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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
(1700)
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Wing L2312; ESTC R28788
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51,533
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66
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Meat and Drink to do the Will of God it is holy pure and loved of God it lives in Obedience keeps the Commandments Sinneth not Whosoever is born of God 1 John 3.9 doth not commit sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God This is the Description of the Elect. Thus is opened in some measure the Mystery of Election and Reprobation the Loved and Hated Birth spoken of under the Types of Jacob and Esau And Christ is declared to be that Promised Seed not in a divided but in the most comprehensive Sense But to proceed in these Mysteries leads from the Matter before me to which I must now return Object 6 There are certain Men crept in unawares Jude 4. who were of old Ordained unto this Condemnation c. From whence they conclude some positively Ordain'd to Condemnation c. Answ The stress of this Argument lyeth upon the word Ordained and there is no such word in this Text the Greek word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ante 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scribo in Latin Prescripti in English fore-written and so it should be translated and not Ordained which alters the point mainly for right read it amounts to no more than that such were before of old prophesied of and those Prophecies committed to Writing or that there were written Prophecies of them for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to Prophecy comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 predico compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ante 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dico that is to foretell or fore-speak of a thing so the one is a Written Prophecy the other Verbal that 's all the difference And what weakness is it from hence to conclude some under a necessity of Sinning This makes the Visions and Prophecies the cause of the things so happening then the fault would be upon the Prophets and Seers and upon their Prophecies and Visions and the Scriptures the cause of the Sins they foretell and reprehend But if the Prediction of things so to happen be not the cause of of their so happening then neither is the Prescription or putting what 's fore-told in Writing or Print any cause thereof and that 's as far as this Scripture mentions which though our Opponents put great Stress upon it yet being right read it supports no part of their Argument For 1st Here is their great word Ordain'd set aside which the Greek hath nothing of tho' it be put in the English Bibles 2dly The words Before of old are not old enough to serve this turn having reference unto the Writings of Enoch Paul Peter Jude 14. 1 Tim. 4.1 2 Tim. 3.1 2 Pet. 3.3 c. but these have their Date in time and are Prophetical not Decretal so are no proof of an Eternal Decree or any Decree of Personal Reprobation 3dly The stile of these Prophecies is not particular of such and such Men that they should do so and be so wicked and fall under such Condemnation c. but it is in general as in the words of Enoch the Seventh from Adam Behold the Lord cometh with Ten Thousands of his Saints to execute Judgment upon all and to reprove all that are Vngodly among them of all their ungodly Deeds which they have ungodly committed c. And so the words of the rest which shews that such wicked Men there should be but not that they were under a fatal necessity of being so or had never been in a capacity of Salvation or were condemn'd without any respect to their good or evil Deeds c. For the Apostle Jude admits these Men to have been sometime in a capacity of Salvation as appears by his comparing them 1. To the People whom God had saved out of Egypt and afterwards destroyed them that believed not 2. To the Angels which kept not their Principality but left their own Habitation c. The first were at least in a capacity of Salvation and Glory and the latter in the blessed Fruition on 't Then neither were these Men condemn'd without any respect to their good or Evil Deeds as appears from their being compared 1. To the Israelites that believed not 2. To the Angels that kept not their Principality 3. To Sodom and Gomorah 4. To Cain 5. to Balaam 6. to Core Now the first are charg'd with Unbelief The second with Apostacy The third with grievous Sin The fourth with the Murder of his own Brother The fifth with Covetousness and Iniquity The sixth with Gainsaying and Rebellion So allow but the Apostle Jude to explain the Apostle Jude and 't is plain these Men's Evil subjectd them to Condemnation to the which they were not Fore-ordain'd nor was it inflicted on them without any respect to their good or evil Deeds Object 7. They distinguish the Grace of God into Common and Special and allow that every one hath Common Grace but hold that only the Elect have Special Grace and that none are saved by Common Grace or can be but whosoever have Special Grace can in no wise miss of Salvation c. Answ There is no where mention in the Scripture that I can find of Special Grace which is my first Exception to the distinction as Unscriptural Next comes to my thought that saying A great Lyar ought to have a good Memory and indeed so ought any one that deals in false Doctrines and Errors For generally Ignorance and Error is incongruous it 's of the nature of a Lye there 's no Line of Coherence in 't to lead one along as we have Instance here One while they say God hated the greater part of Mankind and decreed their Reprobation c. Another while All Men have Common Grace and that implies the Favour and Love of God in some measure for Grace is Favour c. But how God should love and hate the same Persons and at the same time is a difficulty they have to Unridle Then the word Common is either to be understood according to them as vile importing a thing of mean or no value in which Sense to apply it to God's Grace is Blasphemy Or it must be understood to signifie General or Universal a Sense in which 't is commonly taken And according to this most common understanding of the word Common it appears the Apostles themselves were saved by Common Grace From their own Testimony That the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared unto all Men Tit. 2.11 12. teaching us say they that denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World c. So they ascribe the inward Work of their Salvation to God's Universal Grace that is to common Grace in such Sense in which the Grace of God can be said to be Common But these Ingrossers or Impropriators of Salvation are a very particular sort of Men and will not go to Heaven the common Way nor prize