Presbyterian Church -- Sermons; Sermons, English; Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- 17th century
think God altogether like themselves, and so liken him to the builder of a
house, who set nothing before him in doing so, but to build it after that
manner for his own ends, but then being surprised with the fall and ruin
of it, takes a new advisement, and builds it up again upon another and a
surer foundation. But because they cannot say, that God takes any new
advisements in time, but must confess that all his counsels are
everlasting concerning all the works of his hands, therefore they bring in
foreknowledge to smooth their irreligious conceit of God, as if the Lord,
upon his purpose of creating man, had foreseen what should befall him, and
so purposed to permit it to be so, that out of it he might erect some
glorious fabric of mercy and justice upon the ruins of man. And that
little or nothing may be left to the absolute sovereign will of God, to
which the Scripture ascribes all things, they must again imagine, that
upon his purpose of sending Christ to save sinners, he is yet undetermined
about the particular end of particular men, but watches on the tower of
foreknowledge to espy what they will do, whether men will believe on his
Son or not, whether they will persevere in faith or not, and according to
his observation of their doings, so he applies his own will to carve out
their reward or portion of life or death. These are even the thoughts
which are inbred in your breasts by nature. That which the learned call
Arminianism is nothing else but the carnal reason of men’s hearts, which
is enmity to God. It is that very disputation which Paul in this chapter
exclaims against, “Who art thou, O man, that disputest?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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