hand a Prince and Saviour for to give repentance to rebellious ones to wit to give unto them in and with his Call that Grace and divine Assistance whereby they may come to repentance Acts 5. 31. for the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared Tit. 2. 11 12. Our Lord Jesus did promise that he would be with his Gospel and the declarers of it unto the end of the world to open the eyes of Jews and Gentiles and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God That they might turn from the evil of their thoughts and ways And faithful is he that promised who also will do it Mat. 28. 20. with Mar. 16. 15. 20. Act. 26. 17 18 23. The law of the LORD is perfect converting the soul for it is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus Psal 19. 7. with Rom. 8. 2. The Gospel is the ministration of the spirit yea it is called the spirit Because is was given forth by the spirit And the Holy Spirit doth accompany it to make it powerful for the turning men unto God 2 Cor. 3. 6-8 And they that resist the Gospel resist not man but God who also hath given the Preachers of it his holy Spirit to accompany them and work together with them whereby they are able Ministers And hence also Stephen saith to the Jews Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears ye do alwayes resist the holy Spirit as your fathers did so do ye 1 Thes 4. 8. Acts 7. 51. In God's hand is power and might and in his hand it is to give strength unto all 1 Chron. 29. 12. And he giveth unto all men liberally and upbraideth not Jam. 1. 5. with chap. 4. 5. 6. And indeed That the wicked may possibly turn from their wicked ways and live I mean That God doth give unto them sufficient Grace and Power so to do while he calls upon them so to do is clearly implied in his Oath In that he so solemnly swears that he hath pleasure that they turn from their ways and live as is before said For how can he be said to have pleasure in their conversion who knows they cannot possibly convert themselves and yet though he hath power in his hand to in able them thereto doth not exert it or give them so much as whereby they might be converted and turned there-from unto him If we should see a man ready to fall into some deep ditch or pit in which he will unavoidably perish and know he cannot possibly keep himself out of it but must fall into it necessarily unless some other preserve him from that imminent danger And some one or more of us should seriously assure the man That we are not pleased that he should fall into that dangerous place Nay we swear most solemnly to the truth hereof also If notwithstanding all this we never put forth our hand to keep him back from thus falling no not so much as a fingar which might preserve him from that destruction can it be reasonably believed that we sware what we thought And not rather that we insulted over that piteous person in that his miserable condition So also it is here Our good and gracious and infinitely wise God knows what a sad state wicked ones are in That they are even at the brink of the pit of eternal ruin and perdition and that they have no power at all to deliver themselves That they cannot deliver their souls nor say is there not a lie in our right hands As Isa 44. 20. now he interposes himself by an Oath and swears he hath pleasure they should be kept from that euerlasting destruction And if he now afford them no power at all that they might be delivered there-from what may we think of such an Oath or of him who thus Sweareth Can we believe he speaks as he thinks or thinks as he swears No surely Our Saviour signifies that he who doth not save life when it is in the Power of his hand and he hath opportunity so to do doth destroy though he never swears he hath no pleasure in such a destruction but that he should be saved Mark 3. 4. See Iam. 4. 17. Much rather may he be said so to do who binds his soul with an Oath That it is his good pleasure that such an one should be cured and delivered from his destructive distemper and yet with-holds all help from him in order therto which he might with the greatest ease reach forth unto him Indeed if such an one doth give the dying person a plaister to heal him and helps him to apply it if then the perishing person refuses his blood will justly be upon his own head But otherwise he is to be pitied and the swearing and potent person to be blamed But let all such thoughts of God who is love it self to man-ward be rejected by us He that had so much love in his heart as to move him to swear with his lips That he hath pleasure that the wicked should turn doth doubtless in able them though not force them so to do If any should say as it is frequently urged by some That God gave men power in Adam in the state of Innocency to obey his will and keep his commands And therefore he may still command them to turn though they have no power because they lost it themselves But he lost not his Authority over them To this I say 1. We are not now considering what Authority he hath to command but what Affection and Good-will he signifies to be in his heart toward wicked ones by his Oath both negatively and positively propounded and from thence conclude That he who so swears will certainly not be wanting to afford that to wicked ones whereby they may be preserved from Death and may turn from their wicked ways and live But 2. We utterly deny That God ever gave wicked ones power in the first Adam to turn from their wicked ways and live For 1. There were no wicked ones in Adam before he fell for God made man righteous to wit Adam and all in him Eccl. 7. 29. God made man in his own Image in the Image of God created he him male and female created he them Gen. 1. 26 27. Nor did any nor could any sin while in Adam's loins before he sinned For by that one man sin entred into the world c. Rom. 5. 12-18 2. When Adam had eaten of the forbidden fruit he had no power to convert himself which he would have had had God given him power so to do The first Adam was indeed made a living soul and so might and should have convayed life to his Posterity had he abode in that honourable state in which he was created of God But he was not made a Quickening spirit to Quicken himself or his off-spring when he was fallen from God and become dead thereby It is the last Adam and not
he hath an unclean spirit Mark 3. 28-30 And in this their blasphemy they acted or spake worse than the Egyptian Magicians Exod. 8. 19. And hereby also they scattered abroad others from Christ who were gathering to him by these mighty works wrought by the Holy Spirit See Matth. 12. 30 31. and Luke 11. 23. And so this may be called the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost as the Holy Ghost signifies as oft it doth the miraculous works or extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit Joh. 7. 39. Act. 10. 44 46. and Ch. 19. 1. 6 c. 2. Consider we this hainous sin as to the continuance of it This Blasphemy which our Saviour declares to be unpardonable is not one word or act only against the Holy Spirit but a persisting therein until this sin be finished And therefore in St. Matthew and Luke this sin is exprest in the Present-tense whosoever speaketh Matth. 12. 32. or Blasphemeth Luk. 12. 10. And words of the Present time usually denote the duration or continuance of any act as Bâ—lieveth cometh eateth abideth followeth c. Joh. 3. 15 16 18. and ch 6. 35. 37 54-58 and ch 8. 12. 1 Joh. 3. 6. And this may further appear more evidently in that this Blasphemy is exprest in Mark 3. 29. in the Future time He that shall blaspheme c. to wit shall go on so to do till this sin hath brought forth Death And this will yet further appear if we diligently consider that our Saviour prayed for these Blasphemers also when he was upon the Cross Luk. 23. 33 34. And when raised again was sent to bless them in turning away every one of them from his iniquities Act. 2. 22 23-8 and ch 3. 13-15 19 26. 1 Tim. 1. 13-16 with Act. 26. 10 11. So that what our Saviour speaks of this Blasphemy is no discouragement unto any mans returning from his wicked ways nor denial of a possibility so to do hopefully while it is the day of God's grace and patience though it be a powerful Antidote to preserve and deterre men from this hainous sin 2. In the next place consider we also what the Apostle saith in Heb. 6. 4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightned c. If they shall fall away to renew them again to repentance c. Likewhereto is that other Scripture in the same Epistle namely Heb. 10. 26 27 28 29. Now for our better understanding hereof mind we these things 1. From whence or after what they fell away and that is as it is exprest in Heb. 10. 26. after the knowledge or acknowledgment of the truth received And after they were sanctified thereby ver 29. And as it appears in this Heb. 6. 4 5. they fell from an high degree of Christianity and after they had received true and excellent operations of the Spirit answering unto as hath been observed by some the forenamed Principles in ver 1. 2. As to say 1. They were once enlightned as ch 10. 32. that is by the Holy Spirit their eyes were opened and they were convinced of the vileness of their Sins and vanity of their Idols and so had effected in them Repentance from dead works as ver 1. with Heb. 9. 14. Act. 26. 18-20-23 2. They had tasted of the heavenly gift That is to say as answering to the second Principle in ver 1. they were made partakers of Faith towards God and so of that Faith which is of the operation of God Col. 2. 12. by which they had discerned and proved the graciousness of the heavenly gift even of our Lord Jesus as 1 Pet. 2. 3 4. of his flesh which was given for the life of the world and of his precious bloud which is the Blood of the new Covenant and Testament shed for the remission of our sins Joh. 6. 33-58 Matth. 26. 28. whereby they were inlivened and quickned 3. And were made partakers of the Holy Ghost This Answers to the Doctrine of Baptisms in ver 2. and shews that these by the several mediums of Baptism were by the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit Baptized into the death of Christ as Rom. 6. 3. And were also risen again with him by the faith of the operation of God who raised Christ from the dead as Col. 2. 12. Phil. 3. 10. And also they were endued with the Excellent and Spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit whereby they were enabled to praise and serve God acceptably and to be profitable unto Men and Brethren Yea they might be made partakers of some extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit 1 Cor. 12. 4-12-23 4. And have tasted the good Word of God which Answers unto the fourth Principle in ver 2. to wit the Doctrine of the laying on of hands In which Doctrine is taught us That God had graciously promised to hear the Prayers presented in the Name of Christ and to give gracious returns thereto And that where two or three were gathered together in Christ's name he would be in the midst of them namely in such Assemblings Matth. 18. 19 20. Of this good Word of God in the performance of his gracious Promises they had tasted They had proved his Graciousness and Faithfulness in hearing their Prayers and granting their Requests and in manifesting his Presence with them and Blessing upon them in their watching at his gates and waiting at the posts of his doors as Prov 8. 34 35 Heb. 10. 19-23-25 Which laid great engagements upon them to cleave unto the Lord with purpose of heart and to call upon him as long as they lived as Psal 116. 1-7 5 and 6. Have tasted of the Powers of the world to come which Answer unto the two last Principles in ver 2. to wit the Resurrection of the Dead and eternal Judgment which follows after the Resurrection of the Dead And of the Powers in the Doctrine of both these had tasted also namely proved and in some measure experimented the mighty Power of God exerted in the Resurrection Eph. 1. 19 20. in quickening them to a lively hope in raising them to seek after and mind the things above Col. 3. 1 2. In giving them some knowledge of the terrour of the Lord in the day of Wrath against impenitent ones 2 Cor. 5. 10 11. And of the Glory to be revealed on them that in a patient continuance in well-doing seek for immortal Honour and Glory 1 Cor. 2. 9 10. 1 Pet. 5. 1. To which I shall no further enlarge See Mr. Thomas Moore Senior in his Explicite Declaration of the Testimony of Christ Page 585 591. But by what hath been said it appears they were eminent Believers and fell from an high degree of Christianity higher than most attain unto who fill themselves with needless fears as if they were guilty of the grand Miscarriage of these and so in an hopeless condition 2. Consider we nextly the Depth of their Fall and so the abominable hainousness of their Transgression and that is such as
God hath put his Spirit upon him that he might bring forth Judgment to us and give Repentance to us from them namely That Grace and Power whereby we may Repent that he may forgive our iniquity and our sin as Jer. 36. 3. Him hath God exalted with his right hand a Prince and a Saviour for to give Repentance to us also and forgiveness of sins Acts 5. 31. and Chap. 26. 18. Isa 42. 1. Luke 24. 46 47 48. 3. The truth of this also That God hath no pleasure in the Death of the wicked further appears and is evident hereby In that he is vouchsafing Means of Grace unto them and giving gracious Aid and Assistance in and with the Means to the end that the wicked may Repent and turn from their evil ways that iniquity may not be their ruine He doth not onely call them to Repentance with an outward Call but he also stretcheth forth his hand his Power and Spirit with his Calls that such may turn at his Reproofs Prov. 1. 21 22-24 Our Lord Jesus is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world John 1. 9. He is the light of the world which lieth in wickedness or in the wicked One Joh. 8. 12. with 1 Joh. 5. 19. To open the eyes of the blind and to bring forth the prisoners out of prison and them that fit in darkness out of the prison-house Isa 42. 6 7. To open the eyes of Jews and Gentiles and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified through faith in Christ Jesus Acts 26. 17. 18. And he is therefore the Light unto the Gentiles also the light of the World that he might be for salvation unto All even unto the ends of the earth that through him they might be saved Isa 49. 6. with Acts. 13. 47. And as it is the nature and property of the Light to manifest and discover all things unto men in their true and proper colours For whatsoever doth make manifest is light Ephes 5. 13. So our Lord Jesus Christ doth in and by his Testimony and Testimonis of his Goodness manifest himself and Gods Grace in himself to the Sons of Men He makes himself manifest unto them that asked not after him And as in former times Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness that the stung Israelites might look unto and behold it and live Even so the Son of Man is lifted up by the Spirit in the Gospel that sinners may look unto and believe in him And that whosoever believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life Rom. 10. 18-20 John 3. 14-16 Hence he who is a just God and a Saviour and there is none besides him calleth unto men and saith Look unto me all the ends of the earth and be ye saved for I am God and there is none else Isa 45. 2-1 22 23. with Phil. 2. 8 9 10. And Christ as the Light doth also manifest the odiousness and vileness of our sins and what an evil and bitter thing it is to forsake the Lord and that his fear is not in men as Jer. 2. 19. And the necessity of their being turned there-from without which they must all necessarily perish as afterwards we may shew more largely All things that are reproved are made manifest by the Light wherefore he saith Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Eph. 5. 13 14. And this most Excellent One doth also as is before said Open the blind Eyes of the Souls of Men to see what he is manifesting to them God hath given him for a light of the Gentiles to open the blind eyes c. Isa 42. 6 7. And herein he excels the Light of this World for though that doth manifest the things here below yet it will not give Sight unto those that are blind to behold what it doth manifest and discover it will not open the eyes of those that want their bodily sight But now our Lord Jesus is the true light the most excellent light who gives both light and sight he lightens every man that cometh into the world John 1. 6-9 And not only so but he gives grace unto all even that Aid and Assistance whereby they may turn from their evil and pernicious ways and live The grace of God brings salvation or is saving unto all men Tit. 2. 11. The goodness of God leadeth men to repentance even such also as are not led by it but after their own hardness and impenitent hearts treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God Rom. 2. 4 5. It is true indeed No man can turn from his iniquities and come unto Jesus Christ unless it be given unto him of the Father unless he draw him John 6. 44 45. But it is as true also that God in due time doth draw all men by Jesus Christ even such also as refuse to return Hos 11. 4 5. with John 12. 31 32. Though the Spirit that dwells in us naturally lusteth to envy yet he giveth more grace That we might not follow after our own Spirit Jam. 4. 5 6. As Christ is exalted with Gods right hand a Prince and Saviour to give repentance c. So he is faithful in giving it in due season And there is good reason for us to believe he is so forasmuch as he was faithful to him that appointed him in that difficult work of humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Acts. 5. 30 31. with Heb. 3. 1 2. Isa 50. 5-8-10 Doutbless God doth not onely afford outward Means and calls wicked Ones with an outward Call to Repentance But he is dispensing to them his Grace and Spirit to enable them to turn from their Iniquities and to exercise themselves to Godliness especially he doth so to us who have the Name of Christ called upon us and the Gospel and Scriptures continued with us And to none other can I speak And to signifie to us that the holy Spirit doth accompany the Gospel to work in men both to will and to do of good pleasure what God requires of them Therefore is the Gospel called the ministration of the Spirit Yea it is called the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 6-8 And the words which Christ spake unto them that did not believe are said to be Spirit and Life John 6. 63 64. And when our Lord enlarges the Commission of his Apostles and commands them to go into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature to wit of all the Nations This is that then which he promises to them and assures them of that he would go along and work with them to wit by his Spirit Lo saith he I am with you always even unto the end of the world And to assure us that he was
or O that thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace Luke 19. 42. As also the truth of what the Lord swears to appears in that he speaks as one grieved at the very heart that men have turned a deaf ear to him and scattered their ways unto strangers and obeyed not his Voice As it is said by himself Forty years longer was I grieved with this generation and said it is a people that do err in their hearts and they have not known my ways Psal 95. 10. So he speaks as one grieved in Spirit and saith My people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me Psal 81. 8-11 And of our Lord Jesus who is the Image of the Invisible God it is said When he beheld the City he wept over it saying If thou hadst known even thou c. Luke 19. 41 42. John 13. 21. The truth hereof also is evidenced In his slowness to Anger and loathness to give them up who refused to return unto him but were Idolaters and bent to back-sliding from the Lord. As How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I delivar thee Israel how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Seboim Mine heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger I will not return to destroy Ephraim for I am God and not man the holy One in the midst of thee And I will not enter into the City Hos 11. 2-8 9. Mal. 3. 6. And lastly As to this particular That he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked is evident and evidenced in his Readiness to Repent him of the Evil threatned by him and justly deserved by them upon their turning to him And readiness to receive unto his Mercy great sinners though their wickedness hath been very great and long continued in Though their wickedness hath been like unto Sodom and Gomorrah and though their sins have been as Scarlet and red like Crimson yea though they have spoken and done evil things as they could As Isa 1. 10-18 Jer. 3. 15. So the Lord saith Turn unto the Lord your God And to move them so to do he adds For he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repenteth him of the evil Joel 2. 12 13. Thus he dealt with Nineveh when he saw their works that they turned from their evil way God repented him of the evil that he said he would do unto them and he did it not But it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry and said I pray thee O Lord was not this my saying when I was yet in my Country Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil Jonah 3. 8-10 and 4. 1. 2. So when Ephraim repented and smote upon the thigh the Lord saith Is Ephraim my dear son Is he a pleasant child for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercy upon him saith the Lord Jer. 31. 18-20 How ready and forward was the Father in the Parable to be reconciled unto and with joy to receive and give entertainment unto his prodigal Son when through his necessity and indigency he though of returning and began so to do When he was yet a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and fell on his neck and kissed him c. And I say unto you saith our Saviour That joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance Luke 15. 2-7-12-32 Nay when some such have not turned to him with the whole heart but feignedly how ready hath he been to spare them As it is said Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouths and they lied unto him with their tongues for their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant But he being full of compassion forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not Yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath And the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation Psalm 78. 34-36-38 1 King 21. 27-29 Now all these things considered and put together do clearly evince and evidence to us That the Lord hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth How can it once enter into our hearts or be entertained by us That he who so expostulates with wicked Ones and saith Why will ye die That so pathetically desires desires their good that is so grieved at the heart for the hardness of their hearts as Mark 3. 5. That is so loath to give up such as have highly provoked him to anger That is so ready to repent him of the evil and to receive with joy and gladness such as repent and turn unto him from their Iniquities and to spare them who feignedly turn unto him that they might consider their ways and turn their feet unto his Testimonies That he mean time doth secretly delight in and desire their Eternal Ruine O my Soul come not thou into the Secret of them who suffer such wicked thoughts of God to lodge within them Unto their Assembly mine Honour be not thou united as Gen. 49. 5 6. 7. As also it appears That the Lord hath no pleasure in the Eternal Ruine of the Wicked while it is the Day of his Grace and Patience Because he doth not delight in severely correcting here in this World He doth not willingly or from the heart afflict or grieve the children of men To crush under his feet all the Prisoners of the earth the Lord approveth it not Or feeth it not to wit with delight Lam. 3. 33-36 He doth indeed afflict and execute judgments in the Earth on those who contemn his Counsels But he doth not take Pleasure therein nor doth he punish them but when their need requires it for he is slow to anger and his Soul is grieved for their misery who have greatly sinned against him Judg. 10. 16. It is not pleasing to him now to plead with wicked Ones in his furious Rebukes Hence it is said The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim he shall be wroth as in the Valley of Gibeon that he may do his work his strange work so called because it is an unpleasant work to him As Job's breath is said to be strange unpleasant undelightful to his Wife Job 19. 13-17 And bring to pass his Act his strange Act Isa 28. 21. And therefore he doth not bring to pass his strange Act till there be a necessity for it as it were And all more gracious and favourable means and methods have proved unsuccessful and ineffectual Hence the Lord saith I will melt them and try them to