10 Of Eleflion. ~ left to farisfie himfelf wirh this RelJef , That he had done his part, bur the BooK f. Obflructions la¥ in man's Wdl,_ that would nor put forth the Act of Willing, ~ though he had gtven them fuffic1ency of helps ro do it. Yea,God hJmfelfmufl have fufpended, and h•ve forborn his dearefl delight and highefl firfl Blefling as Fphej. 1, 4> )· viz. The exercife of his Elec!bng Gnce, according to th: good pleafure of his Will towards any, llnul man's W11l had firfl uled thofe helps well, and put it felf forth into willing out of its Liberty to Ad , or not to Act- - And fo all Electing Grace might have been for ever fruflrated. All which neceffarily follows, That ir might thus have been, upon the Doctrine of Free-will Grace, if the way thereof had been God's way for Salvation And if that God lhould have kept to theLaws thereof, which men have fer fo~ the Salvation of themfelves and others : But, 0 ! blelfed and thrice bleffed be he, the God of all Grace, who forefeeing all this peremptorily, flruck in with an Eledion Grace , whereby to be fure he would fave fome, when he had a. fore by Election given to Chrifl, who a few hours afore his death , profelfeth to die for all that God gave htm,Jokn 17. Vfe, Now then we may enter a jufi complaint againfl the World, that although Election Grace is thus Necelfary unto Salvation, yet all the thanks God hath from the unthankfull Sons of Men , ignorant of their own interefi , and rhe ways of God, is, for him to be quarrel'd at for this his Election, in that he took not all , as well as fome; (for in fo much as they quarrel with thofe that hold it, they quarrel with God himfelf therein, Even as Chrifl faid, ] 11 thatJ e did it to thoje, ye did it unto me,)That whereas God before the fall was Free of any Obligations unto the Creature, but thole by the Laws of Cre· ation, which he exactly performed ; and yet notwithflanding man fell and whereas by the fall he was abfolutely quit and difcharged of all Obligati~ns to Men by the Forfeitures of the Dues and Alli!lances, by all the Laws of God, due to them; Yea and on the Contrary, was by his Ju!lice provoked to damn them , that it had been infinite Grace to fave, though but one Man, yet thefe would impofe upon him a nece!lity to give forth a Common Grace , and that he fhould propofe upon Free-will Terms to fave all, or elfe with them, it is not Grace to Mankind , nor worth the name of it : So zealous are they in pre· tence for their own Nature. Whereas on the Contrary according to their draught of what is their Common Grace,when all is Summed up,and it comes unto the event, it would not fave a Man: Corruption in Man is fo !lrong, and their affifling Grace which they propofc, is fo weak. I do not fay that thofe that hold that way of Free-will Grace, none of them are faved; but this I fay if God lhould deal with them , but only according to their own Medel and Draught,to the Meafure and Proportion ofthat Grace & the Works ofit,which they do Judge fufficient, that Work would not fave a Man of them, if God lhould not out of Grace work beyond the extent of their Opinions. It is as if the Angels lhould have faid, out ofZeal to their Common Natures, that be– caufe God has let go fo many ofus, that is our nature, to fall , whom he did not ehoofe, but fuffered to perifh Eternally, that therefore we will not accept that. Grace of Election by which we !\and , and which was offered us at firfi for Confirmation of us. But this is not all, (viz. this unthankfulnefs , but) there is an higher En· croachment'made upon God, in their denying him this way of Salvation by Election , and an entrenchment made upon his Freedom (I do not now fay , upon his Soveraignty. ) They will not allow him the ordinary Priviledge of · Choice, to and for himfelf, of whom he will. They would reflrain him in what is Ordinary by the Priviledg of. King's, yea, of all Men. They allow to everyMan to choofe their Wives ; becaufe they choofe for themfelves : To choofe their Friends, becaufe'tis for themfelvef, The Ptrjians allowed ir as a due and jufl Maxim , What jhatt 6e do11e to the Mm1 whom the Ki11g wiO Ho– nour. They allowed to Kings t<il have their Friends and bofom Favorites, as So– lomon had Za611d( 1 Kings 4, )•) th~tis called the Ki11g's l:'ritnd : Yet they quarrel with God, if he choofes A6rabam to be hi& Friend, unlefs it be wllh a refpective Decree, that he forefees he will be fo through the Cr.eatures Fre~- wiii
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