here is no fiction but evident truth Adam in the very act of sinning deserved because he sinned that God should have withdrawn his influence but it was a virtual deserving and formally a sin Ob. If for this reason Adam interpretatively put away divine influence so that the fault is imputed to him not to God it would seem by that same reason Adam should interpretatively will and desire the predeterminating influence of God to a godly act of obedience and so a godly and pious work should be ascribed to man and not to God Ans 1. The virtual demerit is not the adequate cause why the sin is ascribed to Adam but the actual crooking and deviating of the mind will and affections from God as the true neerest cause especially since Adam is under a Law not to sin nor to refuse virtually the Lords influence and because the Lord is under no Law to give influences his free withdrawing can never make the sin to be imputed to God for God doth nothing contra debitum in withdrawing his influence but Adam against a law virtually rejects the influence and formally sins So there is no reason why the good work should not be ascribed to God for power to act to wit the image of God and actual acting are his free gift but a power of sin and actual sin are wholly from us only not from God at all I speak of the power formal to sins which is a crookedness of power such as is a power to blindness Ob. Whereas they say that Adam materially and interpretatively in the effect wants the praedeterminating influence of God I ask whether they understand the effect and material and interpretative consent or the formal and direct actual consent if the former be said it is a ridiculous clavering for they say that Adam desired interpretatively and materially to want the influence of God quatenus in se as he desired to want the influence of God if the latter be said the necessity of sinning stands for if God deny his influence to one of the opposites and giveth it to the other it is a necessitâ— the strength of our argument is that that is not to be imputed to Adam as sin which was both necessary and inevitable Ans 1. The argument is weake for one and the same voluntary act of consenting to eat in Adam is referred to 1. Directly to the Law thou shalt not eat Gen. 2. 17. and it is formaly a sinful act contrary to the commandment 2. Adam in this sinful act of consenting to eat did also interpretatively and virtually and indirectly not in an other formal and distinct act will and desire to want the influence of God now no precept or law is laid upon Adam or upon any man to have or to want the influence of God whether it be predeterminative or collateral only in acts of obedience which cannot be performed without that influence in sinful acts we are to want the influence of God requisite to the entitative act 2. No necessity is or can be inferred from Gods determining either in his decree or in his actual bowing and praedetermining of the will to one of the opposites but such whereby the holy praedetermination of God insinuates it self sweetly and connaturally in the bosome of the elective power without any straining or forcing of the light of the mind and its indifferency or compelling the will to be carried to any other of the opposites then the will it self doth connaturally embrace 3. The way of Adversaries destroys all eternal decrees in God under pretence of eschewing a necessity for by this from eternity the will of God was loose lubrick potential disjunctive and fixed neither upon the breaking or not breaking the legs of Christ that was left to the free-will and decree of the Souldiers So God from eternity neither decreed nor determined the selling of Joseph or the not selling of him nor the crucifying of Christ or the not crucifying of him nor the believing of Jews and Gentiles or the free not believing for had he put a necessity of a decree on one of the opposites on believing rather then on none-believing he should say the Adversaries have fixed all free action under a fatal and Adamantine Law of eternal and inexorable necessity and so destroyed free-will but so God should determine and order nothing in free and contingent events but commit all to free-will and to contingently working causes 2. All Gods wise decrees of free and contingent events in every page almost of the Scripture must be utterly destroyed 3. He could foretel nothing by free agents prophesies and predictions must perish for God could not say from eternity I shall afflict my people Judah by the Babylonians I shall impoverish Job and spoil him by the Sabeans I will deliver to death my Son to the death of the Crosâ— by Herod Pilate and the Jews for that necessity should destroy all contingency of second causes for God cannot saith Strangius deny his influence to one of the opposites and give it to the other but he must destroy freedom then must he decree to give his influences to both opposites and so should nothing be determined from eternity which comes to pass in time ah providence or fortune rather 4. God should will and decree one of the opposites in time de novo and every day and he should will and do in time many things which he decreed not to do from eternity because say they his will and decree was from eternity fixed upon no contingent acts 5. No wise man governs so his family no General his Army no Prince his Subjects if he be wise and knowing as the holy Lord is alknowing he taketh no counsel in Arena but he forecasteth and decreeth things within the compass of power to do before he doth things for to will all of hand and of new without eternal fore-fixing of the will casts all the contingent acts of men and Angels upon loose uncertainties 2. Make the only wise God rash and dubious 3. Puts him to learn by experience new things to day and to will and decree them fixedly in time concerning which yesterday and before the world was he was not fixed in his will to do determinatly any thing for fear of fatal necessity For 4. God had either fixed a decree concerning all things as written in a book before they were as it is Psal 139. 16. and of certain persons loved to salvation and healed Rom. 9. 11. 12. and written in the book of life Ex. 32. 32. Psal 69. 28. Rev. 3. 5. Rev. 13. 8. Rev. 17. 8. Rev. 20. 15. Luke 10. 20. and by head and name predestinate to glory or then the will and decree of God was tottering dubious and indifferent toward things and persons if the former be said the Lord wrote and ordained fixedly all single contingent things and actions to their ends and he must have foreordained persons to glory and to free acts of faith
106. 9. He rebuked the red Sea also and it was dried up God by the interposition of the faith of his own will not have strong walls to stand Heb. 11. 30. but they must fall nor Lions to eat the prey Verse 33. nor a violent fire to burn nor the sword to devour 34. As 2. They act at his command Psal 78. 26. He caused the East wind to blow in the Heavens and by his power he brought in the South wind whether this be by a strong terminating influence which displeaseth adversaries of grace and providence or some other way we contend not for words but if the Scripture hold forth as it doth that the Lord by his strong and invincible dominion doth indeclinably and without any possible failing bring forth his decreed effect some impulsion of God immanent transient or mixed which is terminate upon all second causes there must be for as he can and doth hinder naturall causes to work as the Sunne to move towards his down-going Josh 12. 13. Isa 38. 8. the Lyon to eat the man whereas he did fear the ass 1 Kings 13. 28. so he is the father and cause of all things that fall out Job 38. 28. Hath the rain a father or who hath begotten the drops of dew 29. Out of whose womb came the yce and the hoary-frost of Heaven who hath gendered it 31. Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion This teacheth that Job cannot nor can any creature at his nod but the Lord can and he onely binds up or le ts out the influences of Pleiades the starres which rise in the Spring and bring forth flowers and hearbs and orders the course of Orion which bringeth Winter and order the starres that rise in the South and in the North. 34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds that abundance of waters may cover thee See his actings 3. His influences are in things small as in the falling of a Sparrow to the earth not one hair of the head but it is numbred by him Luke 21. 18. Matth. 10. 29 30 31. Not a gourd groweth nor a worm eats it but at his command Jonah 4. 6 7. Amos 4. 7 8 9. Joel 1. 1 2 3 4. Psal 105. 29 30 31 32 33. c. he hath an hand in the bird-nests building Psal 104. 17 18. And 4. The actings of the Lord are in great things as the translation of Kingdoms Dominions and Thrones Dan. 4. 32. Jer. 27. 5 6 7. In all the rises and fallings of Princes the Starres of whatever magnitude Isa 40. 21. 1 Sam. 2. 7 8. Psalm 76. 12. 5. His actings are in matter of lots that seem to be ruled by fortune and chance Prov. 16. 33. Genes 49. Deut. 33. compared with Josh 14. 1 2 3. 6. Especially in bowing the free will and determining all the actions of evil angels 1 Kings 22. 21 22 23. Job 1. 6 7 8. Job 2. 1 2 3. Gen. 3. 1 2 3 4 5. Matth. 8. 29 30 31. and good Luke 2. 9 13. Matth. 28. 1 2 3. Acts 1. 20. 2 Thes 1. 7. leading and determining the free will of all men the King Prov. 21. 1. the Prince Gen. 43. 13. Esther 4. 16 17. compared with Chap. 5. 2. c. 7. 2 3. he graciously enclines the will and hearts of men Deut. 30. 6. Jer. 32. 39 40. Ezek. 36. 27. as the Saints pray Psal 119. 33 34 36 88. Psal 86. 11. Cant. 1. 4. He hardneth the heart and blinds the mind as in his judgement he pleaseth Job 12. 16. Ezek. 14. 9. Exod. 14. 8. Deut. 2. 30. 2 Sam. 12. 11 12. Esay 6. 9 10. Matth. 13. 14 15. John 12. 37 38 39 40. Rom. 1. 24 25 26 27 28. Rom. 11. 8. And many such things are with him the more spiritually minded any is the more bent is the heart to follow and eye God in all his actings and he shall see how wise in heart the steeresman is who watcheth at the helm and it shall appeare what precious thoughts take up the believer who sees such millions and numberless numbers of influences with all the drops of rain hail dew falling between the creation and the dissolving of the world all which he binds in his garment Prov. 30. 2. and what numbers of influences he joyns to all the blasts of winds and storms which he gathers in is fists ibid. what influences of the Almighty must there be at all the actings stirrings and motions of Angels in Heaven of damned spirits of men elect and reprobate of birds beasts creeping things fishes in the wise connection of all these with the Lords intended end And if this be observed suppose the body of the Heavens which in its wide bosome contains all were broken and fell down in many thousand pieces Faith in the infinite wisdome goodnesse and power of God will bid the believer be silent and sleep and hope within his own garment God excellently rules all the best of created things next to that precious thing Christ man is the Church and the Lord will specially care for that and for me among the rest 3. No doubt we are brutish and look to all the stirrings with much Atheisme and little faith as if all stirrings in Nature Societies and Kingdoms were set on work by the sway of Nature and blind Fortune without God as a wheel rolling about with the mighty violence of a strong arm moves a long time after the arm of the mover is removed Or suppose a pair of Charet-wheels were letten loose in the top of a huge Mountain and should move down some hundred thousands of Millions of miles for hundreds of years after the man who set them first a work were dead So we fools believe that God gave a mighty strong shake or some Omnipotent impulsion to all causes natural free and contingent to Heaven and Earth Sea and Land to all Creatures in them Angels and Men and did bid them be a going for he must sleep and could not actually stir them any more Nor can we see God in all and that he contrived this that one should rise early and eat the bread of sorrow and yet be poor another should be wise admirably and want bread another fight valiantly and be foiled and a man run swiftly and lose the race Psal 127. 1 2 3. Eccles 9. 11. and that much sowing hath little reaping Hag. 1. 6. for Hab. 2. 13. Behold is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people should labour in the very fire and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity Chaldaea doth sweat and pine her self for the very wind and nothing We see not that nature miscarries and parts with child when his good providence who rules all is not Mid-wife and a barren-womb brings forth many births and she that is no Mother hath a rich issue when soveraignity pleases this is my faith and comfort CHAP. III. Hence to
before and above God whereas the Rose warms not the Sun but the Sun warms and nourishes the Rose and the corn and herbs do not refresh the Heaven and the Clouds but Heaven and Clouds nourish and refresh the corn and grass and it must be untoward and froward divinity that the sick man heals the Physician It is the grace to speak so of the Lord 's free grace that the Lord prevents us not we him its impossible that nature can prevent grace Prop. 2. Though the Lord's promise and his free decree hath tyed himself in a manner to be prevented by a moral cause yet that moral cause even the praying man stirs not until God first prevent him to pray Hence the Lord moves and wheels about the heart and will of the man who is most free and most absolute among all the sons of men even the King Prov. 21. 1. and that not if the King will and say amen with his prior or former or collateral consent but whithersoever Jehovah will Hence our prayers that God would incline our hearts to his testimonies Psal 119. 36. Not incline the heart to any evil thing Psal 141. 4. Vnite the heart to fear his name Psal 86. 11. So Jacob prays the Lord would give his sons favour in the eyes of the Governour of Egypt a Heathen man as to him Esther and her maids pray for grace in the eyes of Ahasuerus see Gen. 43. 14. The Lord Almighty give you mercy before the man If God could not indecliuably bow the will to his own way side or end be it by antecedent predetermination or what way else you shall call it so the Lord be the more Master of willing and nilling then the creature but in so doing he should destroy free will we should in all such petitions pray for the destroying of free will where sure we pray for perfecting and the sanctified bowing of free will to obey God 2. If the dominion of free acts remain strongly in the creatures power we must in these suits incline my heart unto thy testimonies lead us not into temptation pray the Lord for that which is not in his power to give 3. If God do carry free will whithersoever he pleaseth then we must not defer the only praise of our obedience and of our victory over temptations to the grace of God but to free will which made the discriminating difference 1. Hence we are to commit our free will to the Lord's dominion of grace and not to believe that such a tottering Goddesse as free will which hath lost and destroyed Angels and the first man Adam can guide well enough Yea 2. we are to bless the Lord for that impotency if so it may be called that the soveraign Lord's heavenly influences are not in the creatures coffers to be husbanded by the creature how false is it that Christ hath bought free will to himself 3. How sweet is it that our head Christ and we in him are more masters of mens hatred and favour then they are themselves Prov. 3. 1 4. Psal 106. 46. for would enemies and haters shew us favour and love if they were absolute Masters and Lords of their own hatred and love not at all we must thank and blesse an higher hand then such men 4. Should we pray more we should be more rained upon in our withered condition by showrs of influences of grace Object By your way we cannot pray for influences except the Lord bestow on us other foregoing influences Answ What follows but that we are to pray that we may pray and that we are to pray for our own prayers that they may be steeled with faith and strength of grace And David prays for his own prayers Psal 5. 2. Psal 28. 2. Psal 88. 2. Psal 141. 2. 2. Would the Objector relish prayers without influences of grace can nature pray in the holy Ghost can Christ intercede for the accepting of natures work Prop. 3. Because God only is Lord and Master of free-will and of the actings of all creatures we are not to be idle and upon that account to act nothing for then should not the husband-man plow sow and labour for God only is Lord and Master of the actings of the husband-man and without the influences and blessing from on high the husband-mans labours from the beginning of the year to the end were no better then to plant Vine-trees in the bottom of the river Euphrates or to sow Barley or Wheat in the Ocean sea And so should the Sea-man never sayl for God only can create winds and tide and God only is Master of the ebbing and flowing of the Sea and of sayling and of right steering of the Vessel for since the Lord declares not his mind on the contrary by forbidding men to pray and others to plow and sayl 2. Since the Lord offers no positive violence to hinder these actings And 3. because he commandeth us to doe them it becomes us to set to work and to act with and under him and to commit the event and blessing to him Indeed if the Lord were so Lord of our actings as he did all and whole the work and we did act nothing at all in praying yea and in plowing but were meer dead and useless patients as Libertines dream something might follow to justifie our idleness but our corruption following Satan teacheth us either to sacrifice to our own net and say vainly either we doe all and God does nothing and so we darken his glory who works all our works in us and for us or then we say on the other extreme we doe nothing and God does all and therefore must we say let God pray labour the earth trade and sayl and put our hand in our bosome and sleep but the former is sacriledge and idolatry and robs the Lord of his glory and the latter is proclaimed disobedience Yea and whether the influence of God antecedently master the creatures actings or we joyntly and collaterally be mastered and determined by the creature we are in both cases to act and doe what is good and are not to make God's influence our rule of doing or not doing Prop. 4. Hence to have or not to have the influence of God is not commanded in the Word nor have we any physical power over the Lord's acts of Omnipotency for we do not formally love God and keep his Commandments in a way commendable if we speak of the moral cause of obedience because he works in us both to will and to doe but because he hath commanded us to love him and to keep his Commandments John 14. 15. Psal 119. 4 5 6. Hence 1. The Libertine is blasphemously wide the creature can doe says he nothing good or evil God worketh all sin all obedience immediately in us it s in vain to read pray hear the word meditate confer or go about works of reforming abuses in religion because all these are to no purpose without the
spirit 2. We are not to do any thing because God in his word hath commanded us to doe it but because the Spirit immediately acts in us to doe and immediate impulsion of the Spirit is now instead of the Law and of the word of God either written or preached but this is a wicked confounding of the efficient real cause and the strength of which we obey with the objective cause and morally directing commanding and perswading rule according to which we are to regulate and order our obedience yea and children can contradict this who know that the Mason who imploys his strength to build must be differenced from the Masons Rule and the Art plummet and line according to which he works for otherwise it s all one as to say the power or faculty visive of seeing were light were colours that are seen and the souldiers force and strength of apprehending a man and Law and justice according to which they do it were all one a gracious soul doth all acts of obedience upon the account of a command of God and fetcheth his moral and godly delight from the command of God the facility and strength of doing is indeed from the Spirit for whose help he desires to be thankful and to whom he desires to give all the praise and glory 2. It s a false Spirit which is so contrary to the word of precept and command 3. It s fit to subscribe to that Psal 127. 1. Except the Lord build the house they build in vain that build except the Lord watch the City the watchman waketh but in vain 1 Cor. 3. 7. So then neither is he that planteth nor he that watereth any thing but God that giveth increase But the holy Ghost never dreamed of such an inference therefore let builders watchmen and Ministers of the Gospel go to bed and sleep for God he alone shall build Cities and Houses and watch over men and all societies and bring all souls to Christ yea he hath commanded us to act and to help the Lord so he speaketh Judges 5. 23. 1 Cor. 3. 9. 1 Cor. 4. 1. and it hath a real truth though he needs no help from the creature and we are for his holy commands sake to act and to eye and trust in him who in all the acts of nature and oeconomy and art leads the way and in all the acts of grace yea we are to rejoyce that the Lord Jesus is Master of work and only Steersman CHAP. II. 1. What the natural man can doe to get influences the natural man can doe more then he does and can exercise the natural powers to come within the bosome of the net though he cannot hale himself to land 2. How the Lord can command the naturally blind to see and believe 3. How sin original deserves eternal wrath 4. It s such a sin in infants 5. The want of original righteousnesse and a power of believing is a sin in us 5. How the Lord commands impotent men THe greater doubt is how the Lord can command supernatural acts to a man drowned in nature but it s not here as when a Tyrant commands a child to wheel about the first heaven else he shall kill him for the so moving of the heaven is neither a moral duty nor was it ever a duty compassible by the physical power of the arm of a child or a strong man But the main intent of our Lord in laying on supernatural commands upon man unable to believe is that men may know what they can pay and what they owe and can never pay but not of their own pay the debt of faith the precept is not unrational where the end is rational 2. Not that the natural man may satisfie but that he may come and compone and acquiesce to a friendly Gospel treaty for nothing heightneth the price and worth of Christ more in the shining of free grace nothing kills and renders self-condemned the man more then a seen necessity of forgiving love yea the reading of the writ of the Law-debt with tears when this is holden out to us the Lord gave a bill of grace to those who had nothing to pay and he forgave them frankly is a strongly convincing dispensation 2. Something which is really little or nothing a natural man may doe to fetch the wind when he cannot command it and cannot sayl he may and often doth exercise the natural faculty of moving from place to place and comes as a meer natural man upon a meer natural motive sinfull curiosity and a purpose violently to apprehend Christ as the souldiers doe John 7. 45 46 47. yea with bloudy hearts and a purpose to persecute as the hearers of Peter doe Acts 2. and yet beside and contrary to the will and intent the man is wrought upon and converted before he go away as some go to Sea and sayl to India poor with no intention to be enriched with gold but only to get bread and yet they come again from India rich with Indian gold and many precious stones far beside their intention A man rude and ignorant goes to Athens upon no purpose to become learned yet providence so disposeth that he falls in love with learning and studying many years he returns from Athens a most learned man Now no man can say that either the Indian gold or the learning of Athens did contribute any real or physical strength to his loco-motive and natural faculty of journeying to India or Athens so neither can it be said the Spirit of grace or the Gospel of grace did add any new real and physical strength to Peter's hearers to cause them to come in under the stroke of the preached Gospel Now the Gospel is the power of God to salvation the Apostle useth such spiritual weapons of warefare to cast down strong holds it s the arm of the Lord Rom. 1. 16. 2 Cor. 10. 56. Isa 53. 1. and the preached Gospel is the triumphing chariot of Christ conquering Christ's office-house of free grace Now a man on his own feet and by his own strength though sick may come to the Physicians office-house where all his medicine boxes and helps and remedies of health are and be cured ere he goe a way and may go away with perfect strength and health yet he came to the Physicians house in no strength nor health which he received from his art and medicine The Word is the net the Fish may come in its own natural motion within the bosome of the net but it s the strength of the arms of the Fisher that hales the Fish to land the Fish catcheth not it self The word of God is a sharp two-edged sword and doth the work by the Spiriâ—â— Heb. 4. 12. The mouth of Christ is like a sharp sword Isa 49. 2. His arrows are sharp in the heart of the Kings enemies whereby the people fall under him Isa 45. 5. A man may in his own natural strength come in within the shoot
could send to heaven for the spirit and the influences of grace The Lord comes unsent for and here is found of them who never sought him Isa 65. 1. For as touching the Lords first love-visit when he comes upon the sinner dying in his blood in the infusion of the life of Christ there is no treaty no communing betwixt the foundling dying in the open field and Christ For 1. Our consent is not sought to the first Creation nor yet to the second the Lord does not as it were parly nor ask the question at the thirsty wilderness Shall I pour water on thee and flouds of rain house of David will ye yield your consent and good will that I pour upon you the spirit of grace and of supplication For the formal infusion of a new heart is not done by moral acting in that point of dispensation 2. Our Divines on strong grounds teach that the sinner is a meer patient habet se passivè in the formal moment of the Lords infusing of a new herat as the wildeness is a patient in receiving rain Isa 44. 4 5. the dead man a patient in receiving influences of life Eph. 2. 1. And you hath be quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins John 5. 25. The man is a passive subject under a creating power 2 Cor. 4. 6. Eph. 2. 10. So Ezek. 36. 26. Ezek. 11. 19. Zech. 12. 10. Yea if adversaries of grace yield an infusion of a new grace and natural and supernatural power to believe be that a remote or farther-off power in all and every man member of the Visible Church or Indian or Brasilian 1. They must prove it by Scripture 2. They must shew some covenant and promise like to that Jer. 31. 33. Ezek. 11. 19 20. betwixt Christ and the Americans and shew whether the offer be moral or not as well as we Or 3. they must say with Pelagians the power of believing was neither broken nor hurt nor taken away by the fall But we may see and read free grace here Christ leaves no room to our fencing and digladiation He said not to the foundling Wilt thou live or wilt thou not live but I said positively unto thee when thou wast in thy blood live And to make it sure Yea I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood live Ezek. 16. 6. Nor said he to the dry bone◠Shall I open your graves and bring you out loving and believing John 5. 25. Send me your hand-writ and consent out of the graves else I le not enlive you Nay he did the work first and first gave us life and then sought and obtained our after-consent As a Prince who by strong hand conquers a people never treats with them whether he shall be their King or not till he first subdue them take their forts and castles disarm the inhabitants and then he offers them good conditions and gains their after-good will that he rule over them And we are translated and in Christ's bounds and have laid down arms before ever we yield a spiritual vital lively and sincere amen and closing with Christ that he and none but he onely shall reign over us And it 's admirable what branches of freedome are here As 1. No husbandman can help the clouds no art of navigators can create fair winds nor can our seeking create influences of sensible and feeling finding of him whom the soul loves Cant. 1. 2. No excellency of meanes were it an Angel and the man Christ preaching so as all bear him witness and are astonished at the gracious words that proceed out of his mouth Luke 4. 22. can create saving influences but by the contrary influences of hell fill them with wrath that they would cast Christ over the hill and break his bones Luke 4. 28 29. 3. Fectless objects fetch influences from hell as King Herod and all Jerusalem with him are quaking for fear at the birth of a weeping babe in cradle Can an infant rise out of his swadling cloaths and cut the Kings throat Matth. 2. 9. and with fire and sword destroy all Jerusalem or can a dead corps in the grave rise and slay the souldiers Mat. 28. 4. For the external calling many are called and hear 40 50 60 70. yeares and yet no influences of grace fall on them as if men ah if it were not so were the cursed ground and blasted fig-tree yea contrary to influences he blasts the roses by withdrawing sap from them burnes the earth and turns hearts into iron by forbidding the clouds to rain on them 5. In a moment he sends flowing showrs upon the thief crucified with Christ and he preacheth Christ a King on the cross 6. Who knows not the celerity and swiftness of the love-visits of Christ coming leaping over the mountaines and skipping over the hills When the man is going down to the pit the influence that a found ransome it accepted for him makes him revive so that his flesh shall be fresher then a childs Job 33. 23 24 25. and v. 26. He shall pray unto God and he will be favourable unto him saith Elihu 6. There is a great difference here betwixt Sun-influences and the influences of grace The apple on the same tree which are nearest to the Suns shining are most cordial and delicious they are rawer and sourer though upon the same stock that are long in the morning ere the Sun-influences fall on them and are soon under the afternoon-shadow but the disciples shined upon by the influences of the glory of the transfiguration near Christ and Moses and Elias spake they knew not what and that carnally Mark 9. 5 6. And who can think there is heterodox Divinity so near heaven as now the Apostles were So doth John fall dead at the feet of Christ when he is in the Spirit Revel 1. 10 13 17. The well is damned at the head of the fountain 2. Hence the second Property is clear of it self it 's of free grace we are maried here before we spiritually yield that Christ be our husband We are created of new to be his holy frame and workmanship and then hardly can we but consent nor bought we his love-influences Yea nor is the Lord obliged to give the Sun-influences for shining and moving nor the fire for casting out heat He hath interposed his Soveraignty in the contrary when he pleased Josh 10. 13. Isa 38. 8. Dan. 3. 27. to teach that Heaven and Earth have their Charters and their Writs of both being and working from the free goodness and soveraignty of God 3. For the third Consideration the Lord is the cause of his own influences Of our actings 2. The efficacious domineering insuperable cause 3. How the effects are ascribed to him principally To prove the first I need not goe back to prove the necessity of divine influences and that he works all our works in us The second is more dubious but it 's spoken to before Christ is such a
due to him Gracious influences are not due to a Judas nor such a guide as the Spirit to any reprobate man therefore they cannot misse such a gracious guide 2. It teaches us to be willing to be led as to 1. Deny our will and wisedome as the blind man should not contend with his leader and guide as if he did see better then his guide Slack your high-bended will and deny it and cavil not with the Spirit this way I must goe whether my guide will or not Let your will be as dead and no will at all and let the Spirit in his will and wisedome reign in you 2. Spread out the sails and give them to the wind resign the heart to the Spirit obey that My son give me thy heart Give Christ your loves as Cant. 7. 12. Keep none of your heart or love to your self but quit fully both to the leading Spirit of Jesus Your love and your heart according to the Gospel-dispensation is not your own or at your disposing whatever property naturall by law you have over your self for the law buyes you not We are less our own and more Christs by the Gospel and more our own by the Law Many profess themselves sons and so to be led by the Spirit yet they have not given eyes wisedome will and love to the Spirit they keep a great piece of their heart and their love to themselves and have an inward reluctancy and wrestling against the wayes of the Spirit as yet remaining debtors to the flesh to pay the debt of service to the flesh Rom. 8. 12 13 14. 5. This is comfortable that Christ makes it the travail of his soul Isa 53. 11. and his soul-satisfaction to see his seed and to bring many children to glory Heb. 2. 10. So his soules work is upon keeping such as are given to him and guiding on his flock John 10. 3 4. in going before his own sheep in calling them by name and in leading them 2. He keeps such as come and raiseth them up at the last day John 6. 37 40. 3. He guides them with prayers John 14. 16. intercedes for them to reduce them when they goe out of the way Heb. 5. 1 2. and all this with soul-satisfaction and delight to get all his off-spring and children which the Lord hath given to him fairly landed and set in the other side of the sea beyond temptations and hazards beyond sin and death as he hath a fellow-feeling and compassion his bowels being moved even now in heaven with our infirmities Heb. 4. 14 15. so far as is suitable to his glorified state as our great High-Priest which hath passed into the heavens So his other affections of desire as our head and natural and kindly care to have all his members guided safe in at the gates of heaven and he must have much soul delight and satisfaction that his own be led with his holy arm and gathered in Isa 40. 10 11. We have a loose faith the head shall care and watch for us though we sleep that is Christ is graciously careful to give influences whether we sleep or wake pray or pray not our care can adde nothing to his care if he will fail in his trust and sleep and let us perish let him see to his own glory two cares one in the head and another in the members are needless nay but his love and care as head sends down influences of godly fear and trembling to the members that they may work with him Jer. 32. 40. 2. Our weakness of faith errs in the other extremity Ah can my deadness and hardness be ever subdued If Christ once sighed for the hardness of sinners hearts and wept over the slain of Jerusalem and counted it meat and drink to bring in the Samaritans to the Gospel John 4. 34. Now when Christ is glorified and the affections of love compassion care are perfected in glory not destroyed should our unbelief say he now cares not for the hard heart and obstinacy of his redeemed ones If thy unbelief must take all the care off Christ and our unbelieving care must doe all let Christ sleep 3. There is a proportion betwixt head and members the soul-travel of the head in heaven and the soul-travel of the members on earth in the use of all meanes hearing praâ—ing praising goe together Awaking head and sleeping members are unsutable He watches prays and watch ye with him and pray FINIS Joan. Strangius de voluntate actionibus dei circa peccatum l. 2. c. 9. p. 211. Sequitur dari priorem actionem cur voluntas Adam elegerit primum actum vitiosum quecunque ille sit nempe quia deus cum praemovit ac praedeterminavit ad istam electionem aut Actionem c. See Rivetn in Cath. orthodoxo tom 2. Q 6. tract 4. n 33. Meratins tom 1. tract de bonitate mal hum acta dispu 11. sc 7. n. 4. Strangius Stranguis ib. Strangius de vol. Act. dei circa p. l. 2. Strangius ib. Strangius de voluntate actio dei circa peccata l. 2. c. 9. p. 214. 2 2. cedit tertia necessitas ex eorum sententia qui dicunt prius ratione nam Deus decreverit condere ante citra peccati eorum praevisioneÌ„ aut considerationem Deum ad manifestandam gloriam justitiae misericordiae craedestinasse ex angelis hominibus alios ad faelicitatem aeternam alios autem improbasse aeternis poenis adjudicandos non potuit fieri ut hoc decretum ex equeretur ex equitur enim Deus quicquid decrevit Non Potuit autem exequi si nullum fuisset peccatum hominum aut Angelorum omnio enim decreta dei samâ— libera sed ex hypothesi unius decreti fit ut aliud necessario ponendum sit ex vi ergo hujus decreti necesse erat ut homo angeli aliqui peccarent God intended that no man should be saved by the law True liberty Grace loves to be restrained from doing evil That the first Adam was to pray for perseverance is not clear Adam was to rely on God for perseverance but as promised by the covenant of works Our grace in the second Adam choicer then that in the first The Lords influences in all Divers write and assert there is not such a thing imaginable as the Lord 's invincible predetermination of second causes but it s but a simple denial of the conclusion Let any man show me how the Lord 's soveraign dominion in procuring all the actings of Angels and Men and of natural causes to be or not to be as pleaseth the Soveraign Lord who doth what he will in Heaven and Earth can stand unhurt and stand it must if ye remove the Lords insuperable predeterminating thereof or some act like this by which all must come to passe or not come to passe as holy Soveraignity will and I shall be silent the arguments for his Dominion being
cause 1. His strong decree of Predestination must carry him to it 2. The same power of God that raised Christ from the dead acts here Elsewhere this is proved by famous D. Tuisse by Learned Amesius and many of our worthy Divines Obj. He who gives an insuperable influence to a free and contingent effect must render that effect necessary and not free 2. He who with mans free-will does insuperably produce the effect must doe violence to mans free-will Answ He who with mans free-will doth insuperably produce the effect by his alone and only physical and real motion and no other way as the Lord causeth the Sun to rise and goe down and the fire to give heat â—e doth or must doe violence to mans free-will True But now the Assumption is false for the Lord doth not so and by such an only physical motion insuperably produce the effect He who with mans free-will does insuperably produce the effect with both an insuperable physical and real motion and also with a moral perswasive and legal motion flowing from a command he must doe violence to mans free-will This is most untrue for the physical and moral influences of God though both be insuperable yet neither the one exceeds the other in degrees of necessity nor doe they both joyntly exceed the necessity which free-will will impose on itself If any object He who insuperably moves free-wil to act he doth infer violence to free-wil But God doth insuperably move free-will Therefore Answ The proposition is false 1. The Lord by casting an ague of love-sickness in the soul moves the free-wil of the Spouse and of the Martyrs to die for Christ rather then deny him because love of it self considered as separated from the Lords physical motions on the soul works upon the will more strongly and insuperably then many floods upon a fire and is hard 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as hell or the place of the dead and marriage-love is cruel as the grave Cant. 8. 6. yet love infers no violence to the will 2. Commands the Sun and it riseth not Job 9. 7. and commandeth the Sun and it riseth Psalm 104. 19 22. And the Sun cannot but obey him for all creatures are his servants Psal 119. 91. and he moves all natural causes to act and so to act insuperably and yet he doth no violence to the natures of Sun fire and second causes in moving them He who contributes an insuperable influence with free-will if that influence be contemperated and sweetly accommodate to the nature and elective and rational way of working of free-wil acting out of judgment as our free-wil acts here He is not a cause inferring violence to free-will Should he indeed over-drive and over-act the free inclination contrary to the reason light and judgment of the mind and to the moral and free elective inclination of the will he should constrain and force free-will But this he does not but inclines the heart of David to the Lords testimonies sweetly strongly insuperably and this David prays for Psalm 119. Psalm 5. Psalm 19. and the Saints in many places and neither David nor the Saints in such prayers suit of God to destroy free-will also the Lords command and not the Lords influence is our rule of obedience But since we know not the Lords actual denying of his influence because we are willing he should deny it our sinful non-acting is no less our guiltiness then if we had the dominion and commandment of the Lords influences in our power A Master commands his servant to come to such a place where his Master useth to be yet neither is the Master obliged to be in the place hic nunc neither passes he any promise to be there if the servant come not to that place and willingly absent himself and willingly consent that the Master be not in the place the servants not coming is a manifest contravening of his Masters command So the Lord commanding me to pray though he concur not by his Spirit interceding to help me as he useth to doe my not praying is a contravening of his command who calls to me pray hic nunc under this trouble For 1. The Spirits helping or not helping me to pray is not my rule but the commandement is my rule 2. The Spirit is not obliged hic nunc 3. I pray not 4. My willing not praying is a sinful virtual consent to want the help of the Spirit Obj. Then should the Suns not moving but standing still in the firmament be a contravening of the command of God given in the Creation when he gave to the Sun a power to move Answ No ropes of Logick can draw the conclusion and antecedent together The Lords command to the Sun is not moral but natural 2. It 's not absolute The power of moving in the Sun is not to be acted but according to the soveraignty of God concurring or not concurring with the Sun so as the Sun is under onely to speak so a physical mandate of omnipotency not under an Ethical Moral Legal or obediential commandement to move or to shine under peril of sin and punishment as man is by the holy moral mandate and commandement of God Obj. A free cause hath more liberty not to act or to act then the Sunne hath to give light and the fire to give heat Therefore the Lord must have given to free-will a power of nilling and willing and must tie his influences to await and be ready concur or not concur as free-will shall think fit Answ The free will of Angels or men hath no more freedome and exemption from the dominion of providence then the Sun or the fire hath but all causes natural or free are equally under the Lords dominion 2. Free will hath no more a dominion over the Lords dominion and his influences that are given out or withdrawn according to this soveraign dominion then the Sun or the pismire Yea free-wil is under his dominion and also Prov. 21. 1. all the free actings of the creature as well as the necessary actings of Sun and fire as is proved Free-will hath indeed a more dominion over its own acts being a rational and free agent then the Sun over its acts 3. This is considerably comfortable that the Lord is chief Master of work Not ye but your Fathers Spirit speaketh in you Matth. 10. 19. Not I but the grace of God in me 1 Cor. 15. 10. I live not but Christ lives in me Gal. 2. 20. And yet Paul lives Paul labours but let God reign in us 4. The actings of God in all created effects especially his influences of grace are letten out immediately both immediatione virtutis immediatione suppositi by immeate concurring of his power and vertue and by the personal as it were concurrence of himself so the Lord works not in us to will and to doe by a Deputy or Lieutenant as a King rules and governs another Kingdome not by