his from everlasting not because they would be good in themselves and worthy of their election but he elected them being evill that afterwards by his grace they might become good This the Scripture doth testifie in manifest and expresse words when it sayth that God hath chosen vs Ephes 1.4 that wee should be holy and without blame before him through love Heere we may cleerely see that God did not finde such as should be elected good but that being elected of him he maketh them good So that integrity of life and good workes do follow election as the true effects thereof and go not before it as the cause And if good workes should be the cause of election man should have chosen God and God should not have chosen man so salvation should be mans merit and not Gods gift and election should be not because God is mercifull but because man is good and iust Againe the Papists in setting vp workes foreseene as the cause of salvation deny God to be God and make his grace of no account For God alone is good Iam. 1.17 and the only fountaine of goodnes Therefore whosoever thinke that they have the very least good thing in them without God do deny him to be
the selfe-same thing saying that God is gratious Exod. 34.6 Ioel. 2.13 Ionah 4.2 mercifull long-suffering abundant in goodnes and truth so looke how many words are ioyned together for to set forth Gods fatherly love so many mouthes as it were and toongs hath God sounding from heaven by which as with the words of a father our mercifull God inviteth and allureth men vnto his mercy By these so many prayses of Gods mercy we are taught not only that God is the sole fountayne of all goodnes but also this is likewise shewed that we are not so hardly perswaded of any thing as to know and beleeve that God will be gratious and mercifull vnto vs for the praysing of Gods mercy is for the most part a reproofe of mans incredulity The scripture therefore with these prayses of Gods goodnes as with so many wedges doth drive out and expell mans vnbeliefe But the Papists heere do most grievously offend in that they fayne God to be other then indeed he is So that they bewray their owne vnbeliefe and malice in that they attribute and trust more in themselves and their owne workes then in God infinitely mercifull Otherwise they would leave this fable of workes foreseene and rest themselves wholy vpon Gods mercy But they shall surely feele though then too late when God commeth vnto iudgement that they deceive themselves and others by these their fayned and lying workes For he that peevishly resisteth Gods mercy is worthily deprived of it Secondly they doe grossely offend against Gods Iustice because they are not ashamed to bring before God most iust their fayned and defiled works as if they were good perfect as if God were blind wanted iudgement discretion to discerne betweene good and bad betwixt perfect works and vnperfect Surely the Papists in this respect doe like those which take a false cause in hand and yet to make it good they labour to blindfold and corrupt the Iudge with bribes that they might obtayne that by deceyt and bribery which by Iustice and Equitie they could not attayne So the Papistes with their workes fore-seene as with so many rewardes labour to corrupt God and to turne him from the right and draw him to the wrong cause and so doe not onely make God like vnto an vniust Iudge but also much worse For choyce giftes and bountifull rewardes are vsually brought vnto a Iudge that hee may the easier bee corrupted to favour vniust causes But the Papistes bring vnto God not perfect workes but filthy and abominable sinnes For God as wee have sayde before could foresee no good workes but those which he himselfe wrought in man but of these the Papists dispute not in this place We have shewed before that man not partly but wholy take him at the best is corrupted and depraved through sinne Therefore all workes which man of himselfe doth or bringeth forth by his owne proper and native vertue can in no wise be good nor acceptable vnto God For from a corrupt and wicked man can proceede nothing but corrupt and wicked deedes for the effects are vsually like the causes Such therefore as the cause hath beene such effects likewise must needes proceede and follow thereon Therefore as out of an vncleane fountayne there proceedeth an vncleane streame and as from an evill tree there groweth evill fruite so also by a corrupt and wicked man can be wrought nothing but corrupt and wicked deeds and endevours For the effectes can not bee better nor more excellent then their causes So that when the Papistes make such workes the cause of Election doe they not after a sorte turne God into a sinfull man doe they not make him the patrone and allower of wickednesse wherein is seene their Sathanicall blindenesse and divelish madnesse So that out of this Fiction of the Papistes as out of a glasse manifestly appeareth what a terrible and dangerous mischiefe it is lewdly to stray out of the worde of God and to whirle vp and downe in franticke speculations and to fayne and suppose false causes for true Agayne if God from everlasting could have foreseene that very good and perfect workes would proceede from man yet those by no meanes could haue beene sufficient to deserve or get Salvation by For an eternall and infinite life cannot be attayned as a reward for a temporall labour and finite worke because there ought to be a iust proportion betweene the labour and the hyre that according as the labour was so also should the wages be payd So that for a great labour there is vsually allotted and appoynted a great reward But Life eternall and heavenly Glory is a farre greater and more excellent good thing then can bee deserved by mans labour or industrie nay Life eternall doth in the worth greatnesse and excellency of it farre exceede and surpasse the heavens and the whole world nay nothing that is created may iustly be compared vnto it So that as there is no comparison betweene a temporall desert and an eternall benefite so also is there no proportion betweene an infinit good a finite worke Whosoever therefore braggeth of his owne workes let him take heed that he be not punished rather then rewarded Thirdly they offend against the Wisedome of God in that they endevour to shewe an other way to attayne Salvation then hee hath revealed in his word For God will have his Mercy and free Election to bee the onely way and gate into eternall Life That the Scriptures teach manifestly in divers places saying Blessed are all they whose sinnes are forgiven Psal 32.1 Rom. 4.6 7 8. and to whom the Lorde imputeth not sinne But the Papistes preferre theyr good workes fore-seene to bee the cause of Salvation rather then Gods goodnesse So they would erect and set vp their owne righteousnesse which God bestoweth not vpon them by faith neyther hath Christ merited by his Passion Wherefore they do not obey Gods divine wisedom and counsell neyther will they be subiect vnto it which in the ende shall fall out evill for them and turne to theyr destruction For they which despise and cast off Gods counsell doe loose his mercy and are condemned as Augustine sayth in one place Wherefore their wisedome is not onely vayne but also tending to destruction which are wise against God But surely such wisedome speaking properly and according to divinity is not to bee called wisedome but the subtilty of Sathan and craftinesse of wicked men whereby they mocke God delude men For the wisedom of God is so the fountaine and spring of all wisdom that no other living creature can have any greater wisedome then God doth communicate and bestow vpon him Looke therefore howe much wisedome God doth worke and preserve in a man so much wisedome hee hath and better or more wisedome hee cannot have They therefore which will be more wise then God would have them their wisedome commeth not so much of God as of the divell Therefore the superstitious and
vnto Sathan partly to their own concupiscēces and desires So that they follow not so much the swinge of their owne corrupt nature as the perswasion and temptation of the Devill by which they are carryed hedlong into all filthines and lust of sinne 2. Tim. 3.13 Apoc. 22.11 and are so besotted with the custome of sinning that being blinded with it they wax dayly worse and worse This hardening and delight in sinne is opposed as contrary vnto true faith and saving repentance and this inborne corruption is with actuall sinnes as it were with fewell augmented and increased Therefore the wicked being left to the corruption of their nature and hardned by the enticements of sinne can do nothing else but sinne So that these are those vessels which Saint Paule to Timothy sayth 2. Epist 2.20 were made and appoynted to shame and dishonour So the reprobates by filthy and odious meanes are brought to everlasting shame and dishonour For for the most part the ends are iudged of by the meanes and the meanes by the ends Therefore although the reprobates do commit sinne the affection and indevor of their whole nature tending hastily vnto evill yet notwithstanding by sinning freely and of their owne accord they do accomplish those things which God will have done by them that by them they might iustly be condemned according to Gods purpose from everlasting For in their open misdemeanures God executeth his hidden and secret iudgements as in all the actions of each man els So that those sinnes which the wicked commit are the secondary causes by which they discend as by certayne steps into everlasting perdition Therefore the reprobates although from everlasting they be ordeined vnto damnation yet they cannot iustly murmur against God nor excuse or defend themselves because they themselves are the cause of their owne damnation therefore they are forced to acknowledge their owne guiltines whether they will or no and that the iudgement of their condemnation is iust But God is not therefore the author and causer of their perversenes because that he doth not correct them and amend them For before that they be forsaken and hardned by God in their wickednes the roote welspring of their corruption abideth and sticketh fast within themselves and in their owne nature which they procured vnto themselves by their wilfull falling away from God in the loynes of Adam But it is Sathan which doth excite and stirre vp in them evill thoughts and wicked desires and doth hurry them and incense them as his owne bond-slaves at his pleasure into all manner of wickednes whatsoever and doth take from them all sence and feeling of their misery that they might consume and perish in it Hence is it that they contemne and scoffe at the iudgements of God against sinne and extenuate their sinnes as much as they can So that it is no mervayle though they perish in their evils because they know not the causes of their evill neyther feele nor consider with themselves the greatnes of them yea they are so farre off from seeking to the phisition for remedy against it as that they refuse it being offered Moreover the reprobates by their free and voluntary will which is the onely cause and originall of all actuall sinnes do choose the things that are evill and pursue them with a most eger desire and so are carryed from sinne into sinne and dayly even to theyr dying day do adde and heape sinne vpon sinne vntill they fall into everlasting destrucction vnto the which by such meanes they were ordeyned By these things it most evidently appeareth that the cause of sinne ought not be layd vpon God but to be acknowledged in them which have offended And although God for a while do seeme to winke with his eyes as it were closed vp at their great and detestable wickednes yet that temporall forbearing of their wickednes is not the forgiving and pardoning them for ever but God for his infinite goodnes sake doth favour them many times in this life and dealeth gently with them Rom. 2.4 that so he might allure them vnto repentance but they for the hardnes of their hearts come not vnto this vndeserved mercy therefore he commeth vnto them at the length with deserved punishment These sinnes and evill deedes which the reprobates commit do necessarily follow their reprobation but they are not the causes of it But the reprobates do bring forth them of themselves and are properly the cause of them and that in time when as they were reprobated of God before time therefore their condemnation is properly the wages of their sinnes and the peculiar fruite of their evill deed So the wicked themselves are the first true cause of their own destruction but God is a iust iudge which taketh from them nothing which was theirs but rewardeth payeth vnto thē that which they by their enterprises actions have deserved Therefore when he condemneth them he doth them no iniury but doth make and pronounce vpon them the sentence of their deserved condemnation even for their owne facts Math. 25.43.44 So that such reward shall be rendred them before the iudgement seate of Christ as their labour hath beene heere and such wages shall be payd them there as their deserts have beene heere So two beinnings or causes do go before the condemnation of the wicked to wit the iust decree of God and their owne corruption and impiety Gods decree is the cause farthest removed which hath iustly ordeyned and wisely disposed this their condemnation their owne corruption is the neerest cause which is still in operation and by that operation deserveth condemnation Moreover as often as two causes do concurre to one effect then the effect taketh his nature and name of the neerer cause Therefore the iudgement of the effect ought to proceede and be taken from that Now where there is stiffe-necked incredulity and a wicked life seene replenished and overwhelmed with sundry sinnes and iniquities continually as long as life doth last there do the tokens of reprobation appeare Yet notwithstanding sometimes some are converted vnto God at the last gaspe of death and attayne salvation which through their whole life long have lived dishonestly leawdly in such God doth manifest his incredible mercy and doth indeede shew more cleerely then the Sunne at mid-day that life eternall is by all meanes his owne meere gift and benefite So that God teacheth vs in them that we should hope well of every one as long as they live heere but to denounce the sentence of damnation vpon this or that man for such or such misdeedes is a thing very rash and much dissonant from charity The horrible damnation of the reprobate by the wise and mercifull providence of God turneth vnto the good of the Elect and therefore ought publikely to be preached although some restlesse bust-bodies rage and storme thereat CHAP. 20. THis most iust and horrible condemnation of the wicked maketh for the best
the word he sheweth vs what things he wil have done or not done by vs and by his Spirite there is strength ministred vnto vs to performe them This regeneration is especially wrought continued in the mind will and heart of man So that God sheweth forth and declareth his goodnesse towards his children here three manner of wayes First hee doth enlighten and dispell the blindnes of the mind by the Sun-shine of his Spirit For whatsoever man savoureth of his owne selfe Rom. 8.6 7. is enmity against God bringeth death with it This blindnesse of mans mind is not simply the ignorance of God and of himselfe but it is a stubborne rebellion and prowd presumption against God So that by how much a man excelleth and is indued with the greater quicknes of nature by so much the more doth he resist and strive against God himselfe and his owne Salvation Because such an one feareth not to charge the wisedome of God with extreame folly For all men as long as they are not renewed with this new and heavenly light do thinke the holy mysteries of God to be foolishnesse So Paul whilst hee preached Christ crucified vnto the Grecians sayth 1. Cor. 1.23 that to them he preached foolishnes So that the enlightning of this rebellious and hurtfull blindnesse is a great and inestimable benefite of God After this inlightning followeth a right iudgement and opinion of God of his will and of his workes because that then men begin to know God rightly and to iudge of him accordingly when they be inlightened by the spirit of God Secondly it changeth and reformeth the will of man which is extreamely contrary vnto the law of God And of evill it maketh it good and of vnwilling and stubborne it maketh it ready and obedient Phil. 2.13 So the will of man doth then begin to be good when it is reformed and renewed by God Here also the infinite goodnesse of God sheweth it selfe whilest that it maketh man of an adversary and foe to become a friend and heyre of heavenly glory which otherwise in himselfe is so corrupted and depraved that hee hath mind to nothing but evill and hateth God extremely This will of man howsoever by nature it be so wicked and perverse as to resist and withstand God and his will yet no will can be so wicked and stubborne but God if he will can mollifie it and make it good as Augustine sayth well Now God will doe this in the Elect Ezech. 36.26 27. because that of his owne accord hee hath promised that he will doe it Thirdly it converteth and reneweth the stubborne vnapt and disobedient heart and so doth weaken and debilitate the strength of sinne in his children and doth create in them an earnest study and desire to live godly and maketh them altogether forward vnto all piety Lastly it stirreth vp in them good workes and endueth them with sincere and holy behaviour Phil. 2.13 So God worketh in them both to will that which is good and doe that which is right So that all power to live godly proceedeth and commeth not from theyr owne power but from God onely which worketh in them effectually by his Spirit For this spirituall renewing is called in many places of the Scripture by an excellencie The creation and worke of God because that it is his worke to illuminate the blind vnderstandings of men with the knowledge of himselfe and to change theyr crooked willes and hard heartes and to frame them vnto the obedience of his owne will For these are so hard and difficult workes that they can bee brought to passe and effected by none other but by God onely Therefore the Lord by EZechiel promiseth that he will cause that we shal walke in his commandements shewing that regeneration and power to doe well is a worke farre surmounting all creatures The vse of this doctrine is divers First that the grace of God by which onely the Elect are changed into new creatures may be maintayned agaynst that divellish invention of free will which the Papists dreame of But here the Papists offend grievously for looke how much they attribute vnto the power of man so much doe they detract from the grace of God and merit of Christ For the grace of God and the power of man are in this matter two contraries which cannot be maintayned of one and the selfe same subiect at one time Therefore Saynt Austine in one place sayth very well that that is not free which the grace of God hath not made free For the Scripture as we have sayd before doth not leave a man so much as a good thought which is the least part of a good worke 2. Cor. 3.5 For such is the blindnesse and frailty of mans wit that it is not onely vnable to conceyve and bring forth of it selfe any thing rightly or truely but also that it frameth and inventeth to it selfe many and most dangerous errors even from most true principles An evident example of this we may see in the free-will of the Papists But that most fond dreame of theyrs vanisheth like a vapour by this doctrine of regeneration and the spirit of God onely is prooved to bee the onely beginning and true cause of every good worke Agayne seeing God doth regenerate man and make him fit for good works that other fiction which the Papists have dreamed concerning workes fore-seene is overthrowne and beaten to pieces For seeing no man can doe good except by the grace of God hee be changed into a new creature it thence followeth that God could fore-see no other workes in man but such as hee himselfe should worke in him whence a man may easily gather which considereth the matter any thing at all that this opinion concerning workes fore-seene is a meere and forged fable Moreover the Papists and the more grosse sort of Vbiquitaries do in this place after their manner erre and invent a new fiction whenas they thinke that there is some secret and hidden power in tne water of Baptisme which is able to convert and renew a man And from thence they labour to inferre that they which are baptized are regenerate in the very act of Baptisme This vnsavory invention is the fosterer of noysome errours But the falshood thereof is found first in this that it evidently appeareth by the holy Scriptures that all are not regenerate which are baptized as we may see not onely in Simon Magus but also in many others eyther openly wicked or hypocrites vnder hand and secretly which although they have beene baptized and receyved Baptisme as a true marke of their regeneration yet theyr lives sufficiently declare that they were not regenerate For although that the Sacraments are meanes or instruments by which the holy Ghost is effectuall in the Ministery of the Church yet in his power and efficacy hee hath not tyed himselfe vnto them neyther doth hee so worke by them that that working should alwayes shew it selfe
scripture for a certaine singular excellency whereby a man may be worthy to be chosen so that he should be called elect which is excellent and singular they I say are the authors of fables and trifle with toyes seeing that every man is esteemed farre otherwise in this civile and earthly court then he is or iudged to be in the court of heaven Moreover no other cause of reprobation can be alleaged or produced out of the scriptures but the iust and vnchangeable will of God for as much as he in that his eternall and secret counsell hath of himselfe and by himselfe adiudged some men vnto eternall death destruction and that before they were and had done any evill For sinne can in no wise be the cause of reprobation For all have sinned and are alike polluted Ephes 2.3 and by nature the children of wrath so that all even every one should have perished if sinne had bin the cause of reprobation Sinne verily is the cause of those things that necessarily follow reprobation of which we shall speake more hereafter Although sinne that is committed of man be in it selfe a iust and efficient cause of damnation yet the cause of reprobation is not to be sought for in man but the first and chiefest cause thereof is even the free and righteous will of God But in as much as the reprobate are damned that they have deserved by their owne sinne this is the iust cause of damnation for if they had not sinned they should not have beene punished For God is every way so iust that he punisheth none except he be inthralled to sinne and most worthy of punishment And now seeing that it is proved by evident testimonies of the scripture that there is praedestination and that the doubtfulnes of the word and divers signification thereof is playnely discussed and that the causes thereof are produced and layd open it remayneth that wee should playnely define what this praedestination is which except it be done those things which follow to be handled cannot be conceaved and vnderstood Praedestination therefore is the eternall free iust and vnchangeable purpose of God by which of his mercy he hath determined to adopt some men for sonnes through Christ and hath appoynted them to eternall life and glory and hath not vouchsafed othersome that grace and favour but hath reiected them by his iust iudgement and appoynted them to eternall death This definition many places of the scripture do deliver and prove Rom. 9.13 Malac. 1.3 but chiefely the example of Iacob and Esau do wonderfully declare it These two although they were bretheren borne of the same parents although they were sinners both alike and by nature the children of wrath yet the wisedome of God did so discerne betweene them that by his free grace he loved and elected one of them and by his iust iudgement hated and reiected the other and that not according to the good or evill workes foreseene eyther of the one or of the other but according vnto his purpose he did choose Iacob Rom. 9.11 and hated Esau and that when as yet neyther of them were borne and had done neyther good nor evill The scriptures have set forth these two persons as it were two opposite and contrary arguments from which it inferreth two generall propositions namely that Almighty God from everlasting before all ages hath so discerned betweene men by his firme and vnchangeable wisedome that some without any merit of theirs should obtayne vndeserved grace and that some should have and vndergoe deserved iustice and due punishment This praedestination is distinguished from providence as a speciall thing from a generall or as a part from the whole seeing that predestination is not so common nor so large as providence For predestination hath his operation and working eyther in the saving or condemning of men although the created spirits namely the Angels may not vnfitly be referred herevnto But providence reacheth further spreading and extending it selfe vnto all the workes of God So that praedestination is as well the iust councell of God in forsaking the reprobate and casting him off into eternall punishment as the voluntary purpose of God in the salvation of the elect to be begun in this life and finished in the life to come Also providence is the eternall counsell of God and such an order and ratified governement in things that are created according to which all things are directed and do fall out to the glory of God and for the profit and salvation of the elect To this his governement even the temptations and sleights of Sathan are held in subiection which are so guided by the most wise God that they still turne to the good of his Saints although his devises are hurtfull in themselves yet God knoweth how to prevent them and to turne them to a contrary event Therefore although the endevours of Sathan are in their owne nature most pernitious yet by Gods direction they become wholesome vnto his children For God is such a workemaister as is able to alter and withdraw the effect from the cause so as the effect by an accident becommeth good and helpfull whose cause was most ill and hurtfull This providence of God although it reach vnto the creation of all things and to the ordering and governement of them yet it chiefely intendeth the counsels and actions of reasonable creatures and is so intentive about them that although they be very much confused and out of order yet it doth most wisely turne and bring them to those ends which from everlasting were foreordayned and appoynted for them So that all those things which God from everlasting by his vnsearchable wisedome did foresee and know before they were those things by his wonderfull and mervailous providence in the instant and moment of time appointed he doth create ordereth them being created maintaineth them being ordered governeth them being mayntayned and in governing them he doth so draw forth the course and line of his providence in this world that nothing can happen or be done in it then that which God from all eternity did fore-ordayne and appoynt All things do so depend and hang vpon this providence and power of God that without it not one action can be done nor one motion be produced in any creature For God is he by whose power and working is brought to passe all in all and that so as without this power and working of God neyther the godly can do that which is good nor the wicked commit that which is evill This providence of God is so ioyned and combined with his foreknowledge that the one of them seemeth as it were to shake hands with the other For what things soever God by this his vnsearchable foreknowledge did from all ages and from everlasting determine to doe those things being created in time he doth by his infinite providence bring vnto those appoynted ends even as he had decreed from everlasting What and how many are the
Will Therefore the everlasting good pleasure of God is the onely vnmooveable ground of our Salvation so that our Salvation is subiect and in danger to none of the devices of Sathan to no troubles of the world nor to no waverings of the flesh because it hath a most strong foundation vpon Gods everlasting Decree Secondly this circumstance of eternall time hath prevented the entrance of Sathans temptations For if God should have taken the first care of our Salvation after the Fall of man was committed and had not thought of it before then surely this Will of God might seeme to have a beginning And Sathan might thereby take occasion maliciously to alledge against God and to perswade vs that the Will of God concerning our Salvation is not certayne and constant because that as it had a beginning so it might likewise have an ende and wee being prone vnto all diffidence might quickly have thought it had beene so and by this meanes might have beene in doubt of our Salvation Therefore God by his provident goodnesse hath timely prevented these temptations and sleights of Sathan and hath found out an excellent remedy for our diffidence teaching vs that his Decree for our Salvation is no sudden thing nor limitted within the listes of momentany time but eternall and vnchangeable So our fayth is then builded and grounded vpon a strong and vnmooveable foundation when we heare and know that our Salvation was ordayned and appointed of God from everlasting Lastly this Note of eternall Time is profitable for this purpose namely to withdraw and reclaime vs as well from all regard or respect of our owne merits and worthinesse as also from the opinion of the intercession of other men for vs. For God did know that the divellish opinions of our owne satisfaction and merit would often times steale vpon vs so that wee should thinke that there is some goodnesse in vs by which we should be gratious and acceptable before God For man doth not willingly humble and cast himselfe downe thus farre as to attribute all the prayse of his Salvation vnto the Grace of God only These things and the like the holy Scripture doth prevent and dispell shewing that God hath elected vs from everlasting before we were and hath given vs Salvation in Christ and so doth condemne vs of foolishnes and vngodlinesse if wee now created would get or deserve our Salvation by any other meanes For such is the vntowardnesse and blindnesse of mans disposition because that wretched men are so bewitched of Sathan by sinne that when there is any speech of Salvation and everlasting Felicitie they would gladly beginne from themselves Hence they frame to themselves divers preparations by which they strive to prevent and deserve the favour of God But by what meanes I pray you can they deserve any thing which are not at all And what good works or merits of theirs could there be before the world was made and before their owne Creation Therefore the eternall Election of God doth every where throughout the whole Scripture proove that this Mercy is the free gift of GOD and that hee for his owne sake onely was mooved to elect vs. So that this eternall Election doth not onely set farre aside all respect of mans worthinesse but also throweth man downe even to Hell together with all his merites if hee should bee dealte withall according to his owne desertes and Gods iust iudgement Here therefore is set downe a continuall contrariety and opposition betweene mans merite and worthinesse and Gods eternall Election yea such and so great an opposition that the affirming of the one is the manifest deniall of the other Looke how much therefore the Scripture attributeth to Gods Election 2. Tim. 2.9 so much it detracteth from mans worthinesse For this cause the holy Scripture hath set that eternall Election and mans worthinesse as two things extreamely contrary one to an other teaching vs that a man may sooner and easier wring oyle out of a Flint stone or strike fire out of the middest of the Ocean then that God should finde any thing in mans Nature worthy of his Election They therefore which seeke for Salvation or the least parte thereof without the eternall Election of GOD they doe not onely seeke Life in death and Salvation in the middest of condemnation but also they seeke God without GOD and by such seeking shall finde nothing else but hell fire and eternall punishment because that one and the selfe same thing cannot proceede from divers causes For God onely is good and so good that hee can finde no good elsewhere at any time or in any place but onely in himselfe and contrariwise mans Nature is so wicked and depraved that out of it can proceede nothing but wicked deedes and vngodly practises But of this hereafter wee will speake more largely It is therefore the vndeserved and altogether the free goodnesse of God in that hee from everlasting ordained and appointed eternall Salvation for vs when wee were not as then created And therefore of so good and bountifull a God who would not hope well Moreover seeing God hath elected vs to Salvation and Life everlasting hence it manifestly appeareth that none could bee our Intercessour to God for vs. Because then there was no man beside God onely and alone which was the whole cause of our Election Hence likewise as out of a most cleare Glasse we may see what care God hath of our Salvation because that from everlasting he did so providently prevent and turne away all the hindrances of our Salvation So the incredible and more then fatherly goodnesse of God is chiefely made knowne in this namely that he was carefull for our Salvation before we were And let these thinges suffice to bee briefely compiled concerning the first Proprietie of Election The second Proprietie of Election is that Election is an high and hidden Decree not onely because God from all eternitie before the foundation of the world before any thing was created did fore-ordaine and appoynt it with himselfe but also in respect of those things which are contayned and ordayned in that eternall decree which are so deepe and hidden in the meaning and vnderstanding of them that they doe not onely farre out-strippe mans capacity but also doe as farre exceed the vnderstanding of the Angelles themselves as the highest Heaven is distant from the lowest earth For the manner of redeeming and saving of Mankinde is so deepe and secret that the very Angels themselves cannot surmise the least of it much lesse consider and determine of it For this cause it is often called in the Scripture the Mysterie that is hidden in God Ephes 3 9. Col. 1.26 because it is manifest and knowne vnto God onely and because no Creature can know it but by Revelation And so it is called by Paul to the Romans Cap. 16.25 the secret Mysterie that is vnknowne to the Creatures In this great and secret Consultation the Sonne
be created of him vnto destruction By this most fit example we are taught that it is in the free choyse of God onely to make a difference betweene men and by his wisedome to ordeyne and appoynt what shall be done with every one So that God doth love and choose most freely whomesoever he loveth and chooseth as also he doth refuse and condemne most freely whomesoever he refuseth and condemneth For this is the force and liberty of predestination namely that God hath freewill to save and choose that man whom of his meere grace he chooseth and saveth so also that he hath free liberty to reiect and condemne whomesoever in his iust iudgement he will have refused and condemned So that this is the eternall and vnchangeable will of God of his vndeserved favour to choose and save some and in his iust iudgement to cast others off from all mercy and to condemne them This will of God in both these decrees is most absolute and simple which hath no other cause so that he saveth some because it is his pleasure and wil and he condemneth others because it is his pleasure likewise Therefore it is at Gods free choyce to shew or deny mercy to whomesoever he will It is in his power to have mercy on whom he will Rom. 9.18 and whom he will to harden And he taketh mercy of his owne great goodnes only and hardneth with no iniustice that he that is saved should not boast of his owne merits and he that is condemned should complayne of nothing but of his owne deserts In Euchiriad Laurentium ca. 99. as Augustine sayth So there is no cause above Gods will but that is in the highest degree that vnto vs it might be in steed of all causes So the will of God is the first and chiefest determiner of our election and of all other things Therefore the onely absolute will of God ought to suffice every one as the most weighty cause and the chiefest reason of every thing So that it is an execrable wickednes to aske the causes of the will of God seeing that is the first and the onely sufficient of all other causes which hath no other cause above it Lib. de pradestina sanc 1.9 wherefore Saint Augustine sayd most truly and most rightly Call not into question why God chooseth this man or reprobateth that man except thou wilt fall into errour for this will of God is sure and constant because hee hath created mankinde Rom. 9.22 partly to shew his free mercy and partly to declare his iustice for he were vnmercifull if he should condemne all and on the other side hee might seeme vnmindfull of his iustice if hee should save all Therefore God created men such that they might fall that by their fall he might shew what the benefit of his mercy and the iudgement of his iustice were able to do of which reade Augustine in his booke De correp grat And this ought not to trouble the godly because that all are not appoynted to salvation and but a few onely shall be saved for they know and beleeve having learned it by the word of God that all have fallen into most iust condemnation and why all men are not delivered from thence is not in mans power to determine and iudge but must be left wholely to the iudgement and wisedome of God Further it doth hence appeare that all are not elected because that the scripture affirmeth in many places that some onely are elected and the rest reiected Agayne the scripture sayth manifestly that he hath mercy on whom he will Rom. 9. â—8 and whom he will he hardeneth Agayne if all were elected the Gospell of the sonne of God should be preached every where throughout the whole earth and faith should be given at randam to all and every one Cap. 1.1 For Paule to Titus teacheth that faith is proper to the elect But the Gospell is not preached through all parts of the earth 2. Thes 3.2 and faith is not given to all men therefore all men are not appoynted vnto salvation And that faith is not given vnto all men it is evident Mat. 25.46 because many shall be condemned and go away into everlasting paine Agayne it may hence appeare that all are not elected and shall be saved because that election or choosing is of some and not of all for if all were received there were no election so that there are some elect and some reprobates But they which have a true and a lively faith in Iesus Christ our onely Saviour and do put their whole trust and confidence of salvation in him alone they are the very elect for to this end are they elected of God that by the power of the spirit they should beleeve in Christ and in him obteyne salvation And let such embrace with thankefull hearts the incomparable goodnes of God towards them and freely with their mouth make the same knowne vnto others praysing God And although God hath not ordeyned every one vnto salvation but hath appoynted some vnto eternall destruction yet there is no accepting of persons with him as if God did elect and save this or that man for any outward good things such as are riches honours noblenes of birth cuntry comely proportion beauty excellent knowledge and learning and other things of the like sort these things albeit among men they are in great estimation yet with God they are of no account For God respecteth and esteemeth the sincerity of the heart and the innocency of life although that as concerning the decree of election he respecteth not these neither but these outward good things howsoever they be most pretious and to be esteemed as the good gifts of God and his name ought to be praysed for them yet in the matter of election he setteth nothing by them for they are not of such worth as that any for them should be elected vnto eternall life If they were the cause of election it would manifestly follow that everlasting salvation might be attayned by the goods of nature or by the study and merits of man Wherefore they which heere make a question of the accepting of persons do neyther know themselves nor the iustice of God rightly as they ought to do and do grievously offend herein because that in this matter they stick not to liken and compare God with lying and deceiveable men who often times are blinded with the outward hew of things and are withdrawne from the right way so that they give their verdit and sentence in the behalfe of vniust causes Moreover they fall into a fallacy full of ignorance or else of wickednes for they foyst in fayned and imaginary causes in stead of true and necessary causes as if they should set mouse-doong to sale in stead of pepper For if those outward good things were the cause why these or these should be chosen then surely oftentimes the worst should be elected and the
to the law and Christian charity For the law commandeth and charity willeth that there be no hurt done to any man but good vnto all but there is no good but hurt done vnto them which are ordeyned vnto this miserable condition and cursed estate therefore it is repugnant to charity and contrary to the lawe I answere God is not bound nor subiect vnto the lawe so that he gave that commandement to men only and not to himselfe Agayne the iustice of God is altogether infinite whose greatnes the shallownes of mans capacity cannot conteyne nor search out therefore it is not to be measured by the law and rule of civile iustice For there is no consequence from an infinite thing vnto a finite thing because there is no proportion betweene them Therefore a man in this matter must renounce all naturall reason and submit himselfe wholy vnto the onely wise God knowing that the iustice of God cannot be examined or comprehended by the shallow conceit of man nor be measured according to the rule of civill iustice Therfore it were extreme madnes blasphemous impiety not to attribute more wisedome vprightnes vnto God then man can vnderstand or imagine Surely this were to erect and worship a vaine idoll in the steed of God or rather to deny God himselfe Moreover there are certaine particular works of God which are not to be reduced to the generall rule of equity as for example the fact of Abraham who in his obedience vnto God would have killed his sonne and have sacrificed him vnto God when as notwithstanding the law sayth Thou shalt not kill The holy man of God knew that God was not subiect to the law but that it was given vnto men onely so that he did not examine the speciall commaundement which he had received concerning the sacrificing of his Sonne according to the lawe but simply obeyed the commaundement of God and desired to execute it with a ready and good will By this example we are taught first that God sometimes doth decree somewhat in his secret will which he prescribeth not in his lawe Secondly that we must obey this his secret will when God commaundeth though the lawe after a sort commaund the contrary otherwise the will of God revealed in his word is the onely continuall rule of good life So there may be some worke which God doth not therefore will because it is iust but it is therefore iust because he willeth it and thinketh it good Furthermore although of two men of which neyther had done any thing he hath predestinated the one vnto life the other vnto death and that before the foundation of the world yet this predestination is no lesse iust then if both had bin created and committed many great offences But it apeareth manifestly that reprobation was decreed before all time and not ordeined in time both from the nature of God and also by the holy scripture From the nature of God it appeareth because God doth nothing with a new will but all things by his everlasting will whatsoever therefore God doth in time that did he determine to do before all time otherwise there should manifest change be found in him if he should do the least thing in time which he did not determine to do before time from everlasting By the scripture it is evident because that every where as well in the doctrine of reprobation as election it reduceth vs vnto the eternall counsell of God that men might certaynely be perswaded that nothing happeneth vnto them in this life which was not ordeyned and decreed for them by God from everlasting So that that happeneth to them in time which God hath fore-ordeyned before time Moreover although the reprobates be reiected from this mercy of salvation by the iust and eternall iudgement of God yet they are not condemned but for their owne sinnes and misdeeds by which they deserve and pull vpon their owne heads the iust wrath of God and eternall destruction Therefore although they are not reprobated reiected for any infidelity or wicked deeds foreseene but because God hath so willed it and decreed it iustly yet they shall not be condemned but for their owne vngodlines To conclude as there is no merit foregoing in election so also is there no desert foregoing in reprobation but both do proceede and flowe from the good pleasure of God Now heere remayneth to be shewed briefly for what causes the reprobates are subiect and liable vnto iust condemnation The first cause of their destruction is the corruption of their nature this is so great that it is fully sufficient for to condemne them iustly as we may see in the death and condemnation of infants and little children that are reprobated who although they be polluted with fewe or none actuall sinnes yet for the originall corruption of their nature they are thrust hedlong into everlasting destruction Therefore this corruption of nature is the first and meritorious cause of damnation Agayne God vouchsafeth not to bestow vpon them the mercy of regeneration but leaveth them by his iust iudgement in their former depravation of nature Neyther can God be accused or charged with iniury because he doth not reforme nor better them for God doth not owe them so much because he hath not promised it vnto them and therefore is not bound to perfourme it And as for the promises although by the publike ministery of the Church they be pronounced vnto all that heare in generall yet indeed and effectually they do properly pertayne and belong vnto the elect only for whatsoever God hath promised in the Gospell and in the matter of salvation they onely obteyne and enioy Agayne the promises do not declare what God hath decreed and determined concerning every one but do shew how he is affected towards them that beleeve therefore they belong to none but to the beleevers so that God oweth nothing to the reprobates but deserved wrath and iust indignation Therefore in that he doth not call them nor draw them to Christ nor iustify them in him nor create faith in them it is for this cause because he hath not chosen them so that when the cause is denyed them the effects must needs be denyed them also For to whomesoever he vouchsafeth not election he also denyeth those blessings and benefits which are the effects of election These being by the iust iudgement of God thus left to themselves are hardned daily more more so that they feare not to commit great detestable sinnes and iniquities neither stand in awe of Gods vengeance but nuzsle themselves in their sinnes with delight and love and commit sinnes willingly and that so proudly and securely as if God the avenger of wickednes did winke at them and would take no account of them for their lives passed These God doth not only reiect and repell from all saving grace and all the effects thereof but also in his iust iudgement doth deliver thē over being so reiected partly
mercy of God and might so much the more strongly be confirmed Secondly the Election might be so much the more made knowne and manifest For contraries being set one against an other and compared together are made the more apparant and familiar vnto vs as also that men may knowe that this world is so governed by the providence of God that nothing else can happen vnto men but that which was fore-ordayned and appointed for them by God before the world was made Lastly this doctrine is to be vrged that the Elect might so much the more carefully eschew and avoyd sinne and exercise themselves in all the study of godlinesse and also that the reprobates may knowe what and what manner of things shall fall to theyr share and what they have deserved by theyr sinnes and wickednesse So that this doctrine is very profitable and necessary on both sides Therefore it ought dayly and diligently to be propounded and preached both to the godly and to the wicked Therefore let all religious and godly Ministers of the word of God apply themselves to this namely to preach this Decree of God publikely in the Church as the Scripture commandeth and let them not esteeme nor care for the Popes censures and curses which are like lightning breaking forth without any naturall cause appearing and not to be feared But the Papists with theyr conventicles cry out that this is an horrible opinion and not to be tollerated in the Church and this they do very craftily For they see that by this doctrine that fable which they have dispersed concerning free will and many other trifles which they chaunt out in theyr Synagogues with bigge words and lofty sentences will altogether vanish and fall to the ground Therefore they goe about to wound and stabbe the doctrine of the Apostles and of Christ concerning reprobation through the sides of the Ministers Others pretend a shadow of desperation and that this doctrine should not be preached lest men should bee cast downe and fall into desperation This danger is not so much to be feared but that the Ministers may pronounce all those things which God hath revealed in his holy word I doe confesse indeed that they must speake wisely of reprobation vnto the people and I thinke also that a wary Caveate should be vsed in the preaching thereof lest a good cause and a profitable doctrine by evill dealing and preposterous handling should be spoyled and made vnprofitable And yet so that nothing which the holy Ghost hath delivered in the Scripture concerning that matter should bee omitted by silence Let the whole world goe to wracke rather then that any thing should be diminished from the trueth of God Let the Ministers therefore faythfully and diligently handle that doctrine and commit the event vnto God and let them know that the Papistes or others cannot nor ought not to forbid those things which God will have opened before the whole world For are they the masters and teachers of God that they ought to teach and prescribe vnto him what ought to be preached This Decree of Election and reprobation is so sure and certayne on both sides that none of the Elect can be reprobated and condemned nor any of the reprobates can bee elected and saved and it is shewed by sure testimonies of Scripture that there are more of the reprobates then of the Elect. CHAP. 21. TWelfthly this Decree of Predestination is a sure and certayne Decree because that with God there is a certayne and set number as well of the reprobate as of the Elect so that the number both of the one and of the other can neyther encrease nor bee diminished For the state and condition of the one and of the other is an vnchangeable order so that the reprobates cannot be elected and saved nor the Elect cannot bee reprobated and condemned Otherwise Gods Decree concerning the one and the other could not be constant and fayth it selfe wanting a sure ground-worke should bee wavering in continuall suspence and should no where have any certayne proppe whereon safely to relye and so should become rather an vnconstant and wavering opinion then a setled and steadfast fayth Therefore as his Fatherly good pleasure of Election is vnchangeable so also is his severe Decree of reprobation Mat. 25.46 So that the Elect shall goe forth into everlasting Life and ioy and the reprobates shall goe into everlasting death and torment Now the Scripture playnely teacheth that there is a certayne number of the Elect. Iohn 10.14 17. Christ himselfe in Saint Iohn expressely and plainely affirmeth that hee knoweth his sheepe that is his Elect and that none is able to take them out of his hand If Christ as he sayth knowe his Sheepe therefore every one by himselfe is knowne of him So that with him there is a certayne number of them for if the number of them were vncertayne he could not be able directly to know them For of a thing vncertaine none can have certayne knowledge So also Saint Paul sayth that the foundation of God standeth sure and hath this seale 2. Tim 2.19 The Lord knoweth them that are his God also hath numbred all the haires of the heads of his children how much more therefore doth he know how many are his Furthermore God knew all and every thing before they were created and nothing is able to escape or be hidde from his infinite Wisedome How therefore should he not discerne and know all his Elect chosen in generall and every one in particular whom he loveth and tendereth with singular care above all thinges Surely if hee should not knowe them every one in particular he could have no great care of them and so they should of necessity perish but they shall never perish therefore they are knowne of him and preserved vnto Salvation Moreover the Scripture manifestly teacheth that there is a set number of the reprobates Mat. 25.32 For Christ shall separate them from the Elect and condemne them in the last great iudgement of the whole world Therefore he knoweth severally and distinctly who they are otherwise hee could not separate them from the Elect vnlesse they were knowne to him by their particular persons severally every one by himselfe And further God which numbreth and knoweth the starres of the Skie the sand of the Sea and all things that are contayned in heaven and in earth from the least vnto the greatest and from the greatest vnto the least knoweth them also For he that knoweth greater and infinite things cannot bee ignorant of the lesser and finite things And for a man to thinke or say that there is not a set number of the Elect and Reprobate that were to deny God and to thinke that there is no God For there is nothing more agreeable or proper vnto God then to discerne and know all things in generall and every thing in particular farre more playnely and distinctly then wee can know those things that lie
CHAP. 23. FVrthermore that every man may the more safely exercise himselfe in this doctrine of Predestination and profite soundly in it these foure heads must alwayes be knowne and considered First that eternall and free Election in Christ be accounted to be the onely ground-worke of all Salvation and that so that not the least part of Salvation be sought elsewhere then from that one doctrine of Predestination which if it should be sought elsewhere the true naturall meaning of the Scripture in many places will not onely be missed and the conscience out of quiet and tormented being vexed as well with continuall feare as doubting but also Salvation it selfe will bee hazarded But seeing that I have spoken more fully of this matter in the Chapters fore-going and that this doctrine is confirmed by testimonies of Scripture I thinke there neede no more to be spoken of it in this place Secondly that concerning God he conceive nothing but a most sure and strong hope of his salvation and be most certainely perswaded in himselfe that he is one of the number of the elect and let no sinnes or continuall slippes weaken his faith or discourage his hope concerning his election For oftentimes many are of the number of the elect which live a very bad life and yet by the goodnes of God are brought to repentance through whose patience they are not taken out of this life in the very committing of their wickednes that it might be made knowne vnto them and their fellow heyres out of how great a mischiefe the grace of God can deliver them as Augustine speaketh Moreover Tom. 7. Colum. 170 Rom. 8. although the holy spirit do governe the children of God yet many times it suffereth them to fall into great sinnes that they might be more and more humbled and being so humbled they might repent the more hartily and have a fellow feeling of others that fall and yet afterwards he bringeth them againe into the right way to salvation by true repentance and if a man beleeve not that he is of the number of the elect he shall surely do great iniury against God as if he would mock any man or call any man vnto Christ in vayne Agayne although many more be ordeyned vnto destruction then to salvation yet that ought not to move or trouble any man because that the Scripture doth no where say that this or that man in particular is a reprobate therefore let not this or that man thinke himselfe of the number of the reprobates which if he shall do and beleeve that he is a reprobate he is iniurious against God and envious of his own salvation but let him much diligently betake himselfe vnto continuall prayer and give himselfe to the reading of the Gospell and exercise his faith in Christ by the study of holynes and say with the Apostle Luke 17.5 Lord increase my faith and then in the end he shall truly feele in his soule more and more that he is of the number of the elect Furthermore let no man presuppose that he is hated or detested of God by reason of any afflictions how great or how lasting soever they be For God is then most ready to bestow life everlasting when he sheweth himselfe to be contraryly minded as Augustine else-where well observeth So that whē he afflicteth Christians with these or those troubls he doth either chastice their sinnes or else they are exercised in a spirituall tryall and such are proposed vnto others as valiant and worthy captaynes eyther for their willing obedience or else for their invincible patience and strength and they being striken with these afflictions as with Gods rod are reduced vnto a more sober cariage and right-course of life So the fatherly love of God striveth with the perverse wickednes of man vntill at the last it softneth it and maketh it better And so S. Augustine rightly witnesseth elsewhere The common crosse and calamity of the godly is not a sentence to punish but an affliction to heale therefore he often punisheth his children to drive them to repentance and draw them to himselfe Hether apperteineth that of S. Austine which sayth elsewhere The afflictions that oppresse vs compell vs to go to God To this also belongeth that of the Prophet Amos Amos. 4.9 who sayth I have smitten you with blasting and mildew your great gardens and your Vineyards and your figge-trees and your olive-trees did the palmer-worme devoure yet have ye not returned vnto me sayth the Lord. By these things therefore it appeareth that God afflicteth his children that he might amend them and he amendeth them for this cause to save them Therefore let all the godly not onely submit both their hands but also their whole body and soule vnder his rod especially seeing that the afflictions that are sent vnto them are as Gods hammers by which as vpon an anvile they are fourmed and made fit for his kingdome and celestiall glory Seeing then that afflictions are as spirituall chariots to carry men into heaven they do minister much better matter to trust wel in God then any matter at all to despaire so that they are to be accounted the medicines of our sinnes and the remedies of our falls Againe out of them the godly learne that God doth not grant nor promise vnto his childrē a freedom from punishment but that he only promiseth them a fatherly moderation in their punishments that he will not execute vengeance on them in the highest degree So that betweene this great gentlenes of God which otherwise might be some alurement vnto sinne and his extreame rigor which would cast men hedlong into destruction this midle chasticement of his is put as wholesome temperature So also must we iudge of the inward temptations with which as often as God doth prick and vrge his children so often doth he try their faith prove their patience and stirre them vp vnto earnest prayer Therefore God will have his children to live heere vnder a continuall crosse both that being convicted of theyr owne infirmitie they might be humbled and that beeing humbled they might learne to seeke strength and helpe from God for if things went alwayes well with them according vnto theyr owne minde they woulde not acknowledge theyr owne weakenes nor thinke that they stand in neede of Gods helpe and also that the stubbornes of the flesh might dayly more and more bee subdued and brought vnder by the remedie of the crosse And lastly that they might be withdrawne from the desires of the world and the concupiscences of the flesh and be incited to the meditation and search of heavenly things knowing that their felicity consisteth not in the things of this world By this it may be playnely gathered that the afflictions of the godly are vnto them as it were spirituall provokements to call vpon God and most wholesome remedy and medicine for their sinnes In which respect those things which men thinke many times to be noysome evils
in themselves and in respect of themselves be infected and stayned with many faults and blemishes yet in respect of God which wipeth away all those blemishes they are holy and righteous and so their righteousnes doth much more consist in the forgivenes of sinnes then in the perfection of vertue and good works as Augustine in one place sayth very well The Scripture in some places compareth this favour of God vnto the compassion which a father hath toward his sonne for fathers do so love their children that albeit they see such or such blemishes in their bodyes they do not yet thrust or drive them out of doores yea rather if they have children that are lame or tender eyed or otherwise marked or misshapen by any other blemish their fatherly love and naturall affections are sturred vp breake forth so much the more vnto pity compassion of them and they do not only not cease to love them but also they are much more carefull for their health welfare then for others which are not so diseased So also God the most mercifull Father of all fathers doth pardon our faults when he hath adopted vs for his children therefore he will neyther drive vs out of dores though we be vnperfect nor cast our workes out of his sight though they be staynd with many spots Hence is it that the scripture sayth in playne words Though the righteous fall that is Psal 37.24 though he sinne thus or thus yet he shall not be cast off Let the godly therefore remember though they stumble and fall this way or that way that God remembreth and will not forsake his worke so that God will finish the beginning of salvation which he hath begun to worke in them Phil. 1.6 because God loveth and accepteth both them and their workes Therefore although God doe punish the sinnes and transgressions of his children by sundry wayes and divers afflictions yet doth hee not execute revenge vpon them in that extremity as hee doth vpon the reprobates but vseth towards them a fatherly and milde chastisement as a most wholesome medicine whereof there is a most comfortable promise Psalme 89. verse 31. and so forward Furthermore seeing the workes of the godly are vnperfect theyr obedience also which they perfourme and yeeld vnto God must needs be vnperfect But although it be such yet God not for any inward merit and worthines of it but for his owne grace and mercyes sake doth no lesse approve and accept it then if it were altogether perfect and absolute in every poynt As a father is contented with any indeavour of his sonne and requireth not of him an exact perfection of worke so that hee see him obedient and dutifull from his heart so God also doth not reiect the earnest and sincere study and endeavour of obedience in his children but God doth approve it as perfect because he esteemeth an obedient will as a worke done for that cause hee doth accept and like of any care of obedience so that it be sincere and proceede from the heart And albeit that care be defective and vnperfect which in it selfe deserveth rather to be reiected then favoured yet God doth behold it with a mercifull countenance and fatherly love This condition and circumstance the Prophet Malachy setteth downe in playne words Mal. 3.17 saying They shall be vnto me sayth the Lord in that day for a flock and I will spare them as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him As therefore a father doth not require full and perfect obedience of his sonne so likewise God doth not demaund exact and perfect obedience of his children but is content with such as they for the measure of humane fraylety are able to perfourme therefore whatsoever God promiseth vnto the keepers of his lawe that he will give them This do the regenerate and godly obtayne and come vnto not that theyr workes deserve this in theyr worth and excellency but because the infinitenes of Gods goodnes and mercy hath so disposed and appoynted it To conclude although the works and obedience of the godly be imperfect and cannot merit salvation yet for all that they are not vnprofitable nor to be left vndone for they may be profitable for other ends many of which are ordeyned for one thing Heere therefore I suppose it very fit and not vnprofitable if I speake somewhat largely and playnely concerning good workes and that for the Papists sake who doe wholy corrupt and quite overthrow the vse of these workes as also of all the scripture beside But that these things beeing conteyned in a briefe summary and set downe in a playne method may the more orderly be handled of me and the more easily be vnderstood of the reader these three things ought to be considered as markes set before vs. First what and what manner of workes there be in this life and whether the grace of God may be attayned and gotten by them or no. Secondly seeing that life everlasting is by all meanes the meere and free gift of God why the scripture in many places doth promise a reward and ascribe salvation vnto them Thirdly why good workes are to be done seeing salvation is by no meanes attayned by them That the first may rightly be vnderstood we must know that the works of man by reason of his divers condition are diversly to be considered for we must iudge of the effect by the nature and condition of the cause If therefore there be a diversity found in the cause it ought likewise to be considered in the effect for one and the selfesame thing cannot be spoken and affirmed of divers matters and of vnlike things the iudgement must likewise be vnlike Therefore man as touching his nature is wicked and vntoward yea and so wicked that he is extreamely contrary vnto God and his will so that his workes also before regeneration must needs be evill For from an evill cause there can proceede and be expected nothing but an evill effect because the effect differeth not from the cause so that these workes are worthily reiected of God as worthy of eternall death and the punishment thereof and beeing so reiected are most iustly condemned because they are extreamely contrary vnto the will of God Thus man and his workes are so contrary vnto the lawe of God as that there can bee nothing more extreamely contrary How then can man perfourme any thing in this estate of corruption and iniquity which may be approved or acceptable vnto God when as man in the corruption of his nature and in all his thoughts and actions is an enemy vnto God how can he deserve any thing at Gods hands Therefore as man in this estate is wholy corrupt and evill so likewise doth he bring forth evill and corrupt workes by which he can deserve nothing else of God but eternall death But heere the Papists with all their wit are out of the way in that they fayne that there are certayne
morall workes which by their owne worth can make men gratious and acceptable vnto God before they have bin regenerate and grafted into Christ by faith And those merits they call merits ex congruo so called because that as they say by right and equity they deserve some reward which God by right is bound to repay them If this were true why then man belike should not be wholy infected and corrupted with originall sin But man as we have testimonyes in the holy scripture is wholy infected and corrupted with originall sinne Gen. 6.5 Psal 51.7 therefore that idle fiction of the Papists is nothing else but a meere invention of the Devill Surely those works which proceede from any man before his regeneration are every way foule and vgly sinnes to which by right and equity there is no reward else due but onely everlasting torment But it goeth very well and fayrely with vs if God doe not punish them in vs as they deserve Agayne all those workes of men although they seeme fayre and comely in the sight of man yet if they be skanned according to the rule of Gods lawe they will be found to be meere filth and vnsavoury pollution And that as the Starres which although they seeme most bright in the night time yet at the arising and presence of the Sunne they lose their brightnes so likewise those workes of men which in the common view seeme to be right and beautifull shall be manifest iniquity in the sight of God so lawdable sincerity heere shall be greater vncleanenes there and that which heere is approved as great glory shall there be reiected as extreame shame and reproach Farre therefore be from vs these faire-shewing and foule-meaning hipocrites which cover the corruption and wickednes that is wrapped vp in the heart of man with a vayne flourish and fayned maske and by their merits which are worse then extreame filthines doe labour to winne the favour of God and to make him beholding vnto them Surely it is without all doubt that they do provoke God more and more by these their workes seeing that they are execrable sinnes Agayne they doe plucke vpon their heads the more grievous iudgement and do aggravate theyr punishment in that they thinke that theyr workes which are nothing else but damnable sinnes extreamely contrary vnto the lawe and will of God are pleasing vnto God and worthy of his favour for by this meanes as much as in them lyeth they do as it were change God into a Devill and make him the patrone of sinnes to appoynt a reward for them therefore farre be from a Christian mans heart all those workes which are thus farre opposite vnto the will of God and condemned of him as meere offences Then after that God hath begun to renew men by the power of his spirit of evill they become good and that but in part onely for the corruption of nature is but onely restrayned and amended in some sort for as is aforesayd the elect are regenerate but imperfectly in this life therefore they are not wholy good and conformeable vnto the lawe of God wherefore theyr workes also can be good but in part onely and not perfect for there cannot be more in the effect then there is in the cause but whatsoever is in the effect that shall be in the cause much more therefore the workes of the godly are partly good and partly evill They are good as they proceede from the operation and motion of the holy spirit and are agreeable vnto the law of God And they are evill as they proceede from the flesh and vnregenerate part and do decline and stray from the rule and obedience of Gods law By this it manifestly appeareth that no worke of man is so prayse-worthy as Augustine sayth well which is not defiled and stayned with some blemish or other These works deserve nothing at all toward the attainement of salvation because they are imperfect and stray and swarve very farre from the law of God For the law requireth so great perfection as that it condemneth the least thought of the least sinne Agayne vnperfect works according vnto the Canonicall rule which the Lawyers so call are as if they were not done at all for such as the cause is such also must the effect needs be Seeing therefore that the cause is vnperfect the effect must needs follow vnperfect for it were extreame and ridiculous madnes to loke for a perfect and durable worke from an imperfect and transitory cause therefore these workes are proved and convinced to be vnperfect from their cause which is vnperfect so that if a man seeke for a reward by them he shall finde punishment as Saint Augustine saith for man in the least thing is not able to perfourme so much as the lawe requireth therefore he cannot be thought righteous and acquited before God and before his iust iudgement seate by the merit of his owne works Wo therefore vnto the life of men even the most commendable as the same Augustine sayth if it should be iudged according vnto the strict rigor of the lawe without the mercy of God Moreover seeing these good works proceed not from mans strength but do spring the power and grace of the holy spirit man cannot deserve or get any thing by them seeing they be not his owne but the works of God for man doth them not of himself but God doth worke them in him So that to do that which God commandeth to receive those things which he promiseth are both the gift of God and so man had no merits of his owne therefore the free works of God fall not within the compas of mans merit because those works are the effects of the holy ghost and not the deeds of mē proceeding from their own strēgth Therefore the Papists in as much as they hunt for salvation by these works are of all hunters the most vayne for their labours and endeavours are alwayes frustrate and without effect for they shall never attayne vnto that which they seeke for by them and they play the fooles more absurdly then if they should say they were able to strike fire out of the sea Certaynely in this their foole-hardy enterprise they do manifestly tempt God in that they go about to bring to passe things that are infinitely farre greater then their strength will suffer or permit Agayne in that they boast their owne deserts so confidently and boldly it is a manifest signe that they are not regenerate and that they know not themselves at all for by how much the more a man is regenerate by so much the more doth hee see and bewayle his owne sinnes and infirmityes and so findeth and perceiveth by experience that hee can do no good thing without the grace of God Therefore from his heart doth he humble himselfe before God and in the griefe of his heart with much lamenting doth he earnestly pray against those plagues which he hath deserved also he confesseth his
condemnation or salvation according to theyr workes so that none shall then be saved except he be endued and clothed with good workes By all this it appeareth manifestly with what an vniust and vndeserved slander the Papists do accuse and backbite vs among the rude and ignorant common sort of men when with open and impudent mouth they cry out vpon vs that we despise and reiect good works when as they rather are they which do this for they reiect and despise those workes which are acceptable and well pleasing vnto God and out of theyr owne brayne do forge and invent workes of their owne by which they say they can prevent and deserve the grace of God With these fayned workes they vaunt themselves vnto the rude and simple that they can attayne vnto glory by them but seeing they have not true workes which proceede from the renewing of grace or at the least do not teach the right vse of true workes they lost theyr glory with God And heere an end of these things thus spoken briefely as by the way concerning good workes Now returne we vnto the further handling of regeneration Although the regeneration of the godly be vnperfect and but onely begun in this life yet it is so necessary vnto every Christian as that without it not one can be saved Secondly although it he vnperfect yet it is never at an end Lastly it is declared by the scripture vnto whom regeneration hapneth CHAP. 33. ALthough regeneration be vnperfect and be but onely begun in this life so that the godly can never in deed and in act perfourme so much as in will they are prest to do Heb. 12.14 yet neverthelesse it is so necessary vnto every one that without it no man can attayne vnto salvation For the generation of every one is condemned in Adam as in the common father of vs all for which cause as Augustine sayth Tom. 10. col 336. every one that is begotten is condemned except he be begotten againe Therefore the scripture sayth playnely and absolutely that no man can see the kingdome of God except he be borne againe Iohn 3.3 Heb. 12.14 their eyes onely shall see God which have bene renewed vnto his image For man in his nature is wholy corrupted and a stranger from God Ephes 4.18 and from the life of God and sinne doth wholy possesse him By this it is cleere enough Rom. 7.16 how necessary regeneration is and a new creature in Christ Iesus Moreover although regeneration in this life be very small and vnperfect continually yet by the holy spirit it is made so great in the elect as that the power of sinne is restrayned and weakened in them that it beareth not the whole sway nor raigneth and ruleth at large So that although the godly and the regenerate doe fall now and then into such or such sinnes Rom. 7.18 yet they never sinne with all their mind and with their whole will but do so resist the corruption of nature that they never fully approve and do that which it perswadeth and biddeth So that in them there is such reluctation and striving Rom. 7.25 that the refourmed will desireth one thing and the corruption of nature perswadeth another Thus they doe not that which they would but that which they hate that do they So with theyr minde they serve and obey the lawe of God but with their flesh the â—â—â—w of sinne so that in them there is in a divers respect both a will and no will There is a will as they are reformed and renewed by the heavenly grace There is no will in them as farre forth as they are not regenerate and obey the flesh In them the refourmed and renewed will fighteth and striveth with the vnregenerate part that at the length it becommeth conquerour and overcommer For the grace of regeneration that perswadeth and inviteth men vnto goodnes is more mighty then the corruption of nature that tempteth vnto evill And thus farre of the second poynt to be observed in this regeneration now the third remayneth briefely to be vnfolded and declared This regeneration and renewing of the corrupt nature is afforded vnto none but vnto the elect onely This the scripture in expresse words sayth and playnely proveth that they onely are enlightened and do come vnto faith which are ordeyned vnto eternall life Act. 15.48 for faith proceedeth and commeth from regeneration and both are conteyned vnder election Therefore none are regenerate but the elect and againe none are elected but they which shall be regenerate and endued with faith Heere therefore are convertible termes which are equall one to an other and may one be affirmed of the other Also Paul in this cheyne affirmeth playnely that the elect onely are glorified For so hee sayth whom hee predestinated those also hee called and whom hee called those also hee iustifyed and whom hee iustifyed those also hee glorifyed therefore this glorification happeneth vnto none but vnto those that are predestinated By this most heavenly gradation from the highest vnto the lowest it commeth to passe that the conclusion of the grace of God answereth and agreeth very fitly vnto the preface or beginning thereof Now they which are glorified are first regenerate vnto a sincere and holy life then they are renewed more fully and perfectly dayly by continuall proceeding toward the attaynement of everlasting life vntill that their glorification being fully ended and finished they be made happy both in body and soule together and translated into the heavenly rest So God doth prepare man and make him fit by regeneration for the heavenly inheritance which can neither perish nor be defiled 1. Pet. 1.4 nor fade away Therefore whom he adorneth in this world with his grace those also he crowneth in heaven with glory This regeneration howsoever in respect of man it be very weake yet in respect of the foundation and beginning thereof it is farre more firme then the frame of heaven for it hath the holy spirit the Almighty God for the effector and preserver thereof Hee therefore which will disanull and overthrow that must first vanquish God and thrust him from his throne for God doth not onely glorify his children but also doth preserve them in that glorification and other spirituall gifts vntill at the length he finally glorify and crowne them both in body and soule For after that true faith hath once begun to be in a man it can never fall quite away and wholy decay for it is grounded and propped vp by the power of God 1. Pet. 1.5 and in it it hath a most strong foundation Indeed it may be that the course and fervency of faith may be much interrupted and alayed by this or that fall but the roote of faith being fastned and planted in the heart of man by the holy spirit and the bud that springeth from thence can never be quite supplanted and cleane rooted out And if that faith once given
lifteth vp such as bee downe but hee which thinketh there is any goodnesse in himselfe striveth agaynst humblenesse of minde and is an enemy vnto the grace of God and is a secret adversary against God and prowdly set against his owne Salvation But Predestination bringeth down a man that it may lift him vp agayne by the grace of God For the least thought of the least goodnesse in man is repugnant against the grace of God Therefore this must first be taken away and driven out that the grace of God may take place Furthermore the Decree of Election is necessary for vs to know for this cause also because that it edifieth and buildeth vp our fayth strongly and surely and maketh vs most certayne that Salvation cannot fayle vs. For there is no better nor fitter meanes for the building vp of our fayth then free Election which doth consist in the eternall and vnchangeable Decree and good pleasure of God so that Salvation which dependeth thereupon cannot be intercepted or taken from vs by any creatures For therefore Salvation is certayne vnmooveable because it is grounded vpon the Counsell of God and is reserved and kept vntouched agaynst all the assaultes and subtilties of Sathan Heere therefore wee ought to know that Salvation proceedeth from two distinct causes First it floweth from the love of God as from an heavenly fountayne and then it is purchased by the blood and merites of Christ Christ ioyneth both these causes together saying God so loved the world Ioh. 3.16 that hee gave his onely begotten Sonne that all which beleeved in him should not perish but have everlasting life Vpon this therefore is our whole Salvation and the vnfallible hope and safety thereof settled and grounded in that God the most Mighty hath given vs vnto his Sonne as his owne proper goods and doth iustifie vs in him and doth not suffer vs beeing iustified Ioh. 10.29 to bee taken out of his hand Hence is the Salvation of the Faythfull stedfast and sure Therefore this doctrine of Election seeing it is the onely gate vnto righteousnes the onely way vnto God and the onely entrance into heaven it is not as some falsely thinke the occasion of desperation the breake-necke of Salvation and as it pleaseth some the deepe pit of perdition neyther is it a subtill and dangerous speculation as others report which tyreth mens minds without any fruite and beguileth and deceyveth them with vayne words but it is a sound and profitable doctrine which tendeth vnto godlinesse and to a serious feare of God and chiefely it is profitable to represse and keepe vnder the pride and arrogancy of man For what thing can more ravish vs with the love and admiration of Gods exceeding great goodnesse towardes vs then Gods free and more then fatherly Election in that of his aboundant grace and mercy he hath appoynted certayne Salvation for vs before we were and stayed not so long till wee came vnto him and desired Salvation of him Was it not a mercie above all mercies in that hee ordayned Salvation for vs which beleeve in Christ and embrace his Gospel before he had created vs Was not this also a singular and inestimable mercie above all mercies in that he hath elected vs in Christ and adopted vs for sonnes which were in our selves altogether wretched and vnworthy and deserved rather to be condemned then to bee saved was it not an honour above all honours in that of the children of wrath hee made vs the children of God and the brethren of Christ Is not this noblenesse above all nobility and dignity above all dignity to have God for our Father to have Christ for our brother and to heare his Church as our mother and to be a true and lively member thereof This doctrine of Election is not onely the chiefe part of the Gospel but also the foundation of the Gospel and the issue and chiefe poynt of our Salvation For Augustine of the Predestination of Saintes Cap. 15. doth expressely teach that Christ himselfe was predestinate that he should be our Head and Redeemer and we were predestinate that we should be his members So that seeing Christ is the chiefe and singular light of Predestination and the same is the Head and Foundation of the whole Gospel Therefore the whole Gospel doth flow and depend from nothing else but from Predestination together with Christ For the whole worke of the Gospel is in this one thing and there it is called Gospel that is ioyfull tidings because it witnesseth vnto men that theyr sinnes are forgiven and pardoned through the death of Christ without any respect had vnto theyr workes that so they might be freely iustified and absolved and delivered from theyr sinnes in the iudgement of God And this iustification proceedeth from Predestination as from the first fountayne of Salvation as Paul in this his chaine doth expressely teach saying that those onely are iustified which are predestinate before of God Therefore free iustification cannot bee helde and maintayned except free predestination be first granted and defended Wherefore seeing that Predestination is the cause and originall of iustification it is in no wise to be concealed or suppressed but ought publikely and openly to be published and preached freely without restraint throughout the whole worlde that this exceeding and infinite goodnesse of God towards men might be made manifest and knowne vnto them that they might learne to distrust themselves and to put their confidence in God that they might seeke for Salvation and finde it not in themselves nor by theyr owne merits but in God and from his goodnesse The Sonne of God himselfe and his holy Apostles and also the Prophets haue taught and stood vpon this doctrine publikely in the whole assembly of the Church The Scripture of both the Testaments is full of this mattter especially the Gospel of saint Iohn is as a cleare glasse wherein Predestination is represented and published abroad For there is no Chapter in that Booke where there is not mention of Predestination eyther in expresse words or in the sence and meaning of it And although there have beene alwayes some from the beginning of the Gospel which perswaded by the allurements and wisedome of the flesh have thought that the doctrine of Predestination should not be openly taught and published abroad because they feared that it would be the occasion and mistresse of desperation or of a dissolute life yet they are in no sort to be beleeved nor followed For the causes which they alledge although at the first sight they may seeme to have some colour or weight yet indeed they do but cast a miste before our eyes and are of no importance For the danger which they feare is vayne and almost none at all For Predestination is the true cause the absolute matter of our greatest hope and sweetest consolation 1. Pet. 1.20 in that God our heavenly Father from eternity hath ordayned his onely begotten Sonne
to redeeme and save vs. Seeing therefore that Christ as we have sayd before out of Augustine is the head of all those that are predestinate and that all they that do fly vnto him as vnto their onely refuge are redeemed of him and do attayne vnto everlasting Salvation surely I see not how the doctrine of Predestination should be the matter of desperation especially seeing that Salvation which it bringeth with it and bestoweth vpon vs is altogether of free gift But if that our Salvation were to bee merited and gotten by our owne ability or workes then surely a man might feare certayne and present danger of desperation For we are all sinners and not able to fulfill the least tittle of the Law much lesse can we make satisfaction for our sinnes and redeeme our selves from the wrath of God and the power of Sathan Moreover although we were perfect at this day yet wee could by no meanes satisfie for the sinnes that wee have committed already For sinne doth most grievously offend God and deserveth his wrath and his curse and eternall damnation which no creature as it is barely a creature can turne away or put off For the wrath and curse of God is infinite and not to bee borne of the Angels themselves Without all doubt in the doctrine of Predestination a man ought to bee in despayre and yet to hope well concerning himselfe and his owne merites whereby to attayne Salvation he ought to bee in great despayre because that by this meanes he shall never come vnto Salvation but concerning the grace of God which is by all meanes free hee ought to be in very good hope especially seeing that God doth more willingly afford and bestow Salvation vpon man then miserable man can require or wish that Salvation might bee imparted or bestowed vpon him For God for his vnspeakeable goodnesse sake doth make man earnest and desirous of his Salvation which was an enemie of his Salvation Also God doth prevent a man and seeketh him out man seeketh not for God but hateth him extreamely and doth dread and shunne him as a terrible Iudge Therefore in this worke of Salvation the grace of God is so great as that it cannot be sayde to bee greater Therefore there ariseth no desperation at all out of this doctrine of Election if it bee well and truely vnderstood and according to the meaning expounded but contrariwise great consolation commeth there from which if it be well taught vnto men and diligently insisted vpon an admirable trust and confidence in God and a most certayne hope of Salvation proceedeth and commeth out of it Therefore hath God appoynted the holy ministery of the Gospel that men might diligently bee informed of his so great mercy Also he would that admonitions and threatnings should be drawne from thence and be propounded vnto men For they are certayne meanes by which God is powerfull and expelleth all drowsines from his children and striketh in them a serious feare and reverence of himselfe So God by this meanes doth bring men vnto Salvation ordayned for them from everlasting They therefore which suppose that the course of a good life is overthrowne or hundred by this doctrine of Election are grossely deceyved But of all they doe most grievously sinne which reason thus If I bee predestinated vnto Salvation then howsoever I live I shall be saved and shall not perish But if I be appoynted to destruction it will nothing avayle me to live well yea though I should exercise my selfe in all kind of vertue yet it would doe me no good but in the ende I shal of necessity bee condemned and perish everlastingly why therefore shouid I be carefull of the course and order of good living and exercise my selfe one while with this and an other while with that kind of labour or study This is not a speech of the children of God but of the children of the Divell Ephes 2.10 For whomsoever God hath elected those also doth he call to repentance although some sooner some later and doth regenerate them to the performance of good workes so that they shall here beginne to study how to hate and shunne those things that are evill and love and practise those things that are good but they which remayne obstinate in theyr wickednesse and stubborne in the hatred and contempt of the trueth of the Gospel and do prostitute and sell themselves vnto all kind of vices and wickednesse boldly without any feare or reverence of Gods divine Maiestie and continue as it were buried in them without any feare neyther will by admonitions bee brought to leave them they are to bee warned that they should watch For the iudgement of God which hangeth over them to destroy and condemne them sleepeth not neither is idle So that in theyr obiection there is nothing of any strength but there is a manifest fallacy in it in that a supposed and false cause is of them put for a true cause So that of the contrary side they should conclude thus changing the former sentence or proposition in this wise If I be predestinate vnto eternall life I must call vpon God and live godly because to this end am I elected of God that I may live godly and holily For the Scripture sayth Ephes 1.4 God did elect vs before the foundations of the world were layd that wee should bee holy and vnblameable before him through love Therefore the Elect must shunne wickednesse and not commit it Agayne they which thinke themselves to be reprobates must not for that cause do wickedly but ought rather to hate and fly all vngodlinesse least that by theyr more grievous wickednesse they do likewise plucke more grievous condemnation vpon theyr owne heads For they shall bee farre more gently dealt withall which doe avoyd these or those sinnes and defile not themselves with all wickednesse and all pollution of sinne then with them who do plunge themselves into all wickednesse and vngodlinesse and wallow and defile themselves in it as a Sowe in the myre For this is a perpetuall law and vnchangeable rule of Gods iustice that punishments should be proportioned vnto sinne So that more grievous and more haynous sinnes shall be tormented with more grievous and more hainous torments Wherefore to avoyd evil and to doe good is profitable vnto the reprobate For so theyr punishment of condemnation is eased and made more gentle Agayne they doe greatly offend because they doe thinke themselves reprobates from everlasting and that they shall be damned for ever For so they would prevent Gods iudgement For hee hath fore-appoynted a set and certayne time to call his Elect in which seeing they expect not but doe iudge and condemne themselves they doe not onely prevent God and his iudgement but also by theyr rash attempt they goe about to prescribe God a time and meanes to call them and doe invade and arrogate the parts of that worke vnto themselves Therefore they ought while they live here to