A SOBER LETTER Touching Predestination AND OBDURATION Sent to a MINISTER IN The City OF BRISTOL LONDON Printed for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lyon in St. Paul's Church-yard 1679. A SOBER LETTER TOUCHING PREDESTINATION AND OBDURATION Sect. 1. Sir ALthough the Doctrine of God's Eternal Predestination be an offence to many some abuse it to carnal liberty and others to despair yet it is a necessary and useful Doctrine which upon all occasions ought to be uttered with much reverence and circumspection to the praise and glory of God as the same is held forth in the sacred Scriptures without some taste of this Divine Doctrine of Predestination there can be no true Faith but either a doubtful and wavering Opinion leading to Despair or else a vain presumption of feigned Holiness whilst men rest upon their own Works and Performances and not upon the Free Grace of God. There is no Doctrine that doth more beat down the pride of the Flesh that doth more exalt the Riches of God's Grace or more establish and support the Saints in the Assurance of the Love of God than this Doctrine of God's Eternal Predestination if rightly apprehended and improved The Scripture doth usually alledge the Eternal Purpose and Decree of God for strengthening and confirming our Faith and Hope of Salvation and doth not rest in second Causes or in the Fruits of our Faith and Vocation but ascendeth up to Christ himself In whom as in the Head we are elected and predestinated to Grace and Glory Yea it raiseth us up to that everlasting Purpose and Decree which was in God himself before the Foundation of the World Ephes 1.4 5. Matth. 11.25 26. Rom. 8.29 30. Rom. 9.11 16 18 23.2 Tim. 1.9.2 Tim. 2.19.1 Pet. 1.20 Sect. 2. As in other Points of Divinity so more especially in this great Mystery of Predestination we should avoid vain and curious Questions and Speculations using such words and expressions concerning the same as are most agreeable to the Holy Scriptures for who so fit to reveal the mind of God in this great Mystery as God himself and not according to our corrupt fancy and imagination In this case 't is best and safest for us to ascend from the lowest degrees to the highest as St. Paul doth in his Epistle to the Romans speaking first of the Law of God and the Corruption of Man's Nature and so proceeding on to the Remission of Sins and Justification by Christ and from thence to the sublime Mystery of God's Eternal Predestination Whether we go up from the lowest step to the highest or descend from the highest to the lowest we must take heed that we run not from one Extreme to another omitting and passing by the middle Causes or Means of Salvation and Damnation which ought to be duly considered and placed between God's Eternal Decree and the final Execution thereof Nor should the Decree of Praeterition or Reprobation be applied to any Sinner in particular so long as he lives without special extraordinary Revelation seeing God whose Grace and Mercy is infinite and boundless may call and convert him even at the eleventh hour though his sins be never so great and hainous 'T is observable that all those Acts in God which in the matter of Reprobation go befor sin are described rather after a negative than positive manner in the Scripture as the Not writing their names in the book of life Rev. 13.8 They are not found written in the book of life Rev. 20.15 Ye are not of my Sheep Joh. 10.26 I never knew you Matth. 7.23 The Election hath obtained it the rest i e. those who are not elected were blinded Rom. 11.7 Sect. 3. God's Decree of Reprobation is not the cause of sin but Man himself is the cause of sin Eccles 7.29 Ezek. 36.31 32. Jam. 1.14 Reprobation being part of the Decree and the Decree nothing else but God himself decreeing cannot be the cause of sin which is so contrary to God who is Holiness it self His Decree may be said to be the Antecedent of Sin and Sin to be the Consequent of the Decree not the Effect of the Decree Upon this occasion we should always remember that approved distinction between a proper Cause and an Antecedent Life is the Antecedent of death and sight of blindness And as it is impossible that there should be Death where there hath not been Life or Blindness where there hath not been Sight foregoing so it is as impossible that either Life should be the cause of Death or Sight the cause of Blindness following God willeth not Sin as Sin therefore Reprobation is not the cause of Sin God willeth the Permission of Sin therefore Reprobation is the Antecedent thereof For the better guiding and regulating our Judgments in this great point we must consider three distinctions 1. Between God's Willing Sin as Sin and his Willing the being or permission or the ordering of Sin for the Glory of Divine Justice and Mercy 2. Between a Cause and an Antecedent 3. Between a Consequent and an Effect Sect. 4. Sin is the cause of Punishment and Damnation God punisheth no man condemneth no man but for Sin Original or Actual or both Gen. 2.17 Rom. 5.12 Ezek. 18.20 25 28. Though Sin be not the Cause of the Decree of God for that which is temporal cannot be the cause of that which is eternal yet it is the only proper cause of Punishment and Damnation We must distinguish between God's Decree of Non-Election or Reprobation and his destinating men to punishment or preparation to punishment which is usually called Praedamnation As for the former it dependeth solely upon the sovereign Will and Pleasure of God but the latter is an Act of God's Justice The one floweth from God as he is a God of absolute Power and Sovereignty the other floweth from God as he is a God of Justice The Decree of Election and Reprobation is an Immanent Act in God alone as in the Subject and from God alone as from the Original Cause But Damnation is neither originally from God nor subjectively in God but is a transient Act of his Justice God being infinitely wise propoundeth to himself the Manifestation of his own Glory as a most certain and infallible End appointing and making all things to be subservient thereunto The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil Prov. 16.4 And thus the Decree of God is described by the learned Bishop Vsher and other Protestant Divines to be that Act whereby God from all Eternity according to his Free Will did by his unchangeable Counsel and Purpose fore-appoint and certainly determine of all things together with their Causes Effects Circumstances and manner of Being for the Manifestation of his awn Glory Nor should we go about to subject this Divine Decree to our shallow Capacity or measure it by our depraved Reason considering that the Will of God from whence the Decree cometh is unsearchable 'T is true
that all things come to pass necessarily according to God's Eternal Decree they shall not come to pass in any other place or time than he hath ordained But yet this Decree of God doth not infer a necessity of Constraint but only of Immutability nor doth the Decree take away either Liberty from the reasonable Creatures or Contingency from second Causes but only brings them into a certain order that is directeth them to the determined End whereupon the Effects and Events of things are contingent or necessary as the nature of the second Cause is Thus Christ according to the Divine Decree died necessarily Act. 4.28 Act. 17.3 But yet willingly If we respect the Temperature of Christ's Body He might have lived longer and therefore in this respect May be said to have died contingently Sect. 5. The Doctrine of God's-Eternal Predestination rightly understood is so far from being a prejudice or hindrance to the Use of Means tending to Holiness and Sanctification as that the use of the Means is the proper Effect and Fruit of the Decree of God the right Knowledge and Consideration whereof is a most effectual Motive to a constant and conscionable use of the Means And therefore that is a most wicked Speech which implyeth a mere Contradiction If I be elected howsoever I live I shall be saved And if I be not elected live I never so well I shall be damned Satan by this wicked Suggestion divides the End and the Means asunder which God hath joyned together The Decree of God consists not only of the End without the Means nor of the Means without the End but of both together God having chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the sprit and belief of the Truth 2 Thes 1.13 Sect. 6. The Command and Invitation of God in the preaching of the Gospel is the Rule of our Faith and Obedience and not the secret Decree of God. Nor must we confound the Decree of Predestination with the Precepts of Faith and Obedience God's revealed Preceptive Will shews what the Lord approves as good in it self and what ought to be performed by us Not that every one that hears the Gospel preached shall have Effectual Grace to perform it but yet it is the duty of every one to repent and believe on Jesus Christ and obey the Voice of God in the Dispensation of his Gospel The Doctrine of Predestination as set forth in the Scriptures is commanded to be taught and learned and being soberly and wisely handled is very useful both to the Godly and the Wicked But the personal Application thereof before Faith in point of Election or during this Life in point of Reprobation is unwarrantable and many ways hurtful And truly it is a great Sin against the Grace and Mercy of God in the Gospel for any man or woman to conclude that he or she is a Reprobate because final Unbelief and Disobedience the Consequent of Reprobation cannot be known before Death No man knoweth who are reprobate but God and those to whom God revealeth it in his Word But the Reprobation of any particular person now living is not to be found in the Scriptures nor is it revealed in an ordinary way to us Sect. 7. All the Elect of God first or last shall truly believe on Christ and be converted to him Saving Faith being the Effect or Fruit of Election All that the Father hath given to Christ shall come to him Joh. 6.37 Joh. 10.36 Whom he did predestinate them he also called Rom. 8.30 The Election hath obtained it Rom. 11.7 And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed Act. 13.48 It is called the faith of God's Elect. Tit. 1.1 It is according to Election Rom. 11.5 In which respect 't is as certain that all the Elect of God though many of them are yet Unbelievers shall believe and be saved as it is certain that they are saved who are already in Heaven As for others God who may do with his own what he pleaseth justly witholds from them Grace to cure their Unbelief and Impenitency To them it is not given Matth. 13.11 Moral Impenitency and Enmity of Man's Will against God is common both to the Elect and Reprobate they being alike sinful and corrupt by Nature only God is pleased to cure the one and not the other of their Natural Unbelief and Impenitency Touching the latter sort God may be said to be the Physical Cause not of their Unbelief but why their Unbelief remains uncured As a Physician able to cure a Disease which yet he is not bound to cure is the cause not of the Disease it self but why the Disease is not cured yet is he not the Moral and Blameable but the Physical and unblameable Cause thereof because he is not bound to cure it This Cure cannot be effected in the Unregenerate only by outward Means without the Internal Efficatious Operation of the Spirit of God. The Israelites had seen with their Eyes the great Signs and Myracles which God had wrought for them yet withal it is said that God had not given them a heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor ears to hear unto this day Deut. 29.3 4. that is he had not cured them of their Spiritual Blindness and unbelief by the inward Illumination and Operation of his Spirit for as Augustine saith well Quantam libet praebuerit patientiam nisi Deus dederit quis apat penitentiam Contr. Julian Pelag lib. 5. c p. 4. Though God afford never so great patience in respect of outward Means yet unless God give Grace who can truly repent of his Sins And this Grace he gives to one and not to another according to his good pleasure The blessed Apostle in answering that great Objection Rom. 9.19 Why doth God yet find fault with the Hardness and Rebellion of Man's heart seeing no Man can resist the Divine Will nor can he cure himself of this hardness of heart hath recourse for satisfaction not to the ill desert and sinfulness of Man but to the Sovereignty and Dominion of God over his Creatures which surely is as great and absolute as that which the Potter hath over the Clay who maketh Vessels of what fashion he will and for what end he will. So God hath mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth and who art thou O Man that replyest against God Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus It becomes not the Creature to quarrel with God or dispute with him concerning this matter though the Creature cannot comprehend the reasonableness thereof This may well satisfie and silence us that the Apostle doth not go about to justifie God's Courses here mentioned from the Consideration of Man's Sinfulness but only from the Consideration of God's Sovereignty and Supreme Dominion over his Creatures And as God freely gives the Grace of Faith and Repentance to some Men and not to others to raise them out of
Sin so God gave corroborating confirming Grace to some Angels and not to others to preserve them from Sin according to the Sovereignty of his Will without reference to their desert This Grace God granted to the elect Angels who has one of the Antients duly observes were Amplius adjuti more assisted by the Grace of God than the other that fell and what reason can be alledged for this but merely the absolute Sovereignty and free Pleasure of God And here we must acquiesce after all our vain and tedious Disputes Behold in this thou art not just God is greater than Man why dost thou strive against him for he giveth not account of any of his matters Job 33.12 13. Wilt thou condemn him that is most just Is it fit to say to a King thou art wicked How much less to him that accepts not the persons of Princes nor regardeth the rich more than the poor Job 34.17 18 19. Yea indeed this great God who governs all persons and things is most just his Will being the eternal Rule of Righteousness Justice may be considered two ways the one is when things are carried towards Men according to their Works The other is when a Man doth no other thing than he hath power to do as in executing the power that God hath given him over the inferior Creatures Thus we are just though We kill Sheep or Oxen c. not in reference to any Works of theirs but only in reference to our own necessary use and that lawful power which God hath given us to make use of these Creatures and to serve our own turns of them And thus God is not unjust or unrighteous but most righteous and just in shewing Mercy on some and not on others in giving the Grace of Faith and Repentance to some and not to others when there is no difference between them Sect. 8. It is the great duty and Concernment of all those persons to whom the Gospel is preached be they rich or poor noble or ignoble learned or unlearned moral or prophane to deny themselves and believe on Christ for everlasting Life and Salvation without questioning the secret Eternal Decrees and Purposes of God concerning them in particular When Men are in danger of drowning if a Rope be cast out with a Command that they should lay hold on it for their safety will any of them be so foolish as to neglect the means of their safety till the secret purpose and meaning of him that cast out the Rope be particularly known concerning them Or if a rich Man throw Mony amongst the Poor requiring them to accept of it will any of them refuse it till he certainly know the secret intent and purpose of the rich Man concerning him in particular Although the Gospel doth not exprefly fignifie that this or that Man shall In the Event actually believe on Christ and be saved yet the Gospel makes known to the Sons of Men that it is their duty to accept and embrace the Lord Jesns as he is freely offered to Sinners and that whosoever will be justified and saved must believe on him He that hath the Son hath life but he that hath not the Son hath not life He that believeth on Christ shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned Faith and Salvation are so indivisibly joyned together that wheresoever the one is there the other necessarily and infallibly followeth Consider 1. That where God affords the means of Grace there the outward Dispensation of the Gospel is alike to all both Elect and Reprobate We invite we wooe we intreat all to come in and be reconciled to God not knowing in particular who are elect of reprobate in respect of the Eternal Decrees of God we offer Christ freely to all that will come Whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Rev. 22.17 Christ is tendered as an All sufficient Saviour to all that hear the Gospel with a Command to believe and a promise that Whosoever none excepted believeth shall be saved And though none can savingly believe without God's Special Grace yet all those that finally reject this Tender of the Gospel are left without excuse 2. As none of us are expresly mentioned by Name in the Gospel so neither are we excluded by Name There we find that Christ died for the world for sinners for the Vngodly for Enemies Rom. 5.6 8 10. Joh. 3.16 17.1 Tim. 1.15.1 Joh. 2.2 Which words are comprehensive and will take in all sorts of sinners that will heartily receive and embrace the Lord Jesus Him that cometh to me saith our blessed Saviour I will in no wise cast out Joh. 6.37 And what though our sins be exceeding great and hainous yet let us remember that forgiveness and pardon of all sins of what number or nature foever they be is freely offered and promised to every one that shall cordially accept thereof So that it matters not so much what our Sins have formerly been as whether we are now heartily willing to close with Jesus Christ for pardon of and power against Sin. 3. We cannot perform a more acceptable Service and Obedience to God than to believe on Christ and heartily embrace the offer of his Grace as being poor lost condemned Sinners in our selves Joh. 6.29 Without this all other works are but dead works Heb. 9.14 Heb. 11.4 5 6. He that believes not doth what he can to make God a liar 1 Joh. 5.10 And he that believes on the Son of God sets to his seal that God is true Joh. 3.33.4 Such as have truly repented of their Sins and do cast and roul themselves in the sense of their own unworthiness upon the perfect Righteousness and Merits of Christ as held forth in the Promises of the Gospel have the witness in themselves of their Election Justification and Adoption and are free from the danger of Reprobation and final Obduration though at present they are sensible of and do groan under much hardnss of heart and corruption 'T is God that justifies 't is Christ that died for them Who therefore shall condemn them who shall lay any thing to their charge Rom. 8.1 32. Sect. 9. Whereas God is often said in Scripture to harden the hearts of Men Exod. 4.21 Exod. 9.16 Deut. 2.30 Rom. 9.18 Certainly God doth not harden Men's hearts as Augustine rightly observes Infundendo Malitiam but Non Infundendo Gratiam 'T is not by infusing any evil into the heart but by witholding and not communicating his Grace to it As the Water is congealed and frozen by the absence of the Sun how not by imparting coldness but by not imparting heat and influence Hardness of heart as it is Sin and Rebellion against God so God hath nothing to do with it but it must be put upon the Score of Satan and the Corruption of Man's Nature God hardeneth not the hearts of his own people as he hardeneth the Reprobates for though he hide his face and suspend the comfortable