45 2 The Sublapfarians dot rine have no part in Chrift ? Well ; he ufurpeth,them notwich- ílanding: But is he able to inaintein them against the an- fcsec5 of the tempted ? or canhe make a good reply i' No certainly. For thus anfvvereth the tempted, God (T ) would have all to be raved with a revealed, but not with a fecret mill : andChrift diedfor all menfufjciently, but not intenti- onally; or ofGod did intendthat befhould die for all, yet he intended it upon a condition which he purpofed the mofi .,hould never perform. What can the Minifter reply to this ì' If he will make a dire& reply which (hall take away the an- fwer, he muff deny that God bath tvvowills, the one oppofite to the other, a ferret will that many (hall unavoydably be damped, and a aevealed will that all men may be poflibly Caved. And he muff alCo deny that God had an intent that Chri{t thould not die for a great many, or that he intended he fhould die for all upon condition they would believeand repent, and yet purpofed that the met} (hould never believe and repent. But can he deny there things ? He cannot, ex- cept he deny his own conclufion, which is, That there are many thouCands eternally and unavoydably reicaed in Gods abfolute purpofe from grace andglory. For that conclufion isall one with the anCwersof the tempted, and contradiaory to thofe arguments of comfort which he is glad tomake ufe of. Abfoluce Reprobation therefore bereaveth that Minifter; who believeth ir, of all folid grounds of confolation, and fo nnaketh himunable to recover apoore foul woundedwith this temptation. I I. Secondly, it leaveth a Minifler force weak grounds onely and infufficient toquiet the tempted : and therefore it waketh him unable ro comfort him. The grounds which it leaveth him are inlufficient, becaufe theycannot (S) con- vince,and make it evident to the underftandingof the tempt- ed that he is not that which he feareth, that is, a Reprobate. Out of temptation probabilities will uphold a mans hopes (as they did Manoahs vvifes,Judg. 13. 22, 2.3. If the Lord would kill us, hewouldnot have received a burnt-offering at our hands, nor (hewed ran all there things ; ) becaufe men are not Co raiflru(tfull then : But in temptationmen are ufu- ally veryCufpicious and incredulous, likeJacob, who would not be perfwaded that Joleph was alive and a great man in Egypt, till he law the chariots that were fent to fetch him thither, Gen. 45. 25. and like Thomas, who would not believe that Chrift was rifen, till he law the print of the nails
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