■ " Doininus dissipavit consiliiini quod dcdcvat Acliitoplicl agendo in corde Absolon, ut tale cons^ilinni repudiavct, ct aliud quod ei non cxpediebat eligerct." — Aug. do Cirat., et Lib. Arbit., caj). xx.
OF THE PEOVIDENCE OF GOD. 41
lomon affirmeth that " tlie king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, hke the rivers of water : he turneth it whithersoever he will/' Prov. xxi. 1. If the heart of a king, who liath an inward natural liberty equal with others, and an outward liberty bek)nging to his state and condition above them, be yet so in the hand of the Lord as that he always turneth it to what he pleaseth in particular, then certainly other men are not excepted from the rule of the same pro- vidence; which is the plain sense of these words, and the direct thesis which we maintain in opposition to the Arminian idol of absolute independent free-will. So Daniel, also, reproving the Babylonian tyrant, affirmeth that he " glorified not the God in whose hand was his breath, and whose Avere all his ways," chap. v. 23. Not only his breath and life, but also all his ways, his actions, thoughts, and words, were in the hand of God.
Yea, thirdly, sometimes the saints of God, as I touched before, do pray that God would be pleased thus to determine their hearts, and bend their wills, and wholly incline them to some one certain thing, and that without any prejudice to their true and proper liberty: so David, Ps. cxix. 36, " Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness." This prayer being his may also be ours, and we may ask it in faith, relying on the power and promise of God in Christ that he will perform our petitions, John xiv. 14. Now, I desire any Christian to resolve, whether, by these and the like requests, he intendeth to desire at the hand of God nothing but such an indifferent motion to any good as may leave him to his own. choice whether he will do it or no, which is all the Arminians will grant him ; or rather, that he would powerfully bend his heart and soul unto his testimonies, and work in him an actual embracing of all the ways of God, not desiring more liberty, but only enough to do it willingly. Nay, surely the prayers of God's servants, requesting, with Solomon, that the Lord would be with them, and "incline their heart unto him, to keep his statutes and walk in his command- ments," 1 Kings viii. 57, 58; and with David, to "create in them a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within them," Ps. li. 10; when, according to God's jd remises, they entreat him " to put his fear into their hearts," Jer. xxxii. 40, " to unite their hearts to fear his name," Ps. Ixxxvi. 11, to work in them both the will and the deed, an actual obedience unto his law; — cannot possibly aim at nothing but a general influence, enabling them alike either to do or not to do what they so earnestly long after.
Fourthly, The certainty of divers promises and threatenings of Almighty God dependeth upon his powerful determining and turn- ing the wills and hearts of men which way he pleaseth ; thus, to them that fear him he promisetli that they shall find favour in the sight
42 A DISPLAY OF ARMINIANISM.
of men, Prov. iii, 4, Now, if, notwithstanding all God's powerful operation in tlieir hearts, it remaineth absolutely in the hands of men whether they will favour them that fear him or no, it is wholly in their povaer whether God shall be true in his promises or no. Surely when Jacob wrestled with God on the strength of such pro- mise. Gen. xxxii. 12, he little thought of any question whether it were in the power of God to perform it. Yea, and the event showed that there ought to be no such question, chap, xxxiii. ; for the Lord turned the heart of his brother Esau, as he doth of others when he makes them pity his servants when at any time they have cairied them away captives, Ps. cvi. 46. See, also, the same powerful opera- tion required to the execution of his judgments. Job xii. 1 7, xx. 21, etc. In brief, there is no prophecy nor prediction in the whole Scripture, no promise to the church or faithful, to whose accomplishment the free actions and concurrence of men are required, but evidently de- clareth that God disposeth of the hearts of men, ruleth their wills, inclinetli their affections, and determines them freely to clioose and do what he in his good pleasure hath decreed shall be performed ; — such as were the prophecies of deliverance from the Babylonish cap- tivity by Cyrus, Isa. xlv. ; of the conver.sion of the Gentiles; of the stability of the church. Matt. xvi. ; of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, chap, xxi v. ; with innumerable others. I will add only some few reasons for the close of this long discourse.
This opinion, that God hath nothing but a general influence into the actions of men, not effectually moving their wills to this or that in particular, —
First, Granteth a goodness of entity, or being, unto divers things, whereof God is not the author, as those special actions Avhich men perform without his special concurrence ; which is blasphemous. The apostle affirms that "of him are all things."