Attributes into communicable and incommunicable would fall to the ground For against it this might be sayd that the holinesse mercy justice and sincerity with other vertues that are in us are not the perfections of God in a lower degree communicated to us but things of a different nature Câ—n. 〈…〉 2 Men cannot be truely sayd to be made according to Gods Image nor when they are regenerated to be renewed after the same image and to be made partakers of the divine nature That picture cannot be the picture of such a man which doth not in his parts and lineaments truely resemble him no more can we be truely called the picture or image of God if in our graces in respect of which we are principally so called there be not a lively resemblance of Gods attributes 3 We may not safely imitate God as we are coÌ„manded Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect Math 5.48 1. Pet. 1.16 and Be yee holy as J am holy Nor when we shew forth holinesse mercy justice and sincerity in our doings can we be properly sayd to imitate God if these be one thing in God and in men another These two things being thus premised viz. Gods holinesse mercy justice and truth are foure of his chiefe Attributes in the exercise of which he taketh himselfe to bee much glorified and that we are to measure these attributes by the same vertues in our selves I come to the proofe of my second reason against absolute Reprobation stated even in the mildest and most plausible way It opposeth Gods principall Attributes particularly his Holinesse Mercy Iustice Sincerity 1. Repugnant to Gods Holinesse FIrst it sighteth with Gods Holinesse and maketh him the principall cause of sinne in the greatest number of men I know that the defenders of it do not thinke so For the maine reason which moved the Synod at Dort and some other Divines before and since to bring downe Predestination thus low and begin their Reprobation after the fall was that they might maintaine a fatall and absolute Reprobation of men and yet avoyd this imputation as * Dr. Twisse his vind graâ— 1. par 1. c. 4. initio Dr. Twisse hath noted But what they intended for ought that I can see they have not compassed For it followeth evident enough even from their conclusions too that of all the sinnes of Reprobates which are the greatest number by many degrees God is the true and principall author Two things they say which taken together me thinks inferre it 1 That God of his own will and pleasure hath brought men into an estate in which they cannot avoyd sinne 2 That he leaveth the Reprobate irrecoverably in it I. That God of his own will and pleasure hath brought men into an estate in which they caÌ„not possibly avoyd sin that is into the state of originall sinne which consists of two parts 1 The guilt of Adams transgressions 2 The corruption of nature In both these they say mankinde is interessed not through the force and efficiencie of naturall generation because we all derive our nature from Adam as our first principle but by Gods free and voluntary order and imputation (a) Calv. Instit l. 3. c. â—3 Sect. 7 NoÌ„ eniâ— factum est naturalâ—ter ut à salute exciderent omnes unâ—us parenus culpâ It came not to passe by any naturall meanes sayth Calvin that all men fell from salvation by the fault of our first parent (b) Cunctos mortales in unius hoâ— personâ morti â—eturnae mancipatos fuâ— Scriptura clamat hoc cum naturae nequeat ascribi ab admirabili dei consilio profectuÌ„ esse minime obscuâ—uÌ„ est That all men are held under the guilt of eternall death in the person in the person of one man it is the cleare and constant voyce of Scripture Now this cannot be ascribed to any naturall cause it must therefore came from the wonderfull counsell of God A little after he hath the same again with as great an Emphasis (c) Quomodo factuÌ„ est ut toâ— gentes unà cum liberiâ— corum infantibus â—ae mâ—tiâ— prolvere lapsus Adâ— absque remedio anis quia dâ—o ita 〈◊〉 est How is it that so many nations with their children should be involved in the fall without remedy but because God would have it so As roundly doth Dr. Twisse affirme the same (d) Twisse vind grâ— l. 1 par 1 â—r 4 viz. prope◠〈◊〉 Orâ—ginalis p◠〈◊〉 non nisi impâ—uâ—â—ious lu◠〈◊〉 propagatione ad noâ— derivatur quorum 〈◊〉 que non nisi a libera Dei câ— sâ—tutione proficiscâ—tur The guilt of originall sinne is derived to us onely by imputation the silth onely by propagation and both these onely by Gods free constitution A little before hee hath these words (e) Etenim naturae vâ—ium non est cuâ—que suum voluntate propâ—â contractum sed solâ imputatione aut propagatione detivatum quarum utraquâ— ut voluntate Dei Deus enim nulla necessitate sed pro meâ—â mâ voluntate nobis imputat peccatum Adae The fault of nature commeth from Gods free appointment for he doth not out of any necessity but of his meere will onely impute the sinne of Adam to us To this purpose he speaketh a great deale more in the same place To these sayings S. Bernard hath the like speaking of Adams sinne he sayth (f) Bern. Serm. 1. â—ni 1. pâ—st S. Epiph. Alien est quia in Adam omnâ— nescientes pâ—ccavimus noster quiâ— etsi in alio nos tâ—men peccavimus nobis justo Dei consilio imputabatur hâ—lto Adams sinne is anothers because we knew not of it and yet ours because it was through the just though secret judgment of God reputed ours And this that they say is agreeable to reason For if we be fallen into the guilt of the first sinne and the corruption of nature onely because we were in Adams loyns when he sinned and derive our being from him then these two things will follow 1 That we stand guilty of all the sinnes which Adam committed from his fall to his lives end For we were virtually in his loynes as well after his fall as before and in every passage and variation of his life he was still a principle of mankinde But where doe we reade that we are guilty of any other of his sinnes To the first sinne onely doth the Scripture entitle that sinne and misery which entred into the world and invaded all mankinde as we may see Rom. 5.15 16 17 c. 2 That children are guilty of the sinnes of all their progenitors especially of their immediate Parents For they were in theyr loyns when they sinned and more immediately then in Adams But children are not guilty of their parents faults nor obnoxious to their punishments because they are their children as we may see Exod. 20.5 where God saying that he will visite the sinnes of the
do you good God waits a great while for the conversion of sinners as Marriners doe for theyr tyde and at last with much adoe if there be a necessity he chideth and fighteth 3 In its amplitude or objects to whom it is extended Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation but shewing mercy to thousands Exod. 20.5 In these words God implyeth that his mercy reacheth farther then his justice and that how much 3 or 4 come short of a thousand so much doth his justice come short of his mercy in the exercise of it 4 In the occasions that move God to exercise them It is a great matter that moveth God to punish as we may see Gen. 6.5 6 7 12 13. when the wickednesse of man was great in the earth and all flesh had corrupted his way then God thinketh of a floud He would not destroy the Amorites till their wickednesse was full How oft would I have gathered thee saith CHRIST to Ierusalem Mathew 23.37 that is I have not taken advantages against thee nor upon the first second or third unkindnes cast thee off small matters have not moved me to destroy thee O Ierusalem But how small an occasion doth God take to spare men when he had examined Sodome and found their sinnes to be answerable to the cry yet then for ten righteous mens sakes would he have spared Sodome Gen. 18.32 Nay he would have spared Jerusalem if the Prophet could by his searching have found one man who did execute judgment and seek the truth Jer. 5.1 What a slender humiliation made him to spare wicked Ahab and his house a long time 1. Kings 21.29 And the repentance of Ninive whose wickednesse cryed to the Lord for vengeance Ionah 1.2 did easily procure her a pardon Thus is Gods mercy advanced above his justice 2 It is compared also with the affection of a father to his sonne of a tender mother to her childe and of the most affectionate bruits to their brood and set above them all It goeth beyond a fathers to his sonne Mat. 7.11 If you that are evill can give good guifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to them that aske him What doth this quanto magis imply but that Gods love out-strips a fathers And so it doth a mothers too Esay 49.15 Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion upon the Sonne of her wombe yea they may forget yet J will not forget thee Women are compassionate toward their children because they are the fruit of their wombes and a part of themselves but most indulgent are they toward those children to whom they are Nurses as well as mothers to their sucking children And yet mothers may forget even their sucking children but as for God he can never forget his children Againe God compareth himselfe with one of the most affectionate females among unreasonable creatures the Hen Math. 23.37 O â—erusalem how oft would I have gather'd thee as a Hen gathers her chickens under her wings c. No Bird sayth S. Austin expresseth such tender love to her young ones as theâ—en doth (t) Aug tract 15. in Ioh. pag. 46. Videmuâ— nidiâ—are passeres quosâ—bet ante oculos nostros hirundines ciconias columbas quotidit videmus nidificare quos nisi quando in nidis videmus parentes esse noÌ„ agnoscimus Gallina verò sic infirmatur in pullis suis ut etiamsi ipsi pulli non sequantur filios non videas matrem tameÌ„ intelligas Ita fit alis demissis plumis hispida voce rauca omnibus membris demissa abjecta ut quemadmoduÌ„ dixi etfi filios non videas matrem tamen intelligas No Fowles discover themselves to be mothers so much as Hens doe Others when we see them in their Nests with their young we know them to be mothers but no way else but the Hen discovereth her selfe to be so evâ— when her chickens do not follow her her feathers stand up her wings hang downe she clocketh mournfully and goeth feebly so that we may know her to be a mother when yet we cannot see her brood Such another speech he hath in another place and concludeth it with these words (w) Id. in Ps 58. p. 212. B. C. Quare ergo Dominus nisi propter hoc gallina esse voluit in Sancta Scriptura dicens O Ierusalem Ierusalem quoties volui te congregare ut gallina c. Our Lord did therefore compare himselfe to a Hen rather then to any other creature because of her singular expressions of love to her young ones even when they are out of her sight By these things we see how highly the Scriptures speak of Gods mercy especially in its expressions to mankinde to whom he hath borne a greater love and for whom he hath declared himselfe to have done farre greater matters then for the Angels the wisdome of God delighting it selfe in the children of men before the world was Prov. 8 31â— and gratifying them in the fulnesse of time with the assumption of their nature Heb. 2.16 and the redemption of their soules with his bloud 1. Pet. 1. c. Now with such a Mercy cannot stand such a decree absolute Reprobation being once granted we may me think more properly call God a Father of cruelties then of mercies and of hatred rather then of love And the Divels names Satan and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an adversary a destroyer may be fitter for him then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Saviour which I tremble to think Doth mercy please him when he hath made a decree which sheweth farre more severity toward poore men then mercy Is he slow to anger when he hath taken such a small and speedy occasion to punish the greater part of men for ever and for one sinne once committed hath shut them up under invincible sinne and damnation Is his mercy abundant doth it reach further then justice when it is tuckt up so short limited to a very few selected ones when a hundred for one at least take in all parts of the world are unavoydably cast away out of his onely will and pleasure Or doth his love passe knowledge when we see dayly farre greater love then this in men and other creatures What Father and mother that have not only cast off father-hood and mother-hood but humanity too would determine their children to certaine death nay to cruell torments worse then death for one onely offence and that committed too not by them in their own persons but by some other and imputed onely to them But to deliver things a little more closely Foure things in my conceit being well and distinctly considered do make it apparent that this decree is compatible with Gods mercy 1 That Adams sinne is the sinne of mans nature onely and no mans personall transgression but Adams it was neyther committed nor consented to by any of his posterity in their own persons 2 That it was the sinne of our nature not
by generation as I have shewed but by Gods own voluntary imputation 3 That God did pardon it in Adam for so it is generally beleeved who did actually and freely commit it in his own person 4 That CHRIST came into the world to take away Peccatum mundi the sinne of the world Joh. 1.29 That God eyther did or might have satisfied his wronged justice in the bloud of the Covenant for all mankind and without any impeachment to justice and have opened a way of salvation to all and every man These considerations I think being well digested will make any man to think that eyther there is no decree of absolute Reprobation or that God is not mercifull to men at all much lesse more mercifull to them then to other creatures but more sharpe a great deale and severe then he is to 1 any Creatures in the world 2 the very Divels themselves 1 Then to any other creatures For they even the basest among them though perhaps they have but a despicable being yet they have such a being as is farre better then no being at all Whereas men are determined by his omnipotent decree to such a wofull being as is a thousand times worse then no being at all What man would have accepted of life when first he entred upon possession of it if he had knowne upon what lamentable conditions it was to be tendred Or did men firmely beleeve this decree they would at a venture with Iob curse their birth day be released willingly from the right of creatures and desire their immortall soules might vanish into nothing Malunt extingui penitus Minut. Felix pag. 113. quam ad supplicia reparari as Minutius Felix speakes in another case And Parents out of meere compassion to their children would wish that they might be borne toads and serpents rather then men creatures whose beings at last shall be resolved into nothing rather then immortall spirits 2 To the very Diuels also supposing this decree is God more mercifull then to men and yet the Divels are set forth in Scripture for the greatest spectacles of Gods irefull severity In one thing this decree maketh most men and Divels equall Vtrisque desperata salus they are both sure to be damned but in three things men are in a farre worse condition by it 1 In their appointment to hell not for their owne proper personall sinnes for which only the Divels are damned but for the sinne of another man that lived and sinned long before they were borne 2 In their unavoydable destination to endlesse misery under a colour of the contrary The Divels as they are decreed to damnation so they know it they expect it they looke for no other But men who are appointed to wrath are yet fed up with hopes of salvation and made to beleeve that the whole businesse is put into their hands so as if they perish it is not defectu misericordiae because God will have no mercy on them but defectu voluntatis propriae because they will not bee saved when yet indeed there is no such matter Now if it be worse to be deluded in misery then simply to be miserable then is the condition of men in this respect by this decree much worse then the state of Divels 3 In their obligation to beleeve and the aggravation of their punishment by not beleeving The Divels because they must be damned are not commanded to beleeve in CHRIST nor is their punishment heightned by theyr not beleeving (z) Senten super 8. c. Gall Qui dicit quòd non omnes homines velit deus salvos fieri sed certum numerum praedestinatoruÌ„ dutiùs loquitur quaÌ„ loquendum est de altitudine infcrutabilis graâ—ae Dei. but miserable men who by this decree have no more liberty to escape Hell theÌ„ the Divels must yet be tyed to beleeve in CHRIST and have their torments increased if they beleeve not These things being so I think I may conclude with the words of Prosper x He which sayth that God would not have all men to be saved but a certaine set number of predestinate persons onely he speaketh more harshly then he should of the height of Gods unsearchable grace Nay he speaketh that which cannot stand with his infinite grace and mercy especially to the sonnes of men Nor doth that give me satisfaction which is usually answered namely that God by this absolute decree doth fully manifest his justice and mercy too his justice toward Reprobates his mercy toward the Elect and that it is necessary his decrees should so be ordered as that both these may be clearely declared by them For 1 Gods mercy is revealed to be rich mercy abundant long suffering surmounting justice and beyond understanding Now such a mercy set forth with such titles clothed with such properties is no wayes manifested by this decree 2 Neyther is Gods pure and spotlesse Iustice set forth by it as I now come to shew this being my third argument drawne from Gods attributes against absolute Reprobation THirdly this absolute Reprobation is incompatible with Gods Justice 3 Against Gods Justice The Lord sayth David is righteous in all his wayes Psal 145. The Iudgments of the Lord sayth Salomon are weight and measure Prov. 16.11 Exact and without exception So apparently just is God that he offereth the justice of his decrees and wayes to the tryall of humane understanding Esay 5.3 Judge I pray you between me and my Vineyard Those to whom the Vineyard was committed slew their masters heyre being sent unto them What will the Lord of the Vineyard thinke ye sayth CHRIST do therefore when he commeth to those husbandmen Math. 21.40 In which words hee appealeth to their judgment nay he is content to proove himselfe and his dealings to be just by plaine and evident arguments Ezek. 18.25 c. Are not my wayes equall and yours unequall O ye house of Israell And he permits Abraham when he was in his greatest humility acknowledging himselfe to be but dust and ashes yet to reason with him about the equity of his doings Wilt thou sley the righteous with the wicked Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right Gen. 18.23 25. And Moses also is suffered to argue Gods justice in the same manner Shall one man sinne Numb 16.22 and wilt thou be wrath with all the Congregation In a word so evidently just is God in all his proceedings that many both good and bad who have felt his justice have cleared God and deeply charged themselves Witnesse Ezra Nehemiah and Daniel in their 9th Chapters and Adonibezek Iud. 1.7 And the Emperor Mauricius who having seene his children butchered and waiting every minute for the bloudy stroke of death brake out into these words (y) Osiand Eccl. hist Cent. S. pag. 261. Iustuâ—es domine justum est jaâ—um tuuâ— Righteous art thou O Lord and just is thy Judgment With this