God before he loved us contrary to that of the Apostle 1 Joh. 4. 19. To love as moved by the attractive goodness of the Object is to love like a man but to love Blackamores then give them beauty to love enemies and then overcome them with love is to love like God whose Grace is pure Grace whose Love is all from himself which is emphatically implied in that remarkable reduplication Mark 13. 20. The elect whom he hath chosen as if our Saviour should have said In Election there is nothing but pure Election like that speech of God I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious in which there is nothing but Will and Grace Will and Grace doubled as the only reason of it self But if all the rest might consist yet where is the Efficacy of it If Election be founded on foreseen Faith and Perseverance then it affords no help at all to any man in the way to Heaven How can that saith a Learned Bishop be the cause leading infallibly in the way to Eternal Life which cometh not so much as into consideration untill a man have run out his race in Faith and Godliness and be arrived at Heavens Gates Such a falsly named Predestination might more truly be called Postdestination but call it as they please it enacteth only per modum legis that men thus living and dying shall be received into Heaven but it doth not per modum decreti operantis infallibly work those Graces whereby men are brought unto Heaven If Election take its rise from the last gasp of persevering Faith and Holiness then how came the poor Church by the Chain of Graces on her neck the Bracelets on her hands the Crown of Gold on her head Whence had she her fine Linnen Wedding-garment Gold tried in the fire These are not Natures Riches but Pearls of Grace common Providence gives no such gifts wherefore they are the love-tokens of Election sent indeed in time unto the Church but prepared for her in Eternity O how much better were it that the Sun should be snatched out of the World than that the Influences of electing Love should be suspended from the Church All her light and life holiness and comfort comes down from God in these precious Beams But the Remonstrants instead of these heavenly influences have framed such an Election as hath no more influence on the Faith and Holiness of the Church than a Sun set up at Domesday would have upon the World that was before it it is so far from working that it presupposes all the Faith and Holiness of the Church even to the last minute of Perseverance 2. 'T is evident from the Predestination of Jesus Christ who was God's chosen servant Matth. 12. 18. The Lamb foreordained 1 Pet. 1. 20. and as St. Austin stiles him Praeolarissimum lumen praedestinationis gratiae he was as man predestinated unto the superlative glory of the Hypostatical Union and this high Predestination was not out of any foreseen holiness in his Humane nature for all that did flow out of the Hypostatical Union but it was ex mera gratia Respondeatur quaeso saith the same Father ille homo ut à Verbo patri coaeterno in unitatem personae assumptus silius Dei unigenitus esset unde hoc meruerit quid egit ante quid credidit quid petivit ut ad hanc ineffabilem excellentiam perveniret Nonne faciente suscipiente verbo ipse homo ex quo esse coepit silius Dei unicus esse coepit Nonne filium Dei unicum foemina illa gratiâ plena concepit Nonne de Spiritu sancto virgine Mariâ Dei filius unicus natus non carnis cupidine sed singulari Dei munere Respondeat hic homo Deo si audeat dicat Cur non ego si audierit O homo tu quis es qui respondeas Deo nec sic cohibeat sed augeat impudentiam dicat Quomodo audio tu quis es O homo cùm sim quod audio id est homo quod est ille de quo ago cur non sim quod ille At enim gratiâ ille talis tantus est cur diversa est gratia ubi natura communisest Certè non est acceptio personarum apud Deum Quis non dico Christianus sed insanus haec dicat Apparuit it aque nobis in nostro capite ipse fons gratiae unde secundùm uninscujusque mensuram se per cuncta ejus membra diffundit sicut est praedestinatus ille unus ut caput nostrum esset it a multi praedestinati sumus ut membra ejus essemus Humana hîc merita conticescant quae perierunt per Adam regnet quae regnat Dei gratia per Jesum Christum Surely the Members must not be set above the Head The Members were not elected to the beatifical vision out of foreseen Faith and Perseverance when the Head was elected to the Hypostatical Union out of mere Grace The elect Stones in Zion were not laid for their orient lustre and beauty when the precious Corner-stone who bears up all the building was laid with a Behold in a wonder of Grace and Love 3. 'T is utterly impossible that Faith and Perseverance should be the causes or antecedents to Election when these are the fruits and effects thereof If we search the Scripture for the Well-head of these we shall find it to be in the Decree of Election Therefore when the Apostle blesses God for the work of Faith in the Thessalonians he elevates his praises as high as Election it self knowing brethren beloved your Election of God 1 Thess. 1. 4. And in the very same strain of praise blessing God for blessing the Ephesians with all spiritual blessings in Christ amongst which Faith cannot but be a prime blessing he sets forth the eternal Rule of dispensing them he hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according as he hath chosen us Eph. 1. 3 and 4. Where it is plain that those whom God blesseth with Faith and Perseverance he chuseth unto Faith and Perseverance because he blesses according as he chuses The Remonstrants strangely interpret these words he hath chosen us in Christ that is say they being in him in the divine Prescience But this Interpretation cannot stand the Apostle saith not he hath chosen us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but he hath chosen us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in him that is in Christ now where in all the Scripture do the words in Christ import our being in Christ in the divine Prescience The words in Christ in such Scriptures as relate to Justification or Adoption do import our being in Christ by actual Faith but in such Scriptures as relate to Election they do import that all the Grace and Glory prepared in Election is conferred in and through Christ this appears in that famous place 2 Tim. 1. 9. Who hath saved us
formed in the Heart No man perfectly knows the least Atom or Dust in Nature how much less the grand Mystery of Grace Here then we must procede with great modesty and sobriety keeping as close as may be to the line and level of Scripture Now here I shall make a threefold Enquiry 1. Whether the Word of God be the Means or Instrument of Conversion 2. Whether the Will of Man be converted by the Intervention of the enlightned Understanding 3. Whether the Work of Conversion be wrought in an irresistible way 1. Whether the Word be the Means or Instrument of Conversion And here I shall endeavour two things 1. I will prove that it is so 2. I will enquire how far or in what sence it may be called so 1. I shall prove that it is so and that by three Arguments 1. Plain Scripture asserts it 2. Successive Experience shews it 3. The Analogy between the Principles of the new Creature and the Properties of the Word induces it 1. Plain Scripture asserts it Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God Rom. 10. 17. the holy scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation 2 Tim. 3. 15. the Law is perfect converting the soul Psal. 19. 7. the Gospel is the power of God to salvation to the believer Rom. 1. 16. and for the Unbeliever who accounts it foolishness and weakness the Apostle assures us that the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men 1 Cor. 1. 25. so much wiser as to out-reason their carnal Understanding and so much stronger as to out-wrestle their carnal Wills and Affections The Gospel 't is Ministerium Spiritûs the ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 8. the Golden Pipe through which the Oil of Grace is emptied out into mens Hearts and the great Organ through which the holy Ghost breathes spiritual Life into them 't is the seed of the new creature we are begotten by the word of truth Jam. 1. 18. born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever 1 Pet. 1. 23. 't is the white horse upon which Christ rides conquering and to conquer Rev. 6. 2. Conversion is a Conquest over the Minds and Wills of Men and for the obtaining thereof Christ rides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon the word of truth Psal. 45. 5. and because there be high things and strong holds in mens Hearts the Word is as a mighty Engine in his hands to cast down those heights and holds and captivate every thought to himself 2 Cor. 10. 4 5. The Apostle taking notice of the work of Faith labour of Love and patience of Hope in the Thessalonians 1 Thes. 1. 3. gives us a clear account whence those choice Graces came the fontal Cause of them was Election Ver. 4. and the instrumental the Gospel Ver. 5. For saith he our Gospel came unto you not in word only but in power and in the holy Ghost and in much assurance In a word All the Current of Scripture seals up this Truth 2. Successive Experience shews it St. Peter at once caught 3000. Souls in the Net of the Gospel Acts 2. 41. St. Paul came to the Romans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the fulness of the evangelical blessing Rom. 15. 29. the Corinthians were his seal 1 Cor. 9. 2. and the Thessalonians his joy and crown 1 Thess. 2. 19. In all Ages of the Church God's Ministers have had a proof of Christ speaking in them and God's People have felt the Word to be Spirit and Life to them in all places where God's Name hath been recorded his blessing hath been afforded where the Seed of the Word hath been sown new Creatures more or less have sprung up out of it Were there a general Assembly of the First-born what stories would they tell us about the power of the Word One would say Hell flashed in my face out of such a Threatning another Heaven opened to me in such a Promise a third the Beauty of Holiness appeared to me in such a Precept every one in the Language of his own Experience would speak forth the wonders of the Word How many have been forced by the power of it to fall down and worship and say God is in it of a truth How many have experimentally felt it pointing out their darling Lust plucking again and again at the Iron-sinew in their Wills lifting and thrusting hard at the World in their Hearts and at last carrying away their Souls in a fiery Chariot of holy Affections towards God in Christ The common sense of Christians bears witness to the Efficacy of it 3. The Analogy between the Principles of the new Creature and the Properties of the Word induces it If we compare the Understanding of the new Creature with the Word there is a Principle of excellent knowledge and here is the word of truth Eph. 1. 13. there is a lively and spiritual Knowledg and here are lively oracles Act. 7. 38. and words which are spirit and life Joh. 6. 63. there is a near and intimate knowledg and here is a word quick and powerful piercing into the very soul and spirit Heb. 4. 12. there is a divine Faith or perswasion and here are faithful sayings worthy of all acceptation 1 Tim. 4. 9. there is a clear Vision an open-fac'd Knowledge and here is a clear Revelation a pure glass reflecting the Glory of God upon the heart 2 Cor. 3. 18. there is a practical Knowledge and here is a doctrine according to godliness 1 Tim. 6. 3. Again if we compare the Will of the new Creature with the Word there are holy Desires breathing after and holy Resolutions fixing upon God as the ultimate End and here are the goads and the nails Eccl. 12. 11. which stir up those Desires and fasten those Resolutions in the Heart there is Freedom indeed spiritual Liberty in the ways of God and here is free-making truth Joh. 8. 32. and a law of liberty Jam. 1. 25. there is a fiducial and complacential rest in God and here are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 words of faith to lean upon 1 Tim. 4. 6. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 words of delight to take pleasure in Eccles. 12. 10. there is a closing with Christ in all his Offices as Prophet Priest and King and here is this Prophet speaking to us this Priest dying and as it were crucified before our eyes this King upon his Throne with a Sceptre of Righteousness in his hand there is a sorrow for hatred of Sin and here is that which pricks us at the heart and shews us Sin as an abominable thing If we compare the Affections of the new Creature with the Word there is a reduction of the Affections unto Reason and here is Reason in its height and pureness there the World hath but a very low place and here it hath but a very mean character there the
and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began here the words in Christ relating to Election do not import our being in Christ for the Text saith that he called us according to his Grace given us in Christ and Calling goes before Faith or being in Christ and is the immediate cause or fountain thereof but they import that Vocation and Salvation with all the blessings thereof are communicated unto us in and through Christ and that the eternal Decree or Design was so to communicate them Neither doth the Apostle simply say he hath chosen us in him but he hath chosen us in him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that we should be holy thereby pointing out unto us Christ as the designed Fountain of all the holiness in the Elect. Moreover the Apostle saith that he hath chosen us in him that we should be holy and Faith is a choice part of holiness and that he hath blessed us in him with all spiritual blessings and Faith is a prime spiritual blessing and that he hath blessed us according as he hath chosen us and therefore he chuses us to Faith as well as blesses us with Faith but if he chuse us for Faith and bless us with Faith he doth not bless us according as he chuses us By all which it appears that the Remonstrants Interpretation is an Arrow shot besides the Text. But to go on to other Scriptures Blessed is the man saith the Psalmist Psal. 65. 4. whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee and what approach can a sinful worm have to the holy one what but by the Faith of Christ and whence is this approach but from God and God electing He chuseth and causeth to approach unto him If Faith were antecedent to Election the approach must have been before the chusing the contrary whereof appears in the Text. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed Acts 13. 48. The Apostle saith not as many as believed were ordained to Eternal Life but as many as were ordained to Eternal life believed But here the Remonstrants tell us that in the Text 't is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that imports not God's eternal preordination but man's present condition or disposition so that the meaning is as many as were disposed or well-affected to Eternal Life believed Should it say they import God's preordination then all of that Assembly which were elected did believe at that one Sermon and all the rest were absolutely reprobated for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text is an universal particle now that all the Elect of that Assembly did believe that day or that all the rest were Reprobates is not imaginable I answer first as to the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the import thereof will best appear by taking notice in what sence St. Luke doth use this word in the Book of the Acts Acts 15. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They decreed or appointed that Paul should go up Acts 28. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 having appointed him a day Acts 22. 10. God promises Paul that it should be told him of all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are appointed or ordained for him to do and what these were Ananias sets forth by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God hath chosen thee to such and such things Ver. 14. Now in all these places of the Acts the word signifying appointing or ordaining why should it be taken otherwise in this controverted Text Nay where in all the Scripture doth this word import an inward quality or disposition In that place which seems most of any to speak that way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints 1 Cor. 16. 15. there this word imports no less than a certain purpose of mind in them to do that work Wherefore I conceive that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text doth import an ordination and that of God neither doth the absence of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at all hinder it for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 2. 23. doth without a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 import God's eternal counsel and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 designs an antecedent ordination and that ordination must be God's unless which is the grossest Pelagianism it be said that they were ordained by themselves to Eternal life But to pass over the word the Remonstrants take the Text thus As many as were disposed to Eternal Life believed but can a man without Faith who neither lays hold on Christ the Prince of life nor yet hath any thing of the Spirit of life can such a man be disposed to Eternal life Every disposition to Eternal life must be such either because it hath some intrinsecal dignity meriting Eternal life or else because it hath some Evangelical congruity to which Eternal life is annexed by Promise As to the former the Remonstrants as Protestants cannot own it and as to the latter they cannot in all the Gospel shew forth one Promise of Eternal life made to a man void of Faith and how then can a man void of Faith be disposed to Eternal life But if he could the Remonstrants of all others must not say so for they assert that none but a Believer can be the object of Election because say they God cannot will Eternal life to any but to a Believer to a man in Christ and how then can an Unbeliever a man out of Christ be disposed to Eternal life Such a mans disposition to Eternal life if it be not such by its meriting condignity must be such divinâ ordinatione and if so what is that but to say this is the man to whom God wills Eternal life and if before Faith God may will Eternal life to him why may not he before Faith elect him Again This disposition to Eternal life must be either some moral Virtuousness or else some better Grace of the Spirit if but a moral Virtuousness how can it dispose to Eternal life if a better Grace of the Spirit how can it precede such a Mother-grace as Faith But let us hear how the Remonstrants paint out this disposition in words of Scripture These disposed ones say they are the sheep of Christ Joh. 10. 4. the drawn of the Father Joh. 6. 44. such as do the truth Joh. 3. 21. such as will do God's will Joh. 7. 17. such as have honest and humble hearts apt and idoneous to embrace the Gospel But what a perplexed Labyrinth of words is here To be the sheep of Christ argues a being in the state of Election which is antecedent to all good dispositions in us they are called sheep before their bringing home to God Joh. 10. 16. and their bringing home goes before all gracious dispositions The Fathers drawing imports God's action and not man's disposition the doing of the Truth is man's
such as Election is in the supreme degree is distinctive of persons for this is decretive of certain blessings and unless the persons to whom those blessings shall be given be designed also the Decree is very imperfect and this is decretive of certain blessings out of supreme and sovereign liberty and to this as a flower of its Crown it appertains to define all persons as well as blessings Wherefore in Election not only Grace and Glory but the very individual persons who shall have and receive the same are punctually designed In Heaven there are many Mansions and the Elect Vessels must fill them up or else there might be a Vacuum in that blessed place Wherefore those Elect Vessels are all numbred in God's Decree 2. These certain individual persons are considered as lying in the Mass of perdition this as I conceive is most congruous to Scripture There Election is stiled Voluntas miserendi a will of shewing mercy Rom. ◠18. and the Elect are called vessels of mercy Rom. 9. 23. there we are said to be chosen in Christ and chosen that we should be holy Eph. 1. 4. there we are said to be appointed to obtain salvation and that in and by Jesus Christ 1 Thes. 5. 9. But if God electing did not consider men as sinners lying in the corrupt mass what need was there of Mercy where there was no misery What room for a Christ a Mediator where there was no Transgressor Why should Holiness be designed which was yet in being and unforfeited Why should Salvation be appointed when as yet there was none lost or in the state of perdition Wherefore I conceive that in Election Men are considered as sinners lying in an undone condition such only are objects capable for Mercy to embrace Christ to redeem Holiness to sanctifie and Salvation to crown The Remonstrants assert that Men in Election are considered not merely as Sinners but as Believers but the Scripture doth pregnantly contradict them for Predestination is set before Vocation Rom. 8. 30. and yet Vocation goes before Faith Christ calls the Elect his sheep before their bringing home Joh. 10. 16. and yet that bringing goes before believing Again Christ tells us Thine they were and thou gavest them me Joh. 17. 6. which passage if compared with that other All that the Father giveth me shall come to me Joh. 6. 37. doth evidently point out to us the true Method of these things Election imported in that phrase thine they were is antecedent to giving and giving to coming or believing Whence it appears clearly that Faith is not antecedent to Election as a Condition prerequisite in its object but consequent thereunto as a stream flowing out of its fountain Wherefore I conclude that in Election men are considered not as Believers but as Sinners 4. What is the impulsive Cause of Election I answer There is no other impulsive Cause but his own good pleasure It was the saying of Plato That the first Mover moves himself God in the volition of himself doth as it were move himself the divine Essence as volent being ravished with it self as infinite Goodness But in other volitions he moves other things himself remaining unmoveable Learned Bradwardine distinguishes the objects of God's Will into Volita priora posteriora priora ut Deum esse posteriora ut Mundum esse Volita priora sunt aliqua causa divinae volitionis volita autem posteriora nonsunt causa ejus Voluntas Dei cst causa omnium posteriorum si ergo aliquid esset causa Volitionis divinae illud esset causa sui ipsius But to speak in particular the Decree of Election hath no other Cause but the divine pleasure only This is evident in Scripture we are predestinated according to the good pleasure of his will Eph. 1. Ver. 5. To the praise of the glory of his grace Ver. 6. According to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will Ver. 11. If we ask why God will call a Church out of the common Mass Samuel will tell us It hath pleased the Lord to make him a people 1 Sam. 12. 22. But if we ask why it pleased him so to do Moses will tell us God loves his people because he loves them Deut. 7. 8. When God will set forth the Self-beingness of his Essence he stiles himself by that wonderful Name I am that I am When he will magnifie the Self-movingness of his Grace he gives a wonderful Reason I love because I love God is an immense Sea of Being and Love let the Elect vessels sail by the Plerophories of Faith and holy Contemplation as far as they can still there will be a boundless Sea of Being and Love before them He that will presume to spie out the Cause of either of these must first pass over Immensity and through Eternity When Moses desired to see God's Glory God proclaims the absolute sovereignty of his Will I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious Methinks these words I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious import a perfect Absoluteness and Incausability in Gods Will even as that Name I am that I am imports a perfect absoluteness and Incausability in God's Essence Some have grounded Election on good Works foreseen but this is utterly exploded by the Apostle who tells us that God hath saved and called us not according to our works but his own purpose 2 Tim. 1. 9. and that there is a remnant according to the election of grace and if it be by grace it is no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace Rom. 11. 5. Canaan the land of Promise and type of Glory was divided by Lot and suitably the Apostle saith that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we inherit by lot Eph. 1. 11. Now in the disposal of a Lot what reason or cause can be assigned exparte creaturae Is not the whole disposing thereof of the Lord Prov. 16. 33 Can any thing in the World hang more purely on the Will of God than a Lot Why have such and such Worms a lot in light and not in utter darkness The Apostle answers in that place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Predestination lots them in the Lord shews whom he hath chosen by giving Grace and Glory according to his good pleasure When Ahasuerus could not rest he calls for the Records and reading there of Mordecai's service he thereupon resolves to honour him Esth. 6. this was done like a man But it is not so with God who doth not honour after the manner of men 2 Sam. 7. 19. but in a way becoming his glorious sovereignty and bounty he purposes in himself Eph. 1. 9. Perinde valet saith Calvin ac si diceretur nihil extra se considerâsse cujus rationem in decernendo haberet he rests in his love Zeph. 3. 17. and unless that complacential rest which he takes in his own Will could be broken we cannot imagine that he should fall a searching
the Records of his Prescience and for the good Works written therein make a Decree of Election unto glory for such an Election would not be an Election of grace but of works and the Elect Vessels would be vasa Meritorum and not vasa Misericordiae But where is the holiness and obedience of the Saints recorded but in the very Decree of Election Therein God doth not only chuse men to glory as the end but also unto saith and holiness as the way leading thereunto God hath chosen us that we should be holy Eph. 1. 4. Non quia futuri eramus sed ut essemus sancti I have chosen you saith Christ that you should go and bring forth fruit Joh. 15. 16. and happy are ye if you do these things saith he Joh. 13. 17. But would all the Apostles bring forth fruit would they all do so and be happy Our Saviour answers plainly Ver. 8. I speak not of you all I know whom I have chosen He speaks not of Election to the Apostleship but of Election to Grace and Glory for it is such an Election as shuts Judas out of the number Neither doth he say I know which of you will be holy and obedient but I know whom I have chosen because all the holiness and obedience of the Saints is built upon free Election Inter gratiam praedestinationem hoc tantùm interest saith St. Austin quòd praedestinatio est gratiae praeparatio gratia verò est ipsa donatio Quod ait Apostolus Ipsius sumus figmentum creati in Christo Jesu in operibus bonis gratia est quod autem sequitur quae praeparavit Deus ut in illis ambulemus praedestinatio est Si propriè appellentur saith St. Bernard ea quae dicimus nostra merita sunt quaedam spei seminaria charitatis incentiva occultae praedestinationis indicia futurae foelicitatis praesagia via regni non causa regnandi Others build Election on foreseen Faith and Perseverance as if these were the moving Causes or at least the antecedent Conditions thereof Thus the Remonstrants herein outstripping the Jesuits themselves Praedestinatio saith Ruiz tota est ex voluntate Dei quantùm ad merita quantùm ad retributionem And in another place Deus dat ut velimus facitque ut faciamus and withal gives an instance in Faith and Perseverance Bellarmine spends some Chapters in proving this Thesis Praedestinationis nulla est causa in nobis Electio saith he non pendet ex ulla praevisione operum nostrorum sed ex mero beneplacito Dei Si spectes saith Gregory de Valentia praedestinationis rationem nihil est in praedestinato sed potius in ipso Deo imò est ipse Deus à quo quae sua est infinita perfectio nulla ejus operatio reipsâ distinguitur And Praedestinationi sunt ascribenda omnia Dei dona quibus salus nostra continetur Deus suos electos saith Suarez ante praevisa merita suâ gratuitâ voluntate elegit non tantùm ad unum vel aliud beneficium gratiae sed ad totam seriem Mediorum quibus infallibiliter perducuntur ad regnum And again Electio non est ex praescientia perseverantiae futurae sed est origo illius Who can but blush at these passages wherein the Jesuits themselves attribute more to free Grace than the Remonstrants But for the thing it self the very same Scriptures which overthrow Election as founded on foreseen Works do overthrow it as founded on foreseen Faith That place Rom. 11. 5. is very pregnant against it There is saith the Apostle a remnant according to the Election of grace the reservation there spoken of is not man's act but God's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the holy Oracle Ver. 4. Non dixit saith Austin relicta sunt mihi aut reliquerunt se mihi sed reliqui mihi The word in the Old Testament is very emphatical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faciam remanere I will cause or make to remain 1 Kings 19. 18. And how doth God reserve or make men to remain unto himself how but by giving of Faith unto them This is that which puts them into the Ark of Salvation neither is there any other way of reserve found in the Gospel Now this reservation which imports in it the giving of Faith is saith the Apostle according to the Election of grace Election therefore is not according to Faith but Faith according to Election But as if the Apostle had not yet spoken enough in calling it the Election of grace he goes on and if by grace then it is no more of works otherwise grace is no more grace where he doth include Faith within the word works Indeed in other places treating of Justification he opposes Faith to Works but here speaking of Election he includes Faith within them and the reason is evident Faith hath a peculiar Organicalness or Receptivity to receive the free Grace of God that the Believer may be justified Gal. 2. 16. but it hath no Organicalness or Receptivity to receive the free Grace of God that the Believer may be elected Wherefore as to Justification it is opposed to Works but as to Election it is included within them It is written in the Gospel Believe and thou shalt be justified but in what Gospel is it written Believe and thou shalt be elected Now that Election is not bottomed on foreseen Faith and Perseverance I shall demonstrate divers ways 1. From the glory of Election which breaks forth in its Eternity Sovereignty Grace and Efficacy If Election be founded on foreseen Faith and Perseverance where is the Eternity of it No man according to the Remonstrants Doctrine is completely Elect until he believe nay not until the last instant of Perseverance wherein he ceases to believe But if this may be salved by the Divine Prescience yet where is the Sovereignty of it Hath not the Potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel to honour and another to dishonour Rom. 9. 21 To order different Vessels out of the same lump to different ends is glorious power but to sever out Believers from Unbelievers is not so much power as skill Whether God in Predestination look on men in statu integro or in statu lapso it is out of the same lump still but if he elect out of foreseen Faith it is not out of the same lump with the unbelieving World for he looks on them in statu reparato To elect out of skill according to the goodness of the object becomes a Rational Creature but to elect out of Sovereignty and supreme Liberty becomes the great God who can make and meliorate the object as he pleaseth But if this also might be satisfied yet where is the Grace of it If God do but eligere eligentes if Man's Faith be earlier than God's Grace then we chuse God before he chuseth us contrary to that of our Saviour Joh. 15. 16. then we loved
action and not his disposition the willing to do God's will is a gracious disposition but such as goes not before Faith Indeed the young man who yet had no true Faith had some kind of will to walk in God's Commandments Mark 10. 20. but it was not of the true stamp but with a reserve of his darling Covetousness To have a right Will to do God's Will is to be one spirit with the Lord which without Faith is unimaginable 'T is not to be conceived that an heart can indeed be either honest to God which is not purified by Faith or humble before him which is not irradiated by Faith As for the last objection That if these words import God's Preordination then all the Elect of that Assembly did believe at that one Sermon and all the rest were reprobated it is built upon two false hypotheses The one as if the Evangelist spake only of one Sermon whenas the Apostle had now preached two Sabbath-days there so that these words are most properly to be understood of the continued success of the Gospel according to that Acts 2. 47. The Lord daily added to the Church such as should be saved which continued success is also hinted out in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 immediately following after the words Ver. 49. The other as if the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were always an universal Particle whenas in some Scriptures as Acts 4. 6. it doth not design universality for all the High Priest's kindred were not at that meeting but quality also in the Text in question the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rather points out the condition of Believers than their number Wherefore I conclude that this famous Text holds out such an Eternal Preordination of God as is the very Well-head of Faith in men Every Believer is an Isaac a child of Promise wonderfully begotten begotten of God's own will saith St. James Chap. 1. 18. and begotten according to his abundant mercy saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 1. 3. And what is this Will and Mercy but God's gratuitous design of Grace and Glory to his Elect The Will in St. James is such a Will as designs Grace and Consecration to God in holiness even as the first fruits were holy and the Mercy in St. Peter is such a Mercy as designs Glory even an incorruptible and undefiled Inheritance in Heaven and both places demonstrate that the Believer is generated out of Electing Love And as Faith is an effect of Election so also is Perseverance which is no other than Fides continuata Faith standing in the power of God 1 Cor. 2. 5. and fulfilled by the same power 2 Thess. 1. 11. God saith the Apostle shall confirm you unto the end 1 Cor. 1. 8. and as a Reason he subjoyns God is faithful Ver. 9. Faithful as in his gracious Promises so in his gratuitous Election therefore he confirms his own unto the end There are Rivers of living Water in the Godly but the eternal Spring thereof is Election there is the Seed of God in them but the vital Root of it is Election Hence the false Christs and false Prophets cannot seduce them Mark 13. 22. The canker of Hymenaeus and Philetus cannot eat into them 2 Tim. 2. 19. Now if Faith and Perseverance are the fruits of Election they cannot be the causes or antecedents thereof Let me shut up this Reason with that of Fulgentius Deus praedestinatione suâ donum illuminationis ad credendum donum perseveraniiae ad proficiendum permanendum donum glorificationis ad regnandum quibus dare voluit praeparavit nec aliter persicit in opere quà m in sua sempiterna incommutabili voluntate habet dispositum 4. My last Reason shall be taken from the grand Scope and Design of the Scriptures which is to exalt God and abase the Creature There God's glory is revealed and all flesh is but grass there God is all in all and all men are nothing the willer and runner are nothing and Gods mercy is all the planter and waterer are nothing and Gods giving the encrease is all There all men lie very low in a Dungeon of Darkness Grave of Sin and miserable Chains of Hardness and Unbelief and God sits very high and out of the sovereign Self-motion of his own Will shines into one Heart and not into another opens one Grave and not another frees one spiritual Prisoner and not another There Zions dust I mean the Creature-weakness and defectibility of the Church and all her inherent Graces appear on the one hand and the sureness of God's Mercy and the everlasting immutability of his Love and Counsel shines forth on the other and what 's the meaning of all this but to cut off boasting and stain pride abase the Creature and exalt God In nullo nobis gloriandum quando nostrum nihil est But if as the Remonstrants assert Election be built on Faith and Perseverance and this Faith and Perseverance be wrought by God in a superable way only so as men may believe or not or believing may persevere or not then the Crown is plucked off from Free Grace and clapt upon Free Will God is dethroned and man is exalted and so may fall a boasting in some such language as that of Theophylact 'T is God's part to call but mine to be elect or not 't is God's part to reveal Gospel but mine either to believe and persevere and so found the Decree of Election or else not to believe and persevere and so to impede it And if to silence such swelling words of vanity God should put forth such astonishing questions to him about the Spiritual World as he did to Job about the Natural yet might man return an answer to his Maker Should God ask Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of my Church in my divine Decrees when I laid the measures of her Graces in my Eternal purpose Man may say My Faith was there stretching out the Line and fastning the Corner-stone of Election Should he ask Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Predestination that it shall not cause a Spring of Faith and Holiness in my Church Man may say I can so bind them up that if I please God shall have never an Elect Vessel to fill with Mercy nor Christ any where to lay his Merits among all the sons of men Should he yet ask Who hath known the mind of the Lord or been his Counseller Man may answer My Free Will was consulted with from time to time even to the last gasp of Perseverance before the Decree of Election was concluded in Heaven Should he ask on Who made thee to differ from another The Believer may answer Adam did not difference me for he left me in the common Mass neither did God difference me for he gave me only the Common Grace but I my self have made the difference by freely embracing the very same Grace which others freely rejected In a word should he expostulate with
Questions 1. Whether God be not the Author of Conversion 2. After what manner it is wrought 3. Whether God's Will be not always accomplished therein 1. Whether God be not the Author of it And to this Scripture and Reason answer in the affirmative 1. Scripture asserts it there Conversion is painted out under various Notions With reference to our old Corruption 't is called a new heart with reference to the Seed of the Word 't is a generation with reference to our natural Birth 't is a regeneration with reference to the Law in the Letter 't is the Law in the heart with reference to the World 't is a heavenly call out of it with reference to Satan 't is a translation out of his kingdom with reference to Christ 't is a coming to him by faith with reference to God 't is a returning or conversion to him with reference to our death in Sins 't is a resurrection a quickning of the dead with reference to our nullity in Spirituals 't is a creation or a new creature The Scripture phrases it many ways but still it sets forth God as the supreme Author of it Be it a new Heart God is the giver of it Ezek. 36. 26. be it a Generation or Regeneration God is the father of it Jam. 1. 18. be it the Law in the heart God is the writer of it Heb. 8. 10. be it a Call out of the World God is the caller 2 Tim. 1. 9. be it a Translation out of Satan's Kingdom God is the translator Col. 1. 13. be it a coming to Christ God is the drawer Joh. 6. 44. be it a turning or returning to God God is the converter to him the Church prays Turn us O Lord and we shall be turned Lam. 5. 21. be it a Resurrection God is the quickner Eph. 2. 5. be it a new Creation God is the creator and we are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his workmanship created in Christ Jesus Eph. 2. 10. Every way God is the Author of Conversion even in Actual Conversion whilest the Act is Man's the Grace is God's for he worketh the Will and the Deed. 2. Reason evinces this and that 3 ways 1. Creature-weakness needs it Man cannot convert himself the Natural man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 receiveth not the things of God 1 Cor. 2. 14. nay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he cannot be subject to God's Law Rom. 8. 7. as to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he wants a heart Prov. 9. 4. a Stone he hath which resists God's Will but a heart he hath not to obey the same His Will is tota cupiditas a Lust rather than a Will no wonder if he cannot by his own power convert himself Conversion is a thing above the Sphere of lapsed Nature nay beyond the line of Angels Man's Heart is so dark that those stars of light cannot irradiate it and so cold that those flames of love cannot warm it there is such an Iron-sinew in it as the heavenly hosts which excel in strength cannot bow but must leave it to the Arms of the Almighty and when he doth it they joy over the Convert as a wonder of Power and Grace 2. The Excellency of the Work calls for it The Body of Nature is a rare piece but the Soul of Man is of a nobler value and in the Soul converting Grace which is but an Accident is worth more than the Soul it self 't is the Soul's Rectitude 't is glory within 't is the precious hidden man of the heart 't is the very image of God 't is Christ formed in us 't is anima in centro the Soul centred in God joined unto him and after a wonderful manner becoming one spirit with him 't is Faith in the true one Love in the essential Love a mind light in the Lord and a Will at liberty in the Will of the primum liberum and who can be Author thereof but God alone God made all things ab Angelo usque ad vermiculum from the Angel in Heaven to the Worm on Earth but in Conversion he makes a poor Worm angelize God must be owned in every Atom of Nature how much more in the great Work of Grace This is one of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wonderful works of God Acts 2. 11. St. Austin tells a Story of one who was seduced at first but to deny God's Creatorship in the Fly afterwards came to deny it in the Bird and then in the Beast and at last in Man But if any one should procede so far as to deny him in Conversion it would be more prodigious Blasphemy than all the rest Saving Grace is a ray or sparkle of the Deity a thing merely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to God Eph. 4. 24. there is more of God to be seen in it than in all the World of Creatures besides and by consequence to deny him in that is more than to deny him in all the rest 3. The Almightiness of Grace can only effect it As the Scripture sets out Conversion as a great Work so it sets out an almighty Grace as the Cause thereof He that believes acording to some Scriptures that in the work of Conversion there is a resurrection of the soul from the dead a transformation of a stony heart into flesh and a Creation of a new heart and new spirit must also believe according to other Scriptures that in the production of that Work there is put forth a divine power excellency of power and exceeding greatness of power such as raised up Christ from the dead In Conversion there is not only a light shining round about the Sinner but a light shining into him not only a waking of a sleepy Will but a quickning of a dead one not only a proposal of divine Objects but an infusion of divine Principles therefore the Grace effecting it must be almighty That in the Prophet I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes Ezek. 36. 27. is as much a word of Power as the Fiat which made the World that in the Gospel the hour cometh and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live Joh. 5. 25. sounds out as great an efficacy as that other Lazarus come forth nothing less than almighty Power can effect it 2. After what manner is it wrought Our Saviour sets out the Mystery of Regeneration by the Wind the wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth so is every one that is born of the Spirit Joh. 3. 8. In Regeneration the Spirit blows with such a sound as breaks the Stone in the Heart and with such lively gales as quicken the dead Soul but the manner of this Work is in a great measure secret and incomprehensible by us If we know not how the Bones grow in the Womb how much less how Christ is
spiritually dead to take in the Word of God as from a divine Impression in that the words of Christ entred not at all into the naturally dead in this the Word of God enters into the spiritually dead even intimately into his very heart in that the words of Christ were transient and passed away in this the Word of God though it may pass away as to its sounds and syllables yet as to its substance it lives and abides for ever in the new Creature Wherefore these differences considered I conclude That Christ's words were only declarative in that Resurrection but God's Word is operative also in this The manner how God works gracious Principles in and by his Word as an Instrument is a Secret which I dare not pry into only for a little more illustration of the Words Efficacy in the production of gracious Principles there are two Instants or Moments to be distinctly considered 1. The first Instant or Moment is that wherein there is a close Application and intimate Inning of the Word in the Heart in common Auditors the Word is upon the Heart but here it is in it in temporary Believers the Word is in some degree in the heart but here it is in it intimately This close Application is excellently set out in Scripture 't is a nail fastned Eccles. 12. 11. 't is a word engrafted Jam. 1. 21. 't is instruction sealed Joh 33. 16. 't is the Law put and written in the heart Heb. 8. 10. 't is wisdom entring into the heart Prov. 2. 10. 't is the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or entrance into his auditors 1 Thess. 2. 1. 't is the word having a place in us Joh. 8. 37. and such a place as to root in our hearts thus Joh says of himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the root of the word is found in me Joh 19. 28. and this Root is such as will abide in us and become the incorruptible seed of the new Creature This close Application is a glorious work of God and the Word is not altogether passive therein but in the hand of the Spirit 't is quick and powerful as a sharp Sword piercing and cutting its way into the heart Heb. 4. 12. and as a mighty Engine casting down imaginations and high things there 2 Cor. 10. 5. that it self may have a place and Throne in the same 2. The second Instant or Moment is that wherein God in and by the Word so intimately inned in the Heart doth produce the Principles of Grace there in the first Moment the indwelling Word makes the Heart a spiritual Bethlehem a House of Bread in the second Christ is spiritually born there in the first Moment the incorruptible Seed is sown in the Heart in the second it springs up into a new Creature The Scripture seems to me to hold out this Method very clearly the engrafted word is able to save the soul Jam. 1. 21. the Word saves the Soul but not merely as outwardly expressed but as inwardly engrafted Faith comes by hearing the word Rom. 10. 17. but is that a mere outward hearing No surely there is a hearing of the Father and so a coming to Christ Joh. 6. 45. There is the powerful and intimate demonstration of the Spirit and so faith stands in the power of God 1 Cor. 2. 4 5. that is to say in that power of God which intimately demonstrates and closely applies the Word unto the Heart as its true Cause and Foundation When the Apostle speaks of the Thessalonians Faith and Love 1 Thess. 1. 3. he there opens the causes thereof viz. the fontal Cause God's Election Ver. 4. and the instrumental Cause the Gospel Ver. 5. but how could the Gospel be an Instrument The Apostle tells us that it came to them not in word only but in power and in the holy Ghost it was strongly and sweetly set home upon the Heart and from that Impress came Faith and Love The Wise Man would have the Word kept in the midst of the heart and his Reason is because it is life Prov. 4. 21 22. The Word in the Ear only is but a transient 〈◊〉 but the Word in the midst of the Heart is Spirit and Life Job proves the truth of his Grace thus The root of the word is in me Joh 19. 28. The Word as shining on the Head lights up Notions but as rooted in the Heart springs up in Graces St. John tells the Young Men that they are strong and for a â—eason adds this the word of God abides in them 1 Joh. 2. 14. St. Paul first speaks of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or entrance into his auditors and then of their turn to the living and true God 1 Thess. 1. 9. The entrance of the word into the Understanding giveth light Psal. 119. 130. and when it passeth from the Understanding to the Will 't is spiritually a word upon the wheels and inwardly becomes free-making truth Joh. 8. 32. ennobling the Will with true Liberty in the ways of God Epaphras was in an Agony of Prayer for the Colossians that they might be filled in all the will of God Col. 4. 12. the more filling with God's Will the more true Liberty in ours St. Peter clearly asserts that we are born again of the incorruptible seed of the word 1 Pet. 1. 23. In which words his plain meaning is that the Word being intimately sown in the Heart doth under the warming influences of the hoâ—â— spirit spring up into the new Creature and to make this the plainer he adds that the word lives and abides for ever speaking as I take it not of the Words living and abiding in it self but of its living and abiding in the new Creature As it is with natural Seed or Grain sown the Husk or outward part passes away but the lively or substantial part springs up into the Stalk Blade and Ear so it is with the Seed of the Word the letters and syllables the noise and sound of words pass away but the lively and substantial Truth springs up into the new Creature and in it lives and abides for ever God made two great Promises of Regeneration the one That he would write the Law in the heart and the other That he would give a new heart and the latter he fulfils by the former In these two Instants distinguishable at least in Nature doth God by his Word bring forth the Principles of Grace Now here I would conclude this point but that I am obviated by two Objections The one absolutely against the Words Instrumentality The other against the Method proposed in the two Instants 1. Object That against the Words Instrumentality is this The Production of gracious Principles is a Creation and in Creation there can be no Instrument at all and therefore the Word cannot be an Instrument in that Production In answer to which Objection founded on Philosophical Principles I think it were enough to say with the Psalmist Thy testimonies are wonderful Psal.