A Call to the Unconverted, Doctrine 3 – Doctrine 4
Doct. 3. GOD taketh Pleasure in mens Conversion and Salvation: but not in their Death or Damnation: he had rather they would Return and Live, then go on and die.
I shall first teach you how to understand this; and then clear up the truth of it to you.
And for the first, you must observe these following things. 1. A simple willingness or complacency is the first act of the will, following the simple apprehension of the understanding, before it proceedeth to compare things together. But the choosing act of the will is a following act, and supposeth the comparing practical act of the understanding: and these two acts may often be carried to contrary objects, without any fault at all in the person.
2. An unfeigned willingness may have divers degrees. Some things I am so far willing of, as that I will do all that lieth in my power to accomplish it: and some things I am truly willing another should do, when yet I will not do all that ever I am able to procure it, having many Reasons to disswade me there from; though yet I will do all that belongs to me to do.
3. The will of a Ruler, as such, is manifested in making and executing Laws: but the will of a man in his simple natural capacity, or as absolute Lord of his own, is manifested in desiring or resolving of events.
4. A Rulers will as Law-giver is first and principally that his Laws be obeyed: and not at all that the penalty be executed on any, but only on supposition that they will not obey his precepts. But a Rulers will, as Iudge, supposeth the Law already either kept or broken: and therefore he resolveth on rewards or punishments accordingly.
Having given you these necessary Distinctions, I shall next apply them to the case in hand, in these following Propositions.
1. It is in the glass of the word a…d creatures that in this life we must know God: and so according to the nature of man we ascribe to him Vnderstanding and will, removing all the imperfections that we can, because we are capable of no higher Positive conceptions of him.
2. And on the same grounds we do (with the Scripture) distinguish between the acts of Gods will, as diversified from the respects of the objects, though as to Gods essence they are all one.
3. And the boldlyer; because that when we speak of Christ, we have the more ground for it from his humane nature.
4. And thus we say that the simple Complacency, Will or Love of God is to all that is Naturally, or Morally good, according to the nature and degree of its goodness. And so he hath pleasure in the Conversion and Salvation of all, which yet will never come to pass.
5. And God as Ruler and Law-giver of the world, hath so far a Practical Will for their salvation, as to make them a free Deed of Gift of Christ and Life, and an act of Oblivion for all their sins, so be it they will not unthankfully reject it; and to command his Messengers to offer this Gift to all the world, and perswade them to accept it. And so he doth all that as Law-giver or Promiser belongs to him to do for their salvation.
6. But yet he resolveth as Law-giver, that they that will not turn shall dye: And as Iudge, when their day of grace is past, he will execute that Decree.
7. So that he thus unfeignedly willeth the Conversion of those that never will be Converted, but not as Absolute Lord, with the fullest efficacious Resolution, nor as a thing which he resolveth shall undoubtedly come to pass, or would engage all his power to accomplish. It is in the power of a Prince to set a guard upon a Murderer to see that he shall not murder and be hanged. But if upon good reason he forbear this, and do but send to his subjects, and warn and intreate them not to be murderers, I hope he may well say that he would not have them murder and be hanged; he takes no pleasure in it, but rather that they forbear and live. And if he do more for some, upon some special reason, he is not bound to do so by all. The King may well say to all the Murderers and Felons in the Land, [I have no pleasure in your death, but rather that you would obey my Laws and live: but If you will not, I am resolved for all this that you shall die.] The Judge may truly say to the Thief or Murderer, [Alas man, I have no delight in thy death: I had rather thou hadst kept the Law, and saved thy life; but seeing thou wilt not, I must condemn thee, or else I should be unjust.] So though God have no Pleasure in your damnation, and therefore calls upon you to Return and Live, yet he hath Pleasure in the demonstration of his own Iustice, and the executing his Laws, and therefore he is for all this fully resolved, that if you will not be Converted, you shall be Condemned. If God were so much against the death of the wicked, as that he were resolved to do all that he can to hinder it, then no man should be Condemned: whereas Christ telleth you that few will be saved. But so far God is against your damnation, as that he will teach you, and warn you, and set before you life and death, and offer you your choice, and command his Ministers to intreate you not to damn your selves, but accept his Mercy, and so to leave you without excuse; but if this will not do, and if still you be Unconverted, he professeth to you, he is resolved of your damnation, and hath commanded us to say to you in his name, Verse 8. O wicked man, thou shalt surely die! And Christ hath little less then sworn it over and over, with a Verily, verily, except ye be Converted, and born again, ye cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven, Matth. 18.3. Iohn 3.3. Mark, that he saith, [You cannot] It is in vain to hope for it, and in vain to dream that God is willing of it; for it is a thing that cannot be.
In a word you see then the meaning of the Text, that God the great Law-giver of the world doth take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they Turn and Live; though yet he be resolved that none shall Live but those that Turn; and as Iudge, even delighteth in Justice and manifesting his hatred of sin; though not in their misery which they have brought upon themselves in it self considered.
2. And for the proofs of the point, I shall be very brief in them, because I suppose you easily believe it already.
1. The very gracious nature of God proclaimed Exod. 34.6. & 20.6. and frequently elsewhere, may assure you of this, that he hath no Pleasure in your death.
2. If God had more pleasure in thy Death then in thy Conversion and Life, he would not have so frequently commanded thee in his word, to Turn; he would not have made thee such promises of Life, if thou wilt but Turn; he would not have perswaded thee to it by so many Reasons. The tenour of his Gospel proveth the point.
3. And his Commission that he hath given to the Ministers of the Gospel, doth fully prove it. If God had taken more pleasure in thy damnation, then in thy Conversion and Salvation, he would never have charged us to offer you Mercy, and to teach you the Way of Life both publikely and privately, and to intreate and beseech you to turn and live; to acquaint you with your sins, and foretell you of your danger, and to do all that possibly we can for your Conversion; and to continue patiently so doing, though you should hate us, or abuse us for our pains. Would God have done this, and appointed his Ordinances for your good, if he had taken Pleasure in your death?
4. It is proved also by the course of his providences. If God had rather you were damned then Converted and Saved, he would not second his word with his works, and entice you by his daily kindness to himself, and give you all the mercies of this life which are his means to lead you to Repentance, Rom. 2.4. and bring you so often under his rod, to force you into your wits; he would not set so many examples before your eyes; no nor wait on you so patiently as he doth from day to day, and year to year. These be not signs of one that taketh pleasure in your death. If this had been his delight, how easily could he have had thee long ago in Hell? How oft before this could he have catcht thee away in the midst of thy sins, with a curse, or oath, or lye in thy mouth, in thy ignorance and pride, and sensuality? when thou wast last in thy drunkenness, or last deriding the waies of God, how easily could he have stopt thy breath, and tamed thee with his Plagues, and made thee sober in another world! Alas, how small a matter is it for the Lord Almighty to rule the tongue of the prophanest railer, and tye the hands of the most malicious persecutor, or calm the fury of the bitterest of his enemies, and make them know that they are but worms? If he should but frown upon thee, thou wouldst drop into thy grave. If he gave Commission to one of his Angels to go and destroy ten thousand sinners, how quickly would it be done! How easily can he lay thee on thy bed of languishing, and make thee lie roaring there in pain; and make thee eat the words of reproach which thou hast spoken against his Servants, his Word, his Worship and his holy Waies? And make thee send to beg their prayers whom thou didst despise in thy presumption? How easily can he lay that flesh under gripes and groans, and make it too weak to hold thy soul, and make it more loathsom then the dung of the earth? That flesh which now must have what it loves, and must not be displeased though God be displeased; but must be humoured in meats, and drink, and cloaths, whatever God say to the contrary, how quickly would the frowns of God consume it? When thou wast passionately defending thy sin, and quarrelling with them that would have drawn thee from it, and shewing thy spleen against the reprover, and pleading for the works of darkness; how easily could God have snatcht thee away in a moment, and set thee before his dreadful Majesty, where thou shouldst see ten thousand times ten thousand of glorious Angels waiting on his throne? and have called thee there to plead thy cause, and asked thee, What hast thou now to say against thy Creator, his Truth, his Servants, or his holy waies? Now plead thy cause, and make the best of it that thou canst. Now what canst thou say in excuse of thy sin? Now give account of thy worldliness and fleshly life, of thy time, of all the mercies thou hast had. O how thy stubborn heart would have melted, and thy proud looks be taken down, and thy countenance be appaled, and thy stout words turned into speechless silence, or dreadful cries, if God had but set thee thus at his Bar, and pleaded his own cause with thee, which thou hast here so maliciously pleaded against! How easily can he at any time say to thy guilty soul, [Come away and live in that flesh no more till the resurrection] and it cannot resist? A word of his mouth would take off the poise of thy present life, and then all thy parts and powers would stand still: and if he say unto thee, [Live no longer: or live in Hell] thou couldst not disobey.
But God hath yet done none of this; but hath patiently forborn thee, and mercifully upheld thee; and given thee that breath which thou didst breath out against him, and given those Mercies which thou didst sacrifice to thy flesh, and afforded thee that provision, which thou spentest to satisfie thy greedy throat; he gave thee every minute of that time, which thou didst waste in idleness, or drunkenness, or worldliness: and doth not all this Patience and Mercy shew that he desired not thy damnation? Can the candle burn without the oyl? Can your houses stand without the earth to bear them? As well as you can live an hour without the support of God. And why did he so long support thy life, but to see when thou wouldst bethink thee of the folly of thy waies, and return and live? Will any man purposely put arms into his enemies hands to resist him? or hold the Candle to a Murderer that is killing his children, or to an idle servant that Plaies or sleeps the while. Surely it is to see whether thou wilt at last Return and Live, that God hath so long waited on thee.
5. It is further proved by the sufferings of his Son, that God taketh no pleasure in the death of the wicked: would he have ransomed them from death at so dear a rate? Would he have astonished Angels and men by his condescension? Would God have dwelt in flesh, and have come in the form of a servant, and have assumed humanity into one person with the Godhead, and would Christ have lived a life of suffering, and dyed a cursed death for sinners, if he had rather taken pleasure in their death? Suppose you saw him but so busie in preaching and healing them, as you find him in Mark 3.21. or so long in fasting, as in Mat. 4. or all night in prayer, as in Luk. 6.12. or praying with th… drops of blood trickling from him instead of sweat, as Luke 22.44. or suffering a cursed death upon the Cross, and pouring out his soul as a sacrifice for our sins: Would you have thought these the signs of one that delighted in the death of the wicked?
And think not to extenuate it by saying that this was only for his Elect. For it was thy sin, and the sin of all the world that lay upon our Redeemer, and his sacrifice and satisfaction is sufficient for all, and the fruits of it are offered to one as well as another: but it is true, that it was never the intent of his mind to pardon and save any that would not by faith and repentance be Converted. If you had seen and heard him weeping and bemoaning the state of a disobedient impenitent people, Luke 19.41, 42. or complaining of their stubborness, as Mat. 23.37. Oh Ierusalem, Ierusalem, how oft would I have gathered thy chil…ren together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not? Or if you had seen and heard him on the Cross praying for his persecutors, [Father forgive them, for they know not what they do] would you have suspected that he had delighted in the death of the wicked; even of those that perish by their wilfull unbelief? When God hath so loved (not only loved, but so loved) the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, (by an effectual faith) should not perish, but have everlasting life: I think he hath hereby proved against the malice of men and devils, that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but had rather that they would Turn and Live:
6. Lastly, if all this will not yet satisfie you, take his own word, that knoweth best his own mind, or at least believe his oath: but this leadeth me up to the fourth Doctrine.
Doct. 4. THE Lord hath confirmed it to us by his Oath, that he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he Turn and Live: that he may leave man no pretence to question the truth of it.
If you dare question his word, I hope you dare not question his oath. As Christ hath solemnly protested, that the unregenerate and Unconverted cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven, Mat. 18.3. Iohn 3.3. So God hath sworn that his pleasure is not in their death, but in their Conversion and Life. And as the Apostle saith, Heb. 6.13, 16, 17, 18. Because he can swear by no greater then himself, he saith, As I live, &c. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of strife; wherein God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by on oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lye, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us, which we have as an Anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast. If there be any man that cannot reconcile this truth with the Doctrine of Predestination, or the actual damnation of the wicked, that's his own ignorance: he hath no pretence left to deny or question therefore the truth of the point in hand: For this is confirmed by the Oath of God, and therefore must not be distorted to reduce it to other points: but doubtful points must rather be reduced to it, and certain truths must be believed to agree with it, though our shallow brains do hardly discern the agreeement.