celestiall Hauen they will certainly make shipwracke of their saluation the Spirit of GOD assuring them that bee that beleeueth not is condemned already and that euery Tree which bringeth not forth good fruit shall be â—ewne downe and cast into the fire As for the rest wee cannot speake to any one in particular as one retected of God for neither can any knew of another no nor of himselfe neither that hee is a Reprobate seeing at the last watch yea euen at the last gaspe God may effectually call and conuert him and wee in charitie are both to iudge and hope the best of all Yet euen them also if wee know any to bee such wee would not cease to stirre vp vnto all the duties of a Christian life assuring them that if they will beleeue and liue in fanctitie and holinesse they shall be crowned with glory God himselfe saying to Cain whom hee knew to bee a Reprobate If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted and Christ proclaiming that whosoeuer beleoueth shall baue euerlasting life Besides which vnto them both whether they be Elect or reprobate it may be further said that as by their refraining from sinne and doing that which is good in either of both estates they shall be sure to gaine so by their pursuing of sinne and heaping vp iniquitie they shall in either estate bee sure to lose thereby For if they bee elect though by reason of Gods ordinance they bee sure to obtaine remission of sinnes and eternall life and to bee in the number of those heauenly starres yet because euen in that eternall life there are many and diuers mansions and one Starre differeth from another in glory the moe and the more hainous sinnes that they doe commit the lesse portion and weight of that eternall glory shall bee giuen vnto them as there is lesse light and glory in those which they call obscure or cloudy starres and those of the fift or sixt magnitude whereas if their liues had here shined in sanctitie in innocencie in faith in purity and in sinceritie then themselues also should haue shined like those prime and fairest starres or like the Sunne in his strength and glory In like sort If they be reiected of God though by reason of their owne peruerse wils beeing hardened in sinne they are sure to runne into etnerall death and perdition yet because euen in that eternall death there are diuersities and degrees of punishments for some fewer for others moe and more bellish stripes the more they restraine themselues from sinne and the more they practise those workes of iustice and temperance which for the substance of the worke are good and such as Heathen men and Reprobates may performe euen by this they shall gaine thus much that their stripes and punishments shall bee farre more easie then if by their wallowing in sinne and letting loose the reines to impietie they had treasured vp wrath against the day of wrath Seeing then whether soeuer they be Sheepe or Goates they are sure by impietie to lose and by good workes to gaine both of them in Tanto though neither of both in Toto euen in this respect if there were no other it behoues them both to labour and striue to represle sinne and doe that which is good that if they be elect their reward may bee more glorious and if they bee not elect their punishment may bee lesse grieuous Lastly in whom I pray you doth or can this holy doctrine breed securitie and carelesnesse Not in them who know or thinke themselues to bee elect For this very perswasion of Gods loue in whomsoeuer it is doth cause a more feruent loue and more earnest seruing of the Lord who hath vouchsafed them so great and vnexpressible mercy euen as the Apostles who knew that their names were written in heauen were most ready and desirous to doe and suffer all things for the loue they had vnto God the loue of Christ constraining them therevnto For as Saint Austen saith Hee is too churlish and â—nkinde qui amorem si nolit impendere nolit rependere who if hee will not bestowe loue vpon God will not yet requite the loue of God freely bestowed on him Not in them vvho thinke themselues Reprobates For seeing they doe not nor can know themselues to bee such why should they deiect their mindes and not rather hope by repentance faith and and sanctitie to obtaine fauour with God and bee found in the number of those of whom the Apostle faith 2. Tim. 2. 21. If any man purge himselfe from these he shall bee a vessell vnto honour Euen as in their bodily sicknesse and worldly estate they labour and toyle neglecting no meanes to attaine health wealth and welfare because they know no other but that God hath decreed an happy successe and to giue a blessing to those meanes vvhich are commanded and ordained by himselfe So because they know no other but that God hath decreed to giue saluation and eternall glory vnto them why should they not labour by faith sanctitie and all holy meanes to attaine vnto life and leaue the successe vnto him vvho hath said and assured them Ezekiel 18. 31. Returne and cast away all your transgressions so iniquitie shall not bee your destruction So many wayes is that their cauill of securitie cleerely refuted by which as by the chiefest engine which their wits could deuise they seeke to ouerthrow both the whole doctrine of Gods Predestination and that certainty or assurance of our election of which we now entreat But they further oppose the Scriptures against vs and against that assurance which we before declared seeing Dauid Psal. 69. 28 desireth of God that hee would wipe his enemies out of the Booke of Life Now if any may be wiped out whom God hath once enrolled among his elect then is not our election so sure and immutable as wee haue taught For answere whereunto I say with Saint Austen God neuer wipes out any whom hee writ in that Booke for if a wretched man was so constant that hee would not alter his writing but said What I haue written I haue written what indignitie were it to Almighty God to thinke him so wauering that hee will write and blot out againe which a sinfull man Pontius Pilate was ashamed to doe Those enemies then of God of whom Dauid speaketh who vnder the colour of an outward profession cloaked their inward hatred to God and his Prophets were written in the Booke of God or seemed so to be onely by the iudgement of men who saw no more then their outside and fained profession they were neuer written there in truth nor according to his knowledge who tryeth the hearts and reines And Dauid to whom Gods Spirit had reuealed their hypocrisie and deepe dissimulation among other curses prayeth that this also may befall vnto them that whereas themselues or other men thought them to bee
Then will I professe to them I neuer knew you Depart from me ye workers of intquity Wherefore to returne their own reason against themselues Seeing God knoweth that is loueth and approueth all those whom he electeth as St Paul teacheth but neuer knoweth in this sort any Reprobate or vngodly man as our Sauiour professeth it remaineth true and certaine euen by that very Text whereon they most rely that not all men without exception but only some are elected of God and ordained to euerlasting life Concerning the number of which the Massilians and some other most ignorantly and impiously taught that it was not defined nor set downe by God but left so vncertaine and depending on the wils of men that according as they were either willing or vnwilling to embrace the grace of God the number of the Elect might be either augmented or impayred A conceit so repugnant to the truth that though their other error touching mens wils were admitted yet can it no way stand with the praescience of Almighty God who knowing all things yea the very thoughts of men long before euen before all eternitie can not bee ignorant either how many will or how many himselfe will haue to embrace his grace and to be saued Some others haue fancied that though the number of the Elect which the Schoolemen call Numerum formalem bee certaine yet the persons who are to make vp this number called by them Numerus materialis is vncertaine and not defined by God A fancy indeed seeing the Scriptures plainely teach that God in his secret Councell hath decreed not onely how many but in particular also who those are whom he hath chosen to bee heires with Christ. For when our Sauiour saith that euen your names are written in Heauen and that he being the good Shepheard calleth his Sheep by name that he knoweth whom he hath chosen and when the Apostle saith The foundation of God standeth sure and hath this Seale The Lord knoweth who are his What else doe or can these import but that God hath most certainly decreed and set downe in writing not onely how many but euen particularly who they be yea and what their names are whom hee hath chosen and sealed vnto eternall life and this number as Saint Austen saith is so certainly set downe with God that neither any one of them can be taken away nor any other can bee added vnto them Now what this number in particular is â—as to set downe is impossible for mortall man so to search it out were most vaine and fruitlesse curiositie Let this suffice vs to know that though this number in respect of the wicked is but small seeing Christ telleth vs that many are called and few chosen and that many going the brâ—ad way which leadeth to destructioÌ„ and few in the narrow which leadeth vnto life Few indeed in respect of those many ryet euen those few coÌ„sidered in themselues are an exceeding great number For the seed of Abraham is like the Starres of heauen or as the sand of the Sea shore such as can not be numbred And I may truely say of the Elect they are a number numberlesse Saint Iohn himselfe warranting this saying Reu. 7. 9. where besides those thousand thousands that were sealed of the Iewes he saw a great multitute which no man could number of all Nations and Kindreds and People and Languages whâ—ch stood before the Throne cloathed with long white Robes and hauing Palmes in their hands in regard of which infinit number our Sauiour telleth his Disciples that in his Fathers house are many dwelling places And let this suffice to bee spoken of the parties which are elected The next point to be considered in our election is the cause thereof Where first it is vndoubted that the declaring and manifesting of Gods glory is the cause why God in generall would elect some and reiect some other when all were alike before him in the same masse or lumpe of perdition That one saying of Salomon doth sufficiently proue this Pro. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all things for his owne sake that is for his owne glory and honour For when wee were all included in the same masse of sinne out of whâ—ch God elected some and left others therein if God had then refused all as in iustice if it had pleased him he might haue done neuer could those glorious riches of his mercy haue been knowne vnto vs which now are manifest in sauing his Elect by Christ. Againe if then by a generall Pardon hee had released all as in mercy if it had pleased him he might haue done then could we not haue seene the glory of his iustice which now in the deserued punishment of the wicked is mightly and manifestly declared vnto vs. So then to make knowne vnto all the glory and praise of his mercy in the one and the glory and praise of his Iustice in the other he framed of the same Iumpe and masse of sinne some to be vessels of mercy by electing them vnto life and he left others to be vessels of iustice letting them alone in that state of damnation into which all mankind had plunged it selfe But if wee wade further into this doctrine and search not only why in generall God elected some refused others but why in particular these are elected rather then the other as namely Iacob rather then Esau and St Paul rather then Iudas seeing not onely they both were in themselues alike but Gods glory had no lesse been seene in electing the one then the other if it had so pleased him as now the cafe is more difficult so are there diuers men of diuers iudgements Most fond of all others is the dreame of Origen who thought that mens soules were created long before their bodies and according to their good or ill deserts before their vniting to the bodies God elected some men unto life and appointed others vnto death though none as he supposed to eternall death Which errour of Origâ—ns is not onely by all sound Philosophers reiected who rightly teach that the soules are not created before but in the very instant of their coupling to the bodies so is it together with Origen the Author of it and with the Priscilian Hereticks who after Origen reuiued the same most iustly condemned by the iudgement of the Church truely and constantly teaching that the soules were not before their inspiring into the bodies For this time contenting my selfe with that one cleere testimony of the Prophet Zech. 12. â— that God formeth the spirit of man in him I will passe from this errour as unworthy of any further expence of time Others there are who haue taught that Gods electing of these and reiecting the other dependeth wholly on the will of men themselues and not of the Decree or will of God and that there is none reiected of God â—â—ll by their
sake hee slacketh his comming yet as before we haue proued it is the absolute will and decree of God concerning the reprobate and refuse of the world that they shall perish in their sinnes and runne headlong of their owne accord into the pit of destruction prouided and ordained for them O but say they this can not stand with the Iustice of God that he should ordaine any or create them vnto everlasting death and that for no other cause but that it is his will and pleasure For death is the reward of sinne and not of Gods ordinance or decree Wretched men who being besotted with a spirit of blindnesse and daring to reprehend that which they do not comprehend doe most ignorantly confound those two acts of Gods decree which in this cause of the Reprobation of men are diligently and necessarily to be distinguished The former is Negatiue and that is the eternall purpose and decree of God not to shew mercy nor giue his grace vnto them nor to pull them out as we doth the elect but leaue them in that masse of sinne and most wofull state whereinto both they and the elect vvere now together falne The other is Positiue and that is the eternall purpose and decree of God to inflict that euerlasting punishment vpon them which is most instly deserued by that sinne into which they wilfully fall and in which they stil abide pursuing sinne with all greedinesse We neuer say nor so much as once think that God either condemneth any or appoints them vnto death without their owne most iust deserts God himselfe teacheth vs this lesson Hos. 13. 9. Thyperdition O Israel is of thy selfe and the Apostle saying Rom. 6. 23. that the wages of sinne is death cleerely witnesseth vnto all that eternall death is as duely earned by the wicked and paid vnto them for their iust recompence and hire as is the wages by any master to his labourer or seruant And herein is that true which S. Austen saith God is both good and iust Hee may without our good deserts free vs because he is good but hee cannot without our ill deserts condemne vs because he is iust Yea in that last and great Day when God shall sit in his Throne of iudgement the wicked and reprobate forced to confesse their faults written in their conscience as in a large booke shall then acknowledge both their owne deserts and the Iustice of God in rewarding them with the due wages of their sinnes It is not then the will and pleasure of God as they maliciously slander but their owne great and hainous transgressions for which they are punished and for which God from all eternitie decreed to punish them sinne onely is the cause of this later and positiue act in Gods decree But for the former Negatiue act in their reiection whereby God ordained that when all mankinde was alike guilty before him all included in that one and the selfesame masse of perdition into which by their owne voluntary transgression all mankinde had plunged it selfe for in â—Adam all men sinned and so death and Gods wrath went ouer all that hee would not then in mercy pull these out of that masse and make of them vessels of glory but in iustice leaue them in that their sinfull and wofull estate to be vessels of wrath leaue them to their owne lusts destitute of his grace that so they might runne out the race of their sinnes and be as it were fatted for the day of slaughter the cause of this act I say is the very will of God which though we may not doubt but that being his will who is most wise it is also most reasonable grounded both vpon most iust wise and diuine reasons such as perhaps in the life to come shall be made euidenâ— vnto vs yet hereof no other reason can possibly be giuen by vs nor ought to bee sought for in this mortall life but onely this I will haue mercy on whom I will and whom he will he hardneth that is he wil not shew mercy vnto them Now why should this seeme vniust vnto thee O thou disputer against God It is as the Apostle tels thee the will of God whose will seeing he is infinitely wise is euer most iust yea it is the very rule of all perfect iustice Again in that thou art a creature thou art none of thine owne but thou art wholly Gods Is it not lawfull for me to doe with my owne what I will saith the hous-holder in the Gospell and shall it not be lawfull for God to doe and to dispose of his owne as it best pleaseth him Shall the Potter without controulement frame of the same lumpe of clay one vessell to honour another to dishonour onely because it so pleaseth him and wilt thou which art but dust and ashes aske a reason of God why of that one lumpe of sinne fit for nothing at all but to make vessels of dishonour he made thee rather then another a vessell of dishonour which of a silly Potter thou wouldest blush and be ashamed to aske Nay the Apostle saith of the Potter that he hath not only power but euen authoritie a rightfull power for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 importeth to frame the clay as he listeth and of what part thereof he wil to make a vessel either for honor or dishonour How much more is there authoritie and a rightfull power in God ouer all men For the Potter made not the clay but God made yea created vs of nothing and the Potter though by much and many degrees he excell the clay yet still the oddes and difference is finite But God infinitely excelleth all mankinde and therefore his authoritie is infinitely more ouer vs all then is the Potter ouer the least parcell of Clay Yea thou thy selfe wilt for thy own pleasure sport or glory kill and slay of thy Deere and fat of thy beasts which thou wilt for slaughter and yet because thou thinkest they are thy owne death it were for any of thy seruants to say to thee no lesse then to the man of sinne Domine cur ita facis yet thy beasts had no way offended thee but beene good and seruiceable vnto thee so that thou hadst onely the power of a Lord ouer them but thou hadst no cause of wrath and anger against them How much more may the Almighty for his glory designe or leaue which of all mankinde he pleaseth for the day of slaughter seeing both they all had by their rebellion against God incensed his wrath and prouoked his iust indignation against them and hee being the Lord of all Lords and Creator of heauen and earth hath infinitely more authority ouer them all then thou hast or canst haue ouer the least and meanest thing that thou doest possesse Lastly if God had beene indebted vnto thee or bound to shew thee mercy and fauour then mightst thou haue had some cause to