to the chief agent only, as when it is faid, except the Lord build the houfe, they labor in vain that build it. Plal. cxxvii. 1.

2dly. Our Lord and his apoftle often commend the good actions of men, and Chrift will at laft fay to the righteous man, well done thou good and faithful fervant; therefore he that turns from his evil ways, and doth that which is right in the fight of God, is commendable, and doth that which is praifeworthy; for God doth not judge of things, or perfons, otherwife than they are. If then this be the confequence charged upon our opinion, that it makes fome praife belong to the convert and the believer, God himself owns the truth of it, by requiring us to do what is honorable and praiseworthy, Philip. iv. 8. to fuffer for confcience towards God, TOTO yap Xapis, for this is thankworthy, 1 Pet. i. 19, 20. and faying, that our faith will be found to our praife, honor and glory at the revelation of Chrift Jefus, 1 Pet. i. 9, 10. The contrary doctrine is liable to this juft exception, that it doth confequen tially affert, that no thanks are due for any kindnefs received if he to whom it is done be not merely paffive, and if he that receiveth a kindnefs be but fo much as active in receiving or accepting it, the glory of it redounds to him rather than to the benefactor; fo that we must not expect from Chrift the praife and Glory of feeding his hungry members, unless we put the meat into their mouths; or of clothing them when naked, unlefs we put the clothes upon them; or of receiving them into our houfes, though we do invite and open the door for them, unless we force them in; that he who gives a prif-. oner money fufficient to pay off his debt, is not to have the glory of his releafe, if he require the prifoner to tell out, and deliver the money to the creditor; and that the prince who pardons his condemned fubject, upon condition that he will plead his pardon, is not to have the fole glory of that pardon ing mercy; and the true confequence from this is, faith Dr. Claget, that the glory of God's grace wholly depends upon the fullennefs and obftinacy of men, and that the only way to advance it, is by a flout oppofition and fpiteful refiftance of it, Part ii. p. 208.

SECTION IX. Objection 25. Laftly, it is objected, that the opinion which makes the grace of God refiftible, leaves it uncertain whether any one will be converted by it, or not.

Anfwer 1. To this I anfwer; (ft.) That it leaves it as uncertain whether any one will be unconverted, or not; and. furely, that opinion which affords the encouragement to all, that God, notwithflanding their fall, will afford means fufficient to convert them, if they do not neglect and refufe to use them, is much to be preferred before that which tells them he hath from eternity paffed an act of preterition on them, and

by that excluded them out of the number of the elect, i. e. of them who only fhall be faved.

Anfwer 2.-2dly. A man may, notwithstanding this opinion, be infallibly certain, otherwife, that many will be found true converts at the last, because he knows that many have already died in the fear of God, and in the faith of Chrift, and because the holy fcriptures do affure us that fome fhall arife to everlasting life, and receive the end of their faith in the falvation of their fouls.

Anfwer 3.-3dly. To fay that it is barely poffible in the nature of the thing that none may be converted hath no inconvenience in it, because it tends not to hinder any man's endeavors after his converfion, any more than the like poffibility, that no man may thrive by his induftry, or grow rich by his trading, or have a fafe voyage at fea, or a plentiful crop by fowing, or health by taking phyfic, hinders men from doing any of these actions. It is no imputation upon divine wisdom, that God himself complains he had given his law to the Jews in vain; nor did St. Paul conceive it any defect in the grace of God, that it might be received in vain by the churches of Corinth, 2 Cor. vi. 1. of Galatia, Chap. iii. 4. and of Theffalonica, 1 Theff. iii. 5. and by parity of reafon by all other churches. It is poffible, that no one fubject may obey the laws of his fuperior, because they have free will, and may do evil under the ftrongeft obligations to do well; but should the world be left therefore without human laws, or be governed by irresistible force, or not at all? Nay, rather that freedom which includes a bare poffibility that all may disobey, proves the wisdom and juftice of governing mankind by laws attended with moral inducements to obedience; whereas if we fuppofe men to be under a neceffity either of doing what is required, or of doing the contrary, it is very hard to underftand how governing them by moral means should be wife in the former cafe, or juft in the latter.

CHAPTER I.

The State of the Question.

OR the due ftating of this queftion concerning the liberty, or freedom of the will of man, let it be noted,

SECTION I.-ft. That the ftate of man, in this world, is a ftate of trial or probation, as will be evident,

ft. From all thofe places in which God is faid to exercife his difpenfations towards his people, to prove them whether they would walk in his ways, or not; as in those words, I will rain bread from heaven, to prove them whether they will walk in my ways, or not, Exod. xvi. 4. i. e. Whether the conftant provifions I make for them, will induce them to contine stedfaft in my fervice. When they were terrified at the

dreadful fights, and the voice they heard at the giving of the law, Mofes fpeaks to them thus, fear not, for God is come to prove you, Chap. xx. 20. (i. e. to try whether you will be true to the promife made Chap. xix. 8. viz. all that the Lord hath Spoken we will do) and that his fear may be before your faces that you fin not. And fo in many other places, which will hereafter be confidered.

2dly. From all thofe places in which God is faid to try men. Thus St. Paul fpeaks of the trial of mens works by fire, 1 Cor. iii. 13. of the trial of the Macedonians by afflic tions, 2 Cor. viii. 7. St. James faith, that the trial of our faith, by temptations, worketh patience, Chap. i. 3. St. Pe ter, that the trial of our faith, (by manifold temptations, if we continue ftedfaft in it) will be found to our praife, honor and glory at the appearing of Jefus Chrift, 1 Pet. i. 7. and fpeaketh of a fiery trial which was come to try them, Chap. iv. 12. Our bleffed Lord faith to the church of Smyrna, behold the devil will caft fome of you into prifon that he may try you, Rev. ii. 10. and prophefies of an hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth; to omit many places of like nature in the Old Teftament, viz. Pfal. lxvi. 12. Jer. ix. 7. Dan. xi. 35. xii. 10. Zech. xiii. 9.

3dly. From all the promifes and threats recorded in the feripture, to engage all men to repent and turn to God; for no fuch thing is, or can reasonably be offered to them who are already in a fixed ftate either of happiness or mifery; and it is contrary even to the nature of those motives to be offered to them, who neither can be induced by the hopes of promifes, or fears of fufferings, to change their prefent ftate.

4thly. From all the exhortations of the holy fcripture to men, to watch and pray that they enter not into temptation, and to pray they may not be led into temptation; from the fuppofition that men in the time of temptation may fall away, Luke viii. 13. and that Satan may fo tempt good chriftians, that the labor of the apostles may be in vain among them, 1 Theff. iii. 5. For what is temptation but a trial of our faith, fincerity and conftancy? What is it to enter, or be led into it it, but to be in danger of falling by it? And must not therefore all who are in a fate of temptation, be alfo in a state of trial or probation? And,

5thly. This will be evident from the temptations of Satan, who goes about continually feeking whom he may devour. For to what end fhould he tempt, that is, endeavor to destroy them, if he knows he never can fucceed in his temptations to deftroy the elect; and as for others, quos ad perditionem Deus præfcripfit, and who are left by God infallibly to fail of

falvation, he need not do it, fince God himself, according to this doctrine, hath done that work effectually to his hand ?To what end fhould he ftrive to hinder the progrefs of the gofpel, feeing, according to this doctrine, it must have its effect upon the elect infallibly and unfruftrably, and upon others it can only be a Savior of death unto death, and an aggravation of their condemnation? To what end fhould he go about to hinder the converfion of any man? Must he not know his labor will be certainly in vain, where this is wrought by a divine unfruftrable operation, and is as needlefs where God hath decreed not to vouchfafe that operation? Now hence it follows,

Coroll.-SECTION II.-That the liberty belonging to this queftion, is only that of a lapfed man in a state of trial, probation and temptation; whether he hath a freedom to choose life or death, to anfwer or reject the calls and invitations of God to do, by the affiftance of the grace afforded in the gofpel to him, what is fpiritually good as well as evil; or whether he be determined to one, having only a freedom from coaction, but not from neceffity. This liberty is indeed no perfection of human nature; for it fuppofes us imperfect, as being fubject to fall by temptation, and when we are advanced to the Spirits of just men made perfect, or to a fixed ftate of happinefs, will, with our other imperfections be done away; but yet it is a freedom abfolutely requifite, as we conceive, to render us capable of trial or probation, and to render our actions worthy of praife or difpraise, and our persons of rewards or punifhments; nor is this liberty effential to man as man, but only neceffary to man placed in a ftate of trial, and under the power of temptation. And therefore vain are the enfuing arguments.

ft. That God is a free agent, and yet can have no freedom to do evil, fince he is in no ftate of trial, nor can he be tempted to do evil. Or, 2dly. That the confirmed angels have not loft their freedom though they cannot fin; for if there was a time when they were not confirmed in goodness as now they are, they have loft that liberty, ad utrumvis, they then had; and being thus confirmed they are not in a state of trial, nor under any temptation to do evil, nor are their actions now rewardable, fince they already do enjoy the beatific vifion, and fo they cannot act out of respect to any future recompenfe, or be induced to action out of hope or fear, as in this flate of trial all men are. Or, 3dly. That the devils, and the damned fpirits lie under no capacity of doing good, or under a neceffity of doing evil, and yet do it voluntarily, their ftate of trial being paft, and they having no farther offers of grace, and fo no motive to do good; and as for any evil they are