of his will but according to a lawe which is this whosoever believeth not shall be damned And albeit God made that lawe according to the mere pleasure of his will yet no wise man will say that God denyes glory and inflicts damnation on men according to the mere pleasure of his will the case being cleere that God denyes the one and inflâ—cts the other merely for their sinnes who are thus dealt withall And indeede albeit men are founde aequall in their moralitie when God denyes the grace of faith and repentance unto some which he bestowes on others yet when he comes to deny glory and inflict damnation on men dealing otherwise with others he doth not finde all to be aequall but some he findes to have ended their dayes in the state of faith and true repentance others to have finished their dayes in sinn in infidelitie or impaenitencye And accordingly we distinguishe betweene absolute election unto salvation election unto salvation absolute absolute reprobation unto damnation and reprobation unto damnation absolute we grant absolute election unto salvation and absolute reprobation unto damnation but we deny eyther election to be unto salvation absolute or reprobation unto damnation absolute Yet there is a considerable difference betweene these for as much as finall infidelitie and impenitency are the meritorious causes of damnation but faith repentance and good workes are but the disposing causes of salvation Yet like as God inflicts not damnation but by way of punishment so he doth not bestowe salvation on any of ripe yeares but by way of reward Yet here allso is a difference for damnation is inflicted by way of punishment for the evill workes sake which are committed but salvation is not conferred by way of reward for the good workes sake which are performed but merely for Christs sake All this this Author as I sayde doth very judiciously confounde for the advantage of his cause taking no notice at all of these distinctions whether wittingly dissembling them or ignorantly not discerning them albeit the genuine condition of our Tenet rightly understood doth clearly bespeake them So that if he woulde fairely sett hâ—mselfe to the impugning of our Tenet as touching the absolutenes of Gods decree he should leave the consideration of election and reprobation as touching those things willed by them which we call salvation and damnation insist upon the consideration of election and reprobation as touching those other things willed therby which we call the giving of faith and repentance unto some and the denyall of faith and repentance unto others wherin we willingly professe that God caryeth himselfe absolutely throughout not only decreeing thâ—se according to the mere pleasure of his will without all consideration of ought in man but giving them allso unto some and denying them unto others according to the mere pleasure of his will without the consideration of ought in man Now in this point this Author is content to be silent for he findes no such harshnes imputable unto us in this Tenet of ours Neyther indeede can he stande to maynteyne his owne Tenet without plunging himselfe into manifest Pelagianisme For if God doth not give faith repentance unto men according to the mere pleasure of his will but upon consideration of somewhat founde in man then grace shall be given according unto workes which was condemned in the Synod of Palestine above 1200. yeares agoe all along impugned by the orthodoxe in opposition to the Pelagians and Semipelagians But I am willing to proceede further with this Author and to proove that God shoulde not be unjust though he inflict torment upon a creature though never so innocent For consider shall it not be lawfull with God to doe what he will with his creature Hath not man power to doe what he will with the workmanship of his owne handes And shall this power be denyed unto God How did he afflict his most holy and innocent Sonne only to make his soule an offering for the sins of others And what power hath God given us over inferior creatures that are not capable of sinne are capable of payne enough through diseases and through our imployment of them to doe us their faithfull services we put them to death after such a manner as wherby they may proove beneficiall unto us eyther for food or physicke neyther doe we offende God in this though some kindes of death proove more paynfull unto them yet so long as hereby they proove more usefull unto us we doe not transgresse And now adayes all sides confesse that it is in the power of God to annihilate the holiest Angell in heaven and that in the execution herof he shoulde execute no other then a lawfull power And who had not rather be content to suffer a continuall payne so it be tolerable then to dye much more then to have both body soule turned into nothing When the old world was drowned how many thousands of infants perished in that deluge choaked in the waters which were guiltie of no other sinne then what they sinned in our common Father Adam So in the destruction of Sodom and Gommorrha by fire how many Infants were burnt to ashes some in their mothers wombe some hanging on their mothers breasts when the earth opened and swallowed up the congregation of Dathan and Abâ—ram their litle ones were swallowed up together with their rebellious parents and shall we say that God was unjust in the execution of these and such like judgments Yet Medina professeth that God as Lord of life and death hath power to inflict any payne on any creature be he never so innocent and this he delivers ex concordi omnium Theologorum Sententia And indeed no reason can define those boundes limits of payne and sorrowe eyther as touching intension or duration within which in the execution of payne God must consist beyond which he cannot proceede incolumi justitia And will thâ—s Author deny that by the sinne of one man sinne entred into the world and death by sinne hath spread it selfe over all even over those that did not sinne after the similitude of Adams transgression that is over Infants Is this the fruite of God his making us after his owne image that herupon we shoulde circumscribe and lâ—mit the execution of his power over us in comparison with others and that only by rules devised by fleshe and blood And if he doth execute no other then a lawfull power can he be justly censured of crueltie But seing he ordeynes no man to damnation but for sinne and that to the manifestation of his justice which is his glory is he lesse good or wise or just in this The scripture playnely teacheth us that God made all thinges for himselfe even the wicked against the day of evill and shall we suspende our judgements as touching our adherence unto this divine and sacred truth untill such time as we have made triall how this doctrine will relish with infidells What
consolation in God even to the assurance of their election If weake in faith and oppressed vnder the burthen of their sinnes yet is there no cause why they should despayre by reason of any doctrine of ours but rather good hope that these troubles of minde may proove as panges of childbirth to deliver their soules into the world of grace 2. Of any doctrine Canonized eyther in the Synod of Dort which we knowe or in the Synod of Arles which I knowe not I am utteâ—lâ— ignorant The course of comprehending the doctrine of the Church concerning certeyne points in severall theses and denominating them canons hath bene anciently of use in Councells and Synods but of canonizing any doctrine therby I never heard nor read till now But if the Church be the pillar and butteresse of truthe the authoritie therof is of no small force for the establishment therof albeit we acknowledge no infallible rule of faith but the word of God The quaestion in praesent is whether election be upon the foresight of mans obedience or according to the meere pleasure of God and in the issue it comes to this as in due place I will shewe whether God hath mercy on whom he will by giving faith and repentance vnto them and whom he will he hardeneth by denying faith and repentance Or rather in the dispensation distribution of these graces proceedeth according to mens workes Now to me it seemes a strange course when a quaestion is moved as touching two contrary opinions which of them is true and to be embraced to drawe the resolution herof to the consideration of the usefulnes of the opinions or doctrines quaestioned As if because an opinion is usefull therfore it is to be coÌ„cluded that it is true and not rather in case it be founde to be true yea the very truthe of God the rule wherof alone is Gods word therfore we ought to conclude that it is vsefull and be carefull to make such use of it as it doth bespeake Nay is it not most indecent for man to presume â—o obâ—rude opinions upon Gods word upon a bare praetence of the usefulnes of them in mans iudgment to serve turnes as he thinkes good And doe not as many as take such courses for the mayntenance of their owne way manifest hereby that their cause is desperate and that it seemes they have very litle or no ground for their opinions out of the word of God when they runne out vnto such divinations as these for the supporting of their labouring and wavering cause As for example if the Apostle shall playnly professe that election is not of workes shall not we embrace this for truth unles we finde it to be more usefull to the purposes here specified then the contrary and if we seeme to finde the contrary doctrine more usefull then this in our phantasy shall we therfore contradict the Apostle in expresse termes or set our wits on worke so to fashion the Apostles meaninge by a forced interpretation as to make him to contradict his owne wordes In like sort if the Apostle sayth God hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth Rom. 9.18 And withall manifests that by obteyning mercy at Gods handes he understandeth the obteyning of faith Rom. 11.30 that even in the former place being manifest enough by the antithesis of it unto obduration Shall we hang still in suspense as touching the acknowledging of S. Pauls meaninge untill we have well weighed and considered the usefulnes of this doctrine in comparison with the usefulnes of the contrary doctrine and according to the weight of each by such weights and in the scale of our judgment pronounce judicially eyther for Paul or against him or at least make the holy Apostle by some practise or other to eate his owne wordes as Saturne did his children And verily in the cause of such a triall a good witt will serve a disputant in good steade who can if he list bring forth pleasant ejaculations in commendation of a bald head or of folly with Erasmus or of a louse with Daniel Heinsius and with our English Sonnetters of a stâ—aweâ— to witnesse thâ— songe O the strawe the strawe and then let them take forth and singe Now here is a jolly couâ—se quoth the minstrill And others like eâ—ough will be furnished with as good witt to the contrary in displaying the unnecessary condition of ought â—ike him who having fâ—â—st made an excellent speech in the commendation of justice afterwards spake as wiâ—â—ily to the contrary shewing that there was no justice at all in the World And I have heard of a Gentleman that would discourse against any neede we have at all of fire saying that at the end he was driven to a non plus for as much as he could not devise how his horse could be shod without it And in like manner I have with admiration receaved a relation concerning a Gentleman in an Assembly of States such as we call Parliaments namely that he was absolutely the best speaker yet nothing respected and that for a most sufficient reason which was this They knew full well that he could speake as well and as movingly to that which was quite contrary And I willingly professe the Author of this discourse seemes to be a witâ—y Gentleman and to enterteyne his readers in the following treatise with a pretty enterlude no mervail if he makes choyse of a fiâ—t scene wherein to shew the feates of his activitie Wherein how well he caryeth himselfe when he comes to the triall of our Doctrine by the serviceablenes thereof to the three endes here proposed we shall by Gods helpe inquire in due place But surely though it be not serviceable to any of these ends yet if it be as serviceable to other ends above specified out of the history of the Counsell of TreÌ„t as also out of the 17. article of our church of EnglaÌ„d as also to the glorifying of God in acknowledging the prerogative of his grace as onely effectuall to every thinge that is good the prerogative of Gods soveraintie over his Creatures in making whom he will Vessells of mercy and whom he will Vessells of wrath â—o witt by shewing mercy on whom he will and hardening whom he will This I hope shall be sufficient to uphold the reputatioÌ„ of it yea albeit it be found contrary to other endes which yet I deny like as comforts are contrary to the use of terrifying and terrours are contrary to the use of comfortinge and yet Gods word coâ—taines both kindes of discipline Like as Martin Luther and Melancthon were of different dispositions and Erasmus his censure of them was this that Melancthon followed Luther as Litae followeth Atae in Homer yet Chytraeus in his Historiae confessionis Augustanae as I remember professeth that God in his gracious providence made good use of both for the service of his Church and propagation of the Gospell in these latter dayes And I well observe
this present be the time why should he deferre the hearing of Gods word wherby alone is our calling wrought though every one that heares it is not effectually called unto faith and repentance And a man may heare it with a purpose to oppose it eyther in generall or in some particular truth thereof Yet this humour of opposition cannot hinder Gods word and the operation of his Spirit where he will in spight of their coÌ„ceytes who thought the Apostles were filled with newe wine when three thousand were converted that day and Austin acknowledgeth that God converteth not only aversas à vera fide but adversas verae fidei voluntates We reade in the 7. of Iohn that some who were sent to take Christ were taken by him And Father Latimer observing that some came to Church only to take a nap yet saith he let them come for it may be they may be taken napping If it be impossible for man to disobey it is as impossible for man in like manner not to be industrious when God will have him to be industrious Yet I know no industry of man required to his effectuall vocation but the hearing of Gods word neyther is the execution of Gods goodnes towards him hastned by his hearkning to Gods word For though men doe heare it dayly yet are they not foorth with brought to faith As for effectuall vocation we take it to be all one with regeneration in effect and this Author will have God so to worke herein as to leave it to man whether he will be regenerated or no this is their sobrietie Austin I am sure professeth saying Deus omnipotente facilitate convertiâ— ex nolentibus volentes facit This Author seemes by his discoursing here of prayers eyther to be poorely exercised in Antiquitie or richly exercised in the contemning of it For he would have men to be effectually called by vertue of their prayers The Apostle saith how can they call upon him in whom they have not believed but this Author is able by his prayers to obteyne faith nay he makes shewe as if he could obteyne faith allso before his callinge and feares not to maynteyne that grace is obteynable by mens workes yet the contrary was condemned in the Synod of Palestine and Pelagius himselfe driven to subscribe unto it We nothing regard the qualitie of the person who speakes therby to condemne his doctrine but we judge of his doctrine and therby of the qualitie of his person Here he hath runne himselfe out of breathe as touching the first part of his performance We come unto the second The SECOND PART The first Section LEt us now see whether the practise of this doctrine hath more power over a debauched Christian to bring him to repentance and amendment of life To him then he will shew the filthines of his sinne the scandall to his neighbour the ingratitude to his Creator and redeemer the menaces of the law and the vengeance of God prepared for all impenitents c. Whereupon this man having more knowledge of our Doctrine of the Synods then of a good conscience will send his Censurer to the Maximes and Principles thereof and will much muse how the other should be ignorant that every thing which is done by men on Earth be it good or evill commeth not to passe but by the most efficacious decree and ordinance of God which doth all in all That the first cause doth in such manner moove and direct the second among which is the will of man that they cannot otherwise stirre then they are stirred That he is very sure that he is given to such a vice but his comfort is that God would have it so by his secret will that God hath predestinated him thereunto having as much willed and procured the treason of Iudas as the conversion of Paul That he hath no power to reteyne grace when he that gave it will take it away That the Spirit bloweth where it listeth inspireth whom it will withdraweth when it pleaseth when it pleaseth returns again And if it be with an intention for his amendment it shall be as impossible for him to withstand or else delay it as it is now to worke or hasten it Consid. We have considered how well this Author haâ—h instructed an infidell to play his part in opposing the doctrin of the Synod of Dort and Arles Now we are to consider how a debaucht Christian is fashioned by him to play his part in the same humour of opposition To such a one it is fitt we should apply the hammâ—r of the law which hath power to breake the bones we will labour to bring him thereby to the knowledge of sinne not onely of the nature of it but of the power of it Even of the power of that sinne which as the Apostle speaketh Rom. 7.8 takes occasion by the law to worke in man all manner of concupiscence and withall we will endeavour to bring him acquainted with the wrath of God and how in the course therof a fire is kindled that burneth to the bottom of hell Against this how he strengtheneth his Disciple from our doctrine we are to consider in the next place Now here first he supposeth his Factor to have more knowledge of the doctrine of the Synods then of a good conscience So that all debaucht Christians throughout the world he packs them together and makes them very judiciously to be of our side This is to hold up the enterlude of his owne making He is no Darby-shire man belike for their tales commonly ende with woodcocke on the one side as well as with woodcocke on the other side And we willingly confesse that our doctrine teacheth men not to trust to their selves for the doing of ought that is good but merely to the grace of God to give it the glory of working us to every thing that is pleasing in the sight of our heavenly Father Now this our adversary conceaves is it which makes us dissolute because we have learnt of S. Paul that God is he who makes us perfect to every good work workes in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ. As for these olde Evangelists they have a better opinion of their sufficiency then so and Aristotle hath taught them another lesson and it stands them upon to maynteyne their credite and reputation in this point by the exercise of their moralitie in a very accurate manner least otherwise they shoulde seeme to vaunt much in wordes but to preforme litle or nothing when they come to deedes Therfore they provide accordingly to holde up the credite of their Tenets and very artificially and histrionically they turne over all the debaucht Christians in the world on our side we must father them or at least our parishe must keepe them and that for good reason because they can no where be maynteyned so conveniently as by our trenchers For we must not be ignorant that every thing which is done
the act another speciall as touching the manner of performing it Lastly as touching the manner how all things shall come to passe by vertue of Gods decree this Author lurkes purposely under a miserable confusion which we cleere thus All things come to passe we say by Gods decree whether they are such things as come to passe necessarily by second causes working necessarily Or such as come to passe contingently by second causes working contingently and freely And accordingly upon supposition of Gods decree we say it is necessary that such things as God hath decreed shall com to passe but how Not necessarily allwayes but eyther necessarily or contingently and freely according to the condition of second causes some of them onely working necessarily but others working contingently freely All this this Author most judiciously confoundes as whose ende is to serve his owne turne and the advantage of his owne cause but not the cause of God in the sincere and faithfull investigation of his truth As in the very next sentence he manifesteth himself deep in this confusion as when he saith That the first cause doth in such manner moove and direct the second among which is the will of man that they cannot otherwise stirre then they are stirred For here he confoundes the different manner of Gods mooving and directing second causes as if there were no difference herin wheras indeede there is a very vast difference For wheras of second causes some worke necessarily some contingently God mooves them all not after one manner but differently that is agreably to their different conditions Second causes working necessarily he mooves and directs to worke necessarily in such sort as they cannot otherwise stirre then they are stirred but as for second causes working contingently and freely he mooves and directs them to worke accordingly that is contingently and freely to witt so as they have power eyther to suspende their operation which is their libertie quoad exercitium or to produce another operation which is their libertie quoad specificationem Thus he mooved Cyrus to builde his cittie and lett goe his captives as he had foretolde long before thus he mooved Iosiah to burne the prophets bones upon the altar which was foretold in the dayes of Ieroboam many hundred yeares before and no sober man makes doubt but that these workes of theirs though predetermined by God yet were performed as freely by them as any other workes of theirs In like manner he mooved the souldiers to absteyne from breaking of Christs bones prophecyed of about a thousand yeares before and the bordering nations to forbeare to invade the land of Israel when all the males came up thrise in the yeare before the Lord in Ierusalem according to the promise made unto them Exod. 34.24 I will cast out the nations before thee enlarge thy coasts so that no man shall desire thy land when thou shalt come up to appeare before the Lord thy God thrisâ— in the yeare Yet who doubts but they did as freely forbeare this as ought els and that the souldiours as freely absteyned from breaking Christs bones as they did freely breake the bones of them who were crucified with him But these Lucifugae delight in confusion like owles that are in love with darkenes that is their best time for prey In that which followes I confesse he deales clearly saying that though a man be given to sinne yet in case he knowes God would have it so by his secret will and that God hath predestinated him therunto this is a comfort unto him and truly I doe not envy him such a comfort and I see no reason but in the midst of the torments of hell it shoulde be likewise a comfort unto him that God did predestinate him therunto by his secret will Only he is pleased to speake in his owne phrase when he talkes of predestinating unto sinne Of predestinating unto damnation the Ancients spake acknowledging such a predestination But they acknowledged no predestinating unto sinne for as much as they tooke predestination to be only of those things which were wrought by God not of sinnes which are only permitted by God Yet these even as foule sinnes as were committed Herod and Pilate together with the Gentiles and people of Israel when they were gathered together against the holy Sonne of God are in the mouthes of the Apostles confessed to have bene foredetermined by the hand and counsel of God which wee understand thus God did fore-determine they should come to passe by his permission as touching the sinfulnes of them Now as for the Spirit of this Author how well it suiteth with the Spirit of Gods Saints we may easily judge by the word of God For when they doe expostulate with God in this manner Lord why hast thou caused us to erre from thy ways and hardned our hearts against thy feare it seemes apparantly that they tooke no comfort at all in this that God hardned their hearts against his feare and caused them to erre from his wayes And when the Lord revealed unto Moses that he would harden Pharaohs heart wherupon he should not let Israel goe for a long time I never perceaved that herby any comfortable condition was denoted that shoulde be unto Pharao in case he had known so much It seemes allso S. Paul tooke no notice of any such comfortable condition when having taught that God hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth he bringâ—s in one herupon expostulating thus why then doth he yet complayne For who hath resisted his will Neyther doth the Apostle take any such course to pacifie him as by representing any coÌ„fortable condition redounding unto him hereby namely in as much as God it is who hath hardned him unto disobedience But the course he takes to stop his mouth is of another nature thus O man who art thou that disputest with God Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lumpe to make one a vessell unto honour and another unto dishonour And whatsoever a debaucht Christian may be feigned to conceave for mine owne part and so I thinke I may be bold to say of every one of our profession whose hearts God hath seasoned with his feare I may be bolde to professe a truth that albeit I take notice of Gods hand sometimes hardening me against his feare yet God knowes I take no comfort in it but rather in this that God knowes how to worke it for my good according to that of Austin Audeo dicere vtile est superbis in aliquod apertum manisestumque cadere peccatuÌ„ c. when I find that my sinnes doe not make a finall or a totall separation betweene my soule God this may well tende to the corrobaration of my faith and persuade my soule that nothing shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Iesus our
Lord and I have good cause to take comfort in this But it is untâ—ue that God hath as much willed the treason of Iudas as the conversion of Paul though Bellarmine hath so calumnated us longe agoe For albeit the treason of Iudas in betraying his mayster is one of the thinges meant by the Apostle which Iewes and Gentiles did against the holy Sonne of God and which they say were foredetermined by the hand and counsell of God And Austin is bolde to professe that Iudaâ— electus est ad prodendum sanguinem Dominisui notwithstanding which as another Father speaketh etiam Iudas potuisset consequi remedium si non festinasset ad laqueum yet there is a vast difference betweene Gods willing Iudas his treason and Pauls conversion For as for Iudas his treason his will was that should come to passe onely by Gods permission And Arminius is bold to profes that Voluit Deus Achabum mâ—nsuram scelerum implere but as for Pauls conversion that was not only willed by God but wrought by God and that in an extraordinary manner appearing unto him in the way and striking him downe with a light from heaven so with a strong hand taking him off from his persecuting courses when Ferox scelerum quia primò provenerat and flesht in the blood of Steven Iehu like he maâ—ched fuâ—iously against the Church of God As for no power in man to retain grace when God will take it away First where man is found willing to reteyne grace I know no just cause to complaine of the want of power for this And where there is no will to reteyne it I see no likelyhood that any man should complaine of want of power to reteyne it Yet like as man is not Lord of his owne Spirit nor able to reteyne it so I wonder it should seeme strange that men should have no power to reteyne the Spirit of God in case God should withdraw it from them And as for grace of sanctification which God should take away from man we know none as who mainteyn that God will deliver his children from every evill work and preserve them unto his heavenly Kingdom and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation That the Spirit bloweth where it listeth is the doctrine of our Saviour to Nicodemus Ioh. 3. That God inspireth whom he will with the Spirit of faith repentance we take to be all one with that Rom. 9.18 He hath mercy on whom he will And accordingly he denyes this inspiration to whom he will as much as to say He hardeneth whom he will But as for any actuall withdrawing of the Spirit of sanctification we acknowledge not It is true even his owne Servants he hardneth sometimes against his feare as the Scripture speaketh Esa. 63.17 Whereupon their peace of conscience is disturbed and they have cause to pray unto God to restore them to the joye of his salvation Psal. 51. as David there did But David did not pray that God would restore him to his Spirit but rather that he would not take it from him And Bertius professeth that he will not say that David by those foule sinnes of his was wholy bereaved of Gods Spirit and that propter graves causas As for Gods permission of men to sinne for their amendment Arminius himself acknowledgeth in effect in the particular case of David His words are these Permisit Deus ut ille in negligentiam istud incideret peccatum istud illa occasione perpetraret quò diligentiùs seipsum observaret peccatum suum exemplo aliorum deflerâ—â— egregium humilitatis resipiscentiaeque specimen Exemplar praestaret gloriosiùs ex peccato resurgeret As for the impossibilitie to withstand Gods operation the Scripture doth expressely justifie Eze. 20.32.33.37 Neyther shall that be done which commeth into your minde For ye say we will be as the Heathen as the families of the countries and serve wood and stone As I live sayth the Lord God I will surely rule you with a mightie hand a stretched our arme c. And the issue followeth which is this I will cause you to passe under the rod and bring you into the bond of the covenant Yet what is the issue of this impossibilitie Is it only in respect of the thing which God will bring to passe as these Arminians most superficially conceave and not as well in respect of the manner how it shall come to passe Nothing lesse but as God will have it come to passe and come to passe contingently and voluntarily and freely So it is impossible upon this supposition but that it shall come to passe but how not necessarily but contingently voluntarily and freely And as it thus comes to passe and no otherwise when the time which God hath appointed is come So before that time it shall not come to passe but how contingently also and voluntarilly and freely and impossible it is that it should be otherwise The second Section THat it is not for him to prescribe the time and houre of his conversion wherein a living man doth no more then a dead man in his resurrection That God is able to quicken him endue him with his Spirit though he were allready dead 4 dayes as stinking in the grave as Lazarus yea and that perhaps it shall not be untill the last houre of the day That as yet God giveth him not the grace to cry Abba Father That he so abhorreth the doctrine of those that are stiled Arminians that he dares not use the least endeavour to doe well for feare of obscuring that grace which worketh irresisâ—ibly and attributing of any thing â—o the will of man Yet he remembreth that he had sometimes good motions proceeding doubtlesse from the spirit of God which hath given him the true faith which can never faile and that for the present he is like the Trees in Winter which seem dead though they are alive That being of the number of the Elect as every one is bound to beleeve by the two Synods if he will not be declared perjured by that at Arles his sinne it self how enormous soever worketh together to his salvation yea and that he hath allready obteyned pardon for it That his Censurer cannot deny it seeing that he instructeth him unto repentance which is nothing worth without faith no more then faith it self if it beleeve not the remission of all sinns both done and to be done And though he were of the number of the Reprobates a thing which he will not affirme for â—â—are of being so held indeed by the Synod yet notwithstanding his Censurer would gayne nothing by it who by his exhortings and threatnings could not any way alter the decree of Heaven but onely molest him with the torments of Hell and stirre up a wâ—rme in his conscience to gnawe him to no purpose Consid. Were it in the power of man to change his owne heart who is not able to change
one hayre of his head he might well prescribe the time and houre of his conversion But seeing it is Gods worke alone to circumcise our heartes Deut. 30.6 to take away the stony heart and give us an heart of flesh and put his owne spirit within us Ezech. 36 27. to quicken us when we are dead in trespasses and sinnes Eph. 2.15 Surely it belongs to God alone to prescribe the time and houre when a man shall be converted And accordingly our Saviour gives us to understand that some are called at the first houre of the day some at the third some not untill the last And the Apostle exhorts Timothy in effect by his meeke cariage to wayte when God will give them repentance that are without that so they may acknowledge his truth and come out of the snare of the devill by whom they are led captive to doe his will 2. Tim. 2. last And albeit men are living as beasts why should they be thought to have any more power to rayse themselves or quicken themselves unto life spirituall then a dead man hath to quicken himself to life naturall Now that men are dead in sinne the scripture teacheth evidently and that the worke of conversion is called regeneration but the Scriptures are a strange Language to these Arminians They are diserti lingua sua And they discourse amongst Christians as if they should discourse among Cannibals Yet there is a difference betweene him that is dead naturally and him that is dead spiritually For he that is dead naturally can performe no naturall action at all but he that is dead only spiritually is able enough to perform any action naturall And some naturall actions are required without which a man cannot be converted As for Example it is requisite a man should be acquainted with Gods word which alone is the ordinary means whereby the Spirit workes in mans conversion Now it is in the power of man to heare the word And albeit he cannot hearken unto it in a gracious manner pleasing unto God yet shall not that hinder the efficacy of Gods word if God be pleased to shew mercy on him No though he comes to the hearing of it with a wicked minde As they that came to take Christ Iohn 7. yet when they heard him were taken by him and returned without him saying Never man spake as this man speaketh So is it in the power of a man to reade the word Now suppose he exercise this power and that with a minde averse from it yet may this word proove a word of power to the changing of his heart As Vergetius tooke Melanthons writings to reade with a purpose to confute them yet in the reading himself was confuted by them and this was a meanes of hâ—s conversion from Popery to the Protestant confession This Author discourseth in such sort as if the power of God to quicken a man though 4 dayes dead and stinking in the grave as Lazarus were taken up in his mouth in scorne For such is the manner and strengâ—h of his discourse in the most hungry fashion that ever I thinke proceeded from a reasonable man Our Saviour hath given us to understand that some are not called till the last houre we have an example of it in the thiefe upon the crosse If God hath not giveÌ„ him as yet the grace to cry Abba Father that Spirit of adoption requiring a spirit of bondage to precede it Rom. 8.15 Yet this houre and that by our admoniâ—ion and conviction of his sinnes God may humble him and make him feare and thereby prepare him to the Spirit of adoption For his word is as a fire as an hammat that breaketh the bones the Infidell findes this by good experience when hearing one prophecy he is rebuked of all judged of all the thoughts of his heart are made manifest and he falls downe on his face and confesseth thaâ— God is in his ministers of a truth 1. Cor. 14.24 The Iewes did finde this power of the word when hearing Peter discoursing how God made him both Lord and Christ whom they had crucified they were pricked in their hearts and sayd Men and Bretheren what shall we doe Act. 2. When in the course of his histrionicall fictions he feignes his Factor not daring to endeavour to doe well He supposeth and insinuateth that he would endeavour it but dares not for his hatred to the Arminian doctrine which is nothing answerable to our doctrine who deny that there is any such will in a carnall man We say the maine reformation of man consists in the change of the will from evill to good we know that God accepteth the will for the deede And the Saints of God commend themselves in this manner unto God We that desire to feare thy name Nehem. 1. And the desire of our hearts is towards thy name Esa. 26. And we desire to live honestly Heb. 13. And Austin mainteynes as I remember that the Saints of God no otherwise fullfill the Law of God then desiderio conatu And albeit this Author at pleasure feigneth his prolocutor to embrace our Tenets yet if he be but a carnall Christian he cannot embrace them or any doctrine of faith Fide vera infusa but onely fide acquisita Yet againe it is in the power of any man not onely to desire and endeavour to doe well but also to doe indeed quoad exteriorem vitae emendationem All the morall vertues as they were found in Heathen men so are they atteynable by a naturall man For even Heathens were famous and renowned some of them not onely for their good rules but for their vertuous practise of moralitie which yet nothing hindered Austin from passing his censure upon their best actions professing them to be no better then splendida peccata and for a rule of direction to judge aright herein he tells us non officijs sed finibus discernendas esse virtutes And therefore there is no cause of so superficiary a conceyte forged in this Authors braines as if endeavours to such moralitie should any way obscure the prerogative of Gods grace as only effectuall to the working of that which is pleasing in the sight of God Such moralitie shall nothing at all commend the will for any goodnesse in the sight of God any more thâ—n Socrates or Plato or Aristides their moralitie did though their damnation shal be farre lesse then the damnation of such who among the Heathens have bene given to a debaucht life and conversation Good motions undoubtedly God can rayse by his Spirit in the heart of the most wicked in the Church of God but like as the devills suggestions are not our fault if we resist them so such good motions of God doe nothing commend us in the sight of God if we doe not give way unto them but rather one day rise up in judgment against us to our greater and more inexcusable condemnation But that a carnall man is here brought-in conceyted
of true faith in him that shall never faile is that part which this Comedian hath put in his Actors mouth to play For it is fitt his care shoulde be according to his Art populo ut placerent quas fecisset fabulas Yet I nothing doubt but a carnall Christian may be orthodoxe throughout and persuade himselfe of a true faith But if his life be not answerable we will be bolde to tell him that his faith is vayne For true faith worketh by love Gal. 5. and faith working by love is as much as a newe creature Gal. 6. and whosoever is in Christ is a newe creature 2. Cor. 5. and they that are Christs have crucified the fleshe with the affections and lusts therfore where such a newe creature is wanting where the fleshe is not crucified with the affections and lusts they are not Christs nor in Christ nor have any faith working by love Nay we know not how soone if such an houre of â—entation shall once come such a one will turne Turke or Atheist For whosoever heareth Christs wordes doth them not our Saviour likeneth him to a foolish man which hath builded his house upon the sand and the rayn felt and the floods came and â—he winde blewe beate upon that house and it fell and the fall therof was great Matth. 7. 26 27. The Corinthians were renowned professors yet S. Paul calls upon them to prove themselves whether they were in the faith to examine theÌ„selves saying know ye not your selves how that Iesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates There is a secret hypocrisie wherby a man may deceave himselfe as indeede the heart of man is a deceiâ—full thing all may seeme fayre no reygning sinne appearing wherby the conversation is defiled and yet good cause for men to put themselves to the triall of their faith It is true the children of God may sometimes be overtaken with some foule sinne as David was and they may continue in it too longe without bringing forth so cleere and full evidence of repentance and satisfaction to the Church of God as the condition of their sinne requires and in this case they may be for a time as trees in the winter but to apply this to every carnall Christian that lives in sinne and goes on in a debaucht course of lâ—fe and conversation may be very suitable to the scope of such a Comedian as we have to deale with who is merely Scenicall throughout but it is intolerable in a sober divine whose ayme shoulde be to dispute truth and not to enterteyne his Readers or hearers with Enterludes of his owne making and poeticall fiction That every one is bound to believe that he is elect I no where finde in the Synod of Dort and this Author loves to discourse at large as if he had nothing to doe but to tell a tale as for the Synod of Arles I am utterly unacquainted with the Acts therof But I have reade such a doctrine related out of Zâ—nchy and Bucer and I conceave the meaning to be this that every one in the Church of God is bounde to believe that God hath elected him to obteyne salvation in case he believe And indeede as God hath ordeyned none of ripe yeares to obteyne salvation unles he believe so on the other side God hath ordeyned that every one who believeth shall obteyne salvation But as God hath not ordeyned to bestow faith on every one eyther absolutely or conditionally so did I never reade it layde to the charge of any one of our divines that he should maynteyne that every one is bounde to believe that God hath elected him to the obteyning of faith eyther absolutely or conditionally But such like confusion of things that differ is very agreable I confesse with the learning and judgment of this Author who seemes much better fitted to make a play then to handle a controversie in divinitie That all thinges work together for the good of them that love God is as true as the Apostle Pauls epistle to the Romans is the word of God And Bishop Cooper a Scottish Bishop applyes this to mens sinnes amongst other thinges shewing how they allso doe worke for a mans good But that the sinnes of a carnall man a debaucht Christian workes for his good a Poet may faigne such a conceyte I deny not pinne it upon the confession of whom he will for Pictoribus atque Poetis quidlibet audendi semper fuit aequa potestas and by the illusions of Satan it is possible like enough that a carnall person may be so farre transported but if this Author thinke good to justifie any such persuasion he may take his course surely we and our doctrine doe not No more then his persuasion of obteyning the pardon of his sinne while yet he liveth in sinne And indeede so it is he takes upon him to justifie these persuasions and that with a face of confidence saying that his censurer cannot deny it what doe I heare cannot we denye but that he who lives in sinne and goes on in fulfilling the lusts of the fleshe cannot but be persuaded or may nevertheles be justly persuaded that his sinnes how enormous soever worke together to his salvation and that he hath allready obteyned pardon for them I had thought impudency it selfe could not have bene so brazen faceâ— as to impute this unto us But it may be he hath some trickes of witt and feates of activitie that way to discharge upon us though contrary to his owne conscience And what are they surely therfore his Censurer cannot deny but that the sinnes of a debaucht Christian how enormous soever worke together to his salvation and that he hath obteyned already pardon for them because forsooth he exhorteth him unto repentance which is nothing worth without faith no more then faith if it believe not the remission of all sinnes both done to be don Here we have an hobgoblin discourse yet it is well we meete with some shewe of argumentation to cope withall I doubt this Author is yet to learne what it is to obteyne pardon of sinne we exhort such men unto repentance that they may obteyne remission of their sinnes we doe not suppose such wicked persons to have allready obteyned the pardon of their sinnes It is true repentance determines not upon obteyning the pardon of our sinnes but the sense of that love of God in giving his Sonne to dye for our sinnes and for his sake pardoning them unto us of his free grace renewes our repentance like as David never repented more fervently then after Nathan had sayde unto him from the Lord the Lord hath put away thy sinne witnesse the Psal. 51. Therfore we utterly deny this consequence we exhort a wicked wretch to repentance therfore we acknowledge him to have obteyned the pardon of his sinnes But he insinuates a proofe of this after this manner Whom we exhort unto repentance him we suppose to have faith allready wherby
he believes the remission of his sinnes But this consequence agayne we utterly deny we suppose not any such faith in him nay we have it rather most probable that in case of his debaucht course of life and conversation that such a one hath no true faith at all For if the Apostle exhorts such as the Corinthians were to proove and examine themselves whether they were in the faith writing to the best of them why shoulde we conceave a wicked person that lives in manifest profanenesse and uncleanes to have any true faith at all Perhaps he may reply why then doe you exhort him to repentance seing without faith he cannot repent I answere why did Peter exhort the Iewes to repentance who had killed the Lord of life as he tells them Act. 3.14.15 and desired a murtherer to be given them But saith he v. 18. those thinges which God before had shewed by the mouth of his Prophets that Christ should suffer he hath thus fulfilled Amend your lives therfore and turn that your sins may be put away when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Did Peter suppose them to have any faith in Christ when thus he exhorted them to amendment Surely he did not and no more doe wee but by Peters ministery God might be pleased to worke them both to faith and to repentance so he did for many that heard the word believed and the number was about 5000 and the like he may and doth usually worke by our ministery allso Then agayne there is a legall repentance and there is an Evangelicall repentance And that legall repentance may be unto desperation as Iudas his repentance was Agayne that legall repentance may be a fruite of the Spirit of bondage which praepares for the hearing of the Gospell and for the receaving of the Spirit of adoption by the Gospell Then in the preaching of the Gospell the tender mercies of God displayed unto us and how ready he is to pardon sinne in generall and that of free grace may better our repentance and when we are thus by degrees brought to the Spirit of adoption to cry Abba Father then our repentance shall be most perfect as before I sayde and when we looke upon him whom we have pearced and can in assurance of faith professe with the Apostle saying I live by faith in him who loved me and gave himselfe for me this is of power to pricke a Master veyne and make us bleede out our repentance in the sight of our gracious God whom we have offended and who yet in despight of our sinnes hath loved us more devoutly and affectionately then ever before Yet is it true as he saith that repentance is nothing worth without faith What thinkes he of Ahabs repentance when he put on sackcloth and wallowed in ashes upon the word of judgment against his house brought unto him by the Prophet Eliah Doe we not know what the Lord sayde herupon unto Eliah seest thou how Ahab is humbled before me because he submitteth himselfe before me I will not bring that evill in his dayes The uttermost of the Ninivites faith was but this that we reade of who can tell if God will turne and repent turne from his feirce wrath that we perish not yet their repentance was such that when God sawe their workes that they turned from their evill wayes he repented of the evill that he had sayde that he woulde doe unto them and he did it not Ion. 3.9.10 And certienly the moralitie of some Heathens was such that their damnation will be easier then the damnation of those that lived in all manner of impuritie and vncleanes By faith we say the children of God are assured of the love of God towards them which was aeternall and is unchangeable and consequently that God will never forsake them but will from time to time pardon their sinnes according to that faith of Paul The Lord will deliver me from every evill worke and preserve me to his heavenly Kingdom 2. Tim. 4.18 And no other faith of remission of sinnes doe we teach or any of our divines that I know and this Author foreseing it likely enough that his Synodicall adversary will except against such a ones election much more against his effectual vocation who walkes not after the Spirit but after the fleshe yet to shewe his confidence of holding to hard-meate his wilde adversary being in some degree wilder himselfe though he were sayth he of the number of reprobates yet his censurer shoulde gayne nothing by it for as much as his exhortations and threanings coulde not any way alter the decree of heaven but only molest him with the torments of hell and stirre up a worme in his conscience to gnawe him to no purpose Wherto I answere that by our doctrine as we have no encouragement to conceave such a person as here is brought in to play the part appointed for him and wherto this Author promts him to be an elect of God so neyther have we any reason to conceave him to be a reprobate for as much as there neyther is nor can be any ordinary evidence of any mans reprobation but eyther finall impaenitency or guiltines of sinning against the holy Ghost So that albeit where we observe the worke of a mans faith the labour of his love the patience of his hope we have good reason to conceave of such a one that he is an elect of God as Paul did of the Thessalonians 1. Thes. 1 3.4 Yet where we finde these to be wanting and a carnall walking and sensuall conversation in the steede therof we have no cause to conclude herupon that such a one is certeynly a man rejected and reprobated of God For we were carnall and sensuall before God visited us with his grace and quickned us by his holy Spirit What a strange race did Manasses runne for a long time in a most siâ—nefull course in the way of idolatry blood sorcery yet God brought him to repentance before he died Paul likewise for a time was a bloody persecutor of Gods Church yet even then was he a chosen vessell not only to be a professor but a preacher allso of that way which formerly he had opposed and persecuted even unto blood whether a man be an elect or reprobate we leave that as a secret unto God only considering that Gods long suffering is sayde to be salvation we hope the best and it is our duty to become all thinges to all men that we may save some as Paul professeth of himselfe 2. Cor. 6. and those some whose salvation he aymed at he professeth to be Gods elect 2. Tim. 2.10 wherfore we enterteyne no such thought as of altering the decrees of heaven as this Author in his scenicall imagination shapeth the matter but we endeavour therby to take him off from his ungodly courses and worke him to godly sorrowe that bringes forth salvation never to be repented of as in case he may proove to
there immediate where the meanes are used We reade of Ionathan that he put off the robe that was upon him and gave it David and his garments even to his sword and to his bowe and to his girdle And the reason was because he loved him as his owne soule In like sort this bad living Christian whom here this Author represents to play a part for him is such a one as with whom he is in love for somewhat though not for his faâ—th For I see he is willing to aray him with his owne sufficiency and to bestowe his owne armour upon him the best armour of his witt even to his sword and to his bowe and to his girdle and the truth is he playes his part for him though the scene requires that another should make shewe to personate him and so the Arminian takes upon him the shape and vizard of a debaucht Christian on our side Now I willingly professe he makes the most of his wares in the utterance of them that words can and delivers himselfe with very great confidence which though it be no to pick place yet usually it is his best strength And I have heard of a French Gentleman who in the troubles of France when it behooved every man to stand upon his guard having unadvisedly lett into his house certeyn freebooters perceaving his error too late sett himselfe to seeke to help it with his witt caryed himself with such freenes and confidence in the enterteyning of them that therby he overcame them and they parted without doing him any wrong and at parting bid him thanke his confidence that he escaped so well And truly coulde the matter beare it we might suffer him to enâ—oy the benefite and comfort of his confidence But we are upon the point of investigation of divine truth and to spare him herin were to undoe him and others with him More profitable it is for him by much to be beaten quite out of his fools paradise then to suffer him to enioy his errours and so lace himselfe with them and to corrupt others allso Now as for explication of what was delivered as he requires we see no neede therof at all the playne truth therof is so visible that he who will not shutt his eyes against it cannot but take notice of it this is to requite confidence with confidence for is it not fitt to pay him in his owne coyne And consider I pray let exhortation be made unto repentance let this exhortation be backt with the most forcible motives therunto drawne from promises divine of no lesse reward then aeternall life from menaces divine to the impenitent and that of the wrath of God and that of such a condition as wherin a fire is kindled which burneth unto the bottome of hell Yet is it not in the power of man to assent to this exhortation or dissent from it And in case he doe assent after a while as he shall thinke good and take time to deliberate shall not he be accoumpted and his will the sole cause yea and immediate also in producing this operation I say the sole cause in reference to the exhortation premised which still leaves a man indifferent whether he will yeelde thereunto or no I should thinke the exhortation hinders not the will of man at all from being the sole yea and immediate cause of willinge which if it cannot be denyed as I should thinke it cannot if withall the Spirit of God doth worke the will sooner or later to yeilde unto it why should not that be accoumpted the sole cause therof yea and immediate allso though that terme was not specified in the premises And as for the clearing of the contradiction the shew whereof is brought in afterwards by foysting in the terme immediate into the place of the word sole I answere that man being a rationall agent and working upon deliberation the judgement must first be informed before he can worke deliberately Now the immediate work of exhortation tendes no farther then to the information of the judgement And as reasons are given on the one side out of Gods word to urge the necessitie of repentance so reasons are given on the other sid partly by flesh and blood partly by the suggestions of Satan to represent the needelesse condition thereof eyther alltogether or at least for the present And the will freely makes choyse to follow the one or the other sometimes giving way to exhortations divine sometimes to contrariant suggestions carnall or diabolicall And if God be pleased to rebuke Satan and to dashe out of countenance the motions of the flesh and make the will to yeelde to the ministers exhortations unto repentance what shall hinder him from being the sole and immediate cause hereof Againe this Author considers not or wilfully dissembles that exhortations are onely a cause morall but Gods working immediately upoÌ„ the will after that the judgment is wrought uppon by exhortations instructions for Austin comprehends these under one saying that if there be any difference between docere suadere or exhortari yet eveÌ„ this doctrinae generalitate coÌ„prehenditur this he workes as a cause physicall therfore albeit ther be a presupposall of a cause preceding working morally yet the Spirit of God in striking the stroake is the sole and immediate cause working physicallie Lastly he that persuadeth say the Bellarmine and light of nature justifies it worketh only per modum proponentis objectum only he setts it foorth in the most alluring manner that he can Now the object proposed is well knowne to work only in genere causae finalis the motion wherof is commonly called motus metaphoricus or metaphoricè so called But Gods operation immediate in working upon the will is in genere causae efficientis so that albeit a cause working in genere causae finalis be presupposed yet still it is cleere that the Spirit of God works immediatly upon the will in converting it in genere causae efficientis Now the ignorance herof is it that makes this Author so bold and confident in talking of manifest contradiction and who so bold as blinde bayard but I woulde the scales might at lenght fall from their eyes that they might see upon what rotten grounds they proceede in impugning the precious truth of God we willingly grant that information of the understanding is necessarily required both to faith and to repentance otherwise they were not acts rationall but that this information shoulde be made by the minister that is I confesse ordinarily required by the vertue of Gods ordinance but not necessarily which whether this Author takes notice of or no I knowe not I finde him litle sâ—nsible of any such distinction And we willingly confesse that as often as men are found to resist these exhortatâ—ons divine though delivered by Gods minister they may justly be sayde to resist God working morally and besâ—eching them as the Apostle speaketh 2. Cor. 5.20 as though God through us
state of the supposition without shewing cause why the supposition is unlawfull yet such an answer was made by King Iames to D. Overall his interposition in the Conference of Hamton Court as I receaved from the mouth of one that was an Agent in that Conference the other is in feigning that David must begett a sone after his repentance from whom the Messias should descend for which fiction I know no ground But as for this Authors exception that is very vaine and frivolous for certeynly they that make this answer meant not to accommodate it to any other then to the particular of David on whose part there might be a particular reason of his repentance besides the generall ground which is common unto all As for the argument it self I finde it in Arminius in the Theses he wrote ad Hippolytum de collibus And I know how our English Arminians doe glory in it but I answer that the supposition is most unjust dividing two decrees of God which he hath conjoyned in which case no merveyl if absurdities follow upon such wild suppositions more then enough For in case God hath ordeyned both that no sinn shall cast a regenerate person out of the state of grace and neverthelesse that no sinn shall be pardoned without repentance in this case that a man may be saved he must not only continue in the state of grace but repent also so that upon this feigned supposition it followes not that David dying in the sinnne of adultery unrepented shall dye out of the state of grace onely it followeth that notwithstanding his dying in the state of grace he shall be damned to witt by our wilde suppositon this would follow not by any ordinance or constitution of God Yet how can he dye in impenitency that hath the Spirit of repentance in him though upon the fiction here represented repentance actuall is not exercised The case is all one of any sinne upon this supposition vules they will deny every sinne to be mortall And to compare this argument of theirs with an argumeÌ„t of ours to the contrary what a worthy act was that of Abrahams in sacrificing his sonne of the Martyrs in sacrificing theÌ„selves Nay put all the heroically vertuous and religious acts together that have bene at any time performed by the Saincts of God and suppose them to have bene performed by one child of God yet coulde not this roote out the fleshe that is the part unregenerate How improbable is it then that one act to witt of adultery is able to roote out in the childe of God the Spirit that is the part regenerate But against this doctrine that a regenerate person shall not dye in any sinne unrepented of this Author brings an argument wherin he glorieth not a litle but one of the wildest that I thinke was eveâ— knowne to the world To my thinking such a wild goose disputeâ— deserves to be sett in the Stocks in the Parvis that yong sophisters might gaze upon hâ—m as smaller birdes doe at the broad faced foule in the day time There was a time when witâ—s did flourishe in Rome and as some prooved excellente and were delivered of materiall expressions to the admiration of their hearers so others affecting applause and streyning to surmount the expectation of their Auditors sometimes dâ—scovered most absurd conceytes such Seneca censures in his declamations for corrupta and corruptissima And sometimes baâ—e floorishes were applaudâ—d by the people which Porcius Laâ—â—o observing when he came to declayme gave himselfe purposely to imitate those absurdities and once concluding an absurde gradation like unto some mountabanke orators that had bene in the place before him with this Inter sepulchra monumenta sunt and the people breakinge foorth into â—cclamation or clapping of handes therupon he leaves the prosecution of his oration and falles upon the people discovering the absurditie of that his floorishe and reproching them as Audithors of no judgment but applauding such passages as were nothing woorth but most insipidly delivered without art or witt or judgment Now let us see what good mettall there is to be found in this argumentation and whether it be not of as base an alloy as ever dropped from the mouth of a sober man And first if this were a course to prolonge a mans life what neede he affect to sinne when the corruption of his nature caryeth him to sinne in such sort more or lesse that he is driven to professe with Paul what I would that doe I not but what I hate that doe I and agayne I finde that when I would doe good I am thus yoked that evill is present with me For I delight in the lawe of God concerning the inner man But I see another law in my members rebelling against the lawe of my minde leading me captive to the law of sinne Have we not dayly cause to pray unto God to pardon our sinnes both morning and eveninge yea and every houre yea and as soon as we have done our prayers to pray unto him to pardon the sinnes of weakenes that have had their course in our very prayers Abraham when he was sacrificing unto God was put to drive away the foules that fell upon his sacrifice This Gregory interprets of evill motions that have their course in us even while we are at our prayers And in Zach. 3.1 we reade how while Iehoshuah was standing before the Angel of the Lord Satan stood at his right-hand to resist him Certeynly if the Lord should be extreame to marke what is done amisse even in our best performances we should not be able to abide it Therfore to helpe this flawe in this argument the Author makes it proceede not of sinne in generall but of mortall sinne which if it be delivered only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 amplificandi causa accoumpting all sinne mortall my solution stands still in full force but if it be delivered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 distinguendi causa as if in his opinion all sinne were not mortall doth it become him to take that for granted which we generally impugne as an untruth in disputing against Papists Secondly will he impute unto us by way of exprobration our doctrine concerning Gods decreâ—ing all thinges and will he not suffer us to make use of it or doth he not or will he not perceave that upon this supposition his argument is of no force nay if we doe but acknowledge that God hath power to hinder any sinne it is of no force For God can hinder them from accomplishing any such vile thought that this Author very fruitfull of wild inventions feigneth and imputeth to a regenerate person Like as Ezech. 20.32 the Lord professeth that that shall not be done which came into their mindes For they sayde we will be as the heathen serve wood a stone but the Lord professeth he would rule them with a mightie hande and the issue v. 37. is this I will make you passe under the rod and bring
then of the great seeing that you my Pastor and Comforter will not that the promises of salvation in Christ are made vniversally vnto all and that those places of Scripture which seeme generall according to your opinion are to be restreyned onely to the vniversalitie of the elect And that in all the rest of Holy Scripture there is no more speciall promise nor mention made of my self in particular who also besides the Holy Scripture have no testimony whether of Angell or Prophet to assure me thereof When our Saviour sayd unto his Apostles One of you shall betray me Although this concerned but one of them yet were they all exceedingly troubled therewith So then were there but a small number of Reprobates for whom as you sayd Christ dyed not yet should I have just reason to feare or thinke that I were one of them but much rather seeing their number is so great Consid. Now we are to proceed to tâ—e third Act of this Authors Comedy and the severall scenes thereof We have considered how well he had playde the part of an Infidell refusing to be converted by us as also of a bad living Christian refusing to be reformed at our hands Now we are to consider how well he performs the part of an afflicted Christian refusing all consolation that we can minister unto him I finde he hath a good witt and Proteus like can transforme himself into the likenesse of any condition and can act more parts then many In this last personation of his he is well neere as large as in both the former which whether it proceedes from greater confidence of his cause in this particular than in the former and that makes his witt to exuberate the more or that he meetes with more difficulties in this passage then in the former and therfore is put to the more paynes in Mastering them I knowe not He feignes us in his introduction unto this perhaps able to acquitt our selves farre better in undergoing the office of a comforter but the fictions of poeticall and comicall witts are nothing to be regarded as of any force to discover unto us their true meaninge As for us we neyther take upon us to convert or reforme or comfort any but only to minister a word of comfort to a weary soule a word of terrour to humble a debaucht Christian and a word of conversion unto an Infidell we leave it unto God and pray unto him by the powerfull operation of his Spirit to strike the stroke in any mans conversion reformation consolation Neyther is our doctrine of predestination and reprobation that word which we minister eyther for the conversion of the one or for the reformation of the other or for the consolation of the third but the terrors of the lawe we make use of for mans humiliation therby to praepare him for the grace of the Gospell and being humbled the gracious promises of the Gospell we make use of to rayse him by bringing him to faith in Christ then we instruct him in the dueties of Christianitie exhorting him to walke answerably to his profession and if he fayle herof we sett the wrath of God before him and shewe him how it had bene better for him he had never knowne the way of righteousnes then after he have knowne it to depart from the holy commandement given unto him Or if in the course of Christianitie he walkes uncomfortably according as we shall finde the cause of his disconsolate condition we will endeavour to fitt our consolations thereunto If affliction be the cause we will represent unto him how that this is the common condition of Christians and that through manifold temtations we must enter into the Kingdom of God that God sheweth hereby that he receaves us for his owne Children and not as bastards If conscience of sinne and of walking litle answearable to our profession we will represent unto him how that if we judge our selves we shall not be judged of the Lord that griefe for this doth argue a desire of the contrary and that God accepteth the will for the deede and hath promised that if we confesse our sinnes he is faithfull and just he will forgive them If weakenes of faith be the cause of disquietnes without any farther cause we will represent unto him how Gods gracious course is not to breake the bruised reede nor to quenche the smoaking flaxe and stirre him up to pray unto God to encrease his faith or to helpe his unbeliefe That this disquietnes doth manifestly argue a desire to believe and God hath promised to fulfill the desire of them that feare him If he hath atteyned to faith and holines we can assure him of his election by our doctrine which the Arminians doctrine cannot If he hath neyther yet there is no cause of desperation forasmuchas his condition is no worse then Saulâ— was before his callinge yen and the holyest servant of God God calls some at the first houre of the day some not till the last Nothing but finall impenitencie or the sinne against the holy Ghost is an assurance of reprobation But let us proceede along with this Authors discourse to examine it as we goe This Author hath but one ground of consolation I have lately had to deale with another of his Spirit that makes three grounds of consolation to witt the universalitie of Gods love the universalitie of Christs death the universalitie of the covenant of grace By which it is manifest that he makes a Christian capable of no better consolation then a Turke or Saracen is capable an elect then a reprobate And if in all three he thrives no better in his course of consolation what shall we thinke of this Authors successe in the worke of consolation who insists but upon one of those three Yet I commend him for being sensible of the unseasonablenes of his consolation had he rested as the other doth only in this that Christ having by his death and passion satisfied the justice of his Father he obteyned reconciliation for all mankind But this Author caryeth not himselfe so covertly but addes that this reconciliation is appliable to all those who acknowledging the infinitenes of the benefite doe therupon embrace the Author of it with a true and lively faith wherby it is manifest that in this Authors judgment consolation arising from the death and passion of Christ is appliable to none and consequently none are capable of it but such as believe in Christ which he calls the embracing of the Author of the benefite with a true lively faith Now we willingly confesse that we cannot finde any other foundation wherby to consolate and assure any afflicted soule against the terrors of Gods justice the condemnation of the lawe and accusation of his owne conscience But wheras he saith that the afflicted can never make this true foundation of Gods word agree with the second article of the Synod of Dort which he calleth false foundations but prooves it not
for he were a madde man if he would prompt his antagonist to strike where he is not able to ward Now his former argument I have allready answered without taking any such course as to flye to the judgement of charitie I have clearly showed how that according to this Authors owne grounds of consolation we are sufficiently provided to minister a word of comfort to an afflicted soule as well as he For he confesseth that the benefite of Christs death the onely ground of consolation as he saith is actually applyable to none but such as rely on Christ by a true and lively faith Now in this case we can assure not onely of the favour of God for the present but also of finall perseverance therein of election of salvation by our doctrine Wherof they can assure none by the tenor of their doctrine Indeed if a man hath no faith at all any more then a Turk Saracen we cannot assure him of his election any more then we can assure a Tuâ—k or Tartar thereof nor any Arminian eyther I think But suppose a Christian in profession is notwithstanding voyde of all true faith can such a one be assured of the favour of God to the pardoning of his sins and to the saving of his soule by any Arminian I trowe no Arminian can or will undertake to assure any man hereof without faith Yet we may be bold to say that albeit he hath not faith to day notwithstanding he may have in good time and that there is no cause to conceave himself to be a reprobate We doe not say that he who hath no faith is in the judgement of charitie to be conceaved to have faith But looke what evidence we have of a mans faith in the judgment of charitie the same evidence we have of his election in the judgement of charitie For the Apostle doth clearly conclude the election of the Thessalonians by his observation of their faith c. 1 Thes. 1.1 3.4 and 2. Thes. 2.13 Let us consider in this aliene discourse of his proceeding from his own mere fiction how well he overthrowes that which himself alone hath builded as it were castles in the ayre First he saith this judgement of charitie which presumeth well if a man apply it generally unto all doth necessarily proove false I wonder he seeth not how this prooveth directly against himself for hath he noâ— formally signified that the number of the reprobats being farre greater then the number of the elect therefore a man hath just cause to suspect that he belongs to the greater number rather then to the lâ—ssâ— which applyed to all must evince that all every one must suspect themselves they are reprobates rather then elect as if there were none elect at all Now looke what way he makes theâ—hence to gett out for himself the same way will serve our turnes to answer this argumtnt also For we speake of comforting this or that particular person we have nothing to doe with all men throughout the world Then againe we are conversant in the comforting of an afflicted Christian And affliction of soule for sinne is usually as the panges of childbirth whereby many a one comes to be brought forth into the world of grace Now without the Church there are enough to make up complete the number of reprobates not to speake of profane persons within the bosome of the Church who goe on in their sinfull courses without all remorse of conscience And whereas he tells us we daâ—e not maintaine these two propositions together 1. that Christ dyed for all men 2. and that he dyed for a very small number First observe his retrograde motion For at the first he manifested that the consolatioÌ„ arising by Christs dying for us is applyable to none but such as beleeve And we deny not but that abundance of consolation in Christs death is derivable to all them that beleeve Now he goes backe and treates of the consolation arising from Christs death unto all whether they beleeve or no as if every one were to be comforted in Christs death for as much as Christ dyed for all and every one by their doctrine which is apparently to minister no more comfort to a Christian by Christs death then to a Canniball Secondly as touching those two propositions we can and doe maynteyne them in a better manner then they forasmuch as we deliver the truth clearly and distinctly on our parts but they most confusedly as if they were the sonnes of confusion For as touching the benefite of pardon of sinne and salvation procured by Christs death we say that Christ dyed to procure these for all and every one but how Not absolutely for then all and every one should be saved but conditionally to witt upon condition of faith so that if all and every one should believe in Christ all and every one shoulde be saved But as for faith it selfe we say Christ merited this allso which the Arminians expressely deny Examen censurae pag. 59. not conditionally for if so then should grace be given according unto mens workes which was condemned in the Synod of Palestine above 1200. yeares agoe and all along condemned in the Church of God for mere Pelagianisme therfore he merited this absolutely not for all and every one for then all and every one should believe and consequently all and every one should be saved therfore he merited this only for some and who can these some be but Gods elect And if it appeare that but a small number believe and persevere in true faith it is manifest in the issue that but fewe are saved and that albeit Christ dyed to save all and every one conditionally yet he died to merit faith for a very fewe Now what is become of this Authors ridle and the pretended contradiction betweene these two propositions I come to his second argument Be it so that the judgment of charitie never hath place when we must have the cerâ—iâ—ude of faith to believe or doe any thing with a good conscience but say I this is nothing to the case we speake of For what is it required of every man to believe concerning himselfe or concerning his brother that he is an elect of God Is this the Arminian Tenet A man borne in the Church and making profession of the Gospell we are bound to conceave to have true faith and consequently to be an elect of God if we knowe nothing to the contrary this I say is required in the way of charitie whose propertie it is to interpret all things to the best so did Paul conceave of the Thessalonians and by the leaves of their profession we must judge them to be plants of the Lords planting so long as we have no just cause to thinke the contrary To the third be it so that the judgment of charitie extendes it selfe no farther then to the suppressing of sinister opinions and suspicions too lightly conceaved against our neighbour it is well
thinkes good I will not spare to examine how judiciously he caryeth himselfe in elevating this feigned suggestion of ours Suppose we shoulde say that whosoever believes Christ dyed for him I am ready to make it good in spight of this Authors course taking upon him to represent the absurditie therof which imputation I nothing doubt shall light in full weight and measure upon his owne head to the discovery of his shamefull ignorance which he is well content to cherishe for the advantage of his cause by the confusion of thinges that differ He saith that herin we shall shewe our selves eyther as praevaricators of our owne side and overthrowers of the doctrine of the Synods or else that we are deprived of common sense all which is but the froth of his owne ignorance as I hope to make it appeare to all indifferent and unpartiall judges First he saâ—th that if we give the selfe same consolation to all that are sicke to all that are afflicted yea even to those who for their greater offenses are ledde to execution and if that this consolation be founded on the truth doth it not then followe that Christ dyed for all and every one I willingly professe I am not a litle recreated with confidence of our cause when I doe observe the desperate condition of the adversary cause that takes delight in so vile props as this Authors discourse and magnifie them as unanswerable and call in others to take notice of them as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if they were some notable atchievemens who seeth not that nowe we are upon the office of ministring consolation to an afflicted soule Now is this the condition of all and every one Alas how fewe are they that mourne in comparison to the Ioviall Neds of the world How few are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse in comparison to them that are full But suppose it were delivered of all namely that if they beleeve in Christ certainly Christ dyed for them Dare any Arminian deny this doe they holde it lesse sure that Christ dyed for them that beleeve in him then that he dyed for all Even for Turkes and Saracens for Tartars Canniballs not one of them excepted Lastly what doth it advantage their cause that Christ dyed for all and every one Surely this nothing at all advantageth them but the confused and indistinct consideration of the true meaning hereof that is it which bringeth water to their mill and that alone To dye for us is to dye for our benefite Now we love to speake plainly and distinctly and accordingly doe distinguish of those benefits which Christ hath procured for us Now some of these are such as God useth to conferre upon men of ripe yeares not absolutely but conditionally And these are the remission of sinnes the salvation of soules we say therefore that Christ merited for us the pardon of sinne salvation of soule to be conferred upon us onely conditionally to witt provided that we doe beleeve in him and thus we may well say that he dyed for all every one that is he dyed to procure pardon of sinne and salvation of soule for every one in case every one should beleeve in him which in effect is as much as to say that he dyed in this sense for none but such as sometimes or other are found to beleeve in him Yet whether we beleeve or no Gods word doth assure us that he dyed to procure remission of sinne salvation of soule to all that doe or shall beleeve in him Now besides these benefites there are other benefits which Christ hath procured for us merited for us these are faith repeÌ„tance which are not conferred by God upon man conditionally to witt upon the performance of some coÌ„dition by man for if it were so then these graces should be conferred according to meÌ„s works which is clearly undenyable stark Pelagianism And these we say Christ hath merited for us even to be absolutely bestowed upon us Now will Arminians assure any man who yet believes not that Christ hath merited for him not only pardon of sinne and salvation in case he believe but allso the very grace of faith and regeneration I trowe not one of our Englishe Arminians will undertake this but rather acknowledge that it cannot appeare who they are for whom Christ hath merited faith and regeneration untill they doe believe untill they are regenerate As for outlandishe Arminians they utterly deny that Christ merited faith regeneration for any Now wherin are wee found eyther pâ—evaricators of our owne cause or overthrowers of the doctrine of the Synods or voyde of coÌ„mon sense in all or any particular of this Nay doth not this Author betray miserable nakednes throughout emboldned made confident by his â—ich ignorance wherin he cherisheth himselfe and steepes sweetely as upon his Arminian pillowe by miserable confusion of the meaning of this phrase Christ dyed for us taking it hand over head and in the generall without any due consideration of the particular benefites signified herby which Christ is sayde to procure for us But let us proceede wiâ—h him who proceedeth â—hus But if he so understandeth it that this becommeth true by the faith which the patient addeth to the dâ—scours of the Minister he hath lost his sense in affirming that the object of faith or thing proposed to be believed receaveth its truth and dependeth of the consent and beliefe of man who by his approbation and faith hath no more power to make that true which is false in it selfe then to make that false by his incredulitie which in it selfe is true The incredulitie of man may deprive him of the benefite of his death yet can it not make that Christ suffered not this death to testifie his love to all mankind universally even as all are bound to believe in him and yet no man bound to believe that which is false Thus he doth expatiate in a large fielde nothing at all to the purpose This argument is Bellarmines argument long agoe but against what surely against the doctrine of our Protestant Churches concerning the object of faith speciall which we maynteyn to be the remission of our sins Yet absurd enough on Bellarmines part though very plausible I confesse upon a superficiary consideration of thinges For he supposeth that God doth first pardon sinne and afterwards we believe that God hath pardoned them But can Bellarmine tell what it is for God to pardon sinne or where it is that thus he pardons them Sure I am the nominalls are very much to seeke about the formalitie of pardoning of sinne And I verily believe Bellarmine did nothing trouble his braynes about eyther of them if he had and well considered that justification in scripture phrase especially where S. Paul disputes of it is a judiciary act and all one with absolution or pronouncing sentence for a man And that the pronouncing of this sentence is not in heaven though his love
divine operation to be resistible Is it in respect of the fleshe But if he be well content that it shoulde not be in the power of the worlds or the divill to resist Gods operation working us to good why should he affect to have it in the power of the flesh 1. Considering that if it be in the power of the flesh to resist divine operation it is therwithall in the power of Satan For in fulfilling the will of the flesh and the minde we are sayde to walke after the Prince that ruleth in the ayre Eph. 2. 2. Why should any man be so zealous for upholding the power of his flesh is it not a signe he is in love with it still 3. Or rather is it in zeale of the honour of his owne performances in doing good as it were in despight of such a potent adversary If so then let hell be loosed and the divill and the world both armed with the like power and that honour in withstanding them is likely to be greater and you shall have the greater cause to rejoyce but where is your respect to the glory of God in all this Or in fine would you have your regenerate part to be so strong and able that neyther flesh within nor world or divill without be able to resist its course in grace only you would have it free eyther to yeilde or to resist divine exhortations But consider I pray is not your unregenerate part your flesh free enough and forward enough yea most propâ—ne and propense to resist that and shoulde you not rather desire that your regenerate part should be as free and forward as propense and prone to resist them and to doe that which is good Otherwise in what a miserable case shall man be even in state of regeneration when his worse part is still prone to sinne and wants not the world and the divill to drive him headlong therinto and his best part to witt his regenerate part shall not be as prone to good but only indifferent to good or evill Beside doe you not consider how you debase the grace of regeneration making it inferior to morall goodnes For morall goodnes doth not leave a man indifferent to good or evill but inclines him naturally to that which is good and to that alone but the grace of regeneration is so shaped by you as to bring a man but to an indifferent constitution to doe eyther good or evill But perhaps you will say if regeneration and the grace thereof shall cary a man naturally unto that which is good only where is a mans freedome I answere as much as in a morally vertuous constitution For who was ever knowne to affirme that morall vertues take away a mans libertie Agayne why should any man be so eagerly sett upon libertie to doe evill were it not better for us to enioy such a libertie alone as of many good â—hings to choose which we thinke good but must we needes affect such a libertie as to choose evill allso if we thinke good and doe you not perceave what colour of contradiction steales upon you ere you are aware and shrewde evidence of the unreasonablenes of your affections Yet take one thingâ— more to acquaint you with that which perhaps may seeme a mystery unto you in morall philosophy for some may be so given to the stage and taken up with the obsequies therof that they may forget their philosophy Therfore I say that like as morall vertues tende only to the ordering of the reasonable soul aright as touching her right ende by light of nature so the grace of regeneration tendes to the ordering of the degenerate soule aright as touching her right end discovered by the light of grace Now Libertie of will consists not in appetitione finis the nature of man rightly ordered is naturally caryed on thereunto But freedome of will hath place in electione mediorum So that albeit my right end being once discovered and my nature so qualified as it ought to be in respect thereof albeit I am necessarily naturally caryed to the affecting of that end yet still I am free to choose amongst many what shall seeme most convenient to the obteyning of that end Whether in all this I have not spoken parables and mysteries in the judgement of this Author I know not yet this I know God can open his eyes and the eyes of those that are in love with these frivolous discourses of his and make them to discerne the vanity of their wayes in opposing the grace of God and withall Gods judgements upon them in striking them with such confusion as not onely to shutt their eyes against the light of grace but runne themselves on ground and cast themselves away as touching common sobriety while the courses they take are contradictious to the very light of nature What a sottish objection is that which followeth how dissolute a consequence is this which here he frames namely that because we say God doth worke in us both the will and the deed Ergo it is not Man that willeth but God not man that doth this or that good worke but God God doth repent in making us repent and God doth obey his owne commandements in making us obey them God hath given all creatures their naturall properties and on som he bestoweth supernaturall qualities and mooves them all that effectually to worke according to their properties whose operations though they are from him as the efficient cause thereof for in him we live and moove and have our beings and hitherto the Arminians themselves have pretended to concurre with us herein yet they are not formally to be attributed unto him but to the secoÌ„d causes whose proper operations they are as for a Lyon to roare for an horse to neigh an asse to bray an oxe to lowe a dogge to barke and the like The sixt last Section THe preaching of the word being thus made of none effect by the doctrine of these Synods there will remayne no use and profit of the Sacraments of baptisme the Lords Supper unlesse it be that the Ministers themselves in administring thereof doe destroy this unhappy doctrine For to every person whom they baptise they apply the promises of the covenant of grace cleane contrary to their owne doctrine which saith that they nothing belong to the Reprobates of the World The Eucharist is likewise given to all with assurance that Christ dyed for all those who do receave it although their doctrine doe affirme that he dyed not for those who receave him unworthily and to their owne condemnation the number of whom is very great in the Reformed Churches by their owne confession What then remaines Even their prayers themselves the exercise wherof is common both to the Pastor and the Flocke cannot be of any profit either to the one or to the other seeing that all are eyther elect or reprobate they for their parts obteyne nothing by this meanes if that God
as the Synod would have it hath written their names in the booke of life from all aeternitie without having more regard unto their prayers then unto their faith and that it is impossible for them to be razed out and as for these they are no more able to gett themselves registred therein by their prayers theÌ„ to undo that inevitable unchangable decree of God So that by this triall of the practise each one may see what esteeme we ought to have of that religion which resisteth the conversion of Infidells the amendment of the scandalous and consolation of the afflicted which makes the preaching of the word to be of none effect and quite overthroweth the use of the Sacraments and exercise of prayers and in a word which overturneth the foundation of the ministry which consisteth in sound doctrine good discipline Consid. If the preaching of the word by the doctrine of these Synods be but thus made of none effect that is but by so hungry and comicall a discourse as this we shall have very small or rather no cause at all to think the worse of the doctrine of these Synods and we are confident that the use and profitt of the Sacraments will but in the like shallow and superficiary manner be enervated And how the ministers in their administration of the Sacraments doe destroy the same doctrine so unhappy as he conceavs it for no doctrine is so happy with them as that which maintaynes grace to be conferred according unto workes or that looke what we call grace as faith and repentance is neither merited by Christ nor indeed any gift of God otherwise then by giving them power to beleeve if they will repent if they will and persuading them thereunto by the ministry of his word for I have good reason to suspect that the Author of this discourse is a mere Anabaptist we are now to consider in the last place Now for proofe hereof he sayth that to every person whom we baptize we doe apply the promises of the covenant of grace which he saith is cleane contrary to our owne doctrine which saith that they nothing belong to the reprobates of the world I would he had particulated these promises of the covenant of grace For with the practise of their Churches in the office of baptizing I am not acquainted but onely with our own The promises assured by baptism according to the rule of Gods word I finde to be of two sorts some are of benefits procured unto us by Christ which are to be conferred conditionally others are of benefits which are to be bestowed upon us absolutely They of the first sort are justification and salvation For Abraham receaved circumcision as a seale of the righteousnes of faith Circumcision therfore was an assurance of justification to be had by faith If such were circumcision unto the Iewes we have good reason to conceave that such is baptisme unto us Christians For as that was unto them so this is the Sacrament of regeneration unto us And good reason the Sacraments which are seales of the covenant should assure that unto us which the word of the covenant doth make promise of Now the word of the covenant of grace doth promise unto us both remission of sinne and salvation upon faith in Christ. This by our doctrine we promise unto all and assure unto all as well as they doe by theirs If all and every one should beleeve we nothing doubt but they should be justified and saved On the other side if not one of ripe yeares should beleeve I presume our adversaries will confesse that not one of them should be saved But there are other benefites both promised in the covenant of grace and consequently assured by the Sacraments which are commonly called the seales of the covenant wherof there is or may be a question whether they are conferred on man by God absolutely or no but onely conditionally and the right solution thereof I willingly confesse is most momentous for the deciding of all those controversies and setting an happy end unto them But that question is wholy declined by this Author and generally by the Arminian partie For such a light and evidence of faith breakes forth herein that they are not able to abide it Those benefites are regeneration which in holy scripture is called the circumcision of the heart in reference to the Sacrament that sealed it and in the New Testament it is called the washing and clensing or sanctifying of our soules in reference to our Sacrament of regeneration which is called Baptisme under regeneration we comprehend the illumination of the mind and renovation of the affectâ—ons and these operations we commonly designe by faith and repentance Now let it be enquired whether regeneration and faith commonly supposed amongst us to be the gifts of God are bestowed upon men conditionally or absolutely If conditionally then like as the word of the covenant promiseth these gifts upon a condition to be performed by man so also shall the Sacrament of Baptisme seale it and assure us that upon the performance of that condition we shall obteyne at the hands of God faith and regeneration Like as justification salvation is promised in the word and assured in the Sacraments upon performance of a condition on mans part Now the condition of justification and salvation we all acknowledge to be faith but what should be the condition upon performance whereof we should obteyne it we are much to seeke neither doe the Arminians willingly come to the defining of it this Author utterly declines the question though most proper and criticall by the Orthodox resolution thereof to sett a blessed end to all the controversies wherwith the peace of Gods church hath been of late yeares so much disturbed Now whatsoever be devised to be the condition it must be in generall some worke of man and consequently it must be acknowledged that grace is given to wit the grace of faith according to mens works which is plain Pelagianisme So for regeneration it being acknowledged to be a gift of Gods grace if so be God bestowes it conditionally they must tell us what that condition is upon the performance whereof God is pleased to regenerate us but I never yet mett with any that undertooke to notifie unto us what that condition is certeynly it must be not onely a worke of man but a worke of nature seeing it precedes regeneration and consequently the grace of regeneration shal be conferred according unto workes of nature and this also is Pelagianisme and that in a degree beyond the former and withall directly contradictious to the word of God where it is sayd that God hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our workes but according to his owne purpose and grace 2 Tim. 1.9 and where the Apostle saith that God hath mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardeneth Rom. 9.16 and to bestow faith upon a man is clearly to
The Doctrine of the SYNOD OF DORT And ARLES reduced to the practise With a consideration thereof and representation with what sobriety it proceeds I devide This discourse into two parts 1. Preface 2. Treatise 1. The preface likewise hath two parts 1. A rule of Tryall to wit by reference to practise in 3 cases 1. The converting of a stranger 2. The correcting of a leud Christian. 3. The comforting of the afflicted 2. The doctrine to bet tryed 2. The treatise is the tryall it self of the former doctrine according unto the former rule accordingly divides it self into 3 parts and ech of them I devide into several sections SEing the doctrine of the Gospell tyeth not the disciples unto bare speculation and mere knowledge of the history but allso bindeth them to the practise aedification of their neâ—ghbours every man will say that the use therof consisteth principally in these 3 things which every Christian but more especially a faithfull Pastor ought to procure so farre forth as in him lieth where The 1. Is the conversion of a stranger to the faith 2. The amendment of a bad-living Christian. 3. The consolation of the sick or otherwise afflicted 2. If then that doctrine established and canonized in the two Synods the one held at Doâ—t in Holland 1618. 1619. the other at Arles in Cevenes in France in 1620. cannot serve to any of these 3. endes nay if they are directly contrary therunto no Christian can doubt but that it is quite different from the doctrine of the holy Scripture which is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for reproofe for correction for iâ—struction in righteousnes 2. Tim. 3.16 What this Author is I knowe not but by conjecture he seems by certeyne passages mentioned in this discourse more naturally to speake French then Englishe Neythâ—r can I well tell in what â—aÌ„ke to place him of the three here meÌ„tioned for whose aedâ—fication principally he pretendes the doctrine of the Gospell to be usefull For first he seemes not to be a stranger vnto Christian faith for as much as here at the first he mentioneth a passage out of 2 Tim. 3.16 concerninge the profitablenes of holy scripture though thencefoorth he quotes not one place of scripture throughout no nor a stranger to Calvins doctrine for he quotes one passage allso out of him not one more throughout as I remember out of any author ancient or modern But he takes libertie to cry out upon a prodigious Labyrinth of Divinitye belike of those who desire to mould their faith in conformitie to the word of God in the first place and then also to take notice of what hath bene the most receaved doctrine of the Church of God in the severall ages therof And to take such a course in this authors judgment belike is for a man to cast himselfe into a Labyrinthe or maze I confesse it is a sweete thinge to wanton wits coelo liberiore frui And it may be the nature of man repines more agaâ—nst limits of faith then against limits of life and conversation Yet Adam found more roomâ— when he was cast out of Paradise then within but his condition I suppose was nothing more comfortable for that Neyther is it likely this Author is of the ranke of bad-living Christians for it is not their course to trouble their braynes about points of faithe well they may rayle against religion but they doe not use to dispute divinitie Neyther doth he seeme to stand in neede of a physician he seemes rather to feele the pulses of others and to professe out of deepe judgment the dangerous condition wherin others are through errour of faithe in tender points and in this censure of his he caryeth himselfe like a very confident divine all alonge whence it followeth that the doctrine of the Gospell is not so principally usefull for the aedification of such as himselfe For if it were I see no reason why such a condition shoulde be omitted for I praesume he will not say that every doctrine of the Gospell shoulde be alike usefull to all conditions of men There is good use to be made of terrors good use to be made of comforts But comforts are not fitt to terrifie nor can terrors be of use for consolation And truly our Church of England in her articles of religion artic 17 teacheth us that the godly consideration of Predestination our election in Christ is full of sweet pleasant vnspeakeable coÌ„forts to godly persons such as feele in theÌ„selves the working of the Spirit of Christ mortifying the works of the fleshe their earthly members and drawing up their minde to high and Heavenly thinges As well because it doth greatly establish confirme their faith of aeternall salvation to be enjoyed through Christ as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God But that for curious carnall persoÌ„s lacking the Spirite of Christ to have continually before their eyes the sentence of Gods praedestination is a most dangerous downe fall wherby â—he divill doth thrust them into desperation or into â—â—chlesnes of most vncleane living no lesse perilous then desperation And I râ—member to have read in the History of the Councell of Trent that the first opinion there mentioned concerning praedestination whith was the opinion of the Swinglians as there it is reported as it is mysticall hidden keeping the minde humble and relying on God without confidence in it selfe knowing the deformitie of of sinne and the excellency of divine grace which vndoubtedly are excellent uses for aedification in an eminent dâ—gree so the second opinion contrary to the former was plausible and popular cherishing humane praesumption and making a great shewe it pleased more the preaching fryars then the vnderstanding Divines And the courtiours thought it pâ—obable as consonant to politâ—que reason â—t was maynteyned by the Bishop of Biâ—onâ—o and the Bishop of Salpi shewed himselfe very partiall The defenders of this vsing humane reasons praevayled against the others but comming to the testimonies of scripture they were manyfestly overcome But to returne I had thought the written word of God had principally concerned believers and tended to the aedification of the body of Christ according to that we reade Eph. 4.11 12. that Christ gave some to be Apostles and some Prophets some Evangelists and som Pastors and Teachers now observe the ende of their ministery in the wordes followinge for the â—epayring of the Saints for the worke of the ministery and for the aedification of the body of Christ. As for Bad living Christians they have no delight in Gods word at all the ministery of the word is but a vexation vnto such and Gods ministers are accoumpted by such as Elias was no better then troublers of Israel and why But because they can prophecy no good vnto such but evil And as for the sicke though weak in body yet if not weak in faith we can affoord them abundance of