the children of the Flesh are not the Children of God but the Children of the promise are counted for the seed verse 6.7 and 8. for saith Paul this is a word of promise at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a Son ver 9. so that Isaac was a child of promise and so must you or your being children of the flesh will profit you little and this is largely and plainly expounded in the 4. Chapter of the Galatians verse 21. to the end of the Chapter Tell me saith Paul yee that desire to be under the Law doe yee not heare the Law for it is written that Abraham had two Sonnes the one by a Bond-woman the other by a free-woman but he who was of the bond-woman was after the Flesh but he that was of the free-woman was by promise which things are an allegory for these are the two Covenants or Testaments the one from Mount Sinai which gendreth to bondage which is Hagar for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Ierusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children but Ierusalem which is above is free which is the mother of us all that is of us beleevers for it is written Rejoice thou barren that bearest not breake forth and cry thou that travailest not for the desolate hath many more children then shee which hath an husband Now wee brethren saith Paul to the Galatians as Isaac was are the children of the promise but as then he that was borne after the flesh persecuted him that was borne after the spirit even so it is now Neverthelesse what saith the Scripture Cast out the bond-woman and her Sonne for the Sonne of the bond woman the children of Abraham according to the flesh shall not be heire with the Sonne of the free-woman such as beleeve such as walke in the steps of the faith of Abraham Rom. 4.12 so that whereas you Jewes rest in the Law and thinke therein to have eternall life you thinke the Law will justifie you but the Law condemnes you that is the words and writing of Moses which are here termed the Law for though Ishmael were the childe of Abraham as well as Isaac yet you see God would not suffer him to inherite but he must be cast out therefore your being children of the flesh is not sufficient to make you heires of that promise which was made to your father Then Paul proceeds to another instance of the like nature in the 10.11 and 12. verses and not onely this but when Rebecca also had conceived by one even by our Father Isaac for the children being not yet borne neither having done any good or evill that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of workes but of him that calleth it was said unto her the elder shall serve the younger as if he should have said that which I affirme doth not onely appeare by what is written of Ismael and Isaac but by that also which is written of Esau and Jacob the children of Rehecca which she conceived by one even by our father Isaac for though Esau were Jacobs brother the elder the greater and heire according to the flesh yet God said that he that is his posterity for Esau never served Iacob in person but rather on the contrary Iacob served Esau and called him Lord Gen. 33.14 should serve the posterity of Iacob the younger Now these words were a prophesie of what God would doe unto the Edomites for their wickednesse and he declares it to Rebecca before the children were borne before they had done good or evill that from the beginning he might manifest and make appeare that his purpose was not to justifie any one of you by workes but by grace not to justifie the whole lump of you but to elect and chuse out from among you such as should beleeve and be obedient they and they onely being the seed and true heires according to the intent of the promise made to your father Abraham and therefore neither your naturall birth nor any legall or outward performance will make you accepted of God or give you inheritance in the promises of life for this of Iacob and Esau like the former of Isaac and Ismael is an Allegory of the two Covenants Esau being Lord by birth but Iacob by the fore-appointment of God so you Jewes and you onely are children and heires according to the flesh but believers as believers and they onely both of Jews and Gentiles according to the purpose and election of God then in the 13. verse hee proceeds with these words as it is written Iacob have I loved but Esau have I hated the following words in Malachi and laid his mountaines and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wildernesse whereas Edom saith we are impoverished but will returne and build the desolate places thus saith the Lord of hostes They shall build but I will throw downe and they shall call them the borders of wickednesse and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever as if Paul should have said What God intended in his speech to Rebecca is more clearly manifested by what is written in the prophesie of Malachi where you finde that though Esau were Ianobs brother that is the Edomites were brethren to the Israelites yet God hated Esau that is the Edomites and laid their mountaines and heritage waste for the dragons of the wildernesse and his indignation was set against them for ever so that it is a vaine thing for you Jewes to plead for your justification that you are the children of Abraham unlesse you walke in his steps for the Edomites could do as much as that and yet were destroyed for their wickednesse and that this punishment came upon them for their wickednesse though this place in Malachi doth manifest it yet I shall produce some other Scriptures more fully to evidence the same Ezech. 25.12 13 14. Thus saith the Lord because Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance and hath greatly offended and revenged himselfe upon them Therefore thus saith the Lord I will also stretch out my hand upon Edom and will cut off man and beast from it and I will make it desolate from Teman and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword and I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel and they shall doe to Edom according to my anger and according to my fury and they shall know my vengeance saith the Lord. Ioel 3.19 Edom shall be a desolate wildernesse for the violence against the children of Judah because they have shed innocent bloud in their land Ames 1.11 Thus saith the Lord for three transgressions of Edom and for foure I will not turn away the punishment thereof because he did pursue his brother with the sword and did cast off all pity and his anger did teare perpetually and kept his wrath for ever And in Obadiah the whole chapter speakes of
the wickednesse of the Edomites and Gods anger against them especially from the 9. verse to the end of the chapter And thy mighty men O Teman shall bee dismayed to the end that every one of the Mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter for thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee and thou shalt bee cut off for ever In the day that thou stoodest on the other side in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces and forreiners entred into his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem even thou wast as one of them But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that hee became a stranger neither shouldst thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distresse thou shouldest not have entred into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity neither shouldst thou have stood in the crosse way to cut off those of his that did escape neither shouldst thou have delivered up those of his that did remaine in the day of distresse for the day of the Lord is neare upon all the heathen as thou hast done it shall be done unto thee thy reward shall returne upon thine owne head c. The evill and unkind carriage of the Edomites towards their brethren the Israelites is more fully declared in the 20 chapter of Numbers the 14 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20 and 21 verses And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the King of Edom saying Thus saith thy brother Israel thou knowest all the travell that hath befallen us how our fathers went downe into Egypt and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time and the Egyptians vexed us and our Fathers and when wee cryed unto the Lord he heard our voice and sent an Angel and hath brought us forth out of Egypt and behold we are in Kadesh a City in the uttermost of thy border let us passe I pray thee thorow thy countrey wee will not passe thorow the fields or thorow the vineyards neither will wee drinke of the water of the wells we will go by the Kings high way wee will not turne to the right hand or to the left untill we have passed thy borders And Edom said unto him Thou shalt not passe by me lest I come out against thee with the sword And the children of Israel said unto him Wee will goe by the high way and if I and my cattell drinke of thy water then I will pay for it I will only without doing any thing else goe thorow on my feet And he said Thou shalt not goe thorow And Edom came out against him with much people and with a strong hand and Edom refused to give Israel passage thorow his border wherefore Israel turned away from him Here we see how hardly the Edomites dealt with their brethren in the day of their distresse for which cause the Lord was displeased with them and so Paul would have the Jewes to understand that God would be displeased with them and punish them and destroy them notwithstanding Abraham was their Father and notwithstanding any promise he had made to them if they were rebellious and disobedient Ob. If Paul had thought that the hatred of God towards Esau or the Edomites had beene for his or their wickednesse hee would have so expressed himselfe and not have left the matter so obscure Ans The Jewes pleaded for their justification that they were the children of Abraham Paul proves that some of the children of Abraham were hated of God and to have told them wherefore had been superfluous and not pertinent to the argument in hand But if that purpose and election which Paul laboured to establish amongst the Jewes had been this That God did elect and chuse out some of them to life and hate or leave as some interpret the word hate the residue to destruction without respect to any good or evill in them and that that counsell of his did alway take effect he would not have had such great heavinesse and continuall sorrow of heart for them as vers 2. for then he should have sorrowed because the purpose and counsell of God took effect he could not then so love them as cordially to desire their salvation chap. 10.1 if he had known that God in his eternall and unalterable counsell had so hated them as to leave them for destruction Besides God reasons with Iacobs posterity Mal. 1. that he loved them that is all of them and yet many yea the most of them perished notwithstanding this love as in chap. 9. 27. therefore it was no such love as would save them unlesse they were thankfull and obedient and seeing it would not infallibly save all those that were so loved it was not such a love of election as some men conceive Further consider God is not willing that any of the lost sonnes of Adam should perish he desires not the death of him that dieth he doth not delight in tormenting his creatures he is excellent in judgement and in plenty of justice he will not afflict Iob 37.23 He doth not willingly afflict nor grieve the children of men Lam. 3.33 but if God should hate men with an eternall and unchangeable hatred before they had done evill where then were his unwillingnesse to afflict his slownesse to wrath his goodnesse to all and the like Then hee proceeds in the 14. verse to make an objection What shall we say then or what doe we say then that there is unrighteousnesse with God God forbid saith Paul for wee in thus expounding and interpreting the Scriptures say no more then God himselfe saith to Moses Exod. 33.19 I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion The Israelites had made them a molten Calfe and worshipped it and sacrificed thereunto and said These be thy gods O Israel that brought thee out of the land of Egypt chap. 32.4.8 wherefore the Lord was angry with them and willed Moses to let him alone that hee might consume them and he promised to make of Moses a great Nation but Moses still entreats for the Israelites and in the 32 verse he is so earnest for them that he desires God to blot him out of the book which he had written if so that he would forgive their sinnes but the answere of God is Whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my booke chap. 33.13 Moses desires that God would consider that this Nation was his people in the 19 verse God tells Moses that he would proclaime his name before him which name was I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious so that this is Gods name his power to shew mercy to such as seeke him in his owne way and to punish the stiff-necked and rebellious even of the Iewes as well as others But if the meaning of Paul
but vvhosoever hath not from him shall be taken away even that hee hath vers 12. And againe vers 13. not because seeing they might not see but because seeing they did not see nor understand that is they closed their eyes and would not see as it is expressed vers 15. so that this doth not prove any inability in men to believe the gospel vvhen it vvas preached to them but rather the contrary seeing they vvere blamed for not believing and counted unworthy to partake of further light who vvere so perverse and obstinate against the light they had Againe 1 Sam. 2.25 the latter part of the verse notwithstanding they harkened not to the voice of their Father because or for the Lord vvould or was willing to slay them Here it is conceived that Gods desire of their destruction vvas the cause of their not harkening unto the voice of their Father but this is contrary to what God professeth Ezek. 33.11 and the 18.32 that he hath no pleasure in the death of the vvicked in the death of him that dyeth but that he turne from his sinnes and live now if the repentance of a sinner be more pleasing to God and more vvilled and desired of him then his death then Gods desire or will to slay a sinner cannot be the cause of his not repenting but this word for or because is spoken only by way of demonstration of the truth of what preceeds like unto that which is spoken of Mary in the gospell that much was forgiven her for shee loved much Luk. 7.47 Not that her love was the cause or reason that her sins were pardoned but her love did demonstrate that she apprehended the pardon of many sins for to whom little is forgiven the same loveth little so in this place they harkened not to the voice of their Father because or for the Lord would or was willing to slay them this is the desire willingnes and resolution of God to destroy them vers 34. notwithstanding their Father had reproved and councelled them doth evidently demonstrate that they did not hearken unto their fathers voice for if they had harkened and turned from their wickednes they should have lived they should not have been destroyed according to Ezekiel 33.12 13 14 15 16. verses Againe it is objected from certaine places in Exodus viz. I will harden Pharaoh chap. 7.3 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you vers 4. And the Lord hardned the heart of Pharaoh that he hearkened not unto them chap. 9.12 From those and the like places men do conclude that God doth positively harden the hearts of some so that they cannot believe and obey the truth for say they God was so farre from enabling Pharaoh to do what he required of him that on the contrary he hardned his heart that he might not do it For answer whereunto consider that as God tempts no man to sin so much lesse doth he harden any man in sin Againe where it is said I will harden Pharaohs heart chap. 7.3 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you vers 4. It may as truly and more properly be read And I shall hearden Pharachs heart But he will not hearken unto you for shall and will in this place are only signes of the Future Tence serving to expresse somwhat to come For God did not exercise any coercive power upon Pharaoh that kept him from hearkening to his word or from letting the people goe but only did declare what effect the meanes which God intended to use with Pharaoh would take upon him even to harden his heart though the means used did properly and naturally tend to soften it and so God might be said to harden Pharaohs heart because he did that for or before him whereby he knew Pharaoh would take occasion to harden his owne heart as appeares in this that when God sent Moses to Pharaoh to require him to let the people goe God tells Moses that he was sure that Pharaoh would not let them goe but by a mighty hand God knew that instead of obeying his command he would be hardened by it and yet bids Moses to goe and doe the Message Object How can this agree with that love and goodnesse in God which hath bin pleaded for for if God doe that which he knowes will indirectly or by accident make us worse and harden us he might with as much love and goodnes directly doe it Answ The case is farre different for if God had positively or directly hardened Pharaohs heart then so farre Pharaoh had been without fault because God did it and he could not help it and for God to have hardened him in this sence and then to punish him for his hardnes was inconsistent with the justice and goodnes of God But if God do that which is just and good which properly and naturally leads men to do the like is his goodnesse ever the lesse or should he forbeare to doe good because he sees that men will abuse his goodnesse then God must not act like God when men will not act like men but must goe out of his way and doe things unlike himself or cease to do what is suteable and agreeable to his excellent nature to comply with their wickednesse and stubbornesse and so instead of converting evill men and making them like himself he himself would become like to them But let us a little further consider what is here done to Pharaoh Pharaoh doth oppresse afflict and grieve the people of God and their cry and their groaning by reason of their bondage came up unto God and God had a respect unto them and resolves to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them into a good and large Land flowing with Milke and Honey according to his Covenant and promise Now God sends Moses to Pharaoh to desire him to let the Hebrewes goe three dayes journey into the wildernesse to worship yet God knew that he should harden Pharaohs heart thereby or that Pharaoh would harden his heart thereupon which is all one should God have suffered his people to remaine in slavery and sorrow under their Task-masters and not have sent to tell Pharaoh of it because he knew hee would not hearken but be hardened Againe when Moses had delivered his message to Pharaoh and received that answere from him Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel goe I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel goe should God now have lest Pharaoh and not by his miracles have manifested himselfe to be the Lord because he knew Pharaoh would be hardened and not set his heart to consider it or when the judgement did soften Pharaohs heart and he desires a removall of it promising to let Israel goe should God refuse to shew mercy to him on his repentance knowing that he would be hardened upon the receipt of it should God cease to bee or doe good because Pharaoh would abuse his goodnesse and thereby take
raised up Christ sent him to blesse the Iows in turning every one of them from their Iniquities though few were turned Act. 3.26 and God leaves the very Heathen without excuse in respect of meanes Rom. 1.20 Act. 14.17 therefore it must bee understood in this place according to the latter acceptation none can come to mee except the meanes used by the Father prevaile with them and this appeares more plainely if you consider the 45 verse Every man therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth unto me plainly shewing that no man is drawn according to the intent of the spirit of God in this place but such a one as hath heard and learned of the Father and that every one so drawn doth come For God the Father declares that there is peace reconciliation remission of sinnes and eternall life in his Son for all men and thereupon invites and perswades them to come to the son to believe to heare to obey to follow the Sonne in whom this fullnesse is that so they may be partakers of it and if they do not believe in him they shall die in their sinnes Now if men believe GOD that there is such safety and security such fullnesse of blessednesse in his Sonne then doe they immediately cloze with him follow and observe him in all things and this I conceive to bee the meaning of this place none can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him as if Christ had said murmure not concerning my Father and mother for except the word testimony and witnesse of God prevaile with you you will not you cannot come unto me Againe Ioh. 6.68 and he said therefore say I unto you no man can come unto me except it be given him of the Father This verse hath reference to what Christ spake in the 44 vers no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and is but a repeating of the same thing in other words so that the former interpretation serves for this place also no man can come to me except it were given him that is unlesse the means used by the Father to that end prevaile with him unlesse it take effect in him and the reason why Christ spake these words was to shew that he was not ignorant of the hypocrifie of those who professing themselves his Disciples did not he doth not say could not believe neither was he ignorant who would betray him neither how they would neglect frustrate the means which God afforded them now a thing may be said to bee given in respect of the giver and yet not in respect of the receiver to wit the thing given not received by him to whom it is given and so not given in respect of the end for the end of giving it to possesse another of something which he hath not which end not being obtained the thing is said not to be done not to be given as when we are demanded whether wee have given such a man such a thing we answer when the thing is refused no he will not receive it and so it is not given in the effect though wee did as much in respect of the act done by us as if it had been received and there are other Scriptures like this which must receive the same Answer Deut. 29.4 yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see unto this day that is they had not a heart to perceive eyes to see and eares to heare notwithstanding all the meanes which God used with them to that end for Moses in the 2 3.4 5. 6. verses reasons thus with them yee have seene all that the Lord did before your eyes in the Land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and unto all his Land the great temptations which thine eyes have seene and signes and those great miracles having lead you forty yeeres in the Wildernes your clothes waxed not old upon you neither did your shooes waxe old upon your feet he preserved you in strength and health without the ordinary meaâ—es of bread or wine or strong drinke and all this was done to the end that yee might know that he was the Lord your God as is expressed in the latter end of the 6 verse Now the speech of Moses to the unbelieving Jewes is to this effect God hath not bin wanting to you to give or worke in you a heart whereby to know him to be the Lord your God and so to love and feare him accordingly yet all this great rich and abundant meanes which God hath afforded you hath not effected that end for which it was intended and therefore are you worthy of blame seeing a heart is not given you to perceive unto this day ver 4. butwheras it is said the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive c. if the defect in them should be considered in relation to God the giver then first the Jewes were not to bee blamed for not having an heart seeing it was not given them unlesse they themselves could have procured it some other way for God requires no more of men then hee hath given Object God gave them an heart in Adam therefore he might blame them for not having a heart Answer Then the blame would lie upon them in relation to or by reason of what God had given but here they are blamed from this reason that God had not given it yet God hath not given you an heart c. Now no blame can be fastened on them for not having a heart from such a reason that God had not given it to them there being no other way to obtaine it though it had been given them in Adam Againe if this 4. vers should bee taken as a declaration of what God had not done for them in respect of himself as the former verses are of what hee had done then it takes away all the life and vertue of the Argument of Moses in the place for hee endeavours to set forth the goodnesse of God toward the Jewes in the great meanes which he had afforded them to cause them to know him to bee the Lord their God but the 4. verse according to this latter acceptation he makes all nothing yea worse then nothing for then Moses speakes after this manner God hath done much for you but hee hath not given you that without which all that hee hath done can doe you no good without which all his mercies and meanes will but aggravate and inercase your woe and misery and this would be no apt argument to perswade the people to enter into further Covenant with the Lord to which purpose hee calls upon them vers 12. seeing that whilst they were in Covenant with him the great things which hee did before them and the great mercies which hee bestowed on them were but shadows without the substance emptie shells outward meanes without spirit and life to make it fruitfull in