ART. carry our bodies to obey and fecond our minds, should XVII. not imagine that we can conceive how God may move or bend our wills. The hard thing to digeft in this whole matter, is reprobation: they who think it neceffary to affert the freedom of election, would fain avoid it: they feek foft words for it, fuch as the paffing by or leaving men to perish: they study to put that on Adam's fin, and they take all the methods they can to foften an opinion that seems harsh, and that founds ill. But howfoever they will bear all the confequences of it, rather than let the point of abfolute election go. On the other fide, those who do once perfuade themfelves that the doctrine of reprobation is falfe, do not fee how they can deny it, and yet afcribe a free election to God. They are once perfuaded that there can be no reprobation but what is conditionate, and founded on what is foreseen concerning men's fins: and from this they are forced to say the fame thing of election. And both fides study to begin the controverfy with that which they think they can the moft eafily prove; the one at the establishing of election, and the other at the overthrowing of reprobation. Some have ftudied to feek out middle ways: for they obferving that the Scriptures are writ in a great diverfity of ftyle, in treating of the good or evil that happens to us, afcribing the one to God, and imputing the other to ourselves, teaching us to afcribe the honour of all that is good to God, and to caft the blame of all that is evil upon ourselves, have from thence concluded, that God must have a different influence and caufality in the one, from what he has in the other: but when they go to make this out, they meet with great difficulties; yet they choose to bear these rather than to involve themselves in thofe equally great, if not greater difficulties, that are in either of the other opinions. They wrap up all in two general affertions, that are great practical truths, Let us arrogate no good to ourselves, and impute no evil to God, and fo let the whole matter reft. This may be thought by fome the lazier, as well as the fafer way: which avoids difficulties, rather than answers them; whereas they fay of both the contending fides, that they are better at the ftarting of difficulties than at the refolving of them. Thus far I have gone upon the general, in making fuch reflections as will appear but too well grounded to those who have with any attention read the chief difputants of both fides. In these great points all agree: that mercy is freely XVII. freely offered to the world in Christ Jefus : that God did ART. freely offer his Son to be our propitiation, and has freely accepted the facrifice of his death in our ftead, whereas he might have condemned every man to have perifhed for his own fins that God does, in the difpenfation of his Gofpel, and the promulgation of it to the several nations, act according to the freedom of his grace, upon reasons that are to us myfterious and paft finding out: that every man is inexcufable in the fight of God: that all men are fo far free as to be praife-worthy or blame-worthy for the good or evil that they do: that every man ought to employ his faculties all he can, and to pray and depend earneftly upon God for his protection and affiftance: that no man in practice ought to think that there is a fate or decree hanging over him, and fo become flothful in his duty, but that every man ought to do the best he can, as if there were no fuch decree, fince, whether there is or is not, it is not poffible for him to know what it is: that every man ought to be deeply humbled for his fins in the fight of God, without excufing himself by pretending a decree was upon him, or a want of power in him: that all men are bound to obey the rules fet them in the Gofpel, and are to expect neither mercy nor favour from God, but as they fet themselves diligently about that: and finally, that at the last day all men fhall be judged, not according to fecret decrees, but according to their own works. In these great truths, of which the greater part are practical, all men agree. If they would agree as honeftly in the practice of them, as they do in confeffing them to be true, they would do that which is much more important and neceffary, than to fpeculate and difpute about niceties; by which the world would quickly put on a new face, and then thofe few, that might delight in curious fearches and arguments, would manage them with more modesty and less heat, and be both lefs pofitive and lefs fupercilious. I have hitherto infifted on fuch general reflections as seemed proper to these questions. I come now in the last place to examine how far our Church hath determined the matter, either in this Article or elsewhere: how far fhe hath restrained her fons, and how far the hath left them at liberty. For those different opinions being fo intricate in themselves, and fo apt to raise hot difputes, and to kindle lafting quarrels, it will not be fuitable to that moderation which our Church hath obferved in all other things, to stretch her words on thefe heads beyond their strict fenfe. The natural equity or reason of things ought rather to carry ART. carry us, on the other hand, to as great a comprehenfiveXVII. nefs of all fides, as may well confift with the words in which our Church hath expreffed herself on those heads. : It is not to be denied, but that the Article seems to be framed according to St. Auftin's doctrine: it fuppofes men to be under a curfe and damnation, antecedently to predeftination, from which they are delivered by it; fo it is directly against the Supralapfarian doctrine: nor does the Article make any mention of reprobation, no, not in a hint; no definition is made concerning it. The Article does alfo feem to affert the efficacy of grace: that in which the knot of the whole difficulty lies, is not defined; that is, whether God's eternal purpose or decree was made according to what he forefaw his creatures would do, or purely upon an abfolute will, in order to his own glory. It is very probable, that thofe who penned it meant that the decree was abfolute; but yet fince they have not faid it, those who fubfcribe the Articles do not feem to be bound to any thing that is not expreffed in them and therefore fince the Remonftrants do not deny but that God having forefeen what all mankind would, according to all the different circumstances in which they fhould be put, do or not do, he upon that did by a firm and eternal decree lay that whole defign in all its branches, which he executes in time; they may subfcribe this Article without renouncing their opinion as to this matter. On the other hand, the Calvinists have lefs occafion for fcruple; fince the Article does feem more plainly to favour them. The three cautions, that are added to it, do likewise intimate that St. Auftin's doctrine was defigned to be fettled by the Article: for the danger of men's having the fentence of God's predeftination always before their eyes, which may occafion either defperation on the one hand, or the wretchlefness of most unclean living on the other, belongs only to that fide; fince these mischiefs do not arife out of the other hypothefis. The other two, of taking the promises of God in the fenfe in which they are fet forth to us in holy Scriptures, and of following that will of God that is expressly declared to us in the word of God, relate very vifibly to the fame opinion: though others do infer from these cautions, that the doctrine laid down in the Article must be fo understood as to agree with these cautions; and therefore they argue, that fince abfolute predeftination cannot confift with them, that therefore the Article is to be otherwife explained. They say the natural confequence of an abfolute decree is either prefumption or despair: fince a man upon that bot tom tom reckons, that which way foever the decree is made, ART. it must certainly be accomplished. They also argue, that XVII. because we must receive the promises of God as conditional, we must alfo believe the decree to be conditional; for abfolute decrees exclude conditional promifes. An offer cannot be fuppofed to be made in earnest by him that has excluded the greatest number of men from it by an antecedent act of his own. And if we must only follow the revealed will of God, we ought not to suppose that there is an antecedent and positive will of God, that has decreed our doing the contrary to what he has commanded. Thus the one fide argues, that the Article as it lies, in the plain meaning of those who conceived it, does very exprefsly establish their doctrine: and the other argues, from those cautions that are added to it, that it ought to be understood fo as that it may agree with these cautions: and both fides find in the Article itself fuch grounds, that they reckon they do not renounce their opinions by fubfcribing it. The Remonftrant fide have this farther to add, that the universal extent of the death of Chrift feems to be very plainly affirmed in the most folemn part of all the offices of the Church: for in the office of Cominunion, and in the Prayer of Confecration, we own, that Chrift, by the one oblation of himself once offered, made there a full, perfect, and fufficient facrifice, oblation, and fatisfaction for the fins of the whole world. Though the others fay, that by full, perfect, and fufficient, is not to be underftood that Chrift's death was intended to be a complete facrifice and fatisfaction for the whole world, but that in its own value it was capable of being fuch. This is thought too great a ftretch put upon the words. And there are yet more exprefs words in our Church-Catechifm to this purpofe; which is to be confidered as the most folemn declaration of the fenfe of the Church, fince that is the doctrine in which the inftructs all her children : and in that part of it which feems to be most important, as being the fhort fummary of the Apoftles' Creed, it is faid, God the Son, who hath redeemed me and all mankind: where all muft ftand in the fame extent of univerfality, as in the precedent and in the following words; The Father who made me and all the world; the Holy Ghost who fanctifieth me and all the elect people of God; which being to be understood feverely, and without exception, this muft alfo be taken in the fame ftrictnefs. There is another argument brought from the office of Baptifm, to prove that men may fall from a state of grace and regeneration; for in the whole office, more particularly in the Thankf ART. Others having obferved that it was a very small part of XVIII. mankind that had the advantages of the Chriftian religion, have thought it too cruel to damn in their thoughts all those who have not heard of it, and yet have lived morally and virtuously, according to their light and education. And fome, to make themselves and others easy, in accommodating their religion to their fecular interefts, to excuse their changing, and to quiet their confciences, have fet up this notion, that feems to have a largeness both of good nature and charity in it; looks plaufible, and is calculated to take in the greatest numbers: they therefore fuppofe that God in his infinite goodnefs will accept equally the fervices that all his creatures offer to him, according to the best of their skill and ftrength. In oppofition to all which, they are here condemned, who think that every man fhall be faved by the law or fect which he profeffeth: where a great difference is to be obferved between the words faved by the law, and faved in the law; the one is condemned, but not the other. To be faved by a law or fed, fignifies, that by the virtue of that law or fect fuch men who follow it may be faved: whereas to be faved in a law or fect, imports only, that God may extend his compaffions to men that are engaged in falfe religions. The former is only condemned by this Article, which affirms nothing concerning the other. In fum; if we have fully proved that the Chriftian religion was delivered to the world in the name of God, and was attefted by miracles, fo that we believe its truth, we must believe every part and tittle of it, and by confequence thofe paffages which denounce the wrath and judgments of God against impenitent finners, and that promife mercy and falvation only upon the acRom. x. 9, count of Chrift and his death: We must believe with our hearts, and confefs it with our mouths: we must not be afhamed of Chrift, or of his words, left he bould be ashamed of us, when he comes in the glory of his Father, with his holy angels. This, I fay, being a part of the Gofpel, must be as true as the Gofpel itself is; and thefe rules muft bind all those to whom they are propofed, whether they are enacted by law or not: for if we are affured that they are a part of the law of the King of kings, we are bound to believe and obey them, whether human laws do favour them or not; it being an evident thing, that no fubordinate authority can derogate from that which is fuperior to it: fo if the laws of God are clearly revealed, and certainly conveyed down to us, we are bound by them, and no human law can diffolve this obligation. If 10. Mark viii. 38. God |