he purposing more and more choise Dispensations and to some less and less choise To some a longer and to some a shorter time of waiting upon them for their turning to him with respect to the former of which it is That the Apostle as I understand speaks of some sometimes as Elect and chosen Persons above others namely as to God's making choise to dispense more special means and mercies to them Rom. 9.10 12 16. c. both for their own and others good and others not so neglected but passed by as to such an Election and that meerly according to the good pleasure of his Will without respect to Birth or Works yea or of good or evil found or foreseen in them as also that He hath mercy on whom he will have Mercy and whom he will he hardens as to his continuing his gracious Dispensations to them and Operations in them and with them after they have sinned against former Dispensations and deserved Wrath from him So we may say He did graciously purpose to prefer Isaac before Ishmael as to his Dispensations of choise Priviledges to him for his own and others good in chusing to have his Son take Flesh of him and betrusting his choise Oracles with him and his Seed And of his Seed he freely purposed to dispense more favour and priviledge to Jacob than to Esau without respect to Good or Evil in them but according to his free Election of Jacob to be He of whom Christ should come and so to be exalted to more Honour Exod. 19.5 Deut. 4.20 37. 7.6 7 8. 14.1 2. Rom. 3.1 9.3 4 5. Jer. 3.1 Luk. 1.13 14 15. He and his Seed with respect to Christ to come of them that they should be to him a peculiar People betrusted with his Oracles and Ordinances and so to be as a Kingdom of Priests to and amongst all the Nations about them Yea to be betrusted with the Blessing of Abraham that concerned all the Nations and Families of the Earth Thus God fore-knew and sanctifyed Jeremy in the Womb and ordained him to be a Prophet to the Nations and John the Baptist and its probable that Paul signifies the same of himself in saying That God seperated him from his Mothers Womb Gall. 1.15 God in Christ as Lord and Governour of his Creatures having that Power and Priviledge to appoint and Design them some to more honourable uses and imployments and others to less honourable or dishonourable Services as pleases him without any other reason but because so it seems good to his Wisdom Isa 45.9 10. Even as the Potter hath power over the clay as the Apostle says Rom. 9.21 of the same to make one a vessel of dishonour and another a vessel of honour though this he doth in and through Christ and in subordination to his Great Design by Christ of Glorifying himself to and amongst men and prosecuting their good and Salvation Even as a Lord or Master of a great houshold who purposes one to Office of Honour near himself and another to be in a lower Rank a Scullion or Stable-Groom and yet designs the publick welfare of them all and reserves to himself a liberty of advancing the lowest higher as he shall judge fit or of putting down the highest lower Rom. 9.15 2 Tim. 2.19 20 21. as he may find him demeaning himself unworthily in his greater honour for this is to be minded That though God's purposes of dispensing his Grace and favour to men as to his honouring some above others is altogether free and may be irrespective to good or evil in them yet neither is that Honour and Excellency to which he chuses them in his purpose and according to his choise of them to which he purposes to call them and dispense to them for themselves alone but for the Publick good and behoof of others from amongst whom he chuses them and that are not so chosen by him As Israel freely chosen from other Nations and so as no other Nation was chosen and in due time called to be honoured with the Blessings of God that pertained not to him alone but to all Nations also even those not so chosen both Christ who was to come of him and the Oracles concerning him being not sent nor speaking good concerning them onely but for and to all Men thence that Prayer God be Merciful to us Psal 67.1 2 3 4. and bless us and cause thy face to shine upon us that thy way may be known upon earth and thy saving health unto all Nations Let the people praise thee O God yea let all the people praise thee O let the Nations be glad and sing for joy c. Even as Josiah singled out from the rest to Execute Judgment on the Idolaters And Cyrus to restore Israel And John Baptist and Jeremy and Paul to Preach the Truth of God to others were not singled out for some private Personal good to themselves onely but for the Publick good and benefit of all others amongst whom and for whom they were so singled out Such purposes for Dispensation and so the Dispensations according to those purposes being not to prejudice but to promote the Publick good of Persons Isa 49.7 8. Luk. 2.30 31. not so chosen as they even as Christ was chosen out of and from all other men so as none but He was chosen yet not for the prejudice but for the good of all other Men so aâ— they might have good by him did they not willingly refuse and put it from them Nor was the good and honour purposed to them as to Israel Jeremy John the Baptist c. purposed to be so dispensed to them and estated on them as that they be Personally thereby necessitated to Eternal Life or to such use of them as that they might not possibly forfeit them by abusing them but God left himself at liberty to reject even those so purposed to honour they dishonouring him and waxing wanton against him and exalt to honour those purposed to dishonourable stations they therein submitting to him or otherwise as he pleased to assay to bring them to submission to him by shewing them more Mercy as Jeremy fore-known and Ordained to be a Prophet held that honour upon termes of Obedience and Faithfulness to God to which also God prevented him and afforded him sufficient Grace and Incouragement Jer. 1.5 17. 15.19 20. otherwise he might be confounded before the People and rejected of God as for some time it seems he was in way to have been And Paul understood the same concerning himself that though a chosen Vessel to carry the name of Christ amongst the Gentiles yet unless faithful to God and Christ therein woe to him God would reject him as he implys 1 Cor. 9.16.27 proving the righteousness of his Apprehension therein from God's dealing with the Fathers honoured by him and yet with many of them abusing God's goodness God not well pleased but they were destroyed
whom he herein preferred in Honour and Dignity above the rest Some he was pleased to inclose and dress as his Garden from the rest Isa 5.1 2 6. 32.15 16. 35.1 2 6. Act. 14.16 17. Deut. 32. who comparatively were left as the open Fâ—ild and to make them as his Vineyard when the rest were comparatively but like the Wilderness when he left other People to walk after their own ways though not without continual witnesses of himself vouchsafed them generally in his Works in which was his goodness leading them to Repentance He took Israel as a more choise People and Portion for himself he made known his ways to Moses his Acts to the Children of Israel Psal 103.7 He shewed his Word unto Jacob his Statutes and his Judgements to Israel He dealt not so with any Nation and as for his Judgements Ordinances and Government in his Church they did not know them as is said Psal 147.19 20. though yet wisdom in the mean time even the Wisdom of God ceased not to cry to them without even to them without the House she had builded the Church or City of God and to utter her Voice in the Streets to call men to Repentance as Prov. 1 20 21. 8.1 2 3 4. though in respect of such outward verbal and written Instructions as the Jews Had the Gentiles were a People distinguished from them the Jews a People under Law or that had the Law and the Gentiles a People without the Law Eph. 2.11 12 71. Act. 2.38 39. as Rom. 2.12 14. yet they were not wholy without Law they were a Law to themselves The Jews were a People nearer to God in that respect the Gentiles a People far off that had not God and his Covenant and Promises Lodged and Tabernacled amongst them if we may so say as the Jews had Eph. 2.19 20. The Jews were as Gods Houshould and houshold Servants to whom he opened his mind more expresly and plainly Psal 145.9 148.11 12 13. when the Gentiles were as Tenants dwelling at a distance from him though he a good gracious Lord to them all and his tender mercies upon or over all his Works but they stood not so hear him nor had such advantages of hearing his more glorious Discoveries of his mind as the other had Only as we shewed above they the Jews were not so priviledged meerly for themselves but to be means of making known Gods mind to others Exod. 19.5 6. Ezek. 5.5 6 7 8. as a Royal Priesthood before him which because they did not in their Prosperity as they ought but rather turned aside to the ways of the Heathen than endeavoured to turn in the Heathen to him therefore he dispersed and scattered them and their Books and Doctrine amongst the Heathen Matth. 10.1 2. 21.43 44. 28.19 20 Psal 72.16 And at length chose out a handful of them whom he made and found faithful before him and ordered them to do that great Work of making known his Mind among the Nations taking in his remoter Tenants into his House and Houshold Rom. 11.20 21 22. Mat. 8.12 to be a People near to him and turning his former Houshold Servants and Children born in his House out of doors becaâ— or their pride and stubborness agaâ— him Nor did he only take and use this â—berty in revealing his Words and Judgements to one People and not to other though to that one that they might spread the knowledge of God amongâ— others Rom. 16.25 26. Col. 1.25 26 27 Eph. 3.4 5 6. Psal 17 67. but also to reveal 〈◊〉 Words more fully to some persons and more immediately than to others yea in some Ages more fully than in others He more immediate Discoveries of his mind were not given to all men no nor to all Israel nor to all that feared God in Israel as to the immediateness of their Discovery Psal 25.8 9 12 13 14. Mat. 13.11 12. Prov. 22.23 2.1 2.6 though they that fear him have and had in all Ages an understanding given them into the mysteries of God and secrets of his Kingdom above any that fear him not as to the manner efficatiousness and usefulness of their perception but to some certain select persons from amongst those that feared him whom he was pleased at his pleasure to make use of for the meadiate revealing and making him known to the rest both fearers and not fearers of God as was meet for them As to Enoch and Noah before the Flood in the separation of the family of Seth from the rest afterward to Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses and the following Prophets and Apostles and above all to his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ who immediately in the Manhood received the knowledge of God from the Word or God himself and diffused it abroad into his Apostles and Disciples to divulge it to others Now as we may not from that election of them with respect to whom and the committing of the faith to them it is called the faith of Gods Elect Tit. 1.1 conclude that all others of Israel were rejected of God or left without sufficient means of Salvation because not so Elected of God to that honour of so immediate Revelation as they no more may we conclude from Gods Electing Jacob and his Posterity to have the more full means of Grace and clearer knowledge of God manifested and committed to them and not so chusing the other Nations but passing them by as to that Rom. 2.7 8 9 10 11 25 26 27. that therefore the other Nations were rejected of God from any possibility to and left without sufficient means of their Salvation This liberty and exercise of the Soverainty of God in honouring some above others and that with reference too to the good of others nothing prejudiceth the good of all but rather proclaims God the prosecutor and promoter of it though such vouchsafements of choise priviledges were choise favours to those they were vouchsafed to and put the greater ingagements of thankfulness and service to God upon them The like may be said about his different Dispensations in and unto former Ages hiding comparatively from them what he was pleased to reserve for and reveal to and in these last Ages as is said Rom. 16.25 26. Col. 1.26 Ephes 3.5 viz. that his hiding the mistery from those formeâ— Ages doth not imply his rejection of them to destruction it being but a comparative hiding thereof it was not so made known then as now says Ephes 3.5 For as we said in the beginning of this Section it was made known more or less in every Age of the World as to the substance of it as holding forth the way of mans salvation as may be made evident by Induction 1. In the Ages before the Flood 2. And from the Flood to Moses And 3. From Moses to David 4. From David to the Captivity of Israel 5. From Israel's Captivity to the coming of
far Countries and Solomon positively Asserts in his Paper That the Nations far off should hear of his Name so as that they might come some of them at least while the Temple yet stood to inquire after God What else signifie those Expressions 1 King 8.41 Moreover concerving a stranger that is not of thy people Israel but comes out of a far country for thy Names-sake For they shall hear of by Great Name and of thy strong hand and of thy stretched out arm And so we find that in all the Four Monarchies Israel was so known of them and had such dealings with them that they had opportunity by them to hear of the Great Name of God and his Works with the Syrians and Assyrians we find they had sometimes Wars sometimes Peace and Leagues and the Miracles done by Elias and Elisha and the healing of Naâ—man might spread his Fame with them We find the Ten Tribes were at length carryed Captive by the Assyrians and plaâ—d in the Cities of the Medes and other places and that some of them had the knowledge and fear of God in them may most probably be conceived though 〈◊〉 generality of them while in heir own and were corrupted yea and the History of Tobit being one of the Captives 〈◊〉 Israel makes it evident In that Monarchy Preached Jonas to Niniveh the Grâ— City and Head then of that Empire and by his Preaching it was Converted and spared And the Storm that beâ— in his running from God and what the Marriners see and heard of him and his deliverance out of the Whales Belly and his Preaching to Nineveh and their Repentance could not but spread the â—mour of God's Name far and near 〈◊〉 those times Afterwards then the Empire was Translated to Babilon God made known his People and Himself then to them Isa 38. and 39. Hezekiah's sickness and recovery and the Sign given him and the Shaddows going back in Ahaz Dyal was there declared insomuch that thereupon they sent Embassadors to Jerusalem to Congratulate Hezekiah about it and after that Manasseth was thither carried Captive and there Repented and no doubt but by those Wars with Israel and Conquest got they had some opportunity given them of hearing of their God and his Great Name and Works yea those two Kingdoms of Aegypt and Babilon and all the Kingdoms between them had then Commerse with them and could not but hear much of them and of the Name of God amongst them as also the Captivity of Jehoiakim and Jeconiab and especially the great Piety and Wâ—dom of Daniel and the Three Worthâ— then in Babilon and therewith many good Jews for divers years living spread the knowledge and fame of God amongst them Yea the Interpretations of Nebuchadnezzars Dreams the Deliverance of the Three Worthies from the fiery Furnace the turning out of Nebuchadnezzar and restoring him again were very famous and begat very publick and notorious Proclamations of the Name of God amongst or to all Peoples Nations and Languages that dwelt in the Earth that they should reverence and acknowledge him Dan. 3. and 4. In the Persian Monarchy also Daniel was in great repute with Cyrus and Darius The Jews Ezr. 1.1 2 3 4. and their Cause was known to them Cyrus made a Decree in favour of them for re-edifying the House of the Lord whom he acknowledged to be God The Lord God of heaven Darius also exceedingly loved and favoured Daniel and his Religion was famously known to the other Governours and Rulers and both it and the God whom he worshipped was exceedingly glorifyed in his Deliverance from the Lyons when cast into their Denn upon that account so as that Darius also publickly Proclaimed or Decreed That in every Nation men should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel Dan. 6.25 26 27. as being the Living God and stedfast for ever and his Kingdome that which should never be destroyed c. And after Daniel Ezra and Nehemiah Mordecai and Esther were of great Note and well known to the Persion Court and Empire in several Kings Reigns And God got himself a Name and discovered himself gloriously by his prospering and helping them and appearing miraculously for their help and for the Confusion of their Enemies as the Books of Ezra Nehemiah and Esther testifie Where also it is evidenced That the Jews the Worshippers of God were scattered up and down and seated amongst the Nations and Professing God's Religion Est 3.8 both in the Imperial City of Susa and in all the many Provinces of that large Empire as is clear in that of Haman where he informes the King of them That they were scattered abroad and dispersed among the People in all the Provinces of his Kingdom and their Laws divers from all People c. And commandment was given to the Jews in every Province to stand upon their own Defence and to the Rulers and Lieutenants in the Provinces to Assist them and doubtless that great Deliverance did mightily fame them and their Religion yea it 's expresly Noted That thereupon many of the People of the Land became Jews Est 8.17 And those Dispersions of the Jews continued to and in the days of the Grecian or Macedonian Monarchy too to the beginning of which the Records in Nehemiah reach or to times immediately preceding it for mention is made Neh. 12.22 of the Priestâ— that were to the Reign of Darius the Persian Probably the last Darius that was subdued by Alexander for Jaddua and Jaddua was High Priests in the time of Alexander the Great is there mentioned And how God made known Himself his People and Truth in that Monarchy may be in part seen in what Josephus Records Of God's appearing in a Vision to Alezander in the form or habit of the High-Priest of the Jews and his acknowledging it and doing Homage to the High Priest upon the sight of him when he went in his Priestly Habit to meet him and his Army Marching against them with a purpose to have Destroyed them his publick owning of whom and relating his Vision and the Immunities given to the Jews thereupon could not but give advantage of inquiring into their Religion and of being instructed into the Knowledge of God worshipped by them yea we may find in the Histories of Josephus Polybius and others That the Jews were not onely dispersed here and there in the Countries but also Served in their Wars And in the Reign of Ptolomy Philadelphus their Law or Books of the Scriptures were by Seventy and two Interpreters Translated into the Greek Language and deposited in his Library which was a great advantage for the dispersing the Knowledge of God and his Word amongst the Nations What should I speak of the many and marvelous Victories and great help 〈◊〉 Streights afforded to them in the times of the Macchabees Heb. 11.34 35 36 37. their constancy in their Religion even to Sufferings and Death in the times of Antiochus Epiphanes and Ptolomy
him in the day of his power or armies that is of his being glorified at God's right hand and in the Gospel which is the power of God to the salvation of those that believe or credit it and to the making them free and willing to serve him Rom. 1.16 and so in the day of his armies and companies going forth to propagate his Name and fight the good fight of Faith his people those that stand on his side and for him offer themselves freely Nay further it 's granted that no man makes himself willing to serve Christ but they that come to him his people are made free by his power working in his Gospel published to them his truth set before them and abiding by them as in that of John 8.30 31 32. If ye continue in my words that is hearing and receiving or minding them then are ye my disciples that is his people indeed and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free set you at liberty from the love of sin and the world c. to serve and walk with God in holiness and righteousness and so offer up your selves free-will offerings to God Which place fitly expounds the other and yet clearly shews that that is a consequent operation of God following upon mens receiving and continuing in the truth preventing them and so becoming his people in which they are more made his or given up to him and so is propounded conditionally to such as do but begin to credit the truth and listen to it agreeing with that in John 6.44 45. No man can come to me except the Father who hath sent me draw him As it is written in the Prophets And they that is Sion's children the waiters upon God in the Doctrine given forth in Sion Isa 54.13 shall all be taught of God Every one therefore that heareth and learneth of the Father that is thy people shall come to me shall be a willing people Agreeable also to that is Hos 6.3 Then shall we know if we follow on to know c. And Isa 55.5 6. Thou shalt call a Nation that thou knewest not and a Nation that knew not thee shall run after thee shall be willing or voluntaries because of the Lord thy God and for the holy one of Israel for he shall glorifie thee Seek ye the Lord while he maybe found and call upon him while he is nigh c. As if he should say The glory of Christ discovered in his calls by the Father's teaching being beheld shall make people willing and free to follow Christ they that know or take notice of his Name will trust in him seek therefore to know that Name or discern that Glory c. This may indeed shew what we have noted before that they that yield up to the counsels and calls of God afforded with his preventing operations and so look or listen to Christ and God in Christ shall find the creative power of God framing their hearts to the love of Christ and causing them to run freely after him yea that hinders not but that men to whom those preventing operations are afforded may resist and wind out from the counsels and teachings of God therewith given them and so frustrate themselves of the creative operations that follow upon mens not so resisting Isa 53.1 They that believe not the report prove not the arm of the Lord that is to be met with therein by men Naaman not washing in Jordan had not felt the power of God to heal him Some I know urge that of Luke 14.23 Compel them to come in But that being spoken to the servants as to be their act can signifie no more than a more earnest urgency with men on their parts and cannot inforce the signification of any compulsive irresistible working of God and therefore I shall not further insist upon it SECT 6. 1 Cor. 4.7 Considered and Mens Collections from it SOme from that saying of the Apostle Who maketh thee to differ 1 Cor. 4.7 or what hast thou that thou hast not received And if thou hast received it why dost thou then boast argue that it is and must be some more special irresistible grace of God afforded to some men more than to others that working irresistibly differences them in point of believing from others upon whom God doth not so irresistibly work and that they received from God their very doing better as to hearing and learning than others which if God had given to others as well as to them theâ— would have done yea must necessariâ— have done as well as they But here again Men mind not that they swerve from the Apostles scope and business and wrest or carry his words from the thing he treats about which is not of mens hearing the Word of God and giving heed to him in the means of Grace though that also is of God but of believers difference in their gifts and receipts of Gifts from God by occasion of which some were apt to be puffed up above others and some for one who had greater Gifts against another who had less as appears clearly in the former Verse To these he saith even to them who had more excellent Gifts Who made thee to differ or excel What hast thou What Gift or Excellency that thy Brother hath not which thou hast not received And if thou hast received it why dost thou then boast or pride thy self of it as attributing it to thy self and lifting up thy self above thy brother by it This is clearly and evidently the scope of the Apostle in that place which being kept to we cannot err by occasion of his words But if we will take his words and carry them from their scope we may perchance through our reason fall into mistakes as if we should thence argue that we have no cause or ground any of us to commend one mans diligence in the use of his talent and fault another mans slothfulness or that the slothful ought in like manner to be excused or not blamed as the other that hath less Gifts though diligent in them because as the one mans less Gifts proceed from God's good pleasure to give him less as but two talents when another hath five so the other mans slothfulness in like manner proceeded from God's good pleasure too that pleased not to give him such diligence as another hath Surely he that minds the Scriptures would see such an use of those words as so to argue from them to be but an abuse of them And so If we should thence conclude that God made Adam to differ from himself by falling from his created innocency or suppose there had been another man every way as perfect as Adam and no more free and able to stand than Adam and every way alike tempted and assisted as he must he needs have fallen as Adam did if so then how had Adam power to have stood and how was his fall meerly wilful and voluntary nay how can it