satisfaction was made to God as Legislator and Rector Supremus and not â—as Dominus absolutus or meer Proprietary Prop. XIII Christ did neither Obey nor Suffer in any Mans stead by a strict proper Representation of his Person in point of Law so as that the Law should take it as done or suffered by the party himself But only as a third person as a Mediator he voluntarily bore what else the Sinner should have born To assert the contrary specially as to particular persons considered in actual Sin is to overthrow all Scripture Theology and to introduce all Antinomianism to overthrow all possibility of pardon and assert Justification before we Sinned or were Born and to make our selves to have satisfied God Therefore we must not say that Christ dyed nostro loco so as to personate us or Represent our Persons in Law Sence but only to bear what else we must have born Prop. XIV Christ by his Death and so satisfaction to Justice hath purchased to himself a full Propriety in all the Creatures which were under the Curse and so is become Dominus Absolutus of all on a new Title of Redemption as God was before on the Title of Creation Prop. XV. Christ hath hereby purchased also a Supream Rectorship so far as a Derived Power may be called Supream and God as he is Redeemer is properly Supream grounded on his Absolute propriety even as Gods Rectorship as Creator was grounded on his Absolute Propriety as Creator Every man may rule his own according to its Nature and Capacity Prop. XVI Hereupon by actual Rendition all things are Delivered up to Christ both as Proprietary and Rector Prop. XVII As Proprietary or Dominus Christ over-ruleth the World and disposeth of all Events and Beings Naturally as most conduceth to his Redemption Ends. Prop. XVIII As Plenipotent Rector he now Ruleth all inferior Rational Creatures by his Laws as the Universal Lord-Redeemer Prop. XIX Seeing both the Rational Creature and the visible frame of the Creation are delivered up to Christ the Redeemer it must needs follow that the very Law of Nature whether it be in Natura rerum ut signum or in mente humanâ ut principia Cognita is Christs Law And so that those that are ruled by the meer Law of Nature are ruled by Christ so far as they do well Prop. XX. As God is the Ruler as to Title and some Legislation and Judgment of those very Pagans who know him not but deny a Godhead so Christ is so the Ruler of those very Infidels who know him not but deny the Mediator Prop. XXI In giving up all Propriety and Rule to Christ God has not divested himself of any thing save only a Right or as it were an Obligation to punish the pardoned For as Christ is God himself so the Father still Possesseth and Ruleth by the Redeemer As he hath still the Title of Creator so is he in the Son God-Redeemer Prop. XXII Seeing no Man can fulfill the First Law or Covenant and no Man can be saved by a Covenant not kept and Christ Redeemed not Man into absolute liberty to be from under Law and Rule which were Misery to him and not liberty Therefore it hath pleased the Father and Mediator to make to Man a New Law and Covenant suited to his present State of Misery Prop. XXIII The Tenor of this Law is that whosoever will Repent Thankfully and heartily accept Jesus Christ to be his Saviour Teacher King and Head believing him to be the Redeemer and will Love him and God in him above all and obey him sincerely to the Death shall upon his first acceptance be Justified and Adopted and upon his perseverance be justified at Judgment saved from Hell and Glorified And whosoever rejecteth him shall bear the Guilt and punishment of all his Sins against the Law and for his refusal be far sorelier punished Prop. XXIV By this New Law or Covenant Christ hath brought all Men where it is Promulgate under the Duty of receiving him and Life in him And under a Promise of Life if they do receive him and a Threatning of Death if they reject him Prep XXV The tenour of this New Law in all these Parts is Universal extending to all No Man is excepted out of Precept Promise or Threatning whether the Promulgation be Universal or not Prop. XXVI It can hardly be proved that there is any great Part of the World that have not heard of Christ or had some means to have come neerer to the knowledg of him Prop. XXVII All those that have not heard of Christ have yet much Mercy which they receive from him and is the Fruit of his Death According to the well or ill using whereof it seems probable that God will judg them Prop. XXVIII But it is safest to leave the Case of those that never heard of Christ and their Infants as a thing unrevealed or so darkly revealed that God would not have us know any more of it than that our condition is far better than theirs that so we may be thankful Prop. XXIX It is a course to blind and not to inform Men to lay the main stress in the Doctrine of Redemption upon our uncertain conclusions of Gods dealing with such as never heard of Christ Seeing all proof is per notiora And we must reduce points uncertain to the certain and not the certain to the uncertain in our Trial. Prop. XXX Christ may be Ruler de jure and in Part de facto where yet Satan prevaileth and the Sinner shall perish for Rebellion Prop. XXXI In the New Law Christ hath truly given himself with a Conditional Pardon Justification and Conditional Right to Salvation to all Men in the World without Exception Prop. XXXII This Law giveth Christ to no Man in the World by name now nor more then other antecedently to their believing But to all if they will believe Prop. XXXIII It is therefore a proper and true Speech to say that Christ dyed for all especially all that ever heard his Gospel Seeing that in Law sence he did Dye for them in all the forementioned respects As the nature of the Law is to constitute Debitum Dueness so it constitutes to all Men 1. The Dueness of Obedience that they accept Christ offered them 2. The Dueness of the Benefit if they accept him a conditional due 3. And the Dueness of the punishment if they reject him So that in Law Sense Christ dyed for all Prop. XXXIV If Christ were not their Redeemer and his Satisfaction had been no way for them nor a Mercy to them then the Damned should not perish for rejecting their Redeemer nor for refusing the mercy of Redemption Nor their consciences accuse them for it But undoubtedly for this will be their destruction and for this their consciences will accuse them Prop. XXXV It being not the satisfaction it self that is tendered to Sinners but the Fruit of it It cannot by any Minister nor will not
Law But c. Ergo c. Prob. Min. that the Law knoweth no other satisfaction but fulfilling Argu. 1. Satisfaction strictly as distinct from fulfilling is Redditio aequivalentis But the Law as continuing the same cannot commute or substitute the aequivalens vel tantundem for the Idem or proper Debt 2. It is essential to the Law to constitute the Debitum vel officij vel Poenae But it constitutes not the Debitum alterius speciei vel tantidem else it should confound the ipsum debitum with the aequivalens The Law never imposed it on Christ to satisfie for our sins This was the obligation of his own Sponsion 3. Satisfaction which is the giving of the value for the proper Debt implyeth a relaxation of the Law to its acceptance But the Law cannot relax it self Ergo c. 4. To admit of satisfaction is the Act of the Lawgiver or Rector as he is above Law therefore it is no act of the Law As to make a Law to pardon an Offender to abrogate a Law c. are acts of one above the Law so is the relaxing of the Law in pardoning the Sinner and taking Christs sufferings for ours Can any obligation dissolve or remit it self 5. If the Law did neither threaten Christ in the first enacting of it nor hath power to change it self since by assuming another sense then Christs sufferings were neither a fulfilling nor satisfaction to the Law At verum prius Ergâ— If the name of Christ were put into the threatning after the Law was made then the Law was changed and so is not the same and it could not change it self Indeed if another for you pay a Debt the Bond is satisfied because it was the ipsum debitum But if another will bear the Death that you deserve the Law that threatens you is not satisfied nor fulfilled But the Law-giver is satisfied and the ends of the Law attained But here note that this relaxation and non fulfilling of the Law is not total and absolute nor such as derogateth at all from the honour of the Law or Lawgiver but it is a relaxation upon such terms as preserve both fully the full weight of the threatned Punishment being born or undertaken by the Son of God before God would relax his Law 6. To this and the two former together I add If the Laws Commination be fulfilled or if Christ suffered the same that was threatned or if we satisfied fully in Christ then we are not by that Law obliged to obedience during this Life But the consequent is false Ergo c. The reason of the consequence is this The Law obligeth aut ad obedientiam aut ad poenam disjunctively pro eodem tempore and not ad obedientiam ad poenam Now Christ hath satisfied for our sin not only against the Law of Works by Adam but against all Laws of Nature or Grace since except the non performance of the condition of the new Covenant and this to our Death So that if we have in Christ fully satisfied the threatning for all sin in this Life then we cannot be bound by the Precept after such satisfaction till after this Life be ended To say we are not obliged to the same Ends is no answer For that Law can oblige us to no ends which is fulfilled already and which did never oblige but aut ad obedientiam aut poenam propter obedientiae defectum CHAP. VII Prop. IV. It was not only the Sins of the Elect but of all even Elect and Non-elect which were the pro-causa meritoria of Christs sufferings Or it was not only the Sufferings Due to the Sins of the Elect but of all which Christ did undergo And accordingly hath made satisfaction for all IT is necessary that we speak of the efficient Causes of Christs Death before we handle the Effects And therefore we must consider quorum loco he Dyed before we consider how far they shall partake of the Benefits Here it must be remembred that we have already proved that Christ did not represent our Persons in satisfying but yet he bore our sins that is the penalty due to them and so did in a larger sence suffer nostro loco or nostri loco not as our Delegate or proper â—â—carius but as a voluntary Sponsor and so substitute in suffering Also understand that Christs sufferings had no real proper meritorious Cause But yet Mans sins were the pro-causa meritoria He undertook to bear that suffering which for them was due to us not to him And therefore when I say he bore the sufferings due to us I mean it materialiter only such sufferings for kind and weight he bore but his obligation to bear them was only from his own Sponsion and not the Law The Law by constituting the Dueness of punishment to us was the occasion of his suffering it but not the obliging cause I add that accordingly he hath satisfied for all For this will not be denyed if the first be proved For he satisfied by suffering what the Sinner deserved And in whose stead soever he suffered for them he satisfied Now I shall think it meet to stand the longer on this point because the decision of the main Question Whether Christ dyed for all men dependeth mainly on it For the strictest sence in which he is said to die for men is to die in their stead or to Die for their Sins as the procuring Cause on his own undertaking Yield this once and we shall much easilier agree on the second Part Pro quorum beneficio or what the benefits be which Christ hath procured to all At least no man will think it unmeet to say that Christ died for all men if we can prove that he dyed for the sins and in the stead of all and satisfied Gods Justice for all And if he dyed for them it is certain that he satisfied for them as is said because God doth neither require nor accept the Death of his Righteous Son but as it is necssary to the satisfaction of his justice for Sin Lastly remember that I put the word all as contradistinct from the Elect pleading specially against them that would confine Christs satisfaction only to the Elect Not that I doubt of Christs sufferings for all in the utmost universality but I think it far safer to dispute it as to all that hear the Gospel For God hath plainlier shewed us how he dealeth with these than the rest and it is not fair nor profitable to carry the disputation into the obscurest part to lose it rather than determine it And if any agree with me in this that I prove That Christ satisfied for all that hear the Gospel I will not trouble them with disputing it about the rest but willingly let them enjoy their opinion though contrary to mine as judging it to be to us of far lesser moment My Arguments shall be first from the scope of Scripture Doctrine and 2. From some particular Texts
but no doubt it is mediante Sanguine Christi and in a remote sense are fruits of Christ's death By what hath been said it may appear that Faith is not the proper effect of satisfaction as satisfaction nor is it any neer or inseparable effect of satisfaction as it is meritorious God did not give Christ Faith for his bloodshed in exchange the thing that God was to give the Son for his satisfaction was Dominion and Rule of the Redeemed Creature and power therein to use what means he saw fit for the bringing in of Souls to himself even to send forth so much of his word and Spirit as he pleased both the Father and Son resolving from Eternity to prevail infallibly with all the Elect. But never did Christ desire at his Fathers hands that all whom he satisfied for should be infallibly and irrisistibly brought to believe nor did God ever grant or promise any such thing Jesus Christ as a Ransom dyed for all and as Rector per Leges or Legislator he hath conveyed the Fruits of his death to all that is those Fruits which it appertained to him as Legislator to convey which is right to what his New Law or Covenant doth promise But those Mercies which he gives as Dominus Absolutus arbitrarily besides or above his engagement he neither gives nor ever intended to give to all that he dyed for no nor to all his Elect doth he give all those fruits of his death nor for ought I know to any in the same degree for these are but remotely the Fruits of Christ's death and not constant nor inseparable Fruits Peruse the foresaid Table of the Fruits of Christs death and it will shew you which the mercies be that Christ gives by Law and which arbitrarily as besides his engagement Is it not manifest then that it is a desperate charge against the Lord Christ to say that he is an imperfect Saviour if he do not perfectly save all that he Died for or convey to them all the fruits of his Death The Preaching of the Gospel expresly is a fruit of Christs Death Some have this in great power clearness and constancy some but weakly darkly or seldom and some not at all Shall they that have been at one or two dark Sermons of Christ in all their Lives say That either Christ Died not for them or else was an imperfect Saviour Some are endowed with the gift of Prophecy Tongues Miracles as fruits of Christs Death shall all that receive not these say that Christ is an imperfect Saviour because he gave them none of these fruits of his Death Some are made Kings and Rulers and some Apostles Evangelists Pastors Teachers c. and all are fruits of Christs Death Yet all are not Apostles Pastors Teachers c Some have Learning and some none Some have good Parents and good Education and some bad Some of the Elect have Health of Body and Helps Opportunities and Advantages to to serve God which others want Some are permitted to live long in sin as Manasses And others converted in the morning of their Days Some are preserved in a more even and comfortable walking with God And some are permitted to fall into most hainous scandalous sins to the great dishonour of God and their Profession and to walk sadly for it all their Days Nay some to suffer Death by the hands of publick justice Shall all these say Christ is an imperfect Saviour to them Some are kept in vigor and growth in grace and some remain Infants and some lose their first degree of Love and grow more luke-warm and Die in a very low ebb of Grace Comfort and Assurance Some enjoy much fellowship with the Father and Son in the Spirit And others are almost wholly strangers to it Some are made instruments of doing God abundance of service and the Church much good and bringing home or building up many Souls and that to the end of their Lives Others are kept without parts and gifts next to useless if not burdensome Some Distracted and after a Godly Life fall into stark madness and so spend their days as being uncapable of making use of their Affliction or of any Mercy And some are cut off in Infancy or in the Womb before they did ever believe or love God or do him any service And is Christ an imperfect Saviour to all these Nay and he hath revealed to us that according to this diversity here in degrees of Grace Holiness and Obedience so will be the diversity in the degrees of glory One shall be Ruler of ten Cities and another but of two For he will reward every Man according to his works How vast a difference then is there like to be between the Glory of an Infant that being born of a weak believer Died from the Womb and the Glory of Peter John Paul or those to whom it shall be given to sit on Christs Right Hand and Left Hand in his Kingdom And yet all these are Elect. Where is it then that the force of the Argument lyeth that would prove that all must needs have Faith for whom Christ Died If he be an imperfect Saviour except he save all alike or give to all that he Died for all the fruits of his Death then such a charge might as truly be grounded on his dealings with the Elect themselves as with others Object But he saveth all the Elect though not all alike He bringeth them all safe to Heaven at last but so he doth not others Answ That 's true But then 1. It 's yielded that it belongs not to the perfection of Christs Office or Work to give all the fruits of his Death quoad speciem to all that he Died for 2. It belongs as truly to his office of saving to save men from sin and to give them a full degree of Grace and Glory as to give men Faith And yet it belongs not to his office necessarily to give these to all that he Died for No doubt a greater measure of Glory is a greater good than that small measure which some enjoy Specially if the joy of some saved Infants were no greater than Nazianzene Orat. 40. and other antients did think the pain of some condemned Infants would be 3. Some of these parts of Salvation which the Elect themselves do come short of are penally denied them and so are given by Christ as Legislator being propounded on a condition and they not performing the condition to the performance whereof Grace was necessary to assist them If then Christ may give good things by a conditional grant as Legislator to his Elect and yet not give them that Grace which may cause them infallibly to perform the condition and so deny them the benefit conditionally given for want of that performance what reason can be given why he may not do so by the Non-Elect in respect of Salvation and Faith and Repentance the Conditions thereof So that all the weight of their Argument lyeth on this
Christs Dying for one man cannot procure these great benefits to another It cannot have causality as to such an effect God doth not forgive Thomas because Christ Dyed for Peter 2. A non necessitate There was a necessity of Christs Death as is before proved to the procuring of this pardon But there was no necessity for procuring pardon to one man that Christ should Die for another therefore the necessity was that he Dyed for the person himself 3. If Christs Death were not necessary to the conditional pardoning of the Non-elect but that God doth it without Christs Dying for them then it was not necessary for the conditional pardoning of the Elect but God might have done it without Christs Dying for them But the Consequent is â—alse therefore so is the Antecedent The Major is plain in that there is the same reason both as to their Sin and Case and Remission 1. The Sins of the Elect did not differ from â—hose of the Non-elect so as that they more â—eeded a satisfactory Expiation 2 They were both under the same Law â—urse and Wrath of God 3. The Deed of Gift or Promise which reâ—itteth one is the same with that which remitteth the other The Minor is plain for if any â—ould say that without Christs Death God â—ight conditionally have pardoned all Elect and Non-elect but not Actually I Answer 1. Then Christ should Die only to purchase Faith which is false For God doth perform no new act to make the conditional Gift become actual but only the giving of Grace to believe and so perform the condition 2. Then God might have made this new Law and Covenant of Grace Believe and be pardoned and saved or Whosoever will let him take the Water of Life freely without any expiatory Sacrifice or Satisfaction by Christ which 1. So contradicteth it self seeing the thing given is a Dead revived Saviour with his Benefits and therefore it cannot be given which is not 2. And so subverteth Christianity it self that I think I need not spend more words on it Only I add this which is of considerable moment that on the contrary the great necessity and ends of Christs Death are in respect to God as Rector per leges and not as Dominus absolutus or benefactor merè arbitrarius God received no addition of Love or Goodwill nor of Wisdom or Natural Power by Christs Death But he received a Reparation of his honour as Legislator and a Moral Power consisting in Convenientâ— rei efficiendae to pardon sin by making a general act of pardon to all that will accept the Redeemer and his Benefits So that the proper use of Christs Death was to be an Expiatory Sacrifice for Sin offered to God as the offended Rector And therefore the New Law or Covenant of Grace which followeth hereupon giving Christ and Pardon to all that will Receive him must needs be the proper effect of Christs Death Whereas Faith is given rather by God as Dominus Absolutuâ— arbitrarily doing good to his Creature then as Legislator and is said to be purchased by Christs Death but in a more remote sense as shall anon be shewed so that to deny this Conditional Gift Covenant or Promise to be the fruit of Christs satisfaction is to deny a very great part of the fruit of it and tantum non to make Christ to dye in vain The Consequence needs no proof Therefore I pass to the next Arg. II. If God do offer by his Word and Messengers Remission Justification Adoption and Right to Glorification to all Elect and Non-Elect then Christ hath satisfied for all But God doth so offer these to All Ergo c. A Remissione Salute omnibus Oblatis The former Argument was drawn from the Gift and this is drawn from the Offer which though it be inseparable from the former and so implyed in the former Argument yet I shall annex it because of them who deny the Conditional Gift but confess the Offer The Antecedent I think few will question as to All who hear the Gospel and God as Legislator hath done his part in offering it to those that yet â—eâ—er heard it 1. In making the Tenour of the promise or Offer of Universal extent 2. And in Commanding his Officers to go into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every Creature The Consequent is proved thus 1. The Pardon offered is either a Pardon purchased by Christs Satisfaction for them to whom it is offered or else procured some other way But there is no other way of procurement Ergo c. 1. Not without Christs Blood as is proved 2. Not by Christ's Blood as shed for others as is proved Object But it is by his Blood as shed for all that will Believe Ans 1. Believing is not the Condition of Christs Dying for us but of our participation of the benefits thereby purchased not of the Impetration but of part of the Application Christ never said If men or this man will Believe I will dye for them But If thou Believe thou shalt be justified and saved by him that hath died for thee Belief is not presupposed as the Qualification of the subject for whom Christ must dye but is required after and given freely to his chosen for the further Application of his Death 2. His dying for them that will Believe was either for certain determinate persons who should Believe or else without a determination of the persons If the latter only then he died certainly for none If the former then his dying for one man would not procure pardon for another 2. God doth not offer that which he cannot give for his offer is a gift on condition of Acceptance and we must not dare to charge God with illusory or ludicrous actions But God cannot give Pardon and Justification and Right to Salvation to any sinful man for whom Christ never satisfied When I say God cannot I mean not that he cannot for want of Power but because of his Wisdom Goodness and Justice He cannot being Rector of the World do that which is so Inconvenient and such a Monster in Government and so destructive to the ends of his Government All grant that quoad potentiam ordinatam now he cannot that is He will not If God may give these to one man yea to All the Non-Elect to whom they are offered without Christs satisfaction procuring them then he may do so by all but that is not true Ergo c. Object But iâ— men will Believe God Can and Will give them what he offers Answ This Objection supposeth the Believing of that person for whom Christ died not or else it changeth the subject of the question For the Question now is Whether God can give Pardon to a Man for whom Christ hath not satisfyed And it is hereby answered that He can if that man Believe To which I reply that he cannot or will not supposing that such a Man should believe For it is Christs Death that is
Death of Christ and that Men should have so great mercies for whom he never died of which before 2. That Christs Office should be so divided as that he should be their King and Head for whom he never died It is their use to argue on the Contrary that Christ died not for Men whom he doth not sanctifie and save because the parts of his work are not divided Though this be no better arguing then to say God created no Angel or Man putting them under a Covenant and in a way of Life but only those that attain to Life hereby Yet it is an undeniable consequence on the other side that Christ died for Men because they receive such Priviledges and benefits and because he is become their Head or King even as it follows that God Created Adam to Life by that Covenant if he had attained Life thereby And it is not inconsiderable how they lay themselves open to the Lashes of one another by their error in this point When those that are for Discipline have pleaded the Jus Divinum of their work as from Christ as the King or Head of the Church visible the Erastians tell them that Christ is not King where he is not Priest he is not the King of any but the Elect or Saints because he died for none but the Elect See what Ludovicus Molinaeus who would unite the Erastians and Independents against the Presbyterians saith Paraenes Page 68. Etenim primum dubitari potest an Christus qua Caput Rex Electorum seu Corporis mystici qualis hic in foro interno describitur rectè statuatur in alio foro eoque externo potestatem legislationis jurisdictionis committere personis circares causas quarum judicium cognitio non sub est judicio Cognitioni illius qui sumus est judex in foro externo This Book is newly Printed many Years since this Disputation was written though I here insert this passage Ad hominem I am sure this Argument is not contemptible There is no Evasion but by saying that Christ is not the King or Head of the unregenerate part of the Church visible as he is mediator but purely as God But that 's as destructive to their cause as if they denied him to be their King at all For they will never evince that he taketh Men into the Gospel Covenant and becomes their King and makes them Saints Adopted Christians Believers c. and all this meerly as he is God and not as he is Mediator Arg. 18th A Beneficiis in omnes Collatis quâ satisfactionis sunt effecta If Christ give to all Men those mercies which are the effects of his dying for them then Christ died or satisfied for all Men But Christ doth give to all Men those mercies which are the effects of his dying for them Ergo c. The Minor only requires proof and here I have these three things to prove 1. That Christ giveth mercies to all 2. That these mercies are the effects of his Death and satisfaction 3. That they are the effects of his Death for those Men to whom they are given For I look to meet with three sorts of opposers 1. Such as say wicked Men have no mercy viz. The Non-Elect for all is given them in judgment and wrath and shall but aggravate their condemnation 2. Such as say They have mercies but it is from Gods common providence and not from Christs Blood 3. Such as say their mercies are from Christs Blood but only as shed for the Elect and not for them 1. For the first It is so openly blasphemous against God and his providence for Men to say that God is merciful to none but the Elect that one would think no Christian should ever own such an Assertion 1. If none but the Elect have any mercy from God then none else are obliged by mercy to repentance But the mercies of God lead others to repentance Rom. 2. Even those that by hardheartedness and impenitency do heap up wrath against the day of wrath and Revelation of the righteous judgment of God 2. Else none but the Elect should be obliged to love and thankfulness for mercy which is false and wicked 3. Else none but the Elect should be guilty of sinning against mercy or should need to confess any such Sin or need pardon of such or can be accused condemned or punished for any such which are all false 4. Their own words do confute themselves for whereas they say that Reprobates have no true mercy because all do but encrease their condemnation and misery It is evident that if they were not real mercies no Mans condemnation or punishment could be aggravated by the abuse or rejecting of mercy Jo◠4. 2. God had mercy on more Ninevites then were Elect Jon. 3. 10. and 4. 11. Christ himself saith God is kind to the unthankful and the Evil Luk. 6. 35. and commandeth us to imitate him in loving our Enemies and being merciful as he is merciful Psal 106. 7. Psal 145. 9. His tender mercies are over all his Works Act. 14. 17. Mat. 5. 45. 48. Mat. 25. throughout sure those that deny the Non-Elect to partake of any mercy on Earth think it no mercy to be out of Hell to have Christ and pardon and glory given them on condition of acceptance they would hardly yield then that God is merciful to the very damned in Hell and yet our own Divines and Papists say it is past doubt See Ursin Catech Page 68. Edit Parai posthum Robert Baronius disput de peccat Mortali Veniali Pag. 75. Aquin. 1. q. 32. a. 4. c. 1. 1. q. 21 a. 4. 1. Scot. in 4. dist 46. Pag. mihi 250. c. Bradwardin de causa Dei lib. 1. Cap. 34. So Cajetan Lorinus Paes Feuerdentius Salmeron Genebrard c. I say as Jac. Laurentius in Jac. 2. 12. And our most judicious Brittish Divines in the Synod of Dor◠do well conclude that Gods mercies must not be denied or accounted less because wicked Men yet perish through their abuse of them 2. And that these mercies are the effects of Christs Blood and satisfaction is proved thus 1. Of some of them it is expresly affirmed Heb. 10. 29. hath counted the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an Unholy thing 2. God cannot according to the tenor of the Covenant of Works voluntate saltem ordinatâ give Men so much mercy as they all receive For that Covenant curseth them and sentenceth them to Death and leaveth no proper mercy at least none that hath a conducibility to repentance and recovery Dare any Man think that all the mercies temporal and the offers of Christ and Grace and the Word and other means and the common gifts of the Spirit and the conditional pardon of the Non-Elect and the patience and long-suffering of God inviting and beseeching them to be reconciled to him promising them Life and Glory if they will believe that all
Law is a proper penalty of the second because the New Law doth restore to all Men their lost right to Life on an easy condition and therefore as the Privation of Life is first given or promised in the first Law was the penalty of that Law so the Privation of the same Life as redeemed and restored by the Mediator is the penalty of the new Law So that it is a recovered happiness that they this way lose and so are twice dead as Jude speaks 5. The very Non-Liberation of the new Law in denial of Remission and Salvation is a great and proper penalty As the Non-continuation of Adams happiness in paradise was a penalty of that Law and the not-giving of a greater if that Law did promise a greater If a Prince make an Act of pardon and oblivion for a company of imprisoned condemned Malefactors in these terms that if they will repent and thankfully accept his favour they shall all be pardoned and also dignified to be Princes and his Favourites If they will not none of them shall be pardoned but all shall die by a more cruel Death Here this Law of Grace hath as its peculiar penalty 1. Their Non-liberation and so their first deserved Death not as first deserved but as confirmed and peremptorily adjudged to them for their ingratitude and so 2. The loss of Life as it was conditionally restored and was in Law as it were a new Life 3. And the loss of the promised offered dignities 4. And the sorer kind of death so is it in the case in Hand For the confirmation of the Minor I need not to say much more seeing for ought I know it is generally granted I never met yet with any that durst say that all the Non-Elect do undergo none of the fore described penalties of the new Law but only the meer penalties of the first Law Doubtless God is offended specially at their unbelief and will destroy them as Christs Enemies because they would not that he should Reign over them Luke 21. 27. and Christ will come in flaming fire rendring vengeance to them for not knowing God and not obeying the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 2. Thes 1. 7. 8. 9. and he will damn them all that obeyed not the Truth of the Gospel but had pleasure in unrighteousness 1 Thes 2. 10. 11. 12. And this is the condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men love darkness rather then light because their deeds were evil And because when Christ came to his own his own received him not Joh. 1. 10. 21 11. For it shall come to pass that every Soul that heareth not the voice of this Prophet shall be destroyed Acts 3. 23. And they that believe not Jesus is the Christ shall dye in their sins And except men repent they shall all perish Luk. 13. 3 5. yea whoever believeth not shall be damned Mar. 16. 16. For he is the Author of Eternal Salvation to them only that obey him Heb. 5. 9. So that as men suffer for sin against the new so also from the obligation of that Law binding them over to Judgment and therefore they are judged by that Law Mat. 25. yea I doubt not but all the World shall be judged by the Redeemer for misimploying his Talents of Grace those that perish and not only for not perfect fulfilling the Law of Works none is condemned meerly for that And if it be so then the same Law of Christ must needs constitute the penalty to be executed Nor did I ever meet with any that durst say that it was no punishment to Unbelievers to be denied Pardon and Justification and Salvation from their deserved damnation which were all offered to them in the Gospel and which Believers do receive much less should any say that the additional torments of such and the loss of the greater promised glory are no punishments Yea even in this life the non-elect receive of the punishments proper to the new Law viz. non remission and non reconciliation and the forsaking of God when he casts them off and gives them up to themselves because they would none of him Psal 81. 11 12. and leaves them desolate because when Christ would have gathered them to him in tender mercy they would not Mat. 23. 37 38. and gives them over to believe lyes because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be saved 2 Thes 2. 10 11. and takes his holy Spirit from them because they grieved and quenched it And all this will be out of doubt if we consider the definition of Punishment which is a natural evil inflicted because of a Moral or the hurt of our persons inflicted for sin Now there is no doubt but all these forementioned are evils to us or hurtful to mens persons and no doubt but they are inflicted for sin and then as to the species They are inflicted for sins against the Law of Christ by force of the obligation of the commination of that Law and the sentence past by Christ as Redeemer and Author of that Law Yea what if I said that strictly and directly men suffer not at all the penalty of the Law of Works For all are delivered from that penalty on condition they Repent and Believe and so the obligation of that Law is suspended to all though not strictly abrogated and transferred and as it were sequestred into the hands of Christ to be disposed of by him inflicting or not inflicting it as men deal with him according to his terms of Grace so that now the penalty is immediately and strictly the penalty of the Law of Christ as it doth both non-liberare and peremptorily bind men over to it and it is properly the loss of a Life recovered by Christs blood which is the punishment though remotely it be also from the obligation of the first Law which being but suspended by Christ and conditionally dissolved remaineth in force upon the non-performance of the condition as soon as the time of performance is expired So that it is undeniable that the damned suffer the privation of the fruits of Christs death and satisfaction yea and of his satisfaction for them in perticular For as it is certain that there is no remission without blood and no Justification or Salvation without Christs satisfaction so it is as much beyond doubt with all sober men that Christs satisfaction for one man will not procure Pardon and Salvation for another So that the Minor is fully clear And for the Major proposition it is as clear For there can be no effects without a cause As no man can receive the effects of Christs Death but those for whom he died so no man can lose or be deprived of those effects but those for whom he died for the cause is presupposed A Negation is no Punishment It is not a punishment to a Stone that it is not a Man that it is mute liveless c. nor to a Beast not to be saved nor
to an Angel not to be Redeemed nor to the Devils not to be partakers of Christ and of Pardon and Salvation by him Now its true the Pardon of the Damned and their Salvation was not actually effected but the meritorious cause was full and perfect in Christs satisfaction and moral causes go long before the effects sometimes and may do all their part and yet the effect not follow through the defect of some other and the effects were conditionally given or produced by the New Covenant and thereby become not only possible and probable but certain if the condition were performed So that here is a proper privation and not a bare Negation Nor is it the meer matter of such effects that men are deprived of but formally as they were effects conditionally granted and were to have been effects actually of the death of Christ They should have been such effects if they had done their part to procure them by performing the condition as Christ did in the Cause for he required not them to effect it as concauses but only suspended the effects of his own full sufficient but Moral cause on their condition which all Lawyers and all that know what a Moral Cause is or what a proper condition is know to be most usual Now if you suppose that Christ died not and satisfied not for these men then the loss of Pardon Adoption Membership of Christ final Absolution Salvation besides all the greater Glory and all the Spirits Graces and Workings in this life cannot possibly be punishments to them for they cannot be Privations For there was never any cause to procure them and therefore they were never possible much less due and Mans Faith was not required by God to be the meritorious cause or to satisfie Gods Justice nor yet to procure Christ or any other to satisfie it nor yet to make that satisfaction to be now for us which was made for others and not for us to none of these ends was Faith required but only to be the condition of our enjoying Christ and the fruits of his satisfaction on performance whereof the Moral Cause which was long before in full being should produce its effect or else not as to us so that satisfaction as the Cause is necessarily supposed to Faith as the condition seeing the office of the condition is that on it the effect of the cause be suspended till that condition be performed And therefore there can be no condition where there is not first the Moral Cause I mean there can neither be condition constituted by Law Testament Deed of Gift or Covenant nor yet condition performed for it cannot have the form of a condition Or if that be disputable as to any other case I am sure it is not in the case in hand No man will say that the non-remission non-salvation of the Devils by the Blood of Christ is a Punishment to them Object That is because it was never offered or conditionally given them by Covenant as it was to the Unbelievers Answ Nor could it have been given so to Unbelievers if Christ had not died for them Could God give them Christ as a Satisfier and Redeemer who never had satisfied for them or redeemed Or could he make over to them effects which had no Cause viz. the effects of his dying for them when he did not dye for them Would the New Covenant serve to pardon men without Christs Sacrifice and Satisfaction Nay is it not beyond all doubt that this which I call the New Covenant or Testament He that believeth shall be saved c. is the Redeemers Law and Testament and presupposeth his Death and Satisfaction in esse Morali at least It is the New Testament in his Blood he first buyeth men to be his own by satisfaction and then dealeth with them as his own by Promise and Legislation Only the Promise of God to give Christ for a Redeemer to the World and his Prophesies of him therein are in order of nature before the Moral being of Christs death but so is not the Law of Grace I know nothing that hath any great shew of Reason that can be said against this Argument which so clearly evinceth the truth of Universal Redemption and for vain objections I will not trouble my self and the Reader with them Arg. 30. A Comparatione doctrinae universalem satisfactionem affirmantis cum doctrinâ— eandem negante If they who assert Universal Redemption quoad satisfactionem pretium have all these forementioned Arguments from Scripture for their cause and a multitude of express Texts and no one ill consequence following their doctrine nor one sound Reason nor one text of Scripture against them And if the deniers of Universal Satisfaction have all the contrary disadvantages then they that affirm Universal Satisfaction are in the right and they that deny it do err But the antecedent is true Ergo. c. Here I will 1. Look over these Arguments again and from thence shew you the face of the consequents of the denial of Universal Satisfaction 2. I will lay you down together the express Texts that are for Universal Satisfaction 3. And also the Texts that are brought against it 4. And then the particular search of those texts on both sides and the answer to all the Arguments that are usually brought against Universal Satisfaction I intend shall follow afterward in their own places more fully The Doctrine which denyeth Universal Satisfaction hath all these inconveniences and absurd consequents following therefore it is not of God nor true 1. It either denieth the Universal Promise or Conditional Gift of Pardon and Life to all men if they will believe and then it overturneth the substance of Christs Law and Gospel promise or else it maketh God to give conditionally to all men a Pardon and Salvation which Christ never purchased and without his dying for men 2. It maketh God either not to offer the effects of Christs satisfaction Pardon and Life to all but only to the Elect or else to offer that which is not and which he cannot give 3. It denieth the direct object of Faith and of Gods offer that is Christum qui satisfecit a Christ that hath satisfied 4. It either denieth the Non-Elects deliverance from that flat necessity of perishing which came on man for sinning against the first Law by its remediless unsuspended obligation and so neither Christ Gospel or Mercy had ever any nature of a remedy to them nor any more done toward their deliverance then towards the deliverance of the Devils Or else it maketh this deliverance and remedy to be without satisfaction by Christ for them 5. It either denieth that God commandeth all to believe but only the Elect Or else maketh God to assign them a deceiving Object for their Faith commanding them to believe in that which never was and to trust that which would deceive them if they did trust it 6. It maketh God either to have appointed and commanded the
natural suffering nor ever was to be punished meerly on the old score that is meerly for violating and incuring the penalty of the first Law by God as Rector according to that Law God might have refused to accept Christs Sufferings as a Satisfaction for Sinners much more to have freely provided it out of his own Treasure as it were when God therefore did freely himself provide a Satisfaction and freely Accept it He did both only on these terms that as Legislator of the strict Law of Works as standing without remedy he would punish no Man but yet he would not actually and absolutely discharge them for they are still his Subjects and now by a double right and bond viz both of Creation and Redemption and therefore must still be governed by him and therefore must still be Governed by Laws and therefore must still be under Precepts Prohibitions Promises and Threatnings which are the Parts of the Law For the Nature of Man is such as that it must be governed not meerly by Commanding but also per Praemia Poenas Experience tells us that of the best Men on Earth as propounded to them therefore God in mercy would make a New Law commanding all men to repent and that hear the Gospel to Believe and giving to the Redeemed the actual pardon of all their Sins on these Conditions making Christ the Fountain of our Life and Head of all that shall be Saved and Ordaining that Christ and with him Pardon and Adoption and the Spirit for further Sanctification and Salvation shall be given to all that will take Christ and that those that refuse him shall be unpardoned for all his Sacrifice and Satisfaction and shall moreover incur a far sorer punishment These are the terms on which God took Christ's Sufferings as satisfactory to his Justice which terms are well pleasing to the Son himself nor did he ever desire to ransom them on other terms or to bring them into any other Condition than under this his own Government and Laws nor to convey Pardon and Glory the Fruits of his Death to any that refused him still supposing his Everlasting secret Decree of procuring his chosen infallibly to perform the Conditions and partake of the benefits which belongs to another part of Theology Also it must be well observed as the very Principal Point for avoiding the common Errours in this business that the satisfaction is made to God as Legislator and so Rector per Leges and so hath its main direct respect to his Legislative Will His Will de Eventu is naturally Antecedent to it and the Cause of it as Event But his Law was the cause or occasion of it as due or morally necessary and also there are no Acts of his Decretive Will de Eventu caused by it but there are Acts of his Laws and so as to our manner of conceiving of his Will de Debito caused by it and so it was not for Christ's Death that God decreed to give Faith to any and consequently to give actual Pardon and Glory But God Decreed to give these for Christ's death when he so gives them And it is because of Christs death that they are due though not immediately from his death but mediante donatione Testamenti vel faderis Christ's death is the Cause of Faith but not of the Decree to give it Again it must be understood that it is not God as Legislator of the New Law that is satisfied for Sin by Christ's death that were to dye to satisfie himself the Mediator for the Non execution of his own remedying Law But it is God as Legislator of the Law of Works constituting Everlasting Death the due Penalty of every Sin Or if any had rather say that it is not formally the Law of Works which is now in force conjunct with the Law of Grace but it is become part of the Law of Grace the matter comes all to one sense though we change the words There is one Law that saith He that Sinneth shall dye call it what you will this Law as to the end Christ hath satisfied i. e. he hath properly satisfied the Law-giver There is another Law or as they call it the peremptory part of the New Law which saith He that believeth shall be Saved and he that believeth not shall be Damned Christ hath not satisfied the Justice of this Law by his Sufferings The sense of the Commination is He that in the time of this Life believeth not shall be Damned This Law is ever executed on all that are guilty and by it obliged to Everlasting Death that is on those that in their life time here do not Repent and Believe For the violation of the precept of this Law as it requires Belief or other Duty at the present time Christ did dye but not for the non-performance of the Condition which Death is threatned to Lastly It is therefore certain that Christ dyed not for the Sin of Final Impenitency in a prevalent degree and unbelief or Final Rebellion against himself or his Father And therefore when I said before that he satisfyed God as Legislator of the Law of works for sin as sin it is to be understood of the Law of Works as contradistinct from the Law of Grace and so all the sins peremptorily Condemned by the Law of Grace are excepted from the satisfaction Not only nor at all because they are the sins of such Persons but because they are such excepted sins who ever the person be Now therefore to the Argument and first to the Major I deny it and never saw any fair colour of proof of it and therefore having full plain Scripture to the contrary do confidently believe that all those are not Saved that Christ satisfied for and to the Proof brought I answer 1. It is untrue that Christ satisfied for every sin of every Man for whom he satisfied and it will never be proved He hath excepted all those Sins which are comprized in the final non-performance of the Condition of Salvation Object None that he satisfied for are ever guilty of that and that 's the Reason why he may not be said to dye for such Sins Answ That 's denyed and to be better proved before it can be received by Sober Men. I have already proved that he dyed and satisfied for those that are final Unbelievers or Apostates and so perish And I now prove that the Reason why Christ satisfied not for such sins as final Impenitency Infidelity or Rebellion is not accidental from the state of the Redeemed viz. because none of them are guilty of such but it is directly from the Nature of the sin without respect to this person more than that If Christ have expresly excepted the final non-performance of the Gospel Conditions from among the number of those sins which he hath satisfied for and that even in the New Law which he hath enacted for all Elect or Non-Elect then it is not only accidentally or because it
Redemption Thes 4. Cap. 6. per tot page 65. ad p. 87 hath said so much to this pointt hat I may well refer the Reader thither for satisfaction without adding any more 3. Yet I shall first briefly Answer the Argument and then more fully open the truth about this point in certain conclusions And 1. We must distinguish of several terms in the Arguments and some other necessary to be here considered 1. Christ is said to Die for men 1. Dying in their stead and for their sin as lying on him in the undertaken suffering 2. Or else final it er in eorum bonum Which is 1. Common 2. Or Special And both 1. Either given as Legislator quoad jus by a conditional grant 2. Or given as Dominus absolutus and the disposer of all things quoad eventus Prop. When I say Christ Died for all men I mean not that he finally intended as Dominus absolutus eventually to save all by his Death But that he Died in the stead of all suffering the punishment which by the Law of works was due to all mankind And how far he died in bonum ominum for the good of all is shewed before and shall be shewed more anon Secondly We must distinguish betwixt the the Gospel as it signifieth the Covenant of Grace with its grounds and fruits fully expressed and as it signifieth only some particular Gospel truths which go before the full revelation of the said Covenant Grounds and Effects as the Break of Day goeth before the Sun Rising and the Revealing of some of the fruits of Christ's Death by which streams men should be drawn to enquire after the Fountain in the later sense all have the Gospel In the former all have it not Thirdly We must distinguish of Preaching which is either taken in general for any way of Revelation or specially for a Revelation by Writing or Speaking The former All have the later not when I say All men I still mean All that have the use of their senses and reason and not Infants Mad Men Ideots or Senseless of whom more anon By this much you may see in what sense we acknowledge or deny the Truth both of Major and Minor proposition of the Argument And hence also you may see how far I deny the Major of the next subservient Argument if withal you distinguish 3. Between Frustra being in vain absolutely as to all ends and uses yea Gods chiefest ends or in vain to the particular end of the Sinners own Salvation 4. And as to the cause hereof you must distinguish between being in vain through any defect of Christ's Satisfaction or on his part and being in vain as to their Salvation meerly through their own fault According to the last members of these two distinctions we confess Christ's Death is in vain to all that perish but not according to either of the former 5. We distinguish between Christs procuring Remission and Salvation to be made over to all by him as Legislator in the tenour of his Conditional Grant And being eventually conferred on all by God as the disposer of events 6. We must distinguish between the extent of the new Law or Grant of it as to its own Tenour or Sense and the extent of it as to the Promulgation 7. Also between promulgation initial imperfect and full and perfect 8. And between means sufficient to the first Duties that Christ by Gospel Truths calls men to and all means absolutely necessary or sufficient to Faith and Salvation And so I answer to the second Prosyllogisme that Christ did not procure that all he died for should eventually receive Remission and Salvation or sufficient means thereto nor yet that the Covenant of Grace which conferreth Right to these should be as to the Infallible event fully promulgate or revealed to all But he hath procured not only that all mens sins be made pardonable in a nearer sense than they were before his satisfaction but also that as to the tenour of his Law or Covenant Remission and Salvation be conferred on all so be it they will not reject it and also that some part of his Gospel Truth and the effects of Christs Death be revealed in some measure to all and so some part of his New Law promulgate to all and all have sufficient means to help to perform the Duties which he thus calls them first to perform 9 We must distinguish between Believing that God is and that he is reconciled to man so far as that he will reward them that diligently seek him and believing that Jesus Christ was Incarnate and satisfied by his Death 10. And between Necessary to Salvation Necessitate Precepti and Necessitate Medii and so I answer to the last confirmation that Faith in the first sense is necessary to the Salvation of all that have the use of reason both necessitate precepti medii but faith in the last sense is neither necessary to Ideots Mad-men Infants nor yet to those that never heard the Gospel necessitate precepti And whether or no it be necessary necessitate medii etsi non prescripti we shall say more to anon So much directly to the Argument Next I shall for the fuller opening of my Judgment on this point lay down what I conceive to be the truth in these following Propositions Proposition I. As Christ hath born the sins of all and done all for them which pertaineth to the Ransomer by an expiatory Sacrifice and hath obtained thereby a new Title of Lordship and Soveraignty over all and all are delivered to him accordingly so doth he faithfully perform the office of a Soveraign Redeemer to all governing them as his Ransomed ones by such Laws and Ways of undeserved Mercy as have a natural tendency and conducibility to their Salvation Though still as Absolute Lord he giveth out the Mercies which belong to him to bestow in that Relation with great diversity to all the World but yet a great measure even of these doth he give to all men Prop. II. Christ dealeth not with any Heathens on the meer terms of the Law of works as it was given to Adam or stood without the connexion of any Remedy These are not the full terms on which God deals with them If you perfectly obey without any sin you shall live If you ever sin you shall dye This will be proved in that which follows and might easily be proved more largely were it not so plain as to prohibit such vain endeavours Prop. III. Christ is not properly said to be in mutual Covenant with all that he died for and I think he is not so in Covenant with any Unbeliever as to a true mutual Covenanting nor to any that never heard the Gospel as to the Legal promissory Covenant The Covenant of Christ is taken in several senses Among others for the two here mentioned 1. For his New Law Testament Gospel Promise or Conditional Gift of Pardon and Life call it what you will By this he
be a subject is Antecedent to the being of an Obedient or a Rewarded Subject so Christs Antecedent mercies of Redemption extend to more than his consequent mercies do which suppose the performance of the conditions of his Covenant Prop. XLVIII The foundations of Christs Kingdom being first laid in his undertaking Performances Death Resurrection and Legislation or Covenant-making so there are three distinct states of his subjects 1. The Antecedent state Antecedent to any act of their own is to be subditi obligati obliged subjects 2. The mediate state is to be consenting obedient subjects or rebellious and disobedient 3. The consequent state is to be justified rewarded subjects or Condemned Subjects And it will not follow that Christ never brought men into the first condition because he never brought them into the last Prop. XLIX Accordingly the Kingdom of Christ the Mediator in its largest extent containeth all Mankind as redeemed and made his obliged Subjects though most prove Rebells But in a limited sense it containeth only the faithful obedient and justified part of the universal Kingdom Prop. L. It is this second consenting Part of his subjects only who are his Church and are by Baptism engaged to him So that the Kingdom of Christ as Redeemer is larger than his Church and they are not words of the same signification unless when the word Kingdom is taken in the narrow sense Prop. LI. God hath not divided the World into two Parts and put one Part only under the Government of Christ and Governeth the other immediately himself only as meer Creator But Christ is Administrator General over all Mankind Prop. LII They that say that God giveth all the mercies which the ungodly have according to the first Covenant of Innocency must make that Covenant another thing than indeed it was Prop. LIII They that feign God to continue the Covenant of Innocency as to the Promissory Part and to Covern those that are born in sin and misery by that Law which saith Be Innocent and Live do expose Gods Government falsly to reproach Prop. LIV. They that hold that Heathens and Hypocrites are under no Covenant or Law that hath conditional promises do deny a great Part of Gods Government of Mankind and give them more excuse for their neglect of all means for their Salvation than is true or than God will allow of Prop. LV. They that say that all the mercies bestowed on Heathens or Hypocrites are given them without the purchase of Christ by the meer will of God not respecting any reconciler or Propitiation do Sin against the Scripture reasons of Christs Office and undertaking and do open a Gap for the reasonings of them who plead against the necessity of Christs death for the Elect. Prop. LVI Though Christs Dominion over inanimates and Bruits do not prove that he dyed for them Yet his dying for Mankind in general procured his Dominion over them which is joyned with his Empire over the same Persons which he exerciseth by such Laws as have a tendency to their repentance Pardon and Salvation Prop. LVII All this considered It is de nomine a proper Speech much used in Scripture to say that Christ dyed for all Men and is the Saviour of the World and is the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World and is a propitiation for the Sins of the whole World and tasted Death for every man and that if one Died for all then were all Dead c. Seeing all the foresaid Benefits of his Death are actually given them Some Expository Thesis about the Effects of the Death of Christ Proposition I. THE First and most Immediate Use and Effect of Christs Death was the satisfaction of Gods Justice for mans Violation of his Law Prop. II. It was not the Law it self that Christ satisfied if we speak properly but the Law-giver Though improperly the Law it self may be said to be satisfied when its Ends are attained that is the Ends of the Legislator in giving the Law The Law knows no proper satisfaction To admit of satisfaction instead of fulfilling and execution is beyond the power of the Law and is the act of the Legislator as he is above the Law Prop. III. Christ did not suffer from the Obligation of the Law but from the Obligation of his own Sponsion on occasion of the Laws obliging us to suffer The Law never obliged Christ to Suffer though it did to obedience Prop. IV. Christs sufferings were not a fulfilling of the Laws Threatning though he bore its Curse Materially but a satisfaction for our not fulfilling the Precept and to prevent Gods fulfilling the Threatning on us Prop. V. Christ paid not therefore the Idem but the Tantundem or aequivalens not the very Debt which we owed and the Law required but the Value Else it were not strictly satisfaction which is Redditio aequivalentis And it being improperly called the Paying of a Debt but properly A suffering for the Guilty the Idem is nothing but Supplicium Delinquentis In Criminals Dum alius solvit simul aliud solvitur The Law knoweth no Vicarius Poenae though the Lawmaker may admit it as he is above Law Else there were no place for Pardon if the proper Debt be Paid and the Law not Relaxed but Fulfilled Prop. VI. The Meriting and Purchasing of further Benefits is consequential to the satisfactoriness of Christs Death It would be so far from meriting as it is his meer hurt were it not first necessary for satisfaction that it would be displeasing to God who is merciful and delighteth not in the Blood of the Just Prop. VII Though Christs Death be first satisfactory and next Meritorious of further good Yet hic Obedience is first Meritorious and afterward Satisfactory For it could not Satisfie but by Meriting Prop. VIII Because Punishment is not a Thing Commanded by the Law but Threatued therefore all Obedience properly is active for suspensive is by act of will and the distinction between Christs Active and Passive Obedience must be carefully understood or else it will tend to confound Obedience and Punishment His Passive Obedience is but his Obeying in Submission to suffering where the Consent or Submission is the direct matter of Obedience and not the suffering it self submitted to Prop. IX Christ did Give his Satisfaction directly and strictly not to Man for whom he suffered but to God whom he satisfied Prop. X. Yet he may be said to Give it to men especially in their Union with him and Justification in that he gives them the fruits of it As a Father is said to give his Son a thousand pound that layeth it out in Lands for him Though properly the Seller hath the Mony and the Son the Lands only Prop. XI It was not the Sins of the Elect only but of all Mankind fallen which lay upon Christ satisfying And to assert the contrary injuriously diminisheth the Honour of his Sufferings and hath other desperate ill consequences Prop. XII Christs
as the first is God accepted the satisfaction on those terms only that no final Rebel should partake of the saving benefit If it be a wrong it is either against Christ or the Sinner Not to the Sinner for he suffereth but once And the former suffering of Christ was not in personation or representation of his person nor as his substitute nor appointed or procured by him But by a third Person in the Person of a Mediator sent by God and voluntarily undertaking it Nor to Christ is it any wrong For 1. He is willing Volenti non fit injuria 2. It was the agreement it should be so 3. Yea it is he that doth it He as Judge condemns them for ingratitude and Rebelling against himself and consequently leaves all the rest of their Sins upon them Prop. L. Nor is it any more absurd that Christ should satisfie for those that were in Hell when he sufferd then that he should do it for those that were in Heaven at his suffering He paid the Price which he had agreed to pay which became effectual upon the agreement and undertaking before the payment And was then offered to Mankind Of whom some suffered for rejecting it as others were saved upon the accepting it even before his death Prop. LI. Nor was Christs Satisfaction for those that perish Vain Seeing it is the ground of his New Title of Lord-redeemer as to Dominion and Rectorship and so the ground of his New Legislation Judgment Administration and Government of the World and will be the occasion of his just destruction of the Rejectors of him even those Rebels that would not have him to Reign over them and of his glory therein Even as Gods Creation and preservation of Men is not to be called Vain or no mercy because he gives not all Men Hearts to repent and so some perish For as Creation laid the ground of the Creators Dominion Rectorship Legislation and Rule and Judgment if the first Covenant had stood in force as it was at first So did Redemption by satisfaction do in respect of the Redeemer and Covenant of Grace Prop. LII All that Christ by the work of Redemption did purchase a propriety in and Dominion over were not Redeemed by him Bruits and Devils are hereby under his Dominion and Devils shall be judged by him But not as Subjects For he procured as Mediator a Dominion over these but as utensils in his House or as Enemies to be restrained ordered and destroyed Therefore Christs judging Devils will not prove that he redeemed them When yet his judging unbelieving Men will prove that he Redeemed them Devils are judged as Enemies but not as Rebels against their Lord-Redeemer But wicked Men are condemned as Rebels against him for ungrateful rejecting a benefit given them If a Country fall into Rebellion and the King sentenceth all to Fire and Sword and the Prince by satisfaction purchase all to himself both Men and Country And send Heralds to proclaim mercy and pardon to all that will accept him and thankfully accknowledg his favour Some accept and some reject him The same Prince destroyeth these Rebels for rebelling And he destroyeth also all the Bears Lyons Wolves and devouring Beasts that annoyed and kill'd his subjects Now will any say that because he appointeth the Wild Beasts to death and yet satisfied not for them nor Redeemed them that therefore he redeemed not the Rebels neither All sayings and writings have different Sences in the same words sometimes according to the difference of the Materia Subjecta Prop. LIII The Doctrine of Universal Redemption thus delivered runs with the whole Scope of Scripture and hath not the least inconveniences when the denial of it contradicteth a multitude of express Texts and bringeth on more desperate consequences than can easily be conceived Prop. LIV. Though Christ dyed equally for all Men in the foresaid Law-Sence as he satisfied the offended Legislator and as giving himself to all alike in the conditional Covenant Yet he never properly intended or purposed the actual justifying and saving of all nor of any but those that come to be justified and saved He did not therefore dye for all nor for any that perish with a Decree or Resolution to save them much less did he dye for all alike as to this intent Prop. LV. All that conditional Pardon with the means of Grace and common Mercies which the Non-elect do actually receive in time were purposed for them before time and intended to them as Fruits of Christs Death and so far even in regard of his Purpose de eventu applicationis Christ may be said to Die for them besides the foresaid satisfaction For God being Rector per Leges deals with men on Law terms and gives Mercies and Executes Justice only according to his Laws He would not so much as relax the Old Law for the pardon of any Sin but by a new Law which is Lex Remedians But the old Law being broken God can shew no mercy now according to its tenour It must be therefore according to the Law of Grace and from it that all men receive their Mercies and consequently from the Blood of that Covenant which is the ground thereof and by which Apostates are said to have been sanctified Heb. 10. Prop. LVI When we say that Christ did Die for men conditionally as to his Death it self and the satisfaction to Justice immediately thence flowing we cannot intend it or truly say so Nor yet as to the granting of his Universal Conditional pardon For Christ absolutely procured all these But we mean it only in regard of Actual Remission Justification and Salvation The Covenant or Promise is indeed Conditional that is there are conditions required on our part to the fulfilling of it that we may have right to the Benefit But no conditions for the granting of it much less for Christs Actual Dying and Satisfying Prop. LVII Though it be disputable whether God have any Decretive will de eventu properly Conditional yet is it beyond all doubt that he hath a Conditional will de Debito and Conditional Laws and it being to God as Legislator that Christ made Satisfaction and it being by Law that the Dueness of Justification and Salvation is conveyed to believers and the Dueness of Punishment to Unbelievers therefore it is very proper to say that Christ by his Death hath purchased Salvation for all Men Conditionally Prop. LVIII Yea it is undoubted that the very Decretive Will of God de Eventu applicationis is Conditional in this sence that Faith and Repentance are Decreed by God to be Conditions of Justification and Salvation but not conditions of Gods act of Decreeing Twisse saith that in this Sense no man denyeth Gods will to be conditional Vid. Consid of Syn. Dort and Arles c. Page 61. And against Cotton Page 74. Prop. LIX Those that dare say that Christ is an imperfect Redeemer if he do not procure Faith it self for every Man that he Dyeth for
with some For they deny that Christ is given conditionally to any Unbeliever Elect or not Elect but only is decreed for the Elect before time and given to Believers in time The Sence is that there is no conditional promise or deed of Gift but all absolute For if it be made only to Men that do believe their first believing cannot be the condition and if it be made on condtion of First believing it is made to Men that do not yet believe But the main Scope of the Gospel proves the Minor by proving the conditional Gift or promise As the Texts even now cited among others Where note to put it out of doubt 1. That the time of Gods enacting this Law or making this Testament Gift or promise was before we were born and therefore before we believed 2. that in its nature it first speaks to unbelievers as its Subject For who will offer a gift to us to be accepted that it may be ours if we have accepted it already Nay how can it be accepted before it is offered And how can we consent to have Christ and so be united to him except he first give himself to us on condition that we will consent 3. Note that the promise is made in most proper conditional terms If thou confess with thy Mouth and believe in thy heart Rom. 10. That whosoever believeth should not perish c. 4. And also note that faith hath here the Definition of a condition agreeing to it i. e. It is an Arbitrary act on which the free Donour hath suspended the efficacy of his Testament or Deed of Gift It is Arbitrary conditions that we have here to speak of which some call Potestative And not casual or mixt So to suspend the effect of the Instrument that hoc posito efficiet donec ponatur non efficiet that upon the doing or not doing the Effect shall follow or not follow and this by the Positive ordination of the Donor is the very essence of a Condition in Law-sence And such â—s Faith And what Divine except Antinomians doth deny Faith to be the Condition And if it be so then the Promise or Conditional Gift must needs be made to Unbelievers that it may become effectual when they believe For it can be no condition in this proper sence if it be past already And therefore it must needs be made to all Unbelievers seeing Scripture limitteth it not to any but speaketh universally Inded it is a very hard questionhow far the promulgation may be said to be Universal and how far not But that is nothing against the Universality of the Tenor of the Law or Gift And the command to the Promulgators is Go into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every Creature Next let us prove the consequence of the Major Proposition and that thus The thing conditionally given is Pardon purchased by Christs Blood shed for the Sinner to whom it is Given Therefore the gift presupposeth the shedding of his Blood for that Sinner The Antecedent hath two branches to be proved 1. That the Pardon conditionally given to all is a pardon purchased by Christs Blood 2. That it is by Christs blood as shed for him to whom that pardon is given For the first there is no Pardon given any other way but by Christs blood shed therefore this is from his Bloodshed 1. If there be Remission which is not purchased by Christs blood shed then there are two distinct ways of Remission one by his blood and another without But the consequent is false Ergo c. 2. If there be a remission without Christs bloodshed then all remission might have been without it But the consequent is false else Christ Dyed needlesly 3. Heb. 9. 22. Without shedding of Blood there is no Remission 4. Heb. 9. 16. For where a Testament is there must also of necessity be the Death of the Testator But this conditional Gift is Christs Testament So ver 15. For this cause he is the Mediator of the new Testament that by means of Death for the Redemption of the Transgressions that were under the first Testament they which are called might receive the promise of Eternal Inheritants viz. all that are externalâ—y called receive the conditional Promise and Believers the thing promised 5. Luke 24. 46 47. It behoved Christ to â—uffer and Rise from the Dead the third day and â—hat Repentance and Remission of Sins should be reached in his name among all Nations c. â—o that even Remission Preached that is offered â—n condition of repentance and Faith presupposeth Christs Death as the Cause 6. In the Institution of his Supper he calleth â—e Cup the New Testament in his Blood that this signifieth my Blood which procureth the â—ew Testament Now none sure dare say that the â—â—omise of Pardon and Life on condition of Beâ—â—ving is not the New Testament either whole or â—â—t 7. And therefore it is called the Blood of the â—venant even to them that tread it under â—â—â—t Heb. 10. 29. and 13. 20. Zech. 9. 11. 8. Justification is by Christs Blood Rom. 5. 9. Being Justified by his Blood But Justification is the Effect of this Conditional Covenant or Gift when the Condition is performed therefore the effect of this Covenant is from Christs blood and consequently the Covenant it self which is an intermediate cause Though there be other sorts of Justification yet that this is one and the first is undenyable 9. Actual Remission to Believers is from Christs Blood Eph. 1. 7. In whom we have Redemption through his Blood the remission of Sins Col. 1. 14. therefore conditional remission to unbelievers is from his Blood The reason of the consequence is that Christ procureth the Effect of Justification or Remission not immediately by his Blood as shed but by procuring the Covenant or Promise as the immediate Cause and the effect by that Cause and it is the same Gift oâ— Covenant which conditionally Justifieth all and actually Justifieth Believers and that without any other â—â—tervening act of God When the condition is performed whose Nature is to suspend the Effect then the effect resulteth from thaâ— same Promise which before did not effect Indeed Christ giveth his Spirit to causé his Own tâ— perform the condition but still the justifying aâ— is by the conditional Covenant If therefore iâ— be the same promise which effectually justifieâ— the Elect and only conditionally justifieth otheâ— and Christs Blood causeth that promise which eâ— fectually justifieth the Elect then his Bloâ—â— caused that promise which conditionally justifieâ— all John 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gâ— his only begotten Son 1. For men on the Crâ—â— 2. To men by the promise that whosoever believe c. So that this conditional grant of Life comes from the giving of Christ to Death And for the second part of the Antecedent viz. That it is from Christs Blood as shed for him to whom the Promise is made And 1. Ab â—nefficacia
God and that he is the governor of the World true Just Merciful c. That we owe him perfect obedience that Sin deserves his wrath By experience they may easily know that they are Sinners and so liable to misery By Gods Judgments Sickness Death c. they may know that God will punish That the Soul is immortal and punishments and rewards are specially in the Life to come most Pagans do acknowledg Gods abundant Mercies to them may acquaint them that he deals not with them in rigorous severity and on terms of meer justice but in mercy And his not executing his Judgments on them according to desert but shewing so much mercy to them is some kind of pardoning them Hence they may see that some way God hath for shewing mercy to the undeserving and for pardoning Sinners without any wrong to the Honour of his Justice and Holiness or to the ends of his Government And hence they may see that they are not certainly help less and remediless nor their condition desperate Though they discover not the meritorious cause they may discern Gods mercy the principal Efficient moving cause Natural self-love bindeth Men in misery to seek out after remedy and to discover what it is and how they may attain it All this the Heathens have manifested to us undeniably in that all ages and Countries of them have confessed Gods being and Soveraignty the Duty of our obeying him and that they were Sinners and deserved his Wrath in this Life and that to come especially for greater Sins and that their condition was not hopeless but Gods mercy had a way to help them and therefore they plyed him with their Prayers and Sacrifices Arg. 1. If those that never heard of Christ are bound to take their case for desperate then they are bound to believe an untruth for Christ may be discovered to them and they saved But c. Ergo c. 2. If they are bound to judge their case remediless then they are bound to contradict the experience of Gods merciful dealing with them which are an actual remedy to part of their misery and may give them hope of more from the same cause if they will seek it But c. Ergo c 3. If they are bound to judge their case remediless or not to judge that there is some remedy then they should not be bound to use any means Praying Repenting sending abroad to enquire after the Remedy in more knowing Countries c. for the attaining Remedy But the consequent is false Ergo c. If a Star appearing brought the wise men so far to seek Christ and if men will travail all over the World for Riches by way of Merchandize How diligently should men that find themselves miserable enquire far and near for a remedy And if it were not their duty to use means for recovery then it is not their Sin that they do not use them But he that dare tell them so let him for I dare not but the contrary I dare tell them 4. If all such men are not bound to judge their case remediable and cureable but hopeless then God should lose all that common honour and service that he hath from them and the World would be as Hell full of nothing but hatred of God and blaspheming him and sinning to the utmost without any self-restraint For he that hath no hope will use no means nor forbear any evil but hate God as his Enemy 5. The Ninevites discerned a remedy and some hope and Repentance and Humiliation was Gods means by which they were actually recovered I am sure from under some of Gods wrath which else would have broke out on them whether from eternal wrath I know not but it s most probable For they believed God Jonah 3. 5. and Repented Mat. 12. 41. Luke 11. 32. Yet there is no intimation that Jonah Preached Christ to them or that they ever heard of him Men therefore that hear not of Christ are bound to use means for remedy And indeed the satisfaction of Christ is of greater necessity to mans Salvation than our knowledge of Christ or Faith in him God can save them that never knew Christ if he will witness the case of Infants and else there were but few saved before Christs coming but morally we may say he cannot save them without Christs satisfaction for their Sin 6. Acts 17. 27. It is the duty of all Pagans To seek the Lord if happly they might feel after him and find him And doubtless this is to seek the recovery of his favour and not to seek it in despair as the Devils 7. Acts 14. 17. Gods giving rain and fruitful seasons and filling mens hearts with food and gladness and doing them good is his witness among them And sure it witnesseth his mercy to them and consequently their duty 8. Rom. 2. 4. The Holy Ghost expresly telleth us that men should know that the forbearance long-suffering and goodness of God leadeth to Repentance that is is a help thereto and manifesteth it to be their duty to Repent And doubtless this Repentance is not a hellish despairing Repentance for Judgments are fitter to move to that than Mercy but a Repentance which is to be used as a means to recovery 9. It is the description of wicked men that they seek not after God Rom. 3. 11. Psal 14. 2 God looks to see if there be any that seeks him 10. Many Texts in the Prophets shew it to be all mens duty to seek the Lord in order to their finding mercy and to deny it is to turn out the remnants of obedience or all seeds of Religion from the World And that God calls them all to Repentance and to that end that they may not Die but escape his wrath and be recovered And that he hath sworn That he hath no pleasure in the Death of him that Dieth but rather that he Repent and Live So that I think it is clear that God appointed even to those that hear not the Gospel certain means toward their Recovery Much more evident is it of all those where the Gospel is preached I say not that he commandeth all the former or any directly to believe in Christ but it must be understood that all men are many degrees distant from Christ before he draweth them effectually to himself Now the Pagans are more degrees from him than professed Christians mostly It is not Christs way to bring men to himself per saltum but by those Degrees of Recovery which are the particular cure of their degrees of distance One wicked man knows of Christ and doth half entertain him but sticks at some pleasing Sin Another knows not that he is miserable by sin nor ever considered how to be recovered nor ever prayed God to shew him a way to escape his wrath nor ever heard of Christ This latter must receive much of Christs mercy before he be brought so near to Christ as the former Christ loved one wicked man
Heaven when he said unto them ye have Crucified the Lord of glory So that at the same time 3000 Men were pricked in their Hearts and said Act. 2. 37. Men and Brethren what shall we do to be saved Again if Christ for our Sins shed his Heart Blood and if our Sins made him sweat water and Blood O then why should not we our selves shed bitter tears and why should not our Hearts bleed for them He that finds himself so dull and hardened that the Passion of Christ doth not humble him is in a lamentable ease for there is no Faith in the Death of Christ effectual in him as yet These words shew that Perkins speaks not this only to believers 2. The meditation of the passion of Christ is a most notable means to breed repentance and reformation of Life in time to come For when we begin to think that Christ Crucified by suffering the first and 2d Death hath procured to us remission of all our Sins past and freed us from Hell Death and damnation then if there be but a spark of Grace in us we begin to be of another mind and to reason thus with our selves what hath the Lord been thus merciful to me that am of my self but a firebrand of Hell as to free me from deserved destruction and to receive me to favour in Christ Yea no doubt he hath His name be blessed therefore I will not therefore Sin any more as I have done but rather endeavour hereafter to keep my self from every evil way 3. The right knowledg of our selves ariseth from the knowledg of Christ Crucified in whom and by whom we come to know five special things of our selves The first how grievous our Sins are and therefore how miserable we are in regard of them If we consider our offences in themselves and as they are in us we may soon be deceived c. But if Sin be considered in the Death and passion of Christ whereof it was the cause and the vileness thereof measured by the unspeakable torments endured by the Son of God and if the greatness of the offence of Man be esteemed by the endless satisfaction made to the justice of God the least Sin that is will appear to be a Sin indeed and that most grievous and ugly Therefore Christ Crucified must be used by us as a mirror or Looking-Glass in which we may fully take a view of our wretchedness c. And before and for our Neighbors those specially that are of Christs Church they are to be known of us on this manner When we are to do any duty to them we must not barely respect their Persons but Christ Crucified in them and them in Christ And Page 631. The 5th point is that we owe to Christ an endless debt for he was Crucified only as our surety and pledg and in that Spectacle of his passion we must consider our selves as the chief debtors and that the very discharge of our debt that is the Sins which are inherent in us were the proper cause of all the endless pains and torments that Christ endured that he might set us most miserable Bankrupts at liberty from Hell Death and damnation For this his unspeakable goodness if we do but once think of it seriously we must needs confess that we owe our selves our Souls and Bodies and all that we have as a debt due unto him And so soon as any Man begins to know Christ Crucified he knows his own debt and thinks of the payment of it And that you may be sure that Perkins speaks not only of the Elect see Page 631. Col. 2. The common Protestant likewise cometh short herein for 3 Causes 1. Whereas in word they acknowledg him to be their Saviour this he blameth not in them that hath redeemed them from their evil Conversation yet indeed they make him a patron of their Sins The Thief makes him the receiver The Murderer makes him his refuge The Adulterer be it spoken with reverence to his Majesty makes him the Bawd c. Thus Christ that came to abolish Sin is made a maintainer thereof and the common Packhorle of the World to bear every Mans burden 2. Men are content to take knowledg of the merit of Christs passion for the remission of their Sins but in the mean season the virtue of Christs Death for the mortifying of Sin is little regarded c. 3. Men usually content themselves generally and confusedly to know Christ to be their Redeemer it seems then that it is true never once seeking in every particular Estate and condition of Life and in every particular blessing of God to feel the benefit of his passion What is the cause that almost all the World live in security never almost touched for their horrible Sins Surely the reason is because they did never yet seriously consider that Christ in the Garden lay grouling upon the Earth sweating Water and Blood for their offences Can a Man speak plainer for Christs dying for all Again all such as by fraud and oppression or any kind of hard dealing suck the Blood of poor Men never yet knew that their Sins drew out the Heart Blood of Christ And proud Men and Women that are puffed up by reason of their attire which is the badg of their shame and never cease hunting after strange fashions consider not that Christ was not Crucified in gay attire but naked that he might bear the whole shame and curse of the Law for us These and such like whatsoever they say in word are flat Enemies of the Cross of Christ and tread his precious Blood under their Feet Now then considering this so weighty and special a point of Religion is so much neglected O Man or Woman high or low young or old if thou have been wanting this way begin for very shame to learn and learning to know Christ Crucified That thou mayest attain to this behold him often c. 1. Look on him as a glass or spectacle in which thou shalt see Gods Glory greater in thy Redemption then in thy Creation c. 2. Thou must behold him as the full price of thy Redemption and perfect Reconciliation with God And pray earnestly to God that he would Seal up the same in thy conscience by his Spirit 3. Thou must behold Christ as an example to whom thou must conform thy self by Regeneration c. Read the History of Christs passion Observe all the parts and circumstances thereof and apply them to thy self for thy full Conversion When thou readest that Christ went to the Garden as his custom was where the Jews might soon attack him consider that he went to the death of the Cross for thy Sins willingly and not of constraint and that therefore thou for thy part shouldest do him all service freely Psal 110. 3. When thou hearest that in his agony his Soul was heavy unto death know it was for thy Sins and thou shouldest much more conceive heaviness of Heart for
were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life John 11. 51 52. That Jesus should dye for that Nation and not for that Nation only but that also he should gather together in one the Children of God that were scattered abroad Mat. 1. 21. for he shall save his People from their Sins Joh. 15. 13. Greater Love hath no man than this that a man to lay down his life for his friends 1 John 3. 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us Rom. 8. 34. who is he that condemneth It is Christ that dyed yea rather c. 1 Pet. 3. 18. Christ hath once suffered for Sin the just for the â—njust that he might bring us to God 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold from your vain conversation received by Tradition from your Fathers but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2. 29. He bore our sins on the Tree that me being dead to sin should live to Righteousness Tit. 2. 14. That he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar People zealous of good works Eph. 5. 25 26. Even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle c. Isa 53. 11. By his knowledge shall my righteous Servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities John 17. 2. Thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him Mat. 7. 23. Depart from me I never knew you c. Heb. 9. 28. Christ was once offered to bear the Sins of many c. Heb. 10. 14. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Psal 16 9. Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer nor take up their name into my lips Gen. 3. 15. The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head and his seed bruise her heel Mat. 11. 25. I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thoâ— hast hid these things from the Wise and Prudent and hast revealed them to Babes Eph. 1. 7. In whom we have Redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins 2 Cor. 5. 21. For he made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him These are all the Texts that at present I can remember or find used by those that write against Universal Redemption which have any considerable shew of a proof of all which there is not one that excludeth the Non-Elect nor any in the World from being the Persons for whom Christ dyed as we shall see when we come to review them more particularly Nor is there any ill consequence following the Doctrine of Universal Satisfaction but all that terrifies men from it is seeming ill Consequences for want of right understanding it most men think who go that way that Universal Redemption is inconsistent with absolute Election and with special differencing Grace and with Christs special intention of calling and saving his Chosen whereas indeed it is so far from being inconsistent that it is necessarily concomitant and supposed and they may as well think that Universal Creation is inconsistent with Election and special grace Indeed God hath in admirable wisdom laid Universal Grace as a ground work and built special grace as to the executive part thereupon and to deny the Universal Common grace is to destroy the ground-work of special grace If this were well understood there would few sober Divines be against Universal Redemption and therefore I still say that it is a clear explication that must do more here and is more needful than argumentation Yet because some do so importunately call for Arguments I have given these Thirty and might add many more and shall now proceed to those that are drawn from particular Texts of Scriptures having first laid down one or two more general considerations from the Scripture Language in this particular That Election and Redemption are not of the same extent and not all Elected that are Redeemed but Redemption is Universal and Election special may be strongly evinced by comparing together the language of the Scripture concerning one and the other how differently it speaks 1. We find God charging Men to give all diligence to make sure their Calling and Election 2 Pet. 1. 10. But not one word in all the Scripture to command or perswade Men to make sure that they are redeemed unless we meant it not of the price but the fruits Paul saith to his Converts 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith know ye not your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates But he never bid any man examine thy self whether thou be redeemed or whether Christ dyed for thee or whether thou be one of those for whom Christ dyed we have marks given in Scripture to know by whether we are the Children of God or no whether sanctified justified pardoned or no but never a mark laid down in Scripture to know by whether we are of those that Christ dyed for no more than there is to know whether we are of those that God Created And would not the perfect holy word of God have given marks of this or bid men make sure of this and try it if it were needful and were not unquestionable because universal 2. We find the Saints as David complaining of God's hiding his face and seeming their Enemy and writing bitter things against them and groaning under that burthen of Sin and crying for Pardon and saying God had forsaken and forgotten them c. But we never find any Man good or bad that believed Gods word to be true to doubt whether Christ dyed for him or whether he were Redeemed or complaining of his danger for want of a Redeemer or Expiatory Sacrifice 3. We find God ordinarily saying of Christ Jesus that he is the Saviour of the World and came not to condemn the World but to save the World and took away the sins of the World and is a propitiation for the fins of the whole World and dyed for all tasted death for every man and was a ransom for all c. But we have no one word in Scripture that saith he predestinated all to Salvation or decreed to save the whole World Nay the very term of Election contradicteth Universality for it is no chusing if it be all and if some be not left 4. We find Wicked Men condemned and their sin aggravated for denying the Lord that bought them 2 Pet. 2. 1. But never for denying the Lord that Elected them 5. We find Christians by the Apostles warned that they destroy not their weak Brethren for whom Christ dyed and saying through thy
fruit in all the World but that it is come into all the World and bringeth forth Fruit viz. in some where it comes 2. But suppose it were otherwise doth not Christ say that the Gospel doth bring forth fruit in more than the Elect viz. in many that fall away when Persecution ariseth Mat. 13. And in whom the cares of the World do choak that Fruit. 3. Were these Colos all Elect to whom Paul speaks 4. It is a known truth that the Gospel comes to more than the Elect for many are called but few chosen next they alledge 2 Cor. 5. 19. which makes sufficiently against their whole cause as shall be shewen anon when we come to it Another place cited by them is 1 Joh. 2. 2. Christ is the propitiation of the sins of the whole World Ans If they may thus beg the question all Texts shall mean as they would have them Of this anon Another place cited is Psal 22. 27. All the ends of the World remember and turn unto the Lord And all the Kindreds of the Nations shall worship before thee For the Kingdom is the Lord's and he is the Governour among the Nations Ans 1. All the ends of the World is not so large as all the World 2. It is plain that this Text speaks of the establishment of Christs visible Kingdom which contains more than the Elect. The Net of the Gospel brings Fishes good and bad The Heathen Countries that have turned to the Lord from Paganism and Infidelity have not all believed to Salvation The Kingdoms of the World shall become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ But they are not all Elect. These are all the Texts that I find urged to to prove that by the World is signified only the Elect. 2. And what if it were so in some places 1. It follows not that it is so here 2. The usual Sense must not be forsaken without cause Nor is it sufficient that unusually it is otherwise taken 3. The conjoyned words will shew the necessity of a restrained Sense where such a Sense is necessary to be received but so they do not here but contrarily as hath been shewed Their 4th Reason to prove that by the World is here meant the Elect only is this If every one in the World be intended why doth not the Lord in the pursuit of this Love reveal Christ to all so loved Ans This is to be fully answered anon among the main Objections by it self Lastly they say else all these will follow 1. That some are beloved and hated also from Eternity 2. That God's Love towards innumerable is fruitless and vain 3. That the Son of God is given to them that never hear word of him and have no power granted to believe in him 4. That God is mutable in his Love or else he still loveth those that be in Hell 5. That he gives not all things to them to whom he gives his Son 6. That he knows not certainly before who shall believe and be saved Ans To the first I thought no Antiarminian Divine ever denied it God hateth all the Workers of iniquity Psal 5. 5. You will not say that he hated them not from Eternity Many of the Workers of iniquity are Elect and so loved from Eternity God's Love is spoken say Divines ab effectu potius quam ab affectu God from Eternity so loved Men not Elect as to give them on Creation Everlasting Life in Adam on condition of fulfilling the first Covenant and to give them everlasting life in Christ on condition of believing according to the second Covenant And yet he decreed not to give any Men Grace to perform the condition of the first covenant nor to give all men Grace to perform the condition of the second To the 2d Consequence I shall answer fully by it self anon among the contrary Arguments To the 3d. also I shall there answer To the 4th I say for it is not worth a fuller answer 1. All Divines that I know say that God loveth those in Hell as his Creatures and as Men Aquinas and the rest of the Schoolmen have it frequently Yea Ursine Rob. Baronius and many of our Protestant Divines say that he punisheth those in Hell short of their deserving and so sheweth some mercy there that I will not meddle with 2. If you speak of God's Love as it is in effectu and not in affectu then it is certainly mutable He gives Men those mercies which for their â—buse he removeth or turneth to judgments He gives to all a conditional Pardon and Life And after condemneth most to Death for not performing the condition To the Elect themselves these Effects are changeable 3. If you say God's Love is but his Velle bonum alicui and therefore he cannot be said now Men are in Hell to continue to will them a conditional Pardon and Life Therefore God's Love must be mutable I answer Let those Owls that love to blind themselves by gazing on the Sun of God's undiscernable Infiniteness undertake to tell what God's Love is and what his Will is and how he Wills that which is past c. For my part I pretend not to a capacity of discerning any such things 2. You may enforce your objection as strongly concerning God's Love to the Elect He once willed their Creation then he willed to redeem them by Christ then he willed to call them and to give them their first justification to deliver them from this sickness and that danger then he willed that they should die and then that they should rise again If you will tell me how God after the Resurrection will continue to all Eternity to will to create Man to redeem him to call him justifie him deliver him raise him c. then I will tell you how God will Eternally will the giving Christ Pardon and Salvation conditionally to all If you say he Wills them as preterita and not as presentia vel futura you may say so by this If you say that there is no preteritum vel futurum with God but all present and therefore he willeth them as preterita sic dicta quoad hominem vel fidem mensuram humanam sed ut presentia quoad Deum the like you may say here also To the 5th Consequence I must answer anon by it self when we speak of their Argument from Rom. 8. 32. To the 6th It is a naked affirmation as easily denied Dare Men say that it was no mercy or love of God to give mankind in Adam Eternal Life on condition of keeping his Law because God foreknew or foredecreed they would not or should not keep it And so not attain the fruit of that Govenant thereby Dare these Men pretending to preach the Gospel tell their hearers that to all of them except the Elect the preaching the Gospel and therein the offer and conditional gift of Christ Pardon Justification and Salvation is no mercy nor from any love of God to
I like not his phrase that men come short of Salvation by Gods disappointment Gods not giving them Faith nor yet his adjudging Unbelievers to Death are neither of them to be called his disappointing them of Life But because he asks who dare say this let us next see whether the Holy Ghost dare not The fifth Text which I shall insist on is 2 Pet. 2. 1. But there were false Prophets also among the People even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction And verse 20 c. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the World through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ they are again intangled therein and overcome the latter end is worse with them than the beginning For it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness then after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them But it is happened to them according to the true Proverb The Dog is turned to his own Vomit again and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire VVhereto for fuller explication add but Jude's words of the same men ver 4. Ungodly men turning the Grace of our God into Lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ put all these together because they all speak of the same men Now 1. The Text expresly saith they denied the Lord that bought them 2. That it is the Lord Jesus that is this Lord appears 1. In that it is expresly said in the 20. ver that it was by the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that they escaped the pollutions of the VVorld 2. Jude expresly saith They denied the Lord Jesus Christ 3. There have been few that have denied God among all Apostates in comparison of those that have denied Christ Nay it is a great doubt whether it can be proved of any directly that were in those times 4. Their Apostacy is described by turning from the holy Commandment delivered to them which is called the way of Righteousness and to their former Vomit which must needs be the state they were in before they turned Christians and to the mire after they were washed And this state of Apostacy is opposed to escaping the pollutions of the World by the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ so that it is left past doubt that it is the Lord Jesus Christ that bought them whom they are said to deny And Jude saith of them that they are twice dead plucked up by the roots by which it appears that after their first death they had received some kind of new Life by Christ Lastly Note that here are many benefits which they received which could not have befallen them but through the Death of Christ They could no other way have been washed and have escaped the worlds pollutions and have known the way of Righteousness c. yea Jude saith They turn the Grace of God into Lasciviousness therefore it was a sin against Grace and all Grace is by the blood of Christ yea it seems they had themselves some Grace that is Mercy contrary to merit and tending to a recovery which they so turned into Lasciviousness And Peter in the next chapter shews that their Apostacy lay in a not-believing Christs second coming because of his seeming delay and therefore they gave themselves up to their Lusts and said mockingly Where is the promise of his coming so that it is both evident that they were purchased by Christ and that it is Christ that bought them whom they are said to deny Yet as plain as the Holy Ghost hath here spoken what industry is used to raise a Dust and compel these words to receive an alien sense 1. It is said that all things for Universal Redemption are here Uncertain but against it this is certain 1. That there are no spiritual distinguishing fruits of Redemption ascribed to those false Teachers but only common gifts of light and knowledge which Christ hath purchased for many for whom he did not make his Soul a Ransom 2. That else the Redemption of any by the blood of Christ cannot be a peculiar aggravation of the sins of any because they say he died for all and yet this buying of the false Teachers is held out as an aggravation of their sin in particular Ans 1. It is here meerly beg'd and never was yet proved that Christ hath purchased common gifts of light and knowledge for men without making his Soul a Ransom i. e. his Life a satisfaction for them and that all that he satisfied for have distinguishing fruits of Redemption It is easier to take these as certainties than to prove them so 2. Redemption is no aggravation of that mans Apostacy that never was an Apostate It cannot be said that they deny the Lord that bought them who never denied him And therefore it is a common aggravation of the sin of all that do sin against him and of all their denial that do deny him but all do not deny him May not that be an aggravation of these mens sins in particular which would also aggravate the sins of any other according to the several quality of the sin May it not be said of an Atheist He denieth the God that made him as an aggravation of his particular sin and will you by force of VVit thence prove that God made not all men Now to the uncertainties And 1. They say it is uncertain whether Christ as Mediator be here intended as Lord or no there is not any thing in the Text to enforce us so to conceive Answ It may enforce the unprejudiced I think review what I have produced out of the Text to prove it But they give these reasons against it 1. God only as God with his dealing toward such is mentioned of Christ not a word Answ 1. Is not Christ God And from this Text Divines have proved it joined with Jude 4. against the Arrians and must we give up that argument for nothing 2. I have before shewed special mention of Christ 2. They say the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly Herus attended by Dominion and Soveraignty is not usually if at all given to our Saviour in the new Testament c. Nay is the name proper for our Saviour in the work of Redemption 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is such a Lord and Master as refers to servants and subjection Answ 1. I hope we must not also deny Christs Dominion and Soveraignty and deny our selves to be his Servants and Subjects as he is Mediator only that we may the better deny his Universal Sacrifice and Satisfaction If we do it will be a dear bought conclusion All power in Heaven and Earth is given to him and the Father hath committed all judgment to him and for that end he Died Rose and Revived
Death offered by the Gospel The killing of the Fatling most say doth intimate the killing of Christ that he may be to us the Bread of Life and his Flesh Meat indeed and his Blood Drink indeed The Messengers are Preachers The message is the Gospel Invitation or Offer Hence therefore I thus argue If all the things are ready before hand which upon coming in to Christ are to be received yea and ready for those that refused to come and only their not coming or not coming preparedly do hinder their participation then Christ was a Sacrifice made ready even for all that refused to come But c. Ergo c. I mean not that Christ was appointed to save final refusers considered as such But he was a Sacrifice for all the Sins of the same Men except their final refusal and thereby made ready for them all those saving benefits which upon coming in they were to receive This message any Minister of the Gospel may now deliver to unbelievers Come in to Christ accept him as a Redeemer Lord and Saviour and with him pardon and Salvation for all this is ready All that is prerequisite to believing or coming in is done by Christ as far as concerned him as a Sacrifice and a Donor of his Testamentory benefits and as far as unsatisfied Justice did require All things that are requisite objectively to your believing are ready Now this could not be a truth if Christ had not been a Sacrifice for these Mens Sins For how is all ready when the very first and most needful thing is unready that is an expiatory Sacrifice for sin When satisfaction to justice is unready Can they make this Or are they called to make it Or would their coming in make it which was not before made Or would coming in serve turn without satisfaction Rather it should be said to them as to the Devils come not for nothing is ready For where Christ is not ready and satisfaction for sin not ready there nothing is ready which a sinner is called to by the Gospel The Cause being wanting all the Effects must needs be wanting Obj. All may be said to be ready in that Christs Death is sufficient for All. Ans That 's true and I desire no more if you understand it as Divines have hitherto done and as this Text proves it that is that it is a sufficient Ransom Sacrifice Price Satisfaction for all But then this implieth that it is a Ransom Sacrifice c. for All. But according to the new futile evasion it is false viz. that Christs Death was only sufficient to have been a Sacrifice or Ransom for All if God or Christ had so been willing but indeed was no Ransom for them at all For is this making all ready Is Christ any readier for those he died not for than for the Devils or than if he had never died at all VVill you send to a Prisoner and say I have paid 1000 l. for thy fellow Prisoner that owed but 500 l. the sum is sufficient to have discharged thy debt too if I had ever intended it therefore come and receive a discharge for all is ready Or will you bid your Servant go to all the Town and say I have killed and dressed meat enough for you all resolving that some of you shall never tast of it on any conditions therefore come now and partake of it all for all things are ready The Readiness that Christ speaks of here is such as supposeth all things to be ready except receiving by Faith nothing but coming is wanting Obj. But Faith it self is not ready therefore Christ died not for them Ans A false consequence which yet bears the whole fabrick of the opposers Cause 1. Doth not the Text plainly distinguish here between Faith and all the Benefits that by Faith we are partakers of Doth it not plainly say that all things else are ready when yet Faith in them was unready for they would not But the Invitation was come for all things are ready what a silly cavil would men put into the mouths of the invited teaching them to say my coming is not ready therefore all things are not ready nay nothing is made ready for me This Text expresly distinguisheth between all other things and coming and so shews that when men will not come yet all things were ready and nothing but Faith was wanting to their participation And therefore Christ may be a Sacrifice made ready for those that have not Faith and therefore receive him not 2. And you might see some of the reason of this in the Text The King in one Relation prepares the feast and in a further invites his Guests and in a further compels them to come in God and the Redeemer as preparer of the feast which is 1. By satisfying Justice 2. By enacting the New Law have made all things ready But to give Faith belongeth not to him in either of these respects 2. God and Christ as the Inviter of his Guests doth all things requisite to the invited 3. But God as one that resolveth de Eventu what particular persons shall be compelled to come in gives that Faith or so compels them Faith follows this compelling which say Interpreters truly and generally is an importunate prevailing persuasion Now may not God 1. Make Christ a Sacrifice for all ready 2. And by Legislation or conditional Donation make a free gift of Christ to all that will have him 3. And invite multitudes that will refuse and yet compel but his chosen only to come in Here it is that special differencing Grace begins in the execution and it confoundeth men in the whole body of Theology when they will needs suppose it to begin where it doth not that is in Redemption by Sacrifice All men shall one day confess all things were ready if I would have come in I had been saved it was my own wilful refusal that deprived me Obj. But why doth not God compel all to come in as well as some Ans 1. O man who art thou that disputest against God May he not do with his own as he list He compelleth some from the superabundance of his Mercy He inviteth the rest in great mercy also 2. This will be no excuse to the refusers what if God had only invited all and compelled none What if he had suffered all to perish in their wilfulness would that have been any ease to any and if he compel some is that any wrong to the rest will not Conscience say another day I perish justly that would not be saved must I need compulsion to accept of a Redeemer and Salvation with him Obj. But it is not in my Power to come I cannot Ans There 's no man that would come that can say so if you will you can yea you do come If you will not who will you blame but your self you may come if you will As your will-not may be called a cannot so it 's true you cannot
in an infallible prevalency to his chosen And that none might perish merely on the old score or be judged meerly by the Old Law but all stand or fall according to their improvement or abuse of recovering Mercy And all this God hath hereupon granted to his Son And so he hath satisfaction for his satisfaction though many that he hath satisfied for do perish 6. Besides consider though men be punished for the same sins that Christ suffered for yet as to God the same do become new sins and so men suffer for them as it were as for new sins For 1. The old Obligation was so far made void or disabled that of it self it could never more bind them to punishment by reason of the addition of a remedying grant 2. God did quantum in se as Legislator of the old Law forgive them all the debt except the sins of non-performance of the Gospel conditions which God still excepted and Christ never suffered for for God hath delivered the obligation out of his own hand as standing in that first Relation of Rector secundum Legem Naturae sâ—lum and given it up into the hand of the Redeemer to give Remission to whom he please He hath also made a free Deed of Gift of an Universal Pardon to all that will accept it So that though men be not actually pardoned yet God may conveniently be said to have pardoned them in that he did his part as Rector secundum Leges As he saith to Israel I have healed thee and thou art not healed When a true Believer is actually Pardoned God doth put forth no new act to Pardon him but doth it by the general Grant or Act of Oblivion whereby he Pardoned All men conditionally as well as them The Law saith a man hath done a thing or given a benefit when he hath done his part though the effect follow not and the Work be yet undone For Moral Causes may do all their part and â—et the effect not follow for want of the performance of conditions in the receiver or because con-causes do not their part And therefore if the effect follow not the Law enquires Who it is long of Whose fault was it if of the Patient or Receiver then the Donor or Agent is said to have done the thing though yet it be not done For as to him moraliter vel Civiliter it is done There being no default on his part If any say that God followeth not the Rules of Humane Laws I answer God is the Fountain of all right Laws and Reason and Justice and I speak not of any unjust or mistaking Laws This is an ill pretence for men to judge their Maker by when they will not allow him that reasonable apology nor make that construction of his ways according to common undeniable equity as they will do of the ways of men Right Reason and the Laws made thereby are a beam of Gods perfect Wisdom and Justice If any say that God doth not Totum quod ad se attinet all his part in making a Deed of Gift of Christ and Pardon and Glory to all that will accept it unless he also give Faith which is the acceptance it self I shall now only say this much till we come to the point by it self that God doth Totum quod ad se attinet ut Legislatorem vel Rectorem juxta Leges all that belongs to him as Rector according to Laws though not all that belongs to him as absolute Lord and Disposer of events and all Creatures And it is in that Respect sub 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rectoris that Christ made satisfaction to him and not in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Relation of an Eternal-Elector or Absolute Proprietary and Disposer of all So that you see now that quoad Deum all men are pardoned all their sins except those excepted in the conditions of the Grant though quoad delinquentis Receptionem they are still unpardoned They may have Christ and Pardon if they will And when they are deprived of the Gift meerly because they will not have it no Reason can say God did not give it or Christ did not procure it or that God is unjust in that they are without it So that it is not now meerly the obligation of the first Law as unremedied that binds them over to punishment nor as it is in the Hands of God as Creator or Rector secundum Legem operum but it is the Obligation of the new Law primarily He that believeth not shall not be forgiven nor be saved and consequently of the Old Law as the obligation is in the Redeemers hands to be charged only on the Rejecters of Grace It is not primarily for sin as sin according to this Law Whosoever sinneth shall dye but it is primarily for Rejecting the Remedy and then that sin by necessary consequence remains unpardoned so that it is not directly because they were guilty of Death by the first Law but propter rejectam Remissionem for despising the Remission of that guilt So that quoad Deum it may be called the return of Sin or Guilt Remitted and so to be more properly ex novd obligatione from the New Obligation of the Law of Christ binding all their sins again upon them though as to them and their reception it is both from the New Obligation and the old And therefore Jude calleth such twice dead and pluckt up by the Roots If an hundred Traytors be condemned and the Prince Ransom them all at a Price agreeing in the payment of it that they shall now be all his own and none of them be delivered for all that who will not thankfully own him and acknowledge his favour Here it is just that all the Refusers of Pardon yet perish And their Death is directly for the refusing of the Remedy and secondarily from their old crime because they would not have it remedied So that though Materialiter they lose but one Life yet it may be said that the Life they now lose Civiliter is not the same that before they lost but it is vitam de novo donatam a Life newly given them for they were dead in Law and the King gave them a new Life Moraliter etsi non Naturaliter And it is the rejecting of the Gift by which they lose their former Natural Life and their New-given Mortal Life And will any man be so ill advised in this case as to say that it is injustice in the King or Prince to punish the same persons that were before Ransomed Yea if it were not by Money but by suffering publick shame that the Prince had Ransomed them Having thus Explained the Case and Answered the Argument I will looking at Edification and not the usual form of Disputing go beyond the task of a meer Respondent and give you two or three Arguments to prove that it is no injustice in God to punish those for whom Christ hath satisfied or for whose sins he was a sacrifice
And as Dr. Ames saith in the place before cited Anti-Bellarm it is to the work of Grace as Creation is to the work of Nature And therefore as none can deny but the Non-Elect have common grace as Conditional Pardon Illumination the Holy Ghost c. else how do they turn grace into wantonness so none can well deny but they have it from the general Fountain of Redemption Let us then consider what is the proper use of satisfaction as such and what it was that made satisfaction necessary And it is evident that it was the justice of God Creator as Rector according to the Law of Works and the misery of Man that haâ— offended God by the breach of that Law and was become liable to the Penalty which he could not bear without his everlasting undoing These made satisfaction necessary God's Justice required that either the Sinner must perisâ— or satisfaction by an Expiatory Sacrifice must bâ— made by which the remote and main ends â—â— the violated Law might be as well attained â— by the Sinners Damnation they would have been so that it was the death which was become due to Mankind which required the death of Christ their Sacrifice as on Man's part and God's Justice which would not remit sin but on a valuable consideration for the demonstration of its self and of God's Holiness which required it on God's part so that you see that on our part which required a Sacrifice was guilt that is obligation to everlasting punishment And it doth not belong to the satisfier as such to see that the guilt be actually done away quoad eventum or that the Damnation be actually escaped but that a sufficient Sacrifice or satisfaction be given on consideration whereof Remission and Salvation may be given on the terms as the Legislators and Redeemers Wisdom shall appoint How Christ doth give out this Pardon we shall shew you anon de quadruplici Remissione so that it is apparent that the want of the act or habit of Faith or the want of the Holy Ghost to effect Faith is not the thing that required satisfaction to God's Justice directly but that Faith is only a remote effect of this satisfaction and such an effect as hath no such Natural Connection with this Cause but that the Cause materially may be and oft is without that effect in many and the effect might have been without that cause from another if God had so pleased To manifest this that it is not want of Faith that required satisfaction as such and that satisfaction may be made for those that shall never believe observe these things 1. That Man's Suffering is not a thing pleasing to God in and for it self but for its end viz. The Demonstration of Justice and Right Governing of the World God professeth that he hath no pleasure in the death of a Sinner Ezek. 18. nor in the death of him that dyeth Ezek. 33. but rather that he repent and live Much less hath he pleasure in the death of the innocent and least of all in the death of his own Son God is not blood-thirsty who abhorreth the blood-thirsty man 2 It is not therefore for Christ's Sufferings as in themselves considered that God doth give men either Faith or any Mercy God doth not sell his mercies for blood as if he would give the World Remission of Sins on condition he might put his Son to so much torment And therefore Faith is not the immediate effect of Christ's death in sensu morali It comes not from his death as death or suffering nor may it without Blasphemy be conceived that ever God made such an agreement with his Son as to give Faith to Men meerly on Condition that Christ would suffer death without first considering somewhat else that required that suffering and something that put a value upon it 3. So that the thing which did require Christs Suffering was as is said before the obligation to punishment called guilt on mans part and vindictive justice on God's part Unbelief as Unbelief did not necessarily require it but the guilt of unbelief or any other sin did require it if ever it be pardonable 4. So that the following effects of Christ's death do all presuppose the satisfaction of Justice and hence Christs death becomes so pleasing to God not as death but as satisfaction and so a means fitted to the attainment of his ends And because this means so pleaseth him he esteemeth Christs satisfaction meritorious of further benefits joyned with his meritorious obedience upon which estimation and his own will called the Covenant with Christ he annexeth further benefits thereto For the end why he satisfied his justice by the Sacrifice of his Son was that he might honourably wisely and justly give out the following benefits which he giveth out hereupon So that Christs death is as to God first satisfactory and then meritorious of further benefits Now Faith very remotely followeth all this as shall be shewn 5. The thing that God could not do without satisfaction was the remitting of sin and freeing the delinquent from punishment it was not directly nor in its self the bestowing of Faith 6. For I would desire any Judicious Man to consider whether if Christ had by his death satisfied God's justice for mans guilt and had not at all done any more by his death for the meriting of Faith might not God have given man Faith at his own pleasure without the least shew of injustice or any other prohibiting inconvenience though Christ de facto did merit more yet we may well in dispute for searching out the truth separate in our thoughts guilt of sin and want of Faith in Christ and we may suppose that Christ had done no more by his death than to satisfie God's justice for man's guilt by bearing that which was due to man Now I would fain know this being once done why God or the Redeemer might not give Faith to whom he will Is there a further necessity of any new death or suffering to merit Faith for us If there be what is that necessity It is no injustice in God to do it There is no Law standing in the way by which he is obliged to the contrary Perhaps some will object that the same may be said of Pardon and Salvation that there needs no new suffering to merit them if once Justice be satisfied and yet Christ dyed for our Justification and Salvation To which I answer All this is true but then observe the difference separate in your thoughts Remission Justification and Salvation on one side from Faith in Christ on the other side as we by supposition may well do in disputation and you will find that God could not give Remission Justification and Salvation from Punishment without Christ's satisfaction but he could have given Faith in Christ if you will suppose it to go alone without the former benefits without satisfaction I say he could not give the former not by reason of any
that if they neglect them they are left without excuse Prop. XV. It belongeth to Christ in drawing men towards Salvation by his Rectorship to reveal-oft times some of the forementioned Gospel Truths by way of preparation and to draw men nearer him before he reveal the full substance of his Covenant or fully promulgate his Law As the Sun sendeth forth some light before it appeareth it self at its rising which light yet comes from the same Sun So doth the Gospel oft-times Prop. XVI Those that have the forementioned truths revealed to them with hearing the Gospel are bound in all reason for the safety of their Souls to use all possible diligence to make a fuller discovery which is not likely that any Indians or others have done Had they been as diligent in improving the truth received till they had been civilized and then in sending to all others for information where there was a probability of receiving information even as men are diligent in trading tedious Voyages for Merchandize and Worldly Gain it 's like there is no Nation under Heaven but might have had the Gospel ere now Prop. XVII If men will wilfully reject and abuse that measure of light and help which they do injoy which was sufficient to that end whereto it was given to have brought them nearer Christ than they were And if they will not use the means for getting of the Gospel which they have sufficient help to use then it is apparently just with Christ even as Rector according to the Law of Grace to condemn such men after he hath Died for them And if his Death prove in vain as to their Salvation the fault is only in themselves and themselves shall they blame for ever And this is the case of these men Prop. XVIII Nay in this case the very Law of Grace commanding Faith in Christ Crucified doth oblige these men remotely to the Duty and to punishment for neglect of the Duty For though a Law not promulgate cannot oblige yet the Question is Who it was long of Or Who was the faulty cause that it was not Published If the Law-giver then it cannot oblige But if it were the subject then it doth actually though remotely oblige For no man is to receive benefit saith the Civil Law by his own fault Who knows not that among us if a Man will lie in an Ale-House and never come to hear the word God will judge him guilty of being Ignorant of all the Truths which he might have there learnt And of neglecting all the Duties which he might have been informed of And if a man know some few preparatory Truths here as that he is a sinner and miserable and ought to seek out for remedy and should come to hear the word and forsake his known sin and keep good company c. and yet he despise or disobey these shall we say this Man was never bound to believe I say he is bound remotely that is first to do some other Duties which tend towards the obtaining of the Gospel and then to believe For the obligation to both Duties lyeth on him at once but not an obligation to perform both Duties at once Object But if they should improve their degree of Light and sufficient Grace they have no certainty ty because no promise that the Gospel shall be given them Answ That 's no excuse as long as they have so full encouragement as is before expressed Should a man in danger of Death do nothing for his own safety without a certainty of success Should not the least hope of probability much more so high a probability be enough to excite men to seek the saving of their own lives Suppose a King having past an Act of Oblivion upon a ransom to that end for a whole Nation of Traytors as Ireland should send his Herald to proclaim it to all But to some of them he sendeth before hand some inferior messenger telling them in the Kings Name that he is placable and their case remediable and he requires them to use certain means as Submission Petition Laying down Arms c. and try what the King will do If these men reject unthankfully this favour and abuse the messenger and persist in Rebellion is it not just with the King to forbid the Herald that he proclaim not to them the act of oblivion And is it not long of themselves if they never hear it nor have any benefit by it so is it in the present case By the abuse of sufficient Grace to have come nearer Christ do the Pagans forfeit all other fruits of his blood So that Christ may truly be said to have done his part even as Legislator and to have promulgated his new Law among them in that he did his part and so it's promulgate moraliter vel Reputativè though it was not actualiter perfectè through their own fault It is not long of Christ but of themselves that it was not done fully in that they ungratefully rejected his Precursors or Harbingers that came before the Gospel Seeing they would not make use of the Twilight or Day-break Christ justly denieth them the Sun-Rising Prop. XIX It seems most probable that it was not only Adams first sin that is imputable to his Posterity but that we are all still guilty of all our Parents sin to this Day and that therefore God may justly deprive a whole Nation of the light of the Gospel for their Progenitors sins and that not only according to the Law of Works but even according to the Law of Grace I will not stand now on the proof of this any further than to tell you 1. That the same solid Arguments which prove the imputableness of Adams sin seem to me to prove this and by denying this we overthrow the grounds of the Doctrine of the said Imputation 2. And that the Second Commandment with all those Examples of Gods destroying the Children with the Parents and for their sin do seem fully to prove it together with the practice of Godly men to humble themselves for their Fathers Sins Yet understand me thus that though according to the Law of Works we are guilty of all our Parents Sins yet the Law of Grace Promiseth that no man shall be destroyed for them who disowneth them by true Repentance and taking a contrary course in obedience when he comes to Age. This is the sense of Ezek. 33. and 18. And so the guilt is cut off and the Child by the Covenant of Grace taken in with its Parents and so is looked on as in his immediate Parents and the sin of former Parents forgiven him though yet that guilt will return if when he comes to Age he ungratefully reject the mercy by renouncing the Covenant of Grace I do but propound this to Divines to consider For certainly if we prove all guilty of all our Parents Sins it is sad that the Church hath no better understood it and that we have none almost that ever bewailed
I intend not here to determine or meddle with 3. We anumerate Salvation that is Glorification to these intended effects of Christ's Death for his chosen this being the End of all the former and therefore we imply that Perseverance in Faith and a State of Justification was intended infallibly and certainly to be given them Tenthly Observe that we do not here enquire after the present immediate effects of Christ's Death as a satisfaction to Justice For I doubt not but the sins of the Non-Elect did lye upon him as the pro meritorious Cause of his Suffering as well as the sins of the Elect and consequently that he made Satisfaction for them to God and purchased them by his Blood Eleventh and Lastly Observe that in affirming this Infallible Immutable purpose of God to save his Elect and them only we do not deny his Purpose of giving Pardon and Life in Christ Conditionally to those that are not Elect For that which he hath done in Time he Purposed before Time and so did Christ at his Death But in Time he hath made such a general Conditional Grant or Gift of Christ and Life as is legible in the Gospel beyond all exceptions Ergo c. And therefore according to his Legislative Will antecedently God would have all men to be saved tho' consequently considering many as finally Impenitent Unbelievers he Wills as a Righteous Judge their Damnation Nor will I dispute whether as we ascribe a Volition to God as the cause of his Effectual Grace so we may ascribe a Velleity to him as Lud. Crocius and other of our Divines do as the cause of that Grace which proveth not-effectual in both speaking of him from the manner of man Upon this very cursory explication I proceed to prove the Thesis thus Argum. I. If Christ Died with a Special Intention to bring his chosen Infallibly to Believe and to give them Justification and Glorification on condition of believing then he died with a special Intention of bringing infallibly certain chosen persons to Faith Justification and Salvation But the Antecedent is true therefore so is the consequent That which we have to prove therefore is that he had a Special Intent to give Faith to some Infallibly and then there will be no more question of Justification and Glorification And that I prove thus Whatever Grace Christ giveth absolutely and infallibly that he purposed before to give absolutely and infallibly But Christ giveth the Grace of Faith and Repentance to his chosen and them only absolutely and infallibly Ergo c. By giving in this Argument I mean the actual Causation or Collation of faith it self and not merely a Legal giving a right to it of which anon The Major I think no sober Christian will deny For how can the Omniscient Immutable God be suddenly surprized with a new purpose which never came into his mind before our being Believers The Minor is proved 1. From the visible Event 2. From Scripture 1. We see undâ—niably that some men have Faith and others have not therefore we know that God giveth it absolutely and infallibly to those only Obj God gave it to all alike but the rest refused it Answ I. If that were true of God's Moral Civil way of giving yet it cannot be true of his Physical gift or operation which we now speak of for that giving is ever connexed with receiving As God never giveth a Soul to any Body nor health to any Sick man but those that receive them so he never thus gives Faith Repentance a New-heart to any but those that receive them Obj. He offereth Christ and Grace to believe in him to All and offering is conditional giving and he doth no more to any but on supposition of their Reception or performance of the Condition Answ I. It 's false that he actually offers Christ to all tho' as to the tenour of the Gift he doth which without the Promulgation which extends not to Millions of Heathens is no actual offer II. Much less or as little doth he offer them Faith III. It 's false that he doth no more but offer Faith conditionally to his chosen For he effecteth it absolutely To offer Conditionally is a Civil act and we are speaking of a Physical Causing This objection therefore flatly denieth that God is the Author of any man's Faith We therefore prove it out of Scripture Eph. 2. 8. By Grace ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God The Expositors that are most against the Doctrine which I defend do confess that it is Faith and not Salvatiin only that is here called the Gift of God but they say God giveth it by giving the object Christ and the Gospel Answ That is somewhat towards the giving of Faith but that is not the giving of Faith if there be no more Do these men think that the unrenewed faculty hath need of no Grace but an object or perswasion from without to cause it to believe Many have the Gospel that have not Faith therefore God hath not caused such to believe 1 Pet. 1. 5. Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation God's Power is exercised in keeping us in Faith as the means to Salvation the end And he that by his mighty Power keeps us in Faith no doubt did cause it 2 Pet. 1. 3. According as his Divine Power hath given to us all things that pertain to Life and Godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to Glory and Virtue If he give us all things pertaining to Life then he gives us Faith Obj. Faith is expresly excepted in the Words through the knowledge of him that hath called us that is through our own believing Answ I. It is distinguished from the rest as a Gift which is a means to the other gifts but not excepted II. Our following acts of Faith seem to be included in the All things here mentioned viz. Through our first believing God giveth us Christ the Spirit and all following Grace And if the following acts of Faith are the gifts of God then no doubt the first was so which was required of us when we were less able of our selves to perform it then when we are Sanctified Heb. 12. 2. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith Obj. That 's meant of the Doctrine of our belief and Objects of Faith the Christian Religion Answ I. Then to be the Finisher and to be the Author would be all one For as soon as Christ was the Author of Christian Doctrine he was the Finisher but not so about our own Faith II. If it were so yet may it be meant of Faith as it contains both even the whole work of our Christianity and Salvation Phil. 1. 29. For to you it is given on the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake From this Text Grotius himself confesseth that it is proved that Faith is the
some which he had not as to others We easily grant that he hath effected satisfaction for all but he that intended only the Saving of Believers could not intend to save those Persons actually by his death who he knew would not believe but perish in unbelief From these Reasons we proceed to some from particular Texts of Scripture First John 17. 2. As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him Here Christs Authority as Redeemer is said to be over all flesh and so all are his purchased ones but the purpose of giving actually Eternal Life is expresly restrained to those that are specially given him by the Father Object By Giving is not meant absolute Electing from Eternity but giving them by Vocation to Christ as true Disciples Answ Suppose that be so 1. That Giving them to be true Disciples can import no less than God's making them Disciples that is Believers And so it is not Man that gives himself to Christ primarily or makes himself a Believer And God makes not all Disciples which he could do if he pleased 2. And if God give men to Christ by effectual Vocation in time then no doubt he decreed so to do from Eternity Secondly Eph. 1. 22 23. And hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church Here the intent of God in giving Christ is expressed to be that he might be the head over all but not the Head of All but of the Church only And it is he that makes his Church and not the Church itself principally Thirdly John 10. 15. I lay down my Life for the sheep which implyeth that it is laid down with a special intent for them more than for others Object The Sheep are Believers undeterminate as to Individuals Answ 1. Men are Believers before Christ's Pardoning of them but not before Christ's laying down his Life for them nor so considered else the Act of Faith should be before and without its Object 2. It 's confessed that God knew who the Persons were that would believe therefore his purpose was of determinate Individuals Fourthly Tit. 2. 14. Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar People zealous of good works 1. If he did not intend to purifie every man and make them zealous of good works eventually then he intended this much more to his chosen than to others But c. Ergo c. 2. If he intended the separating of some as a peculiar people from others then he dyed not with equal Intentions to all But c Ergo c. Fifthly John 11. 51 52. He Prophecied that Jesus should dye for that Nation and not for that Nation only but that also he should gather together in one the Children of God that were scattered abroad Here is expressed a peculiar intention of gathering God's Children which was not of others Object God's Children are Believers Answ 1. It seems rather that they are called Children because they are decreed to be actually Children and will be such and not as Grotius of them and of the Sheep Joh. 10. 16. as if it were from some disposition of mind antecedent to Faith 2. However still it is Determinate Individuals else it were indeed none at all Sixthly Acts 13. 48 And as many as were ordained to Eternal Life believed The wriglings and shiftings of those that would pervert this Text and their new devised strained expositions of the word Ordained I shall not now stand to detect and confute Seventhly The instances of the Conversion of Manasseh Paul the Thief on the Cross and other particular Sinners do plainly tell us that Faith and Conversion proceedeth from God's differencing grace Acts 26. 16. 22. 14. Paul was called because first chosen So Rom. 8. 30. Whom he predestinated them he called c. But in the Conclusion I must say that even in this point of notable difference between the Remonstrants and the Contra-remonstrants the difference is not so great as some imagine or pretend It is confessed by the understanding sort on both sides that Christ at his death had a special intention to bring certain individual persons to a state of Justification and Salvation But then they say that this was only upon the foresight of their believing yea some of them say that God purposed to give the grace of Faith to some individuals only but they say that it was upon the foresight of their non-resistance or of their voluntary disposedness to receive it or of their right use of former preparing grace so that the same decree as to these gifts is confessed on both sides and it cannot be denyed but that the foresight which they presuppose is from Eternity and therefore Mans fall or Christs Mediatorship and that there is no priority or posteriority of Time between the foreknowledge and the Decree but only in Nature And then it is commonly confessed that though Knowledge and Will in Man are two things yet in God they are but one and are only distinguished denominatione extrinsecâ by Man for the accommodation of his narrow imperfect apprehension Therefore though I confess that a difference still remaineth yet let it not be thought to be greater than it is Yea more not only many yea most of the Schoolmen confess an Absolute Election to Faith and so to Salvation and so hold in this the same that we do but also many of the Jesuites and Moderate Lutherans and Arminians hold the same though not an Absolute Reprobation which was also Augustine's Prosper's and Fulgentius's Opinion And I have elsewhere yet more contracted this Controversie FINIS BOOKS Printed for John Salisbury at the Rising-Sun in Cornhil THe End of Doctrinal Controversies which have lately troubled the Churches by reconciling explication without much Disputing The Certainty of the Worlds of Spirits fully Evinced by unquestionable Histories of Apparitions and Witchcrafts Operations Voices c. proving the Immortality of Souls the malice and misery of the Devils and Damned and the blessedness of the Justified both by Mr. Richard Baxter The Protestant Religion truly stated and justified by the Late Reverend Divine Mr. Richard Baxter Whereunto is added by way of an Epistle some account of the Learned Author never before published by Mr. Matthew Sylvester and Mr. Daniel Williams The Christians Converse with God or the insufficiency and uncertainty of Human Friendship and the improvement of Solitude in Converse with God with some of the Authors Breathings after him by Mr. Richard Baxter Recommended to the Readers serious thoughts when at the House of Mourning and Retirement by Mr. Matthew Sylvester A Plea for Scripture Ordination or Ten Arguments from Scripture and Antiquity proving Ordination by Presbyters without Bishops to be valid by J. Owen Minister of the Gospel To which is prefix'd an Epistle by the Reverend Mr. Daniel Williams The Harmony of the Divine Attributes in the contrivance and accomplishment of Mans Redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ or Discourses wherein is shewed how the Wisdom Mercy Justice Holiness Power and Truth of God are glorified in that great and blessed work by William Bates D. D. The Christian Laver or a Discourse opening the Nature of Participation with and Demonstrating the Necessity of Purification by Christ by T. Cruso The Duty and Blessing of a Tender Conscience plainly stated and earnestly recommended to all that regard acceptance with God and the prosperity of their Souls by the same Author Four Sermons on various Occasions by the same Author Some Passages of the Life and Death of the Right Honourable John Earl of Rochâ—ster written by his own direction on his Death-Bed by Gilbert Lord Bishop of Sarum Practical Reflections on the late Earthquakes in Jamaica England Sicily Malta c. Anno 1692. with a particular Historical Account of those and divers other Earthquakes by John Sâ—ower Earthquakes explained and practically improved occasioned by the Earthquake on September the 8th 1692. in London many other parts in England and Beyond-sea by Thomas Doolittle M. A. A Practical Discourse of Silence and Submission shewing that good Men should possess their Souls in patience under the severest Providences and particularly in the loss of Dear Relations Preached at St. Thoma's Hospital Southwark by William Hughes Hospitaler there The Changeableness of this World with respect to Nations Families and particular Persons with a practical Application thereof to the various Conditions of this Mortal Life in a Funeral Discourse occasioned by the Death of Mr. Edmond Hill who dyed April 16. 1692. by Timothy Rogers M. A. The Mourners Memorial in two Sermons on the death of the truly Pious Mrs. Susanna Soame late Wife of Bartholomew Soame of Thurlow Esquire who Deceased February the 14th 1691 2. With some account of her Life and Death by Timothy Wright and Robert Fleming Ministers of the Gospel Mr. William Oughtred's Key of the Mathematicks newly Translated from the best Edition with Notes rendring it easie and intelligible to less skillful Readers in which also some Problems left unanswered by the Author are Resolved absolutely necessary for all Gaugers Surveyors Gunners Military Officers Mariners c. Recommended by Mr. E. Halley Fellow of the Royal Society Barbarian Cruelty being a true History of the Distressed Condition of the Christian Captives under the Tyranny of Mully Ishmael Emperor of Morocco c. by Francis Brooks ERRATA PAge 43. l. 3. r. violated p. 45. l. 4. r. as p. 129. l. 8. r. foreknown or p. 139. l. 15. r. to do so p. 157. l. 17. del not p. 160. l. 5. r. lovingly p. 171. l. 18. r. per. p. 198. l. 7. del the paid p. 203. l. 29. r. summus p. 224. l. 33. r. conversion convesiron p. 234. l. 20. r. objecto objectio p. 254. l. 6. r. I am l. 21. del but. and l. 22. r. But the punishment c. p. 303. l. 29. r. sense are p. 331. l. 24. r. 〈◊〉 p. 338. l. 28. r. effectum p. 470. l. 2. r. and of the. p. 479. l. 23. r. per. Quod percipitur ita est Obedientiae materia proxima est Agere vel Non agere non Pati sid Pati potest esse materia remota
proper Empire or Rectorship over Bruits For they are not capable of being Subjects of a Kingdom 2. His Dominion over them is but as they are subservient to his ends for Man and as they are Mans Servants and Utensils 3. Christ hath not that I can find in Scripture any novum jus Dominii any new propriety as Redeemer in Devils or in good Angels But having an ancient propriety in them as being their Creator he useth them accordingly for his Redemption ends 4. Nor do I find that he hath purchased any new proper absolute jus imperii or Rectorship over them but only a power of using them for his Church and for service about Man he shall send them on 5. And therefore I say the Empire of Christ over Angels is not of the same kind with that which he hath over Men and which we use in the Argument to prove that he died for Men. if both should be called by the same title of a novum jus imperii yet the difference of the Subjects sufficeth to shew the different Sence of the same attribute as severally applied I find not that Christ any where proclaims himself the King of Devils or Angels nor requires them to take him for their King nor hath made any new Laws to govern them by as he hath done for Men nor hath restored any forfeited mercy to them nor offers them pardon of any Sin upon condition of repentance nor will judg them on such terms So that if it should be proved that the good Angels are part of his Kingdom as Redeemer yet it would be but as their confirmer and not as a Redeemer of them For he is never offered to them as a Redeemer nor did they need any for ought I know He took not on him the nature of Angels but of the Seed of Abraham He is Head over all things to his Church Eph. 1. 22. That is He is superior to Angels and all things and hath the disposal of them for his Churches use but he is only Head of his Church de facto as to proper Kingly Rule and of the rest of the World de jure who shall suffer as Rebels for not acknowledging his Title and because they would not that he should reign over them Luke 39. 27. But so shall not Bruits or Devils So that the Argument will hold good â— jure novo Dominii Imperii from Christs new propriety in and Rectorship over Men to his Redeeming them by his Blood But so it will not from that kind of Dominion which Christ hath over Bruits or that kind of Rule that he hath over Angels or Devils to his Redemption of them And yet for Bruits as they suffered for the sake of Man and as they shall be restored from their suffering for the use and sake of Man so the same Blood which purchased Mans Restoration did remotely and collaterally purchase theirs Let us illustrate all by a similitude as near resembling the present case as we can imagine Suppose when King James Raigned in England that Ireland had all fallen into Rebellion and so open bloody and malicious that the King were resolved not a Man of them should be pardoned or escape Hereupon in the height of their malice they intice all Scotland into Rebellion also But because they are but deluded into it by the Irish and not maliciously bent against him as they or because being his Countrimâ—â— he hath a special respect to them it is concluded betwixt him and his only Son that his Son shall pay their ransome or by some publickly shameful suffering shall make that satisfaction to the Law and that Reparation to the King which may suffice to deter all others from Rebellion and openly in his suffering shall publish This I 〈◊〉 willingly for the offence of my Rebellions 〈◊〉 to procure them mercy Hereupon by agreement the Prince is to undertake it as his further business to use means for the bringing them all back to their allegiance To which end the whole Kingdom of Scotland is given up to him as King upon his satisfaction and Ramsome and he is to make a General pardon or Act of Oblivion to all so be it they do by such a day come in and lay down Arms and return to their Allegiance and acknowledg the Kings Grace and the Princes singular favour in Ransoming them and will take him for their King upon this Ransome And for those that will not accept this offer the Prince is to subdue them by force and destroy them that they shall have no benefit of the Ransome And for all the Irish which he finds among them seducing them he is to destroy them or use them to what servitude in the mean time he please Also he is to make use of any of the Kings Servants or Subjects of England to send on his Message to summon them to come in Now I demand 1. Hath not the Prince here Ransomed all the Scots over whom he hath his Jus Dominii Imperii That is absolutely all 2. Doth it follow that therefore he hath Ransomed the Irish because he hath power to judg and destroy them or use them in servitude 3. Or doth it follow that he hath Ransomed the Trees Beasts and Lands of the Country because he hath a propriety in them as the Goods or Utensils of them whom he Ransomed 4. Or did he Ransome any of the Kings Servants or English because he hath power to send them on his message or command them on his Service into Scotland If one argue thus with a Scot the Prince hath a new Title of Dominion and Empire over all you Scotsmen as ransomer therefore he ransomed you all this is no unsound arguing And would you confute it bâ— saying that then he ransomed the English and Irish too yea the Lands and Trees and Beasts By the Scots I mean mankind By the Irish the Devils by the Kings Servants or English the Angels And by the Lands Trees c. I mean all the creatures on Earth as Servants of Man A Man would think that those Men that do so vehemently contend that Christ is the Head of the visible Church and the King of this visible Kingdom which comprehendeth good and bad should easily yield to this Argument If Christ be the Head or King of all the visible Church and consequently of more than the Elect then did he die for the visible Church and so for more than the Elect But the Antecedent is maintained stifly by themselves Ergo c. When they have voluminously pleaded for the Honours and Priviledges of the Church visible viz. That even the unregenerate part of it are Disciples Christians 〈◊〉 Believers Adopted in Covenant c. And that Christ is their Master King and Head will they say that yet for all this Christ did not die for them Why hereby they incur these intollerable inconveniences 1. That such excellent gifts and Gospel Priviledges should flow from any other fountain than the
these are given according to the Law of Works If not then it must be according to the Law of Grace and the New Covenant or according to no Law If the former then none will question I think but it must come from Christs Blood For the New Law and Testament is founded in his Blood and Sealed by it If the later then at least the Law of Works must be first relaxed and they so far pardoned seeing according to that Law they should have lived not among these mercies but in misery And Scripture assures us that it was the Blood of Christ that delivered us from the Curse of the Law and that on the Cross he took down the hand writing that was against us c. And without his suffering there is no Relaxation of the Laws obligation They that set open so wide a door of mercy to all the World beside Jesus Christ do not lightly wrong him and do dangerously deceive themselves and others I am sure Christ will expect repentance thanks and obedience for these mercies and condemn Men for not improving these Talents which he committed to them however Men may now tell Sinners that all comes but from common providence and not by the Blood of Christ 3. Yea that which they call common providence is the disposal of things by the Redeemer For all things are delivered to him of the Father and all power given him and to that end he died rose and revived that he might be Lord of the Dead and Living And therefore if Men have any mercy now it must come through the Redeemers Hands and consequently is a fruit of his Blood But this will yet further be proved in the next which is 3. That it is Christs dying for those same persons to whom he gives these mercies that is the ground of them And this further is proved thus 1. Some of the mercies given are such as could no other way be procured and given as is ordinarily granted Such as are the Universal Remission Justification Adoption and gift of Christ himself on condition that Men will accept them Christ given as Redeemer supposeth his Redemption as to paying of the price to be past Without Blood there is no Remission neither conditional not absolute as is proved in the first Argument But a conditional Remission to all is given in the New Testament Ergo c. The Remission also of their punishment for the time of this Life or at least of so much of it is actual though not plenary Remission and wicked Men partake of that Of one of these two Christs speaks in the parable of the ungrateful unmerciful Servant Mat. 18. 27. 32. 35. The Lord of that Servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt c. His Lord said O thou wicked Servant I forgave thee all that debt c. So likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also by you if ye from your Hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses But of this Text more hereafter So that God doth remit to the Non-Elect most of the temporal punishment of their Sin actually and all the Eternal punishment conditionally That he remitteth the temporal punishment is further proved Psal 78. 38. But he being full of compassion for gave their iniquity and destroyed them not Yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath He that reads out the rest of the Psalm will not believe that all these dissembling Israelites were Elect. So for the legal forgiveness of Sin upon the use of Ceremonies See Lev. 4. 26 31 35. and 5. 10 13 16 18. and 6. 7 and 19 22. Numb 15. 25 26 28. It shall be forgiven all the Congregation of the Children of Israel and the Stranger that sojourneth among them seeing all the People were in ignorance but all Israel were not Elect Numb 14. 19. Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this People according to the greatness of thy mercy and as thou hast forgiven this People from Egypt even until now 20. And the Lord said I have pardoned according to thy Word Dev. 21. 8. Psal 85. 2. Isa 40. 2. So the Example of Ahab the Ninevites c. Shew clearly For that which God did in mercy in respect to their humiliation was some kind of Remission 2. And further I prove it as by these express Texts of Scripture so by this Scripture reason Either God remitteth much of the temporal punishment or else he shews them no mercy And consequently they are not beholden to him nor owe him any thanks but God doth shew them mercy Ergo c. He that remitteth none of the punishment due sheweth no mercy in this case And he that sheweth mercy remitteth part of the punishment for it was part of the punishment to be deprived of the mercies which wicked Men enjoy Who dare once imagine that Health Strength Friends Liberty Peace Riches Honour Food Raiment Houses Accommodations Cattel all Creatnres to serve us Publick Peace Sun Rain Fruits of the Earth prospering of our Labours c. Knowledg Parts Motions of the Spirit excellent means and offers of Grace Godly society and Examples Admonitions Tast of the good word of God and the powers of the World co come Illumination Partaking of the Holy Ghost working Miracles casting out Devils hearing the word with joy believing for a time clean escaping the pollutions of the World by the knowledg of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to be sanctified with the blood of the Covenant to be loved of Christ as the man was Mar. 10. 21. to have the easiest place in Hell c. who dare say that none of all these are Mercies Or that the enjoyment of these may stand with the full execution of the sentence of the Law If the Curse lay in the deprivation of these then the enjoyment of them is a remission of that curse or Penalty But c. Ergo c. read Deut. 28. Now that this Remission is granted to none but by virtue of Christs dying for him I will now but refer you to the whole multitude of Reformed Divines in their Writings against the Papists about Purgatory Indulgences and Humane Satisfactions where they argue with greatest Zeal and many Arguments that temporal punishments are remitted only for Christ's Satisfaction even the same men that deny Universal Satisfaction not remembring how this overthroweth their own cause The reason I conceive is that here the evidence of truth constraineth them but in the denial of Universal Redemption they constrain themselves to it meerly because they have not found out the way of reconciling Universal Satisfaction with Special Predestination and therefore think they are necessitated to deny the former though against the clear light of many express Texts of Scripture for fear of contradicting the later 1. Amesius saith Bellarm. Enervat To. 2. li. 5. c. 2. p. mihi 158. Christus per spiritum suum nihil in nobis operatur