Autokatakrisis, or, Self-condemnation,: exemplified in Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Barlee, and Mr. Hickman. With occasional reflexions on Mr Calvin, Mr Beza, Mr Zuinglius, Mr Piscator, Mr Rivet, and Mr Rollock: but more especially on Doctor Twisse, and Master Hobbs; against whom, God's purity and his præscience ... with the sincere intention and the general extent of the death of Christ, are finally cleared and made good; and the adversaries absurdities ... are proved against them undeniably, out of their own hand-writings. With an additional advertisement of Mr Baxter's late book entituled The Groatian religion discovered, &c. By Thomas Pierce rector of Brington in Northampon-shire.

Sect. 20.

Mr. W. proceeds to a sixth Argument, wherby he proves his great willingness to prove that God hath efficien∣cy and hand in sin; but more then his willingness to prove it, he proveth not. For his Argument is but this, [

That God punisheth one sin with another; and punishment is more then a bare permission. It were ridiculous to say, that a Judge onely permitteth a malefactor to be arraigned, con∣demned, and executed, p. 28. lin. ult. p. 29. lin. 1, 2, 3, 4.]

First, it is not any where said in Scripture, that God doth punish one sin with another; but 'tis a sentence of the School∣men, as commonly known to be catachrestical as any beg∣gar knowes his own dish, and hath neither truth nor

sense in it, unless it be figuratively meant. For God pu∣nisheth the sinner and not the sin. Nor doth he imprint sin on him as the Lictor doth stripes, but withdraws his grace, and leaves the sinner to himself, whereupon he sin∣neth without restraint. But I have spoken of this in a∣nother place, where I have also recorded S. Austins suf∣frage for the truth.

2. But Mr. W. hath so prodigiously misunderstood that sentence, or else so guiltily dissembled his understanding, as to express Gods punishing of sin with sin by the positive actions of a Judge, in his arraign∣ing, condemning, and execution of malefactors: which is to make God the Author and proper cause of the greatest sins in the world, such as are the later sins which are called the punishments of the former. It being frequently the Do∣ctrine of Mr. W. that of all positive actions God is the Au∣thor and† proper cause. But Idolatries, and Adulteries, Blasphemies, and Murders, and the sins not to be named (Rom. 1.26.) are positive actions, and punishments, in the Schoolmens sense; and so according to Mr. W. God is blasphemously inferred to be their Author and proper cause.

3. Now we see what moved him to say in print, [That God must needs some way both will and work in the sin of the Act.] Mark well, good Reader: He doth not say (as at other times) the act of sin, or the sinful act, but the sin of the act, meaning the pravity, and deformity and obliquity it self, as he explains himself in the next two lines, where∣in he saith that God gets glory to himself by that very pra∣vity and deformity.

4. Mr. W. in this doth tread a step beyond Calvin, not onely followes him through thick and thin. For though Mr. Calvin speaks broadly, [

that the wicked man, whilest he acteth, is acted by God; and that the Assyri∣ans

were thrust on [to rob and plunder by the sure desti∣nation of God; and that God doth act in the reprobates by the interposition of Satan's help; that Satan by God's im∣pulse may act his own part also; and that the efficacy of er∣ror proceeds from God; and that when he casts men into fil∣thy desires, he is the chief Author of his just vengeance, (that is, of sin in Mr. W's sense) and Satan onely the Minister; and that the will of God is the cause of all things; and that his providence doth not onely exert its force in the elect who are ruled by his holy Spirit, but doth also compell the reprobates to be obsequious; and that God is called the Author of all those things which the censori∣ous will have to happen by his idle permission onely: though these are frightful expressions, and applied in such a manner as not to be capable of excuse, yet Mr. VV. (as I shewed) hath stept beyond him.

5. The† Ancient Fathers were afraid to ascribe that to God's working which they saw could onely be the object of his praescience, and his permission; and this by the confession of Mr. Calvin himself, who as he calls it their superstition, so he confesseth that S. Austin was not alwayes free from it. But Mr. Calvin in de∣spight of the Fathers piety, which he brands with the Title of Superstition, doth very dogmati∣cally pronounce of those later sins of men which are called the punishments of the former, that as they are pu∣nishments, God is Author praecipuus, the prime or chief Author, and that the Devil is onely subservient to him, Satan verò tantù Minister. And though he saith that the Ancients were somewhat too religious in their fear of speaking the simple truth, (as he calls it) yet he confesseth their fear was very sober, because the thing which they feared was the opening a passage unto impiety, of irreve∣rently defaming the works of God. Now what it was which misled Mr. VV. and Mr. B. from that holy fear of those Fathers, to speak of God in such a fearless and frightful

man∣ner, (as I have partly already shewed, and am partly to shew in my following Chapter) I believe most Readers do judge as I do.

Notes

• Mr. W's dan∣gerous mis-ap∣prehension of that figurative Sentence, That God doth pu∣nish sin with sia.
• See the Sin∣ner Impleaded, c. 1. p. 9.
• 2. His making God the proper cause of the greatest sins.
• †

  Ext. of Gods Prov. c. 4. p. 11.
• 3. Which he also extends to the very sin of the act.
• Ibid. p. 12. Iin. 1, 2.
• 4. He treads a step beyond Calvins worst.
• "†" Calv. Instit. l. 1. c. 18. sect. 1. fol. 68.
• Id. ib. sect. 2. fol. 69. Apparet cer â destinatione Dei fuis∣se impulsos. Fateor quidem interpositâ Satanae operâ saepe Deum agere in Repre∣bis; sed ut e jus impulsu Satan ipse suas partes agat. — unde hoc, nisi quod à Deo manat efficacia erroris, ut mendacium credant? &c. Ibid. Summa haec sit, quum Dei voluntas dicitur rerum omnium esse cause, — ut non tantùm vim suam exerat in electis, sed etiam reprobos in obsequium cogat. Ibid. Et jam satis apertè ostendi, Deum vocari eorum omnium Authorem, quae isti censores volunt otioso tan∣tum ejus permissu contingere. Id. ib. sect. 3. p. 7.
• †

  Veteres religiosiù interdum simplicem veritatis confessionem in hac parte reformidant. — Ne Augustinus quidem illâ super∣st••tione interdum solutus est, quemadmodum ubi dicit, indura∣tionem & excaecationem non ad operationem Dei, sed ad praesci∣entiam spectare. Calv. Inst. l. 2. c. 4. Sect. 3. fol. 95.
• Idem. l. 1. c. 18. Sect. 2.
• Idem ib. l. 2. c. 4. Sect. 3. fol. 95.