The Lightless Star, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Goodwin.
IT is a thing as unquestionable, as that the Sunne is up at noon day, that reason and understanding in men are competent to judge of the things of God, at lest of some, yea, of many of them, or rather indeed of all that are contained in the Scriptures, according to their degree of discovery and manifestation there; for doth not God himselfe owne them in this capacity, when he appeales, and referres himselfe unto them in severall of his great and important affaires, authorizing them to judge in the case between him and his adversaries? And now O inhabitants of Ierusalem, and men of Iudah, judge I pray you betwixt me and my Vine-yard, what could have been done more to my Vine-yard, that I have not done in it. So againe, Heare now O house of Israel, are not my wayes equall? are not your wayes unequall? In these and such like appeales, …e supposeth the persons appealed unto to be as capable, or (however as well capable, of the equity and righteousnesse of his wayes (and consequently to be in a regular capacity of justifying him) as of the unworthinesse, and unrighteousnesse of their wayes against whom he standeth in the contest. So our Saviour, to the chiefe Priests and Elders in his Parable, When the Lord therefore of the Vine-yard cometh, what will he (or rather, what shall he) doe unto those Husband-men? they say unto him, he will miserably destroy those Husband-men, and let out his Vine-yard unto others, who shall render him the fruits in their season; We see these Priests and Elders, though men of great unworthinesse otherwise, and farre from beleeving in Christ, were yet able to award a righteous judgement, and such as our Saviour himselfe approved, yea, and put in execution not long after, between him and his Husband-men; so in another place to the Hypocriticall Iewes, Yee Hypocrites, yee can discerne the face of the skie, and of the earth, but how is it that yee doe not discerne this time? yea, and why even of (or from) your selves judge yee not what is right? in which passage (amongst other things) be clearly implyeth these two.
1 That had they set their mindes upon things that most concerned them, they were in a sufficient capacity, by the direction and help of those Characters and Signes, which their owne Prophets had long before delivered, clearly to have discerned, that the dayes and times in which they now lived, were indeed the dayes of their Messiah.
2 That foreign from themselves, that is, out of naturall and inbred Principles, whereby they were enabled to judge of things commodious, and expedient for them in like cases, they were in a capacity to have come to this issue and conclusion; That it was now high time to comprimise that great and weighty controversie, which had of a long time been depending between God and them, by Repentance. The Apostle Paul willeth the Corinthians in one place to judge what he saith; in another, he directeth, That in their Churchmeetings the Prophets should speake, two or three, and that the rest should judge; in both which places …e clearly supposeth in them a competency of Iudicature, or discerning about spirituall things. And when in his defence before Agrippa, be demands of him, and the rest that were present, Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? he clearly supposeth, that the Resurrection it selfe of the dead, which yet is one of the great and deep Mysteries of the Gospell, was nothing, but what they consulting with the light of reason, and understanding in themselves, (for they were not supernaturally enlightned) might judge probable enough, and no way unlike to be effected. When God commands, and cals upon all men every where to repent (and so to beleeve) he must either suppose them in a capacity to distinguish, and discerne between the things, whereof he would have them repent, and so between what he would have them to beleeve, and what not; or else speake unto them as no otherwise capable of such his Commands, then the stones in the earth, or Beasts of the field; and how then is the Commandement holy, just, and good? therefore certainly those noble faculties, and endowments of reason, and understanding in men, as they are sustained, supported, and assisted by the Spirit of God in the generality of men, are in a capacity of apprehending, discerning, and understanding the things of God in the Gospel.
Resbury.
We have here an Answer to the Objection, first begun with an hardy and venturous assertion, with great confidence set off, that the naturall man may discerne of all the Truthes of God contained in the Scriptures, according to their degree of discovery, and manifestation there, that is, according as they are more or lesse clearly laid downe there; That it is affirmed here of naturall men, is evident both from the Objection it selfe, and the Answer in divers passages of it. Secondly, This assertion endeavoured to be proved by severall instances, but neither any of them, nor all together reach the proofe, there being nothing at all in them thus applyed, but meere fallacies.
1 From the part to the whole; Suppose these instances were obvious enough to the Naturall man, it doth not therefore follow that he can discerne all Scripture-truthes, this is too slender an induction of particulars to prove the generall; And as all of them together labour of this fallacy,, so the last instance particularly. Suppose the naturall man may discerne some things to be beleeved, and repented of, it doth not thence follow, that he may discerne all things of that kinde.
2 From unequals, as if equals; 1. The Naturall man hath light to discerne some particulars of the Law of God unto Conviction, yet in divers cases this light is very glimmeting, and vanishing; it doth not hence follow that he hath light to discerne all the Mysterious truthes of the Gospel. Instances belonging to the Law are, the first, second, and third. 2 By Naturall light may in divers cases a Prophecy fulfilled be discerned, comparing the event with the Prediction of it. Thus in the fourth instance might the dayes of the Messiah have been discerned by the Iewes, who owned, and conversed with those Prophesies, which fore-told them, and that being discerned, a granted duty likewise, depending on it, must needs be discerned, as that the Messiah was to be embraced, and sins to be repented of; but neither doth it hence follow, that all Gospel Mysteries might be discerned: as for your observation foreign the meaning may very well be, why not without a Monitor? 3. Suppose by Naturall light the Omnipotency of God may be discerned, and thence the possibility of the Resurrection of the dead (for that is it the Apostle urgeth;) why should it be incredible to men, as though impossible with God? Still will it not hence follow, that more Mysterious Gospel truthes may be discerned, though many Attributes of the Divine Nature may in some measure be discerned by Naturall light, and workes thereon depending; yet doth it no wise hence follow, that therefore all Gospell truthes are discernable; of this kinde is the fifth Instance, there being a great disparity betwixt these and those.
3 From the Argument to the Question, this in the fourth Instance, the Question to be proved is of Naturall men, the instance here for proofe of it is of the Saints; an Argument altogether impertinent. Ignoratio Elenchi.
4 From the Object: The Command of God, to the Adjunct related to it, mans ability for discerning it, the Command, or Expostulation aequivalent: Why doe yee not discerne? and why of your selves doe yee not judge? and when God cals men to beleeve, and repent, he must suppose them in a capacity to distinguish and discerne betwixt the things, &c. For answer hereto from the command of discerning, to the power of discerning, there is no consequence, except God who commands, give that power, man commanded cannot understand many maine things; otherwise why doth David pray so earnestly, that God would open his eyes, that he may behold the wonderfull things of his Law▪ Psal. 119. ver. 18. That he would give him understanding, that he might keep his Law, ver. 34? Why doth the Apostle pray for the Ephesians, That God would give unto them the spirit of Wisdome, and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, that the eyes of their understanding being enlightened, …ey might know what is the hope of his calling, 1 Ephes. 17, 18? Why doth the same Apostle teach, That the Naturall man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God? adding the reason, because they are spiritually discerned; If the Naturall man can discerne all the truthes of God, all Gospel Mysteries. In a word, to argue from the command in generall, to ability for performance in things of Spirituall nature is an old Pelagian errour; the Lord commands the Iewes to make to themselves new hearts, but otherwhere he declares himselfe the Maker thereof; to circumcise their hearts, but otherwhere it is his promise to doe it. Christ commands the Iewes to beleeve on the light, Iohn 12. 36, yet could they not, as being hardned, and of whom it was long since Prophesied that they should not 39, 40. A thousand instances might be given to confirme this truth: but we shall have more occasion afterwards; in the meanetime, when the Pelagians were thus wont to argue, from the command to the power, as Austine every where refutes them, by the promise of God to worke in the Elect by peculiar grace, what he requires, and by the prayers of the Saints, and by their thanksgivings, and the like; so he layes downe this generall conclusion. Nothing doe I see in the Holy Scriptures commanded by the Lord to man, for the proving of his free will, which may not be found either to be given of his goodnesse, or to be desired, for manifesting the ayde of Grace, Lib. 2. contra d… as, Episto. Pelag. c. 10. And in his Book, De correp. & gratia, c. 2. Against that Pelagian clamour, why are we commanded to turne from evill and doe good, if we doe it not? but God workes in us both to will, and to doe: he answers; Let the Sonnes of God know, that they are acted by the Spirit of God, to act what is to be acted, and when they have acted it, to him let them give thankes, by whom they were acted, for they are acted that they may act, not that they may act nothing, and this is shewed to them, what they ought to act, that when they have acted, as they ought to act, that is, with love, and with the delight of righteousnesse, they may rejoyce to have received that sweetnesse, which the Lord hath given, that the earth might bring forth her fruit; but when they act not, whether by not doing at all, or by not doing out of love, let them pray that they may receive what yet they have not, For what shall they have that they shall not receive, or what have they that they have not received? A little after, Cap. 3. he concludes, that in the command man is to take notice what he ought to have in the reproofe, that it is his owne fault that he hath it not, in prayer, whence he is to receive what he would have.
5 From Disparates, as one and the same, he affirmes such a knowledge in the power of the Naturall man, as whence he may repent and beleeve, nay must, for thus he inferres; that men, who act and quit themselves according to the true Principles of that reason, which God hath planted in them, cannot but beleeve, and be partakers of the precious faith of the Gospel; and repentance he requires before faith, as is evident in that passage of his, God cals upon all men every where to repent, and so to beleeve; if they cannot but beleeve, and that they may beleeve they must repent; then from this knowledge in the Naturall mans power, both faith and repentance necessarily ensue. That this knowledge is in the power of the Naturall man, according to his Doctrine, is evident, because the Objection and Answer is about the Naturall man, whence he inferres this conclusion.
Now for answer, here is the fallacy, he confounds that knowledge which may be in the Naturall man, with that which cannot be but in the Spirituall.
There is a two-fold knowledge about Spirituall things: The
1 Naturall.
2 Spirituall.
The former Historical, or of Logical apprehension of Propositions rather then of things; or of Propositions only distinctly, of things contained in the Propositions confusedly, and afar off; as when a man reads an History of persons, places, &c. but sees them not with his eye.
The latter Iniuitivè, or of Spirituall Vision, the things themselves in the light of the Spirit, beheld, as it were by Vision, distinctly, and at hand; the former like that knowledge which the Queene of Sheba had of Salomon in her own Country, only by heare-say; the latter, like that which she had of him at Ierusalem, by the sight of her eyes, 1. King. 10. 4, 5, 6, 7. then she beleeved, then she admired, not till then. This is the knowledge, whence springs faith, and repentance, and this is peculiar to the Saints, 1 Ephes. 17, 18. 1 Cor. 2. 9, 10, 11, 12. Mat. 16. 17.