Chap. 10. reafon of complaint either way. It is very obfervable, that those who deny Reprobation, do either in whole or in part deny Original fin, faying that it is no fin, or, which is all one, improperly fuch; orelfe they have no true notion of Grace in the freenefs and felf-motion of it. And to do either, what is it? To deny Original fin, is to contradict the Letter of Scripture, the judgment of the Church; nay, and the experience of all men who will but reflect upon themfelves. To deny Grace to be free and self-moving, is to fay Grace is not Grace, and to evacuate the Gofpel, and to take away the glory of it. Neither of them may be done by any who calls himself Chriftian. The true notion of Sin is, That it is fuch a violation of the Law, as merits death eternal. The true notion of Grace is, That it operates freely and of felf-motion. God, though under no neceffity, though he might have left faln men as well as faln Angels, under fin and wrath, was yet pleased out of his meer good pleasure to give a Saviour unto men, and to open a dore to them of falvation. This is free-Grace indeed, and for ever to be adored. Thus much touching the first thing. 2. It is of free-Grace that God chufes a Church and people to himself; that he defigns fome certain individual perfons to the infallible attainment of Grace and Glory. And here I fhall confider two things; firft, That there is fuch an Election. And then, That it iffues out of meer Grace. 1. There is fuch an Election of men unto Grace and Glory. Thus the Apostle, He hath chofen us in him before the foundation of the world, Eph. 1. 4. He predeftinated us to the adoption of children by Jefus Chrift, Chrift, ver.5. In the clearing of this I shall lay down Chap. 10 feveral things. 1. Election is not of all, but fome. It's true, Huberus afferted an univerfal election of all men: But this is directly oppofite to Scripture. Few, not all, are chofen, Mat. 22. 14. The elect are opposed to the blinded ones, Rom. 11. 7; a clear distinction is made between veffels of honour and dishonour, between veffels of mercy and wrath, between those that are written in the book of Life, and those that are left out of it. Election is called inoy it separates and fingles out fome to mercy in a way of choice. Were it of all, it could not be Election, there could be nothing of choice in it. The Elect are faid to be chofen out of the world, Joh. 15. 19: but all are not chofen out of all, that's impoffible. Election therefore is of fome individual perfons only: The Lord knoweth those that are his, 2 Tim. 2. 19. Their names are all down in the book of life. Phil 4. 3, Tos, this individual person, this very Paul, who but now was breathing out blood against the Church, this is a veffel of election, Acts 9.15, faith God to Ananias. The elect are called a remnant, Rom. 11.5, because it is made up of fome individual perfons fpecially fingled out of the corrupt mafs unto God. The will of Gods Complacence refpects Graces without a distinction of perfons; Every one that fears God, is accepted, Acts 10. 35. A good man draws out favour from the Lord, Prov. 12. 2. But the will of Gods Benevolence, fuch as Election is, is distinctive of perfons; for this de-. crees certain bleffings to certain perfons, and not to all. Election therefore is not of all, but of fome. 2. Election is not Legislation. The fecret CounKk fels Chap. 10 fels of Princes are not their Edicts; neither is Gods Election a Legiflation. Election is an Eternal Decree, Legiflation is in time. Election is but of fome, Legislation extends to all. Election is that Decree, according to which God gives out fpiritual bleffings to fome as a Benefactor: Legiflation fets down that Rule, according to which God deals with all as a Rector who governs by Law. In the Covenant of Works, that [do this and live] was not Election; neither was the opposite member therein [ tranfgrefs and dye] Reprobation. In the Covenant of Grace, that [believe and be faved ] is not Election; neither is the oppofite branch therein [believe not and be damned] Reprobation; for then all men, because they are under both parts of the Evangelical Law, fhould be both elected and reprobated, which is impoffible: nay, because they were in Adam their head under both parts of the first Covenant, they should be once before both elected and reprobated. It is one thing to prescribe the terms of falvation, another to chufe men to it: one thing to write down Laws for all, another to write down the names of fome in the book of Life. That general Law, All that believe fhall be faved, predeftinates none in particular. It would ftand true, if all men were left in unbelief and perdition; If there were no fuch thing as a Church in all the world, but elective; if it fecure not a Church to God, is altogether infignificant. It is an election of none, that is, no election. Our Saviour fets down two wills of God as diftin&t; This is the will of him that fent me, That every one that feeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, Joh. 6. 40. And in the precedent verfe, This is the Fa Father's will, which hath fent me, that of all which he Chap. 10. hath given me, I should lofe nothing. In the one we have Gods legislative Will defining the terms of Salvation for all ; in the other, we have Gods elective Will defigning fome,that is, the elect, the given ones to it: The first without terms in it, would not be Legislation; the latter without perfons in it, would not be Election. 3. Election, being a chufing, a fingling out fome to eternal life, muft needs do fome fingular thing for them; it must confer upon them fome diftinguishing Grace, fuch as may referve them out of the corrupt Mafs unto God: And what Grace is that but Faith? If all men did believe, there would be no diason, or difference among them; the righteoufnefs of God would be upon them all, the rivers of living water would flow in them all, the Glory of Heaven would crown them all. But Faith is a differencing Grace, proper to Gods peculiar ones; it is not given to all, but to fome; not out of common Providence, but out of Election: It is a choice, a prime Grace of Secretion, and therefore in all congruity must needs iffue out of the great defign of Secretion, that is, Election. If God give alike to all, then he elects none, he differences none; however men may make themselves to differ, God doth no fuch thing, nor ever intended to do fo: Thus Election is a meer nullity. But if, as the truth is, there be any fuch thing as Election, then it bestows upon the chofen ones, thofe fpecial love-tokens of Faith and Perfeverance, which make them meet for Heaven and eternal Bleffedness. 4. Election is a fure infallible thing, fuch as never Chap. 1c. fails: Hence it is called us, a Prædestination, or prædefinition, fuch as never miffes the mark. Thus the Apostle, Whom he did predeftinate, them he also called; whom he called, them he also juftified; whom he justified, them he also glorified, Rom. 8. 30. The words (whom and them) faften every link to its precedent, and appropriate all throughout the whole chain to the fame perfons: every perfon, who is predeftinated and called within this Text, must be justified and glorified, or the golden chain of Grace is broken. The foundation of God ftandeth fure, having this feal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, 2 Tim. 2. 19. Election is a foundation, not an human one, but a foundation of God, laid in the Divine Will, standing in eternity, fure in immutability, fealed up with infallible knowledg and unvariable love towards the elect: Nothing is more momentous than this, That God have a Church, Chrift a Body, and the Spirit a Temple. This is the highest of defigns, the aim of the Sacred Trinity, the very thing upon which God hath fet his eyes and his heart more than upon all the world befides; yet if Election be not fure and infallible, that high and precious defign may be fruftrate and of no effect: And what a blot would this be to Providence? And how unbecoming would it be to the Holy one, who fits at the Stern and rules all? If fo accurate a thing as Providence could, which it cannot without difparaging it felf, ftumble or faulter in the things of nature; yet furely it cannot do fo in its mafter-piece,in the high and precious concerns of Grace: Election therefore must be fure Volk, 1. 5. c. and infallible. That distinction of the Socinians 17.de prædeft. (that there is a double Election in God, an infirm one |