Enemies we were Reconciled to God by the Death of his Son his Election then must stand on this bottom Not of Works but of him that Called for this precedes Works We did not first choose him but he hath chosen us at a time when there was no merit in our hands Some would abuse these Truths to the exclusion of all good Works but without them we are not saved though they have not the first place in our Salvation yet they have their place and come in in their order There is something to be done on our part when we are Called and Elected namely To use diligence to make our Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1.5 by adding to our Faith Vertue c. Some say It is sure for the Gifts and Calling of God are without Repentance c. This indeed shews the sureness of it on God's part but on our parts it is conditional all God's Dealings with us being by way of Covenant So that we are not sav'd Nolens volens whence it comes to pass of the many that are Called few are Chosen Mat. 20.16 For there it a great Work to be done before we are made New Creatures we are not to rest in the bare beginnings of an Election and being Called c. as if our Work were done but go on to Perfection For through the help of Christ joyned with our diligence a progress may be made unto that degree of God's Love and State of Assurance in Christ Jesus from whence there is no Apostacy And these are God's Sealed Ones Mat. 24.24 called in Scripture the very Elect whom neither false Christs nor false Prophets with their great Signs and Wonders shall ever be able to deceive For to this degree of Perseverance must this Scripture relate or else it would interfere with those Scriptures that shew the possibility and even danger of falling from Grace of forfeiting our Calling and Election of making Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience of denying the Lord that bought us of Crucifying him afresh and putting him to open Shame as 1 Cor. 9.27 Heb. 6.4 5 6. 1 Tim. 1.8 2 Pet. 1.9 c. Having done with that part of the Argument which respects Reprobation I come next to treat of Election The Second Part. Treating more particularly of Election CHAP. I. Containing some Short but General Arguments viz. 1. Shewing some further ill Tendencies of the false Notion of Election and Reprobation 2. The Necessity of Practical Religion 3. The Mistake in Vnderstanding some Words and Sentences in Scripture always in the same Restricted Sense 4. That God deals with Mankind in way of Covenant 5. That God made Man a free Agent capable to choose for himself either Good or Evil. 6. Of God's Wisdom Love and Justice in dealing with Mankind 7. To what end the Grace of God hath appear'd to all Men. § 1. AS the false Notion of the first leads to Despair so the false Notion of the second to Presumption And both make void all Religious Exercise and Care concerning the Performance of Divine Worship and all Holy Duties As the Tendency of the Arguments upon the first Part is to remove all ground of Diffidence and Despair so shall it on the other hand be endeavour'd to remove that ground of Presumption and Self-security which hath been hurtful to many § 2. And to shew the necessity of Practical Religion unto Salvation even the Obedience of the Faith and Gospel of Christ that we may redeem the Time allotted us working out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling and so through the Mercy and Power of Christ raising us up in our selves and not without us we may come to escape all the Evil of Reprobation and to enjoy all the Good and Blessings of Election but without this we can neither avoid the one nor attain the other To save Transciption I desire the Reader to look over the Scriptures in the Introduction several of which are spoke to already and it remains to say something of Fore-knowledge Predestination Calling Election and Justification c. § 3. And as is shewn in the other Part concerning Hating Hardening Reprobation Vessels of Wrath c. the inconvenience of taking them in a primary strict positive Sense and as respecting particular Persons without regard to their good or evil Deeds so take these Terms in a strict positive Sense to respect particular Persons as words of the first intention and simply without any regard to their good or evil Deeds and exclusive of others c. and we shall run into great Error and Blindness and lose the Truth § 4. For as is in part observed before all things between God and Man are transacted by way of Covenant and every Covenant supposeth Terms or Conditions and a Possibility of Performing or not Performing of those Conditions and Loss or Benefit Reward or Punishment according as we keep or break Covenant Those Terms God proposed to Cain that Murderer of his Brother and first Murderer amongst Men Gen. 4.7 If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted But if thou doest evil sin lieth at the door And no Man ever had other Terms all are accepted in well-doing but none at all are accepted in evil-doing God hath commanded no Man to do wickedly neither hath he given any Man license to sin but being Righteous himself he ordereth all things righteously Ecclus 15.20 Wis 12.15.16 thinking it not agreeable with his Power to condemn him that hath not deserved to be punished for his Power is the beginning of Righteousness c. § 5. So having made Man a free Agent capable of adhering either to Good or Evil having power and understanding to will distinguish and choose for himself and having first propos'd the Good to him with Promises of Life and blessed Rewards and caution'd him against the Evil with Threats of Death and Everlasting Punishment and Misery he then leaves him capable to receive his Counsel But he doth not forcibly determine him to Good or Evil Actions for then there would be no Vertue or Vice well-deserving or ill-deserving Obedience or Disobedience Good or Evil Wisdom or Folly no Will Choice Love or Hatred c. So no Rewards or Punishments which makes void the State of Man and the Gospel and God's Oeconomy and brings all his Works into Confusion altering things from that Order of Wisdom he hath placed them in Obj. Some object Seeing God fore-knows all things to what End is Grace given and a Day of Visitation in which they might be saved to such as come not to be benefitted by it but reject so great Mercy and Goodness Ans Many think this and such like are wise and puzzling Questions though the very Query convicts a Man of Ignorance shewing that he neither knows God nor yet himself nor God's Oeconomy his Order in the Creation for any of these being known all such Scruples vanish For as God is the most intelligent Being and free
Agent above all other so hath he made Man in his Image an intelligent Being a free Agent A Marvellous Work of the great Worker of all things With respect to which David said Psal 139.14.104.24 I am fearfully and wonderfully made c. And concerning the variety of God's Work he saith O Lord how manisold are thy Works In Wisdom hast thou made them all c. Now it behoves That He who made all things in Wisdom should exercise an Order of Wisdom amongst them all should rule and govern them in Wisdom every thing according to its Capacity and Creation Should he do otherwise it would be contrary to his Work of Creation in framing Man's Heart so as it is not ordinarily wrought upon but by Perswasions Accordingly he draws Men with Cords of a Man even with Loving-kindness and saith I will instruct thee Hosea 11.4 Psalm 32.8 and teach thee in the way thou shalt go I will counsel thee with mine Eye c. § 6. Here is God's Wisdom exalted in that he deals with us as is proper to Creatures of our Frame and Make voluntary intelligent Beings that may distinguish and choose for our selves and if we be chang'd to Good through Obedience to the Grace of God or to Evil through yielding to the Enemy's Temptations must receive Rewards or Punishments accordingly But once pervert this Order of Heaven and we should let in Confusion amongst God's Works c. Also The Love and Justice of God is here exalted His Love Because he would have all Men come to the Knowledge of the Truth and be saved but Men cannot come to this Knowledge nor cannot be saved without this Grace And his Justice that as saith the Psalmist He might be Justified when he speaketh and Clear when he judgeth for if this Grace were not given Psalm 51.4 Men should have no Sin because where there is no Law Rom. 4.15 there is no Transgression And concerning the Persecuting World Iohn 15.22 Christ saith If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin but now they have no cloak for their sins So take away this Divine Light and Grace of God which is the Standard by which Good and Evil are measured and there should be neither Vertue nor Vice Rewards or Punishments So this is the Wisdom and Manner of God his Oeconomy or Houshould-Order his Way in the Creation that having set Life and Death before us with Exhortations to choose Life he leaveth us according to the wise Man in the hand of his Counsel that is so far as we are left to our own choice and not forced for this would be repugnant to our Constitution For He himself made Man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his Counsel saying If thou wilt keep the Commandments Ecclus 15.14 15 16 17. and perform Acceptable Faithfulness He hath set Water and Fire before thee stretch out thine hand unto whither thou wilt Before Man is Life and Death and whether him liketh shall be given him But there had been none of the Life here spoken of if he had not had Grace and a Day of Visitation c. § 7. Having now past this Objection I would query To what purpose hath the Grace of God appear'd to all Men Which the Scripture calls Gratia illa Dei Salutifera benignitas Dei servatrix omnium the Salvation-bringing Grace of God the Goodness of God the Preserver of All and which those Men call Common Grace To what purpose I say hath it appear'd to all Men And why is it called The Preserver of all if no Man whatsoever obtain Salvation by it Which is according to their Principle Having hitherto in this Second Part clear'd up my Passage by these few more General Arguments I shall come now to treat more particularly of those Terms under Examination CHAP. II. Treating 1. Of God's Fore-knowledge 2. Of Predestination the Definition thereof and how to be understood in the Scripture-Sense which is Conditional with Two Objections answered to clear that Point 3. That Predestination Calling and Justification may be forfeited or fallen from 4. That Predestination is imply'd in Calling Election and Adoption all which may be lost or forfeited Of God's Fore-knowledge § 1. IT is granted That known unto the Lord are all his Works from the beginning he knows all things past present and to come but there is no necessity of Sinning proceeding from this Foreknowledge This Knowledge in God how and in what manner things will come to pass that are Evil is not at all the cause of their coming so to pass for then the fault would be upon God when things are so and issue ill If we should charge any fault on God and make him the Author of Sin or else that there should be no Sin we should let in great Blasphemy and Absurdities as is in part already shewn in answer to the Objection taken from Jude c. in page 24. preceding Of Predestination § 2. Predestination is Fore-appointment or Ordaining before what shall come after which some understand according to the Praedestinatiani a kind of Hereticks that held fatal Predestination of every particular Matter Person or Action and that all things came to pass and fell out necessarily especially touching the Salvation and Damnation of particular Men and that Omnia suint salo c. And it is thus defined by Walter Raleigh in his first Book folio 16. We can saith he difference Predestination no otherwise from Providence and Prescience than in this That Prescience only foresees Providence foresees and cares for and hath respect to all Creatures even from the brightest Angels of Heaven to the unworthiest Worms of the Earth and Predestination is only of Men and yet not of all to Men belonging but of their Salvation properly or Perdition c. So herein these differ the first hold it Of every particular Matter Person or Action c. the latter Of Man only and yet not of all to Men belonging c. And yet in one thing they both agree which is nevertheless a great Error That Predestination hath respect unto the Damnation and Perdition of Men which is no where found in the whole Scriptures But where-ever we read of any being Predestinated it is unto the Adoption of Sons unto Salvation unto Eternal Life and unto Glory c. but never unto Destruction and Misery So Predestination is not unto Perdition And as it respects the Salvation of Men it is not to be understood simply or absolutely and positively but is to be understood secundum quid according to the Covenant betwixt God and Man in a conditional Sense For if otherwise all would be saved because all were made to an End of Salvation which signifies their Fore-appointment unto Glory or in other terms their Predestination for to be Predestinated or Made or Ordain'd or Fore-appointed unto Glory all import one and the same thing Again If Predestination were
the Destruction of the Wicked to be of God and not of themselves and that Evil is no cause of it but God's Decree c. hides and conceals the Malignity and Poison of Sin which of its own Nature is pernicious and destructive to Man's Soul tainting and infecting it with Corruption and Rottenness by which it slides into the deep Abyss of Death and Misery as a due Reward This Doctrine searcheth not into the Wound of the Soul made by Sin which decays it and of its self brings Death and Ruine if not timely cured And this Doctrine makes the Physitian the Malady the Healer the Destroyer the most Soveraign Balm the Canker of the Wound So if we can admit of all these Absurdities and abundance more we may admit of Decretal Reprobation which cannot be § 6. For the Scripture declares 1 Thes 4. v. 3. That this is the Will of God even your Sanctification Vers 4. That every one should know how to possess his Vessel in Sanctification and Honour Vers 7. That God hath not call'd us unto Vncleanness but unto Holiness Ezek. 18. v. 32. That he hath no pleasure in the Death of him that dieth Chap. 33. v. 11. That he hath no pleasure in the Death of the Wicked but that the Wicked turn from his way and live Luke 15. v. 7. That there is Joy in Heaven for one Sinner that Repenteth c. Now as Holy Writ hath given us this true Account of God's Will for us to conclude him Acting quite contrary to it is to affront the Scripture and oppose God against himself making him Will one thing and Act another Who worketh all things according to the Counsel of his own Will But for us to conclude him Decreeing any Man's Eternal Destruction from all Eternity or from the Fall or from before his Birth without any respect to his Deeds c. is to conclude him Acting quite contrary to his declared Will in Scripture c. Then he that worketh all things according to the Counsel of his own Will and willeth not nor hath pleasure in the Destruction of the Wicked he hath not without any respect to their manner of Life decreed it But God works all things according to the Counsel of his own Will and willeth not nor hath pleasure in the Destruction of the Wicked therefore he hath not absolutely Decreed it c. Object But they say God hath his Declared Will and his Secret Will and that Men are Decreed to Election or Reprobation according to his Secret Will c. Answ As to this we read of Secret things that belong unto God Deut. 29.29 Psalm 25.14 and of his Seerets that are with the Righteous and with them that fear him This Secret Will of which they talk Job 15.8 must be the one of these two sorts if of the first how do they know it Do they understand the Secrets of God And do they restrain Wisdom to themselves If of the latter what Proof give they of it Or how do they reconcile it that there should be in God two opposite Wills the one Secret the other Reveal'd and these contradictory to each other the one preservative the other destructive of Men According to the one he hath Sworn He wills not the Death of a Sinner according to the other He both Wills and hath Decreed it because of his Will not because of their Sin And thence come so many Thousand innocent Infants to be in Hell according to them among the Damned A witless graceless merciless gospel-less Opinion a most staring Piece of Confusion and Blasphemy which either chargeth Schism upon God or reconciles Contradictions There have been none so bad but what have had Offers of Salvation Cain had it the Old World had it Sodom and Gomorah Gen. 4.7 and 6.3 and 18.30 c. Jonah 3. Jer. 51.8 9. Rev. 2.21 Nineveh c. Nay even Babylon God call'd to Mourning for 'em saying Howl for Babylon take Balm for her Wound if so be it may be healed he would have healed Babylon And of Jezebel he saith I gave her time and space of Repentance but she Repented not In the next Chapter I shall take account of some general Relations of God to us and shew from them That our Preservation not our Destruction is his Work Will and Delight c. CHAP. II. Being a further Refutation of the Doctrine of Reprobation by Arguments deduced from some General Relations of God to us viz. 1. From his Regal Office and Power 2. From his being the Everlasting Father 3. From the Office of Jesus Christ as our High Priest c. § 1. THe Lord most High is a great King over all the Earth Psalm 47.1 2. Mal. 1.14 Rev. 19.16 And Regis est Regnare it is the Property of a King to Reign According to which there are several Powers or Prerogatives belonging to him the Power of Soveraign Rule Power to execute Justice and Judgment Power of Life and Death of Punishing and Pardoning Offenders c. Where the Word of a King is there is Power and who may say unto him What doest thou But all this Power is lodg'd in him not for the hurt but good of his Creatures for their Benefit not Detriment His Office is not to Destroy but to Preserve and Defend them against the Violence and Spoil of foreign Enemies and the Injuries of one another their Safety is his Law Salus populi suprema lex He is the Terror of the evil doer and Praise of them that do well Now should a King use his Power to an evil end to bereave the greatest part of his Subjects of their Properties and Lives not because of their Fault but of his own Arbitrary Will and Pleasure and had only this to be said for him That he was extraordinary kind to a few Or suppose he agreed with his Rebelling Subjects on these terms 1. To forgive all past and accept them still on Condition they behave themselves well and dutifully for the time to come 2. That their Treason should not attaint their Children or subject them unto any Forfeiture or Punishment and should pass these Covenants into Laws Yet should notwithstanding all this without Provocation by any new Offence break out into Fury against them and should utterly Kill the far greatest part of them and their Children meerly for his own Will or to shew his great Power over them or to set forth the Terribleness of his Wrath or to spread his Name abroad c. In an Earthly King this would be accounted and that truly the height of Persidiousness Cruelty and Tyranny and yet these Predestinarians consequentially lay all this at his door and aver it to be the way and manner of the great King § 2. God is called in Scripture the Everlasting Father and we are called his Off-spring The Off-spring of God c. For he is the Father of us all by Creation Now this is not a Destructive but a Preservative