be admitted I cannot see how he will exclude those that have sinned against the holy Ghost otherwise then by an arbitrary exception of his own for every man is partaker of the salvation here intended In the 7 § p. 50. Mr. Collier repeats again who it is for whom he intends this deliverance from Hell-torments But with his vain words we are not concerned being well assured There is no such thing and that distinction insisted on § 8. we have already proved to be vain and groundless Those that are under the Eternal Judgement must suffer Eternal torment as well as loss And indeed according to this mans principles they may as well expect deliverance from the one as from the other for those that have forgiveness of sin have also Righteousness imputed to them and are on that account received to glory not for their own good works the want of which he makes the only bar unto the admission of these persons into the Kingdom of Heaven Yea he asserts farther § 9. That this favour and mercy shall be extended to them on the account and for the sake of Christ and again p. 54. Why we should make that an argument against all Grace after the Judgement the infinite Sacrifice remaining the same to have its influence herein which hath been our alone hope and help before the Judgement I do not yet understand It is pleaded that sin is against an infinite Majesty and therefore deserveth Everlasting punishment and this Mr. C. acknowledgeth to be true but yet saith that God is infinite in Grace as well as in Justice and therefore this property of God can be no bar to the relief of the damned and then pleads That the infinite sacrifice of Christ remains the same to have its influence for the obtaining of Grace after the Judgement as before Now if this be so either Heaven was never purchased by Christ for those that believe in this world or the damned have through the influence of his sacrifice as free access thither upon their Repentance as we Nay if Mr. Collier will suspend it on mens good works seeing they may repent when damned why may they not do other good works also to such a measure as to earn Heaven as well as we But behold here another instance of his daring confidence in asserting his antiscriptural and pernicious notions where is the Scripture that saith Christ died for the Redemption of the damned in Hell or that his Sacrifice was ever designed for the obtaining of Grace for such as die in their sins It is most certain that when the great day of Judgement is past the Lord Christ hath finished all his work as Mediator and will then present his Church compleat before God and so give up the Kingdom to the Father that God may be all in all 1 Cor. 15. 24. c. There will therefore remain no more sacrifice for sins pleadable for the remission of any that are not already saved but their Redemption ceaseth for ever And although sinners in the day of Gods patience are invited and encouraged to come to him on the account of his infinite mercy in Christ yet is it no where proposed as a ground for hope or spring of comfort to the damned who are the objects not of mercy but divine vengeance In the last place he pleads That this is rational and most God-like who hath let us know that he will suit his Judgements to mens various facts for measure That is most rational and becoming God which he hath revealed in his word and it is the highest presumption to dictate unto him another way for the manifestation of his glory upon the vessels of wrath then himself hath fixed on Who hath been his Counsellor Himself also hath revealed That as a righteous Judge he will suit his Judgements to the various facts of men and that some shall be beaten with many stripes others with few Luk. 12. 47 48. But this difference of punishment doth not consist in a differing duration but present degrees of torment Their fire that have sinned ignorantly shall not be so hot as theirs that have sinned wilfully neither will their worm gnaw them so grievously yet of both it is true That their worm never dyeth and their fire is not quenched He adds From the same reason and rule of Righteousness hath he given us â—ints of limitation in respect of time as if he would not be for ever punishing Luk. 12. 58 59. And this word till or untill in Scripture rarely imports Eternity but limits to time Mat. 18. 34 35. 5. 25 26. That we have any hint in the Scripture of limitation in respect of the time of the punishment of the wicked is false And that reason and righteousness do render such a limitation necessary is audacious boldness to assert Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance shall vile dust be so bold as to fix the demerit and limit the punishment of an offence against the infinite Jehovah But Luk. 12. 59. is brought in to give countenance to this abomination the words are I say unto thee thou shalt not depart thence untill 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou shalt have paid even the last mite Apply this now to the case of sinners in the prison of Hell as Mr. Collier doth And 1. It utterly overthrows his notion of their release by forgiveness on condition of repentance through the influence of Christs sacrifice no such thing can be admitted in this case no favour is to be expected but even the last mite must be paid or no release can be obtained 2. It most emphatically sets forth their irrecoverable and everlasting damnation for if they may not expect any mercy but must themselves pay the utmost mite they are indebted to dâ—vine Justice we know they must be paying it for ever it being impossible for a finite creature to satisfie the demands of an infinite God justly provoked to anger by our rebellion against him so in the other Texts mentioned untill being referr'd to and determined by that which never can be done doth utterly cut off all hopes from those that are once fallen into the hands of the living God and so by consequence doth necessarily infer an absolute denial of the thing spoken of See 1 Sam. 15. 35. And this is directly the scope of the parable to take men off from their presumptions of relief in another world and to press them now to make their calling and Election sure And if it may be thought that men may satisfie divine Justice and pay the last mite I know not out the Devils may possibly do so too and may as well as men on this account justly claim a release from their torments sooner or later Thus far I have confidered and removed what Mr. Collier offers for the countenancing of his new Doctrine and by reason of my having already exceeded the room I intended to have comprized this reply in I shall be forced only to touch upon
any kind of argument in these words to Mr. Câ—lliers purpose it must be this If Christ had not dyed for all men and reconciliation to God by him been tendred to them on Gospel-terms they had not been liable to the second death But all that do not believe and obey the Gospel must dye the second death Ergo Christ dyed for them and procured non-imputation of sin to them c. I deny the major Proposition Sinners are guilty of damnation by the breach of the Law though they never hear the Gospel c. And immediately Th. C. will deny the minor as we shâ—ll hear Certainly he will be hard put to it to prove that all men are redeemed because most men are damned The Scripture cited by him viz. Joh. 3. 19. proves indeed That where the objective light of the Gospel is afforded to a people and tâ—ey obey it not but refuse to walk in it they shall dye the second death yea their case will be worse then others that have not enâ—â—yed the like means unbelief is a crying sin and brings them under condemnation with a witness as we use to speak But it doth in no wise prove what Mr. C. supposeth that none are guilty of the second death by the breach of the first Covenant And in plain terms Mr. C. doth not think that all that have not faith in Christ shall be damned as his minor Proposition supposeth though for the present he is willing to pretend so that he may thereby prove they are redeemed for thus he writes p. 26. Damnation is the judgment of Gospel-unbelief and disobedience he intends that only yet those that never heard the Gospelâ— cannot be unâ—er this judgment because its impossible without a miracle that they should believe the Gospel it s in some sense their affliction and judgement that they have it not but not their sin because they believe it 〈◊〉 because they cannot Rom. 10. 14. I grant that a Law cannot oblige unless it be sufficiently made known or published and that there are multitudes in the world that enjoy not the Gospel and these as they are in an ordinary way capable of no saving benefit by Christ so neither is the sin of not believing the Gospel chargeable upon them But even these are under the first Covenant which requires of them perfect Obedience to the moral Law or Law of nature which if they have not the written Law neither is so far written even in their hearts as that they are a Law unto themselves and utterly inexcusable in the breach of it Rom. 1. 19 20 ch 2. 15. But amongst these there are many filled with all unrighteousness ch 1. v. 21. 〈◊〉 31. and shall we suppose according to this mans licentious Doctrine that these are in danger only of a temporal death which the best in the world cannot escape The Consciences of these very wretches tell them otherwise v. 32. where by death the sâ—cond death or perishing under Divine wrath must be understood otherwise there were no evil peculiar to them intended therein and the Apostle assures us that the wrath of God is revealed from â—eaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men who imprison and stifle their natural Light holding that truth in unrighteouss and not subjecting themselves thereto through the â—nmity that is in their hearts to God v. 18. c. Though the Law cannot give life yet is its curse heavy enough to sink all the world under Eternal wrath which it had done without remedy if Christ had not delivered Believers from the Curse of the Law by being made a Curse for them Gal. 3. 13. Thus we have heard out Mr. C. what he hath â—o say for the reconciliation of all the World to God and the non-imputation of sin to them and I know some will take notice of that which immediately follows in the next Section where he asserts That there is a more special design of Grace in the death of Christ i. e. the salvation of his Elect of his Church whose peculiar priviledge it is that the bloud of Christ is shed for them for the remission of sin And they will perhaps wonder at the mans acumen that hath found out such a notable distinction of non-imputation of sin from remission of sin the one of which belongeth to the reprobate the other to the Elect though Paul took them to be of the same import Rom. 4. 7 8. But I cannot stay to remark every absurdity in his Book and therefore let this pass The glorious and wonderful design of free Grace to redeem and save to the utmost all the Elect by Jesus Christ I adore and to own that there was any end or design of God in the death of his Son which was not perfectly accomplished thereby I dare not But I shall proceed with Mr. C. it not being my purpose as I said at first to enter upon a full discussion of these points or to urge the arguments that might be pleaded against his opinion but only to clear our way of that rubbish that he hath cast into it He discourseth in the next place of the Preaching of the Gospel and he is as liberal here and good reason for it as he was in determining the extent of Christs death The design of God saith he in his Gospel Grace by the death of his Son being thus universal to the whole world in this threefold sense as hath been mentioned Hence it is that the Gospel must be preached to the whole Creation c. He grants indeed p. 16. That it is especially to be published to men who were concerned in the sin and fall But it is and may be truly preached to the whole Creation though they hear it not nor understand it I suppose in this particular Mr. C. may truly say he hath not followed Authors for I know none before him that have been so fond as to assert what here he doth though in other things it is evident that he hath imbibed the notions of divers Hereticks that have been before him Although I must confess the Papists in some of their Legends tell many odd stories to this purpose and we may collect from thence what some of them thought in this matter And although all Protestants deride their foppery that will not discourage Mr. C. from joyning with them in this and other things for he hath observed as he tells us p. 59. That the Protestants run themselves too much in both principle and practice beyond almost all works of Charity amongst which perhaps he reckons Preaching to Birds and Beasts Stones and Trees c. If I should recite to Mr. C. some of the stories they tell of St. Francis his Preaching oft to the Birds and how affectionately they heard him his converting a ravenous Wolf from his rapine to a tame and harmless life c. and of Father Bede his Preaching to the Stones when he was blind and his naughty Boy led him to a heap
divers things that are behind in his Book The next work which all in vain he addresseth himself to is an endeavour to obviate those Objections that may be made against his notion of the Judgement some of which have already been inforced and his cavils answered others of them are laid so slightly I suppose that he might make some shew of answering something as scarce any body besides himself would have so exprest their mind and with these I shall little concern my self only the second must be insisted on when we come to it The first Objection Mr. C. takes notice of is that which he supposeth may arise from those Texts that affirm but few shall be saved Mat. 7. 14. Luk. 13. 24. It is certain that more may be collected from such sayings then ever he is able to remove out of his way For if there be but two sorts of men viz. The little flock of Christ his Church which shall be saved and the Goats the world of ungodly which shall be damned then may we in no wise admit what he hath before afferted that multitudes shall be saved that are not espoused to Christ or That none shall be Eternally damned but those that sin against the holy spirit Let us hear what he saith to these things First he grants That few enter in at the straight gate c. but then adds Though sluggish Christians and Formalists enter not in at the straight gate yet this proves not that they shall find no mercy at all if so Wo will be the case of most of professors at that day There is no middle way if persons enter not in at the straight gate that leadeth to Eternal Life they must go in at the wide gate that leadeth to destruction and if their names are not found in the Book of Life they must be cast into the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimstone where they are tormented forever and ever Yea but if there be not some provision made against this rigour Formalists yea the most of professors will be in an ill case and the foolish Virgins are not like to obtain so great a priviledge in this day as Mr. C. hath before allowed to them And therefore he concludes his opinion must be admitted This in plain terms is no less then to accommodate his Doctrine to give countenance to the wickedness of men Formalists are Hypocrites in the midst of their profession and they shall be so far from finding mercy in that day that their case will prove worst of all see Mat. 24. the last Verse And how many soever they be that are in that day found without the wedding garment of Faith and true Holiness they must however they may now trust to lying words and make much of the pillows that Mr. C. soweth under their Arm-holes be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth Mat. 22. 12. c. And it will then be manifest to the Eternal woe of formal professors That many are called but few are chosen The second Objection is thus laid down by him p. 51. The Scripture sentenceth the wicked with Eternal damnation assuring us that it shall be Everlasting Mat. 25. 41 46. This in my Judgement is utterly unanswerable unless Mr. Colliers testimony prevail against that of the Scripture That the Everlasting punishment of the wicked is plentifully asserted therein is manifest and a cogent proof hereof we have in the Text instanced Mat. 25. 41 and 46. In v. 41. we read that the sentence which Christ will pass upon the wicked in the great day will be Depart from me ye cursed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Everlasting fire or into that Everlasting fire for the doubling of the Article adds Emphasis to it prepared for the Devil and his Angels Observe here they are sentenced not only to Eternal loss but Eternal torment also to Everlasting fire even that Everlasting fire that is prepared for the Devil and his Angels As the Children of God being the Children of the Resurrection cannot die any more but are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 equal to the Angels Luk. 20. 36. or in a condition of immortality and blessedness without change even as the blessed Angels are so the damned are in the same condition with the Devils as to the unchangeableness thereof and duration of their suffering An account of the issue of this Judgement we have v. 46. And these shall go away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Everlasting punishment but the righteous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Everlasting Life And here we find nothing of the sentence abated but are assured of its execution â—n the full extent thereof The persons condemned being driven away from all good and cast under divine wrath and punishment in Hell Fire which is Everlasting of the same duration with the Life and Happiness of the Righteous For the same word botâ— here and in other places is used to express the duration of both and that in such wise as can no more admit of limitation with respect to the one then with respect to the other Everlasting life and Everlasting punishment being constantly and directly opposed to each other We will now consider Mr. C's answer He saith It s evident that Mat. 25. intends professing Christian nations for others cannot be accused and sentenced for not shewing kindness to Christ in his Members and so may be such as under the sound of the Gospel sinned against the holy spirit or such as may obtain a time of mitigation That only professing Christian nations are intended in this Text is utterly false and against the express terms thereof Before him shall be gathered all Nations v. 32. Mr. C. saith Others cannot be accused for not shewing kindness to Christ in his Members We grant it But must they not therefore appear before his Judgement-seat and may they not be accused and sentenced for other sins Mr. Collier may as well infer from this Text That professing Nations shall be accused and sentenced only for sins of omission seeing no other are here mentioned as that other Nations shall not be concerned in this sentence It was evident that Christs design was not to enumerate all the sins that men shall be condemned for but only to give instance in some which they to whom he then spake were immediately concerned in But if this were granted Mr. C. he is still in as bad case as before for certainly thousands that die in their sins even where the Gospel is preached are yet never guilty of the sin against the holy Ghost To solve this he tells us such may obtain a time of mitigation Although the Text say That all which were set on the left hand of Christ shall go away into Everlasting punishment Thus by contradicting the Text he hath boldly adventured to cut the knot which he could not untye He proceeds Eternal Everlasting and for ever being understood according to the common use and import of the word in