work out our own falvation with fear and trembling. The word ART. rendered, ordained to eternal life, does alfo fignify, fitted or XVII. predisposed to eternal life. That question, Who made thee to Phil. ii. 12. differ? feems to refer to those gifts which in different de- A&s xiii. grees and measures were poured out on the firft Chrif-48. tians; in which men were only paffive, and difcriminated 1 Cor. iv. 7. from one another by the freedom of thofe gifts, without any thing previous in them to difpofe them to them. Chrift is faid to be the propitiation for the fins of the 1 John ii. 2. whole world; and the wicked are faid to deny the Lord 2 Pet. ii. 1. that bought them; and his death, as to its extent to all men, is fet in oppofition to the fin of Adam; fo that as by Rom. v. 18. the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; fo by the righteoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon all men to juftification of life. The all of the one fide must be of the fame extent with the all of the other: fo fince all are concerned in Adam's fin, all must be likewife concerned in the death of Chrift. This they urge farther, with this argument, that all men are obliged to believe in the death of Chrift, but no man can be obliged to believe a lie; therefore it follows that he must have died for all. Nor can it be thought that grace is fo efficacious of itself, as to determine us; otherwife why are we required not to grieve God's Spirit? Why is it faid, Ye do Aas vii. 51. always refift the Holy Ghoft; as your fathers did, fo do ye. How often would I have gathered you under my wings, but Mat. xxiii. ye would not? What more could I have done in my vineyard, 37. that has not been done in it? These seem to be plain intimations of a power in us, by which we not only can, but often do refift the motions of grace. Ifa. v. 4. If the determining efficacy of grace is not acknowledged, it will be yet much harder to believe that we are efficaciously determined to fin. This feems to be not only contrary to the purity and holinefs of God, but is fo manifeftly contrary to the whole ftrain of the Scriptures, that charges fin upon men, that in fo copious a fubject it is not neceffary to bring proofs. O Ifrael, thou haft de- Hof. xiii. 9. firoyed thyself; but in me is thy help: and, Ye will not come Joh. v. 40. unto me, that ye may have life: why will you die, O houfe of Ezek. Ifrael? And as for that nicety of faying, that the evil of xxxiii. 11. fin confifts in a negation, which is not a pofitive being, fo that though God fhould determine men to the action that is finful, yet he is not concerned in the fin of it: they think it is too metaphyfical, to put the honour of God and his attributes upon fuch a fubtilty: for in fins against moral laws, there feems to be an antecedent immorality in the action itfelf, which is infeparable from it. But ART. fuppofe that fin confifted in a negative, yet that privation XVII. does immediately and neceffarily refult out of the action, without any other thing whatsoever intervening: fo that if God does infallibly determine a finner to commit the action to which that guilt belongs, though that should be a fin only by reason of a privation that is dependent upon it, then it does not appear but that he is really the author of fin; fince if he is the author of the finful action, on which the fin depends as a fhadow upon its fubftance, he must be esteemed, fay they, the author of fin. iii. Heb. vi. 24. And though it may be faid, that fin being a violation of God's law, he himself, who is not bound by his law, cannot be guilty of fin; yet an action that is immoral is fo effentially oppofite to infinite perfection, that God cannot be capable of it, as being a contradiction to his own nature. Nor is it to be fuppofed that he can damn men for that, which is the neceffary refult of an action to which he himself determined them. As for perfeverance, the many promises made in the Rev. ii. and Scriptures to them that overcome, that continue ftedfaft and faithful to the death, feem to infinuate, that a man may fall from a good ftate. Thofe famous words in the fixth of the Hebrews do plainly intimate, that fuch men may fo fall away, that it may be impoffible to renew them again by reHeb. x. 38.pentance. And in that Epiftle where it is faid, The juft Thall live by faith; it is added, but if he draw back, (any man is not in the original,) my foul shall have no pleasure in Ezek. xviii. him. And it is pofitively faid by the Prophet, When the righteous turnethaway from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, all his righteoufnefs that he hath done fhall not be mentioned; in his fin that he hath finned fhall he die. These fuppofitions, with a great many more of the same strain that may be brought out of other places, do give us all poffible reafon to believe that a good man may fall from a good ftate, as well as that a wicked man may turn from a bad one. In conclufion, the end of all things, the final judgment at the last day, which fhall be pronounced according to what men have done, whether good or evil, and their being to be rewarded and punished according to it, seems fo effectually to affert a freedom in our wills, that they think this alone might ferve to prove the whole caufe. So far I have fet forth the force of the argument on the fide of the Remonftrants. As for the Socinians, they make their plea out of what is faid by the one and by the other fide. They agree with the Remonftrants in all that they fay againft abfolute decrees, and in urging all thofe confequences that do arife out of them: and they do do alfo agree with the Calvinifts in all that they urge ART. against the poffibility of a certain prefcience of future con- XVII. tingents: fo that it will not be neceffary to set forth their plea more specially, nor needs more be faid in oppofition to it, than what was already faid as part of the Remonftrants' plea. Therefore, without dwelling any longer on that, I come now to make fome reflections upon the whole matter. It is at firft view apparent, that there is a great deal of weight in what has been faid of both fides: fo much, that it is no wonder if education, the conftant attending more to the difficulties of the one fide than of the other, and a temper fome way proportioned to it, does fix men very fteadily to either the one or the other perfuafion. Both fides have their difficulties, fo it will be natural to choose that fide where the difficulties are leaft felt: but it is plain there is no reason for either of them to despise the other, fince the arguments of both are far from being contemptible. It is farther to be obferved, that both fides seem to be chiefly concerned to affert the honour of God, and of his attributes. Both agree in this, that whatever is fixed as the primary idea of God, all other things must be explained fo as to be confiftent with that. Contradictions are never to be admitted; but things may be justly believed, against which objections may be formed that cannot be easily answered. The one fide think, that we must begin with the idea of infinite perfection, of independency, and abfolute fovereignty and if in the fequel difficulties occur which cannot be cleared, that ought not to fhake us from this primary idea of God. Others think, that we cannot frame fuch clear notions of independency, fovereignty, and infinite perfection, as we can do of juftice, truth, holinefs, goodnefs, and mercy: and fince the Scripture proposes God to us most frequently under those ideas, they think that we ought to fix on these as the primary ideas of God, and then reduce all other things to them. Thus both fides feem zealous for God and his glory; both lay down general maxims that can hardly be dif puted; and both argue juftly from their first principles. These are great grounds for mutual charity and forbear ance in these matters. It is certain, that one who has long interwoven his thoughts of infinite perfection, with the notions of abfolute and unchangeable decrees, of carrying on every thing ART. by a pofitive will, of doing every thing for his own glory, XVII. cannot apprehend decrees depending on a foreseen free will, a grace fubject to it, a merit of Chrift's death that is loft, and a man's being at one time loved, and yet finally hated of God, without horror. These things feem to carry in them an appearance of feeblenefs, of dependence, and of changeableness. On the other hand, a man that has accuftomed himself to think often on the infinite goodness and mercy, the long-fuffering, patience, and flownefs to anger, that appears in God; he cannot let the thought of abfolute reprobation, or of determining men to fin, or of not giving them the grace neceffary to keep them from fin and damnation, enter into his mind, without the fame horror that another feels in the reverfe of all this. So that the fource of both opinions being the different ideas that they have of God, and both these ideas being true; men only mistaking in the extent of them, and in the confequences drawn from them; here are the cleareft grounds imaginable for a mutual forbearance, for not judging men imperiously, nor cenfuring them feverely upon either fide. And those who have at different times of their lives been of both opinions, and who upon the evidence of reafon, as it has appeared to them, have changed their perfuafions, can fpeak more affirmatively here; for they know, that in great fincerity of heart they have thought both ways. Each opinion has fome practical advantages of its fide. A Calvinift is taught, by his opinions, to think meanly of himself, and to afcribe the honour of all to God; which lays in him a deep foundation for humility: he is also much inclined to fecret prayer, and to a fixed dependence on God; which naturally both brings his mind to a good ftate, and fixes it in it: and fo though perhaps he cannot give a coherent account of the grounds of his watchfulnefs and care of himfelf; yet that temper arifes out of his humility, and his earneftnefs in prayer. A Remonftrant, on the other hand, is engaged to awaken and improve his faculties, to fill his mind with good notions, to raise them in himfelf by frequent reflection, and by a conftant attention to his own actions: he fees cause to reproach himself for his fins, and to fet about his duty to purpose: being aflured that it is through his own fault if he mifcarries: he has no dreadful terrors upon his mind; nor is he tempted to an undue fecurity, or to fwell up in (perhaps) an imaginary conceit of his being unalterably in the favour of God. Both Both fides have their peculiar temptations as well as ART. their advantages: the Calvinift is tempted to a false fecu- XVII. rity, and floth and the Arminian may be tempted to truft too much to himself, and too little to God: fo equally may a man of a calm temper, and of moderate thoughts, balance this matter between both the fides, and fo unreafonable it is to give way to a pofitive and dictating temper in this point. If the Arminian is zealous to affert liberty, it is because he cannot fee how there can be good or evil in the world without it: he thinks it is the work of God, that he has made for great ends; and therefore he can allow of nothing that he thinks deftroys it. If on the other hand a Calvinift feems to break in upon liberty, it is because he cannot reconcile it with the fovereignty of God, and the freedom of his grace: and he grows to think that it is an act of devotion to offer up the one to fave the other. The common fault of both fides is, to charge one another with the confequences of their opinions, as if they were truly their tenets. Whereas they are apprehenfive enough of thefe confequences, they have no mind to them, and they fancy that by a few diftinctions they can avoid them. But each fide thinks the confequences of the other are both worse, and more certainly fastened to that doctrine, than the confequences that are urged against himself are. And fo they think they must choose that opinion that is the leaft perplexed and difficult: not but that ingenuous and learned men of all fides confefs, that they feel themselves very often pinched in these matters. Another very indecent way of managing these points is, that both fides do too often speak very boldly of God. Some petulant wits, in order to the reprefenting the contrary opinion as abfurd and ridiculous, have brought in God, representing him, with indecent expreffions, as acting or decreeing, according to their hypothefis, in a manner that is not only unbecoming, but that borders upon blafphemy. From which, though they think to efcape by faying, that they are only fhewing what muft follow if the other opinion were believed; yet there is a folemnity and gravity of ftyle, that ought to be most religiously obferved, when we poor mortals take upon us to speak of the glory or attributes, the decrees or operations of the great God of heaven and earth and every thing relating to this, that is put in a burlesque air, is intolerable. It is a fign of a very daring prefumption, to pretend to affign the order of all the acts of God, the ends propofed in them, and the methods by which they are executed. We, who do not know how our thoughts carry |