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believer and converted: and alfo active in watching over himself, with the Grace of God to keep and defend himfelf; according to that of St. 1. John. 5. John, he that is begotten of God keepeth himself. He on whom God hath beftowed the bleffing of adopCap. 3. 3. tion, and the hopes of eternal Glory, purifieth him

18.

Octav.

felf, as the fame Apoftle telleth us: upon which Pag. 746. place St. Augustine thus: Behold after what manner he hath not taken away Freewill, that the Apostle should Say, keepeth himfelf pure; who keepeth us pure except God? But God keepeth thee not so against thy Will. Therefore in as much as thou joineft thy will to God, thou keepeft thy felf pure; thou keepeft thy felf pure, not of thy Self, but by him who comes to dwell in thee; yet because in this thou doft something of thine own will, therefore is fomething alfo attributed to thee; yet fo is it ascribed to thee, that still thou mayeft fay with the Pfalmift, Lord, be thou my helper: -If thon fayeft, be thou my helper, thou doft something; for if thou dost nothing, how doth he help.

We fay then a Sinner is never first, but always second; not a leader, but a follower in every degree, and paffage of his Converfion. In the first entrance a mere Patient, in the fecond progrefs a willing Patient, in the third an Agent, but an helped Agent, doing nothing alone without the adjuvant and cooperant Grace of God, faying, as it were a fick Man, now you have put Life into me, lift me, and I will rife; ftay me, and I will ftand; draw me, and I will come to You. For God forbid that we fhould be fo inconfiderate as to afcribe the chief part to our felves, and the last to him, in the producing and perfecting thofe Graces and Vertues which are his Gifts.

CHAP.

2

СНАР. XII.

The Solution of the Question of two equally called.

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procede now to the Queftion, whether God or Man put the difference betwixt two persons, of whom it is fuppofed possible, that being equally called, the one should convert the other not; and grounding my answer on the righteous judgment of God, I determine that Man putteth the difference, and not God: becaufe God judgeth not his own Acts, but the Acts of Men; and every righteous Judge finds a difference, and doth not make any between party and party. Who put the difference between the Sacrifices of Cain and Abel, both alike inftituted in Religion by their Father, but themfelves? God a true witnefs te- Heb. 1. 4. ftifyed of Abel's gift as better than Cain's. put the difference between Pharaoh and Nebuchad* As to their nature both were Men; as tỏ

nezzer;

Who

their dignity both Kings;
both Kings; as to the cause both held the
People of God in Captivity; as to the Punishment both
were mildly admonished by chastisements; what then oc-
cafioned their different ends, but that one of them, fenfi-
ble of God's hand, groaned under the memory of his
iniquity: the other of his own Freewill fought against
the most Merciful verity of God? faith St. Augustine:
and in another place; on the fuppofition of two
being equally tempted by the Beauty of one fair
Perlon, whereof one yieldeth to the temptation the
other perfevereth the fame he was before: what elfe
faith he appeareth in thefe, except that one would, the
other would not lose his chastity? If God put the dif-

#

* Auguft. de Prædeft & Gratia Cap. 15. L. 12, C. 61.

+ de Civ. dei

ference

ference between the Ninevites repenting at the Preaching of fonas, and the Jews not repenting at the Preaching of a greater than Jonás; how fhould they rife up in Judgment against thefe and condemn

them?

Many abfurdities are faid to follow the afferting that a Man maketh himself to differ from another. But St. Augustine is the Man that hath made it so fcandalous, and fo horrible to pious ears, by wringing 1.Cor: 4.7. that place of the Apoftle, who maketh thee to differ from another? Let us firft examine this notable place of St. Paul, and next thofe abfurdities fo much enforced with fo much confidence. And here if the rule hold good that, the true import of any expreffions is beft determined by confidering the occafion on which they were spoken; it is evident that the Apoftle fpeaketh of fuch Gifts as made the Perfon on whom they were conferred, more extraordinary and confpicuous to others, not better in himself, or more acceptable to God; of Eloquence, Knowledge, Tongues, and the like; not of Faith, Charity. Repentance, Converfion. &c. This anfwer in fubftance was given by the Remonftrants in the Conference at the Hague, to whom let us fee what APag. 282. mefius my contemporary replys in his Coronis; I

120.

deny it not, the Apostle treats of fuch a difference between the Corinthian teachers, but he ufeth fuch an Argument, that it may be very well applyed to the differences of believers from unbelievers. Then it seems the Text is not direct, but by application may be well used to this purpose: and the realons, he giveth why it may be fo are; first, because the affertion, is General, in nothing do'st thou make thy felf to differ. This the Text faith not, or at least this is the Queftion, whether under the aids and means of Faith common to thee and to another, thou doft not make the difference when thou believeft and the other not. Secondly, because that if Man cannot

acquire

acquire or increase thofe extraordinary Gifts in himself, much less ought Faith to be afcribed unto him; this much less is utterly inconfequent. I will demonftrate by a reafon not urged by the Remonftrants why this Text cannot be applyed to Gifts neceffary to Salvation; viz. becaufe in them God willeth not that difference which is between believers and unbelievers under the word of Faith, but would have all believe and obey the Gofpel: this difference offendeth and difpleafeth God, and it procedeth as much from the difobedience of him that believeth not, as it doth from the obedience of him that believeth; but of that, part of the difference, which is by difobeying, God, I trow, is not the Author. It is Sin and Shame to him that wanteth Faith after the means of Faith afforded him, but no blame to him that fpeaketh not with Tongues, or Prophecyeth not; thefe were given fuddenly and immediately without labour or means, but Faith and the reft needful to Salvation; had means by which God gave them, about which means Men might ufe a different diligence. When the Scriptures fpeak of God's measuring to every Man as he Rom. 12. will, thofe places refpect fuch Gifts of the holy 3. Ghoft as were given for the Publick fervice of Eph 4. 7. the Church; in others, we are exhorted to grow in Grace, &c. to give all diligence, to add to Faith ver- 2. Pet. 3. tue, &c. as if the fmallness of the measure of faving 18. Graces procedeth from Men's negligence, rather than God's difpenfation: but admit that God putteth 5. and approveth the different meafure, even of faving Graces, yet that difference of an emptiness and ab. fence of Faith in them that hear the word, he putteth not, he approveth not. Laftly, the difference in the measure of Gifts of all forts, may come from God that giveth; but the different ufing of thefe Gifts doth come from Man, who must be accountable to God for the ufage of them: that Ρ

be

I. Cor. 12.

óne

11.

one Servant received five, another two, another one Talent, this difference was from the Lord; but that one Servant gained five, another two, another none, this difference was not from the Lord, but from the Servants; whence it is that one heareth, well done, thon good and faithful Servant; and another; thou wicked and flothful Servant.

Being fecure of this place of St. Paul, I come with greater confidence to avoid thofe abfurdities, in preffing of which fome fo much Triumph; they fay, that if man make the difference between himself and another, then it follows,

1. That God doth no more for the Elect, than for the Reprobate.

2. That the Saints have no more to give thanks to God for, than the Wicked.

3. That one Man may Glory against another, for that he hath done fomething more than ano. ther did.

To each of thefe I will give a particular anfwer, and afterwards a general anfwer to all three. To the first of them; admitting for a while that God in the Grace of Vocation, doth no more for the Elect, than for the Reprobate, yet in the Grace of Predeftination he doth incomparably more: in that foreknowing the different fucceffes of his calling, and the fo different ends of the Called, he was pleased to Decree and confirm that calling to fome which he foreknew would be faving to them; and to Decree no other to the reft, than that which he forefaw would not be faving to them, through their own difobedience; when it was in his Power to have altered their Calling to fuch as he foreknew would have been followed by obedience. So that in the preparation, and in the execution of that Gracious Calling, which God knew would fuccede happily to thefe, his Election of them, and his Love to them appeareth fingular, and they have infinite reason of gratitude

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