one of those, who affent to the Gospel, and a firm Chap. 1o. one of those, who live according to the Gospel) is frivolous and blafphemous; it is in effect to say, that there is infirmity in God, that Gods choice is weak or rather none at all, and mans choice fupplies and ftrengthens it. The great defign of a Church could not be fecured by fuch a choice as mans, nor by any thing less than Gods; his Election is a fure foundation, his fpecial call according to purpose, and his gifts without repentance. Hence it appears, That according to the opinion of the Remonftrants, there is indeed no fuch thing as Election. They fay, that the object of Election is a Believer; and, whether there fhall be a Believer or not, after all the operations of Grace, ultimately depends upon the Will of Man: And if fo, How can God elect any one perfon in the world? The act of his Election depends upon the object, and the object upon the will of Man; Mans will must go foremost, and make the object; or elfe for want of one, Gods Will muft ftand ftill, and not chufe at all. It's true, God hath fet down this Law or Rule, That believers fhould be faved; but no-where hath he faid, that believers should be elected; for that would overthrow his own Election, fuppofing fuch a Law or Rule, That believers fhould be elected. If a Man did believe, and fo was elected, it would not be Gods first Law or after-choice, but mans faith which determined the matter:he would be his own elector; God in the mean time would not be an Elector, but a Legislator only. But a little further, to confider the opinion of the Remonftrants: 'They fet down the order of Gods Decrees in this manner; upon Adams fall, there was a merciful af * fection Chap. 10. fection in God towards man; but, justice standing in the way, a Mediator was ordained to offer up a propitiatory Sacrifice to God. Hereupon God makes a general Decree, That all perfevering believers shall be faved; and, because man cannot believe of himfelf, God decrees, media ad fidem, means to beget Faith; and as foon as men believe, there is a particular Decree for their Salvation; or a kind of incompleat Election, fuch as rises and falls with their Faith; and when they arrive at the full point of perfeverance, the Election becomes compleat and peremptory. This is their Scheme; here many things are obfervable, Here's a Mediator Decreed, without refpect to that Church, which in Scripture is the choice mark aimed at in the work; here's a general Decree to fave all perfevering believers, and in that inftant, no Decree of the media ad fidem, the means to beget Faith; here's a strange imperfection attributed to God, his Will in its eternal acts must be in fucceffion, and make its gradual progreffes from a general Decree to a perticular, and from an incompleat Election (I tremble at the word) to a compleat one; and in its paffage to that compleature, it must all the way vary, and turn about to every point, as the fickle will of man doth; that standing in Faith there is an Election, that falling there is none; and fo, toties quoties, as often as it pleases man to fhew himself variable, the Election will be fomething or nothing as it happens. This doth not indeed afcribe eyes and hands to God, as the grofs Anthropomorphites did; but it affimulates him to the filly turnings and variations of the creature, which cannot but be very unworthy of him. Here is fuch a particular Election as is temporal, and to totally fuperfluous: it is temporal; for if it depend Chap. 10. upon perfevering faith as its condition, then it muft be fufpended, and not in act, till that faith be in being. It's condition being temporal, it cannot preexist or be eternal. It is alfo totally fuperfluous, there being a general Decree of faving all perfevering believers once past, every individual man who is a perfevering believer, muft needs infallibly arrive at Heaven without any more ado; and then to what purpose is such a particular Election? Neither do I think, that the Remonftrants would ever have offered fuch an infignificant thing to the world, but that they were under a neceffity to fay fomewhat to those many and famous expreffions which are found in Scripture, touching the election and predeftination of perfons, which could not be fatisfied with that general Law, That whosoever believeth fhould be faved: Here's an election of persevering believers; but in plain terms that is no election at all. Election must be to fomething, but this is to just nothing: not to Faith and Holiness, these are prefuppofed in the object; and there can be no election to that which is prefuppofed before. There is therefore no election to Grace at all. No, nor to Glory: That perfevering believers had a right unto by the general Decree of faving fuch as they are; and there can be no election to that which they had an antecedent right unto. Thus all the great expreffions in Scripture touching Election, vanish into nothing. In Election God fevers and differences one man from another in a way of choice: but according to the Remonftrants, he gives all in common. And how can God elect without a fevering or differencing act? Or how can he do fuch an act, who Chap. 10.who gives all in common? It's true, God fevers final believers to life, and final unbelievers to death; but here is no choice of perfons; fome go to life, but all, if final believers, fhould do fo: fome go to death, but all, if final unbelievers, should do fo. Here is no choice at all, but a meer judicial act, according to the Evangelical Law. When a Judg according to Law acquits one as innocent, and condemns another as guilty, it is not an act of choice, but of righteous judgment. No more is it in God to adjudg believers to life, and unbelievers to death. But I fhall fay no more touching the first thing, That there is an EleЄtion. cap. 29. 2. Election is of meer Grace. It hath no other 8. He cause but the Divine pleasure only. We are predeftinated according to the good pleasure of his will,Eph.1.5. To the praife of the glory of his grace, v. 6. God loves his people because he loves them, Deut. 7. 8. faith, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, Exod. 33. 19. In which words we have will and grace doubled as the only reafon of it felf. Election is the primum indebitum; if that be not purely free in Conf. ad Pol. God, nothing can be fo. Iniquus eft, faith Seneca, qui mune is fui arbitrium danti non reliquit ; He is unjuft who leaves not a gift to the pleasure of the giver. All fouls and graces are Gods, and he may difpofe of them as he pleaseth. If he chufe any to himself, he chufes freely, elfe it is no choice at all: it is not, as the Apostle calls it, an election of Grace. Election is not built upon forefeen works, for then it would not be an election of Grace, but of Works; the elect would not be veffels of Mercy, but of Merit: neither is it founded upon foreseen faith and per perfeverance; thefe are given by God not to all, but Chap. 10. to fome; not out of common Providence, but out of the Decree of Election. Hence the Apostle, when he bleffes God for the work of Faith in the Theffalonians, elevates his praifes up to Election, the first fountain of Grace, Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God, 1 Thef. 1. 4. And, when he praises God, for bleffing the Ephefians with all fpiritual bleffings in Chrift, he fets down the eternal rule of dif penfing them, According as he hath chofen us, Ephef. 1.3, 4. He doth not choose us according to our faith and perfeverance, but bleffes us with these bleffings according to Election; he chufes us, not because we are holy, but that we should be fuch: Doth God foresee any good in men, when he willeth to them their first good? Or, Doth he forefee good in them, before he wills it to them? What need then of his purpose to give it? Or how can he poffibly be the Donor of it? If he foresee it, they will infallibly have it, whether he Decree it or not; they will have it without his gift, which is impoffible. Faith therefore and perfeverance do not prefuppofe Election, but Election is the eternal fpring of thofe graces. Unless this be granted, God doth but eligere eligentes, chufe thofe that firft chufe him: Mans faith must be earlier than Gods Grace, he chufes before he is chofen; loves before he is loved of God. And to affert this, What is it, but to lift up man above God, Mans Will above the Sovereign Will of his Maker? A vanity it is,and a blafphemy against the fountain of Grace, which the Saints blefs and adore, as the origine of all that good which is in them. Gods electing Grace, is pure Grace; his Love is meerly from himself: LI Hence |