OF THE SATISFACTION AND MERIT OF CHRIST. 275
briefly declare and confirm the whole truth in this business, so far as occasion was given by the exercise and debate before mentioned, beginning with the first part of it, concerning the eternal love of God to his elect, with the state and condition they are placed in thereby: concerning which you may observe, —
First, That which is now by some made to be a new doctrine of free grace is indeed an old objection against it. That a non-necessity of satisfaction by Christ, as a consequent of eternal election, was more than once, for the substance of it, objected to Austin by the old Pelagian heretics, upon his clearing and vindicating that doctrine, is most apparent. The same objection, renewed by others, is also an- swered by Calvin, Institut. lib. ii. cap. 16; as also divers schoolmen had before, in their way, proposed it to themselves, as Thorn, iii. g. 49, a. 4. Yet, notwithstanding the apparent senselessness of the thing itself, together with the many solid answers whereby it was long before removed, the Arminians, at the Synod of Dort, greedily snatched it up again, and placed it in the very front of their argu- ments against the effectual redemption of the elect by Jesus Christ. Now, that which was in them only an objection is taken up by some amongst us as a truth, the absurd inconsequent consequence of it owned as just and good, and the conclusion deemed necessary, from the granting of election to the denial of satisfaction.
Secondly, Observe that there is the same reason of election and reprobation (in things so opposed, so it must be): "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated,'" Rom. ix. 13. By the one, men are " ordained to eternal life," Acts xiii. 48 ; by the other, " before of old ordained unto condemnation,'' Jude 4. Now, if the elect are justi- fied, and sanctified, and saved, because of God's decree that so they shall be, whereby they need nothing but the manifestation thereof, then likewise are the reprobates, as soon as they are finally impeni- tent, damned, burned, and want nothing but a manifestation thereof; which, whether it be true or no, consult the whole dispensation of God towards them.
Thirdly, Consider what is the eternal love of God. Is it an affec- tion in his eternal nature, as love is in ours? It were no less than blasphemy once so to conceive. His pure and holy nature, wherein there is neither change nor shadow of turning, is not subject to any such passion; it must be, then, an eternal act of his will, and that alone. In the Scripture it is called, his " good pleasure," Matt. xi. 26; his "purpose according to election," Rom. ix. 11; the "foun- dation of God," 2 Tim. ii. 19. Now, every eternal act of God's will is immanent in himself, not really distinguished from himself; what- ever is so in God is God. Hence, it puts nothing into the creature concerning whom it is, nor alteration of its condition at all ; producing, indeed, no effect until some external act of God's power do make it
276 THE DEATH OF DEATH. [BOOK III.
out. For iustance : God decreed from eternity that he would make the world, yet we know the world was not made until about five thousand five hundred years ago. But ye will say, " It was made in God's purpose." That is, say I, he purposed to make it. So he pur- poseth there shall be a day of judgment; is there therefore actually a universal day of judgment already? God purposeth that he will, in and through Christ, justify and save such and such certain persons; are they therefore justified because God purposeth it? It is true, they shall be so, because he hath purposed it ; but that they are so is denied. The consequence is good from the divine purpose to the futurition of anything, and the certainty of its event, not to its actual existence. As when the Lord, in the beginning, went actually to make the world, there was no world; so when he comes to bestow faith and actually to justify a man, until he hath so done he is not justified. The sum is, —
First, The eternal love of God towards his elect is nothing but his purpose, good pleasure, a pure act of his will, whereby he deter- mines to do such and such things for them in his o'svn time and way. Secondly, No purpose of God, no immanent eternal act of his will, doth produce any outward effect, or change any thing in nature and condition of that thing concerning which his purpose is; but only makes the event and success necessary in respect of that puqjose. Thirdly, The wrath and anger of God that sinners lie under is not any passion in God, but only the outward effects of anger, as guilt, bondage, etc. Fourtldy, An act of God's eternal love, which is im- manent in himself, doth not exempt the creature from the condition wherein he is under anger and wrath, until some temporal act of free grace do really change its state and condition. For example : God holding the lump of mankind in his own power, as the clay in the hand of the potter, determining to make some vessels unto honour, for the praise of his glorious grace, and others to dishonour, for the manifestation of his revenging justice, and to this end suffer them all to fall into sin and the guilt of condemnation, whereby they became all liable to his wrath and curse; his purpose to save some of these doth not at all exempt or free them from the common condition of the rest, in respect of themselves and the truth of their estate, until some actual thing be accomplished for the bringing of them nigh unto himself: so that notwithstanding his eternal pur- pose, his wrath, in respect of the effects, abideth on them until that eternal purpose do make out itself in some distinguishing act of free grace; which may receive farther manifestation by these ensuing arguments: —