others cannot bee saned in case of forgetfulnesse by generall repentance It is the saying of Doctor Francis White The promise Reply to Fisher. of Remission of sinns is conditionall Esay 1. 16. 17. c. and the same becmmeth not absolute vntill the condition be fulfilled either actuall or in desire and preparation of the mind Now if that desire and preparation of the mind to Repentance will serue surely I thinke there is no child of God that hath not had a full desire and purpose to repent of all his particular sinnes and especially the great ones Yea we find in them by experience a preparation and readines of mind to actuall Repentance Dauid hauing his sinne plainly discouered to him presently falls to Repentance and is presenly released of his sinne And Hezechiah being convinced 2. Sam. 12. 13. 2. King 20. 19. of his sin in prideâ—… presently accepteth the chastisment of his sinne and his humbling immediatly followeth in the Text. And Peter when he had denyed Luke 22. 61. Christ as soone as Christ looked vpon him he went out and wept bitterly Whence it appeareth that the seede of Repentance in these great falls of the Saints is not dead but sleepeth it lyes in the earth during this winter of grace being ready to bud as soone as the frost of Tentation is dissolved and the Sunne of Righteousnesse warmeth it with a new accesse and increase of beames and heate And here I thinke it is worth the obseruing that there are certaine sins that are certainly knowne to be sins yet while the strength of tentation is vpon the Saints they partake very much of the concealement of secret sins For the same lust and corruption that preuaileth vpon the Will of a Saint to do so great a sinne against which his Will was determinately bent and resolued casteth also very commonly a mist on the vnderstanding of the same Saints that the thing formerly appearing out of measure sinfull now doth not looke like a sinne for the flesh hauing darkened the vnderstanding for a season that appeares not in the shape and odiousnesse of sinne to the flesh which most plainly and euidently appeares sinfull being seene by the spirit And therefore a Saint after a great sinne when he comes truely to discerne it is like a man awaked awaked I say out of a slumber of the flesh wherein his eyes were closed and hee saw not sinne to bee sinne and awaked into the light and sight of the Spirit by which alone a man spiritually discerneth So Dauid had neede of a plaine similitude to conuince him of a sinne that was in it selfe plaine enough but no doubt by lust so couered and hid from appearing in the true shape of sinne that before this discouery which awaked the Spirit in him he had not the full and true sight of the odious and vgly face of his sins Briefly Vzzah who dyed in his sinne was saved or damned I thinke no man will be so cruell as to say he was damned wee see he had a good affection to the Arke of God and no doubt a good loue to God for whose sake he loued the Arke but his good loue was ill managed the wrath of God came vpon him because hee serued that God in an ill manner whom no doubt he loued with a good zeale and affection Now if Vzzah was saued by this Doctrine he must actually repent of this sinne which was so mortall to him But first wee reade of no such actuall Repentance and next the suddennesse of the stroake may seeme to preuent it But on the other side if he did actually repent then may any Saint else be thought actually to repent and so this question is againe needelesse as before was proued to be absurd And surely he which gaue Iezabel that seduâ—…d the seruants of God a space to repent may be thought to be at least as gracious to the spouse of Christ his Saints and members euen to giue them this space to repent to whom wee know he hath giuen the grace to repent If they doe now reply are Saints immortall having sinned I answer by asking againe Was Iezabell immortall when God gaue her lpace to repent Besids no death can prevent Gods mercy God knowes the time of his Saints and if Sparrowes fall not to the ground without Gods prouidence much lesse doe Saints God hath the time of Saints in his hand and the same God hath also Grace in his hand and therefore nothing can hinder him but that he may prevent the time which he hath in one hand with the grace which he hath in an other Yea as he is the Lord both of life and grace so is he of tentations Therefore as hee can command time to stay and grace to hasten so also can he command tentations to take what time he pleaseth and can make them to keepe what distance he will to the last time of the Saints Yet I may adde further and I thinke that Arminians can hardly disproue it If a Saint haue in him the grace of Repentance which would bring forth the Act of Repentance if it had time it were somwhat strange that a Saint should be damned not for want of grace but only for want of time Now the remaining grace of Repentance after the fall of Saints apeares before in Dauid Hezekiah and Peter who readily repented vpon their summons And even Bertius himselfe confesseth that neither Dauid nor Peter in their falls did wholly loose the Holy Ghost Thirdly this question is grounded on the Popish distinction of sins mortall and veniall A distinction which Doctor Francis White in his Orthodoxe hath with sound reasons and allegations mightily battred There it is said by him That concupisence is as verily sinne as Adultery And that there is a plaine Commandement against it now the breach of any Commandement especially the body of it must needes be mortall So when a man couets his neighbours wife yeahis neighbours Oxe hee hath mortally sinned Herevpon appeares a diuers fault and mischiefe of this question or obiection First a man is in perpetuall feare torment because such lusts do so often arise in him Secondly this obiection hath but onely vanity or nothinges in it For it is an argument raised out of nothing and nothing in the hands of the creature will make nothing The distinction of sins into veniall and mortall is nothing for euery sinne is mortall Death runs along with the whole breach of the Commandements Cursed is hee that continueth not in all things which Deut. 27. 26. are written in the booke of the Law to do them Now if the curse and wrath of God bee annexed to the breach of any part of the Law surely the breach of any part of the Law makes a man subiect to wrath consequently Rom. 8. 23. to death For the wages of sinne euen of all sinne without exception is death Now if all sinne be mortall and the mortalnesse
of sin be the reason of the incompatibility of grace and saluation then euery sinne and breach of the Law is incompatible with grace and so a Saint may fall from the state of Grace many times in a day and many times in a day he had neede to be againe regenerated But on the other side if they will allow Grace to stand with mortall sinne in the breach of one Commandement as the tenth they must bee forced to allow it likewise in the breach of another at least if they will allow Grace to be compatible with the mortall breach of one halfe of a Commandement they may be inforced to allow it in the breach of the other halfe For mortalnesse of sinne being the cause of incompatiblenesse with Grace this mortall sinne running all along through the whole breach of the Commandement the effect of incompatibility must needes runne along with it throughout the whole breach of the Commandement Or else as Grace may stand with the breach of one halfe of the Commandement so may it stand with the breach of the other halfe except men will stint the Grace of God and say it cannot reach home to ouercome the whole breach of a Commandement especially one of the second Table as that of Adultery which is vsually reckoned one of their mortall sins Yea it were fit that these â—…inters of Gods Grace should giue vs a Table of all the breaches of euery Commandement and then put downe their finger iust on the place where the breaches leaue to be veniall begin to be mortall This seemes very necesary for the full discerning of a matter of so great consequence and concernment as falling from the state of grace for without this knowledg a man may fall from the state of Grace by some sin which he knowes not to be mortall and then forgeting it or neglecting it there is an end of him he must be damned for euer But to make such a Table by Scripture is altogether impossible and without Scripture it is vaine and friuolous How much better were it to say with the Scripture That in the Iustice of God sin life are incompatible euen any sin with life eternall But by the Grace of God sin and life are not incompatible for God in his Saints leaues euen now a remnant of the body of sin Rom. 7. 8. that often leades them captiue to the Law of sin and yet at the same time there is the Spirit of life which is in Christ Iesus freeing them from an absolute reigne of sin death There is a remainder of the old Adam a seede of the new Adam and the motions yea single acts of the old remainder doe not kill the whole immortall seede of the new Adam As one action doth 2. Pet. 1. Pet. not make a habit so one action doth not destroy a habit especially these infused habits which are grounded in a godly nature and an incorruptible seede But that I may shew them the cause of their mistaking which is the way to remidy it I giue them to vnderstand that their error come from hence because they do not weigh these things in the Balances of the Sanctuary They do not weigh spirituall things with the weights of the Spirit For it in these vpright Balances they did weigh sinne and grace together they should finde that in the old man there being buds and leaues and fruits of sinne sinfull thoughts words and actions and the like in the new man the buds and leaues and fruits of sinne cannot ouer weigh more then the buds and leaues and fruites of grace but it is a reigne and whole body of sinne that must counter poyse and equall a reigne and body of grace More plainly thus one particular sinne may preuent and cut off for the time some act of grace which should haue preuented it but one act of sinne doth not cut of and expell the whole new man and body of grace The whole seede and roote of Grace is not digged vp but by a whole body and reigne of sinne and indeede this whole reigne of sinne is absolutely a sinne which the Regenerate cannot commit There are diuers places that confirme this in the Scripture yea diuers places in S t. Iohns first Epistle I take notice of one Whosoeuer is borne of God doth not comit sinne for his seede remaineth 1. Ioh. 3. 9. 1 Ioh. 5. 4. 1â—… in him and he cannot sinne because his seede remaineth in him A regenerate man wee know can sinne actually but he cannot sinne in the full seruice of sinne and euen our Sauiour himselfe interpreteth the committing of sinne for the seruice of sinne Whosoeuer committeth Ioh. 8. 34. sinne is the seruant of sinne But this seruice of sin and the seede of God are incompatible and therefore the seede of God still remaining in the Regenerate which the Apostle affirmeth this raigne of sinne cannot stand in them with it So are the Regenerate still safe while single actuall sinnnes do not destroy the whole seede of Grace but onely a whole seruice of sin from which the Regenerate are preserued by the seed of God that remainetâ—… in them Briefly a remaining seede is neuer lost neither by actuall sinnes which are committed which do not ouer weigh and preuaile against it not by a body of sinne which the seed of God remaining for ever excludeth And hereupon in the second place these men may also plainly perceiue their error in saying that a Saint by some actuall sinne is in the whole state of damnation For the seede of God remaining in the Regenerate hee cannot be wholly in the state of wrath and damnation for there is something in him with which God will not be angry euen the remaining seede of God But you will aske me perchance Is not God angry with sinne Yes and very angry with a very great sinne but yet his whole wrath doth not arise when there is a seede of Grace that abaites the wholenesse of his wrath Therefore let vs againe set vp the balances of the Sanctuary and as before wee laid the whole seed of Grace in one balance against one single sinne in the other balance so now let vs lay the seede of Grace together with some single sinne in one balance and the whole or full wrath of God in the other And let vs withall know that our mercifull Father looketh vpon these balances through his beloued Sonne Christ Iesus and then wee shall soone find that single sinnes ioyned with a seede of Grace will not draw moue and counter weigh a whole and intire wrath God beholding a Sonne of God though with some sinne through that first Sonne in whome he is well pleased doth not suffer his whole displeasure to arise vpon him There are dropâ—… of wrath as Hierome Hier. in Ezech. liâ—… 1. cap. â—… note and there is a not wrath Psal 6. And there is a whoâ—…e displeasure Ps 78. 38. Now these drops of
noâ—… seuerally expressed Neither were these Articles commonly called the Articles of Lambeth approued by obscure priuate or Schismaticall persons but by chiefe Fathers of this Church in Eminence and Authoritie Iohn Arch-bishop of Canterbury Richard Bishop of London Richard elect Bishop of Bangor Doctor Whitaker and other most learned Diuines In these Articles we finde the points of Free Election Finall perseuerance and certainty of Saluation embraced by the Fathers of our Church and particularly in these which follow The cause which moued God to praedestinate some to life was not the foresight of their Faith or of their Perseuerance or of their Good workes or of any thing else which is to be found in men praedestinate but Gods meere good will and pleasure A true liuely and iustifying Faith and the Spirit of God which sanctifieth is neither finally nor totally extinct in the Elect it failes them not it forsakes them not A man truly faithfull that is A man indued with a Faith that iustifieth may bee assured by Faith of the Remission of his sinnes and of his eternall Saluation through Christ. And now if I should vndertake to bring forth the sayings of those Doctors and Fathers of this Church that haue taught the Perseverance of the Saints and Regenerate and the Certainty of Saluation ensuing this certaine Perseuerance multitude would ouercome me and exceed the bounds both of this worke and the Readers patience And yet it is also almost an equall difficultie to shew any number that haue publikely without the cry of the Countrie maintained the contrary Doctrine That is the Apostacy of Saints and the Mortalitie of the Immortall seed of God And though some would faine seeke shelter vnder the shadow of Dr. Ouerall yet hee doth not only leaue them open to stormes but his owne drops doe fall downe and batter them For in the Great Famous and Royall Conference at Hampton Court hee is recorded thus to say for Totall and finall Perseuerance Those which were called and iustified according to the purpose of Gods Election howsoeuer they might and did sometimes fall into grieuous sinnes c. Yet did neuer fall either TOTALLY from all the graces of God to bee Vtterly destitute of all the parts and SEEDE thereof not FINALLY from iustification But to set some bounds vnto boundlesse abundance and to auoide both tedious multiplicitie and meere penurie I will bring forth some few of our Doctors as a patterne of the rest Men that cannot be accused for want of skill to know the Doctrine of our Church noâ—… I thinke of dishonestie that they should want will to shew it and most of them were dead before late questions and dead men are commonly very vnpartiall Iudges The Councell of Trent even that sinfull Counsell in Doctor â—…abington Bishop of Worcester one Canon saith thus c. And in a third Canon thus If any man shall say with a firme Certainty that he shall haue that great gift of Perseuerance to the end vnlesse he hath learned it by some speciall 〈◊〉 let him â—…ee accursed Vnto which three wicked Canons c. Where this Reuerend Father sheweth it to be the Doctrine of Trent and withall a wicked Canon which teacherh this Doctrine that a man cannot be certaine of finall perseuerance Expâ—…s on the Crâ—…ed Againe By the spirit of Adoption and effects of Gods grace agreeable wee may haue certaine knowledge that we shall inherite Gods kingdome which none shall doe but they that continue to the end and were appointed vnto it before the beginning of the world Ibid. When it pleaseth him to adde that Hee abideth for euer that is the Holy Ghost Ioh. 14. 17. this comforteth beyond the reach of either penne or Heart For hereupon it followeth that saâ—…sure is our saluation with him in that 〈◊〉 ioyfull kingdome that wee cannot fall from it finally For this blessed Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance whereby we are sealed vnto the Day of Redemption Hee therefore abiding with vs foreuer needs must wee be sure of that whereof he is a pledge and an earnest giuen which is the very peace of God that passeth all vnder standing O sweet office therefore of a blessed Spirit And O thrice blinded men with darknesse of Rome that will reach vs to doubt of our Saluation Wee haue this Spirit 〈◊〉 a pawne and the promise of his abode for euer with vs though the times may come through grieuous temptations that wee may not thinke so for a while Ibid. Where Finally Hee that is the Holy Ghost is lost he neuer was by Sanctifying grace Ibid. Whence issues a plaine conclusion wheresoeuer the Spirit was by Sanctifying Grace there he is not finally lost As for the Blisse and Glory of Heauen though yet wee Doctor Abbot Bishop of Saâ—…isbury know it not yet wee know that God hath giuen to vs the interest and Title of it already and by Faith doe stand assured through the Spirit that hee will in due time giue vs the full sight and fruition of it And a little after out of S. Austin De praedest Sanct. cap. 17. Hee calleth and iustifieth none but whom hee hath praedestinated vnto glory and therefore it followeth that hee giueth them perseuerance for the attainement of the said Glory Certaintie of Saluation against D. Bishop The same S. Austin saith to his hearers If there be in you faith which worketh by loue even now yee belong to them that are praedestinated called iustified Now sith the faithfull by S. Austens iudgement doe belong to them that are praedestinated called iustified it followeth by Saint Austins iudgement that they are to be assured that they belong to them that shall be glorified and therefore shall certainely perseuere because whom God hath praedestinated called iustified them he hath glorified as the Apostle saith and therefore doth S. Austin will the In Psal. 148. faithfull man to beleeue that he shall liue for euer But I need not to insist much on particular sentences of this Right Reuerend and learned Father of our Church seeing he hath whole Discourses of The Certainty of Saluation and of the Perseuerance of Saints to which I would rather remit the Reader that hee may quench his thirst in the Fountaine it selfe Only I aduertise him that in the Epistle Dedicatorie to His De persâ—…n Sanctorum Maiestie then Prince of Wales there is a complaint of some of our Divines that following the by-paths of Arminius Dogmate etiannum destruant Articulos Religion is quos prius proprià manu confirmarunt Wherin this Reverend Bishop sheweth vs that Arminianisme wherof falling from saint-ship or the grace of regeneration is a part is the way to destroy the Articles of Religion And if a Minister write Arminianisme he writes against those Articles which he hath confirmed by his owne subscription writing So vpon the matter the same hand writes forward backward for and against the same things yea contrarily and against it selfe
alwayes liue as Christ by whom he hath Ioh. 14. 19. life liueth alwayes I might if I had not other where largely done it already shew by many and sundry manifest and cleare proofes how the 〈◊〉 and operaâ—…ns of life are sometimes so indiscerâ—…ble and so secret that they seeme stone dead who notwithstanding are still aliue vnto God in Christ. For as long as that abideth in us which anima teth quickneth and giueth life so long wee liue and wee know that the cause of our Faith abideth in vs for euer If Christ the Fountaine of life may flit and leaue his habitation where he once dâ—…elleth what shall become of his promise I am with you to the worlds end If the Seed of God which contayneth Christ may be first conceiued 1. Pet. 1. and then cast out how doth S. Peter terme it immortall 1. Ioh. 39. How doth S. Iohn affirme it abideth If the Spirit which is guen to cherish preserue the seed of life may be giuen and taken away how is it the EARNEST of our INHERITANCE vntill Redemption If the Iustified â—…rre aâ—… he may and neuer come to vnderstand his error God doth saâ—…e him through generall repentance but if he fall into Hâ—…risy he calleth him at one time or other by actuall Repentance but from 〈◊〉 which is an inward direct deny all of the foundation 〈◊〉 preserâ—…eth him by speciall providence foreuer Discourse of Iustification Thus haue the Fathers and Doctors of our Church plainly shewed the Doctrine of our Church And this last witnesse a man beyond all exception of Schisme or Partialitie the enimies of this Doctrine being Iudges hath strongly confirmed and established it Yea he hath cut off that Goliâ—… Head which commonly marcheth against the hoast of God to terrifie them out of their assurance of Finall perseverance and certaine Saluation For he sheweth that the truely iustified after their errors are saued either by generall or actuall repentance but from Infidelitie Fundamentall Errors they are preserued for euer And Dr. Overall seemes to ioyne in one harmonie with this doctrine of M Hooker saying the like for Errors of life that this other did for errors in beleife In the Conference at Hampton Court these are his words Those which were called and iustified according to Gods purpose and Election howsoeuer they might and did sometimes fall into greiuous sinnes c. were in time renewed by Gods Spirit vnto a liuely Faith and Repentance and 〈◊〉 iustified from those sinnes and the wrath and Curse and Guilt annexed thereunto So that the obiection now adayes vrged was long since prevented with an answer and should haue kept silent the mouth of it being stopped For to what purpose is it to aske and obiect What if a iustified man commit a great sinne and dye without Repentance When it hath ben answered long since that Iustification hath such a Repentance annexed to it as shall suffice to wash away the guilt and wrath of those Errorâ—… sinnes into which the iustified shall fall If true Iustification and 〈◊〉 Repentance goe still together and 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 what a strange question is that which rayseth an obiection from IustificatioÌ„ separated from Repentance Iâ—… it lawfull for them to make a Iustification of their owne severed from Repentance and to raise an obiection thence against our Iustification conioyned with repentance This is a meere deceit to argue from things ill divided against things well conioyned Yea cursed are they that put a sunder what God hath knit togâ—…thhr King Iames said in the Conference at Hampton Court It was hypocrisie and not true iustifiing faith that was seuered from Repentance If then true Iustifiing Faith and Repentance be not seuered their argument against perseuerance taken from iustifiing Faith seuered from Repentance is a meere imaginarie and fantasticall argument For they imagine a severing of things not indeed severed and then they raise an argument from the seperation which is onely in their owne braines and not in the thing So that the ambition and vtmost hope of such an argument is onely this If such a thing were that indeed is not then that would not be that indeed is If iustifiyng Faith were wholly severed from Repentance as it is not then perseverance would not be Persverarance Wee haue seene out of S. Austen Our Church Doctors that the same Election which Decreeth to the Saints glory Salvation Decreeth also perseverance Now Perseverance must needes haue that sufficient Repentance without which it cannot be perseverance And therefore the same Decree that decreeth Perseverance must needes also Decree that Repentance without which Perseverance cannot be And in deede one and the same Seede of God Decreed to all the Elect is an immortall seede both of repentance and perseverance Briefely then though a man were to be excluded from Salvation for not performing a condition yet if he be sure to performe the coÌ„dition he is still sure of Salvation As on the other side if he be sure of Salvation then he is sure to performe the condition without which he cannot be sure of Salvation Now those whom our Article saith God hath coÌ„stantly Decreed to bring to Salvation they are sure of Salvation And therefore are they sure of that Repentance and all other conditions or qualifications without which they cannot be sure of Salvation Perchance the same matter in Mr. Hookers words will be Discourse of Iustification of more authority Our Saviour when he spake of the sheepe effectually called and truely gathered into his fold I giue vnto them Eternall life and they shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my hands In promising to saue them he promised no duobt to preserue them in that without which there can be no Salvation as also from that by which it is recoverably lost But in a second place let the questioners giue mee leaue to aske them a question Whether in this their damning of men regenerate that doe not particularly repent for euery great sinne they doe not bring in a Doctrine of despaire For if one of these great sinnes euer happen to be forgotten it is the very case of sinne against the Holy Ghost There remaineth no more sacrifice for Heb. 10. sinnes but a certaine fearefull looking for of Iudgement and fiery indignation A sinne forgotten cannot be for given There is no salvation without particular Repentance noâ—… no particular Repentance without patticular Remembrance Againe wee know that some liue in an innumerable variety of grea horrible sinns such as S. Paul reckons 1. Cor. 6. 9. Now if these men after come to repent it is impossible for them to remember their numberlesse particular sinns which they haue committed and to apply to them a particular repentance Then by the same reason it seemes to mee it were impossible they should be saued But if God accept a generall repentance of them it were good to bring some place of Scripture which saith that
wrath may be vpon lesser sinnes yea a hot wrath may be vpon a Saint â—…or greater 〈◊〉 but a whole displeasure is not vpon him except he had a whoâ—…e reigne of sinne and from that as I shewed before a Saint is preserued For there is still a seede of Grace remaining and with that seede God cannot be angry yea he still loueth it and where this loue remaines there the wholenesse of wrath is abated so much as is the measure of this remaining loue Neither is this without the word of God For God himselfe when he hath said of a Saint I will be his Father and he shall 2. Sam. 7. 14. be my sonne he saith also If he commit iniquity I will chasten him with the rods of men but my mercy shall not depart away from him as I tooke it from Saul God when he was angry with Iehosaphat Hee told him by the Prophet Shouldst thou helpe the vngodly c. Therefore is wrath vpon thee from the Lord. Yet withall God forgat 2. Chron. 19. â—… not the seede of Grace in his heart Neuerthelesse there are good things found in thee thou hast prepared thy heart to seeke the Lord. So though there be a measure of wrath and God in measure contend with these branches Esay 27. 8. of sinne yet the roote of grace remaining Grace also remaineth As long as the seede of God remaineth so long vnion with God remaineth and as long as vnion with God remaineth so long a man is in the state of grace and cannot be wholly in the state of displeasure But as millions of sinnes lying vpon the Sonne of God brought with them such a heauy displeasure of God that in regard of the anguish and plague of it to which he was deliuered vp he cryed out My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and yet as concerning vnion God had not forsaken him so also in the sonnes of God vnited to this Sonne though for some single sinnes a great wrath may arise and God in regard of outward feeling may seeme to forsake them yet that vnion still remaineth and whom God hath thus knit together no man can put asunder In Christ that became sinne for vs all the sinnes of the Saints and vnion with God were not incompatible wherefore sinnes and vnion with God are not incompatible And though this vnion was Hypostaticall and our a lower vnion yet from that Hypostaticall vnion our vnion is deriued and that vnion safegards and preserueth the vnion deriued from it His vnion is the Rocke on which our vnion being built that Rocke preserueth the Church vnited vnto it The strength of Christs vnion is not the weaknesse Math. 16. 18. Math. 7. 25. Ioh. 14. 19. Ioh. 17. â—…0 c. â—… Pet. 2. 5. 6. 7. but the strength of our vnion and in his safe vnion our vnion is safe against the gates of Hell And this is the very point that accuseth and conuinceth their horrible blasphemy that say wee are no safer by vnion with Christ who was God and man then by generation from Adam who was but a man that had not vnion with God But perchance some will obiect this is a dangerous doctrine to be taught That Saints cannot fall from the State of Grace And why Because men will presume But let the obiectors remember that the question is whether it be true or vntrue not whether there may be ill vses made of it For if it be true then this is iust Gardiners argument against whole relying on the merits of Christ because the people would breake out at this gappe and leaue buying of heaven with their owne merits So might wee argue that the Grace of God may not be taught because some turne it into wantonnes noâ—… men send their sonnes to the Vniversity because knowledge puffeth vp But let not Gods truth be muzled vp with carnall policy especially let not truth bee denyed to bee truth because flesh and blood makes ill vses of a spirituall truth But secondly I deny that this doctrne is dangerous to breede carelesnesse in obedience yea it is a spurre and encouragement vnto obedience For if wee consider how it is deliuered and to whome it is deliuered and with what cautions and conditions it is to be delivered it will be found to be a doctrine most comfortable and most advantagable vnto holinesse The vsuall manner of delivering it is by the way of incouragement vnto obedience Euen the whole Law is inforced vpon this ground I am the Lord that hath delivered thee from the house of bondage thou shalt haue no other Gods but me c. which agrees iust with the song of Zacharie That wee being deliuered from our enemyes might serue God without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse c. In the next place we may consider that this Doctrine only appertaineth to the Regenerate To them only it can be so deliuered that it may bee received Now the Regenerate haue in them a godly nature a spirit of loue and the loue of God being shewed and sealed to them the spirit of loue in them is enflamed to a more seruent loue of God And the more a man loues God the more will hee keepe his Commandements So that it is most true which S. Iohn speakes Hee that hath this hope purgeth himselfe as God is pure But the cleane contrary is said by these men He that hath this hope defileth himselfe 〈◊〉 the 1. Ioh. 3. 3. Deuill is filthy In the last place let vs take notice what cautions conditions are annexed vnto this Doctrine God knoweth our frame and he seeth that by nature wee are nothing but flesh Ioh 3. 6. And even after Regeneration there is a great remainder of the flesh even in the Regenerate Now this flesh is apt to be puffed vp not vpon this onely but vpon any excellencie of the Spirit knowledge Revelation yea vpon the grace of God yea vpon humilitie it selfe Therefore God hath certaine scourges for his childreÌ„ to beate downe this flesh from presuming and exalting it selfe aboue measure Whom the Lord loueth he chasteneth and hee Heb. 13. â—… scourgeth every sonne whom hee receiueth Hee hath scourges of diverse sortes he scourges them in their estates he scourges them in their bodies he scourgeth them in their mind yea in their soules themselues He scourgeth them by men hee scourgeth them by Devils he scourges them by good Angels he scourgeth them by his owne hand even by hiding his face by withdrawing his comforts by sending terrours into their soules so that no scourge almost is wanting but only Hell yea their is not wanting a kind of temporall Hell but only a Hell eternall Dauid is scourged with the death of the sonne of his sinne with the rebellion of another sonne with the rayling of Shimâ—…i with an exclusion from the Royall Citie So that hee wept as he went vp and had his head couered and he went â—…refoote he was called A bloody
wisdome to bee foolishnesse So the Owle thinkes day to bee night and the sunne to bee a cause of blindnesse but the Night goes for day and the setting of the Sunne to bee the Spring of the morning Therefore the witt of man offended with the purity of this spirituall doctrine hath invented a doctrine of its owne which exceedingly agreeth with the wit of man that bare it for here though not in a better case the Mother is the Nurse The wit of Man hath made a Foard in the depths of God it hath found out the wayes that are past finding out and where St. Paul cryes out O depth there they leade along their schollers that they passe through it allmost with dry feete The plot of Election and Grace is discovered and these men will tell you the reasons of Gods Counsell Neither is it a new devise of mine to accuse Mans wisdome of this folly it hath long since beene done yet will I bring a witnesse whom I may call an Oracle of these last times a man of the most sound and definite Iudgment that these latter Ages haue brought forth And his discovery may very well serue for a remedy The Diuines of greatest name held that Article of free Praedestination for Orthodoxe and the contrary for Hereticall because good writers of the Schoole as Saint Thomas Scotus and others did commonly thus beleeue That God before the foundation of the world out of the vniuersall masse of mankind by his onely and meere mercy did chuse some to glory to whom he prepared effectuall meanes for the obtaining of the same and this is called to Pradestinate And of these there is a certaine and determined number which is not to d ee increased c. Yet this opinion was oppugned by other Diuines but of lower note who called it hard cruell horrible and impious as that which made God to bee an accepter of persons c. The first sentence indeede comprehending a great mystery and secret doth humble the minde of man and while on the one side it presentes to man the deformity of sinne and on the other side the excellency of Gods grace it wholly fixeth him vpon God The second opinion is more plausible popular glittering and agreeable to the pride of mans heart and in this respect it was acceptable to the Fryers professing more the Art of preaching then the sound knowledge of Diuinity It did also seeme more probable to the Courtiers as being agreeable to reasons of policy And indeede those Who defended it because they relyed on reasons meerly humane they preuailed with men of humane wisdome but when the matter came to bee tryed by testimonies of Scripture then their cause soone fell to the ground Hist Concil Trid Lib 2. So wee see here the same Author leades vs to a second Politick grounds of Arminianisme ground of Arminianisme which is Policy It were too long for a worke which I intended to bee short to insist on the seuerall sorts of Policy in which this error hath beene rooted and from which it hath sprung vp and spread abroad the branches of it My Author hath discouered one of the Friers it serues their turne best for Rhetoricall perswasions and plausible declamations And I wish other Clergy-men had not also their Politicke endes and did not seeke to get glory to themselues by selling the glory of God No question it were an outward and seeming glory to them if when a man hath killed the seed of God in him they without any seed of God could make this man to liue againe to enter into heauen not being regenerated that is hauing wholly lost his Regeneration But in these gaines God looseth for his seede looseth the glory of being incorruptible that corruptible man may get the glory of God But I hasten to another Policy and that is The plot of 3 bringing in Popery Whosoeuer will bring in Popery into a country strongly fixed in the Protestant Doctrin must not presently fly in the face of the whole Protestant Doctrine but his onely way is to worke into it by these degres of plausible Arminianisme euen to put in these little theeues they seeme litle to naturall men into the window of a Church then they may vnlocke the dores of a Church and let in all Popery Our Religion is contained in diuers seuerall Articles they run vpon one Thred of Establishment Authority now if you can cut this Thred but in one place and breake through the Authority which established thē you may easily see that all the rest like beades will run out But here a word may serue to the wise Fourthly Arminianisme being a kind of twilight 4 and a double-faced thing that lookes to two Religions at once Protestantisme and Popery hee that is in it is like him that stands in the borders of two adioyning Kingdomes who is ready to dwell in either as either serues his turne best So that an Arminian is like a flying fish if preferment be among the birds he is ready to fly after it with the birds and if it be among the fishes then among the fishes he will swimme after it Fiftly it seemes to be a factious ground wherevpon 5 Politicke men may worke their owne ends that I may vse the wordes of one that perchance will be more pleasing to some and one that seemes to acknowledge such a thing de facto Did no wiser men or man worke vpon perhaps exasperated mindes or exasperate MONTAGVES Appeale p. 42. mindes to worke vpon as it hath hapned else-where in pointes of controuerted Diuinity called into question or maintained on Foote that Religion may serue for a stalking horse to catch fooles and bee pretended to serue Turnes For I yet hasten to a Sixth Policy and that is a fearfull one even a Policy to loose Religion Land and all For there is not a Policy more advantagable to the Spaniard then to bring in Division into a Land by bringing in Arminianisme This is not wordes but deedes which I speake For even this Division had almost forfeited the Low-countryes to the Spaniard And whom the warres of so many yeares did make still stronger the peace of a few yeares with Arminianisme had almost brought to ruine And it is well knowne to some that haue travelled that this very Counsell hath beene given to the King of Spaine by an execrable Author for the destruction of England and the Low-countryes even to bring in this doctrine which now hath gotten the name of Arminianisme But farre bee it from vs so to devide our selues by opinions that wee should make our selues weake and our enemies strong Let vs much rather like brethren which quarrelled before cast away the quarrels and ioyne together against a common Enemy both of Church and State Let vs striue to put our selues into the same Religion into the same vnity wherein God protected and prospered vs against this deuourer of Europe and his Inuincible