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A41319
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An answer to Mr. Thomas Grantham's book, called, A dialogue between the Baptist and the Presbyterian by Martin Finch.
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Finch, Martin, 1628?-1698.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing F942; ESTC R7436
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100,803
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186
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everlasting life And to exhort them to pray to God to give them true Faith and Repentance to shew them that they have not a good thought or desire but what God works in them that it is not enough for Conversion to have Commands Promises and Threatnings set before them tho' God makes use of these but to tell them as our Saviour did that none can come to Christ but those whom the Father draws None but those to whom it is given of the Father and that Sighs and good Moods and Resolutions in their own Strength are far short of true Conversion and that they pray and wait in the use of God's Ordinances that the Lord of the exceeding riches of his Grace would give them a new Heart and Spirit that they may find that God hath put his fear in their Hearts that thro' his Grace they may find not only some sudden flashes and sudden resolutions to turn to God but a penitent frame of Heart for sin a prizing of Christ adoring of God's free Grace in him and desire and endeavour to walk with God But to entertain people with Discourses of By-opinions and Controversies and to talk of Universal Redemption is but to do people hurt instead of good yea upon preaching of Universal Redemption Experience hath shewn that people generally are more Carnal and Prophane in their lives Now to explain Ezekiel 18.32 I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth and Ezekiel 33.11 As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye dye O House of Israel 1. This is spoken to the House of Israel not of all mankind They were the Children of Abraham his Friend they were under the external Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace what is this to all mankind The Gentiles they were aliens to the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenant of Promise having no Hope and without God in the World Eph. 2.12 2. God hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked as it is the pain and misery of the Creature so God hath no pleasure in the torments of the Devils and damned in Hell yet it is his holy pleasure to punish them there to Eternity for the glorifying of his Justice And when God Commands the people of Israel saying Turn ye turn ye why will you dye he shews them that Obedience is acceptable to him but not that ever he purposed and intended to give all their Hearts a saving turn which he could have done if it had pleased him 3. Compare Scripture with Scripture God saith Ezekiel 5.11 Neither shall mine Eye spare neither will I have any pity v. 13. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished and I will cause my fury to rest upon them and I will be comforted Minuit vindicta dolorem Isai 1.24 Ah I will ease me of mine Adversaries and avenge me of mine Enemies in the Hebrew it is I will comfort my self in shewing my Wrath and Justice upon them Proverbs 1.25.26 but ye have set at nought all my Counsels and would have none of my Reproofs I also will laugh at your Calamity and mock when you Fear cometh All these texts of Scripture those in Ezekiel 18.32.33.11 and those in Isaiah 1.24 Ezekiel 5.11 13. Proverbs 1.25 26. must be understood with great Caution and Sobriety God doth often speak after the manner of men to our shallow Capacities but we must understand all Scripture so as to know that there are no Passions in God's immutable Essence nor any change in his Purposes for ever So much in answer to this Author's Letter to Doctor Collings But he is up with the Doctor again Pag. 17. concerning Voluntas signi and Voluntas beneplaciti but surely he doth not rightly english voluntas beneplaciti or else his Printer hath not done right for he calls it his acceptable Will That which Divines mean by voluntas beneplaciti is what God himself hath decreed shall infallibly come to pass But as this Author speaks this distinction of Divines would be no distinction at all for to be sure what God commands is acceptable to him but the meaning of Divines by voluntas beneplaciti is not what is acceptable to God from Man as his duty but what God himself pleases to do or suffers to be done for his Glory This distinction of Divines being well understood is a great help to the understanding of many places of Scripture God gives out Precepts and Commands to men for several wise and holy Ends. 1. To shew his Lordship and Authority that he hath an absolute dominion over them to command what he pleases 2. To shew what is good and acceptable to him to shew what is their Duty 3. To shew them their inability weakness and insufficiency that man may see what cause he hath to be humbled and lye low before God for man of himself can do nothing of what God commandeth from a right Principle and to a right End but what God pleases to work in us and do for us that is another thing indeed as to his Elect what he commands them as their Duty he purposes and promiseth to do for them of his meer Grace and good pleasure Tho' man by his fall hath lost his power to obey yet surely God hath not lost his power to command God gives some Grace to obey to others he doth not give Grace Who shall dispose of his Grace but himself Further to illustrate this distinction of Divines concerning God's Will of Precept what he commands men to do and his Will of Purpose what he will certainly and infallibly do himself Let it be observed that God's Will as to some Precepts and Commands to men do vary and alter as it pleaseth him As for example several ritual Commands about the Worship of God which he required in his Worship under the Old Testament are altered under the New Testament But take God's Will for his Purposes and Intentions what he will do and he is of one mind unchangeable from Eternity to Eternity Yea to make this Distinction far more evident God doth sometimes give out a Command to Man to do a thing and yet may absolutely purpose and intend to hinder a Man from doing of it as in the case of God's Command to Abraham to offer his Son Isaac Gen. 22.2 And he said take now thy Son thine only Son Isaac and get thee to the Land of Moriah and offer him there upon one of the Mountains that I will tell thee of Abraham prepared all things to obey this Command of God and v. 10 11 12. and after he had bound his Son stretched out his Hand and took the Knife to slay his Son the Lord called unto him and said Lay not thy Hand upon thy Son neither do thou any thing unto him Here we see that God gave out a Command to do
a thing which he never purposed and intended to be be done yea which he resolved to hinder the doing of therefore it is one thing for God to command us to do a thing and another thing for God to purpose and intend this thing shall certainly be effected Yea take another instance concerning Pharaoh Exod. 4.21 And the Lord said unto Moses When thou goest to return into Egypt see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thine Hand but I will harden his Heart that he shall not let the people go God sent a Command to Pharaoh to let the People of Israel go out of his Land Exod. 5.1 but before ever Moses came to Pharaoh with this Message and Command God said to Moses I am sure that the King of Egypt will not let you go no not by a mighty hand Exod. 3.19 So here you see that God as Sovereign Lord may give out a Command to shew his Authority over Man and require a thing of Man as his Duty when he doth not intend to enable a Man to do it Yea when God intends to harden a Man's Heart that is intends to leave Man to the Corruption of his own Heart that he shall never do what God commands him If you will not adore the Incomprehensible Majesty and Ways of God but compare him with Man put Laws upon God that he must do as Man is bound to do then I say this borders upon Blasphemy if it be not down-right Blasphemy against the most high God CHAP. III. An Answer to this Author's Letter to Mr. H. wherein this Author pretends to bring several places of Scripture for Vniversal Redemption IT seems Mr. H. sent a Paper of Verses to this Author He answereth these Verses by a Letter and with this very Humble and Civil Direction To the Nameless and Nonsensical Poet indeed I have seen these Verses and truly to speak my Judgment of them tho' this Author calls them Nonsensical yet they were written with great Judgment excepting the Scriptures which this Author quotes which are excellent in themselves however wrested and mistaken by Men I think there is more Truth and good Sense in those Verses than in all this Author's Book 'T is true he that made those Verses did not shew himself to be a good Poet but he shewed himself a knowing Christian and tho' I have known the Person many years yet I could not have expected that he could have framed so many solid Arguments against Universal Redemption and if I had known before hand that he would have written to this Author I would have advised him to have written in Prose and not in Verse Good Poetry is one thing and good Sense is another These Verses were against Universal Redemption This Author in Answer to this Letter brings several Scriptures for Universal Redemption which are now to be explained When the Papists bring for Transubstantiation the words of our Saviour This is my B dy We deny Transubstantiation but we don't deny the words of our Saviour but shew the meaning of the words to be otherwise than they understand them So in dealing with this Author we do not deny the Scripture we hold that Christ dyed for all for every Man for the whole World that is for all the Elect for all Believers of all Nations of all Ranks throughout the whole World and we say no more is intended in any of those Expressions but that this Author and those that are of his Opinion mistake the meaning of the Scriptures Before I come to explain the Scriptures this Author brings for Universal Redemption 1. Let it be considered that the words all every the World and the whole World do not always signify all Adam's Posterity but must be taken in a limited restrained Sense yea sometimes but for a few that there is nothing can be concluded from those Expressions but by considering the Subject matter spoken of and the Circumstances of the places of Scripture where those Expressions are used 1. As for example of the word all it is not always meant of all Adam's Posterity but sometimes of but few Persons Psal 145.14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall whereas Men fall into sin and misery yea the greatest part of mankind into Hell it self and the Lord doth not prevent these things The meaning is only that those that are upheld and kept out of Sin and Misery here or Hell hereafter he it is that upholds them but this all that the Lord upholds are indeed but a small number in comparison of those that God doth not uphold The Jews said to John chap. 3.26 He to whom thou barest witness behold the same Baptizeth and all Men come to him when it was so few that came to Christ so that John saith vers 32. that no Man comparatively received his Testimony 2. For that Expression every Man it is often to be taken in a limited restrained Sense Luk. 16.16 The Law and the Prophets were until John since that time the Kingdom of God is preached and every Man presseth into it It was only some of all sorts and very few in comparison of those that were then living in the World 1 Cor. 12.7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every Man to profit withal when indeed the manifestation of the Spirit there spoken of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are given to few very few but the meaning is only that to every one of those to whom this Manifestation of the Spirit is given it is that they may profit others with it Again 1 Cor. 4.5 the Apostle speaking of the Day of Judgment saith That then shall every Man have praise of God which is meant only of every true Believer for the greatest part of Adam's Posterity shall not then have praise of God but have the Sentence of Eternal Damnation pass against them 3. As for the word World and whole world these Expressions are sometimes taken too in a limited restrained Sense John 12.19 The Pharisees therefore said amongst themselves Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing Behold the World is gone after him whereas it was but few very few of Men then living in the World that went after Christ and owned him in any Sense it was only of a few in that little Country of Judea that were there spoken of Luk. 2.1 And it came to pass in those Days that there went out a Decree from Caesar Augustus that all the World should be taxed it was but all the Jews as some Expositors think however it was but all that were subject to the Romans which were far from being all Mankind then living in the World I might give many more Instances that the word all and every Man the World and all the World are taken in a limited and restrained Sense sometimes and that nothing can be collected rightly from such Expressions but as the Matter treated of and the Circumstances of the place shall require 2. I would