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<DATE>2008-01-21</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>The Remedie of &V;nrea&s;onablene&s;s</HI>
OR THE
Sub&s;tance of a Speech
Intended at a
Conference or Di&s;pute,
In <HI>Al-hallows</HI> the Great, <HI>London.</HI>
Feb. 11. 1649. Exhibiting the brief <HI>HEADS</HI> of
M^r <HI>John Goodwin's</HI> Judgement,
Concerning the <HI>Freene&s;s Fulne&s;s Effectualne&s;s</HI> of the Grace of
GOD. As al&s;o concerning the Bondage or Servility
of the Will of Man. Occa&s;ioned by an undue a&s;per&s;ion ca&s;t upon him;
as <HI>(viz.)</HI> That he held Free-will in oppo&s;ition
to Free-Grace.</P>
<Q>And not rather, as we are &s;landerou&s;ly reported, and as &s;ome affirme
that we &s;ay, Let us do evill that good may come; who&s;e damnation
is just.</Q>
<BIBL>Rom. 3. 8.</BIBL>
<Q>Nonnulli Intelligentes citi&ugrave;s volunt exagitare, quod non intelligunt,
qu&agrave;m quaerere ut intelligant: &amp; non fiunt humiles inqui&s;itores,
&s;ed &s;uperbi calumniatores,</Q>
<BIBL>Aug.</BIBL>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI>
Printed by <HI>John Macock,</HI> for <HI>Lodowick Lloyd,</HI> and <HI>Henry Cripps,</HI> and
are to be &s;old at their &s;hop in <HI>Popes</HI> head Alley. 1650.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Good Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I Had not troubled thee with the&s;e Papers out of the
Pre&s;s, had not the unrea&s;onablene&s;s of tho&s;e, who
mini&s;tred the occa&s;ion, or nece&s;&s;ity rather, of the con|tents
of them, uncivilly denyed the liberty of an orall
prolation of them, when time, and place; and a good
con&s;cience, required it at my hand. At the former of the two late
Conferences or Disputes held in <HI>All-hallows</HI> the Great, <HI>London,</HI>
between Mr <HI>J: Sim&s;on,</HI> and my &s;elf, he was plea&s;ed, upon no occa|&s;ion
at all given by me, to traduce me before the whole Congrega|tion
there a&s;&s;embled, con&s;i&s;ting of &s;ome thou&s;ands of people, as a
man holding <HI>Free-Will</HI> in oppo&s;ition to <HI>Free-Grace.</HI> At the latter
of the &s;aid Conferences, perceiving him not altogether &s;o knowing
what my &s;ence or opinion was in the &s;aid points, and upon this
ground, fearing the like of his Friends and Followers, who made
up a great part of the pre&s;ent Auditory, as well to relieve their
ignorance herein, and free them from the guilt of an unchri&s;tian
&s;urmi&s;e against their Chri&s;tian Brother, who never injured them,
nor any one of them, in the lea&s;t, as al&s;o to wipe off the blot from my
&s;elf, which I had contracted by oppo&s;ing uncivil men in the way of
their error, I was de&s;irous to have given an account of my Faith
touching the &s;aid particulars, together with the Que&s;tion agreed
upon for pre&s;ent debate, in the pre&s;ence of tho&s;e that were there
met to hear. But he that had the face to charge unduly, had not
the heart either to &s;tand by &s;o unworthy an action, or to acknowledg
the unworthine&s;s of it. For when I de&s;ired leave over and over,
and that with much earne&s;tne&s;s, to have given &s;ome brief account
to the people of my judgment, touching the things unju&s;tly charged
upon me by my Antagoni&s;t, he peremptorily denyed it: and as oft
<PB N="4" REF="3">
as I made offer to &s;peak upon this account, he, in a very un&s;eemly man|ner,
and with clamour, interrupted me, and &s;uffered me not to &s;peak.
Nor do I think that there can be an in&s;tance of a like unmanlike car|riage
produced out of al Histories or Records what&s;oever; I mean,
that a per&s;on wrongfully accu&s;ed, &s;hould not be permitted by his Ac|cu&s;er,
to &s;peak what he hath to &s;ay in order to his purgation. Ano|ther
cake of the &s;ame dough was this. When I rea&s;oned thus a|gain&s;t
his mo&s;t ab&s;urd (and indeed blasphemous) opinion of Gods
reprobating men from eternity.</P>
<P><HI>If God reprobated men from eternity, then he reprobated him|&s;elf,</HI>
[there being, neither thing, nor per&s;on from eternity, to
reprobate, unle&s;s men will &s;ay, that he &s;hould reprobate
him&s;elf.]</P>
<P><HI>But God did not reprobate him&s;elf. Ergo.</HI> He, with his train
of Di&s;ciples, (whether out of weakne&s;s, or a wor&s;e principle, I will
not judg) expre&s;&s;ed them&s;elves with a kind of zealous indignation,
as if I had &s;poken blasphemy, and affirmed, that God <HI>reprobated
him&s;elf;</HI> whereas expre&s;ly, and in &s;o many words, I affirmed the
quite contrary (as the minor in the recited Syllogi&s;m plainly im|ports)
charging that blasphemy, as a direct and unavoydable con&s;e|quence
of his Opinion; from which, neither he, nor his co-adjutors,
were then able to vindicate the &s;aid opinion, nor will be able to the
days of eternity.</P>
<Q><L>Ne ver&ograve;, ne me ad tales impellite pugnas.</L></Q>
<Q><L>No more, good Friends, no more (I pray you)</L>
<L>Of &s;uch Di&s;putes, and Di&s;putants, as the&s;e.</L></Q>
<P>But as <HI>Jehojakim</HI> got nothing by cutting the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI>'s
fir&s;t Roll in pieces, but only the writing of another by the &s;ame
Prophet, with an addition of more <HI>words like</HI> unto tho&s;e written
in the former<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Ier. 36. 32.</NOTE>: So neither hath my Antagoni&s;t gained any thing
by &s;topping my mouth at the Di&s;pute, in not &s;uffering me there to
make &s;treight, what he had made crooked, but only the publi&s;hing
of the &s;ame things there intended to have been &s;poken, to the cog|nizance
of far greater numbers of men, and this with &s;ome en|largement
(though not much) in words of like con&s;ideration with
them<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Towards the latter end of the &s;aid latter Di&s;pute, with much ado I forced an op|portunity to &s;peak &s;ome|what, though very little, of that which is pre&s;ented un|to thee, in the&s;e Papers.</NOTE>. Farewel:</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thine, in the Lord Chri&s;t, and his Truth,
JOHN GOODVVIN.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="5" REF="3">
<HEAD>The Sub&s;tance of a Speech intended at a
Conference or Di&s;pute, in All-hallows
the Great, London, <DATE>Febr. 11. 1649.</DATE></HEAD>
<P>_THe Que&s;tion to be taken into con&s;idera|tion
and debated at pre&s;ent, is, <HI>Whether
the Gentiles, who wanted the Mini&s;try
of the Go&s;pel by men, had not &s;ufficient
means notwith&s;tanding to be &s;aved.</HI> I
am here (God a&s;&s;i&s;ting) to make proof of
the affirmative; <HI>viz. That &s;uch Heathen
had &s;ufficient means for Salvation, &s;uch
a want notwith&s;tanding.</HI> But fir&s;t I mu&s;t
crave leave to open the &s;tate of the que&s;tion, and to declare in what
&s;ence I hold and maintain, <HI>That the Heathen, under the want of
the Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pel by men, have yet &s;ufficient means vouch|&s;afed
unto them by God whereby to be &s;aved.</HI> I have &s;o much the
greater nece&s;&s;ity lying upon me to give you a clear and di&s;tinct ac|count
of what my &s;ence and judgment is in the pre&s;ent Que&s;tion,
becau&s;e by &s;ome words which fell from the Opponent at our la&s;t
Di&s;pute in this place, I clearly perceived that he altogether mi&s;takes
my opinion in the pre&s;ent Controver&s;ies. For he was pleas'd to
&s;ay, that I <HI>maintain Free-Will in oppo&s;ition to Free-Grace,</HI> (or
words to this effect) and pleaded this as a ground, why he could not
give the right hand of Chri&s;tian fellow&s;hip unto me. Now, to
<PB N="6" REF="4">
&s;atisfie both him, and all you that are pre&s;ent, I here declare this day
in the pre&s;ence of God and all his holy Angels, before you, and to
all the world, I hold no freedom of Will, nor any thing el&s;e, not
any opinion what&s;oever, in any the lea&s;t oppo&s;ition to Free-Grace.
Yea when&s;oever his opinion and mine, touching the freedom of the
will in man, and of the Grace of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t towards men,
&s;hall come into a clear light, and be duly compared together. I
know with the knowledg of a full a&s;&s;urance, that his opinion will
(of the two) be found to be the far greater Exaltre&s;s of free-will
in men, and the greater aba&s;er of the Grace of God. There are
many hundreds pre&s;ent, that have heard me from time to time deli|ver
my judgment in publique, and many in private, touching the
pre&s;ent Controver&s;ies: I appeal to them all, <HI>conjunctim &amp; divi|&s;im,</HI>
whether ever they heard me utter &s;o much as the lea&s;t word
tending to exalt the freedom of the will of man unto that which is
good. My pre&s;ent opinion is, and my con&s;tant Doctrine hath been,
That the will of man de&s;titute of the Grace of God, and his co|operating
a&s;&s;i&s;tance with it, is, or would be, mo&s;t de&s;perately wick|ed,
and &s;ervile unto &s;in. Yea and further, that notwith&s;tanding
the co-operative Grace of God with it, yet it is exceeding apt and
prone to be led captive unto &s;in by the Devil. Whereas the opi|nion
of my Antagoni&s;t (being truly and fairly interpreted) if it be
contrary unto mine, is, That the will of man, by means of the co|operating
Grace of God with it, becomes free after the manner of
the freedom of the Will of God him&s;elf, <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;o free unto that which
is good, that it is unpo&s;&s;ible for it not to move or to be carried out
unto it.</P>
<P>Concerning the Grace of God, there are three things, wherein
the glory of it con&s;i&s;ts: the freene&s;s of it: the fulne&s;s or extent of
it: the force or efficacy of it.</P>
<P>Concerning the fir&s;t of the&s;e, I clearly hold, and have upon all
occa&s;ions con&s;tantly taught, 1. That the whole plot or coun&s;el of
God concerning the Salvation of the World, is of free Grace, of meer
Grace, and goodne&s;s of Will, or plea&s;ure in God. 2. That his
purpo&s;e of Election, or Prede&s;tination of men unto life and glory,
is an act of free Grace al&s;o; and that there was no obligation or
nece&s;&s;ity upon him to prede&s;tinate any man, or any &s;ort of men, as
now he hath done. 3. That the gift of Je&s;us Chri&s;t unto the
World, is a gift of free Grace, and that God was no ways obliged
<PB N="7" REF="4">
hereunto. 4. That, to give or confer Ju&s;tification, Adoption, and
Salvation it &s;elf, upon believing in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, are acts of the pure
and free Grace of God. 5. That to give &s;trength, power, and means
of believing unto men, is an act of meer and free Grace likewi&s;e.
6. That it is of the free Grace of God, and by the help, and a&s;&s;i&s;t|ance
thereof, that any man doth ever actually believe.</P>
<P>2. Concerning the fulne&s;s, or extent of this Grace; my &s;ence
is, and my Doctrine hath been, 1. In re&s;pect of per&s;ons, that it is not
impri&s;on'd or confin'd, within the narrow Compa&s;s of an handful
of men, in compari&s;on; or that it extends it &s;elf, either in the inten|tions
of Salvation, or in the provi&s;ions which it makes, or affords
unto men for Salvation, only unto tho&s;e few, who come in time
actually to believe, and to be &s;aved, but that like the Sun in the fir|mament
of Heaven, it compa&s;&s;eth the whole Earth from the one end
of it unto the other, and &s;tretcheth it &s;elf unto all men. 2. In re&s;pect
of the Good, which it intends unto men, my opinion is, That it is
exceeding <HI>full</HI> and comprehen&s;ive, <HI>i. e.</HI> That the good, or ble&s;&s;edne&s;s
which God graciou&s;ly intends unto men, in, and by the Go&s;pel, is a
<HI>full,</HI> ab&s;olute, and compleat Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, containing every good and
de&s;ireable thing in it. 3. (And la&s;tly, for this) That in re&s;pect of
the means, which it vouch&s;afeth and exhibiteth unto men, for the
bringing them to the full enjoyment, of this ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, it is full and
compleat al&s;o: &s;o that the means, which God graciou&s;ly exhibiteth
unto men to make them ble&s;&s;ed, are everyways &s;ufficient for &s;uch
a purpo&s;e, or end.</P>
<P>3. Concerning the power or effectualne&s;s of this Grace, I hold,
and teach (upon all occa&s;ions) 1. That in the gift of a power, or a
&s;ufficiency of means unto men, whereby to believe, or to be &s;aved,
it is &s;imply irre&s;i&s;tible, and that men cannot fru&s;trate or hinder this
operation of it. 2. That what good thing &s;oever any man doth,
he doth it through the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the free Grace of God, and is
in no capacity or meetne&s;s &s;o much as to conceive or think a good
thought without it: 3. And la&s;tly, That when any man actually belie|veth,
or is truly converted unto God, that he is mightily &s;trengthned
and a&s;&s;i&s;ted by the &s;upernatural, or &s;pecial Grace of God thereunto:
So that the act of Conver&s;ion, or believing, is to be a&s;cribed unto
God, not only as the &s;ole Author and giver of that power, by which
men do believe, but as the &s;ole &s;upernatural Actor al&s;o of this power
in the Act it &s;elf of believing; and that man, when he doth believe,
<PB N="8" REF="5">
is &s;o far from having any cau&s;e, or ground of boa&s;ting in him&s;elf,
becau&s;e of this his believing, that he hath all the rea&s;on in the world
to confe&s;s and &s;ay (in our Saviours pre&s;cript of words) That he is
<HI>an unprofitable Servant, and hath only done that which was his du|ty,</HI>
and that in abundance, <HI>to do.</HI> Only I conceive that men are not
nece&s;&s;itated by this Grace of God, or any working thereof, to be|lieve,
whether they will or no: nor yet made willing upon any &s;uch
terms, but that there is a po&s;&s;ibility left unto them of nilling, or of
remaining unwilling, to any moment or point of time, until the act
it &s;elf of believing be produced.</P>
<P>So that my opinion concerning the Grace of God, being truly
compared with the opinion of tho&s;e that di&s;&s;ent from me, appears
to have much more in it for the exaltation of the Grace of God,
then theirs: and theirs much more in it for the exaltation of the
will of man, then mine. For 1. My opinion makes the Grace of
God &s;o free, as to enrich the whole world, and all that is called man
in it; and that without the lea&s;t engagement upon God from men
thereunto: Whereas their opinion impri&s;ons it within a narrow
compa&s;s of men (in compari&s;on) and &s;o bridles or &s;tiffles the free|ne&s;s
of it (in that con&s;ideration.) 2. As in one branch of their
opinion, they &s;tiffle and de&s;troy the glory of the freene&s;s of it, &s;o in
another, they quite de&s;troy the very nature or e&s;&s;ence of it, and make
it to be no Grace at all. For that opinion, which makes the Grace
of God, the fountain or cau&s;e of no other actions in men, then &s;uch,
as God cannot, according to the Law and con&s;tant method of his
remunerative ju&s;tice, or bounty, reward, de&s;troys the very nature of
Grace. And that the opinion, maintained by our Oppo&s;ers, doth
this, is evident from hence; <HI>viz.</HI> becau&s;e that, making men to act
nece&s;&s;arily and unavoydably, by means of the grace which is given
them, maketh them to act phy&s;ically, or as meer natural Agents, and
&s;o reduceth all that they do by vertue of the Grace of God, to the
Law and Condition of meer natural actions, which, by the &s;tanding
Law of Gods remunerative bounty, are not capable of reward by
God.</P>
<P>Again, That their Opinion, tends many thou&s;and degrees, more
then mine, to magnifie the wills of men, is evident thus: I affirm
the wil of man even under the &s;tronge&s;t and mo&s;t effectual motions
of the Grace of God, whereof it is capable (the nature and e&s;&s;ential
liberty of it only pre&s;erv'd) to be in a capacity of &s;inning, and
<PB N="9" REF="5">
doing that which is evil (which is the greate&s;t aba&s;ement of the
will, that can well be imagined;) whereas the other opinion, maketh
the wills of men, under the effectual motions of the Grace of God
unto that which is good like unto the will of God him&s;elf; I mean,
nece&s;&s;arily and unchangeably good, and free from all po&s;&s;ibility of
&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters">ing, which is the highe&s;t exaltation of the will, that can well be
conceived. And be&s;ides, that opinion, making men unable to do
righteou&s;ly, for want of the Grace of God, when they &s;in and do
wickedly, takes off the &s;hame, and demerit of &s;inning from the wills
of men, and either ca&s;ts them upon God for denying his Grace unto
them, or el&s;e re&s;olves them into nothing. Whereas the opinion
a&s;&s;erted by me, affirming, That men, when they &s;in and do wickedly,
have &s;ufficient means from God to refrain &s;in, and to do righteou&s;ly,
re&s;olves the &s;hame and whole demerit of &s;inning into men them|&s;elves,
and their wills, and &s;o renders them inexcu&s;eable. Thus
you &s;ee how unju&s;tly, and with manife&s;t untruth, I have been
charged to hold Free-Will again&s;t Free-Grace: and how that my
Accu&s;ers are the guilty per&s;ons them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Concerning my opinion about the death of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> which is, That
he dyed for the Salvation of all men, without exception of any, and
con&s;equently for the Heathen, as well tho&s;e who do enjoy the oral
Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pel, as tho&s;e that want it; I herein hold nothing,
but what was generally taught, and received, in the primitive
Churches of Chri&s;t, for three hundred years together, and more, next
after the times of the Apo&s;tles (which are by all our modern Pro|te&s;tant
Divines, and by <HI>Calvin</HI> in &s;pecial manner, acknowledged
for times, wherein Chri&s;tian Religion raigned in her greate&s;t purity,
and &s;oundne&s;s of Doctrine) as I am able to make &s;ub&s;tantial proof
by expre&s;s te&s;tamonies, and the&s;e not a few, from the be&s;t Records
and Writers of the&s;e times; as from, <HI>Ignatius, Hege&s;ipp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">, Ire|neus,
Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Athana&s;ius, Hilarius, Eu&s;e|bius,
Epiphanius, Cyrillus Hiero&s;olymitanus, Nazianzen, Grego|rius
Nyffenus, Arnobius, Lactantius, Ambro&s;ius, Didymus,
Chry&s;o&s;tome, Jerome, Angu&s;tine, Cyrillus Alexandrinus, Theo|doret,</HI>
(with many others,) as from &s;everal Councels al&s;o. And that
Gods prede&s;tination of men, or purpo&s;e of Election, depends upon
his pre&s;cience or fore-&s;ight of their Faith, (an opinion clearly con|federate
with that of Univer&s;al Redemption by <HI>Chri&s;t)</HI> is both
by <HI>Culvin,</HI> and <HI>Beza</HI> them&s;elves acknowledged to have been the
<PB N="10" REF="6">
judgment of many of the ancient Fathers<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Sic interpo&s;ito prae&s;cientiae vtlo electionem, no|moa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> ob&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ant, &s;ed origin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">m a|liund<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> habere &s;ingunt. Neque viro haec vulgo recepta p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="3 letters">o &s;olius vulgi e&s;t. <HI>Habuit</HI> enim <HI>&s;aeculis omni|bus magnos Authores.</HI></NOTE>: and is proved by many
particular in&s;tances, and expre&s;s te&s;timonies, by <HI>Gerard Vo&s;&s;ius</HI> in
his <HI>Historia Pelagiana,</HI> lib. 6. The&s;. 8. Concerning &s;ome few
&s;ayings, found in &s;ome of the&s;e Authors, which &s;eem to be of a con|trary
import, and are cited by &s;ome upon that account, the truth is,
that they are but &s;eemingly &s;o: and they &s;peak, not of the purcha&s;e,
or procurement, but of the application and enjoyment, of the Re|demption
by Chri&s;t. Therefore (by the way) they that inform or
tell you, That <HI>Chri&s;t's dying for all men, a &s;ufficiency of power given
to all men to believe, an election of &s;pecies or kinds of men, not of
per&s;ons, per&s;onally con&s;idered, &amp;c.</HI> were held by <HI>Pelagius,</HI> and con|demned
for Errors by the Orthodox Fathers of tho&s;e times,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quod ingenue fatere, nequis cau&s;ae no&s;trae magnopere ob&s;u|turum con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="5 letters">, &s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">orum nomina contra opponan|tur. <HI>Calv. In&s;t. l. 3. c. 23. S.</HI> 1.</NOTE> &s;in both
again&s;t their own, and your Souls, and &s;hall render an account unto
him who judgeth righteou&s;ly, for dealing &s;o unfaithfully and un|chri&s;tianly,
by his people and Truth. They cannot prove, that
<HI>Pelagius</HI> ever held any one of the opinions mentioned (unle&s;s haply
after that Recantation of his Errors, whereunto the Arguments and
Authority of the Orthodox men in his times, brought him) but that
he held Mr <HI>Sim&s;ons</HI> opinion, which denyeth that Chri&s;t dyed for
all men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;t etiam hic locus diligenter ob&s;ervandus, adver&s;us <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, qui fidei, vel operum p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">aevi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="4 letters">em &s;aciunt electionis ecu|&s;am. in quem <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;ane turp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;imum, Origenes vet<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">es <HI>plaeolque,</HI> tum Gracos, tum Latinos adegit; donec tand<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">m Dominus Au|gu&s;itinum per Pelagia<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">os, ad <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> agno&s;cen|dum &amp; Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="2 letters">i|gen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">um errorem, excitaret. <HI>Beza</HI> in. 9 <HI>ad Rom.</HI></NOTE> before, if not after the &s;aid Retractation, may be evidently
proved from <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> Epi&s;t. 106. and from other te&s;timonies, that
the &s;ame opinion was held by his followers. But of all the&s;e particu|lars
we intend a further account, when God &s;hall give opportunity.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, they that are competently acquainted with books, can|not
lightly but know, that the Reformed Churches of the <HI>Luthe|rans,</HI>
with their Mini&s;ters and Teachers, who have as great a zeal
of God, and for parts of knowledg and learning, yea, and for
numbers al&s;o, are not much inferior to tho&s;e who follow <HI>Calvin,</HI>
if not &s;uperior to them, in all, do (in a manner) generally hold,
univer&s;al Attonement by <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> together with the other Opinions
con&s;equentially accompanying it: and Doctor <HI>Prideaux</HI> (a man
&s;ufficiently engaged and declared again&s;t tho&s;e ancient Tenents of
the Chri&s;tian Church, which now unju&s;tly &s;uffer under the name of
<HI>Arminian)</HI> in his printed Lectures about the&s;e points, &s;till brings
upon the &s;tage the <HI>Lutherans</HI> and <HI>Arminians,</HI> or <HI>Remonstrants,</HI>
hand in hand, as his joynt adver&s;aries<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><HI>See his Lecture</HI> de Ab&s;olut<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> Decreto, <HI>de</HI> Gratia univer&s;ali, <HI>de</HI> Per&s;everantia Sanctorum.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Yea, the&s;e Theological truths, <HI>That Chri&s;t dyed for all men,
That God vouch&s;afeth &s;ufficient means of Salvation unto a
<PB N="11" REF="6">
men, &amp;c.</HI> are &s;o extreamly nece&s;&s;ary in the managing of the affairs
of <HI>Christ,</HI> and of the Go&s;pel, that as the <HI>Roman</HI> Orator &s;aid of
Ju&s;tice, <HI>That it was &s;o nece&s;&s;ary for the pre&s;ervation of Civil
Communities, that Theeves them&s;elves, who are enemies to it,
and live by injustice towards others, yet cannot want it amongst
them&s;elves;</HI> So neither can tho&s;e men, who profe&s;s enmity and op|po&s;ition
to the &s;aid Opinions, hardly preach, hardly write, any
thing to purpo&s;e, concerning the Go&s;pel, but they are nece&s;&s;itated
to make u&s;e of them, and to a&s;&s;ert them, either in expre&s;&s;ne&s;s of
terms and words, or in their clear and manife&s;t principles. The
writings of <HI>Calvin</HI> him&s;elf, and &s;o of <HI>Bucer, Mu&s;culus, &V;r&s;ine,
Bullinger,</HI> with &s;everal other Reformed Divines, who are gener|ally
taken for men of a contrary Judgment, yet do their writings
(I &s;ay) frequently teach and avouch them, and that in as plain and
ample terms, as any Remon&s;trant can lightly expre&s;s his &s;ence about
them. Yea, the&s;e truths were too hard for the Synod of <HI>Dort</HI> it
&s;elf, and now and then gain'd te&s;timony from them, notwith&s;tand|ing
their &s;olemn and &s;acred engagement to devote them&s;elves and
the be&s;t of their Synodical Endevors, to oppo&s;e and &s;uppre&s;s them.
What I have now onely affirmed, and this in the general, I &s;hall,
God willing, and &s;paring me in life and health for the &s;ervice, in due
time make to appear in particulars. In the mean time, if you, that
are pre&s;ent, &s;hall plea&s;e narrowly to ob&s;erve, and con&s;ider, the Ser|mons
which you ordinarily hear from your Mini&s;ters, or minde their
printed books upon &s;ome &s;ubjects, you &s;hall ever and anon very ap|parently
find &s;uch things a&s;&s;erted &amp; delivered by them, which cannot
&s;tand, nor make any tolerable &s;ence, much le&s;s Divinity, but by the
credit and countenance of the Opinions I &s;peak of, and which they
notwith&s;tanding &s;o zealou&s;ly pretend to abominate. I could weary
you with in&s;tances in this kinde: but if you will afford me your
Chri&s;tian patience in harkening (at pre&s;ent) unto two onely, I &s;hall
excu&s;e you for the re&s;t, till &s;ome better conveniency of time. The
former of the two con&s;i&s;ts of &s;everal pa&s;&s;ages in a Sermon lately
preached before the Lord Major of your City (and more lately
printed) by Mr <HI>Powel,</HI> an Arch-&s;tickler about the&s;e late Di&s;putes,
and a zealous Defender of that Faith, which teacheth him to doubt
whether <HI>Christ</HI> dyed for him, or no, yea or for any one of all tho&s;e,
to whom he preacheth the Go&s;pel, and makes a tender of <HI>Christ,</HI>
at any time, yea or for any one of his Nation. Thus then Mr <HI>Powel,</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="7">
giving a large te&s;timony to that Truth, which him&s;elf decryeth for
an Error, <HI>pag.</HI> 39, &amp; 40. of the &s;aid Sermon.</P>
<Q REND="margQuotes"><P><HI>Object.</HI> Oh Sir! this &s;tands in my way: Though I <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">
Christ hath fini&s;hed the work of mens Redemption, and of mens
Salvation, yet I do not know whether he hath fini&s;hed it for me?</P><P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Harken my beloved; what ground have you to make a
plea again&s;t your &s;elves? He hath done it for<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Rom 5. 8. 1 Tim. 1 15.</NOTE> <HI>&s;inners,</HI> for the<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Rom 5. 6.</NOTE> <HI>un|godly,</HI>
for<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">P&s;al 68. 18.</NOTE> <HI>rebels,</HI> for the<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">John 6. 51.</NOTE> <HI>world;</HI> you are a <HI>&s;inner,</HI> you are
one of the <HI>ungodly,</HI> one of the <HI>world,</HI> what plea can you make
again&s;t this? why object you &s;uch an Objection again&s;t your
&s;elves? If a Pardon be &s;ent from a Prince to a company of Pri|&s;oners,
and the Me&s;&s;enger &s;aith unto them in general, Here is a
Pardon for you, from my Prince, for what you have done again&s;t
him, come, accept of it, and you &s;hall be free. Now if one &s;hould
ask, is the Pardon for me? and another que&s;tion. Is the Pardon
for me? He would an&s;wer, It is for you that are Pri&s;oners, with|out
exception, if you accept of it. A Pardon is now &s;ent unto
you, that are &s;inful men and women, who are Pri&s;oners under the
power of Satan, and &s;in; I &s;ay to you all, the Lord Je&s;us hath
&s;ent forth his Pardon, which runs thus; <HI>I the Lord Je&s;us, the Son
of God, and the Saviour of &s;inners, out of my free grace</HI> and mer|cy,
rich love and pity, am willing to pardon, and forgive, the &s;ins
and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions of you all; and that I will do really, if you will
come in, and lay hold of this Pardon, and of my Righteou&s;ne&s;s.
Will a &s;inner now &s;ay, Doth Je&s;us Chri&s;t mean me, &s;eeing he &s;aith,
<HI>Who&s;oever comes unto me, I will in no wi&s;e ca&s;t him out; And
who&s;oever beleeves on me, he &s;hall be pardoned, and &s;aved?</HI> This
word <HI>who&s;oever</HI> comprehends all, and excludes none; therefore
object not again&s;t your &s;elves, neither refu&s;e your own Salvation.</P><P><HI>Object.</HI> Oh! but though Chri&s;ts invites all, and makes pro|mi&s;es
to all that do come, yet he intends not that all &s;hould be made
partakes thereof?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;. My beloved,</HI> Think you that Chri&s;ts Intentions, and his
expre&s;&s;ions, are not one as real as another? I tell you (and you may
beleeve it) that <HI>he intends to pardon all, and to &s;ave all, as he ex|pre&s;&s;eth
it:</HI> He &s;aith not the words onely, but his heart is &s;o al&s;o.
But mark it well (and mi&s;take me not) I do not mean that he &s;aith
ab&s;olutely, <HI>I'le pardon all, and &s;ave all,</HI> and no more; Oh, no:
but he &s;peaks conditionally, <HI>I'le pardon you all, and &s;ave you all,</HI>
<PB N="13" REF="7">
if you beleeve on me, and accept of my Pardon.</P></Q>
<P>Certainly, <HI>Arminius</HI> him&s;elf could not have <HI>Arminianiz'd</HI> in the
point of Univer&s;al Redemption by <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> more plainly, more preg|nantly,
then he that &s;peaketh &s;uch things, as the&s;e.</P>
<P>The latter in&s;tance hath for the Authors of it a full Comfort of
52. grave Mini&s;ters, in or about the City, <HI>pag.</HI> 32. of a little Trea|ti&s;e
&s;ub&s;cribed by them (or by &s;ome of them, with the Names,
though without the con&s;ent, of the re&s;t) and publi&s;hed about two
or three years &s;ince, under the Title of, <HI>A Testimony to the Truth
of Je&s;us Christ, &amp;c.</HI> where bewailing the prevailing of Errors and
Here&s;ies (&s;o by them &s;uppo&s;ed) they bemoan the ca&s;e of tho&s;e,
whom yet other-while they judg the happie&s;t men in the world,
thus: <HI>Thou&s;ands, and ten thou&s;ands of poor Souls, which Christ
hath ran&s;omed with his blood, &s;hall hereby be betrayed, &s;educed,
and endangered to be undone to all eternity.</HI> Here we have the Do|ctrine
of Univer&s;al Redemption, fully, and with open face, a&s;&s;ert|ed;
in as much, as they who are <HI>ran&s;omed by the blood of Christ,</HI>
are &s;aid to be <HI>endangered</HI> to be <HI>undone to all eternity.</HI> He that is
in <HI>danger</HI> of an evil, or mi&s;ery, may very po&s;&s;ibly fall into it. <HI>Dan|ger</HI>
doth not onely imply a po&s;&s;ibility, but even a probability, or
likelyhood of &s;uffering. So then, <HI>if thou&s;ands ran&s;omed by the
blood of Christ,</HI> may be brought into <HI>danger of being undone for all
eternity;</HI> they very po&s;sibly may &s;uffer &s;uch an <HI>undoing,</HI> and &s;o peri&s;h
<HI>for all eternity.</HI> If the <HI>ran&s;omed</HI> by <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> may peri&s;h <HI>for all eter|nity,</HI>
then <HI>Chri&s;t ran&s;omed</HI> not the Elect onely, of who&s;e peri&s;h|ing
there is not the lea&s;t po&s;sibility, but the Rebrobate al&s;o, or tho&s;e
who peri&s;h; and con&s;equently, all men.</P>
<P>For any men to pretend or plead, that though there be an im|po&s;sibility,
in re&s;pect of the Purpo&s;e and Decree of God, that
tho&s;e, <HI>whom Chri&s;t hath ran&s;omed with his blood, &s;hould be un|done
to all eternity,</HI> yet they may be &s;aid to be in <HI>danger</HI> of being
thus <HI>undone,</HI> in re&s;pect of &s;uch means, which have a direct tend|ency
towards the <HI>undoing</HI> of <HI>Souls</HI> in &s;uch a way, as the &s;preading
of Errors and Here&s;ies is, &amp;c. &s;uch a pretence (I &s;ay) and plea, as
this, is no &s;alve at all for the &s;ore. For there is not the lea&s;t danger
of &s;uffering inconvenience by any &s;uch means, or cau&s;es, how likely
or threatening &s;oever, in them&s;elves &s;imply con&s;idered, to bring the
inconvenience upon us, which we certainly know to be throughly
mated and over-ballanced by means and cau&s;es of a contrary tend|ency
<PB N="14" REF="8">
and import. Upon this account the Scripture it &s;elf frequent|ly
makes &s;uch demands, as the&s;e: <HI>If God be for us, who can be a|gainst
us? Who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect?
It is God that ju&s;tifieth, &amp;c.</HI> Which kinde of arguing clearly impli|eth,
that where, and in what ca&s;e &s;oever, we have God for our &s;e|curity,
we are in no danger at all of &s;uffering. And it is a Maxim
in the Civil Law; That <HI>Omnia invalida pro nihilo &s;unt habenda:
i. e.</HI> All means that are in&s;ufficient, are to be reputed as none. Souls
that are &s;ecured by any Decree of God, are in no more <HI>danger</HI> of be|ing
<HI>undone to all eternity,</HI> by <HI>Errors and Here&s;ies,</HI> then by read|ing
the <HI>Roman</HI> or <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Hi&s;tories, or by any other means, how
irrelative &s;oever to &s;uch an effect: in as much as Errors and Here&s;ies,
bear no more proportion in their de&s;troying, or <HI>undoing</HI> properties,
to the &s;aving or pre&s;erving power of God, then the reading of the
&s;aid Hi&s;tories, or any other means, how incon&s;iderable &s;oever in their
relation to the &s;ame effect.</P>
<P>Nor is the in&s;tance from <HI>Act.</HI> 27. wherein tho&s;e, who&s;e lives
God had promi&s;ed to &s;ave, are &s;aid notwith&s;tanding to have been
in danger of drowning, of any better accommodation, to deliver
the &s;aid pa&s;&s;age from the Orthodox errour of a cleer comport
with the Doctrine of Univer&s;all Redemption, then the former
arguing. For evident it is, from tho&s;e words, <HI>ver. 31. Except
the&s;e abide in the &s;hip, ye cannot be &s;aved,</HI> that that expre&s;&s;ion of the
Angel unto <HI>Paul,</HI> ver&s;. 24. <HI>And lo, God hath given thee all them
that &s;ail with thee,</HI> did not import any ab&s;olute purpo&s;e of God
to &s;ave the lives of all tho&s;e in the &s;hip with him, but onely a
conditionall; it being a thing very frequent in the Scripture, to
expre&s;&s;e both &s;uch purpo&s;es, and &s;uch promi&s;es, of God, in an
ab&s;olute and un-conditioned form of words, the execution and
performance whereof, in re&s;pect of the things purpo&s;ed, or promi|&s;ed,
are never the le&s;s &s;u&s;pended upon conditions. In&s;tances here|of
we &s;hal (God willing) produce many upon a more material oc|ca&s;ion.
Therefore the &s;afety of the lives of tho&s;e men, to whom
<HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Except the&s;e abide in the &s;hip, ye cannot be &s;aved,</HI> was
not under any ab&s;olute Decree or promi&s;e of God, as the &s;ouls of
tho&s;e that are <HI>ran&s;omed by the blood of Chri&s;t</HI> (according to the
con&s;tant A&s;&s;ertion of the 52 &s;ub&s;cribers of the pa&s;&s;age mentio|ned)
are; God never &s;ubjecting any thing po&s;itively and ab&s;o|lutely
decreed by him, unto any condition what&s;oever perform|able
<PB N="15" REF="8">
by man. So that the &s;ub&s;cribers are mo&s;t palpable &s;elf|incon&s;i&s;tents;
nor doth the in&s;tance now argued, take the lea&s;t
pitie or compa&s;&s;ion on them in covering that their &s;hame.</P>
<P>I have only this one word to add, touching the &s;ence, wherein
I hold a &s;ufficiencie of means to beleeve, or to be &s;aved, vouch|&s;afed
unto the Heathen, who wanted the Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pel
by men. By a &s;ufficiencie of means to beleeve, I do not under|&s;tand
an immediate &s;ufficiencie, but a mediate or remote &s;uffici|encie.
By an immediate &s;ufficiencie of means to do a thing, I
mean &s;uch a &s;ufficiency, whereby a man is enabled to do the thing,
without having any more means in order hereunto, then what
he hath at pre&s;ent. Thus a man that under&s;tands a language, and
hath his &s;en&s;e of hearing perfect, hath an immediate &s;ufficiencie
of means to under&s;tand the mind of him that &s;peaketh audibly
unto him in that language. He &s;tands in need of nothing more
for &s;uch a purpo&s;e. By a mediate or remote &s;ufficiencie of means
to do a thing, I mean &s;uch a &s;ufficiencie by which, though a man
is not inabled without further provi&s;ion of means, to do the
thing, yet he is inabled to make &s;uch a farther provi&s;ion in this
kind, that having made it, he becomes immediately qualified, or
able to do it. A man endued with rea&s;on, memory, and under|&s;tanding,
&amp; having the opportunity of an able teacher, to in&s;truct
him in the knowledge of a &s;trange language, and which at pre|&s;ent
he under&s;tandeth not, hath a remote &s;ufficiencie of means to
under&s;tand this language, and by a due improvement of the&s;e
means, though remote, is very capable of obtaining &s;uch a &s;uf|ficiencie
of means hereunto, which is immediate. With this lat|ter
kind of &s;ufficiencie, I affirm, the Gentiles, who wanted the
Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pell, had notwith&s;tanding a &s;ufficiencie of
means to beleeve to the &s;aving of the &s;oul. The Heathen were
&s;ufficiently qualified or furni&s;hed by God for the doing of tho&s;e
things, by which they might, and &s;hould, if they had done them,
have been brought to an immediate capacitie of beleeving.</P>
<P>By beleeving unto Salvation, I mean &s;uch a Faith in God, or
&s;uch a dependance or reliance upon him, which is proper and
&s;ufficient to have led them into &s;uch ways, wherein God would
have &s;aved them, had they walked in them, according to that of
the Apo&s;tle; <HI>If there be fir&s;t a willing mind, it is accepted accor|ding
to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not</HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 8. 12.</NOTE>.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
