A treatise of election and reprobation in vindication of the universal grace and love of God to mankind by B.L.

CHAP. I.

Containing some Short, but General Arguments: viz. 1. Shewing some further ill Tendencies of the false Notion of Election and Reprobation. 2. The Necessity of Practical Religion. 3. The Mistake in Ʋnderstanding some Words and Sentences in Scripture, always in the same Restricted Sense. 4. That God deals with Mankind in way of Covenant. 5. That God made Man a free Agent, capable to choose for himself either Good or Evil. 6. Of God's Wisdom, Love and Justice, in dealing with Mankind. 7. To what end the Grace of God hath appear'd to all Men.

§. 1. AS the false Notion of the first, leads to Despair; so the false Notion of the second, to Presumption: And both make void all Religious Exercise and Care, concerning the Performance of Di∣vine Worship, and all Holy Duties.

As the Tendency of the Arguments upon the first Part, is to re∣move all ground of Diffidence and Despair; so shall it, on the other hand, be endeavour'd to remove that ground of Presumption and Self∣security, which hath been hurtful to many.

§. 2. And to shew the necessity of Practical Religion unto Salva∣tion; even the Obedience of the Faith and Gospel of Christ; that we may redeem the Time allotted us, working out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling; and so, through the Mercy and Power of Christ, raising us up, (in our selves, and not without us) we may come to escape all the Evil of Reprobation, and to enjoy all the Good and Blessings of Election; but without this, we can neither avoid the one, nor attain the other.

To save Transciption, I desire the Reader to look over the Scrip∣tures in the Introduction; several of which are spoke to already, and it remains to say something of Fore-knowledge, Predestination, Calling, Election and Justification, &c.

§. 3. And as is shewn in the other Part, concerning Hating, Har∣dening, Reprobation, Vessels of Wrath, &c. the inconvenience of taking them in a primary, strict, positive Sense; and as respecting particular Persons, without regard to their good or evil Deeds; so take these Terms in a strict positive Sense, to respect particular Persons, as words of the first intention, and simply without any regard to their good or evil Deeds, and exclusive of others, &c. and we shall run into great Error and Blindness, and lose the Truth.

§. 4. For, as is in part observed before, all things between God and Man are transacted by way of Covenant, and every Covenant sup∣poseth Terms or Conditions, and a Possibility of Performing or not Performing of those Conditions, and Loss or Benefit, Reward or Pu∣nishment, according as we keep or break Covenant.

Those Terms God proposed to Cain, that Murderer of his Brother, and first Murderer amongst Men, If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? But if thou doest evil, sin lieth at the door. And no Man ever had other Terms; all are accepted in well∣doing, but none at all are accepted in evil-doing.

God hath commanded no Man to do wickedly, neither hath he given any Man license to sin; but being Righteous himself, he ordereth all things righteously; thinking it not agreeable with his Power, to condemn him that hath not deserved to be punished; for his Power is the beginning of Righteousness, &c.

§. 5. So having made Man a free Agent, capable of adhering either to Good or Evil, having power and understanding to will, distinguish, and choose for himself; and having first propos'd the Good to him, with Promises of Life, and blessed Rewards; and caution'd him against the Evil, with Threats of Death, and Everlasting Punishment and Misery; he then leaves him capable to receive his Counsel. But he doth not forcibly determine him to Good or Evil Actions; for then there would be no Vertue or Vice, well-deserving or ill-deserving, Obe∣dience or Disobedience, Good or Evil, Wisdom or Folly, no Will, Choice, Love or Hatred, &c. So no Rewards or Punishments; which

makes void the State of Man, and the Gospel, and God's Oeconomy, and brings all his Works into Confusion, altering things from that Order of Wisdom he hath placed them in.

Obj. Some object, Seeing God fore-knows all things, to what End is Grace given, and a Day of Visitation, in which they might be saved, to such as come not to be benefitted by it, but reject so great Mercy and Goodness?

Ans. Many think, this and such like, are wise and puzzling Que∣stions, though the very Query convicts a Man of Ignorance; shewing that he neither knows God, nor yet himself, nor God's Oeconomy, (his Order in the Creation) for any of these being known, all such Scruples vanish.

For as God is the most intelligent Being, and free Agent, above all other; so hath he made Man in his Image, an intelligent Being, a free Agent. A Marvellous Work of the great Worker of all things! With respect to which, David said, I am fearfully and won∣derfully made, &c. And concerning the variety of God's Work, he saith, O Lord, how manisold are thy Works! In Wisdom hast thou made them all, &c.

Now it behoves, That He who made all things in Wisdom, should exercise an Order of Wisdom amongst them all; should rule and go∣vern them in Wisdom, every thing according to its Capacity and Creation. Should he do otherwise, it would be contrary to his Work of Creation, in framing Man's Heart, so as it is not ordinarily wrought upon but by Perswasions.

Accordingly he draws Men with Cords of a Man, even with Loving-kindness; and saith, I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way thou shalt go; I will counsel thee with mine Eye, &c.

§. 6. Here is God's Wisdom exalted, in that he deals with us, as is proper to Creatures of our Frame and Make; voluntary intelli∣gent Beings, that may distinguish and choose for our selves; and if we be chang'd to Good, through Obedience to the Grace of God; or to Evil, through yielding to the Enemy's Temptations; must re∣ceive Rewards or Punishments accordingly: But once pervert this Or∣der of Heaven, and we should let in Confusion amongst God's Works, &c.

Also, The Love and Justice of God is here exalted.

His Love, Because he would have all Men come to the Knowledge of the Truth, and be saved; but Men cannot come to this Knowledge, nor cannot be saved, without this Grace.

And his Justice, that (as saith the Psalmist) He might be Justified when he speaketh, and Clear when he judgeth; for if this Grace were not given, Men should have no Sin; because where there is no Law, there is no Transgression. And con∣cerning the Persecuting World, Christ saith, If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sins. So take away this Divine Light, and Grace of God, which is the Standard by which Good and Evil are measured, and there should be neither Vertue nor Vice, Rewards or Punish∣ments.

So this is the Wisdom and Manner of God, his Oeconomy (or Houshould-Order) his Way in the Creation; that having set Life and Death before us, with Exhortations to choose Life, he leaveth us, according to the wise Man, in the hand of his Counsel; (that is, so far as we are left to our own choice, and not forced; for this would be repugnant to our Constitution) For He himself made Man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his Counsel; saying, If thou wilt keep the Commandments, and perform Acceptable Faithfulness: He hath set Water and Fire before thee, stretch out thine hand unto whither thou wilt. Before Man is Life and Death, and whether him liketh, shall be given him. But there had been none of the Life here spoken of, if he had not had Grace, and a Day of Visitation, &c.

§. 7. Having now past this Objection, I would query, To what purpose hath the Grace of God appear'd to all Men? Which the Scri∣pture calls Gratia illa Dei Salutifera, & benignitas Dei servatrix omnium, (the Salvation-bringing Grace of God, the Goodness of God, the Preserver of All) and which those Men call Common Grace. To what purpose, I say, hath it appear'd to all Men? And why is it called, The Preserver of all, if no Man whatsoever obtain Salvation by it? Which is according to their Principle.

Having hitherto, in this Second Part, clear'd up my Passage, by these few more General Arguments: I shall come now to treat more particularly of those Terms under Examination.

Notes

• Gen. 4.7.
• Ecclus. 15.20. Wis. 12.15.16.
• Psal. 139.14.104.24.
• Hosea 11.4. Psalm 32.8.
• Psalm 51.4.
• Rom. 4.15.
• Iohn 15.22.
• Ecclus. 15.14, 15, 16, 17.