Hear we then his objections, and let us fee if they are as unanswerable as he fuppofes them to be.

OBJ. I. "You want to frighten me from the dot"trines of grace, and to drive me into the heresy of "the free-willers, by perpetually urging, that the

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perfonal, unconditional, and eternal rejection of "the non-elect is inconfiftent with divine mercy, "goodness, and juflice; but you either deny, or grant. "God's foreknowledge. If you deny it, you are an "atheift it being evident, that an ignorant God is "no God at all. If you allow it, you must allov "that, when God made fuch men as Cain and Judas, "he foreknew that they would CERTAINLY deferve to be damned: and that when he made them upon "that foreknowledge, he made them that they might NECESSARILY deferve to be damned. And is not "this granting all that we contend for, namely, that "God does make, and of confequence has an indifputable right of making vessels of wrath, without any refpect to works and free-will? Is it not far "better to fay, that we have no free-will, than to "rob God of his prescience?"

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Ars. We need neither rob God of his prescience, nor man of his free will. I grant, God made angels and men, that IF THEY WOULD NOT be eternally faved, they might be damned. But what has this doctrine to do with yours, which fuppofes that he made fome angels and men that they might abfolutely and neceffarily be damned. Is not our doctrine highly confiftent with God's goodness and juftice; while yours is the reverse of thefe divine perfections? Again,

Your argument, tho' ingenious, is inconclufive, because it is founded upon the common mistake of fhifting the words upon which it chiefly turns. The. flaw of it confifts in fubftituting the claufe NECESSA KILY deferve to be damned, instead of the clause CERTAINLY deferve to be damned; just as if there was no difference between certainty and neceffity. But a little, attention will convince you of your error, It is cer tain that I write this moment, but am I neceffitated to

it? May I not drop my pen, and meditate, read, or walk? The chafm which, in many cafes, feparates abfolute certainty from abfolute neceffity, is as immense as that, which ftands between a point and infinity. Take notice of the infect that buzzes about your. ears does it not exist as certainly as God himself? but would it not be a kind of blafphemy to fay that it exists as neceffarily? Would it not be at least paying to a fly, an honour which is due to none but God, the only fupreme and abfolutely-neceffary Being? And when you fupport your doctrines of grace by confounding certainty with neceffity, do you not fupport them by confounding two things, which, in a thousand cafes, and especially in the prefent one, have no more connection than the two poles? Have not judicious calvinifts granted, that altho' the prefcience of God concerning Judas's deftruction could not stand [cum eventu contrario] with his faluation; yet it ftood perfectly well [cum poffibilit te ad eventum contrarium] with the POSSIBILITY of his falvation? And is not this granting, that altho' God clearly faw, that Judas WOULD NOT repent, he clearly faw alfo that Judas MIGHT have repented in the accepted time, which is all that I contend for. See Davenant's Animad. Canbridge Edition, 1641. page 38.

To be a little more explicit: let me again intreat you to fall with me before the throne of grace, where the Redeemer teaches mortals to be meek, lowly, and wife in heart. Spread your doubts before him in fuch humble language as this. Thou Light of the world, let not thy creature remain in darkne's with refpect ta the most important question in the world. Am I appointed neceffarily to fin on and be damned? Is my

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• damnation finished? Haft thou abfolutely ordained me to be a veffel of wrath, and irrevocably appointed my eternal rejection without any respect to my perfonal free-will? Does thy FOREKNOWLEDGE CESSITATE my actions, or may I chufe life or death, and thro' thy mercy, or justice, have either the one or the other, according to my free, unnecessitated choice

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my choice equally oppofed to anawillingness and to necefity? Speak, gracious Lord, that if I am a nɛcelary agent, I may, without any farther perplexity, yield myfelf to be carried by the irrefiftible ftream of thy free-grace, or of thy free-wrath, to the throne in heaven, or to the dungeon in hell, which thou hast appointed for me from all eternity, according to the doctrine of the heathen poet:

• Solvite mortales animos, curis que levate:

Fata regant orbem, cartâ ftant omnia lege. † If Chrift is the Logos; if he is Reason and the Word the eternal Wisdom, and the uncreated Word of the Father; may we not get a fatisfactory answer to the preceding queftion by confidering with humble' prayer his unerring word, and by diligently liftening to the reafon which he has given us? And fhall Î take an unbecoming liberty if I fuppofe, that He himself expoftulates with Zelotes in fuch words as thefe t

Son of man, if thou chargeft the reprobation of the damned, or their predeftination to eternal death, upon my free-wrath, my fovereignty, or Adam's fin, thou infulteft my goodness and juftice. That reprobation has no properly-original caufe, but their • own perfonal free-will. I would a thoufand times have crushed thy primitive parents into atoms, when they forfeited my favour, rather than I would have fpared them to propagate a race of creatures," most of whom, according to thy doctrines of grace, are under an abfolute neceffity to fin on and be damned.. Thou hast a wrong idea of my word and attributes. With the wisdom, and equity of a tender-hearted judge I condemn the victims of my justice, and [ do it merely for their perfonal and obftinate contempt of my free-grace. Be then no longer mistaken: my decree of reprobation is nothing but a fixed refo

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lution

Oye mortals, difmifs your cares, and unbend your minds. Predeftination rules the world all things happen according to a a fixed decree, Manilius.

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lution of giving finners over to the perverfenefs of their free will, if they refift the drawings of my free grace to the end of their day of initial falva, tion. And what can be more equitable than fuch refolution? Is it not right that free-agents, who ro THE LAST defpife my goodness, thould become monuments of my depifed goodness, which is but another name for my vindictive justice?

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I forefaw indeed, that by fuch a final contempt of my grace, many would bring deftruction upon them. felves: but, having wifely decreed to make a world of probationers and free-agents, I could not nec arily incline their will to obedience, without robbing them of free agency: nor could I rob them of free agency without foolishly defeating the counfel of my own mind, and abfurdly fpoiling the work of my own hands. Befides, from the beginning, my intention was not only to fhow my power and goodnefs in creating, but alfo to difplay my wifdom and juftice in governing accountable creatures, to whom, without respect of perfons, I should render according to • their works. eternal life to them, who by patient con'tinuance in well-doing feek for glery; but tribulation and anguish to them that are contentious and difobe<dient'

I abhor extorted, forced, neceffary fubmiffion in rationals: it fuits the daftardly children of the devil, and not the free born fons of God. I could not then in wisdom fend upon this world fuch overpowering freams of light; or permit the tempter to fpread fuch thick darkness upon it, as might invincitly, or neceffarily turn the fcale of man's will for loyalty or rebellion. So unadvifed a ftep would immediately have taken them out of the ftate of probation, in which I had placed them.'

Again: Had I directly or indirectly thrown into the fcale a weight fufficient to turn it irrefiftibly, I fhould have acted a most unreasonable and deteftable part (1) A most unreasonable part; for if I alone COMPLETELY work out the falvation of believers, ' according

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cording to what thou calleft finished falvation, nothing can be more ABSURD, than to appoint a day of judgment and rewards, to bestow upon the elect an eternal life of glory according to THEIR WORKS: (2) A moft deteftable part; for if I earnestly invited all the wicked to chufe life, after having absolutely ⚫ chofen death for most of them, fhould I not show myfelf the most hypocritical of all tyrants?'

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But, thou ftumbleft at my FOREKNOWLEDGE, and afkeft, why I beftow the bleffings of initial falvation upon thofe whofe free-agency will certainly abuse my goodness, and do despite to the fpirit of my faving grace. Thou thinkelt, "It is wrong in me to give them that will perish the cup of initial Salvation, when I know they will not accept the cup of eternal falvation, Thou fuppofeft it would be better to reprobate them at once, than to expose "them to a greater damnation, by putting it in their power to reject the terms of eternal falvation, and by that means to fall from initial falvation." But I fhall filence thy objections by propofing fome plain questions to thee, as I once did to my fervant Job.' (1) Is it reasonable to fuppofe, that I fhould pervert my nature, and act in a manner contrary to my perfections, to prevent free-agents from perverting their nature, and acting in a manner contrary to their happiness? What wouldst thou have thought of my wifdom, if I had appointed Lucifer to hell, and Adam to the grave, from eternity; for fear they fhould deferve thofe punishments by wilfully falling from heaven and from paradife? Is it not abfurd to fancy that the Creator must bring himself in guilty of mifconduct, left his rational creatures fhould render themselves fo?'

(2) If thou thinkeft it right in me, to command that the gofpel of my free-grace be preached to every creature; altho' thou knoweft, that the neglecters of it will, like the people of Capernaum, fall into a deeper hell for their final contempt of that favour; why shouldest thou think it wrong in me to

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