Daniel Whitby on Grace (part 2)
To proceed then, thirdly, to explain, as far as I am able, what is the manner of the operation of God's grace, and Holy Spirit on the soul.
SECTION III.
First, I assert that the manner in which God's grace and Holy Spirit acts upon the minds and hearts of men for the production of the fruits of the good Spirit, and the preparatory disposition of the soul towards them, may reasonably be conceived to be such as is suitable to the reason and faculties of men, the understanding and the will. Now it is certain that what naturally makes the understanding to perceive, is evidence proposed and apprehended, considered or adverted to; for nothing else can be requisite to make us come to the knowledge of the truth, and understand what the will of the Lord is be wise to salvation. Hence the apostle prays that the (Philippians 1:9,10) Philippians might abound more and more in knowledge and in all wisdom, en pase aisthesen, in all perception, that they might approve the things that are most excellent; and faith to the (Romans 12:2) Romans, be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, eis to dokimazein ein, that you may discern and prove what is according to the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Again, what makes the will choose, is something approved by the understanding, and consequently appearing to the soul as good; and whatsoever it refuses, is something represented by the understanding, and so appearing to the will as evil; whence all that God requires of us is, and can be this, to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Wherefore to say that evidence proposed, apprehended and considered is insufficient to make the understanding to approve; or that the greatest good proposed, the greatest evil threatened, when equally believed and reflected on, is not sufficient to engage the will to choose the good and refuse the evil, is in effect to say that which alone does move the will to choose or to refuse; is not sufficient to engage it so to do; that which, alone is requisite to make me understand and approve, is not sufficient to do so ; which being contradictory to itself, must of necessity be false.
Be it then so, that we have naturally an aversion to the truths proposed to us in the gospel, that only can make us indisposed to attend to them, but cannot hinder our conviction when we do apprehend them and attend to them; whence for removal of it, the apostle only prays, (Ephesians 1:17-18) that the eyes of our understanding may bе enlightened that we may know them; adding, that where the light of the knowledge of the glory of God was revealed, if, after this, (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) their gospel was hid from any, it was only so, because the god of this world had blinded their eyes, or the conceptions of their minds, that the light of the gospel might not shine into them. Be it that there is in us also a renitency to the good we are to choose, that only can indispose us to believe it is, and to approve it as our chiefest good. Be it that we are prone to the evil that we should decline, that only can render it the more difficult for us to believe it is the worst of evils; but yet what we do really believe to be our chiefest good, will still be chosen, and what we apprehend to be the word of evils, will, whilst we do continue under that conviction, be refused by us: It therefore can be only requisite, in order to these ends, that the Good Spirit should so illuminate our understandings, that we attending to, and considering what lies before us, should apprehend, and be convinced of our duty; and that the blessings of the gospel should be so propounded to us, as that we may discern them to be our chiefest good, and the miseries it threatens, so as we may be convinced they are the worst of evils, that we may choose the one, and refuse the other.
Now to consider in order to approbation and conviction, to choose in order to our good, and to refuse that we may avoid misery, must be the actions not of God but man, though the light that doth convince, and the motives which engage him thus to choose and refuse, are certainly from God.
SECTION IV. — To illustrate this by a familiar instance taken from ourselves, or our deportment towards others; when a man in words plain and intelligible speaks to another, if he will hearken to what he says, he must understand his mind; for by that very impression the words make upon his brain, he immediately perceives his mind; and cannot the divine impression on the mind, which is God's speaking inwardly to man, do the same thing? This action is indeed so necessary, that, as it is not virtuous or praiseworthy in any man to understand the mind of him that speaks to him, so neither seems it praiseworthy in us to understand the mind of God thus speaking to us. Again, these words of man contain sometimes an exhortation to another to do what he desires he would do, taken from the proposal of some advantage, or the promise of some good he shall receive by complying with his exhortation; or they contain some dehortation from doing what he would not have another do, because it will be hurtful to him, or will be certainly attended with some evil consequences. Is not this the method used by all the world in dealing with another? And do they not all do this with hopes and expectation of success? And is it not a great disparagement to the word of God to say, or think that all his persuasions, admonitions, exhortations, promises and the like should be inefficient to prevail with us to turn from our sinful courses, and turn to him, when men who use these methods towards their children, servants, friends or relations, do it in hopes that they shall be successful by these means?
Moreover, if the person they address to, be slow of understanding, do they not hope to overcome that difficulty by the clearness of their discourse, and by reiterating the same thing in such variety of expressions as he is will be able to perceive?
If he be averse from doing that which is desired, do they not hope to overcome that aversion by repeated exhortations and vigorous impressions of those encouragements they tender, to prevail upon him to comply with their desire? If he strongly be inclined to that from which they vehemently dehort him, do they not endeavor to turn the bent and current of his inclinations by the like repeated exhortations and lively representations of the evils he will be certainly exposed to by so doing? All men are therefore of this opinion in their practice, that acting with men by convincing reason, and by motives and persuasions, is acting with them suitably to their faculties, and so as that they may prevail. And is not God himself of the same mind? Has he not revealed his will on purpose that we may know it? Has he not directed his letters and epistles to us, that by reading we may understand them, and know the things which do belongs to our peace? Did our Savior utter all his discourses to the same end else does he inquire (John 8:43) why is it you do not understand my speech? (Mark 8:21) How is it that you do not understand? Why does he preface them with this instruction, (Mathew 15:10) hear and understand?
Does not God call upon us to (Haggai 1:5-7) to consider of our ways, and lay to heart his sayings and his dispensations? Does He not prescribe this as a remedy to prevent his judgments, when he says, (Psalm 50:22) Oh consider this, ye that forget God; and of being wise, by saying, (Deuteronomy 32:29) Oh that they were wise, that they would consider their latter end? Doth he not represent this as the source of all the wickedness and idolatry of his own people, (Isaiah 1:3, 44:19) that they would not consider in their heart? Does he not make conversion the effect of this consideration, when he says, (Ezekiel 18:28, Psalm 119:59) because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live? Yea, doth he not represent this as a just ground of hope, that even the most stubborn sinners may be reformed, when he says to the prophet, (Ezekiel 12:3) remove by day in their sight, it may be they will consider though they be a rebellious people? Does not God require his people to (Deuteronomy 30:19) choose life, pronouncing a blessing upon them who (Isaiah 56:4-5) choose the things that please him, and threatening destruction to them who (Proverbs 1:29) would not choose the fear of the Lord, but (Isaiah 66:4) chose the things in which he delighted not? Now dose he any thing more to prevail with them who do not choose the fear of the Lord, and do not do the things that please him, to engage them so to do, or not to do the contrary, but teach them his ways, and persuade them to walk in them?
Must it not then be certain that either he transacts with them as men, who notwithstanding any acts of preterition on his part, or any disability or corruption of will on their part, might by these things be induced to choose to fear him, and do the things that please him, and might abstain from the contrary; or threatened to destroy them for not choosing what they could not choose, for doing what they had not means sufficient to avoid, and for not doing what it was not profitable for men so vitiated and so deserted, to perform?
Again, does not God exhort the Jews to be (Isaiah 1:18-19)' willing and obedient, promising a full pardon and a blessing to them that do so? Does not Christ resolve the destruction of the Jews to this, (John 5:40) You Will not come unto me that you might have life? Declaring this to be the reason why they were not gathered, because he often (Luke 13:34) would have gathered them, but they would not be gathered; because being so graciously invited to the marriage, (Mathew 22:3) they would not come. Now what did he to engage them to come to him, to gather them, or prevail on them to come to the marriage feast, but show them the way of life, exhort and invite them to come to that feast?
Either then he transacted with them, as one who knew this was sufficient to these ends; and that these things might have prevailed with them, notwithstanding any decrees of God's preterition, or any disability through the corruption of their wills, to be willing and obedient to his invitation; or else he resolved on their exclusion from the marriage feast, and their not tasting His supper, for not doing what, in that state, they could not do; and condemned them for not coming to him when they could not come, because (John 6:37,44) the Father did not draw them, or give them to him; and for not being gathered, when he would not do that for them without which they could not be gathered.
Doth not God earnestly exhort and persuade men to repent and turn from the evil of their ways? Does he not say, (Psalm 81:13) Oh that my people would have hearkened to me, that Israel would have walked in my ways! (Deuteronomy 32:29) Oh that they were wise, that they would understand this! (Jeremiah 13:27) Oh Jerusalem wilt not thou be made clean, when shall it once be? (Luke 19:42) Oh that that thou had known in this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace!
Now either in these exhortations and persuasions made to men, vitiated not only by original, but many actual; corruptions, God dealt with them suitably to their faculties, that is abilities, exhorting them to do, and pathetically willing they had done, what He saw they might have done, though they, for want of due attention, consideration and reflection, did it not; or called them to repent that they had not done what they never could do, or that they did not avoid what it was not possible under their circumstances they should avoid; and seriously and passionately willed they themselves would have done, what if it ever had been done, must have been done by himself, and therefore was not done, because he did not unfrustrateably work the change in them; that is, he passionately willed they had been of the number of His elect, when he himself by an absolute decree from all eternity had excluded them out of that number.
In short, does not God encourage men to repent and believe, to be willing and obedient, by great and precious promises of the most excellent and lasting blessings? Has He not threatened eternal damnation to them that do not believe? Has not He told us that Christ will come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on all that obey not His gospel? (Mark 16:16, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) And must not all these things sufficiently convince us, that God acts with men as one who does indeed suppose that men may hearken to his exhortations, and comply with his persuasions to believe, and to obey his gospel, may be prevailed on by his promises to the performance of their duty, and terrified by His judgment threatened, from their disobedience? Why else is it said that God hath given us these (2 Peter 1:4) great and precious promises, that by them we may be made partakers of a divine nature? Why are we exhorted, (2 Corinthians 7:1) having these promises, to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God? Or why doth the apostle say, "knowing then the terror of the Lord we persuade men?"(2 Corinthians 5:11)
If, beyond all this, there be some physical and unfrustrable operation on God's part requisite to make men know, and, knowing, choose the good and refuse the evil; this being not vouchsafed to, or wrought in, them who are not born anew, why is the want of this new birth and this spiritual regeneration so often imputed to the voluntary want of their consideration, and their " not laying to heart"' the things propounded to them, to their not " applying their heart to wisdom, not applying their minds to understanding, and their not framing their doings to turn to the Lord?" (Hosea 5:4)
Admit that desperate refuge which the assertors of the contrary doctrine are here forced to fly to, viz. that these exhortations and persuasions may be yet made to us, though we are utterly unable to comply with them, and, by God's act of preterition are left under that disability, because we once had grace and strength sufficient to perform them, though we have lost it by the fall; What is this to the import of all the exhortations, persuasions, and motives contained in the gospel, which are all directed to fallen man? And so, if God be serious in them, declare his great unwillingness that fallen man should perish, and his passionate desire that he should be saved; and if he speaks in them suitably to the capacities and faculties of fallen man, — plainly supposes him in a capacity, by the assistances which God is ready to afford him, and by the consideration of the motives which he offers to him, to understand his duty, and to chose the good and refuse the evil.
V. Wherefore, to give to outward means, and inward assistances, their due respective energy;
First. That honor must be due to God, and to his word, as to assert that the motives there offered must be sufficient, in the way of motives, to produce the ends for which they were designed. Seeing then the motives contained in the scripture to engage fallen man to turn from the evil of his ways, were certainly designed for that end, either they must be sufficient to engage him to turn from the evil of his ways, or else the highest motives that can be offered must be insufficient for that end, all other motives to deter us from any action as disadvantageous and pernicious to us, being as nothing when compared to that, depart from me, ye wicked, into ever lasting fire; all evils we can suffer from the hand of man, being little in respect of that we must have cause to fear from him who can destroy both soul and body in hell-fire.
Seeing, again, the promises of eternal happiness recorded in the same scriptures, as the reward of our obedience, were certainly designed to render us obedient, either they must be sufficient to engage us to yield that obedience to the good and holy will of God, or no inducements can be sufficient for that end; seeing this motive eminently contains all other motives in it, there being in those few words, the enjoyment of God and everlasting happiness, more than kingdoms and treasures, and all that can express the good things of this world, import; and therefore a more vehement constraining power in them to the performance of our duty, than in the united strength of worldly greatness, honors, pleasures; and that which represented), to our desires and hopes, what far exceeds all we can hope for or desire besides.
But then, secondly. because the blessings and miseries of another world are things invisible, and are discerned only by the eye of faith, they being moral and spiritual motives, which only work upon us as they are present to our minds by actual consideration and reflection on them, which naturally we are not inclined to; seeing they are not always present with us, when the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flesh, by sensual objects which we much affect, are thus present with us; — it is therefore necessary, that at all times when they are not thus present with us, and therefore cannot operate upon us, the Holy Spirit should, either by representing to us from the scriptures those divine truths with which our understandings have not been sufficiently enlightened or instructed, or else by reviving and inculcating on our spirits those motives and inducements to resist those temptations, and to perform those duties of which we are convinced by the word, assist us so to do. I therefore humbly conceive that inward operation of the Holy Spirit to consist in these two things:
1 . In representing the divine truths, which holy scriptures do contain and press upon us, more clearly to our understandings, that we may have a fuller evidence, stronger conviction, and assurance of them ; the eyes of our understanding being thus enlightened to know what is the hope of our calling, and the glorious riches of the inheritance of the saints;" (Ephesians 1:18) and this is styled THE ILLUMINATION OF THE MIND. '
2. In bringing these truths to our remembrance, that so these may be present with us when this is requisite to enable us to resist temptations, and to encourage .us to the performance of our duty; and upon supposition of these two things, that God acts with us suitably to the nature of our faculties, — on our understandings by representing the light to it, and on our wills by motives to chose the good and refuse the evil ; and that the highest motives and inducements possible offered to us in the name of the great God of heaven, when firmly believed and present to the mind, must be sufficient to produce their ends; it can be only requisite to our conversion and sincere obedience, that the Good Spirit should assist us in this work by that illumination which is sufficient to produce in us this strong conviction, and should present these motives to our memories, and make a deep impression of them there; which being present, will be sufficient to move our wills and our affections to prosecute the ends for which they are designed.
VI. I know there be many who, beyond all this, require a physical and an irresistible motion of the Holy Spirit, in which we are wholly passive, to the conversion of a sinner, which assertion shall be afterwards considered; at present I only shall endeavor fairly to compound and state this matter.
First. Then, I say, that it must be granted, that in raising an idea in my brain by the Holy Spirit, and the impression made upon it there, the action is truly physical.
Secondly. That in those actions I am wholly passive; that is, I myself do nothing formally to produce these ideas, but the Good Spirit, without my operation, does produce them in me.
And, thirdly, that these operations must be irresistible in their production, because they are immediately produced in us without our knowledge of them, and without our will, and so without those faculties by which we are enabled to act.
But then I add, that as far as they are so, they cannot be imputed to us; that is, it cannot be praiseworthy in us, or rewardable, that we have such ideas raised in us, but only that when they are thus raised in us we attend to them, comply with them, and improve them to the ends for which they were designed by the Holy Spirit.
To make this evident by an example, — it is generally granted, that Satan can so work upon the brain as to raise up in it impure and vile ideas; but then it is as generally held, that the thoughts they immediately, produce, will never be imputed to us as our sins, nor will God be displeased with us for them, if we do not after show any good liking to them, or consent to them, but manfully resist and rise up in detestation and abhorrence of them, — and that because the raising these ideas is the devil's action, not our own; and we are purely passive in them till we consent to, or show some liking of, them; and they are also inevitable and irresistible, it being in the power of no man to help them, to prevent their being raised in his brain, or any ways to suppress them, till he perceives them raised there.
And therefore for the same reasons those ideas which are objectively good being thus raised in us, cannot be imputed to us for reward, nor can God be well pleased with us for them till we co-operate with them, because the raising of them is properly God's, not our own action, and we are purely passive in it, nor is it in our power to prevent or resist them; but then God having planted in us a principle of reason and discretion, we can attend to them when they are raised in us, and so improve them to the illumination of our understandings, and to the approbation of them in our minds.
He also having given us a will to choose the good, and to refuse the evil, we may consent to the good suggestions and pursue the good motions- thus raised in us; for to what other ends can they be raised in us by the Holy Spirit? As therefore our attending and consent to the suggestions of the evil spirit being free and avoidable, is culpable, so our attendance to and compliance with these motions of the Holy Spirit, being things in which we are free and active, and that upon deliberation, and so in them we do perform the free and proper actions of a man, doing that willingly which we ought to do and refusing to do that which we have both power and temptations to perform, these things must be praise-worthy, and acceptable in the sight of God.
I also add, that these ideas being thus raised up in us by God alone, and even the power of attending and consenting to them being, together with our nature, entirely derived from him, and all the inducements which we have to attend to them, and comply with them, being properly of divine external revelation, or such divine internal operations, as if they had not intervened, we should have had none of these good effects produced in us; these effects are properly to be ascribed to God, and all the praise and glory of them must be due to him alone, because the principle of acting, and the inducement so to act, is solely from him.
Moreover, (1.) as these ideas raised in us are powerful inducements to the performance of our duty, as also all the other motives contained in the gospel revelation are, and as they all proceed from the free grace of God, they may be properly called exciting grace.
2, As they tend to restrain us from that sin to which we naturally are too much inclined, and to battle those temptations which the world, Satan, and our own evil hearts suggest unto us, they are as fitly styled restraining grace.
3. As they are given before we desired them, and these ideas are often raised up in us when we think not of them, they are properly preventing grace.
4. As they help us in the consideration of, and our endeavor and inclinations to perform, our duty, and resist temptations, they may be styled assisting grace.
And (5.) as they continue to do this more and more, even after the first turn of the heart from sin to God, and after some prevailing dispositions to love, fear, and serve God with sincerity of heart, they may be called the subsequent grace of God.
6. The distinction of grace into sufficient and efficacious grace is not, as Petavius well observes, generis in species, sed ejusdem speuiei secundum accident distinctio, ' a distinction of grace into different kinds or species, but only a distinction of the same kind of grace, according to its accidentally different effects, all efficacious grace being sufficient, and all sufficient grace being such as would be efficacious, did not the indisposition of the patient hinder the effect of it.
And, lastly, the distinction of grace into common and special may be understood two ways, viz. that grace which is afforded without any condition required on our part, as the vouchsafement of the knowledge of the gospel, and the calling men by it to the faith, may be called common grace, because it is common to all who live under the sound of the gospel; but that grace which is suspended upon a condition, as the receiving the assistance of the Holy Spirit upon our asking, seeking, knocking for him, our receiving more upon the due improvement of the talents received, the remission of sins upon our faith and repentance, may be styled special grace, because it only is vouchsafed to them who perform the condition; and so it is the same with grace absolute and conditional: or else that may be styled common grace by which we are led to the faith of Christ, and so it includes all those good desires which are excited in us, and all those good dispositions which are produced in the minds of men before they believe, all this grace being common to men before they are admitted into the new covenant; and that will be special grace which is given to believers only, for the strengthening of their faith, the increasing of their good desires, and the enabling them to live according to the gospel.
VII. That any supernatural habits must be infused into us in an instant, and not produced by frequent actions, or that any other supernatural aid is requisite to the conversion of a sinner, besides the forementioned illumination of the Holy Spirit, and the impression which he makes upon our hearts by the ideas which he raises in us, is that which my hypothesis by no means will allow; which ideas, though they are raised by a physical operation, yet are they moral in their operations: even as a man's tongue in peaking to persuade, or to dissuade another, performs a physical operation, though the effect of it is only moral.
Some Remonstrants, by granting this necessity of supernatural and infused habits, seem to have run themselves into this dilemma, that either these supernatural habits, viz. of faith and charity, may be wrought in men, and yet they may not be converted-; or else that all who are not converted, are therefore not converted because God's Spirit hath- not wrought these habits in them, which is thevery absurdity they labor to avoid.
SECTION III.
First, I assert that the manner in which God's grace and Holy Spirit acts upon the minds and hearts of men for the production of the fruits of the good Spirit, and the preparatory disposition of the soul towards them, may reasonably be conceived to be such as is suitable to the reason and faculties of men, the understanding and the will. Now it is certain that what naturally makes the understanding to perceive, is evidence proposed and apprehended, considered or adverted to; for nothing else can be requisite to make us come to the knowledge of the truth, and understand what the will of the Lord is be wise to salvation. Hence the apostle prays that the (Philippians 1:9,10) Philippians might abound more and more in knowledge and in all wisdom, en pase aisthesen, in all perception, that they might approve the things that are most excellent; and faith to the (Romans 12:2) Romans, be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, eis to dokimazein ein, that you may discern and prove what is according to the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Again, what makes the will choose, is something approved by the understanding, and consequently appearing to the soul as good; and whatsoever it refuses, is something represented by the understanding, and so appearing to the will as evil; whence all that God requires of us is, and can be this, to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Wherefore to say that evidence proposed, apprehended and considered is insufficient to make the understanding to approve; or that the greatest good proposed, the greatest evil threatened, when equally believed and reflected on, is not sufficient to engage the will to choose the good and refuse the evil, is in effect to say that which alone does move the will to choose or to refuse; is not sufficient to engage it so to do; that which, alone is requisite to make me understand and approve, is not sufficient to do so ; which being contradictory to itself, must of necessity be false.
Be it then so, that we have naturally an aversion to the truths proposed to us in the gospel, that only can make us indisposed to attend to them, but cannot hinder our conviction when we do apprehend them and attend to them; whence for removal of it, the apostle only prays, (Ephesians 1:17-18) that the eyes of our understanding may bе enlightened that we may know them; adding, that where the light of the knowledge of the glory of God was revealed, if, after this, (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) their gospel was hid from any, it was only so, because the god of this world had blinded their eyes, or the conceptions of their minds, that the light of the gospel might not shine into them. Be it that there is in us also a renitency to the good we are to choose, that only can indispose us to believe it is, and to approve it as our chiefest good. Be it that we are prone to the evil that we should decline, that only can render it the more difficult for us to believe it is the worst of evils; but yet what we do really believe to be our chiefest good, will still be chosen, and what we apprehend to be the word of evils, will, whilst we do continue under that conviction, be refused by us: It therefore can be only requisite, in order to these ends, that the Good Spirit should so illuminate our understandings, that we attending to, and considering what lies before us, should apprehend, and be convinced of our duty; and that the blessings of the gospel should be so propounded to us, as that we may discern them to be our chiefest good, and the miseries it threatens, so as we may be convinced they are the worst of evils, that we may choose the one, and refuse the other.
Now to consider in order to approbation and conviction, to choose in order to our good, and to refuse that we may avoid misery, must be the actions not of God but man, though the light that doth convince, and the motives which engage him thus to choose and refuse, are certainly from God.
SECTION IV. — To illustrate this by a familiar instance taken from ourselves, or our deportment towards others; when a man in words plain and intelligible speaks to another, if he will hearken to what he says, he must understand his mind; for by that very impression the words make upon his brain, he immediately perceives his mind; and cannot the divine impression on the mind, which is God's speaking inwardly to man, do the same thing? This action is indeed so necessary, that, as it is not virtuous or praiseworthy in any man to understand the mind of him that speaks to him, so neither seems it praiseworthy in us to understand the mind of God thus speaking to us. Again, these words of man contain sometimes an exhortation to another to do what he desires he would do, taken from the proposal of some advantage, or the promise of some good he shall receive by complying with his exhortation; or they contain some dehortation from doing what he would not have another do, because it will be hurtful to him, or will be certainly attended with some evil consequences. Is not this the method used by all the world in dealing with another? And do they not all do this with hopes and expectation of success? And is it not a great disparagement to the word of God to say, or think that all his persuasions, admonitions, exhortations, promises and the like should be inefficient to prevail with us to turn from our sinful courses, and turn to him, when men who use these methods towards their children, servants, friends or relations, do it in hopes that they shall be successful by these means?
Moreover, if the person they address to, be slow of understanding, do they not hope to overcome that difficulty by the clearness of their discourse, and by reiterating the same thing in such variety of expressions as he is will be able to perceive?
If he be averse from doing that which is desired, do they not hope to overcome that aversion by repeated exhortations and vigorous impressions of those encouragements they tender, to prevail upon him to comply with their desire? If he strongly be inclined to that from which they vehemently dehort him, do they not endeavor to turn the bent and current of his inclinations by the like repeated exhortations and lively representations of the evils he will be certainly exposed to by so doing? All men are therefore of this opinion in their practice, that acting with men by convincing reason, and by motives and persuasions, is acting with them suitably to their faculties, and so as that they may prevail. And is not God himself of the same mind? Has he not revealed his will on purpose that we may know it? Has he not directed his letters and epistles to us, that by reading we may understand them, and know the things which do belongs to our peace? Did our Savior utter all his discourses to the same end else does he inquire (John 8:43) why is it you do not understand my speech? (Mark 8:21) How is it that you do not understand? Why does he preface them with this instruction, (Mathew 15:10) hear and understand?
Does not God call upon us to (Haggai 1:5-7) to consider of our ways, and lay to heart his sayings and his dispensations? Does He not prescribe this as a remedy to prevent his judgments, when he says, (Psalm 50:22) Oh consider this, ye that forget God; and of being wise, by saying, (Deuteronomy 32:29) Oh that they were wise, that they would consider their latter end? Doth he not represent this as the source of all the wickedness and idolatry of his own people, (Isaiah 1:3, 44:19) that they would not consider in their heart? Does he not make conversion the effect of this consideration, when he says, (Ezekiel 18:28, Psalm 119:59) because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live? Yea, doth he not represent this as a just ground of hope, that even the most stubborn sinners may be reformed, when he says to the prophet, (Ezekiel 12:3) remove by day in their sight, it may be they will consider though they be a rebellious people? Does not God require his people to (Deuteronomy 30:19) choose life, pronouncing a blessing upon them who (Isaiah 56:4-5) choose the things that please him, and threatening destruction to them who (Proverbs 1:29) would not choose the fear of the Lord, but (Isaiah 66:4) chose the things in which he delighted not? Now dose he any thing more to prevail with them who do not choose the fear of the Lord, and do not do the things that please him, to engage them so to do, or not to do the contrary, but teach them his ways, and persuade them to walk in them?
Must it not then be certain that either he transacts with them as men, who notwithstanding any acts of preterition on his part, or any disability or corruption of will on their part, might by these things be induced to choose to fear him, and do the things that please him, and might abstain from the contrary; or threatened to destroy them for not choosing what they could not choose, for doing what they had not means sufficient to avoid, and for not doing what it was not profitable for men so vitiated and so deserted, to perform?
Again, does not God exhort the Jews to be (Isaiah 1:18-19)' willing and obedient, promising a full pardon and a blessing to them that do so? Does not Christ resolve the destruction of the Jews to this, (John 5:40) You Will not come unto me that you might have life? Declaring this to be the reason why they were not gathered, because he often (Luke 13:34) would have gathered them, but they would not be gathered; because being so graciously invited to the marriage, (Mathew 22:3) they would not come. Now what did he to engage them to come to him, to gather them, or prevail on them to come to the marriage feast, but show them the way of life, exhort and invite them to come to that feast?
Either then he transacted with them, as one who knew this was sufficient to these ends; and that these things might have prevailed with them, notwithstanding any decrees of God's preterition, or any disability through the corruption of their wills, to be willing and obedient to his invitation; or else he resolved on their exclusion from the marriage feast, and their not tasting His supper, for not doing what, in that state, they could not do; and condemned them for not coming to him when they could not come, because (John 6:37,44) the Father did not draw them, or give them to him; and for not being gathered, when he would not do that for them without which they could not be gathered.
Doth not God earnestly exhort and persuade men to repent and turn from the evil of their ways? Does he not say, (Psalm 81:13) Oh that my people would have hearkened to me, that Israel would have walked in my ways! (Deuteronomy 32:29) Oh that they were wise, that they would understand this! (Jeremiah 13:27) Oh Jerusalem wilt not thou be made clean, when shall it once be? (Luke 19:42) Oh that that thou had known in this thy day, the things that belong to thy peace!
Now either in these exhortations and persuasions made to men, vitiated not only by original, but many actual; corruptions, God dealt with them suitably to their faculties, that is abilities, exhorting them to do, and pathetically willing they had done, what He saw they might have done, though they, for want of due attention, consideration and reflection, did it not; or called them to repent that they had not done what they never could do, or that they did not avoid what it was not possible under their circumstances they should avoid; and seriously and passionately willed they themselves would have done, what if it ever had been done, must have been done by himself, and therefore was not done, because he did not unfrustrateably work the change in them; that is, he passionately willed they had been of the number of His elect, when he himself by an absolute decree from all eternity had excluded them out of that number.
In short, does not God encourage men to repent and believe, to be willing and obedient, by great and precious promises of the most excellent and lasting blessings? Has He not threatened eternal damnation to them that do not believe? Has not He told us that Christ will come in flaming fire, taking vengeance on all that obey not His gospel? (Mark 16:16, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) And must not all these things sufficiently convince us, that God acts with men as one who does indeed suppose that men may hearken to his exhortations, and comply with his persuasions to believe, and to obey his gospel, may be prevailed on by his promises to the performance of their duty, and terrified by His judgment threatened, from their disobedience? Why else is it said that God hath given us these (2 Peter 1:4) great and precious promises, that by them we may be made partakers of a divine nature? Why are we exhorted, (2 Corinthians 7:1) having these promises, to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God? Or why doth the apostle say, "knowing then the terror of the Lord we persuade men?"(2 Corinthians 5:11)
If, beyond all this, there be some physical and unfrustrable operation on God's part requisite to make men know, and, knowing, choose the good and refuse the evil; this being not vouchsafed to, or wrought in, them who are not born anew, why is the want of this new birth and this spiritual regeneration so often imputed to the voluntary want of their consideration, and their " not laying to heart"' the things propounded to them, to their not " applying their heart to wisdom, not applying their minds to understanding, and their not framing their doings to turn to the Lord?" (Hosea 5:4)
Admit that desperate refuge which the assertors of the contrary doctrine are here forced to fly to, viz. that these exhortations and persuasions may be yet made to us, though we are utterly unable to comply with them, and, by God's act of preterition are left under that disability, because we once had grace and strength sufficient to perform them, though we have lost it by the fall; What is this to the import of all the exhortations, persuasions, and motives contained in the gospel, which are all directed to fallen man? And so, if God be serious in them, declare his great unwillingness that fallen man should perish, and his passionate desire that he should be saved; and if he speaks in them suitably to the capacities and faculties of fallen man, — plainly supposes him in a capacity, by the assistances which God is ready to afford him, and by the consideration of the motives which he offers to him, to understand his duty, and to chose the good and refuse the evil.
V. Wherefore, to give to outward means, and inward assistances, their due respective energy;
First. That honor must be due to God, and to his word, as to assert that the motives there offered must be sufficient, in the way of motives, to produce the ends for which they were designed. Seeing then the motives contained in the scripture to engage fallen man to turn from the evil of his ways, were certainly designed for that end, either they must be sufficient to engage him to turn from the evil of his ways, or else the highest motives that can be offered must be insufficient for that end, all other motives to deter us from any action as disadvantageous and pernicious to us, being as nothing when compared to that, depart from me, ye wicked, into ever lasting fire; all evils we can suffer from the hand of man, being little in respect of that we must have cause to fear from him who can destroy both soul and body in hell-fire.
Seeing, again, the promises of eternal happiness recorded in the same scriptures, as the reward of our obedience, were certainly designed to render us obedient, either they must be sufficient to engage us to yield that obedience to the good and holy will of God, or no inducements can be sufficient for that end; seeing this motive eminently contains all other motives in it, there being in those few words, the enjoyment of God and everlasting happiness, more than kingdoms and treasures, and all that can express the good things of this world, import; and therefore a more vehement constraining power in them to the performance of our duty, than in the united strength of worldly greatness, honors, pleasures; and that which represented), to our desires and hopes, what far exceeds all we can hope for or desire besides.
But then, secondly. because the blessings and miseries of another world are things invisible, and are discerned only by the eye of faith, they being moral and spiritual motives, which only work upon us as they are present to our minds by actual consideration and reflection on them, which naturally we are not inclined to; seeing they are not always present with us, when the temptations of the devil, the world, and the flesh, by sensual objects which we much affect, are thus present with us; — it is therefore necessary, that at all times when they are not thus present with us, and therefore cannot operate upon us, the Holy Spirit should, either by representing to us from the scriptures those divine truths with which our understandings have not been sufficiently enlightened or instructed, or else by reviving and inculcating on our spirits those motives and inducements to resist those temptations, and to perform those duties of which we are convinced by the word, assist us so to do. I therefore humbly conceive that inward operation of the Holy Spirit to consist in these two things:
1 . In representing the divine truths, which holy scriptures do contain and press upon us, more clearly to our understandings, that we may have a fuller evidence, stronger conviction, and assurance of them ; the eyes of our understanding being thus enlightened to know what is the hope of our calling, and the glorious riches of the inheritance of the saints;" (Ephesians 1:18) and this is styled THE ILLUMINATION OF THE MIND. '
2. In bringing these truths to our remembrance, that so these may be present with us when this is requisite to enable us to resist temptations, and to encourage .us to the performance of our duty; and upon supposition of these two things, that God acts with us suitably to the nature of our faculties, — on our understandings by representing the light to it, and on our wills by motives to chose the good and refuse the evil ; and that the highest motives and inducements possible offered to us in the name of the great God of heaven, when firmly believed and present to the mind, must be sufficient to produce their ends; it can be only requisite to our conversion and sincere obedience, that the Good Spirit should assist us in this work by that illumination which is sufficient to produce in us this strong conviction, and should present these motives to our memories, and make a deep impression of them there; which being present, will be sufficient to move our wills and our affections to prosecute the ends for which they are designed.
VI. I know there be many who, beyond all this, require a physical and an irresistible motion of the Holy Spirit, in which we are wholly passive, to the conversion of a sinner, which assertion shall be afterwards considered; at present I only shall endeavor fairly to compound and state this matter.
First. Then, I say, that it must be granted, that in raising an idea in my brain by the Holy Spirit, and the impression made upon it there, the action is truly physical.
Secondly. That in those actions I am wholly passive; that is, I myself do nothing formally to produce these ideas, but the Good Spirit, without my operation, does produce them in me.
And, thirdly, that these operations must be irresistible in their production, because they are immediately produced in us without our knowledge of them, and without our will, and so without those faculties by which we are enabled to act.
But then I add, that as far as they are so, they cannot be imputed to us; that is, it cannot be praiseworthy in us, or rewardable, that we have such ideas raised in us, but only that when they are thus raised in us we attend to them, comply with them, and improve them to the ends for which they were designed by the Holy Spirit.
To make this evident by an example, — it is generally granted, that Satan can so work upon the brain as to raise up in it impure and vile ideas; but then it is as generally held, that the thoughts they immediately, produce, will never be imputed to us as our sins, nor will God be displeased with us for them, if we do not after show any good liking to them, or consent to them, but manfully resist and rise up in detestation and abhorrence of them, — and that because the raising these ideas is the devil's action, not our own; and we are purely passive in them till we consent to, or show some liking of, them; and they are also inevitable and irresistible, it being in the power of no man to help them, to prevent their being raised in his brain, or any ways to suppress them, till he perceives them raised there.
And therefore for the same reasons those ideas which are objectively good being thus raised in us, cannot be imputed to us for reward, nor can God be well pleased with us for them till we co-operate with them, because the raising of them is properly God's, not our own action, and we are purely passive in it, nor is it in our power to prevent or resist them; but then God having planted in us a principle of reason and discretion, we can attend to them when they are raised in us, and so improve them to the illumination of our understandings, and to the approbation of them in our minds.
He also having given us a will to choose the good, and to refuse the evil, we may consent to the good suggestions and pursue the good motions- thus raised in us; for to what other ends can they be raised in us by the Holy Spirit? As therefore our attending and consent to the suggestions of the evil spirit being free and avoidable, is culpable, so our attendance to and compliance with these motions of the Holy Spirit, being things in which we are free and active, and that upon deliberation, and so in them we do perform the free and proper actions of a man, doing that willingly which we ought to do and refusing to do that which we have both power and temptations to perform, these things must be praise-worthy, and acceptable in the sight of God.
I also add, that these ideas being thus raised up in us by God alone, and even the power of attending and consenting to them being, together with our nature, entirely derived from him, and all the inducements which we have to attend to them, and comply with them, being properly of divine external revelation, or such divine internal operations, as if they had not intervened, we should have had none of these good effects produced in us; these effects are properly to be ascribed to God, and all the praise and glory of them must be due to him alone, because the principle of acting, and the inducement so to act, is solely from him.
Moreover, (1.) as these ideas raised in us are powerful inducements to the performance of our duty, as also all the other motives contained in the gospel revelation are, and as they all proceed from the free grace of God, they may be properly called exciting grace.
2, As they tend to restrain us from that sin to which we naturally are too much inclined, and to battle those temptations which the world, Satan, and our own evil hearts suggest unto us, they are as fitly styled restraining grace.
3. As they are given before we desired them, and these ideas are often raised up in us when we think not of them, they are properly preventing grace.
4. As they help us in the consideration of, and our endeavor and inclinations to perform, our duty, and resist temptations, they may be styled assisting grace.
And (5.) as they continue to do this more and more, even after the first turn of the heart from sin to God, and after some prevailing dispositions to love, fear, and serve God with sincerity of heart, they may be called the subsequent grace of God.
6. The distinction of grace into sufficient and efficacious grace is not, as Petavius well observes, generis in species, sed ejusdem speuiei secundum accident distinctio, ' a distinction of grace into different kinds or species, but only a distinction of the same kind of grace, according to its accidentally different effects, all efficacious grace being sufficient, and all sufficient grace being such as would be efficacious, did not the indisposition of the patient hinder the effect of it.
And, lastly, the distinction of grace into common and special may be understood two ways, viz. that grace which is afforded without any condition required on our part, as the vouchsafement of the knowledge of the gospel, and the calling men by it to the faith, may be called common grace, because it is common to all who live under the sound of the gospel; but that grace which is suspended upon a condition, as the receiving the assistance of the Holy Spirit upon our asking, seeking, knocking for him, our receiving more upon the due improvement of the talents received, the remission of sins upon our faith and repentance, may be styled special grace, because it only is vouchsafed to them who perform the condition; and so it is the same with grace absolute and conditional: or else that may be styled common grace by which we are led to the faith of Christ, and so it includes all those good desires which are excited in us, and all those good dispositions which are produced in the minds of men before they believe, all this grace being common to men before they are admitted into the new covenant; and that will be special grace which is given to believers only, for the strengthening of their faith, the increasing of their good desires, and the enabling them to live according to the gospel.
VII. That any supernatural habits must be infused into us in an instant, and not produced by frequent actions, or that any other supernatural aid is requisite to the conversion of a sinner, besides the forementioned illumination of the Holy Spirit, and the impression which he makes upon our hearts by the ideas which he raises in us, is that which my hypothesis by no means will allow; which ideas, though they are raised by a physical operation, yet are they moral in their operations: even as a man's tongue in peaking to persuade, or to dissuade another, performs a physical operation, though the effect of it is only moral.
Some Remonstrants, by granting this necessity of supernatural and infused habits, seem to have run themselves into this dilemma, that either these supernatural habits, viz. of faith and charity, may be wrought in men, and yet they may not be converted-; or else that all who are not converted, are therefore not converted because God's Spirit hath- not wrought these habits in them, which is thevery absurdity they labor to avoid.
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