ift. In like manner St. Ambrofe on that of the Pfalm I will offer to thee the facrifice of Thanksgiving. "He faith not I do Sacrifice, but I will Sacrifice: fignifying that to be a perfect Sacrifice, when every "one, freed from the Chains of this Body, fhall ftand before the Lord, and offer himself a Sacrifice of Praife; because before death there can be no perfect Praife, nor can any Man in this Life be certainly "entituled to any determinate encomium, seeing the remaining part of his Life is yet under uncertainty. And t Bernard; "who can say, I am one of the E"lect; I am one of them that are Predeftinated to "Life; I am of the number of the Sons? &c.-We " indeed have no certainty, but are comforted with the "affurance of Hope, left we should be wholly Tormented "with the uneasiness of Doubting. For which end "there are given us certain figns and plain marks of "Salvation, that it may be past all doubt that he is of the number of the Elect, in whom thofe figns are to "be found. Hence there is a kind of neceffity, that being always thus in fufpence, we should be humbled "with Fear and Trembling under the Almighty hand of "God, fince tho' we are able to know, at left in part, what "we are at prefent, it is altogether impoffible for us "to know what we shall be hereafter. Therefore "let him that ftandeth take heed left he fall; "and perfevere and procede in at ftate, which is "a Mark of Salvation, and an Argument of his be"ing Predeftinated. 3. That in this Question about the certainty of our Election, befides the foregoing Paflages, we have St. tt Augustine clear for the negative; who, faith he, is there amongst the multitude of believers, that fo long as he liveth in this mortal condition, may pre * De Bono Mortis Cap. 3. pag. 214. Fol. Septuagef. Pag. 88. Fol. Pag. 808. Octavo. + Serm. 1. in tt De Corrept. & Grat. Cap. 13. U 2 fume fume himself to be of the number of those who are Predeftinated? Since who is fo, is needful to be concealed in this ftate, where over weening thoughts of our felves are fo to be taken heed of, that even fo great an Apoftle fhould be buffeted by the messenger of Satan, left be fhould be puffed up. Hence it was faid to the Apoftles, if ye fhall abide in me, by him who certainly knew that they would fo abide &c. Many the like things are spoken, because of the usefulness of this Secret, left haply any Man be puffed up; but all, even thofe that run well, may fear, whilst this is hid, whither they may go. I will add further that King Henry's Book in the first Article which is of Faith, fpeaketh exactly my fentiments; But whether there be any special, • particular knowledge, which Man by Faith hath cer tainly of himself, whereby he may teftify to himself, that he is of the Predeftinated, who shall to the end perfevere in their calling, we have not spoken, ' ne can not in Scripture, ne Doctors find, that any fuch Faith can be Taught or Preached. or Preached. Truth it is, that in the • Sacraments inftituted by Christ we may constantly believe the works of God in them to our prefent comfort, • and application of his Grace and Favour with affurance alfo that he will not fail us, if we fall not from • him; wherefore fo continuing in the state of Grace with him, we may believe undoubtedly to be saved. • But for afmuch as our own frailty frailty and naughtiness ought ever to be feared in us, it is therefore expedi ent for us to live in continual watch, and continual fight with our enemies, and not prefume too much of our Perfeverance and Continuance in the ftate of Grase, •which on our behalf is uncertain and unftable; for although God's promifes made in Chrift be immutable, yet he maketh them not to us but with condition; fo • that his promife standing we may yet fail of the pro• mife, because we keep not our Promifes. And therefore if we affuredly reckon upon the state of our feli . city» city, as grounded upon God's promife, and do not there- an Man must affuredly believe. The fame feems to me to be averred by our feventeenth Article, where the counsel of God Predeftinating to Life, is faid to be his counsel fecret to us. And in King Edward's Article it was repeated again in the lift Paragraph, thus: although the decrees of Predeftination be unknown to us, yet we must receive God's promifes, &c. which words do not only exclude our Knowledge, or privity to the counfels and decrees of God à priori, but alfo à pofteriori; and not only before we be called, or by Grace obey the calling, but even after Faith, and after Juftification; for then there is the chief place of the profit of this fecret, left perhaps any such should be lifted ир, that St. Auguftine fpake of. But if we may be certain that we have true Faith, as we may; and be certain that true Faith cannot finally be loft, as they would have us believe, who pretend to the greatest foundness in Divinity; and we be likewise moft certain that God hath Elected them that perfevere to the end in a lively Faith, as the Scriptures clearly refolve us, then the counfel of God as to our felves that once believe, is no more Secret, nor his Decree unknown: and by our knowledge thereof we have loft fome profit which we had by the ignorance of it, whereof we have still as much need as ever. And King James at Hampton-Court H. C. Con Conference is reported to have faid, by inferring the Pag. 30. neceffary certainty of ftanding, and perfifting in Grace, a desperate prefumption may be arreared. СНАР. TH CHA P. XIX. Of the last Judgment. THE laft work of the divine Providence executing the Decree of his Predeftination, is the laft and general Judgment, wherein is executed the Decrees concerning the ends of all Men; for the Predeftinating their ends, is nothing else but the Foreknowledge and Approbation, or Decree of the laft Judgment. The firft of the conclufions at Lambeth afferting truly, tho' without defcribing the order of it, that God from eternity Predeftinated fome Men to Life, and fome be Reprobated unto Death; and in the laft day he will diftribute Life and Death, according as from Everlasting he had Decreed. Now here, as elsewhere, the execution of the Decree fheweth, what the Decree it felf was; as the building fet up and finished, fheweth what was the device and plot of the builder. But in the last Judgment is fhewed the execution and confecution of ends: So that if we admit, as we must do, that God propounded an end for himself to attain, namely the Glory of his Mercy and Bounty, in giving fome Men eternal Life; and the Glory of his Sovereign Power and Juftice, in inflicting on other fome eternal Death, he hath the confecution and attainment of this end in the laft righteous Judgment. Again, if we admit, as we must do, that God propounded ends to Men, for them either to afpire unto and attain, as eternal Life; or to fhun with all fear, and if not fearing and fhunning to fall into, as eternal Death, thefe ends are attained, or executed also in the laft Judgment. More Mat. 5.. Rom. 6. 23. 9. 21. Moreover if we admit, as we do, that eternal Rom. 6. Life, at the laft Judgment, is given as a free and 23. bounteous Gift, and yet alfo as the reward and Rev.11.18 crown of righteousness: And that eternal Death is then 2.Tim. 4inflicted as the Wages and Punishment of Sin; and 8. as the demonftration alfo of God's Power and Do- 2. Pet. 2. 13. minion, yet with Juftice and Equity. If thefe things be moft certain truths, as they are, it cannot be conceived by ordinary human understanding, how a Decree of these things could be made before 22. the foundations of the World were laid, without God's prefcience, as Life is a reward, and Death a punishment; feeing no Juftice can prepare reward or punishment, but upon fuppofition or foreknowledge of good, or evil deferts; nor without that Pre-. fcience of God, which we agreeably to our conceptions, call fimple and natural understanding, as Life eternal is a free Gift of his Goodnefs, and as Death eternal is a declaration of his Dominion and Lordfhip; and as in both he doth attain that high end, which he feeketh for himself, his own Glory. Let the prudent reader ponder this a little, because it feemeth to me to clear my main and prime Propofi tion, that Prescience is neceffarily to be put into the definition of Predeftination; and yet not every kind of Prescience, but that only which is in the firft, higheft, fimple, and natural understanding of the Almighty, as that which is the most proper and fit for the prime Author, and fupreme difpofer and ruler of all things, whereby a perfect compofition and comprehenfion together may be of thofe things that moft Men through contention do feparate, nay oppose one to another. The greateft part of what I here contend for, is expreffed by Profper; If, faith he, we confider all Men together, whereof fome are faved in, Mercy, and athers damned in Truh (of what was * Epigr. 28. Pag. 631, Fal. threatned |