equally believed and reflected on, is not fufficient to engage the will to choose the good and refuse the evil, is in effect to fay that which alone doth move the will to choose or to refuse; is not fufficient to engage it fo to do; that which alone is requifite to make me understand and approve, is not fufficient to do fo; which being contradictory to itself, muft of neceffity be falfe. Be it then fo, that we have naturally an averfion to the truths proposed to us in the gospel, that only can make us indifpofed to attend to them, but cannot hinder our conviction when we do apprehend them and attend to them; whence for removal of it, the apoftle only prays, (p) that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened that we may know them; adding, that where the light of the knowledge of the glory of God was revealed, if, after this, (q) their gofpel was hid from any, it was only fo, because the God of this world had blinded their eyes, or the conceptions of their minds, that the light of the gospel might not shine into them. Be it that there is in us alfo a renitency to the good we are to choose, that only can indifpofe us to believe it is, and to approve it as our chiefeft good. Be it that we are prone to the evil that we should decline, that only can render it the more difficult for us to believe it is the worst of evils; but yet what we do really believe to be our chiefeft good, will ftill be chofen, and what we apprehend to be the worst of evils, will, whilft we do continue under that conviction, be refufed by us: It therefore can be only requifite, in order to these ends, that the good Spirit fhould fo illuminate our understandings, that we attending to, and confidering what lies before us, fhould apprehend, and be convinced of our duty; and that the bleffings of the gofpel fhould be fo propounded to us, as that we may difcern them to be our chiefeft good, and the miferies it threateneth, fo as we may be convinced they are the worft of evils, that we may choose the one, and refuse the other. Now to confider in order to approbation and conviction, to choose in order to our good, and to refufe that we may avoid mifery, must be the actions not of God but man, though the light that doth convince, and the motives which engage him thus to choofe, and refuse, are certainly from God. SECTION IV. To illuftrate this by a familiar inftance taken from ourfelves, or our deportment towards others; when a man in words plain and intelligible fpeaks to another, if he will hearken to what he fays, he muft understand his mind; for by that very impreffion the words make upon his brain, he immediately perceives his mind; and cannot the (P) Eph. i. 18.(g) 2 Cor. iv, 3, 4, divine impreffion on the mind, which is God's fpeaking inwardly to man, do the fame thing? This action is indeed fo neceffary, that, as it is not virtuous or praifeworthy in any man to understand the mind of him that fpeaks to him, fo neither feemeth it praifeworthy in us to understand the mind of God thus fpeaking to us. Again, these words of man contain fometimes an exhortation to another to do what he defires he would do, taken from the propofal of fome advantage, or the promife of fome good he fhall receive by complying with his exhortation; or they contain fome dehortation from doing what he would not have another do, because it will be hurtful to him, or will be certainly attended with fome evil confequences: Is not this the method ufed by all the world in dealing with another? And do they not all do this with hopes and expectation of fuccefs? And is it not a great dif paragement to the word of God to fay, or think that all his perfuafions, admonitions, exhortations, promifes and threats, fhould be infufficient to prevail with us to turn from our fin ful courfes, and turn to him, when men who use these methods towards their children, fervants, friends or relations, do it in hopes that they fhall be fuccefsful by these means ?— Moreover, if the perfon they addrefs to, be flow of under-, standing, do they not hope to overcome that difficulty by the clearnefs of their difcourfe, and by reiterating the fame thing in fuch variety of expreffions as he is beft able to perceive P If he be averfe from doing that which is defired, do they not hope to overcome that averfenefs by repeated exhortations and vigorous impreffions of thofe encouragements they tender, to prevail upon him to comply with their defire ? If he ftrongly be inclined to that from which they vehemently dehort him, do they not endeavor to turn the bent and current of his inclinations by the like repeated exhortations and lively reprefentations of the evils he will be certainly expofed to by fo doing? All men are therefore of this opinion in their practice, that acting with men by convincing reason, and by motives and perfuafions, is acting with them fuitably to their faculties, and fo as that they may prevail. And is not God himself of the fame mind ? Hath he not revealed his will on purpose that we may know it? Hath he not directed his let ters and epiftles to us, that by reading we may understand them, and know the things which do belong to our peace? Did not our Savior utter all his difcourfes to the fame end? Why elfe doth he inquire (r) Why is it you do not understand my Speech? () How is it that you do not understand? Why doth he preface them with this inftruction, (t) hear and under (r) John viii. 43. -(/) Mark viii, 21.-() Matth xv. 10. ftand? Doth not God call upon us to (u) to confider of our ways, and lay to heart his fayings and his difpenfations?Doth he not prefcribe this as a remedy to prevent his judgments, when he fays, (v) Oh confider this, ye that forget God; and of being wife, by faying, (w) Oh that they were wife, that they would confider their latter end? Doth he not reprefent this as the fource of all the wickednefs and idolatry of his own people, (x) that they would not confider in their heart? Doth he not make converfion the effect of this confideration, when he faith, (y) because he confidereth and turneth away from all the tranfgreffions that he hath committed, he Jhall Jurely live? Yea, doth he not reprefent this as a juft ground of hope, that even the moft ftubborn finners may be reformed, when he faith to the prophet, (z) remove by day in their fight, it may be they will confider though they be a rebellious people? Does not God require his people to (a) choofe life, pronouncing a bleffing upon them who (b) choose the things that pleafe him, and threatening deftruction to them who (c) would not choose the fear of the Lord, but (d) chofe the things in which he delighted not? Now doth he any thing more to prevail with them who do not choose the fear of the Lord, and do not do the things that pleafe him, to engage them fo to do, or not to do the contrary, but teach them his ways, and perfuade them to walk in them? Muft it not then be certain that either he tranfacts with them as men, who notwithftanding any acts of preterition on his part, or any difability or corruption of will on their part, might by thefe things be induced to choofe to fear him, and do the things that please him, and might abftain from the contrary; or threateneth to deftroy them for not choofing what they could not choofe, for doing what they had not means fufficient to avoid, and for not doing what it was not poffible for men fo vitiated and fo deferted, to perform? Again, doth not God exhort the Jews to be (e) willing and obedient, promifing a full pardon and a bleffing to them that do fo? Doth not Chrift refolve the deftruction of the Jews into this, (f) You will not come unto me that you might have life? Declaring this to be the reafon why they were not gathered, because he often (g) would. have gathered them, but they would not be gathered; because being fo gracioufly invited to the marriage, (h) they would not come. Now what did he to engage them to come to him, to gather them, or prevail on them to come to the marriage - (u) Hag.i. 5. 7. (v) Pfal. 1. 21. (w) Deut. xxxi. 29. (x) Ifa. i. 3. xliv. 19.- (y) Ezek. xviii. 29. Pfal. cxix 59. -(x) Ezek. xii. 3.(a) Deut. xxx. 19. (b) Ifa. lvi. 4. (c) Prov i. 20.(d) Ifa. ivi. 4.(e) Ifa. i. 18, 19.-(f) John v. 40.(g) Luke xiii. 34. (b) Maith xxii. 3. feaft, but fhew them the way of life, exhort and invite them to come to that feast? Either then he transacted with them, as one who knew this was fufficient to these ends; and that thefe things might have prevailed with them, notwithflanding any decrees of God's preterition, or any difability through the corruption of their wills, to be willing and obedient to his invitation; or else he resolved on their exclufion from the marriage feast, and their not tafling his fupper, for not doing what, in that ftate, they could not do; and condemned them for not coming to him when they could not come, because (i) the Father did not draw them, or give them to him; and for not being gathered, when he would not do that for them without which they could not be gathered. Doth not God earnestly exhort and perfuade men to repent and turn fromthe evil of their ways? Doth he not fay, (k) Oh that my people would have hearkened to me, that Ifrael would have walked in my ways! (1) O that they were wife, that they would underftand this! (m) 0 Ferufalem, wilt not thou be made clean, when fhall it once be? (n) O that thou hadst known in this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace! Now either in thefe exhortations and perfuafions made to men, vitiated not only by original, but many actual corruptions, God dealt with them fuitably to their faculties, that is abilities, exhorting them to do, and pathetically wifhing they had done, what he faw they might have done, though they, for want of due attention, confideration and reflection, did it not; or called them to repent that they had not done what they never could do, or that they did not avoid what it was not poffible under their circumftances they fhould avoid; and feriously and paffionately wifhed they themselves would have done, what if it ever had been done, muft have been done by himself, and therefore was not done, because he did not unfruftrably work the change in them; that is, he paffionately wished they had been of the number of his elect, when he himself by an abfo Jute decree from all eternity had excluded them out of that number. In fine, doth not God encourage men to repent and believe, to be willing and obedient, by great and precious promises of the most excellent and lafling bleflings? Hath he not threatened (o) eternal damnation to them that do not believe ?Hath not he told us that (p) Chrift will come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on all that obey not his gofpel? And muft not all thefe things fufficiently convince us, that God acts (i) John vi. .37, 44. (m) Jer. xii. 27. (p) z Theff. i. 7. (k) Pial. lxxxi. 13.1 (1) Deut. xxxii. 29. (0) Mark xvi. 18, with men as one who doth indeed suppose that men may hearken to his exhortations, and comply with his perfuafions to believe, and to obey his gospel, may be prevailed on by his promises to the performance of their duty, and terrified by his judgment threatened, from their difobedience? Why elfe is it faid that God hath given us thefe (q) great and precious promifes, that by them we may be made partakers of a divine nature? Why are we exhorted, (r) having thefe promifes, to cleanfe ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and fpirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God? Or why doth the apostle say, (J) knowing then the terror of the Lord we perfuade men? If beyond all this, there be fome phyfical and unfruftrable operation on God's part requifite to make men know, and knowing, choose the good and refufe the evil; this being not vouchfafed to, or wrought in them who are not born anew, why is the want of this new birth, and this fpiritual regeneration fo often imputed to the voluntary want of their confideration, and their (t) not laying to heart the things propounded to them? To their not applying their heart to wisdom, not applying their minds to understanding, and their (u) not framing their doings to turn to the Lord? Admit that defperate refuge which the affertors of the contrary doctrine are here forced to fly to, viz. that these exhortations and perfuafions. may be yet made to us, though we are utterly unable to comply with them, and by God's act of preterition, are left under that difability, because we once had grace and ftrength fufficient to perform them, though we have loft it by the fall. What is this to the import of all the exhortations, perfuafions and motives contained in the gospel, which are all directed to fallen, man; and fo, if God be ferious in them, declare his great unwillingness that fallen man fhould perifh, and his paffionate defire that he should be faved; and if he fpeaketh in them fuitably to the capacities and faculties of fallen man, plainly fuppofes him in a capacity, by the affiftances which God is ready to afford him, and by the confideration of the motives which he offers to him, to understand his duty, and to choose the good and refufe the evil. SECTION V.-Wherefore, to give to outward means, and inward affiftances, their due refpective energy: 1ft. That honor must be due to God, and to his word, as to affert that the motives there offered, must be fufficient in the way of motives to produce the ends for which they were defigned. Seeing then the motives contained in the fcripture to engage fallen man to turn from the evil of his (q) 2 Pet. i. 4. Prov. i. 14, 30. ways, were (r) 2 Cor. vii. 1. ------- (f) 2 Cor. v. II. (u) Hof. v. 4. |