Dialogue Between the Baptist and the Presbyterian, Dialogue
A Brief Dialogue, wherein the Presbyterians are puniſhed by their own Pens.
Baptiſt.
WEll met, Sir; I have ſomewhat to ſay unto you.
Presbyterian.
Pray ſay on, I would know what is the matter.
Bapt.
I was reading an Author the other day, and he declares, That the Doctrine of the Presbyterians is blaſphemous againſt God, and cruel to Mankind, making God the Author of all Sin, and the deſtroyer of Mankind, in the greateſt part, without any Mercy, or help for their Salvation.
Pr.
This is an heavy Charge indeed, but it is not true in this, we do not make God the Author of Sin. We do ſay indeed, by our Confeſſion of Faith made by the Aſſembly of Divines, and approved by the General Aſſembly of the Kirk of Scotland, That God did from all Eternity, freely and unchangeably ordain whatſoever comes to paſs, Chap. 3.
Bapt.
But when you ſay that God did freely and unchangeably ordain whatſoever comes to paſs, do you mean that God ordain'd all the Sins of Angels and Men, that they ſhould come to paſs, of neceſſity or unavoidably?
Pr.
Yes, that is our very meaning; for we tell you in the ſame Book, Chap. 5. That the Almighty Power of God, extends it ſelf to the firſt Fall, and all other Sins of Angels and Men, and that not by a bare Permiſſion, &c.
Bapt.
What do you mean, by the Almighty Power of God extending it ſelf to the firſt Fall, and all other Sins of Angels and Men?
Pr.
We mean, and ſay in expreſs words, That by a neceſſity of divine Providence the Fall of Adam did neceſſarily happen, that God made Adam and Eve to this very purpoſe, that he might ſuffer them to be tempted, and led into Sin, and that by force of his Counſel or Decree, it could not otherwiſe be, but that they muſt ſin. Piſcat. Diſp. Pref. p. 6.
Bapt.
This ſeems very ſtrange that God ſhould lay Adam under a neceſſity of Sinning.
Pr.
It could not otherwiſe happen than God had ordain'd; and in reſpect of God's Decree, there is no contingency (or condition) in the World. And therefore Adam's change from Good to Evil, was abſolutely neceſſary to the execution of God's Decree. Piſcat. Diſp. praedeſt.
Bapt.
But do you not ground this Decree upon God's Foreknowledge, rather than upon his Will?
Pr.
God foreſees nothing but what he hath decreed, and his Decree doth precede (or go before) his Knowledge. Adam neceſſarily fell in reſpect of God, and it behoved him to Sin, not by the idle permiſſion of God ſeparate from his Will and Decree. Piſcat. Diſp. praedeſt.
Bapt.
Can any ſatisfactory Reaſon be given for this Doctrine?
Pr.
Man doth fall, God's Providence ſo ordaining it. And the firſt Man fell, becauſe the Lord thought it expedient: why he thought it expedient we cannot tell. Calvin. Inſt. l 3. c. 23. ſect. 8.
Bapt.
By this Doctrine you make God the Author of Sin, though you would deny it.
Pr.
God doth holily drive, or thruſt Men on to Sin or Wickedneſs, that he may puniſh Sins with Sins. God is the Author of Sin one way, and the Devil another; yet we ſay, God is the Author, not of theſe Actions alone, in and with which Sin is, but of the very Pravity, Ataxy, Anome, Irregularity and Sinfulneſs it ſelf which is in them; yea, that God hath more hand in Mens Sinfulneſs, than they themſelves. Comfort. for Believ. p. 36, 37.
Bapt.
How it is poſſible that the Holy God ſhould have any will to, or hand in, the Sins of Devils and Men?
Pr.
Adultery or Murther is the Work of God the Author, ſaith Zuingl. de. Prov. c. 6. God may ſeem not to be the cauſe of human Actions only, but of the very Defects and Privations which cleave unto them, Pet. Mart. in 1 Sam. c. 2. God procures Adultery, Curſings, Lyings, Piſcat. Reſp. ad Apol. Britii. p. 143. All wicked Men do all that they do by force of God's Will, idem Reſp. ad Tauff. p. 65. God efficaciouſly acteth, or effecteth, and by his efficacy performeth all things without any the leaſt exception. Beza cont. Caſtel. Aphoriſ. 1, 6, 7.
Bapt.
Theſe are very unſavory Speeches. I ever thought, and do yet believe that the Devil and wicked Men are the Authors of all Sin; and that God only ſuffers Sin, that is, he doth not by violence always hinder them, though he does often reſtrain them, and graciouſly prohibits all Sin under pain of his diſpleaſure.
Pr.
The Devil and Wicked Men are ſo reſtrained on every ſide with the Hand of God, as with a Bridle, that they cannot conceive, nor contrive, nor execute any Miſchief, nor ſo much as endeavour its execution, any further than God himſelf doth not permit only, but command; nor are they only held in Fetters, but compelled alſo as with a Bridle to perform Obedience to ſuch Commands. Calvin. Inſt. l. 1. c. 17. God exciteth Men to the act of Adultery, that he ſtirreth them up to unjuſt Acts, as a Man puts Spurs to a dull Jade. Mr. Barlee cont. Mr. T. P.
Bapt.
Certainly the Original of Sin is Satan's Malice, and the Luſts of the Fleſh, and cannot be bottomed on God's Decree, for he tempteth not any Man; nor on his Commands, for they prohibit all Sin.
Pr.
God's Decree, by which any is deſtin'd to Condemnation, is not an Act of Juſtice, nor doth his Decree preſuppoſe Sin—When God makes an Angel or a Man a Tranſgreſſor, he himſelf doth not tranſgreſs becauſe he doth not break a Law. The ſame Sin, viz. Adultery or Murther, inaſmuch as it is the Work of God, the Author, Mover, and Compeller, it is not a Crime; but in aſmuch as it is of Man, it is Wickedneſs. Dr. Twiſs, in Serm. de Prov. See Mr. Peirce, Correct Cop. p. 10.
Bapt.
This is highly groſs, that you ſhould charge God with making the Devils and Men Tranſgreſſors; whereas God made Man upright, but he hath ſought out many Inventions.
Pr.
God doth ſtir up the Devil to lie, and is in ſome manner the cauſe of Sin, and thruſteth on the Wills of the Wicked to grievous Sins. Pet. Vermil. in Ep. ad Rom. p. 403, 406. and 38. Yea, God doth incite, ſeduce, draw, command, harden, and inject Deceptions, and effecteth thoſe things which are grievous Sins. Piſcat. ad Amic. Dupl. Vorſtii, p. 176.
Bapt.
By this Doctrine you make Man an inſignificant Cypher, and God the principal Actor in all Wickedneſs. But ſeeing the Elect do ſin as well as others, Who is the Cauſe of their Sins?
Pr.
Though Reprobates are predeſtinated to Damnation, and to the Cauſes of Damnation, and created to that end that they may live wickedly, and be Veſſels full of the Dregs of Sin; yet it follows not that God's abſolute Decree is the Cauſe of all the Villanies and Lewdneſſes in the World, becauſe, beſides the Sins of the Reprobates, there are alſo other Villanies committed, namely by the Elect. Piſcat. cont. Tauff. p. 47.
Bapt.
But you do not anſwer the Queſtion, Whether did God decree that the Elect ſhould ſin?
Pr.
Nothing is done without God's Will, no not without his Operation; for God worketh all things in all Men, therefore he willeth and effecteth that ungodly Men do live in their Concupiſcences. Trigland. Apol. p. 172.
Bapt.
But why do not you anſwer the Queſtion directly, Whether God decreed all the Villanies committed by the Elect?
Pr.
God doth incite, ſeduce, draw and harden, and inject Deceptions; and doth or effecteth thoſe things which are hainous and grievous Sins. Mart. in Judg. 3. 9. P. 49.
ſo of periſhing by this Ordination of God; and ſo compelled, that they cannot chuſe but ſin and periſh. Zanch. de Nat. Dei, l. 5. c. 2. Man doth that which is not lawful for him to do, by the juſt impulſe of God. Calv. Inſt. l. 1. c. 18.
Bapt.
If things be thus as you teach, Why does God call upon Men to abſtain from every appearance of Evil, and to do Good?
Pr.
God directeth his Voice to ſome Men, but that they may be ſo much the deafer; he gives Light to ſome Men, but that they may be ſo much the blinder; he offers them Inſtruction, but that they may be the more ignorant; and he uſeth a Remedy, but to the end they may not be healed. Calv. lib. 3. c. 24.
Bapt.
Why, does God ſpeak one thing, and mean another quite contrary thereunto? How then is he ſerious?
Pr.
God cannot ſeriouſly act, and be finally oppoſed, Dr. Collings, ut ſupra. God can will that Man ſhall not fall by his Will, which is called voluntas ſigni, (his revealed Will); and in the mean time ordain, that the ſame Man ſhall infallibly and efficaciouſly fall by his Will, which is called voluntas beneplaciti, (viz. his acceptable Will): The former Will of God is improperly called his Will, for it only ſignifies what Man ought to do by right; but the latter Will is properly called a Will, becauſe by that he decreed what ſhould inevitably come to paſs. See Mr. Pierce Correct Copy, p. 9.
Bapt.
By your Doctrine I perceive you hold, that the number of the Saved, and the number of the Damned, were unalterably determined, before there was ſo much as one Man created.
Pr.
Yes, we ſay, by the Decree of God for the manifeſtation of his Glory, ſome Men and Angels are predeſtinated unto Everlaſting Life, and others fore-ordained to Everlaſting Deſtruction; and thoſe Angels and Men thus predeſtinated, and fore-ordained, are particularly and unchangeably deſigned; and their Number ſo certain and definite, that it cannot be either encreaſed or diminiſhed. Aſſemb. Catechiſ. c. 3. ſect. 3, 4.
Bapt.
Why then is the Goſpel preached to Men thus determin'd to Damnation?
Pr.
It muſt neceſſarily follow that Chriſt is preached to them to aggravate their Damnation. Dantil. cont. Anonimum.
Bapt.
You make the Caſe of the greateſt part of Men grown deplorable, without Remedy. Pray, What do you think of the Caſe of dying Infants?
Pr.
Elect Infants dying in Infancy, are regenerated and ſaved by Chriſt through the Spirit. Aſſemb. Catechiſ. c. 10. ſect. 3. And of the reſt Mr. Calvin ſaith, That ſo many Nations of Men, together with their Infants, were involved without Remedy, in Eternal Puniſhment, by the Fall of Adam, for no imaginable Reaſon, but that ſo it ſeemed good in the ſight of God. Inſt. l. 3. c. 23. ſect. 7.
Bapt.
That God does cleanſe dying Infants, and fits them for Heaven, I readily grant. But what do you mean by regenerating Infants?
Pr.
They muſt be regenerate, and have Faith ſome way, elſe they muſt periſh. They who are regenerated, have Faith and Repentance. But all Infants ſaved, are regenerated. Therefore all Infants ſaved have Faith and Repentance. They muſt be born of Water, and the Spirit, according to John 3. 6. elſe there is no Heaven for them. Mr. Firmin.
Bapt.
What manner of Faith and Repentance is this you talk of?
Pr.
It is Seminal Faith, and Seminal Repentence. Mr. Firmin.
Bapt.
But you know not what kind of Faith this is, nor can you tell what Infants have it; and ſo you cannot tell that one Infant dying, is ſaved, by this Seminal Faith and Repentance; or, are you ſo charitable to think that all Infants have this Faith Seminal, and this Seminal Repentance?
Pr.
I aver, (how cruel ſoever I may be judged) that no Unbeliever can, according to any Divine Revelation, have any aſſured hope of their own, or their Childrens Salvation who die in their Infancy. Mr. Whiſton, Right Method, p. 46.
Bapt.
Lo how you would fill Hell with multitudes of poor dying Infants; but how then has God ſaid, that he hath no pleaſure in the Death of the wicked, if it be as Mr. Calvin and you teach, that both they and their Infants are damned without Remedy?
Pr.
God wills not the death of a Sinner, ſo far forth as he wills his Repentance, which experience teacheth, that he doth ſo will as not to touch his Heart that he may repent. Calv. in Ezek. 18. The Sin of Incredulity doth depend upon God's Praedeſtination, as the Effect upon the Cauſe. Piſcat. ad Dupl. Vorſt. p. 10, 11. God doth effect in them an Incredulity, in as much as he blindeth them whilſt the Goſpel is preached. p. 25, 27. All things which ſhall be, ſhall be by the inevitable Counſels and Decrees of God. Mart. Borrhaus in Deut. 47. p. 924.
Bapt.
You ſhould have ſaid, that Men do harden their Hearts, and reſiſt the Holy Ghoſt; but I am ſorry that ſo many Learned Writers ſhould repreſent God at ſuch a dreadful rate, not only to make Angels and Men to damn them, but alſo to make them Sinners that he may damn them. What is this but to make God the greateſt Sinner? which is blaſphemous.
Pr.
I have told you already, That when God makes an Angel or a Man, a Tranſgreſſor, he himſelf doth not tranſgreſs, becauſe he doth not break a Law. The very ſame Sin, viz. Adultery or Murther, inaſmuch as it is the Work of God, the Author, Mover, and Compeller, it is not a Crime; but in as much as it is of Man, it is Wickedneſs.
Bapt.
Certainly theſe things hitherto aſſerted by you are dreadfully Blaſphemous, and more like the Doctrine of the Turks, than of true Chriſtians, and ought to be exploded with the ſame deteſtation which was wont to be made (as my Author ſheweth) in theſe words.
I do Anathematize the Blaſphemy foreign.of Mahomed, ſaying, That God deceiveth whom he will, and whom he will he leadeth to what is good; for if God would, Men would not war one with another; but he doth what he will, and is himſelf the cauſe of all Good, and of all Evil; all things are governed by Fate and Deſtiny. Nicetus Saracenita.
Pr.
Our Doctrine is more ancient than Mahomet; St. Auguſtin did maintain it; It is certain that Judas could not but betray Chriſt, ſeeing God's Decrees are immutable. And whether a Man bleſs or curſe, he always doth it neceſſarily in reſpect of God's Providence; and in ſo doing, he doth always according to the Will of God. Piſcat. de Praedeſt. Theſ. 12. 1.
Bapt.
Antiquity, for the firſt four Centuries, is againſt your Doctrine Auguſtin, tho ſometime tinctured with it, yet upon better Advice exclaims againſt it. And as to the Inſtance of Judas, Antiquity is againſt you. For thus ſaith Chryſoſtome;
Judas, my Beloved, was at firſt a foreign.Child of the Kingdom, when he heard it ſaid to him with the Diſciples, Ye ſhall ſit on twelve Thrones; but at laſt he became a Child of Hell. Chryſoſt. Orat. 52. as quoted by Mr. J. Goodwin.
Pr.
I perceive you hold, that a Child of God may poſſibly fall away and periſh. This is a dangerous Error.
Bapt.
That ſome may depart from the Faith, giving heed to ſeducing Spirits, is clear in the Word of God, and of this fall I doubt the Presbyterians, many of them, are a terrible Inſtance, as well as others. Nor need any Man ſay more concerning falling away than they do in their Confeſſ. of Faith, made by the Aſſembly of Divines; for as they deny not but that there are temporary Believers, and truly ſuch are all that fall away. So they plainly tell us,
That the pureſt Churches under Heaven are ſubject to Mixtur… and Error; and ſome have ſo degenerated, as to become no Churches of Chriſt, but Synagogues of Satan. Chap. 25. Sec. 5.
Surely the pureſt Churches under Heaven are true Believers; and if theſe pureſt Churches may become the Synagogues of Satan, it is too much to prove the Point.
For my part, though I doubt not but there is a ſtate attainable, even in this Life, from which by the Grace of God Chriſtians ſhall not fall; yet I hold it a vanity for any Man to affirm of himſelf, or of any other Perſon in particular, that it is impoſſible for him to fall. I hold it better by far, for the beſt, as well as others, to take heed leſt they fall. And here the Decree concerning Reprobation may be uſeful; for God never made it to cauſe Men to be Reprobates, but to hinder them from being ſuch; like as all good Laws made againſt Treaſon and Felony, were not made to make Men Traitors or Felons, but to prevent them that they might not be Traitors nor Felons.
Let us not then turn the Goodneſs of our God into Perverſeneſs, nor his Grace into Wantonneſs, by thinking he will damn any Man, without firſt ſhewing Mercy; or ſave us of neceſſity; for is God unrighteous, who taketh vengeance: how then ſhall he judg the World?
Pr.
But why do you ſuggeſt your fears that the Presbyterians are a terrible inſtance of falling away, as well as others?
Bapt.
Becauſe they have received a Doctrine, the Tenour of which is ſuch, that no Man which receiveth it, can have any true or well-grounded Faith: for if God did extend the Death of Chriſt to ſcarce one Man of an hundred, how is it poſſible for any Man to know aſſuredly that Chriſt died for him in particular? He may have an opinion Chriſt died for him; but he cannot be ſure of it, ſeeing the certain knowledg who Chriſt died for, muſt not be built upon any good which we conceive to be wrought in us, but upon the clear teſtimony of the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Rom 10. Hence all are bound to believe under pain of Damnation, Mark 16. 16.
Pr.
We deny, by the Pen of Mr. Whitfield, p. 75. that all Men are commanded to believe, but only the leaſt part of the World: and Mr. Brinſley tells us, There ſhould no Goſpel be preached, but for the Elects ſake. And Mr. Calvin ſaith, That ſo many Nations of Men, together with their Infants, were involved WITHOUT REMEDY in eternal Puniſhment, by the fall of Adam [and he fell, becauſe God thought it expedient] for no imaginable Reaſon, but that ſo it ſeemed good in the ſight of God. Calv. Inſt. l. 3. c. 23. And hence we conclude, that thoſe Nations which have not the light of the Goſpel, Chriſt died not for them; for if God gave his Son to die for them, which is the greater, he would not deny them the Goſpel which is the leſſer. B. K. Serm. and Letter.
Bapt.
That God is known throughout the whole World to be Propitious, Gracious and Merciful, cannot be denied; and where God is known to be gracious, pardoning Sin upon Repentance, he is known in Chriſt, though the Name of Chriſt be not known; and indeed few knew him by that Name of Jeſus Chriſt, till he was born of the Virgin. And that God has taken care that his Name, Gracious and Merciful, ſhould be known throughout the World, is evident, not only by the Holy Scriptures, but by the Writings of the Heathen; yea, the Turks themſelves, though they are for Deſtiny, yet begin almoſt every Chapter of their Alcoran with theſe words; In the Name of God Gracious and Merciful.
And Proſper (Auguſtin's Diſciple) De vocatione Gentium, ſhews, Tha… God did never leave himſelf without Witneſs in any part of the World, Act. 4. 17. which he compares with Pſal. 76. 8, 9. and 138. 4, 5, 6. Iſa.▪ 60. to make it good. And Mr. Pierce ſhews excellently how the Goſpel is ſpread throughout the World. As,
1. All Proteſtant Countries.
2. All the Countries of Papiſts.
3. All the Greek Churches.
4. All the Muſcovites.
5. All the Aſiaticks under the Patriarch of Jeruſalem.
6. The Chriſtians called Melchites, under the Patriarch of Antioch.
7. The Armenians under an hundred Biſhops.
8. The Chriſtians called Jacobites, mingled with the Mahometans, through a great part of Aſia, under the Patriarch of Carmite.
9. The Chriſtians under the Patriarch of Mezul, about Aſſyria, Meſopotamia, Parthia and Media, (accounted more than all the Papiſts.)
10. The Chriſtians called Georgians in Iberia.
11. The Chriſtians called Circaſſians.
12. The Chriſtians called Mengrellians.
13. The Chriſtians of Natolia, under the Patriarch of Conſtantinople.
14. The Kingdoms of Cazan African, &c. under the Patriarch of Moſco.
15. The Chriſtians called Maronites,
16. The Chriſtian Indians of St. Thome.
17. The Chriſtians under the Patriarch of Alexandria, from the Graditan Straits to the River Nile.
18. The Abaſſine Chriſtians in Ethiopia.
19. The Chriſtians in Congo and Angola.
20. All the Chriſtian Americans (which are not few) through New Spain, Caſtella, Nova-Peru, and Braſile.
21. All the Engliſh, Dutch, and French Plantations, in Mexicana, and the Iſlands on either ſide.
Thus it appears that the Name of Chriſt is known in all the World, Europe, Aſia, Africa, and America; though, God knows, the Goſpel in the purity of it, is too little known in all theſe Nations. But this may ſhew that Chriſt died for many more than the Presbyterians, and that the whole World has an Object of Faith, and not the leſſer part only.
Pr.
But Mr. Barlee confeſſeth, p. 87. That in the general Propoſal of the Goſpel, Mark 16. 15. cannot poſſibly lurk any mental Reſervation, or Inſincerity. Yet Mr. Whitfield ſaith, p. 61. That Chriſt cannot be ſaid ſeriouſly to deſire the Salvation of thoſe, from whom he will not remove thoſe things which he knows will hinder their Salvation.
Bapt.
You are excellent at Self-contradiction; and you that repreſent Chriſt not to be ſerious, becauſe he will not ſave Men whether they will or no, can never be ſerious in your calling upon Men to repent and believe; for whilſt you inwardly believe God hath decreed they ſhall not believe, your Sermons are meer Diſſimulation, or meer Abſurdities. Which made Biſhop Ʋſher cry out, That this is the extream Abſurdity into which the Arminians did drive the Calviniſts. For, ſaith he, What would not a Man fly unto, rather than yield that Chriſt died in no wiſe for the Reprobates; and that none but the Elect had any kind of Title to him; and yet many thouſands ſhould be bound in Conſcience to believe that he died for them, and tied to accept him for their Redeemer and Saviour—whereby they ſhould have believed that, which in it ſelf is moſt untrue, and laid hold on that in which they had no kind of Intereſt?
This Reverend Man ſaith further; That the Satisfaction of Chriſt was once done for all, the Application is ſtill in doing. The Satisfaction of Chriſt only makes the Sins of Mankind fit for Pardon. All the Sins of Mankind are become Venial, in reſpect of the Price paid to the Father—But all do not obtain actual Remiſſion, becauſe moſt Offenders do not take out or plead their Pardon as they ought to do.—We may ſafely conclude, that the Lamb of God offering himſelf a Sacrifice for the Sins of the whole World, intended, by giving ſufficient Satisfaction to God's Juſtice, to make the Nature of Man which he aſſumed a fit Object for Mercy, and to prepare a Medicine for the Sins of the whole World, which ſhould be denied to none that intended to take the benefit of it.—In reſpect of his Mercy, he may be counted a kind of univerſal Cauſe of reſtoring our Nature, as Adam was of the depraving of it.
I will conclude this Dialogue with the 31 Article of the Church of England, which the Presbyterians, and other Calviniſts, have lately ſubſcribed: And ſhall appeal to their Conſciences how they can reaſonably believe the Articles made by the Aſſembly of Divines, which I have excepted againſt; or be diſpleaſed with me, meerly becauſe I teach, That Chriſt died for all Men.
The Article is this; Chriſt is a perfect Redemption, Propitiation, and Satiſfaction for all the Sins of the whole World, both Original and Actual.
Let them ſtick to this, and then magnify God's ſpecial Grace, and abaſe Man as much as they pleaſe.
Pr.
But before we part, let me mind you of the Caſe of Eſau, concerning whom Huldericus Zuinglius ſaith, contra Catabap. p. 172. That we cannot ſay of Eſau, being rejected by God, I would to God he had died an Infant. For he could not die, whom the Divine Providence created to this very End, that he might live, and that he might live wickedly.
Bapt.
Thoſe whom Zuinglius called Catabaptiſts, were the faithful Aſſertors of the Doctrine of Baptiſms againſt the Church of Rome, as we whom you falſly call Anabaptiſts are againſt both the Church of Rome and the Presbyterians, who have changed God's Ordinance, and ſet up your own Inventions inſtead of it.
But to the Caſe of Eſau, how blaſphemouſly do you ſpeak in ſaying, That the Divine Providence created him that he might live wickedly? Although his Caſe is doubtful, (as well as Solomon's, who ſinned with as high a hand as Eſau did) yet it is raſhneſs to conclude that either were damned. The Learned obſerve, that ſome of your own Writers believe the contrary. Luther in Gen. 33. and Mollerus in Malach. 1. did not doubt of Eſau's Eternal Bliſs. Nor durſt Oecolampadius to account him a Reprobate, becauſe he knew theſe words, Rom. 9. were only ſpoken by a Figure. See Mr. Pierce foreign, p. 197. And it is obſerved by Mr. Sam. Loveday, in his Perſonal Reprobate Reprobated, p. 65. That it hath been the general Opinion of the Ancient Fathers, that Eſau in Perſon is ſaved; and he particularizeth of the Ancients, Jerom, Auguſtine, and Anſelm.
The Reaſons why they think Eſau was not damned, are three.
1. He was fully reconciled to his Brother Jacob, notwithſtanding the occaſion of Offence given by Jacob: this appears Gen. 33.
2. He joined with Jacob in the burial of their Father Iſaac, Gen. 35. 29.
3. They ſay he died in the True Religion, and that many of his Poſterity were Godly: It is ſaid to be the general Opinion of the Learned, that that holy Man Job was of Eſau's Poſterity; and was that Jobab, of whom we read Gen. 36. 33. ex Loveday, idem.
But he that will diligently read Gen. 25. 23. will find that there is not a word of hating Eſau before he was born, but only it is foreſhewed, that the Nation which ſhould proceed from Jacob, ſhould be greater than the Nation which ſhould proceed from Eſau: and how could this be any prejudice to the Salvation of Eſau? And whereas Paul adds, in Rom. 9. as it is written, Jacob have I loved, and Eſau have I hated. To this we ſay, firſt, There was no Scripture written at all when Jacob and Eſau was born, nor for many hundred Years after. Secondly, When it was written, it is evidently written of the Poſterities of Jacob and Eſau; and the only cauſe why the Poſterity of Eſau were hated, was their Pride and Wickedneſs, particularly againſt the Iſraelites, or Seed of Jacob; this will appear by reading the places where theſe things are written. Firſt the Prophet Obadiah is very plain.
Ver. 6. How are the things of Eſau ſearched out? how are his hid things ſought up?—For thy violence againſt thy Brother Jacob, ſhame ſhall cover thee, and thou ſhalt be cut off for ever. In the day thou ſtoodeſt on the other ſide, in the day that the Strangers carried away captive his Forces—even thou waſt as one of them.—Thou ſhouldeſt not have entered into the Gate of any People in the day of their Calamity—Neither ſhouldeſt thou have ſtood in the croſs way, to cut off thoſe of his that did eſcape. And, Ver. 3. The pride of thine Heart hath deceived thee. And for this Cauſe the Lord hated the Poſterity of Eſau; Ver. 8. Shall I not—even deſtroy the wiſe Men out of Edom, and the Ʋnderſtanding out of the Mount of Eſau? Yes, he would ſurely puniſh them for their Iniquity.
And to the ſame purpoſe are the words of the Prophet Malachi, ch. 1. 2, 3, 4. I loved Jacob, and hated Eſau, and laid his Mountains and his Heritage waſte, for the Dragons in the Wilderneſs. Whereas Edom (that is, the Poſterity of Eſau) ſaith, We are impoveriſhed, but we will return and build the deſolate Places: thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, They ſhall build, but I will throw down. And thus did the Lord hate Eſau, that is, the Poſterity of Eſau, who lift up themſelves in Pride againſt God, and Cruelty againſt the Iſraelites.
The truth is, God is no reſpecter of Perſons; and therefore God will hate in this kind, (that is, puniſh) as well Judah the Seed of Jacob, as Edom the Seed of Eſau; yea, both theſe Nations, as well as other Nations, when they lift up themſelves with Pride againſt him. Read and conſider, Jer. 9. 25, 26. Behold, the days come, ſaith the Lord, that I will puniſh all them which are circumciſed with the Ʋncircumciſed; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the Children of Amon and Moab, and all that are in the utmoſt Corners, that dwell in the Wilderneſs: For all theſe Nations are uncircumciſed, and all the Houſe of Iſrael are uncircumciſed in the Heart. Lo, here is the Cauſe why God hates Men, even their hardneſs of Heart, and Rebellion againſt him, and nothing elſe.