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A48584
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A treatise of election and reprobation in vindication of the universal grace and love of God to mankind by B.L.
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Lindley, Benjamin, d. 1723.
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1700
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Wing L2312; ESTC R28788
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51,533
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Relation who careth for the Life of his Children nourisheth and provides all things necessary for them and if they be wicked and go from him Luke 15. and abuse his kindness and spend their substance upon Harlots as the Prodigal Son if they do but consider and return he seeing them afar off hath Compassion and runs to meet them and kisseth them and brings forth the best Robe and kills the fatted Calf and feeds and clothes them and rejoyceth over them c. Now if our natural Fathers know how to give good Gifts unto their Children how much more shall our Father which is in Heaven give good Gifts to them that ask him Mat. 7. A natural Father declining from this Rule comes under the Reproach of being Unnatural Careless Senceless c. But should he not only omit the Fatherly Love Care and Provision becoming him but also inhumanely Slay the most of his Children how odious a thing would this be amongst Men He would incur the Infliction of Death And yet the Tenents I 'm opposing lay even harder things than these at the door of the Almighty and most Merciful Father the Slaying his Children not only with Temporal but Eternal Death for the Praise of the Power of his Wrath. § 3. Jesus Christ is our High Priest and as such it is his Office to Bless us to offer up our Sacrifices to Attone and Intercede for and in our Behalf Heb. 5.1 2. Every High Priest taken from among Men is ordained for Men in things pertaining to God that he may offer both Gifts and Sacrifices for Sins who can have compassion on the igrant and on them that are out of the way c. And if Men had such great Benefit and Blessing by the High Priests after the order of Aaron how great Blessing and Benefit then have we by our High Priest after the order of Melchizedec who was before Aaron and is greater than Aaron c. Great was the Love of God unto us in giving his Son to be our High Priest to have the oversight and cure of our Souls and ineffable the Benefits Mankind receive by him who being exalted by the right Hand of God and having received from the Father the Promise of the Holy Ghost hath shed forth this in some measure upon all O how wonderfully did he when he took our Nature upon him shew how great was his Goodness to the Sons of Men So if under the Cure of such an High Priest we come to any miscarriage it must be through our selves But what for a Priest do the Priests of these times make him with their Reprobate Doctrine which renders him shutting the Gates of Heaven against the greatest part of the Flock committed to his Cure and instead of interceding to God for them delivering them over to Satan and to Eternal Ruine and this not because of their Wickedness and that they will not be Reclaimed but for the Pleasure of his Father's Will even because God hath Will'd and Decreed it as they say See here how injurious is this Doctrine of Reprobation unto God and Christ in those general Relations of King Father and Priest c. CHAP. III. Reassuming the Substance of those Scriptures and Inferences mention'd in the Introduction most usually Vrged in pleading for Personal Reprobation with particular Answers and Explications to each according to their true and genuine Sense in which is clearly Refuted those false Senses and Meanings which the Predestinarians commonly impose upon them The whole comprised in Ten Objections and their respective Answers HAving thus far gone upon General Reasons I shall now come to a Particular Examen of sundry Scriptures most used in pleading for Personal Reprobation which I shall put as Objections not that they are really so to the Argument I 'm Advancing but the Misunderstanding or that false Sense put upon them So what I put down under the Head of Answer is the Explication of their true genuine Sense and Refutation of those false and foreign Senses and Meanings impos'd on them Which having for avoiding of Cavils premised I proceed Object 1. Though God be Love Good Gracious Merciful c. yet is he Excellent in Power and in Judgment and in plenty of Justice and the Scripture tells us of the Fierceness of his Anger and of his Indignation and of his Wrath and Vengeance c. Deut. 9.7 22. and 13.17 Josh 7.26 Job 37.23 Jer. 50.7 Mic. 7.9 Rom. 12.19 Answ All such places in which God's Anger and Wrath c. are spoken of have respect to Provocation and Offence given and not otherwise for all his Attributes are resolvable into Goodness and Love Mercy and Truth meet together or are united in him and Justice and Peace kiss each other or agree in one in him so speaking of God simply as what he is in himself or what is Primary and Spontaneous in him and he is all Goodness and Love Deus est primario bonus atque ex indole Naturae secundario ex accidente severus idem est ex populi peccato God is primarily good out of the inclination of his Nature but secondarily and accidentally he is severe by reason of People's sins So Anger Wrath Fury and Vengeance the executive part of Justice are consequential from God and not primarily in his Being but stirred up by the Devil and wicked Men proceeding according to his Lusts and the Inclination of their depraved Nature it is the Fruit of their Doings but the Fruit of the Spirit is Love Gal. 5.22 and God is Love God is slow to Anger it is not kindled in him nor repays he Vengeance or Wrath without great Provocation and cause given on our part take away this and Justice is our Friend and Advocate and is as sweet as Mercy It 's Transgression puts the Rod into the Hand of Justice or she Chastizeth not She never smites the Innocent or wounds the Mind that is Guiltless if so it would cease to be it would be no more Justice but it 's the Wicked that are slain at her feet and Transgressors are wounded by her And as Anger Wrath c. are not primary or voluntary in God but as effects of Provocation and Offence so neither is he inclin'd or prone thereto which is an ill Character in a Man and denominates him crabbed peevish angry implacable c. which by no means may be spoken of God Thus the Race of Mankind could not offend their Maker before they were made neither could it be consistent with him to make such a number of Living Souls so Good so Honourable and Resembling Himself to an End so Miserable as the Torments of Hell Object 2. The Scripture mentions Vessels of Wrath fitted for Destruction and also Vessels of Mercy and it is plain some Men are intended by Vessels of Wrath and some Men by Vessels of Mercy Now there is a vast difference betwixt Wrath and Mercy and the Scripture speaking of Mankind under the terms
less had he done it from all Eternity § 3. From the Rejoycing of the Heavenly Host over this Blessed Work of Creation Job 38.7 for then the Morning-Stars sung together and the Sons of God shouted for joy which holy pure Spirits rejoyce not at the Out-goings of Destruction or Misery or Death or Hell but at the Out-goings of the Power and Work of God and of his Life and Glory which excellently illustrates the Blessedness of this great Work its being ushered in in the Morning of it with those holy Songs and Shoutings of Joy so Divine and Heavenly § 4. From the Creature made for God created Man in his own Image in the Image of God created he him c. Even this gives us a pregnant Instance of the great Love of God to us in our Creation and secures us against the Fear of being put into the hands of Destruction by an Eternal Decree To be made in the Maker's Image and in his Likeness is sufficient warranty against it to any who know what it is to be formed after that Pattern of perfect Bliss for it must needs be that God beholds Himself above all and loves his own Image above every Image and thence hath made choice to dwell with Man delighting in him and loving him For of which of the Creatures ever said he at any time I will walk in them and dwell in them Nor doth he afflict willingly or grieve the Children of Men much less will he without cause Lament 3.33 destroy with an Eternal Destruction the Creature that with so much Wisdom he hath so curiously framed And had there been such an Eternal Destructive Decree upon Mankind then he had been created under the Curse and could not have born the Image of the Blessed on the contrary as he was created in the Image of God he could not be hated of him nor have any such Decree impending him or his Off-spring Again If there had been such a Decree Man must either have been created with the Seed of this Destruction in him which in despite of all his endeavours should increase and grow up with him till he were consumed of it or he must causlessly have been cast down of God into Perdition It cannot be the first for Man was made very good Gen. 1.31 Jer. 2.21 Mat. 13. planted wholly a right Seed sown a good Seed c. and the latter is Blasphemy As God made nothing evil so he made nothing to an evil End it is incompetent with Wisdom and Justice to make a good thing to an evil end and to be sure he that made all things good Gen. 1.30 hated no good thing for no Man willingly propagates what he hateth he must be blinder than a Beetle that gives credit to such stuff which stubs up all Wisdom and Religion by the Roots inverts all Series and Order into Confusion bereaves God of his Wisdom and Goodness and Man of his Honour and Blessing Object But it is alledged that Man forfeited his blessed Estate in the Fall and became subject to Misery so that God might justly have given him over to utter Ruin but through his infinite Mercy in Christ Jesus he choosed to save a few Vincent's Catechism p. 19 c. and pass by all the rest of Mankind So that God's Eternal Decree of Reprobation is his leaving them to perish in their Sins unto the Praise of the Power of his Wrath and infinite Justice in their Everlasting Punishment Answ If so this Forfeiture was general either all forfeited their Blessed Estate or none at all Then how is that Mercy infinite which forgives but a few or that Justice infinite which punisheth not all But as the Mercy of God in Christ is infinite there is made Provision therein for the Salvation of all if they will accept God's Salvation on God's Terms and as his Justice is infinite it is provided therein to punish all Men that despise or neglect so great Grace and Mercy And if God should leave any to perish in their Sins through their impenitency how can this be call'd his absolute Eternal Decree of Reprobation of Persons Or how doth the leaving a Man to the natural Consequence or Effect of his own evil Actions imply the Decreeing him to such an End or such Actions Put the case of a Man's stabbing himself with his own Sword Is the not forcibly hindering him from it the forcing him thereto Is the bare permitting him to do it the putting him under a fatal necessity of doing it as is imply'd in these words God 's Eternal Decree of Reprobation c. What passage can be collected out of all the Scripture to shew God's seeking to have Praise ascrib'd to his Wrath Which is not voluntary or a first Principle in him as shall hereafter be manifest So that in short these Tenents are sad ones equally void of Reason and of Gospel But I shall make it appear God did not take this Advantage against any part of Mankind or absolutely Decreed their Destruction from Eternity or from the Fall but tendered Salvation and the Gospel to them Then Neither hath he done any thing to frustrate any one's Salvation before his Birth 1. From the Benefit of Christ's Death universally extended 2 Cor. 5.14 15. 1 Tim. 2.6 Hebr. 2.9 he died for all Men he gave his Life a Ransome for all 2. From the Universality of the Gospel it brings good Tidings of great Joy to all People Luke 2.10 Mat. 28.19 Mark 13.10 and was to be preach'd to or in every Creature under Heaven all Nations to be taught c. 3. From the Universality of the Grace of God called in Scripture Titus 2.11 Gratia Salutifera the Salvation-bringing Grace or the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation This Grace hath appear'd to all Men and it bringeth Salvation it appears not empty-handed if it should cease to have such a Gift it should cease to be that Grace but all Men have the Tenders of Salvation in and through this Divine Grace and this since the Fall So God hath not taken that Advantage against any from the Fall as to leave them unavoidably to perish in their Sins c. but visits all Men in and by his Divine Grace in order to their Salvation and enlightneth every Man that cometh into the World and hath not done any Act to frustrate the Salvation of any before their Birth He that is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance 2 Pet 3.9 1 Tim. 2.4 who will have all Men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the Truth He hath done nothing to frustrate the Salvation of any Man before his Birth But God is not willing that any Man should perish c. So here we acquit our selves of Decretal Reprobation either Eternal or Temporal that 's previous to our Birth and indeed of all Decretal Reprobation § 5. That Doctrine which makes the cause of