Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A77252
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Christs result of his fathers pleasure. Or His assent to his fathers sentence. Wherein is shewed, both the nature and danger of wisdom and prudence in naturall men. / By David Bramley, a preacher of the Gospell.
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Bramley, David.
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1647
(1647)
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Wing B4239; Thomason E407_42; ESTC R2344
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16,005
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23
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humaine learned Arts and so science is nothing else but humane learning and whereas the Apostle saith opposition of science falsly so called he denies it not to be science or knowledge in it selfe but onely as it is abused to the opposing of the truth and as men corruptly make use of it in opposition to the spirituall knowledge of Christ and to their own erring concerning the faith in which sense onely a naturall man can and will use it or rather abuse it and in which sence it is so farr from being knowledge or light that it is ignorance and darknesse and thus science is falsly so called which our Saviour confirmes Mat. 6.23 If the light that is in thee be darknesse to shew that the naturall and humane light of knowledge or science in a man if it be unsanctified it is but the darknesse of ignorance and is falsly called science or light which some professing have erred concerning the saith now an errour you know is a taking up of somthing more or lesse for truth that is not truth and so as science knowledge or light in a man unsanctified is but ignorance or darknsse so it makes him to refuse the light of truth for the darknesse of errour and to rective the darknesse of error for the light of truth hence the Prophet saith of those that are in a wofull or naturall condition that they say conceining evill it is good and concerning good it is evill as the Hebrew renders it that put darknesse for light and light for darknesse that put bitter for sweet and 〈◊〉 for bitter Esa 5.20 all which shewes the danger of humane learning wisdome and prudence in naturall men to be very great and hurtfull hiding Christ from them and hindering them from going to Christ wherefore now thou that art a Father of Children that are naturally unconverted and thou bringest them up Scollers thou knowest not what wrong thou dost them for thou dost as much as in thee lyeth send them headlong to hell for as they are by nature enemies to Christ so thou puttest a weapon into their hands to oppose Christ by or at least whereby they will oppose him the more and whereby they will be all most as able as they are willing to do it and so thou puttest thy Children into a more dangerous condition than ever nature it self put them into for while thy Children are weake in fleshly wisdome and prudence or humane learning they are of the number of those of whom there are many to be saved but when they are endowed with much fleshly wisdome and prudence or humane learning then they are of the number of those of whom but a few are to be saved for you see your calling Brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh are called 1 Cor. 1.26 now praesuppose there were 2 parties of men each of them just to in number and all of each of them justly adjudged to dye and of one of those pirties 4. were to be saved and the other six to be put to death and of the other party onely one was to be saved and the other 9. to be put to death now if thou wert one of that party of which 4. are to be saved and the other 6. to be put to death would'st thou not count it great wrong done to thee to be exchanged for one or to be made one of the other party of which but one onely is to be saved and all the other 9. to be put to death even so and much more doth a Father wrong his Child when while he is naturall and uncenverted he makes him a great Scoler in the humane learned Arts or sciences for a mans child is a child of wrath by nature and justly adjudged to dye and whilst he is unlearned he is of the sort of people whereof God calles many but when he is made wise in the said Arts he is so wise and willing to deceive himselfe that he is of that sort of people whereof God calles but few to the knowledge of himselfe for God hides the things of eternall life and Salvation to wit Christ and his things from the wise and prudent and reveales them unto Babes and Christ prayes it may be so for ever as being the will of his Father even so Father for so it seemeth good in thy sight verse 26. Object But here some may object and say all the reason which is but a few of wise and prudent or learned men are saved in comparison of the weake unlearned Answ That this is not the meaning of our Saviour in my Text nor of the Apostle in the 1 Cor. 1.16 is most cleare for he doth not thanke his Father for hiding these things from the wise and prudent because they are few but because they are wise and prudent as knowing it would not so much redowne to his glory to reveale them to such as it would to reveale them unto babes to wit the ignorant and illiterate for he said to Paul my strength is made perfect in weaknesse 2 Cor. 12.9 all which is more yea most manifest in the 1 Cor. chapt 1. verse 19. to the end of the Chapter to which end pray reade it Object 2. God hath decreed who shall be saved and glorified among men and this foundation of God standethsure having the Seale the Lord knowes who are his 2 Tim. 2.14 Wherefore it is not all that we can doe ither by giving to or by taking from our children any thing that can either save them if they are not appointed thereunto bp God or hinder their salvation if they are appointed thereunto by God Therefore though humane learning to wit fleshly wisdom and prudence in an unregenerate man is a hinderance of his conversion to God yet it is no cause why we should hinder our children of that learning or prudence nor why we should spare to gain it for them Answ To breed thy child a Scholler as aforesaid upon this ground is all one as if thou shouldest not give thy child food because his daies are determined and the number of his months ' are with the Lord who hath appointed his bounds that he cannot passe Iob. 14.5 So that we cannot by all that we can do draw out life one minute longer nor end it one moment sooner then God hath appointed it Now what father is so unreasonable to deny his child food upon this ground and starvd his child yet so and worse do those that bring up their children in the Scholasticall knowledge of the learned arts before their conversion to God Object God hath commanded men to live as long as they can but God hath ordained men to live by food Therefore God commands men as long as they live to feed as nature shall repuire Answ God hath also commanded men to believe 1 John 3.23 But fleshly wisdom and prudence or humane learning is a maine and ordinary hinderance and a mighty enemy in a naturall man to
lest you come to misery all make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousnesse that when ye faile they may receive you into everlasting habitations he that is faithfull in that which is least is faithfull also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much if therefore ye have not been faithfull in the unrighteous Mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches and if you have not been faithfull in that which is another mans who shall give you that which is your own Luk. 16.9 10 11 12. Let this be the rich mans Motto and mind ever in his mind That while he is rich he may not be poore and that when he is poore he may be rich Sect. 5. Because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent Object How is God here said to hide the things of himselfe and his Christ from men Answ Not by darkening of them but by not enlightening of them not by taking away their sight but by not giving them sight by denying them the eye salve Rev. 3.18 without which none can see spiritually spirituall things Whence observe Doct. That God blinds and hardens wicked men not by changing them from better to worse but onely by not changing them from worse to better He doth not harden them by infusing or inferring any wicked quality into them which before was not in them but by not infusing nor infering better qualities into them than by nature they have in them thus men are said to blind one another 1 Sam. 20.2 Behold my Father will doe nothing either great or small but that he will shew it me and why should my Father hide this thing from me Where he shewes that his Fathers hideing that thing from him if he did it would be by not shewing it unto him and not by blinding of him or by infusing of any darknesse into him or by taking any light or understanding from him even so God hides things from men 2 King 4.27 The Lord hath hid it from me and hath not told me Where it is clear that the Lord hid that thing from him by not telling it unto him and not by blinding of him more than he was before not by taking any knowledge from him that he had but by not giving more knowledge to him than he had And Gen. 18.17 And the Lord said shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I doe Which is as much as to say shall I not reveale to Abraham that thing which I doe or I will reveale to Abraham that thing which I do Reas First It must needs be so because blindnesse or ignorance of Christ and hardnesse of heart against him is evill and sin Now God hath no evill nor can be the author of evill and therefore he cannot hide any good from men by insusing any evill into them Reas Secondly Because as he cannot be the Author of any evill because it is evill so he cannot be an infuser of evill into one that is either good or evill already because that is evill also Wherefore as ignorance of Christ and hardnsse of heart against Christ are evill and as God hath no evill nor cannot be the Author nor Actor of evill it must needs be that his hiding of Christ and the things of him from men is not by taking any light or sight from them but onely by his not communicating his light to them thus onely God hides the things of Christ from the wise and prudent Vse This therefore according to what I conceive shewes clearly that no naturall man hath free will or power in himselfe to believe in Christ to salvation and glory Ier. 10.23 and 13.23 Obj. And whereas it is objected against this thus Adam and all his posterity in his loynes had free will to good before he lost it by sinne in his fall but Christ the second Adam came to and did restore to the first Adam and to all his posterity all that they have lost Rom. 5.14 19. Therefore all Adams posterity which are all men have free will to good and to believe to salvation and glory Answ First I deny that Adam or his posterity in him had ever free will to believe to salvation and glory First Because as Adam and his posterity in him in their innocency before their fall had no need of a Saviour or of faith to believe in one to salvation so neither had they free will so to believe for as they had by nature so much as they needed so they had no more then they needed Secondly Because Adam in innocency was but a meere naturall man whose holinesse was but a naturall holynesse consisting onely of an innocency of all evill whereas faith in Christ is a grace of the holy Spirit of God Gal 5.22 and the Divine nature of God 2 Pet. 1.4 Therefore Acam in his innocency had not Faith nor power to believe as aforesaid Wherefore though Christ restores againe all that Adam lost yet he restores not to him nor to his a power to beleeve in Christ to salvation by nature because by nature they never had it nor lost it Thirdly Because if Adam and his posterity in him in their innocency had this power and grace of Faith then could not Adam and his posterity have fell from God as they did as no man now that hath received that grace or any grace in truth can fall totally and finally from God this shall suffice for the first answer to the question Answ Secondly suppose that it were granted that Adam in his innocency had free will to believe as aforesaid and that he lost it in his fall and that Christ came to restore it to him againe and that Christ hath done what he came to doe yet he hath no more restored this free will or power of believing to Adam and his posterity as yet then he hath destroyed death and all the occasions thereof to wit imperfection of body weaknesse sicknesse excessive cold and heate and all other evils that are incident to the nature and condition of man in this world which Adam with the â—osse of free will as aforesaid which I deny that ever he had it by nature to loose procured by his fall Now I grant that whatsoever Adam lost or procured by his fall Christ the second Adam by his death will restore and all things else to their first and best condition in which sense the first Adam is called the figure of him that was to come to wit Christ Rom 5.14 But I affirme that this restauration in respect of us is not yet but as the harvest is potentially in the seed Gen. 1.11 12. So this generall restauration is potentially in the death resurrection of Christ or in the redemption by Christ according to Heb. 2.8 9. thou hast put all things in subjection under his feat For in that he put all in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him but