' " Qui sic homines voluit esse liberos ut fecit sacrileges." — Aug.
- Ta l^' vfuv oh Tri; Tfovcia; dXXa tou itftirifiou auri^ov^lov. — I'aniaSCCD.
OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.. 37
actions, would exempt and free the will of man, not only from all fore-determining to the production of such and such effects, but also from any effectual working or influence of the providence of God into the will itself, that should sustain, help, or co-operate with it in doing or willing any thing; and, therefore, the authors of this imaginary liberty have wisely framed an imaginary concurrence of God's provi- dence, answerable unto it, — namely, a general and indifferent influ- ence, always waiting and expecting the will of man to determine it- self to this or that effect, good or bad ; God being, as it were, always ready at hand to do that small part which he hath in our actions, whensoever we please to use him, or, if we please to let him alone, he no way moveth us to the performance of any thing. Now, God forbid that we should give our consent to the choice of such a captain, under whose conduct we might go down again unto Paganism, — to the erecting of such an idol into the throne of the Almighty. No, doubt- less, let us be most indulgent to our wills, and assign them all the liberty that is competent unto a created nature, to do all things freely according to election and foregoing counsel, being free from all na- tural necessity and outward compulsion; but for all this, let us not presume to deny God's effectual assistance, his particular powerful influence into the wills and actions of his creatures, directing of them to a voluntary perforaiance of what he hath determined : which the Arminians opposing in the behalf of their darling free-will, do work in the hearts of men an overweening of their own power, and an ab- solute independence of the providence of God; for, —
Fu'st, they deny that God (in whom we live, and move, and have our being) doth any thing by his providence, ^" whereby the creature should be stirred up, or helped in any of his actions." That is, God wholly leaves a man in the hand of his own counsel, to the disposal of his own absolute independent power, without any respect to his providence at all; Avhence, as they do, they may well conclude, ^"that those things which God would have to be done of us freely" (such as are all human actions), " he cannot himself will or work more power- fully and effectually than by the way of wishing or desiring," as Vorstius speaks; which is no more than one man can do concerning another, perhaps far less than an angel, I can wish or desire that another man would do what I have a mind he should ; but, truly, to describe the providence of God by such expressions seems to me in- tolerable blasphemy. But thus it must be; without such helps as these, Dagon cannot keep on his head, nor the idol of uncontrollable free-will enjoy his dominion.
1 " Deus infiuxu suo nihil confert creatui'se, quo ad agendum incitetur ac adjuvetur." — Corv. ad Molin., cap. iii. sect. 15, p. 85.
^ " Qua3 Deus libere prorsus et contingeuter a nobis fieri mlt, ea potentius aut cffi- cacius quam per moduin voti aut desideriij vclle nou j^wtest. — Vorst. Farasc, p. 4.
uS A DISPLAY OF AliMINIANISM.
Hence Corvinus will grant ^ that the killmg of a man by the slip- ping of an axe's head from tlie helve, although contingent, may be said to happen according to God's counsel and determinate will; but on no terms vnll lie yield that this may he applied to actions wherein the counsel and freedom of man's will do take place, as though that tJiey also should have dependence on any such overrul- ing povjer; — whereby he absolutely excludeth the providence of God from having any sovereignty within the territory of human actions, which is jjlainly to shake off the yoke of his dominion, and to make men lords paramount within themselves: so that they may well ascribe unto God (aa they do^; only a deceivahle expectation of tliose contingent things that are yet for to come, there being no act of his own in the producing of such effects on which he can ground any certainty; only, he may take a conjecture, according to his guess at men's inclinations. And, indeed, this is the Helen for whose enjoy- ment, these thrice ten years, they have maintained warfare with the hosts of the living God ; their whole endeavour being to prove, that, notwithstanding the performance of all things, on the part of God, required for the production of any action, 'yet tJie will of man re- mains absolutely free, yea., in respect of the event, as well as its m,anner of operation, to do it or not to do it. That is, notwithstand- ing God's decree that such an action shall be performed, and his fore- knowledge that it will so come to pass ; notwithstanding his co-ope- rating with the will of man (as far as they will allow him) for the doing of it, and though he hath determined by that act of man to execute some of his own judgments; *yet there is no kind of necessity but that he may as well omit as do it: which is all one as if they should say, " Our tongues are our own ; we ought to speak : who is lord over us? We will vindicate ourselves into a liberty of doing what and how we will, though for it we cast God out of his throne," And, indeed, if we mark it, we shall find them undermining and pull- ing down the actual providence of God, at the root and several branches thereof; for, —