A Practical Discourse of Gods Sovereignty, Title page – Preface
A PRACTICAL DISCOƲRSE OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY: With other Material points, deriving thence.
Epheſ. 1. 11.
—Who worketh all things after the Council of His own Will.
LONDON, Printed by Ben. Griffin for E. C. 1673.
An Accompt of the Treatiſe and Publication.
THE General Heads of this Diſcourſe, (with other ſound Principles, generally owned by the Churches of Britain) the Authour was ſomewhat Inſtructed-in from his Childhood; and had heard but little of their contraries, till a few years ſince, that he fell in acquaintance with ſome who held the General Point: That, he means, which would make the Grace of God in Chriſt, to be General and alike to All; ſuſpending the whole ſucceſs thereof on the Humane Will; without any peculiar Aſſiſtance afforded to Any, but what is given in Common unto Men. Which yet he thinks more rightly term'd General, as having the Generality of Men in Nature, for Abettors of it. Not that he thinks All who hold for it, to be in a Natural ſtate; For, as of Moſt the Judgement is better than their practiſe; ſo, of Some he hopes the practiſe may be ſounder than their Judgment: But ſo to hold, and practiſe accordingly, he cannot but judge extremely perilous to the Souls of Men.
Divers occaſional conferences he had with thoſe of That way: In all which he found it their drift to Inſinuate that Principle: (Not caring much to diſcourſe of any thing elſe, but ſtill diverting into that channell:) And this, with that Confidence of their own, and contempt of the contrary Judgment; ſuch uncomly Reflections (from ſome of them) upon their Opponents, and ſlight regard of the Scriptures brought againſt them; as in no wiſe beſeem'd a Contending for the Faith.
He alſo found their opinion moſtly grounded upon words and phraſes of a variable interpretation; Not weighing the Scope of the Text, nor how the ſenſe they gave of it, might accord with thoſe of a contrary Import. It was ſtill their way, to bring Thoſe that were plain and expreſs, to be tryed by thoſe of a doubtful ſound: Whereas (indeed) the contrary Courſe had been more Regular, and likely to find-out the Truth.
Not that any Scripture is doubtful in it ſelf, or would ſeem ſo to us; were the ſcope and context rightly underſtood: But, the ſame word being uſed in divers places to a different purpoſe; for want of well-obſerving, or rightly taking the Scope, is eaſily turn'd from its proper Intendment.
It is true, he found among them a general agreement againſt our Doctrine of Election: and yet, as much differing among themſelves as they do from us: Some holding Election, upon Faith foreſeen; Others, That Men are taken into delightful Love when they do actually beleive, and not before; Others of them, That there is no Man Elected till he hath Perſevered in Believing to the laſt Moment of his life; And Others agen, That there is no Election at all, of particular perſons as ſuch, but of the intire ſpecies of Men from Eternity.
This put him upon ſearching the Scriptures more Setly, touching the Doctrine of Election; Wherein the farther he went, the more he was confirm'd in what he had firſt receiv'd. And as he went-on, found thoſe other Points of Peculiar Redemption, Effectual Calling, and Final Perſeverance, ſo interwoven with That of Election, and dependent thereon; as very Naturally induced a Diſcuſſion of Thoſe alſo▪ And as Preparatory thereto, it ſeemed expedient to preface th… whole with the Doctrine of God's Sovereignity: the reaſons whereof, with its uſefullneſs, you will find in the Treatiſe it ſelf. It alſo lay before him, to obſerve, What uſeful Inſtructions deriv'd from theſe Doctrines, above Thoſe of the contrary tenor.
Of this Work was oft-times a Stop and Laying-aſide, as Reſolv'd to proceed no farther: Not ſo much from the want, as Redundancy, of Matter, which he conceiv'd to be in the Scriptures for it; but found himſelf too-narrow to make-it-out: Partly alſo, from the difficulty of bringing his ſcattered Miſcellaneous Notes, to a Conſiſtency. But, by one Impreſſing Occurrence or Other, it ſtill Reviv'd and went-on afreſh; till at length, his Gleanings grew into a ſhock; Which then he bound-up and deſigned it a Legacy to his Children, To whom onelyonly he thought to commend it.
But, ſo it was, (in the Providence of God,) That ſome parts thereof came to the view and hearing of ſeveral Antient and Sober Chriſtians, who expreſt a very hearty Reſentment and Approbation of it; Affectionately wiſhing it might be printed, for more general uſe; as That which might help to confirm the Tenure of Thoſe already poſſeſs'd of the Truth, but ſtill remain ſubject to ſifting.
One amongſt them (who had caſt a favourable Aſpect on the contrary Point;) profeſſed himſelf well-ſatisfied with what he had found in this, touching the Impotency of natural Free-will, tho' aſſiſted with General Grace; Ʋrging alſo the publiſhing of it, For that he thought, the plainneſs thereof might render it more Convincing to ſome (that were looking another way) than learned Diſputes.
Another Conſideration (which alſo had its weight) was laid in the Ballance; viz. The uſefulneſs it might be of, To antidote young Profeſſors (or Probationers in Religion;) who being ſcarſe out of the ſhell of their Natural Ʋnderſtanding, are pronely Receptive of Notions that ſpring from a Covenant of Works; which, by means of ſo familiar a diſcourſe of Nature's weakneſs, with the Neceſſity and Invincible efficacie of Divine Grace, they might happily be Armed-againſt.
Repeated inſtances prevailed (at length) for a willingneſs to make it publick; in caſe it ſhould alſo obtain Approbation from approved Divines; whoſe Teſt and Judgment he would firſt ſubmit it unto: Retaining (nevertheleſſe) a deep ſenſe of his manifold inſufficiency for ſuch a work; and praying, that his perſonal weakneſs and obſcurity may not prejudice the Truth.
I ſhall only add (by the way) a word of Religious education: That tho' it do not confer Grace, yet it may prove (and hath ſo to many) a good Preſervative from evils in practice, and errours in Judgment; which others (who had not that Merciful advantage) have more aptly fell-into. Beſides, When God comes to work effectually; Thoſe Notions of ſin, of Chriſt, and of Grace, (of which before, they had but the Form;) have proved of ſingular uſe to facilitate the work.
The Lord vouchſafe His preſence with it! Amen.