A Plea for Grace, Title page – To the reader
VINDICIAE GRATIAE.
A PLEA FOR GRACE.
MORE ESPECIALLY THE GRACE OF FAITH. OR, Certain LECTURES as touching the Nature and Properties of GRACE and FAITH: Wherein, amongst other matters of great use, the maine sinews of ARMINIUS doctrine are cut asunder.
DELIVERED BY THAT late learned and godly man William Pemble, in Magdalen Hall in Oxford.
AUG. de Grat. & lib. Arbitr. cap. 16.
Certum est nos velle cum volumus: sed ille facit ut velimus bonum.—Certum est nos facere cum facimus: sed ille facit ut faciamus praebendo vires efficacissimas voluntati.
LONDON, Printed by R. YOVNG for I. BARTLET, at the golden Cup in Cheape-side. 1627.
TO THE RIGHT WORshipfull Nathanael Stephens Esquier, Grace and Peace from Iesus Christ.
SIR,
BOokes are more necessary in a state than arms: Arms are to defend us from the invasion of foes, bookes are to preserve us from the infection of errors; enemies can but kill the body, errors endanger the soule. There are crept into the Churches, a number of false opinions; some that oppugne, others that obscure the grace of God. The earth is of it selfe prone enough to bring forth weedes, but should one withall sow tares, we should have much ado at harvest. Our hearts are ranke enough to breed errors, and our wits cunning enough to defend them: but the scripture tells us, that the envious man comes and sows the tares of false opinions; and of weedes tares are the very worst: sith therefore errors are so plenty, bookes cannot but be very necessary. Tis true there bee many, and it may bee, according to the complaint, too many bookes abroad already; because many bee to little purpose, some little to the purpose: but of good and learned bookes, bookes fitted to the errors and diseases of the time (as this is) there neither be, nor well can bee too many: Many errors require many bookes. Nay, I may safely say, that many bookes are more necessary now than ever; for that wee are fallen into the very age of the Church, wherein as diseases in the body, so errors, the sicknesse of the soule, doe and must abound: For errors are necessary evills in the Church, that they that are approved may be made manifest, saith Saint Paul, And this is all that Satan hath gotten by stirring up the corrupt witts and pens of many abroad (and some at home) to write they care not what. Now wee doe begin to see, that Truth is the daughter of time: Truth is never new, but let an old Truth be newly proposed, and at first wee suspect it, let it settle a little, and in time truth gains ground, and wins upon the judgement and consciences of men; but erroneous opinions just like new fashions, when they are first on foote many doate upon them, give them but some time, and they grow stale and vaine: so now what by the decrees of Synodes, and the writings and preachings of the learned Time, hath brought it so about, that there are few Schollars or others that minde these matters, but doe begin to see thorow the conceipts of the Arminians. Though then this treatise might have beene abroad sooner, yet I dare promise that it comes not in too late; for hee that reads it with judgement shall soone see, that in the doctrine of Arminius, there is more wit than truth.
I doe here commend it to your reading, as to one whom the Lord hath made willing to learne, and able to judge, as also under your name unto the good of the Church, to stand as a testimony of my duty and love unto you, and of your zeale and love unto the truth.
Yours in the Lord Iesus, RICH: CAPEL.
To all that love and desire the grace of God, and the glory of his grace in IESUS CHRIST.
MY deare and beloved brethren in Christ, who are sensible of the dangers of these dayes, and of the misery of this sinfull age (wherein the heresies of the old condemned hereticke Pelagius, that notable profest enemy of Gods grace, are againe revived and raised up out of the bottomlesse pit, by the malice and subtiltie of the restlesse enemy of mankinde that old Serpent the Divell, working powerfully in and by that new upstart sect of Arminians, the Wolves of this age, who comming abroad in sheepes clothing, and bearing the name of Protestants, yea professing themselves Preachers of the Gospel in the reformed Churches, are indeed Pelagian heretickes, and disciples also of blasphemous Servetus and Socinus; yea and also have joyned hearts and hands in many maine fundamentall errors with the Papists our enemies, of the Romish Religion and faction) I doubt not but that as you grieve and sorrow in your soules to see this smoake of pestilent heresies ascending upon the face of our land, obscuring the light, and eclipsing the glory of our Church: so you do in your hearts earnestly desire to be made partakers of such worthy works & painful labours of Gods faithful Ministers, as are in all probability like to prove by Gods grace and blessing most powerfull and effectuall meanes, both for the establishing of your hearts in the love of Gods truth, and in the knowledge of the true doctrine of his grace, and also for the confirming of your minds, that they may neyther be daunted with the reproachfull calumnies and slanders, nor troubled and entangled with the deceitfull cavils and carnall reasons, which these subtile Sophisters have devised against Gods sacred truth in our Church professed: And therefore I doe presume to commend unto you this ensuing Treatise, which I (having occasion to peruse it while it was under the Presse) doe perceive to be, as most necessary for these times, so also most excellent and profitable for your purpose. For I finde in it, first, the doctrins of truth concerning the grace of God, and the powerfull worke of grace in the effectuall calling, conversion and regeneration of the elect, most plainly propounded, and strongly proved out of the sacred Scriptures: Also true saving and justifying Faith most accurately described & unfolded, with the whole nature and all the speciall properties of it, by which it may be distinctly knowne and discerned from common fading hypocriticall Faith. Secondly, the maine errors of Arminians and Papists, and their most grosse absurdities about universall grace, and mans free-mill, and power in working his owne salvation, truly related; their calumnies and slaunders of our Churches doctrine, detected and discovered, and their principall arguments, carnall reasons and objections, with wonderfull brevitie and singular dexteritie answered and refuted. Thirdly, by the way the authority, perspicuity and certainty of the holy Scriptures strongly maintained, and Popish errours about the uncertainty and obscurity of them, beaten downe by strength of reason and by the Word of God, as by a hammer that beates the rockes in pieces.
Though the style and maner of handling be somwhat Scholasticall, sitted and applyed to the place and persons where and among whom these Exercises were first performed (to wit, in one of the Schooles of the Prophets in the famous Vniversity of Oxford): yet I assure my selfe that whosoever reads this booke with good attention and understanding, shall finde the Authors meditations therein so throughly digested, and the nature, properties and proper acts of Grace and Faith so distinctly layde downe and accurately distinguished, that he shall reape to himselfe much profite and comfort thereby, and shall with me admire the grace of God abounding toward the Author, in all wisedome, and in all knowledge, lively sense and utterance of heavenly and supernaturall mysteries, far above all which can be expected from, or is ordinarily found in one of his age and yeares. If, as we know trees by their fruit, so we may passe our sentence upon the composer of this Treatise, by his work; we cannot conceive or speake lesse of him, but that as hee was from his childehood trayned up in the Schooles of learning, and had profited above his equals in the studies of the best arts, humane & divine, so undoubtedly he hath from his tender yeares beene throughly disciplined in the Schole of Christ, and hath by much and daily experience of afflictions and manifold temptati…ns in himselfe, and of the inward sensible operations of Gods spirit and grace in his owne soule, attained to this high measure of heavenly knowledge and understanding, whereof he hath here given us a lively experiment. It is not the most strong out stretched arme of humane reason, nor the most swift and farre flying arrow of the sharpest naturall wit, nor the farre extended lines of long continued studies, which can reach so high to these heavenly and supernaturall mysteries: It is onelyonly the holy Spirit of grace comming upon all these, taking possession of mans soule, dwelling in him, and making him a new creature, which brings this kind and measure of profound wisedome, and this distinct knowledge of divine things: yea by the fiery tryall of inward temptations onelyonly doth that blessed Spirit drive the thirsly soules of Gods militant Saints to digge and dive so deep into the fountaines of the sacred Scriptures, and to draw such living waters from the very bottome of those Wells of salvation. In a word, as the Apostle saith of yongue Abel, that by Faith having offered up a more excellent sacrifice than his elder brother Cain, he by it obtained witnesse that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, & by it he being dead yet speaketh, Heb. 11. 4. so I will not doubt nor bee affraid to say of the godly and learned Author of this Booke (who having offered up to God in a publike place these exercises, as the first fruits of his heavenly learning, did not long after leave this world in the flower of his age, and ascended up into that supercelestiall glory, towards which he had ever bent all his studies and desires, and which alwaies hee had sought after in the whole course of his life) that by faith hee, though yongue in yeares, hath offered up a more excellent sacrifice than many of his elder brethren; by which hee being dead yet speaketh, and shall speake to future ages. And as hereby he shall obtaine witnesse of all Gods surviving Saints, that hee himselfe was a righteous and faithfull servant of Christ, excelling in grace and vertue in the dayes of his pilgrimage here on earth: So God also will testifie of this his gift, that it is holy and acceptable in the eyes of his Majestie, by making it powerfull and effectuall to the begetting and increasing of saving grace, faith, and knowledge in all such as reade and peruse it with true Christian docilitie, diligence and humble devotion. To the blessing of which gracious God I leave this worke, and to his grace commend you all; desiring in my daily prayers to be and continue
Your brother, companion and fellow souldier in seeking the glory of Gods grace, defending the truth of the Gospell, and fighting against the spreading errours and springing heresies of this age, George Walker.