OBJECTIONS AND TEXTS OF SCEIPTUEE CONSIDERED. 373
be meant of all bis own people, and the cbildren of God scattered tbrougbout tbe world. Fourthly, For particular places of Scripture urged, 1 Tim. i. 15; 1 Pet. iii. 18: Rom. v. 6, in the beginning of the assumption, are not at all to the purpose in hand. John iii. 1 7 ; Heb. ii. 9; 1 John ii. 2, have been already considered. Rom. iii. 10, 19, 20, 23; Eph. ii. 1-3; Tit. iii. 3; John iii. 4, 6, added in the close of the same proposition, prove that all are sinners and chil- dren of wrath ; but of Christ's dying for all sinners, or for all those children of Avrath, there is not the least intimation. And this may suffice in answer to the first two arguments, which might easily be retorted upon the author of them, the Scripture being full and plain to the confirmation of the position which he intends to oppose.
III. "That which the Scripture layeth forth as one end of the death of Christ, and one ground and cause of God's exaltiug Christ to be the Lord and Judge of all, and of the equity of his judging, that is certainly to be believed, Ps. xii. 6, xviii. 130, cxix. 4;
"But the Scripture layeth forth this for one end of the death and resurrection of Christ, that he might be the Lord of all, Rom. xiv. 9 ; 2 Cor. V. 14, 15. And for that cause (even his death and resurrec- tion) hath God exalted him to be the Lord and Judge of all men, and his judgments shall be just, Rom. xiv. 9, 11, 12; 2 Cor. v. 10; Phil. ii. 7-11; Acts xvii. 31; Rom. ii. 16:
"Therefore, that Christ so died, and rose again for all, is a truth to be believed, 1 Tim. ii. 6."
First, The unlearned framing of this argument, the uncouth ex- pressions of the thing intended, and failing in particulars, by the by, being to be ascribed to the person and not the cause, I shall not much trouble myself withal; as, — First, To his artificial regu- larity in bring his minor proposition, namely, Christ being made Lord and Judge of all, into the major; so continuing one term in all three propositions, and making the whole almost unintelligible. Secondly, His inteq3reting, "For this cause God exalted Christ," to be his death and resurrection, when his resurrection, wherein he was "declared to be the Son of God with power," Rom. i. 4, was a glorious part of his exaltation. To examine and lay open the weakness and folly of innumerable such things as these, which everywhere occur, were to be lavish of precious moments. Those that have the least taste of learning or the way of reasoning do easily see their vanity; and for the rest, especially the poor admirers of these foggy sophisms, I shall not say, "Quoniam hie populus vult decipi, decipiatur," but, "God give them understanding and repentance, to the acknow- ledgment of the truth. "
Secondly, To this whole argument, a.^ it lies before us, I have nothing to say but only to entreat Mr More, that if the misery of
374 THE DEATH OF DEATH. [BOOK IV.
our times should be calling upon him to be writing again, he would cease expressing his mind by syllogisms, and speak in his own manner; which, by its confusion in innumerable tautologies, may a little puzzle his reader. For, truly, this kind of arguing here used, — for want of logic, whereby he is himself deceived, and delight in sophistry, whereby he deceiveth others, — is exceedingly ridiculous; for none can be so blind but that, at first reading of the argument, he will see that he asserts and infers that in the conclusion, strengthen- ing it with a new testimony, which was not once dreamed of in either of the premises ; they speaking of the exaltation of Christ to be judge of all, which refers to his own glory ; the conclusion, of his dying for all, which necessarily aims at and intends their good. Were it not a noble design to banish all human learnincr, and to establish such a way of arguing in the room thereof? "Hoc Ithacus velit et magno mercentur Atrid^."
Thirdly, The force and sum of the argument is this: — "Christ died and rose again that he might be Lord and Judge of all; therefore, Christ died for all." Now, ask what he means by dying for all, and the whole treatise answers that it is a paying a ransom for them all, that they might be saved. Now, how this can be extorted out of Christ's dominion over all, with his power of judging all committed to him, which also is extended to the angels for whom he died not, let them that can understand it rejoice in their quick apprehension; I confess it flies my thoughts.
Fourthly, The manner of arguing being so vain, let us see a little whether there be any more weight in the matter of the argument. Many texts of Scripture are heaped up and distributed to the seve- ral propositions. In those out of Ps. xii. 6, xviii. 30 (as I suppose it should be, not 130, as it is printed), cxix. 4, there is some mention of the precepts of God, with the purity of his word and perfection of his word ; which that they are any thing to the business in hand I cannot perceive. That of 2 Tim. ii. 6, added to the conclusion, is one of those places which are brought forth upon every occasion, as being the supposed foundation of the whole assertion, but causelessly, as hath been showed oft. [Among] those which are annexed to the minor proposition, [is] 2 Cor. v. 14, 15: as I have already cleared the mind of the Holy Ghost in it, and made it manifest that no such thing as universal redemption can be wrested from it, so unto this present argument it hath no reference at all, not containing any one syllable concerning the judging of Christ and his power over all, which was the medium insisted on. Phil. ii. 7-11; Acts. xvii. 31; Rom. ii. 16, mention, indeed, Christ's exaltation, and his judging all at the last day ; but because he shall judge all at the last day, there- fore he died for all, will ask more pains to prove than our adversary intends to take in this cause.