Containing an ANSWER to THREE OBJECTIONS againft the DOCTRINES afferted, and the ARGUMENTS by which they are confirmed.

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HIS chapter contains a reply to two grand objections, against what hath been dif ourfed on the foregoing heads, viz. Obj. 1ft,That moft of the objections made against the decrees of God and the unfruftrable influx of God on man, and the determination of his will to good or evil, are as ftrong against the prefcience of God. To this objection it as faid, ift. That this argument from prefcience overthrows thefe decrees, or renders them fuperfluous, section 1. 2dly. That the Hobbits and the Fatalifts did, and may take fanctuary in the divine prefcience, as well as the Decrectalifts. 3dly. That God's prefcience hath no influence at all upon our actions, whereas God's decree of election is powerful and active, and comprehends the preparation and exhibition of fuch means as fhallinfallibly produce the end, 4thly. That God's prefcience renders no actions neceffary, whereas these decrees must do fo. 5thly. That God's prefcience refpects not only things future but things poffible; what may be done by them who will not do it, and may be left undone by them who do not fo, He forefees alfo after what manner they will be performed, that free actions will be done freely, that is when we might abftain from doing them, and omitted freely, that is, when we might perform them. 6thly. That this argument only propofeth a great difficulty arifing from a mode of knowledge in God, of which we have no idea, against the plain declarations of his revealed will, and is answered by the diftinction between God's incommunicable and his communicable attributes; of the first we have no ideas, as to the and fo are only bound to believe they are in God, but not to imitate them. In his communicable attributes, we are bound to refemble him, or follow his example, and so must have a true, though not a perfect knowledge of them, section 2 Objection 2. That by our arguments we weaken the providence of God; for if he doth not effectually move the wills of men, he cannot compafs the defigns of his providence. Answer ift. This argument is attended with this great abfurdity, that it makes God as much the author of all the evil as of all the good that is done in the world. 2dly. All that is neceffary to accomplish the defigns of providence, may be done without laying any neceflity upon human actions. 3dly. The juftice, wisdom, holiness, the goodness and fincerity of providence, are all entirely overthrown by the doc. trines we write against, Section 3, 4.

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II.

The objection, that God feems to have dealt as feverely with the heathens, to whom the know!ledge of his will and gofpel never was revealed, as we can imagine him to have dealt with men according to the doctrine of abfolutè election and reprobation, and the denial of grace fufficient to the greatest part of mankind, is answered. f. By fhewing, that it cannot be applied to the chief arguments produced against thofe doctrine s, Section 1. 2dly. That what God hath plainly and frequently revealed in the fcriptures concerning his goodnefs and kindness to the fons of men, ought firmly to be believed; though we are not able to difcern how it comports, with his providential difpenfations in the world, there being greater depths in providence than we can fathom, Section 2. 3dly. Because we know fo little of the future ftate of heathens, that we cannot pafs any certain judgment concerning their future ftate, ibid. 4thly. This objection fuppofeth it the fame thing to be without a gofpel revelation, and to be without any means of grace at all, and that without a revelation no man can do any thing which is well pleafing to God or acceptable in his fight; the falfhood of which fuppofition is proved by fix arguments from fcripture, Section 3.And by two arguments from reafon, Section 4. 5thly. It feems not well confiftent with divine equity and goodnefs, to make that a condition of any man's happiness, which he cannot know to be his duty, or knowing is not able to perform, Section 5. 6thly. That God will only judge men, at the laft, for finning against the means he hath vouchfafed them to know and perform their duty; and fo will only judge the heathens for fins committed against that light of nature he had given them, Section 6. 7thly. That God having laid down this method in the difpenfation of his gifts, that he who is faithful + in the improvement of the leaf talent fhall have a fuitable reward and that to him that so hath fhall more be given; it is reasonable to conceive, he will deal with the heathens according to this rule, Section 7. Laftly, That we may reafonably conclude God will deal with them both in refpect to the acceptation and reward of their good, and his displeasure againft, and punishment of their evil actions, according to the measures of their ignorance and knowledge, the abilities, motives and inducements afforded to them to do, or to avoid them. And therefore ift, That their good actions done upon lefs motives and convictions, may be more acceptable to God than the like actions done by chriftians, upon much greater evidence and higher motives and more powerful affiftances. 2dly. That they may expect a reward upon performance of lefs duty, becaufe lefs will be required of them. 3dly. That God should be more ready to pardon and pafs by their offences, as having in them more of ignorance and lefs of contempt. 4thly. That he fhould be more patient, and longfuffering toward them, before he punish, because the lefs the light is they enjoy, the lefs is their offence against it. Laftly, That God may be more gentle in punish. ing their iniquities, and lay the fewer stripes upon them, becaufe they did not know their Mafter's will, Section 8.

The State of the Queftion concerning God's Abfolute De crees of Election and Reprobation.

ET it be obferved from (a) Bishop Dave nant, "That no medium can be affigned, either on God's, part, betwixt the decrees of predeftinating fome men, and not pre deftinating fome others; or on mens part, betwixt men abfolutely predeftinated to the attainment of life eternal, and abfolutely pretermitted, and left infallibly to fail of the obtainment of eternal life; which we call Abfolute Reprobation. As for example: Let us fuppofe the number of mankind to be two millions of men, if out of thefe, one million only, by the Decree of Election, be infallibly appointed to eternal life, and thefe certainly and abfolutely diftinguifhed from others, not only as to their number, but their perfons alfo; who can deny but that one million alfo,

(a) Animad, on Hord, p. 20.

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and those certain as to their persons, are as abfolutely comprifed under the Decree of Nonelection or Reprobation, as the others were under the Decree of Election or Predeftination ?" So that there is no poffibility of afferting one of these Decrees without owning the other alfo; and fo whatsoever argument holds good against an abfolute Decree of Reprobation, muft certainly destroy the oppofite Decree of Abfolute Election.

Now, is there any need of arguments to confute fuch a fuppofed Decree as this? I behold, through the fall of Adam, (by my mere pleasure imputed to his whole pofterity yet unborn, as if it were their action, and they had perfonally confented to it) the whole race of mankind obnoxious to my eternal wrath, and utterly unable to recover from it; and though they be all the fouls that I have made, all equally wanting, and equally capable of my favor; nor have I any reafon to extend it to any of them, rather than to all; yet do I abfolutely Decree to vouchfafe this favor only to fome few of them, leaving the far greateft part of them under a fad neceffity of perifhing everlastingly, for the offence of their forefather Adam, committed long before they had a being; fo that they fhall be as fure to be damned eternally as they are to be born in time, and yet I will proclaim myself unto them, a God merciful, and gracious, longSuffering, and abundant in goodness, on purpose that they may not perish, but be led by it to repentance, and declare to them that my delight is in fhewing mercy. I will entreat them with the greatest earneftness, and even befeech them to be reconciled to me, as being so far reconciled to them in Chrift Jefus, as not to impute to them their tranfgreffions and fins: I will fend to them all my meffengers and prophets, declaring that I do it, be caufe I have compaffion on them: I will allure them to repentance with the promise that all their fins shall then be blotted out, and not one of them remembered against them: I will tell them that I would have purged them, but they would not be purged: I would have gathered them, but they would not be gathered: İ will ask them, Why will you die? and inquire of them what I could have done more to prevent it which I have not done? Yea, I will seriously, and folemnly protest and swear unto them by the greatest oath, even that of my own life, that I would not the death of him that dies, but rather that he should return and live, But after all, I will be true and conftant to that abfolute Decree of Reprobation, which muft render their damnation unfruftrable, and to the negative decree of withholding from them that grace which can alone enable them to escape. it, or to receive any advantage from all thefe declarations.

And hence we learn the falfehood of that affertion of the fame good (b) Bishop, That Reprobation is not a denial of fufficient grace, but a denial of fuch Special grace which God knows would infallibly bring them to glory; and that we cannot thence conclude, (c) that being not elected they are left without all remedy or fufficient means of falvation or that being reprobated they are without fufficient remedies or means to escape damnation, were not their own wicked will the only hindrance: For can men be left infallibly to fail of eternal life, and yet not be left without all remedy or fufficient means of Jalvation? If, as he says, (d) God leaving them under the want of that special grace, and effectual guidance proceeding from Divine Predeftination, they never fail of running themselves wittingly and willingly upon their own damnation; have they notwithstanding fufficient remedies, or means to escape damnation ? Sure it is, there can be no falvation, and no escaping of damnation, without converfion of the will from fin to God, and a continuance in this eftate unto the end. If then these Reprobates have no fufficient means to turn their wicked and perverted wills from fin to God, they can have no fufficient means either to obtain falvation, or escape damnation. If they have fufficient means to convert their wicked wills from the love of fin to a prevailing love to God, the pravity of these wills can never be the cause why they are left infallibly to fail of life eternal, or why they never fail of running on wilfully to their own damnation; feeing they have means fufficient to rectify the pravity of their wills. Again, either these means are fufficient to render them truly willing to believe and repent, or they are not; either they are fufficient to remove the defectiveness and difability of will they have contracted by the fall of Adam to thefe faving actions, or they are not: If they are not, how are they means fufficient for the attainment of the falvation which belongs only to the believer and the penitent, or the escaping that damnation which neceffarily follows upon the difability and defect for which no fuf.... ficient remedy is by grace provided? and then how have they grace fufficient for thefe ends? If they are thus fufficient, then may they truly be willing to believe and repent; and then this fufficient grace being vouchfafed to them, there can be no obftruction in their will which neceffarily hinders their believing and repenting; and then they on whom God hath paffed this act of Reprobation, or of preterition, may believe and repent, and therefore may be faved, as well, though not as certainly, as

(b) Corol. p. 24. P. 30.-(d) P. 28.

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they who are elected to obtain falvation; and fo all to whom the gofpel is vouchfafed may be faved. Suppole a man hath broken his leg by a fall, hath he therefore fufficient means to walk, because he might have done fo, had not his leg been broken by that fall? If then the will of man by his fall be as much difabled to walk in the ways of God, as this man's body is to walk at all, can it be truly faid he hath fufficient means to walk in thofe ways, because he would have had them, had not his will been thus difabled? (e) Adam indeed, as the Bishop faith, though not predeftinated to stand in the fate of innocency, had yet fufficient means of ftanding, because he had no defectiveness or difability in his will to do fo; but what is this to the cafe of those who are fuppofed to be fo disabled; that, if they be left to their own wills as Adam was, are fo difabled that they cannot ftand?

When therefore this good (f) Bishop proceeds to say, that they who are paffed by in the Eternal Decree of God, are not by any force of that Decree left without the benefit which the Scrip ture promifes upon condition of repentance, but the Evangelical Decrees ftand in full force; if Judas believe and repent, he shall be faved, if Peter do not believe and repent, he shall not be faued; and by this thin piece of fophiftry the good man attempts to fhew that God is ferious and in good earnest in all the offers he makes to Reprobates of mercy and falvation upon their re pentance, and all the threats he hath recorded in the Holy Scrip ture against all, and therefore against the Elect, if they do not repent and perfevere to the end; and all the other motives and inducements to engage both of them to do fo: How unfuccefffully he hath performed this, will in the fequel be demonftrated; at prefent therefore I fhall only put these two Decrees one under the other, that they may blush at one another.

1. Abfolute Election contains an eternal, abfolute, infallible Decree, that Peter shall believe, repent, perfevere unto the end, and be faved.

The Evangelical Conditional Decree is this, That if Peter do not believe, repent, and perfevere unto the end, he shall not be faved, but fhall infallibly be damned; and therefore God in it fpeaks to Peter thus, Except thou repent thou shalt perish; pafs therefore the time of thy sojourning here in fear; work out thy Jalvation with fear and trembling, continue in the Faith, for if

(e) P. 30. (f) Corol. 2, p. 29, 39%