but the meer good pleasure of Gods most holy and righteous Will who will do with his creature what he will do neither can any expostulate why hast thou done thus Esa 45.9 It is true that sin and unbelief and the rejecting of the means are just causes why God decrees such persons to hell and eternal torments but yet not the causes of their reprobation that is solely and singly in the good pleasure of his Will Ephes 1.5 which I prove by these Arguments 1. Arg. That which the holy Ghost in the Scripture ascribes unto the sole will and good pleasure of God that we are not to assign other causes to But the Scripture assigns reprobation solely to Gods will Therefore For proof of the minor proposition see these texts Rom. 7.18 whom he will he hardeneth ver 20 21. Nay but O man who art thou that replyest against God shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessell unto honour and another unto dishonour ver 22. What if God willing to shew his wrath and make his power known endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted or made up for destruction Matth. 11.26 Even so O Father for so it seemed good in thy sight Matth. 10.15 Is it not lawful to do what I will with mine own ver 16. Many called few chosen Prov. 16.4 The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil Rom. 9.11 12 13. for the children being not yet born ver 17. for this same purpose have I raised thee 2. Arg. That which is the efflux and consequent of Reprobation cannot be the cause of it But sin unbelief and rejecting the means is the efflux and consequent of Reprobation Therefore The major is as clear as the sun The minor proposition is proved from these texts Math. 11.25 26. I thank thee father c. for so it seemed good in thy sight He hid those things not outwardly but inwardly Ioh. 6.36 37. Christ to the Capernaites I said unto you that ye also have seen me believed not all that the father giveth me shall come to me signifying that they are not given to him of the father and therefore reprobated Ioh. 8.46 47. Christ to the Pharisees If I say the truth why do ye not believe me he that is of God heareth Gods word ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God i.e. ye are reprobates Ioh. 10.26 Ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep i. e. not of the number of my elect Ioh. 12.39 40. Of the whole company of the Jews Therefore they could not believe because Esaias said he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts viz. God according to his decree Rom. 9.18 whom he will he hardens and ver 33. Behold I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone and rock of offence Rom. 11.7 8. the election hath obtained it the rest are hardened for God hath given them the spirit of slumber c. 1 Pet. 2.8 which stumble at the word being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed 3. Arg. If sin and unbelief and rejecting of the means of salvation are the onely causes why God reprobates any then there is no such mystery in the decree of reprobation neither are Gods waies herein so unsearchable and past finding out but that the true and undoubted cause may be assigned But yet they are mysterious and unsearchable See Rom. 9.14 What shall we say then is there unrighteousness with God God forbid Rom. 1.33 34. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgements and his waies past finding out for who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his Counsellour 4. Arg. If the foresight of sin and unbelief and rejecting the means of salvation be the causes of Reprobation then these absurdities will unavoidably follow 1. That no child dying in infancy can possibly be reprobated 2. Neither such Gentiles or Turks Indians or Salvages that never heard of Christ who never enjoyed the Gospel nor ever had the means tendred to them for how can they believe in him on whom they have not heard Rom. 10. and how can they reject that which was never tendred unto them as many nations in the world who are strangers from the life of God Ephe. 1.12 3. If the foresight of sin should be the cause of Reprobation then the elect should be equally lyable to the decree of reprobation as the Reprobates themselves they all being alike in the corrupt mass and lump of Adams transgression Rom. 9.21 22 23 24. Iohn 15.19 20. If ye were of the world c. Ephes 2.1 2 3. children of wrath as well as others Rom. 3.10 and there is none righteous no not one 4. Then Paul was mistaken Rom. 9.11 in not assigning sin to be the cause of Reprobation 5. The same Apostle then answered very unsoundly to those objections Rom. 9.13 14. The first is if God reprobated Esau because he hated him then he was unjust The second ver 19. Why doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will For he might in one word have answered to both the objections and said that sin was the cause of reprobating both of Esau and Pharaoh but he saith the contrary ver 11. When they had done neither good nor evil Iacob have I loved and Esau have I hated Mal. 1.2 6. Hereby we confine Gods infinite soveraignty over his creatures to the narrow scantling of our subordinate power as though he might not do with his own what he lists without our controll and not make a vessel either of honour or of dishonour unless he were accountable to us for the reason of his so doing For the fourth and fifth Positions These may pass with a grain of Salt bating some impropriety in the expressions and I am not so at leisure to teach such men to express themselves after a Theological manner either in their teaching or writing For the sixth Thesis I must ingenuously confess it is such a Mystery or Paradox and so involved with seeming contradictions that I want an Oedipus to unriddle the meaning of it I have been a little acquainted with the opinions of the Pelagians Semipelagians Papists Arminians Socinians and Anabaptists and amongst them all can observe none of them jumping in with this mans judgement for thus he writes All men are sometimes convinced of sin and the state of nature What his meaning is by the state of nature I cannot divine If his sense be that every man is at one time or other convinced that by nature he is a child of wrath and disobedience and dead in trespasses and sins and so t is false for most men have not such convictions Next And are made alive by the works of the spirit by this all men should be
the supply of those graces without which they cannot expect such graces necessary to salvation But I wonder much what vertigo possessed this mans brains when he writes thus of the wisdome of God Is it not below the wisdome that is in men of the world c. do they expect grapes when they plant nothing but brambles do they look for an harvest of wheat in that field in which they sow nothing but tares c. Reverend Sir be serious and tell me who own such a doctrine as teacheth that God plants brambles and soweth tares No Sir for the brambles and tares they were never of Gods planting and sowing but the envious man i. e. the Devil did it and mans nature freely contributed assent unto it we say with Solomon Eccles 7.29 God made man righteous but they have found out many inventions The decree of reprobation implants no evil what it finds not but it doth onely deny to remove that evil that it doth find God in that decree sows no tares but as a righteous Judge he appoints the tares to be bound in bundles and cast into the fire and now let those that have understanding judge what nerves or sinews there are in this your crimination Neither is there much more in that of yours which follows thus But God that excelleth in wisdome doth not so read and consider Isa 5.1 2 3 4 5 6 7. and see what the Lord himself saith ver 4. what could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes brought it forth wild grapes See also vers 7. and he looked for judgment but behold oppression for righteousness but behold a cry See also Ier. 2.21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine wholly a right seed how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me Answ But I pray kind Sir what would you infer from these places by you alledged for you have drawn no conclusion thence but suspend it wholly upon the readers good liking and therefore by your good licence I will take the boldness to thrust my sickle into your harvest and thence glean these not inforced consectaries 1. That here hence the doctrine of absolute non-election or negative reprobation is strongly confirmed in that those who are so reprobated notwithstanding all the outward means used towards them yet they will not cannot believe or repent but continue in their sins 2. That nothing more on Gods part could be expected either of desert or of right then what he had done to his vineyard onely this that God did do more to that part of the vineyard which he did make fruitful then towards that part which remained barren and that in order to and that antecedently to its fruitfulness 3. That something more was necessary to the conversion of them that were not converted it manifestly appears from hence because that God beyond that which was common to all made a reservation of some according to the election of grace Rom. 9.19 and 11.4 5. viz. by taking away the vail from off their hearts 2 Cor. 3.45 Isa 25.7 and by giving of them a new heart and a new Spirit and writing his laws in their heart Ier. 31.33 Ezek. 11.19 and 36.26 27. 4. That howsoever it be taken yet might God well demand of those unprofitable and disobedient people what could he do more then he had done that he might make them fruitful 1. Because he owed them no more nor so much in exact justice though he might have done more of meer grace and favour 2. Because those means already used were the chiefest in respect of outward means 3. Because they had not done so much as by reason of the means they both ought and might have done 4. Because that none of them herein appealing to their own consciences had askt any thing more of God which he had not granted to them And this I hope will be satisfactory to the ingenuous and from hence I could willingly proceed to his exceptions against my third argument and pass a slur upon some of his frivolous objections and answers wherein he doth onely verba dare wasts time and spoils clean paper with nothing but vapour and smoke But because it may be pretended 1 Cor. 3.12 that there was something substantial in it what wood hay stubble I can find in it I will bring it to the fire that it may be burnt The first objection is thus languaged But it may be objected that God knew that such effects would follow notwithstanding and therefore he could not wait in expectation of better things Answ I deny not but that God in his foreknowledge did know what would come to pass and doth know what men will do before they come to act and yet nothing as from God in respect of his foreknowledge or decree before man had any being doth necessitate or is the cause that doth produce any such effect as a continuance in sin and unbelief c. and therefore I say that the oppression and unrighteousness that was committed by the house of Israel and men of Iudah was not unknown unto God before it was â—ommitted or that it came to pass without or contrary to his knowledge but it was brought forth directly contrary to the mean that God used towards them or afforded unto them which was of such a nature and tendency had it not been abused to b ing foâ—th those good things that God said he looked so but the contrary was b oâ—ght forth by them and upon this aâ—co m iâ— is th t the Lord hath said to Israel Isa 65. 2. I have stâ—eâ—câ—ed forth mâ— hands all the day unto a rebellious people which wâ—â—â—â— in away that was not good after their own thoughts Yea so â—â— w â—th â—â—ouâ—in â—â—â—ce in â—n from being the effect of Gods de râ—â— of reprobation from before the foundation of the world that he plainly saith Ier. 19.5 that he commanded it not nor spake it neither came it into his mind Answ My very good friend what you say as that nothing in the decree of Reprobation did necessitate or was the cause that doth produce any such effect as a continuance in sin and unbelief c. I yield you as to cause and likewise to necessity so far as to co-action and compulsion But as before I have affirmed as it was a decree of the immutable wil of God which changeth not and proceeding likewise from his prescience resting on that decree and so I say again that it was necessary necessitate immutabilitatis et infallibilitatis that such things would follow notwithstanding expectation of better things which word expectation is used by the Prophet but by an anthropopathy after the manner of men for our better apprehension which signifies nothing else but that God expects and requires from us what our debt and duty is which yet nevertheless is done without any frustration of
counsel hath decreed appointed to permit in the manner to come to pass But you have another bout with this text and say But secondly I do therefore affirme that the disobedience o◠unbelievers is in not doing of that which they should do by the appointment of God and as some of the former translations 〈◊〉 read being disobedient to that whereon they were set and if this man do but look on his Greek Testament and say no otherwise o◠this text then in his own conscience he judgeth to be the clea◠sense of it as he is freely willing to answer the same before the great and righteous Iudge the Lord Iesus at his appearing when he shall sit upon the throne of his glory Then I am perswaded that he will say no otherwise of it Answ Sir in answer to this your conclusive cathedral gloss viz. that the disobedience of unbelievers is in not doing of that which they should do by the appointment of God I must tell you it is very luxuriant and corrupts the text and perverts the whole scope of the Holy Ghost and sense of the words both of which according to the mind of the Spirit and given in before I need not to repeat it The word which the Translators here render disobedient is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which properly signifies an unperswaded person an incredulous unbelieving and refractory person that wil give no assent unto that which he hears And now I pray learn me one lesson In what Grammatical construction can these words whereunto they were appointed have any manner of relation but onely unto their antecedent disobedient or unbelieving and not to any implicit command or injunction of God as it is by you feigned And then it must necessarily carry this Interpretation being disobedient unperswaded or incredulous unto which their disobedience misperswasion or incredulity they were before hand even from all eternity predetermined predestinated or appointed of God But that which followes of yours puts me into a wonder as it was to the Jews concerning Christ Ioh. 7.15 How knoweth this man Letters or Learning as it is in the Margin having never learned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I suppose you are not a pretender to any Enthusiastical raptures as if you could speak any exotick languages as by an immediate divine inspiration which you never learned as one in London once did in my hearing pretending a miraculous gift in his speaking of Hebrew and Greek he being no scholar but let that pass and him too that set you on this buz which onely makes a noise but comes to nothing For those former translations you mention which render the words being disobedient to that whereon they were set I have not met with any such and therefore leave them to their own sense But upon your proposal and heavy charge thereon I have surveyed the original the words are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it properly signifies as I said before a person unperswaded not believing and for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereon you lay the stress of your interpretation if we shall follow the usual sense of the holy Ghost in divers other such like places it cannot in any other fair construction be rendred then Appointed ordained viz. by the decree of God and so is the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 usually taken as Ioh. 15.16 I have chosen you and ordained you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 1 Thes 5.9 God hath not appointed us to wrath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now why you should tread in a path by your self and wave the best received Interpretation I know no cogent reason for it but that you have a vain affectati-of singularity Nor indeed much would it conduce to your purpose had you your desire in this sense of the word but such men as you are when they can no wayes evade the power of the Spirit speaking in any Scripture then they fall to their wrenches and turnings and doubles as the Hate doth when she is hard hunted and in danger to be taken and can find no other way to escape and therefore I will leave you to your vain subterfuges and attend to what you further say Object But the objection that usually is made against this is grounded upon Rom. 9.19 20. Thou wilt say unto me why doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will Nay but O man who art thou that repliest against God c. Now that which some do infer from it is That God doth Reprobate men to eternal destruction without assigning or ascribing any other thing to be the cause of it but the will of God as this man doth in his argument Answ To which I answer that there is no need at all for men to dispute with God so as to demand of him a ground or cause of mans Reprobation for he hath shewed them the things of himself by the things that are made even his eternal power and God-head so that they are without excuse Rom. 1.20 and hath shewed sufficiently in the Scripture that the rejecting the means of salvation continuing in sin and unbelief is the cause of it as hath been already proved and yet I shall by the help and assistance of God endeavour to make it more plain for consider that the people that Paul speaks to in these words Thou wilt say unto me why doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will c. were the Iews which notwithstanding all that God did publish and declare unto them by Jesus Christ and by his Apostles first tendring unto them the choice and precious mercies of himself in his Son Christ that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Ierusalem and so it was declared unto them Acts 4.10 11 12. that there was no other name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved but onely by the name of Iesus of Nazareth whom they had crucified whom God hath raised from the dead Which is the stone that was set at nought by the builders the Iews yea this truth was plainly declared by Paul also in Acts 13. from ver 16. to ver 46. and he applying his speech to the men of Israel and children of the seed of Abraham in the conclusion thereof ver 38 39. saith these words Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses Beware therefore saith he ver 40 41. Lest that come upon you whsch is spoken of in the Prophets Behold ye despisers and wonder and perish for I work a work in your dayes which ye shall or see Hab. 1.5 will in no wise believe though a man declare it unto you and by this it may solely be concluded that Paul was not of
and Iohn 12.19 the Pharisees say of Christ Behold the world goeth after him and Mat. 8.34 the whole city went out to meet Christ and Act. 2.5 men of every nation under heaven For as I said before how can it stand with common sense and right reason that in so small a tract of time those inhabitants of the utmost skirts of the world as America Peru Scythia Tartary Brasil Mexico China and other corners of the unknowne world should hear that joyful sound when as neither the Acts make mention of any preregrination to those places nor any Ecclesiastical history gives intelligence thereof yea and when as to Fathers who lived four or five hundred years after Christ both the Indies were then unknown unto them yea and when they came to beat first discovered there appeared not the least footsteps of the knowledge of the true God And therefore the sense can be no otherwise then this that whereas before the coming of Christ the word and promises and oracles of God were appendent onely to the Jewish nation now Christ being manifested in the flesh Acts 17.30 he commandeth all men every where to repent now none were excluded every nation aswel as the Jews might have a share of Christ crucified and according to the commission received from Jesus Christ they should preach the Gospel to them so far as in reason might be expected from so small a company as did undertake that charge and many places of the world they had then gone through And Sir to what you say that if there be such Turks and Gentiles that never heard of Christ if he hath been amongst such he should have preached Christ unto them I must tell you for your better information that the Gospel of it self is not preachable to all had not God expresly commanded Ionas to preach to Niniveh he had not sinned if he had preached to them Sir it is a special mission that gives warrant unto any when and to whom to preach those glad tidings which is not so common to all but peculiar to such where God hath a people to be gathered according to the purpose of election Act. 18.10 Act. 16.7 Mat. 10.5 Act. 16.6 Rom. 10.15 Jer. 23.21 in other cases they are inhibited though they had determined to preach it the Apostle assayed to go into Bithynia but the Spirit suffered them not yea their commission is limited they may not go into the way of the Gentiles and into the city of Samaria not to enter the Holy Ghost forbids them to preach in Asia and how then shall they preach except they be sent We see by experience in those of your gang that there is a running and no sending And I pray tell me how could any thing of God or Christ in the time of the law be discovered to any in a saving way when as the purpose of God that way was limited to the narrow scantling of the Jewish nation Psal 147.19.20 Amos. 3.4 He shewed his word unto Iacob his statutes and judgements unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any nation c. You onely have I known of all the families of the earth c. No Sir such prankes of preaching the Gospel where they have not a special mission would suit far better with such Itinerants as you are to proselyte the Indians the onely mischief would be this Mat. 23.15 that when you had proselyted them they would be twofold more the children of hell then they were before By what afterwards you write you seem to tread the mizmaze viz. that we receiving what knowledge we have of such upon a report of some history or travellers and therefore that they may hear what we are and do aswel as we hear what they are and do Sir if you look about you there is not the like reciprocal reason for the one as for the other Those travellers you speak of of ours are men of parts and ingenuity and through long pains and difficulties have made new discoveries of several parts of the habitable world but who are the inhabitants surely a people of a strange temper constitution and condition rather like beasts nay Devils than men I mean for some of them nay such as the Prophet speaks of Ezek. 3.5 a people of a strange speech of a hard language and whose words thou canst not understand Canibals Satyres who do really worship the Devil And tell me how shall these reject the means who stand in no capacity to receive it and surely Sir if your will and judgement have so much of obstinacy in them as that they canot take impression by an historical faith of what is delivered from persons of an undoubted integrity I shall much doubt how it will be pliable to the entertayning of a justifying faith He that is unfaithful in the least will be unfaithful also in much Luke 16.10 according to your own instance And to what you say that if they did but delight to retain that God in their knowledge whom we worship and the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we believe But I pray tell me how is this possible for them to have this delight you speak of when perhaps they never heard of the true God nor his Son Jesus Christ and next by whom is any such delight wrought in the hearts of any people but onely by God himself who hath already denyed it to them in his decree And therefore what other means they do enjoy which would require their faithful improvement of them and of their knowledge therein I know of none and if you have found out any if you please to set it down in plain English it will prove a greater discovery then that of America it self unless you mean those constant dayly lecturers the sun moon and stars which in a dumb language preach out the glory of God But the quickest-sighted of all the Astrologers could never read any thing of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the firmament of heaven 1 Cor. 1 23. which is to the Iews a stumbling-block and to the Gentiles foolishness the Scriptures wholly ascribing the knowledge of the mystery to the Son of God revealing it from the bosome of the Father and to the Spirit of God but utterly denying so much as a thought of it to any of the greatest or wisest of the world yea unto the blessed Angels themselves 1 Pet. 1.12 But you further say But put case it be granted for Arguments sake that they never heard of Christ why then saith the man how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard from Rom. 10. and how can they reject that which was never tendered unto them Why then I say again how have infants faith for they never heard of Christ as they are new born infants and I say likewise that if those Gentiles he speaketh of never heard of Christ nor yet could notwithstanding all that they could do in the use of that means they