that thou art engaged in Magna silentii laus est quo confessus est Aron justo Dei judicio extinctos esse ita se cohibitum fuisse ut cum Deo rixari non auderet Ad animum enim refertur ut Psal 39.3 Psal 62.1 Calv. in loc Ephes 2.12 Qui extra foedus est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est sine Deo à se culto à se amato eoque propitio nonbabet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 jus sibi vendicandi postulandi possidendi quod est filiorum Dei Coc. de foeder Testamento Dei. Thes 1. §. 7. prevail not let not thy heart rise against it Aaron had a great tryal Levit. 10.13 He lost two Sons by an immediate stroke of Gods hand in an act of sin and yet Aaron held his peace A higher tryal had Abraham O that Ishmael might live in thy sight The Lord answers my Covenant will I establish with Isaac Abraham knew that there was no salvation out of Covenant and that this Covenant should not be established with Ishmael and yet he sits down in silence under the hand of God If once the will of God be manifested the soul ought to acknowledge it It is the Lord let him do what seems him good This was the blessed temper of Ely when he heard of the miseries that should come upon his house I will cut off thine arm and the arm of thy fathers house and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever 1 Sam. 2.31 Brachium ipsa materia cogit ut de fortitudine vitali sermonem esse intelligamus Cajet Descriptio est eripiendi sacerdotii quod illius familiae robur erat firmamentum dignitatem authoritatem tuam Pontificiam auseram c. P. Martyr A Lap. Se tantis opibus spoliatos prae dolore deficiant propter excitati animi dignitatem invidia contabescant and he that is left in thy house shall be to consume thy eyes and to greive thy heart yet he answers it is the Lord. 3. Exercise a weaned heart towards thy present enjoyments It may be thou hast lost an estate thy freinds fail thy hopes are faln God hath blown upon all the projects that thy heart did fancy to thy self for thy own advancement thy heart ought to be as a weaned * Significat se nullius rei esse sollicituÌ„ infantis instar quem mater lacte alere desut ille tamen à matris cura pendet sic se omnem eventum Deo committere c. Muis in loc child Psa 131.2 It s spoken in reference to his dependencies that as children look only to their mother they have no projects for themselves so it is with me I wait only upon God look unto him only Homines quaÌ„ par est sapere providi esse appetunt Calv. Men are prudent and provident creatures but my heart is taken off from the dug of all my former comforts my dependencies are upon an immediate providence for supply I project nothing for my self The poor leaves himself with thee Psal 10.14 So much the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth fignifie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Est ita quempiam relinquere ut eum juvare aut tueri prorsus dimisit Psa 22.1 Job 39.14 Ezech. 8 12. His verbis signific dandum esse tempus Providentiae ut pii homines curas in Dei finum rejiciant Deo igitur relinquit quisquis in ejus fidem se ita consert ut fidele depositorium esse persuasus maturum redemptionis tempus placide expectet Cal. a man puts himself out of his own protection into the hands of God with an exclusive resolution I will seek no farther I am willing to be in that condition in which he will set me take the provision the Lord will make for me If he will make me a Shepherd or a King my heart is ready Vis me pastorem ovium vis me Regem populorum ecce paratum est cor meum as Bernard brings in David so speaking of himself 4. Accept the punishment That is the expression Levit. 26.41 If their uncircumcised heart be humbled and they * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Significat consentit Psa 50.18 acceptavit Eccles 9.7 hinc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 derivatur Avernar A Sept. reddit per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat etiam placavit expiavit Esay 40.1 inde sensus est ad poenam tanquam meritam consentire ut propitiam utilem aequo grato animo ferre Videtur etiam subjicere studium placandi Deo alludit enim ad sacrificia quibus se Deo reconciliabant Calv. Esay 39.8 Lam. 3.22 Gen. 32.10 accept the punishment the word signifies to be well pleased with it to acknowledge it to be less then their iniquities deserve Ezra 9.13 As when the Lord threatned a grievous punishment upon the house of Hezechiah He accepts the punishment saying good is the Word of the Lord that there shall be truth and peace in my dayes And when they were in Babylon they acknowledge it is the Lords mercy that we are not consumed And if a man should accept it for himself I conceive it also a Duty to accept the punishment for others and not to have his spirit to rise with impatient frettings as if the Lord had dealt with others in a way of rigour and paid them beyond their deserts Surely there ought to be a complacency of soul in all the dealings of God towards our selves or others An humble heart is less then the least of all Gods mercies And a man should bless God that he is not brought into the lowest condition of men that he sees any creature below him As when the two Cardinals were riding to the a Luther in tertium praeceptum Ecce hanc bestiam bufonem intuitus tam eximiam creaturaÌ„ fecit â—e Deus nunquam gratias egi quod me quoque tam deformem bufonem non fecerit hoc est quod amarè fleo Councel of Constance they heard a man in the way weeping and wailing greatly asking him what he alled they found him looking upon an ugly Toad and his heart was melted with the consideration of this mercy that God had not made him such a creature who was made of the same clay with it Which made one of them cry out well said the Father Surgunt indocti rapiunt coelum nos cum doctrinis nostris volutamur in carne sanguine Aug. 5. Judge it to be best now the will of God is manifested or else thou dost prefer thy will above Gods will Blush at such an unworthy thought that when God hath declared what his will is thou shouldst think that if it had been thus it had been better for herein thou dost make thy will the Rule of goodness and dost prefer it unto the will of God Surely The b Psal 24.1 principes non cogitent se dominos esse terrarum
A TREATISE Shewing the Subordination of the WILL of MAN Unto the WILL of GOD. By that eminently godly able and faithfull Minister of Christ WILLIAM STRONG lately of the Abbey at Westminster The greatest part Printed with his own Marginal Quotations in his Life Time and now published by Mr. Rowe Master Manton and Master Griffith LONDON Printed by R.W. for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleetstreet near the Inner Temple-Gate 1657. To the Reader Good Reader THere are two things always in competition for the throne God and Self lay aside God and Self steppeth in as the next Heir there are four undoubted priviledges and prerogatives which belong to God and are as it were the flowers of the Crown of Heaven not to be alienated or communicated to any creature these are to be the first cause upon whom all things depend in their being and operation the chiefest good and so to be valued above all beings interests and concernments in the world the highest Lord to sway all things by his Laws and Providence the last end in which all things do at length terminate and centre Now the great Idol of the world Self as Reuben went into his Fathers bed seeketh to usurp this peculiar honour which is only due unto God we seek to justle him out from being the first Cause by self-dependance the chiefest good by self-love the highest Lord by self-will and the last end by self-seeking in other Treatises already published the Author hath pleaded Gods Right against Self as he is chiefest Good he now pleadeth his soveraignty against self-will as he is the highest Lord we own God as the highest Lord by a willing and full obedience to his Laws and an absolute subjection to the dominion of his providence the one is holyness and the other is patience that which we call Religion is nothing else but the right poyse of the will or the setting of it in its due and proper place to have our Created wills steered and guided by the rule and measure of the divine and uncreated will which is the supream reason of all things usually the great contest between us and God is Ierem. 44.28 29. whose will shall stand or be supream his or ours and hence come rebellious murmurings and discontents and all the confusions that are in the world and it will never be otherwise till the creature learn to keep its rank and place and we say with our Lord Jesus Father not my will but thine be done This Treatise as it deserveth respect from the nobleness of the subject of it so for the advantage it hath of other pieces of the Authors already Printed for whereas they were made up from his own private Notes not intended for publike uses and some few supplies from them who could best take after him in preaching this was fitted and prepared for the press yea and as to the greater part of it actually Printed during the Authors life and the reason of its not being finished then was be cause some things in it especially that which concerned the permissive will of God and our duty under it requiring deep consideration and great exactness made the Author delay the publication of it Now this is intimated not only to commend the Work to thy acceptance but to give thee some account of that disproportion which possibly may be discerned between the former and latter part of the Book for though the materials be equally weighty throughout yet the former part being printed whilest Master Strong lived seemeth to have more of lustre and ornament in it Now the good Lord work us to a more submissive frame of spirit every day and accomplish the whole good pleasure of his will in our souls We are thine in the Lord Jesus John Rowe Tho. Manton George Griffith The Table of the Scriptures Chap. Vers Page Genesis 1 2 154 9 27 57 49 10 171   See marg Exodus 6 3 107 21 6 27 23 2 73 28 39 267 32 6 133   See margent 34 29 106 Leviticus 26 24 138   See margent  41 93 Deuteronomy 13 6 211 16 20 287 33 3 273 1 Sam. 2 31 92 3 18 114 9 15 77 10 27 325 16 1 108  14 291 1 Kings 19 11 299 21 25 211 2 Kings 9 6.8 174 10 13 102  14 ibid.  31 179   See margent 1 Chron. 21 1 210 2 Chron. 35 21 103  22 ibid. Nehemiah 5 8 250 Job 1 21 98 22 21 296 Psalms 8 6 105 10 14 93 19 13 62.283 22 15 122 24 1 95 38 10 255 40 6 27 43 4 280  5 97.255 45 7 56 56 8 141   See mar 57 5 113 73 9 330 78 8 323 93 1 151 97 1 151 110 3 29 112 10 294 116 7 254 119 3 26  30 37  173 Ibid. 121 2 309 125 4 14 131 2 92 Proverbs 8 30 153 16 4 97 25 28 34 Ecclesiastes 7 14 158   See mar Canticles 1 4 263 6 12 58 Isaiah 24 15 308 25 1 113 28 29 115 31 2 136 41 2 272 45 9 117  10 ibid. 49 4 122 51 20 138   See mar 57 20 286 60 20 192 63 9 202 Jeremiah 1 10 86 17 16 164 31 33 23.54 50 28 178   See mar Lamentations 3 26 249 Ezekiel 1 0 144  18 160  19 159   See mar  20 156.194   See Mar.  25 144 36 26 52 Hosea 1 4 177   See mar 2 14 57 Amos. 4 5 18  12 137 Jonah 4 0 128.129  9 67 Micah 6 8 19 Nahum 3 12 89 Habakkuk 2 1 126.306  9 176   See mar 3 3 105  4 ibid.  9 256 Zachary 1 8 110  9 ibid. 2 13 89 3 1 211 4 7 155 6 1 142  8 155 12 8 159 Matthew 6 10 143 8 31 289 11 25 98 12 35 67 16 14 223 24 29 192 Luke 12 29 255 17 2 300  24 1 John 1 18 22 5 19 148  20 ibid.   See mar  22 144. 145 8 36 45 16 13 23. 75 Acts. 2 23 33  36 149 7 51 29 20 22 6  28 153   See mar 21 14 10. 198   222 Romans 1 6 44 4 20 272 7 5 262  15 66 8 14 154   See mar  21 151 9 3 70  20 242 12 2 18. 21   32. 314 14 17 301 1 Corinthians 10 7 133   See mar 13 10 202 15 26 145  27 ibid. 2 Corinthians 3 17 46 5 7 227  9 64 12 7 232 Galathians 6 1 68 Ephesians 1 11 32  22 147   See mar 2 3 34 3 10 116. 316 4 18 16  19 ibid. 5 20 307 11 22 152 Philippians 1 9 58 4 7 303. 310 1 Thessalonians 4 11 249 5 18 307 2 Timothy 2 4 173   See mar
the World For he works all things according to the counsel of his own will Ephes 1.11 This also is in a great measure revealed unto us in the Promises and Prophecies written in the Scriptures of Truth But especially since Christ took the sealed Book out of his Fathers hand Zanch de nat Deâ— l 3. c. 4 â—einolds in Hose 14. p. 75. and loosed the Seals and opened the Book Rev. 5. Thereby declaring unto his people the several designs that he hath upon the World and for his Church until the time of the end Thirdly There is his permitting will Voluntas permittens est qua Deus vult malum fieri voluntate transeunte in rem permissam cujus objectum peccatum est which concerns all the evill actions of the Creatures which though they effect yet God doth permit They that crucified Christ did act according to Gods determinate Councel that is what his will had before determined to permit them to do Acts 2.23 When the Devil did seduce Ahab in his false Prophets Deus neque vult mala ficri neque vult mala non fieeri sed vult permittere mala fieri Aquin. p 1. q. 19. a. 9. Quod Deus non impedit ideo evenit quia non impedit si cut nihil boni potest esse aut fieri nisi Deo faciente ita nil mali potest caveri nisi Deo impediente Perk. ab eo dicitur voluntas generalis Twisse vindic l. 2. p. 127. 140 c. Aug. de civit Dei l. 11. c. 17. de grat lib. arbitr c. 20.21 he did it by the permitting will of God who said thou shalt perswade him and prevail go forth and do so When the ten Kings who make up one body with the Beast in reference to his Civil power did give their Kingdoms to the Beast it was to fulfil Gods will Rev. 17.17 It was their sin and hath been the great cause of all the sufferings that have befallen the ten Kingdoms ever since and yet there was an act of Gods permitting will therein for the accomplishment of the great designs that he had upon the World Now the power of Grace lies in a submission of the will of the Creature to Gods will in all these 2. The will of man which is to be subjected to this will of God is twofold First 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is voluntas peccati The will of the flesh and of the minde Eph. 2.3 which is nothing else but the will of the Devil in the man Joh. 1.13 Ex voluntate carnes est ex propriis viribus intellectus voluntatis quae non nisi caro est h.e. corrupta for his lusts sinners do Joh. 8.44 This will of man standing wholly in opposition to the will of God and being at emnity and irreconciliable thereunto is utterly to be rejected and absolutely to be denyed Secondly There is Voluntas naturae which was in Christ when he said Ex voluntate viri h.e. ex conatibus desideriis extra Christum etiam illorum qui pro viris in mundo sc sapientissimi sanctissimi habentur Glass exegesis Evangelic part 1. p. 593. not my will but thy will be done The will of Nature sought his preservation and that is lawful so it be subordinated unto the will of God which is to be unto the creature the highest Rule of goodness Gods will is not to be co-ordinate unto any Though it be good in it self it is not to be set up equal with Gods will The supremacy is to be placed there alone I now come to speak distinctly unto each of these particulars First The power of Grace is mainly seen in the subjection of mans will unto the commanding will of God And so Grace in the will subjects it unto the will of God in these four Acts thereof 1. Consensus the consent of the will Consentire est cum aliis sentire in alterius sententiam descendere hoc voluntatis proprium est importat non solum determinationempassivam sed activam Ante consensum praecedit consilium c. Capreol l. 1. Sent. dist 1. q. 2. conclus 5. Aquin. 1. 2ae q. 15. a. 2.3 That is when the will of God is manifested as the Rule of Duty the will doth not stand up in a way of emnity and opposition against it but approves it as good and the Rule of goodness Thus it was in Christ Psal 40.8 I come to do thy will thy Law is in the midst of my bowels It was indeed a difficult service for he came to be a sacrifice and yet his will consented unto the will of God therein I lay down my life This commandment I have received from my Father Joh. 10.18 This submission also was in Paul I consent to the Law that it is good Rom. 7.12 Every unregenerate man when he doth the will of God Lex quamvis bona auget prohibendo desiderium malum per hoc fit non absolutionis adjutorium sed vinculum criminis Aug. de spirit lit cap. 4. Jam. 2.8 consents not to his will he wishes there was no such Law looks upon the ways of God as unequall his Commandments grievous This is a hard saying who can bear it The consent of their will fals not level with the Law as the Rule of Duty But when a mans will consents to the Law not only for the soeveraignty of it as it is a Royal Law but for the goodness of it I consent to the Law that it is good then is the will of man subjected unto the commanding will of God 2. Electio est finis mediorum 〈◊〉 finis poâ—a ur pro finc ultâ—â—o in communi de co non est dâ—liberatio ergo nec electio at si de fine ultimo in particulari ut Deus 〈◊〉 vâ—sin Dei de hoc datur deliberatio deinde electio Medina in 1. 2ae q 13. a. 3. Electio the choyce of the will having once consented unto the goodness of the Law the will doth chuse it as that which is best and best for him as the only way to happiness and the only Rule of life This act of submission Davids will puts forth Psal 119.30.173 I have chosen thy precepts The word in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie both examinavit elegit to try and examine and upon tryal to chuse Every man doth chuse what God he will serve and by what Rule he will walk The Lord will not force himself upon any man he doth deal with a reasonable creature in a Covenant way Deut. 26 17. Electio sequitur judicium quo aliquid reputatur meâ—â—us in ordine ad finem Aquin. 1. 2ae q. 13. a. 3. unto which the Election and the Consent of the Creature is essentially required The Lord doth not only give them a Law for that is an act of Soveraignty and binds whether the Creature consent or no but in
1 Tim. 6.15 And this soveraignty lieth mainly in two things In his Decrees appointing the Creatures to their ends and in his Laws prescribing their ways and the subjection of the will of man or a receiving of the Law into the will is the highest honour to the Law and the greatest acknowledgement of the soveraignty of the Law-giver Sub lege factus est quia sponte se interposuit ad eam patri cōpensationem reddendam nec solum formam servi accepit ut subesset sed etiam servi mali ut vapularet Parker de descensu l. 3. 52. Gal. 4.4.5 we see it in the Lord Jesus Christ he was in his person not bound to the Law therefore there was a superlegale meritum that followed upon his obedience yet his subjection unto the Law was the highest honour done to the Law and his receiving the Law into his will Psa 40.8 Thy Law is in the midst of my heart was the greatest acknowledgment of the soveraignty of God for whatsoever honours the Law exalts God and sets him upon him his Throne which is never done till the Law commands the will which is the commanding faculty of the soul 2. Herein the power of the Law is most gloriously seen in that it can subdue the will for till then the man is never overcome you may kill him but you cannot conquer him There may be a kind of force and violence offered unto the other faculties the understanding may be overcome with light which though it would it cannot keep out for there is a principle in all men to be willingly ignorant 2 Pet. 3.5 and to imprison Truths in unrighteousness Rom. 1.18 because they hate the light The conscience also may be awakened though men endeavor to their utmost to speak peace to themselves Esay 50.11 to kindle a fire of their own and compass themselves about with their own sparks but the will is so free that no kinde of violence can be offered to it Therefore the conquest of the will is always by its own consent as a woman by her own consent comes into subjection to her Husband this subduing of the will is that wherein the power of the word mainly consists it s called the power of God to salvation Rom. 1.16 That is it is the instrument by which he puts forth the exceeding greatness of his power though there be a great power put forth in the common works upon the other faculties yet when Omnipotency works by the word it appears mainly in this it subdues the will 3. Herein properly the liberty of the soul consists If the Son make you free you shall be free indeed Joh. 8.36 Liberty therefore is a priviledge which the Saints receive by Grace Now this liberty of a Christian though it be radicaliter in intellectu yet it is formaliter in voluntate The proper seat of Liberty is the will Now this Liberty doth not consist in an absolute indifferency either to chuse or refuse without a respect to the end There is an indifferency indeed servato ordine finis Voluntas eò liberior estquò gratiae Dei subjectior fuerit Aug. Epist 89. with a continual respect to the utmost end the chief good now what is the way that leads to this chief good what is the Rule that directs to this utmost end is it not the word of God Melior est cum totus ad haeret atque constringitur incommutabili bono quam cum inde vel ad seipsum relaxatur Gibeu de libert creat l. 1. cap. 3. Libertas est amplitudo ex adhaesione ad Deum quae tantò major illustrior quantò propius ad Deum accesserimus Therefore this the soul is to be acted by and therein its liberty consists when the will is acted by any inferiour Rules so long the man is under bondage Therefore when we come to Heaven our wils shall be acted wholy by Gods will therefore our Liberty shall be perfected where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 3.17 The reason is because where the Spirit is the soul is enlightned by the word of God and the will subjected thereunto in which properly doth consist the Liberty of the man 4. The subjection of our will unto the will of God doth pro hoc statu perfect our obedience Our best Services are mixed with many imperfections Lava lachrymas meas Dominc Aug. Job 1.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vide Caryl in loc that our prayers had need be perfumed our tears washed and a sacrifice offered daily for the iniquity of our holy things yet is there a kinde of perfection in the obedience of the Saints in this life Ignorantia infirmitas vitia sunt quae impediunt voluntatem nunc delectatur nunc non delectatur ut noverit non suae facultatis esse sed divini muneris Aug. de peccat merit remiss l. 2. c. 17. The Philosopher observes that there is Duplex aequalitas rei voluntatis now though in respect of the thing we shall always fall short of the Law yet the subjection of the will makes the Law and the heart even though in the actions there are many defects Rom. 7.19.20 2 Cor. 8.10.12 And the Grace of the Gospel accepts the will for the deed 5. It is the subjection of our will to the commanding will of God Matth. 11.30 which only makes the ways of God sweet and the commands of God easie David saith The Law was sweeter to him then the hony Christ saith Psal 19.10 1 Joh. 5.3 My yoak is easie and my burthen light The Commandments are not grievous and it is the subduing of the will works all this Omnia quippe fiunt charitati facilia cui uni Christi sarcina levis est aut ea una est sarcina ipsa quae levis est Durae sunt timori leves amori c. Aug. l. de nat grat c. 69. What a man does willingly he doth with ease and delight Whereas a small thing done against the will is looked upon as a very burthensome service It was no great labour for Haman to lead Mordecai's Horse yet it was a very burthensome and an offensive service because his will was against it 6. It is willingness that brings the reward Esth 6.13 A Dispensation of the Gospel was committed to Paul and if I do it willingly saith he I have my reward 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Ethic. l. 4. cap. 1. Libentèr ex animo ipsum amans Evangelium fructum Evangelii quaerens Est 1 Cor. 9.17 Some preach Christ of Envie and some of good will and they only have the reward of their service Phil. 1.15 Therefore the Apostle exhorts those that feed the Flock of God and have the oversight of them to do it not by constraint but willingly 1 Pet. 5.2 And Paul would have Philemon to grant his request not of
excaecatae sunt hominū mentes aliquo praepostero affectu etiamsi Dominus è coele fulminet non exaudiunt adhuc violenter occurrere non desmunt Calv. and he would justifie his passion before God he did well to be angry even unto the death If there be a slight advantage a small convenience that a mans heart is set upon as it was in this instance for it is said he was exceeding glad of the gourd he is very apt to rise in discontent against any of the acts of God that shall deprive him thereof And this is the true occasion of all the grudgings and murmurings in the soul Every mans heart is full of bitterness repinings and discontents the tidings they hear of the several workings of God in the world is to them as Vinegar is to the teeth and smoak to the eyes according as their party is concerned in it It is a terror to hear the report The evil of such a frame of heart I shall set forth by these ensuing considerations 1. It is a sin and a great provocation against God The Lord came to Jonah and did reason the case with him dost thou well to be angry Ex usu sanctae linguae talis interrogatio negat vehementissimè sicut contraria quam maxime affirmat Tarnov in loc The interrogation is both a vehement negation and a sharp reprehension He did not well in so doing And this should be enough to any gracious heart who ought to tremble at sin more then Hell And it is a sin that a man is exceeding prone to yea even the best men For who could have thought that Jonah who was so lately in the Whales belly which he cals the belly of Hell and was so greatly humbled under the mighty hand of God and so graciously and miraculously delivered but that he should have been well pleased with whatsoever God should do so a man would think of those also that have been greatly afflicted and now gloriously delivered yet after all this Jonahs spirit is discontented for a trifle he is angry though it be but for a gourd But let such persons consider the Lord himself will reprove it as an evil he will not suffer it in his own people Therefore ask thy soul in the midst of its bitterness what shall I answer when the Lord reproves Is this a frame of spirit which I am able to justifie before God or shall I say with Jonah I do well to be angry and so add iniquity to iniquity 2. It is not only a sin but it is a high degree of sinning it is sinning against God with an high hand which will appear in two things 1. Hereby a man doth exalt his will above Gods will and makes his will the rule of goodness As if the will of the Lord were evil and his will good which is the highest pitch of Atheism that the Devil himself can be guilty of Now when the Lord hath manifested his will that there should be such speakings in the heart as these But I should have judged it better if it had been otherwise what is this but to say If my will had been done it had been better for my will is the rule of goodness and not Gods will contrary to the frame in Ely Let him do what seems him good for that is good which is so in his account that which agrees unto his will and not unto mine Secondly Hereby a man doth put God out of the throne of Government and takes upon himself the Government of the world saying with Absolom Oh if I were made a Judge and a Ruler in Israel I would do you justice So these if the Government of the world were in my hands it should be far better with the world then it is If it were in my power if I had the ordering of all things so that though the Lord sits in Heaven and his Kingdom rules over all yet as man in every sin denies the wisdom and the equity of his Law as if he could make a better Law so in all such discontents and murmurings he denies his Soveraignty in Government And if it were in his power his will is to take the Government out of his hand into his own and then things should be better ordered and there should not be such distresses upon the Churches and such confusions in the world as now there are 3. Hereby thou makest thy self wiser then God for he that will undertake to correct another mans actions must therein at least suppose himself to be wiser then he And therefore men that would bring in new institutions into the worship of God and will not be content with those that he hath appointed they do charge God with folly and make themselves wiser then God And therefore some of our Divines observe that it is a greater sin in Gods sevice to do what we should not then to omit what we should For by the one we shew the difficulty of the Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys hom 2. in Rom. Miles potestati obediens hominem occidit c. unde punitur si fecerit injussus inde punietur nisi fecerit jussus Quod si ita est jubente Imperatore quanto magis jubente creatore Aug de Civi◠l 1. c. 26. but by the other we charge the Law with folly In the one we manifest our weakness to do the will of God in the other our impudence to controll the wisdom of God And as it is in the institutions of God so it is in his operations He that saith I would not have it thus or thus if it had been thus it would have been better doth nor only set up his own will against Gods but exalts his own wisdom above Gods But it will be found in this as in matters of institution Vain man would be wise But howsoever we may account it as part of our wisdom it will be found to be but as mimicall dancings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est puerorum more ludere Talis ab usus sacrificiorum erat apud Gentiles ex sacrificio epulum ex epulo facta est potatio ex potatione comus ex como ludus c. Epicharm apud Athanaeum l. 2. Surrexerunt ludere intellige sacrae scripturae verecuudiam lusum nisi impudicum non denotasse Tertul. de jejunio contra physicos c. and as Childrens plays before God in the end And so the word 1 Cor. 10.7 doth signifie Exod. 32.6 The people sate down to eat and to drink and rose up to play But men say we think this would be better for Gods glory that is as much as to say you take more care for the glory of God then he doth himself But if you took so much care of the glory of God you would have respect to his Commands and not sin against him out of pretence of zeal for his glory And it is as much as to say you know wayes that will make more for the
illud nihil possint sacere aut omittere Hoc sensu â—â—rbum praecipiendi sumitur sc pro ordâ—â—are dâ—cernere 2 Sam. 16.10 Esay 5 6. Jer. 33.22 Ursin Calv. c. vide Pet. Martyr 〈◊〉 2 Sam. 16. quaest An Deus sit author peccati quomodo illud praecipâ—â— p. 275. charge to take the spoyl and the prey and to tread them down as mire in the streets Isa 10.6 And yet all this was but the permitting will of God So the ten Kings the Lord did put it into their ‖ Rev. 17.14 Fontem ostendit unde Imperatores forent per taâ— longum inter vallum adeo obsequentes ab eo proficiscitur in cujus manibuâ— sunt câ—â—da Râ—gum hic justo judicio quos vult occaecat Bright hearts to give their Kingdoms unto the Beast that Antichrist might be set up which hath been the ground of all the miseries that have been brought upon the Christian Churches ever since yet iâ— was their sin and only the permitting will of God He did neither approve the act nor acquit the Actors So the Lord will have Ahab to fall aâ— Ramoth Gilead Satan offers his servicâ— to perswade him and to be a lying spirit in the mouth of his Prophets and the Lord saith thou shalt perswade him and prevail go forth and do so Satanae voluntas semper est iniqua sed potestas nun quam injusta Gregor Deus iratus dat amanti quod male amat Multi enim miseri sunt habendo quam carendo Amando res noxias miseri habendo sunt miseriores Augustin in Psal 26. Yet it was only Gods permitting will the Act and the Agent were both hateful unto God as not doing that which was good in his sight Quest How therefore should a man know whether Gods effecting will and commanding will be the same And that what I do be done in submission unto both whether it be Gods permitting will only For the Lord may suffer evil Instruments yea he may suffer good men in an evill way as appears in Jacobs getting of the blessing Or whether it be the effecting will of God so as he allows the act and approves the Actor If I had Rules for this then I could rest securely in respect of all the dealings of God in the World Answ Before we come to give an answer to this great enquiry I must premise these two things 1. That all prejudiced and pre-engaged wils be laid aside There is a meekness of spirit with which the Word is to be received Jam. 1.21 called the meekness * Status regimiais apud Hebraeos causam denotat sensus est manfuetudo à sapientia provenions vel effectum denotat sensus est verae sapientiae effectum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est prudens mansâ—â—â—â—â—o Glass Gram. saâ—â— p. 101. c. Gomar in loc of wisdom Jam. 3.13 The words of the wise are heard in quiet †Si audiantur animo tranquillâ— non perturbato Coâ—h Eccles 9.17 more then the cry of him that rules among fools Advice given with a calm humble and submissive spirit and received with a minde free from passion and pre-engagements prevails with men much more and sinks deeper then the proud confident and censorious dictates of men whose affections engage and byass their judgements In all cases of difference a man should fear himself in this least he should shut his eyes against any truth delivered It was that which Luther found by experience Hoc meâ experientiâ disco quod non habeo tam magnam timendi causam extra quam intra me Therefore be jealous of your selves especially in those things wherein ye have received prejudice before-hand and know it is one of the greatest judgements that can befal a man to be given up to believe a lye to have his heart deeply engaged in a wrong cause and to appear much for that which will prove a falshood at the last day And it is a most dangerous sign that thou art so the less fearful that thou art of thy self in it with the greater confidence and gloriyng of Spirit that thou dost go on and with the more bitter violent and censorious spirit towards others that are not of thy minde and judgement Ne pergas quaerere quid cor durum sit si non expavisti tuum est Bern. 2. I desire you not to expect from me State-considerations belonging to the conventions of Kingdoms and Nations or the municipal Laws of the Commonwealth First It being but an Ordinance of man 1 Pet. 2.13 therefore different in severall States and Kingdoms all being not bound unto the same constitution God gave unto the Jews their judicial Laws and therefore saith he was their King for the Legislative power he reserved unto himself though the executive power he did commit unto Officers under him But that Commonwealth being dissolved though for the moral equity all people should have respect unto those Laws yet the Lord hath left the Legislative power unto themselves to chuse the Laws by which they will be ruled and unto which they will submit And as they are different in several Kingdoms so they may vary in one and the same Kingdom as the Nation shall finde them prejudicial unto that body for the good of which they were at first intended And though after the Captivity the people of the Jews were governed by Kings no more for the Lord had said that in Zedechiah the Kingly form of Government should cease Ezeh 21.25 26. Thou profane wicked Prince of Israel whose day is come when inquity shall have an end Thus saith the Lord God Remove the Diadem and take off the crown this shall not be the same exalt him that is low and abase him that is high I will overturn overturn overturn it and it shall he no more until he come whose right it is and I will give it him And yet when Kings ceased the Scepter departed not from Judah * Equidem ego sceptrum esse nil aliud nisi Majestatem imperii opinor eam nempe quae ipsi reipublicae assidet Quare quorum respublica est corum Sceptrum dici debet Non recessit sceptrum etsi mutatus reipub status sit ac penes Optimates modò Pontificesque summa fuerit imperii Nimis ineptè faciunt qui hic in arctum desilierunt nominis hujus honorem haud pertinere nisi ad Reges autumant Quicunque enim populus suâ quâdam republicâ suisque legibus utitur is recte gloriari de imperio deque sceptro potest Cunaeus de repub Heb. l. 1. c. 9. Ejecto regio nomine juris statuendi potestas in senatum translata est ei omnia jura insignia regum data legesque Regum in contemptum abiêre Et Majestatis crimen est quod adversus populum Romanum vel adversus securitatem ejus committitur Ulpian l. 1. §. 1. F. ad legem Jul. majest Gen. 49.10 After the
modo Bestiae devincitur In dextra Vt pro virili pro Bestia propugnent in fronte ut omnibus palam sit cui deberetur obsequium Bright Allusum est ad morem veterem quo servi Dominorum in fronte milites Imperatoris sut nominibus in dextra inscribi solebant of the Beast in their right hand and do in a high degree maintain Popish Principles and Interests and yet never wear the mark in their foreheads All these things I look upon being done as good as things which God doth approve but if the persons do them not in obedience unto God but upon corrupt Principles and unto corrupt ends or if they degenerate into the same evils and build that which they before pretended to destroy God will have a time to call them unto an Accompt and reckon with them afterward Neither doth it follow that Jehu did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord against the House of Ahab because he doing it with an evill intention and barely for Politick Ends God did afterwards visit the blood of Jezerel upon the House of Jehu I am herein to look if the thing be good in it self and to the intention of my own spirit in doing it and I need not question but I shall be accepted and rewarded for doing that in obedience to God and in sincerity of heart for which another man who did it upon corrupt Principles and unto corrupt Ends shall be sure to be punished 3. When the Ends of God are carryed on and that not coeco impetu but professedly as the intention of the Actors It is true all ungodly men do accomplish * Finis operis operantis Isai 10.7 Si pro arbitrio suo scrvi dominis obtemperant nè in iis quidem in quibus obtemperaverint obsequuntur Quando enim servus ex domini jussis câ facit tantummodo quae vult facere jam non dominicam voluntatem implet sed suam Salv. de guber Dei l. 3. p. 79. Gods Ends even when they miss their own but they do not intend the End which they effect But when men profess they aim at Gods Ends and I have ground to hope that many of them do it in truth though corrupt Ends will creep into the hearts of the best men much more into Bodies and mixt multitudes of men yet it is my duty rather to wish well unto these and to joyn with them then with any other that act quite contrary to Gods Ends and the Designs which his Word tels us that he hath upon the World The Lords ends at this time are mainâ—y these two We may speak it for he haâ—h not seft us without a word â—s 〈…〉 of it 〈…〉 wil◠〈◊〉 Heaver and Earth 〈…〉 may 〈…〉 that are 〈…〉 〈…〉 abun 〈…〉 of the 〈…〉 of men 〈…〉 of States 〈…〉 only 〈◊〉 read of tw◠〈…〉 13. the Lord thereby 〈…〉 Aâ—â—â—christ according unto 〈…〉 Câ—aim that he makes 1. He 〈◊〉 a Temporal power and headship over Kings and Kingdoms And the Western Empire being by the Gothes 〈◊〉 broken the ten Kings receiving thâ—â— their power as Kings did with one â—onsent put themselves and their Kingdoms under the power of the Pope and so together with the ten Kings he makes up the first Beast there spoken of which is but the Image of the former Empire of Rome in the West set up by the Pope sc Imperium Romanum per Pontificem crectum stabâ—litum And that the German Empire was set up by him Bellarmin himself takes a great deal of pains to prove in three Books written of purpose de translatione Imperii Romani wherein he undertakes though with great favour to his own Party to manifest 1. Leonem Tertium solum aut praecipuum ac primarium authorem translationis Imperii fuisse eique Germanicam nationem Imperium acceptum referre debere that Leo the Third translated the Empire by his authority alone unto Carolus Magnus 2. That afterward Otho de Gente Saxonum was raised to the Empire by Pope John the Twelfth 3. That the seven Princes Electors of Germany were constituted by Pope Gregory the Fifth If Antichrist did take to himself such a power as to translate and conferr Kingdoms at his will it cannot seem strange that they should give their Kingdoms to the Beast who did receive them from him and that under a pretence of his being an Officer appointed by Christ unto that very End They gave to him therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rev. 17.13 their power of Arms and of Laws that in all the ten Kingdoms he enacted what Laws he would for the support of his own Authority so that Glossa de regulis juris hath this Rule Quando de eadem re contrariae inveniuntur leges Imperatoriae Pontificiae abrogatur lex Imperatoria per Pontificiam quia non poterat servari sine mortali peccato which the Emperors did being for the Popes greater security bound to him by an Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity as to their soveraign Lord. And I doubt not but its very easie unto men skilfull in the Laws to set forth what an influence the Pope hath had from time to time upon the Politique constitution of this Nation in framing or limiting them as was most for his own advantage many of which Laws remain unrepealed unto this day This therefore is that Beast upon which the Whore is said to sit Rev. 17.3 7 8. which was and is not and yet is sc the Roman Empire set up by the Pope as the Head of the ten Kings united into one Body under him as a learned man of late hath well observed Meretrix seu Anti-Christus huic Bestiae dicitur insiaere licet enim rei fundamenta quaedam jacta fuerint veteri Imperio in ruinam paulatim inclinante tamen potissimum ibi completum est cum imago haec Imperii Romani in Germania fuit excitata tum vere coepit Anti-christus huic Bestiae insidere ejus potentià ad stabiliendam suam tyrannidem abuti decreta sua per omnes Imperii partes firmare Imperatorum consilia pro arbitrio suo atque ad suam utilitatem moderari c. Robert Jans Dissertatio de vision cap. 13. 17. Apocal. p. 29. c. And all Powers erected by him and all laws made in favor of him or by his Authority the Lord will surely shake the Nations till he hath removed All these God will certainly shake that he may remove There are also many Inventions of men brought into the Ordinances and Institutions of Christ There is a smoak in the Temple Rev. 15.8 by which Interpreters commonly understand three things First The glorious presence of God in his Church owning his People during the time of the pouring out of the Vials for they make it an Allusion to the manifestation of the presence of God at the Dedication of the Tabernacle and the Temple Exod. 40.34 1 King 8.10 2. Chron. 5.13 So Mede
is Here I must give you these distinctions First There are some things that the Lord doth of himself work by his own immediate power and stays not for any humane concurrence but doth them of himself and by himself If he doth work Isaiah 43.13 Psa 135.6 None can let it he doth whatsoever pleaseth him and so he governs the world and preserves and maintains it He suffered all Nations to walk in their own ways He did not incline them to walk in their own ways he did not command them but he did leave them to themselves and in the hands of their own Counsells And is therefore said to suffer them Mala sinit fieri non facit bona vero ipse facit sed nolens mala sinit volens bona operatur being in himself a free Agent he concurs with the creature when he pleaseth and as far as he pleaseth Lumb lib. 1. Sent. 45. Secondly we are to consider that the permitting will of God only respects the reasonable creature to whom properly his commanding will belongs It is true that all the Creatures come under his will For he rules all things according to the counsel of his own will He doth whatsoever he will in heaven and in earth Rev. 4.11 in the sea and all deep places It is by his will that they are created and it is by the same will by which they are preserved and governed in their being Ex necessitate naturae ad ultimum potentiae But all other creatures being to act necessarily no permission can belong to them but God either acts them or suspends their Acts at his pleasure not by a permitting but by a powerfull effecting will Only the reasonable creatures seeing they were created to act out of choice and election the Lord rules them Modo proportionate according to their own nature therefore he hath not put a Law in their natures which shall necessarily and infallibly carry them to their ends but he rules them in a Covenant-way and they are voluntary in all their actings neither shall any of them be confirmed or made impeccable but by grace in which the Lord would have all the vessels of mercy to stand as they were chosen in Christ so by him they are to be confirmed That as they â—â—nor God the Creator in ordine naturae so they should honour the Son as Mediator in ordine gratiae And for this cause whereas the Lord could have confirmed Men and Angels in the day of their Creation as he hath now the Angels in heaven and the souls of just men made perfect yet he will not but reserves it as a blessing that should come in by the Government of his Son in a way of grace by whom the beatifical vision is bestowed upon the Saints And therefore I conceive Christ is called The Angel of Gods face that is Qui faciem Dei quasi conspicuam populo fecit Isa 63.9 Now the face of God in Scripture is put for three things 1. For a full Revelation of his will They shall see his face and his name shall be written in their foreheads Rev. 22.4 2. For a full manifestation of his favor So the Church is said To seek the face of God And the Lord is said to cause his face to shine upon his Saints Psal 67.1 3. A perfect vision of his glory and so heaven is a seeing of God face to face 1 Cor. 13.12 And in â—ll these respects Christ is said to be the Angel that discovers the face of God unto the Saints And it is by this last manifestation that they are made impeccable Thirdly The permitting will of God is only conversant about the sins of the reasonable Creatures in all their good actions the Lord doth concur and act them by an efficacious and a working will so as it is rather Gods work then theirs 1 Cor. 13.10 Yet not I but the grace of God that was with me Cooperando perfecit quod operando incipit Aust But for evil actions God cannot have a hand in them as the Author or Efficient cause for he is light and in him is no darkness at all he is goodness it self and in him is no evil neither can any evil come from him James 1.13 14. The case is decided that God is not the Author of Sin neither can be for he that forbids all sin cannot work any darkness cannot proceed from the Father of lights and yet against his will sin cannot be Non fit aliquid nisi Omnipotens fieri velit vel sinendo vel faciendo Aust Sin could not have come into the world if God would have kept it out he could have created all the creatures impeccable if he had pleased There is a threefold order to be observed concerning the decrees of God 1. The same Soveraign Lord that did elect some to life did decree to pass by others and not to confer the same grace and favour upon them For we teach no absolute Reprobation but a preterition only and non-election or which the Schoolmen call Reprobatio negativa which as Suarez hath well observed opusc lib. 2. pag. 175. Non est poena sed solum negatio gratuiti beneficii quod Deus ut supremus Dominus negare potest 2. Unto these he doth resolve and decree not to give grace but to leave the other to the instability of their own wills 3. He doth decree that he will for their sin cast them off for ever and eternally destroy them So that the Lord decreed to leave the creature unto that strength which he had received in his Creation and then falling he did decree to damn him for that sin which he did of himself voluntarily commit Thus God did from eternity decree to permit sin to come into the world though it be the act of the Creatures and not of God And hence it was that sin entred into the world and death by sin Rom. 5.14 4. The Lord in his permission doth withhold his grace and doth not bestow that which should keep a man from sin but leave a man to walk in his own ways to act according to his own counsels and doth not effectually determine his will unto that which is good but leaves it to be freely carried away to that which is evil Therefore permission is as it were the removing of the impediment and no more As Twiss Vindic. part 2. pag. 28. hath well observed Ex remotione impedimenti effectus interdum sequitur cujus causa non est removens impedimentuÌ„ sed aliquid aliud As if a stone being staid from falling you remove the impediment then it falls immediatly the stop being taken away but the taking away of the stop is not properly the cause of its fall but it s own natural form which hath a tendency to its center So when there is restraining grace upon a man an impediment put in the way of sinning his way is hedged up but when the Lord removes the restraint the
by the permitting will of God that it should be so that the Saints should in a great measure lie under the power of this envious man first to entice them and afterwards to accuse them 3. He suffers the lusts of Godly men to arïse and they are many times led captive under the Law of sin yea even sometimes to gross and scandalous sins which do vastare conscientiam though they cannot excutere fidem As Sampson to a way of uncleanness David to Murther and that plotted Solomon to Idolatry and that continued Peter to the denial of his Master and that with the bitterest execrations cursing himself to Hell as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies if ever he knew the man yea and God doth leave them to harden their own hearts in a way of sinning and go on frowardly in it Isa 57.17 Why hast thou hardned our hearts from thy fear Isa 63.17 We hardened our hearts sinfully being by God left to our selves And God doth harden them judicially which is the greatest judgement that can befall a Saint in this life 4. God doth suffer wicked men to thrive and prosper in an evil way In ways of cruelty and oppression Nebuchadnezzar gathered the riches of the Nations like eggs that none did move the wing or peep He rules over the people of God with rigour shews them no mercy but upon the ancient he doth heavily lay the yoke The Ploughers plough upon their backs and make long furrows and wicked men oppress those that are more righteous then themselves And yet the Lord seems to stand by and look on and lets him thrive and prosper in it as if he had forsaken the earth So the ten Kings shall give their kingdoms to the Beast the power of laws and the power of arms and thereby set up Antichrist and he shall grow to that power That all kingdoms and nations and languages shall worship him and shall say Who is able io make war with the Beast And he shall make war with the faints and shall overcome them And this ordinarily the Lord doth that his people should come and cry to him to awaken him for he seems as a man asleep and as regarding nothing but leaving all in the enemies hand Awake Lord why sleepest thou Now all these belong unto the permitting will of God which is conversant only about the sins of the reasonable creature 2. There is very much of Godliness seen in a mans submission of his will unto this permitting will of God For the proof of it I shall give one Scripture for each of them First Submission unto the permitting will of God in regard of sin and the remainders thereof Though a godly man look upon it as his burthen as his misery esteems sinne worse then death worse then hell Yet seeing God will have it remain in him if he must still bear this weight draw this clog after him if he will still have them to wear their Grave-cloaths the Saints are content to wait for the resurrection of the just No man was more sensible of the remainders of sin then Paul as appears by his own expression of himself The greatest of sinners and the least of Saints therefore he cries out who shall deliver me Rom. 7.24 Yet he considers deliverance is begun I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord And therefore sin shall never prevail either to condemnation or dominion And with this deliverance the Apostle sits down and submits unto the will of God untill the day of his full redemption shall come though he knew that while he lived here while with the minde he did serve the Law of God yet he should with his flesh serve the Law of sin 2. For scandalous Falls though they be such as those that the people of God should fear and pray against as being such by which they cause the name of God to be blasphemed by which they become spotted of the world a blemish to their society and leave an ill name behinde them and they are set forth by God as examples for us to take warning by to take heed we fall not into the like yet when the Lord hath suffered us to fall into them we must not rise up and quarrel with him but we must say he is just and holy even in those things wherein we are wretched and sinfull Matth. 26.33 34. Peter had an admonition from Christ of a very dangerous fall that was near him and he answers Though all men forsake thee yet will not I Christ tells him that before the Cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice It was Peters duty not in a presumptuous manner to have told Christ in confidence of his own strength no you are mistaken in me if I die with thee I will not deny thee but to have said Lord if it be thy will I had rather die with thee if by thy grace thou wilt assist me I had rather undergo the greatest sufferings then commit such a sin this was Peters duty before hand And after the will of God was manifested to permit him to fall as he did he should have said Thou hast suffered me thus to fall it was my great sin thus to deny thee But since my proud and carnally confident spirit in thy wisdom must thus be brought down and my own weakness must be discovered for my further humiliation thou mightest deal with me as it seemed thee good I have no reason to quarrel with thee thou actest righteously even there where I have acted sinfully And as this was Peters duty so it is the duty of all the Saints whose actual Falls have manifested that it was the will of God to humble them by this means And indeed the Saints when they come to read over the story of their lives and shall see therein Omnes actiones ad se pertinentes circumstantias actionum as Suarez saith they shall see in heaven they will finde they had as much need of their sins as they had of their sufferings in this present life and all things shall work together for good Et si omnia quia ni peccata though I confess there be three ways which the Lord doth use to humble men by First by letting in his love into their souls the beauty of grace the excellency of holiness and then the soul looking down upon it self is as a man that hath looked upon the Sun he can see nothing So did the Lord humble Job by further discoveries of himself so he did humble Isaiah This is the highest and sweetest way of humbling who an I that the Lord should shew in me a pattern of mercy to me the greatest of all sinners is this grace given c. Secondly He doth humble men by sufferings by afflictions he doth keep man from his purpose and hides pride from his heart Thirdly But the worst way and the most uncomfortable way of humbling is by sin when the Lord is pleased to leave his people to great sins
Israel hath sent me and they ask me what is his name what shall I answer So John the Baptist when Christ came to be baptized of him he disputes the case saying I had need to be baptized of the◠and comest thou to me Sometimes against his effecting will Isa 45. The clay saith to th◠Potter Why hast thou made me thus 〈◊〉 and the thing begotten saith unto hi◠Father What hast thou begotten and to his Mother What hast thou brought forth Censores Divinitatis dicentes Non sic debuit Deus sic magis debuit consultiores sibimet videntur Deo Tert. in Marcion lib. 2. cap. 2. And so it is against the permitting will of God Lord why do the wicked prosper and wherefore are they happy that deal trecherously Jer. 12.1 Wherefore lookest thou on and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous then he and makest men like the fishes of the Sea that have no ruler Hab. 1.13 14. O quam sapiens argumentatrix sibi videtur arrogantia humana praesertim cum aliquid de gaudiis metuit amittere Tert. And these kind of reasonings fill the soul with abundance of disquiet when the heart of man shall dare rise up against the will of God disputing against the equity of it saying The Lords wayes are not equal But when once the will of man is concluded under the will of God then the reasonings of the soul are calmed the fleshly wisdom disputes no more but obeyes As the poor woman in the book of Martyrs said I cannot dispute but I can burn So the Christian saith I cannot dispute but I can obey upon this ground because it is the will of God Arrogantiam existimo de bono divini praecepti disputare nee quia bonum est oscultare debemus sed quia Deus praecepit There be two difficult commands that God gave to Abraham one to forsake his Country and his Kindred and to go into a Land in which he was a stranger But it is said the Lord called him to his foot Isa 41.2 that is subdued his heart unto the call to follow the Lord in all the wayes in which he should go before him Though he might have much disputed yet the subjection of his will did silence his reason and suppressed his disquieting thoughts which otherwise might have risen within him Then the Lord gave him another command to offer his son his only son Much might have been said against it from the Law of God the light of Nature but his will being concluded under the will of God it is said Rom. 4.20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he staggered not he did not dispute it pro and con with himself but the will of God being manifested immediatly he did obey and rose up early in the morning to the service to which he was appointed It is said of all the Saints Deut. 33.3 that they sit down at the Lords feet to receive his word It is an expression after the manner of Scholars among the Jews they sate down at the feet of their Tutors as Paul did at the feet of Gamaliel And they are not to dispute their Instructions but receive them So it is with the Saints when the will of God is manifested they are not to argue but to believe And when the will of man is concluded under the will of God it is upon these two principles 1. A man receives all things from Gods will as wise for it is a will guided by Counsel He doth not work barely by will as men many times do but he works all things according to the Counsel of his will Ephes 1.11 2. He looks upon it as good It is the good and acceptable will of God Rom. 12.2 good in it self and good to us even the rule of goodness whensoever the soul receives the will of God under these notions it must necessarily follow that disquieting reasonings in the soul must be suppressed 2. The soul is strangely disquieted by tormenting passions The affections of men are of two sorts some are chearing and comforting as Love Hope Joy some are afflicting as anger sorrow and fear therefore when in Scripture a man is commanded to afflict his soul the meaning is to raise up and to act in his soul these afflicting affections for it is by them that the soul is disquieted and so afflicted Therefore in heaven though the affections themselves shall not cease because they are of the nature of the immortal soul yet all the acts of them shall cease that a man shall never sorrow more never fear more As in hell all the chearing affections of the soul in their actings shall cease a man shall never love more hope more joy more Now in the souls of just men made perfect in heaven they being freed from the actings of these tormenting affections there is nothing that doth or can disquiet them therefore there must needs be a continual calm These onely cloud the souls of men below now if all the clouds were removed and dispelled there would be nothing to hinder the sun in its brightness from shining constantly forth So it would be with the soul at quiet and at peace when all the affections that distract and disquiet it are removed Now when the soul is concluded under the will of God it is disquieted by none of these For he delights to do the commanding will of God It is the joy of his heart his meat and drink He delights to be under the effecting will of God in what kind soever Si vis constituere me Pastorem ovium aut Regem Populolorum ecceparatum est Cor meum He can sing in a prison take with joy the spoiling of his goods and chearfully part with his choicest relations Per calcatum perge patrem ficcis oculis ad vexillum Crucis evola He is never vexed with tormenting cares We are not careful to answer thee in this matter For he hath cast all his care upon him that careth for him If he be called before Rulers he takes no thought what he shall answer or what the event or success shall be it shall be given you in that hour He is not disquieted with vexing fears I will not fear what man can do unto me Though an hoast of men were encamped about me I will not fear What ever befals him in the way of duty Fides famem non timet The instance of Luther in going to Worms to the disputation makes that manifest I will enter Worms in the name of the Lord though there were as many Devils as there are tiles upon the houses He is never tormented with thoughts of despair But he saith though I fall I shall rise though I sit in darkness the Lord will be a light about me I shall yet praise him Now a man that never grieves never fears never cares what should hinder this man from a constant calmness and serenity within himself Now when our will is subdued unto
which God hath given to the Saints to study in this state of distance till they come to behold his face the book of nature and the book of Scripture and there are three things the Saints have mainly to do in this life 1. To obey his precepts 2 To beleive his promises 3 To submit to his providences The Angels in heaven behold his face in glory which is to them Cognitio meridiana as the Schoolmen speak yet they study the word and the works of God and know much of the will of God by them Unto Angels and principalities and powers is made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God Ephes 3.10 They are indeed present in our assemblies and therefore women are exhorted to have power upon their heads because of the Angels 1 Cor. 11.17 They do not come to our assemblies to be instructed by any of our ordinances for they know much more then any of the Saints do We know in part and prophesie in part but by the Church is meant By the works of God toward the Church and his severall dispensations therein And this is their Cognitio vespertina the knowledg which they get by their own experience and observation of the works of God in the world but especially toward the Church 2. This Will manifested being the rule of duty the Saints ought neither to speak nor act against it 1. A man must not speak against the will of Gods as manifested First not against his commanding will a man must not dispute any command of God for God only is the Lord of his own law and therfore every thought and reasoning of ours must be brought into subjection thereunto 2 Cor. 10 5. Here an implicite faith is only necessary to obey when a man sees no reason for it Therefore the Apostle condemns those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â— Tim. 6.5 perverse disputings of the commands of God by men of torrupt minds destitute of the truth Not against the effecting will of God when God hath done any work â—nd therein manifested his will we must not speak against it Levit. 10. â— Aaron held his peace And David â—ept silence because it was the Lords doâ—ng Hab. 2. last Zach. 2. last Be â—lent oh all flesh before the Lord. It is â—poken of the effecting will of God in the Churches deliverance The Lorâ— will inherit Judah his portion in the holy land and again chuse Ierusalemâ— Against this there was like to be 〈◊〉 great deal of reasoning and murmuâ—ring and that from the Saints aâ— well as from the enemies but thâ— Lord puts it to silence when he wâ—â— do the work do not dispute do noâ— rail do noit reason againstit 3. Noâ— against the permitting will of God if he will suffer the Caldeans to plundâ— Iob of his substance and Satan to bâ—reave him of his children and givâ— him power over the winds to thâ— end yea if he will give him powâ—â— over his body so as to smite him wiâ— plague-sores for the same word 〈◊〉 used that is used of Hezechias sicknesâ— which by the medicine of a bunch 〈◊〉 green figs is guessed by interpreteâ— to be a plague-sore yet he must 〈◊〉 reply against it not speak a woâ— but with thankfulness submit unâ—â— the will of God as manifested thereiâ— If God will suffer Shimei to curse Dâ—vid he must not so much as say Wâ—â— hast thou done so 2 Sam. 16.10 therebe a messenger of Satan to buffet Paul so as he must fight it out with a champion sent from hell immediately and if the Lord will have it to continue upon him and will not grant his prayer for the removing of it he must not speak against it but sit down and say Thy grace is sufficient for me 2. As the Saints must not speak against the will of God when it is manifested so they must not act against it We have in Scripture three famous instances hereof First when the Lord had declared his will that he would give up Jerusalem and the King thereof into the hands of the King of Babylon Now the will of God is manifested may they not use all lawfull means for their defence and stand it out to the last man they can but be delivered into his hands at last but when the will of God is made known Zedekiah must not oppose but he must go forth to the King of Babylon yield up himself give up his City and then the promise is Thou shalt live thou and thy house Ier. 38.17 18. verses 2. The Lord had manifested his will for the destruction of the house of Ahab that wicked and idolatrous family Jehosaphat joyns with Ahab in a War that he might contrary to the revealed will of God preserve him and his house from ruine 2 Chron. 19 2. the Lord sends a prophet to reprove him Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord therefore is wrath upon thee from the Lord for he will rise up against the house of evill doers and against the help of them that work iniquity If his will be manifested to destroy a family let not the best men interpose and act against the will of God as manifested for they will be so farr from recovering it that they will perish with it proud helpers shall stoop before him 3. When the Lord is accomplishing his own great work against Babylon Mystery Babylon the great the mother of harlots against all humane inventions under all forms the worship of God as taught by the precepts of men and when the will of God is manifested by the pouring out of severall vials after all this the kings of the earth shall be gathered together to the great battell at Armageddon for Antichrists restitution and establishment Rev. 16.16 This gathering together and rallying their scattered troops is their sin and shall be their snare and ruine For if the will of God be manifested it will be the down-fall of all that come in to joyn with them in ways of opposition against it 3. The grounds of this doctrine are these Reas 1. The will of God hath a majesty and a soveraingty goes with it for he is the great the only potentate King of Kings and Lord of Lords none governs by will as an absolute monarch but himself And therefore Austin commends those Princes as happy men qui potestatem suam divinae majestati famulam faciunt And if there be a soveraignty then every disobedience unto this will and every opposition against it whether in word or action is rebellion 1. Sam. 15.23 There is a rebellion against God because his will hath a soveraignty in it and his law is a royall law Therefore the Lord cals the Babylonians who were a disobedient people the land of rebels Jer. 50.21 For to speak or act against the will of God as manifested is a rebellion against the Lord. Ier. 28.16 The Lord saith I will put an iron yoke upon the neck of these nations and they
a Covenant the consent of the Creature is necessarily included Burg. vin dic legis p 121. The terms of the Covenant are offered to him and subjected to his choyce Neither dare I embrace that Doctrine that Adams consent was not necessary unto the first Covenant because he was bound to accept what God did require for he was bound freely to consent to the terms of the Covenant as he was bound freely to obey the precepts of the Law but yet his consent did constitute a Covenant between God and him which else had remained a Law only That God did indent with Adam as a publike person the word is clear and that Adam knew upon what terms he stood or else he was ignorant of the nature of his Covenant which were dangerous to affirm and so did neither know the necessity of his obedience nor the danger of his fall Now when the soul doth chuse the will of God as best and best for him herein doth his subjection to the commanding will of God further consist 3. Intentio est in aliud tendere inde pertinet ad id quod movet ad finem est ergo actus voluntatis Aquin. 1. 2ae q 19. a. 7. Intentâ—o electio sunt idem motus fed in 〈◊〉 distinguuntur quod intentio primò sertur in finem deinde in media electio vero primò attingit medium deinde finem Medina 1. 2ae q. 12 a. 4. Psal 17.3 Acts 11.23 Intentio The intention of will The Law being consented to as good and chosen as best for us then the aym and the bent of the will is to walk in all things according to this Rule It is that which he intends in his whole course Paul proves the goodness of his conscience by this Heb. 13.18 That he was willing in all things to live honestly This was the constant intention and bent of his will and when the Saints do otherwise it is praeter intentionem for they are stedfastly purposed to keep his Precepts and with full purpose of heart they cleave to God when they fall they are overtaken Gal. 6.1 It is by way of surprize as that which they intended not I do that which I would not Rom. 7.19 Therefore the regenerate part which is born of God doth not sin It may be over-born by the flesh and led Captive but it consents not to it The bent and intention of the will is against it all the while Daven in col 1 10. Sufficit quod praecesserit illa intentio in habitu retineatur licet in singulis actibus non cogitetur c. Some of our Divines do distinguish between an habitual and an actual intention and they say though there cannot be always an actual intention of God and his glory yet there must be always an habitual a constant purpose of obeying God and submitting to his Law in every thing for the power of Grace cannot stand with a purpose of sinning 4. Imperium Homo non agit ex necessitate naturae sed liberè sc modò rationali hoc est modo imperii Ad imperium requiritur dictamen ultimum intellectus practici stante efficaciâ imperii voluntas liberè movetur Cumel de volunt p. 50. The power and the command of the will The will is the leading faculty it hath a strang ruling power over the man it commands all the faculties of the soul Imperio politico all the members of the body Imperio despotico It commands the understanding to search the memory to retain the affections which are as it were the ebbings and flowings of the will to go out towards those objects the will is set upon If the will move towards any object the eye looks the hand works the feet haste towards it with all manner of readiness and unweariedness because the will commands it We have all known how powerful the commands of the will were and how unwearied in ways of sin Mich. 7.7 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad malum manus 〈◊〉 reddun sc aptaâ— peritas 〈◊〉 Merde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept. when we did evil with both hands earnestly fulfilling the wills of the flesh and of the mind Therefore Rom. 7.5 Sin is compared to a Husband and the Soul to a Wife because the will of sin is the law of the soul And as it is in sin so t is in Grace also Grace being the Law of the mind Rom. 7.23 And the end of the Law is Obedience Now though Grace be in the whole soul yet the Commanding power of it is chiefly in the will For Grace doth act in the soul according to the nature of every faculty In the understanding searching into the will of God as the Rule of Duty in the memory laying up the Commandments as the greatest treasure I have hid thy Law in my heart In the affections also the soul goes out to it Oh how do I love thy Law thy precepts are my delight I hope in thy word I have rejoyced in thy Testimonies more then in all riches But the commanding power over all these comes from the will therefore the Law of the minde is mainly seated in that faculty which commands the man Now when this imperium of the will is exercised over the whole man for the Law of God bringeth all into subjection thereunto as the Rule of Duty then is mans will brought into a perfect and compleat subjection unto the will of God Vse If the power of godliness doth mainly consist in the subjection of our will to the commanding will of God This serves as an Exhortation mainly to place your Religion therein Godliness consists not in reasoning and Disputing but in willing and doing when there is much inquiry what the will of God is with a resolution of will not to do it that the Lord hates as they did in Jeremiah 42.5 6. The Lord be a true and a faithful witness between us say they to the Prophet If we do not according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us whether it be good or whether it be evil we will obey the voyce of the Lord our God and yet after so solemn calling God to witness upon their souls they say Jer. 44.16 The word that thou hast spoken unto to us in the name of the Lord we will not hearken to it but we will certainly do whatsoever goeth out of our own mouth To enquire what the will of God is as a Rule of Duty to no other end but with the greater obstinacy to oppose it and neglect it is the greater abomination and the Lord abhors it To enforce this Exhortation of subjecting our wils to the commanding will of God we may take these considerations 1. Consider The Commands of God are the highest testification of the soveraignty of God The Lord hath an absolute soveraignty over the Creatures He is the only Potentate King of Kings and Lord of Lords