Objections 18 & 19: New Heart – Whitby’s refutation of Arguments in favor of irresistible grace
OBJECTIONS EIGHTEEN and NINETEEN. "God says concerning his people, 'I will give you one heart, and I will put a new Spirit in you, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them an heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances.' ' And again, ' I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and I will put up my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments to do them;"' where a new heart and spirit are said not only to be given, but put into them by God, and therefore they were to do nothing towards it." (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
ANSWER FIRST. The arguments taken from both these places have two of the general faults which render all arguments of this nature null, v. g. (1.) That they speak of all the whole house of Israel, (Ezekiel 11:15, 36:21- 22) to all that were "gathered out of all countries, and brought to their own land.' (Ezekiel 11:24).
And then it is certain from the second general rule, that it belongs not to the elect only. It is also certain from the event, if it respect their return from the Babylonish captivity, that it must be conditional; the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and especially the complaints of the prophet Malachi, showing, that they were never fulfilled in many of them; and from Ezekiel 11:18, which speaks of those "whose heart would still walk after their detestable things:" or else it relates to the conversion of the Jewish nation yet to come; of the whole house of Israel; and then it can relate to them alone, and all Christians may as well expect to be exempted from famine, (Ezekiel 36:30), and to have " increase of corn," Ezekiel 36:29, and their " waste places and fenced cities built," Ezekiel 36:35, as the other blessings promised here. Moreover, according to this exposition, it must follow that not one good man came out of the captivity, not one of them with a new or a clean heart; but all of them with a heart of stone, which was to be taken away.
ANSWER SECOND. This objection is contrary to the other general rule laid down in answer to the fifteenth Objection; for God expressly commands them by the same prophet " to make themselves a new heart, and a new Spirit," Ezekiel 18:30; and elsewhere says unto them, " wash ye, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes. Isaiah 1:16.
O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness that thou may be saved." Jeremiah 4:14. And St. James speaks to the same people thus, " wash your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." (James 4:8) All which things do assure us, that something was required on their parts towards the completion of this promise. God therefore may be, and is, in scripture, said to do these things, when by his providential dispensations, his rich mercies, or his judgments, or his miraculous dealings, he does that which affords a powerful inducement to engage men to cleanse themselves from their defilements, and turn to him with a perfect heart; and does design these actions for such ends, though through the wickedness of men the event proves often otherwise.
Thus God declares that he would purge his people by his judgments; as when he says, "I will turn my hand upon thee, and (by the calamities I shall inflict upon thee) will purely purge away thy dross." (Isaiah 1:25) And that he will " wash away the filth of the daughter of Zion, and purge the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning. " (Isaiah 4:4) By his mercies, as when he says, "I draw them with the cords of a man, the cords of love." (Hosea 11:4)
By his miracles, as when he upbraids the Jews, that having 'seen the great signs and miracles he had done for them, yet had they not hearts to perceive, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.' (Deuteronomy 29:3-4).
Hence when his vineyard brought forth still wild grapes, he enquires, ' what could I have done more for my vineyard,' that she might bring forth good grapes? (Isaiah 5:4) — And says he had done, by these means, what through the obstinacy of his people was not done: For thus he speaks, ' I have purged Jerusalem, and she was not purged, Ezekiel 24:13.
I have caused the whole house of Israel to cleave to me as a girdle cleaves to a man's loins, but they would not hear.' (Jeremiah 13:11) Note also, that this is one of those texts the heretics, who destroyed free-will, and held that men were necessarily good or evil by nature, used to confirm that doctrine, as you may see in Origen and Philocal and the objection following from Philippians 2:13 is another.
ANSWER FIRST. The arguments taken from both these places have two of the general faults which render all arguments of this nature null, v. g. (1.) That they speak of all the whole house of Israel, (Ezekiel 11:15, 36:21- 22) to all that were "gathered out of all countries, and brought to their own land.' (Ezekiel 11:24).
And then it is certain from the second general rule, that it belongs not to the elect only. It is also certain from the event, if it respect their return from the Babylonish captivity, that it must be conditional; the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and especially the complaints of the prophet Malachi, showing, that they were never fulfilled in many of them; and from Ezekiel 11:18, which speaks of those "whose heart would still walk after their detestable things:" or else it relates to the conversion of the Jewish nation yet to come; of the whole house of Israel; and then it can relate to them alone, and all Christians may as well expect to be exempted from famine, (Ezekiel 36:30), and to have " increase of corn," Ezekiel 36:29, and their " waste places and fenced cities built," Ezekiel 36:35, as the other blessings promised here. Moreover, according to this exposition, it must follow that not one good man came out of the captivity, not one of them with a new or a clean heart; but all of them with a heart of stone, which was to be taken away.
ANSWER SECOND. This objection is contrary to the other general rule laid down in answer to the fifteenth Objection; for God expressly commands them by the same prophet " to make themselves a new heart, and a new Spirit," Ezekiel 18:30; and elsewhere says unto them, " wash ye, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes. Isaiah 1:16.
O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness that thou may be saved." Jeremiah 4:14. And St. James speaks to the same people thus, " wash your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." (James 4:8) All which things do assure us, that something was required on their parts towards the completion of this promise. God therefore may be, and is, in scripture, said to do these things, when by his providential dispensations, his rich mercies, or his judgments, or his miraculous dealings, he does that which affords a powerful inducement to engage men to cleanse themselves from their defilements, and turn to him with a perfect heart; and does design these actions for such ends, though through the wickedness of men the event proves often otherwise.
Thus God declares that he would purge his people by his judgments; as when he says, "I will turn my hand upon thee, and (by the calamities I shall inflict upon thee) will purely purge away thy dross." (Isaiah 1:25) And that he will " wash away the filth of the daughter of Zion, and purge the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning. " (Isaiah 4:4) By his mercies, as when he says, "I draw them with the cords of a man, the cords of love." (Hosea 11:4)
By his miracles, as when he upbraids the Jews, that having 'seen the great signs and miracles he had done for them, yet had they not hearts to perceive, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.' (Deuteronomy 29:3-4).
Hence when his vineyard brought forth still wild grapes, he enquires, ' what could I have done more for my vineyard,' that she might bring forth good grapes? (Isaiah 5:4) — And says he had done, by these means, what through the obstinacy of his people was not done: For thus he speaks, ' I have purged Jerusalem, and she was not purged, Ezekiel 24:13.
I have caused the whole house of Israel to cleave to me as a girdle cleaves to a man's loins, but they would not hear.' (Jeremiah 13:11) Note also, that this is one of those texts the heretics, who destroyed free-will, and held that men were necessarily good or evil by nature, used to confirm that doctrine, as you may see in Origen and Philocal and the objection following from Philippians 2:13 is another.
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