Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT70 .B397 1675

64. OfSuuicient and Elam! Grace. the4enfes and imagination, which God can by his power fet home to theattainment of the due effe&. 4. And yet I know not any, or many of your Adverfaries that deny that betides this Divine operation by the VVord , God hath another immediately on the foul, ,exciting it to operate upon the VVord, as the vis plaflica vitalis materna operatur in femen jam receptum. But I will here forbear to trouble you with the phyfical difficulties , whether the VVord heard be only objeltum intelleefas , or alfo caufa efficiens (as light is both to theeye.) And whether it be operative on the intellett, or only terminative, with other fuch like. C. "Well I muff grant you that all Infufed Faith (as to theall) is Ac- "quired: But allAcquired Faith not Infufed: but infufion is added to "our ownendeavours, like thecreation of'the humane foul. B. Iam glad that we are got fofar ontowards peace. But seil. 4. What mean youby Infufion? Is it not a Metaphor ? C. "Tes, and we mean that immediate perfwafion of Gad which you. " even confefs tobe betides his operation by the Word , and by our Cogi- " tations. Even a Creation ofanall or habit. B. 'wets. g. Is it the name [Infufion] or the thing that you plead for ? C. " The name (though I confefs Metaphors muff not be ufed unneceffarily " in Difpntes) isyet convenient : but that 'leave indifferent. B. weft. 6. Do you not think that the aft of Faith is the aet ofmans own Intellea, and Will, or soul, and that immediately. C. "Tes, that cannot be denied. . B. Iffo, then when you fay thatour all is Infufed, I hope you will confefs the term to be none ofthe plaineft ; and you only mean that Gods Gracedoth fooperate on the faculty as to excite it fo toaá; and confequently thatthe thing firft and properly infufed is not the alt of Faith it felf, but the vis impreffa facultatem , before defcribed , by which the alt iscaufed : And fo in a fecondary fenfe theall may be cal- led Infufed, but notmolt immediately. C. " I confeli it is thehabit which we commonly take to be Infufed g and " therefore weufeto diltinguifb habitus infufos ab habitibus acquifitis, ea- "ther than a&us infufos ab aftibus acquifitis. B. Is that Habit before the All or after it ? C. " Ton know that it is a Controverfie among our felves. Mr. Pemble " faith it is before, and the common opinion is, thatit is after the ftrl "fpecial Alt. B. i. I once received that from Mr. Pemble (ignorantly.) But that cometh to us by not diftinguithing the vis imprefa or firft received in- fluxof the fpirit froma Habit : when as Amefm well faith , it is fitter called fasten fzdei vel difpofitio quedam, than a Habit of Faith. For s. noman can prove fuch an antecedent habit ; and therefore none fhould affert it.' 2. Thetrue nature of a Habit confifteth in a promptitude to perform that fpecial all with facility. But that we thould have fuch a promptitude and facility notonly whileweare Infant Chriftians, butno Chriftians 5 ashaving not yet believed in Chrift, is not probableaccor- ding to our commoneft obfervation. 3. All other Habits fi,;low the Alts, and therefore we have little reafon to fay it is otherwise here. C. "Doh the soul believe beforeit is inclined or dilpofed to it? B. Inclination is a hard word , and befongeth both to Natural Incli- nation (fuch aswe have to Felicity) and to Habits, and tomeet Difpa fiions. And a pre-difpoftion we grant: As when you fpur your Horfe, you make him firft the patient of your aft, aad by fufcitatmg his

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