The great mystery of godlinesse opened being an exposition upon the whole ninth chapter of the epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans / by the late pious faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Mr. Edward Elton.

VVhat shall we say then? is there unrighteousnesse with God? God forbid.

IN these words our Apostle stoppeth the mouthes of carnal Reasoners, VVhat shall we say then? is there unrighteousnesse with God? is therefore God unequal and partial? is God therefore unjust in his dealing? no, saith the Apostle, far be it from us. You see then the Apostle doth utterly dis∣claim that direful conclusion, that because God hated Esau, and loved Ja∣cob, and that freely, without any respect to the one or the other, or any thing foreseen in them; therefore God is unjust and partial, and unequal in his doings with men; this the Apostle renounceth and disclaimeth. I will not here, as some would do, run out into the common place of Gods Justice, to an extravagant discourse, and stand to avouch, that God is just, holy, and righteous, and we are so to acknowledge him; But keeping my self, as near as possibly I can, to the Apostles meaning, and not to flye out to that which is not pertinent to the text. And hence note we thus much,

[Doctrine:] That God is most just, in his free, and in his absolute and eternal decree, both of election and reprobation. The Lord having from everlasting, e're the world was, freely, without respect had to any thing, either good or evil, purposed and decreed some particular persons amongst men, out of his mere good will and pleasure to life and salvation, and as freely reject∣ed others for ever: he is therein most just, and that free and eternal decree of God is also most just, and holy, and righteous; for why? we must consi∣der God in this act, in this businesse of his decree of salvation, and rejecti∣on, not as a Judge, but as a Soveraign Lord, as having mere and absolute power over his creatures, to do with them what he will, and as being not bound to any creature in any kind whatsoever, not respecting the fall of man, or this or that particular whatsoever; no, he hath absolute power, and authority to choose some, and reject others, without any injustice, or any wrong at all, whatsoever flesh and blood, or the carnal reason of man doth imagine, he hath soveraign power over his creatures, and that he holdeth, God is God alone, and it is his prerogative royal, and belongeth to no creature in heaven or earth, to do with his own what he will, Matth. 20.15. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? this is Gods

prerogative, and peculiarly belongeth unto him; so in the 15 verse of this Chapter, he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy: The will of God is the soveraign cause of all righteousnesse, and the primary cause of all things holy, just, and good, because God willeth it; though it seem harsh and hard to flesh and blood: The things amongst men, willed by men, must first be good and just, and then willed of them; but what God willeth, it is just, and holy, and righteous, because he willeth it, it is far otherwise with God then with men; for the decree of God is absolute, free, and eternal decree, is holy, just, and righteous, willed by God, because it is the decree and will of God, who cannot decree unjustly, or will amisse.

And by this we must learn to acknowledge, [Ʋse.] that God is righteous in all his decrees touching man, and we are to reverence, (Oh take heed of quar∣relling,) we are to reverence and adore the holy, and eternal decree of God, both of election and reprobation, as holy, just, and righteous, what∣soever our corrupted reason doth or can suggest against it, we must adore, and reverence his free, and absolute, and eternal decree, even that decree by which he decreed the rejection of some, without respect to any thing in man, or foreseen in man, freely he did it, whatsoever our carnal affecti∣ons gain-say it. Some Divines there be, as Arminius, and those that are his followers, do say and hold, that God did from everlasting decree to save such men, as should in time by faith lay hold of his mercy when faith is offered unto them in Christ. And that God did decree to cast off others, which did cast off Christ, and reject his mercy; which opinions of the Ar∣minians and Anabaptists also, is not onely grosse and erroneous, but it doth crosse the drift and purpose of the Apostle in this very Chapter, and it maketh the Apostle here to call a needlesse doubt, and to take upon him to prevent such an objection, which no man of wisdom, reason, judgment, or understanding would make, and so make an absurdity in the Apostles speech; for what shew of injustice is there in God, in mans reason, (to God no farther) if so be this were true, that God did decree in time to save such as should truly believe in Christ, and reject those that should reject grace, and not believe in Christ, what shew or semblance of injustice were here, if this were true? I appeal to your selves, any reasonable man, let him tell me, how is this unjust? how is this unequal, and partial dealing in God? even to the reason of man, if this were true? it is just with God to save a soul that believeth, and reject an unbeliever; this is Justice, here is no shadow or shew of injustice, and then the Apostle needeth not to break out in this pathetical manner; VVhat shall we say, Is there unrighteousnesse with God? and then the matter of election, and reprobation, would not seem so harsh and hard to flesh and blood. And so we should make the Apostle by this kind of reasoning to fight with a shadow, and to combate with the ayr, and to go about to prevent an objection, that no man of reason would make. No beloved, we need not to make these conclusions, or to frame such a lye for the Lord, Job 13.7. so to go about to make excuses to clear Gods Justice, that God did decree to save such as should believe, and to damn such as should not believe; But we may safely and boldly affirm it for certain truth, that Gods eternal, free, and absolute decree, both of election and reprobation, it is just, holy, and righteous; yea though God hath from everlasting, and before the world was, (not from the fall of Adam, as some imagine,) freely out of his mere good will and pleasure, purposed and decreed the salvation of some, and the rejection of others, and their casting off for ever; yet we need not seek to find out start∣ing holes to defend Gods Justice, for he is the soveraign Lord, and may do with his own what he will, and no man can call him to account, and say, Why doest thou so? therefore let us still lay aside our carnal reasonings, and humble our soules to the truth of God.

* 1.1Again, Observe we further, the Apostle having here said, Is God there∣fore unrighteous? because he loved Jacob, and hated Esau, freely, no∣thing moving him thereunto? I say, having delivered this, the Apostle presently subjoyneth a flat denyal, and he saith, no, God is not herein unjust; and he doth not deny it barely, but his denyal is with a detestation, with an abhorring of it, (absit). God forbid: he doth not say, Is there unrighteous∣nesse with God? no, but he joyneth, God forbid. Oh far be it from us to in∣fer such a conclusion, to bring in such an absurd inference: hence then observe we thus much from the Apostles manner of denyal, viz.

[Doct.] That we must not onely disclaim errours, and erroneous opinions, and grosse conclusions, (that some do force from the holy Word of God, espe∣cially fundamental errours, that are against some fundamental truth,) we must not onely disclaim them, but abhor them, yea we must disclaim them with a detestation, and abhor them with an hatred and loathing: Not onely say, I renounce Popery, or this or that errour, but hate it with an utter detestation. And to clear this a little further, it is the exhortation of the Apostle, Rom. 12.9. abhor that which is evil; not only abstain from it, but abhor evil, that is, evil in opinion, and also any moral evil what∣soever; yea the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, is very significant and weighty, it is as much as if the Apostle had said, Let errour, evil in opinion, or any manner of evil whatsoever, be hateful and odious to thee as hell it self, so ponde∣rous is the word; and in Psal. 119.113. saith David, I hate vain inventi∣ons, they are odious and hateful unto me: and in verse 128. therefore I esteem all thy precepts to be right, and I hate every false way: and in Psal. 139.21. saith David, Do not I hate them that hate thee, O Lord? yea in the 22. verse he saith, he hateth them with a perfect, and unfeigned hatred: so also in 2 Thess. 2.10. Receive the truth with love unto it; and by the rule of contra∣ries, Detest errours with hatred to them, especially those that are against some fundamental truth of God, hate them unfeignedly

[Reason.] For why? errour and sin is hateful and odious to God himself, it being contrary unto the truth of God, and against the nature of God, which is good in it self: And we professing our selves to be the children of God, we must endeavour to be like our heavenly Father, who doth not onely dislike and disapprove sin, but he hateth it, but he hates and abhors it, Prov. 6.16. these six things doth the Lord hate, yea seven doth his soul abhor: yea it is worth our marking, in the 17. and 18. verses, God doth not onely hate sin, saith Solomon, but he hateth the very members of the body which are the instruments of sin; as the haughty eye, and lying tongue; he doth not onely hate the pride, and the lye, but the haughty eye, and the lying tongue, and the heart of wickednesse, and the feet running to mischief; so odious and hateful is errour and sin to God: therefore we must herein endeavor to be like our heavenly Father, and not onely disclaim errour and sin, but hate it with a loathing detestation, like unto God our Father, yea hate the members of sin.

[Ʋse.] Upon this ground of truth it followeth by way of Use and Application, thnt it must be far from every one of us, we professing through Gods mer∣cy the holy truth of God, and the holy religion of God, which now stand∣eth in force and authority amongst us, we must take heed that we be not indifferent persons, persons of indifferent minds, in respect of the errours of Popery, Anabaptisme, or any other errours whatsoever, not caring what end goeth forwards, or what Religion is in force, whether Papistry, or the truth or no, but disclaim them, and hate them with detestation: And it is but a phantasie, and a dream of some of the Polititians, and Poli∣tick heads in this age, that turn Religion to a matter of policy, that for∣sooth there may be a pacification between us and the Papists in matter of Religion, and there may be a mixture of our Religion with Popish Reli∣gion,

if there were but a moderation, and a yeelding of both sides; this is abominable and odious to make this composition of Religion; for why?* 1.2 the Religion we hold and professe, it is grounded upon the holy truth of God, revealed unto us out of the holy Scriptures: and the Popish Reli∣gion is contrary unto it, and doth overturn, and throw down, the truth of God, yea it doth overturn all the Articles of our Christian Religion, in their tenents, and therefore in the 2 Corinth. 6.14. saith the Apostle, What fellowship is between light, and darknesse? What agreement between us and the Papists, in matter of Religion? therefore we must hate their religion.

And to stirre us up unto this duty, there being never more need then now, wherein many men of unstable, and unsanctified hearts, begin to link and encline to Popery; let us therefore know, that we do not tru∣ly disclaim and hate Popish religion, unlesse we hate them, and account their Positions as dangerous, and such as will destroy our soules, if we cleave unto them: howsoever some say they cannot endure Popery, yet assuredly unlesse they hate it with unfeigned hatred, they do not aright detest them: for when men begin to speak favourably of Papistry, and of Anabaptisme, and of other errours, and say they have some truth in them, and they begin to like of them; these men do not as they ought to do, they do not hate and dislike errours and false doctrines, but assuredly a thousand to one, in short time they will be insnared, and intangled with the position of Popery or Anabaptisme, as the holy Prophet said to the people, 1 King. 18.21. how long will ye halt between two opinions? this is not to go out in the right profession of the truth with unfeigned hearts, assu∣redly, he that loveth God, and good things, will hate evil; as, he that lo∣veth chastity, will abhor uncleannesse, and filthinesse; he that loveth just dealing, will hate cosening: he that maketh conscience of the Sabbath, cannot endure the prophanation of the Sabbath; so he that loveth the truth, will disclaim all errours, as Popery, and Anabaptisme, and such like foolish opinions; as if a man see a Toad, a Serpent, or Snake, he will flye from it, it being poysonful, and hurtful, and not receive that for his nutriment, which he knoweth will procure his detri∣ment.

And therefore let us never rest untill we find a detestation in us of Popery and all other errours, and then we shall be sure to stand fast in the true Religion, in the middest of Popery: if Popery should come, (as God forbid it should,) we might by our hatred of it, be kept from embracing it: therefore labour to hate and de∣test it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Observ.
• * 1.2

  Against Tol∣leration.