9.

1. Tim. 2.

Pf. 2. 12.

2.

quitting the only foundation, fumbled at the ftumbling ftone; as it is written, behold I fet up in Sion the deliverer of Jacob, of whom they shall take occafion to make a stumbling stone, and thro' their wilful Infidelity and Perverfnefs he fhall become to them a rock of offence: but whofoever buildeth upon him by a lively Faith, and a holy Obedience, fhall not be confounded. For as he hath tafted death for every Heb. 2.9 Man, according to the Scriptures, even for them that 1. Cor. 8. Perish; and bought with the Price of his Hearts 11. Blood, them that deny him, as St. Peter faith; fo 2. Pet. 3. the Father would not that any should Perish, but that all should come to Repentance and be faved; and to 4. that end he now commandeth all Men every where to Acts17.30. Repent; and to kiss the Son, and fubmit to his Scep- 1. John 2. ter; who is the propitiation for their Sins, and the Sins of the whole World, having made our attonement and Col.i. 20. our peace, and purchafed Grace and eternal Redemption for us: fufficient abilities and glorious privileges, whereby we might be enabled and encouraged to ferve him acceptably with Reverence and Godly Fear, Heb. 5. gi and is the Author of eternal Salvation to all them that obey him. These are all exprefs parts of the Divine Revelation, and therefore part of the object of our Faith, and therefore infallible affertions of facred truth. What flender diftinctions are invented, and what Texts of Scripture, wrefted to elude fome of them, I fhall take my opportunity to reprefent, when you will vouchfafe to give me a friendly meeting, to debate thefe and other emergent doubts touching thefe great points of controverfy. In the mean time, I could with, you would not exclude from their Miniftry, Men legally ordained thereunto, if they be otherwife well qualified, tho' they differ fomewhat from you in these matters. But I am fingle, and muft fubmit my Vote to the fuffrages of my Brethren. XX

Chatr

Chair-man. Brother Doctor, we may think upon your advice and doubts hereafter; but for the prefent we muft agree as one Man to carry on the great work of Reformation, we have in hand; and therefore, Gentlemen, what say you to Mr. Tilenus? Do you approve of him as a Man well gifted and fitly qualifyed for the Ministry?

Mr. Fatality.

Mr. Preterition.

No, by no means, we do not like

Mr. Indefectible. his Principles.

Call him in.

Chair-man. Sir, the Commiffioners are not fatisfied in your Certificate. You may be a Godly Man, we do not deny, but we have not fuch affurance of it, as we can build upon, and therefore we cannot approve of you for the Miniftry; and that you may be at no more expence of purfe or time in your attendance, we wish you to return home, and think upon fome other employment.

Tilenus. Sir, I wish I might be acquainted with the reafon of this my Reprobation, unless the Decree that governs your Votes, or procedes from them, be irrespective. I think I am not fo ill beloved amongst the most Learned of the Godly Clergy, tho' differing from me a little in judgment, but I can procure a full Certificate from the chiefeft and moft moderate of them.

Chairman. That is not all the matter we have against you; what have we to do with moderate Men? We fee your Temper and want of Modefty in that Expreffion, and therefore you may

be gone.

Tilenus. Then Gentlemen, I fhall take my leave, and commend you to more fober counfels and refolutions. THE

A

THE

POSTSCRIPT.

ND now Reader before Tilenus can difmifs thee, he thinks himself obliged to make thee fatisfaction for having impofed upon thee in two or three particulars, when he perfonated the Infidel and the Carnal Man. One was in effect, that God is not ferious when he forbids the wicked, Reprobates as they call them, to Sin, and invites them to Repentance and Amendment of Life. He doth this, they say, by his revealed Will, which indeed they account not his Will; but by his fecret Will, which is his Will properly fo called, he Will's the contrary. Now becaufe God's intercourfe with A braham about his offering up of Ifaac, is the great instance usually produced to prop up that opinion, fo dangerous to Piety, and fo difhonorable to the facred Veracity and Sincerity of Almighty God, if not qualified by fome commodious interpretation: therefore Tilenus thought it an acceptable fervice to God and good Men, if he could offer any thing to clear the Reputation of that Paffage from the fufpicion of being acceffary to that Doctrin in whose behalf 'tis fo often pleaded. To this end let us examin the Plea: God faid unto Abraham, take now Gen.22.2. thy Son, thine only Son Ifaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there

* Celari interdum à Deo aliquid ei, quod in verbo patefecit. repugnans. Beza. Refp. ad Acta Colloq. Mompel. Pars. 2. Pag. 173.

Deum interdum verbo fignificare se velle, quod reverà non vult: aut nolle quod reverà vult. Pifcator, in Difput. Contra Schafm.

for

yer. 12.

for a burnt-offering, upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Where by the way the reader may take notice that Abraham was to expect further orders from Almighty God before the utmost exc. cution of this affair. But to the Plea; here, fay they, we have God's revealed Will fignified by a command, that Ifaac fhould be flain: but by his fecret Will, that he would not have it fo, appears as well by the event as by the Angel's voice, Lay not thine hand upon the Lad; Therefore God commands what he nilleth, &c. But Tilenus fees no fuch matter, no contradiction, no opposition betwixt God's fecret and revealed Will in this paffage, being confident to affirm that God willed with his fecret Will, all that was commmanded by his revealed; which was not the Occifion or Slaughtering of Ifaac, to which fingle act they ufually reftrain God's revelation and command, but Abraham's voluntary and free obedience in devoting, confecrating and rendring up his Son for a Sacrifice at God's command: fome particulars whereof are fet down, Take thy Son, go into the land of Moriah, carry wood and fire, make an Altar, and bind Ifaac, and expofe him upon

it.

That God willed this, is clear by the event, according to the adverfaries own rule; and that God's command or revealed Will intended the fame and no more, appears by all thofe Scriptures, which fpeaking of this matter do pofitively affirm, that Abraham did fully perform what God had comHeb.11.17.manded. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, of fered up Ifaac: and he that had received the Promifes Jam. 2. 21. offered up his only Son. And again; was not Abraham our Father juftifyed by works when he had offered Ifaac his Son upon the Altar? And fo God himself interGen. 22. prets it: Because thou hast done this thing, and haft not withheld thy Son, thine only Son. To which pur

16.

* Ex eventu judicandum eft de Dei voluntate.

pofe

pofe alfo 'tis obfervable that God do's not use the fame Phrafe of fpeech in the Phrohibition, that he used in the Injunction; here God's revealed Will is, offer him for a burnt-offering, but there the Will of God forbidding, is not, don't offer him; for that was done already according to God's interpretation and requiry; but lay not thine hand upon the Lad.

Our Adverfaries object that the Phrafe and word of command in ordinary conftruction seem to imply the flaying of Ifaac; because it was the custom to flay fuch Sacrifices before they were burnt upon the Altar.

In answer to this Objection, it needs not be replied, that Words and Phrases in holy Scripture, as well as in other Authors, are used in divers Sences: but the answer is, that there was a neceffity upon the matter, that Almighty God fhould ufe a Phrafe that carried fuch an obvious fenfe with it, because this was a special command given unto Abraham for a fignal tryal of his Faith and Obedience; And it Gen. 22.1. came to pass that God did tempt Abraham, which there could have been no proof of, if God had expounded to him the fenfe of his command after this manner, Go, take thy Son, &c. but thou needeft not startle at the impofition, for my intent and purpose is only that thou shouldt bring him into the land of Moriah, and bind him, and expofe him there upon the Altar, which thou shalt make for that purpose, and then I will except thy Obedience, and rescue thy Son from the Knife by a Voice from Heaven. If God had thus far revealed his Will, Abraham's faith had found no difficulty to contest against, and confequently had not been capable of an approbation. The upshot therefore of all is this, that in this intercourfe with Abraham, God revealed his Will, and nothing but his Will, but not his whole Will, which he was not bound to do, neither could the doing of it confift with his design of trying the fincerity of 4braham's