A Vindication of the Magistrates and Ministers of Gloucester, Question 3 – Question 4
Q. 3. Whether God be diſpleaſed with his people that are in Chriſt for their ſinnes, we meane ſuch a people as are in the Covenant of Grace: Neg. according to Master B.
HEre we differ in opinion; but this queſtion was at firſt propounded in other tearms, viz. Whether God be diſpleaſed with the ſinnes of his people? which Maſter Bacon affirmed: Whereupon we urged his owne Doctrine publickly taught in theſe words: You know that when we pleaſe men, they will be pleaſed with us, when we offend them, they will bee offended with us; they are up and downe, but farre be it from us to entertaine ſuch thoughts of God; whom he loveth he loveth to the end, he is not as man to be diſpleaſed; the Lord help us, that we rather conſider, that we are not ſinners ſo much becauſe of the acts of ſinne, but rather becauſe of the ſinfulneſſe of ſinne: It is true, to the naturall man, to our underſtandings, God is pleaſed with us this houre and not that houre; but you muſt come up higher to the knowledge of God, that he is the ſame to day and for ever. Here he plainly denies the pleaſure or diſpleaſure of God for this or or that act; and hereupon he brought forth this ſubtilty; That God is diſpleaſed with the ſinnes of his people, but not with his people for ſinne; of which people he exacted ſo much explanation, as that they are in Chriſt, as if we conceived Gods people out of Chriſt; but this is not enough, he exacts more, viz. we meane ſuch a people as are in the Covenant of grace, as if it were poſſible to conceive that Gods people which are in Chriſt are out of the Covenant of grace: He ſtates the Queſtion on this wiſe:
1 When we affirme that God is diſpleaſed or angry, we ſpeak after the manner of men, for God is not ſubject to paſſion: Anſw. to ſay that God is angry is ſpoken after the manner of men; yet diſpeaſure is no paſſion, but agrees with God in the higheſt perfection of his nature; for God is equally perfect in the diſlike of ſinne, as in the love of good.
2. When we are chastened of the Lord, 'tis a ſigne of his love, not of his diſpleaſure: Anſw. Gods love is not oppoſed to his diſpleaſure, but to hatred: Yea, the more love the more diſpleaſure when we ſinne againſt love; This in Parents is the fruit of paternall affection.
3 Tis moſt peremptorily to be affirmed, that God hates ſin in whomſoever: This is true; but we ſpeak of diſpleaſure not of hatred.
4 So farre as the children of God live off from Chriſt, and walk unworthy of the Goſpell, ſo farre they lye under the ſenſe of wrath; inſomuch as the Apoſtle ſaith, he ſcourgeth every ſonne whom he loves; it's impoſſible that a man ſhould have peace in the wayes of ſinne: Anſw. Here he contradicts and refutes himſelfe, and runs out beyond our deſire: The children of God walking unworthy of the Goſpell, doe not alwayes in ſuch a caſe lye under the ſenſe of wrath, which is the apprehenſion of the guilt of ſinne binding them to eternall vengeance; & which is as farre diſtant from the bare apprehenſion of diſpleaſure, as the ſpirit of Bondage from the ſpirit of Adoption: Where the Apoſtle ſaith, he ſcourgeth every ſonne whom he receiveth, he doth not meane the ſenſe of wrath: But he addes, 'tis impoſſible that a man ſhould have peace in the wayes of ſinne; whence I inferre, where there is no peace, and ſo ought to be no ſenſe of peace, there Gods diſpleaſure muſt needs be apprehended (for when God is not diſpleaſed, there is peace in the ſoule) and if we muſt apprehend the Lords diſpleaſure, he is really diſpleaſed, except we are bound to apprehend a falſhood: Many times the Saints apprehend diſpleaſure when God is pleaſed, but they are never bound ſo to doe, but when God is actually diſpleaſed; therefore it doth neceſſarily follow, that if there were no peace in the wayes of ſinne, God muſt needs be diſpleaſed with his people for ſinne.
5 The fift paragraph is anſwered in the former.
6 The ſixt is exceeding tedious and confuſed; the ſubſtance thereof I collect and examine: That a naturall man looking upon God in the Law, apprehends he pleaſeth God ſo farre as he keeps the Law, and ſo farre as he comes ſhort of obedience to the Law, ſo farre he apprehends he deſpleaſeth God: But a ſpirituall man ſeeing himſelfe accepted of God in Chriſt, ought not to conceive that God is up and downe with him in his love, for whom he loves he loves to the end. Anſw. Gods love is oppoſed to hatred, not to diſpleaſure; the love of our perſons and a temporary diſpleaſure conceived againſt our perſons are well conſiſtent, as in the caſe of paternall affection: Secondly, God is ſaid to be angry with Moſes.
I demand whether Moſes, being in the Covenant of grace, was bound to beleeve Gods diſpleaſure upon Gods owne manifeſtation, or whether he did diſhonour God by beleeving, that he was diſpleaſed with him (as Maſter Bacon imports a beleever doth in ſuch a caſe?) That ſame foreign Mat. 3.17. is the everlaſting love of God, abounding to the acceptance our perſons and performances, yea the love of complacency, which doth not exclude the particular acts of diſpleaſure, and the way of attonement and redintegration after our fals.
7 The ſeventh proves nothing, but that being reconciled, we are ſaved from wrath, viz. divine revenge, which we grant.
But in the laſt place, he doth extreamly ſubtillize his Notions; he is contented that God ſhould be diſpleaſed with ſinne, but not with the ſinner: It is true, that in ſome caſes God doth hate ſin, but not the ſinner; as a father hates the diſobedience of his ſon, but hates not his ſonne in diſobedience; for hatred is the extreameſt alienation; but diſpleaſure is an act of diſlike not of alienation: Now a man may diſlike his friend, but never hate him in the notion of a friend; and he muſt needs diſlike him when he offends againſt the bond of friendſhip, though that bond be not broken; and a father that is diſpleaſed with his childs rebellion, muſt needs be diſpleaſed with his child that rebels.
To conclude, if God be in no caſe diſpleaſed with his people, they need not confeſſe that by ſinne they have provoked him to diſpleaſure: Under moſt grievous fals their condition is as good towards God as ever; they are bound even then to apprehend the light of his countenance, and the brightneſſe of his glory ſhining upon them, and by conſequence David was as much accepted with God, and might have conceived as much ſpirituall joy in the bed of adultery with Bathſheba, as after that great humbling of his ſoule.
Q. 4. Whether thoſe in the Covenant of grace are to try their Juſtification by their Sanctification, Aff. according to Maſter B.
HEre we agree in the tearmes, but whether in the thing it ſelf it's very doubtfull. When we propounded this queſtion we did conceive that Maſter Bacon would put no other meaning upon the tearme Sanctification the inherent holineſſe: But we juſtly ſuſpect ſome other ſenſe; firſt, becauſe he doth here interpret holineſſe to be that ſeed of God which John ſaith abideth in every one that is borne of God, 2 John 3.9. and at the diſputation, by this ſeed, he did underſtand the ſpirit; againſt which interpretation I made reply, that the ſeed of God muſt be the work of the Spirit, and not the ſpirit it ſelfe: Secondly, in that he ſaith, That which is done in foro Coeli, in the Court of Heaven, is done alſo in foro conſcientiae, in the Court of Conſcience by the Spirit of Chriſt, and where the ſpirit of Chriſt is, there are the fruits of the Spirit, goodneſſe, righteouſneſſe, truth. This is true in it ſelfe; but it doth not cleere unto our underſtanding, but that he meanes by Sanctification, the inhabitation of the Spirit, by whoſe ſole teſtimony our juſtification muſt be evidenced, and that goodneſſe, truth and righteouſneſſe are the immediate workings of a ſupernaturall ſpirit by which we are over-acted, and not of habituall graces: I doe not directly charge him with this meaning in theſe words of his, but they doe not evince the contary; and the paſſages forementioned hold forth grounds of jealouſie: Beſides, I know that thoſe of his party doe much undervalue, if not wholly deny the uſe of Markes and Signes in this Triall.
2 In the ſecond Paragraph I aſſent unto him in this, That when I doe ſome good actions, I muſt not therefore beleeve my Juſtification: but I diſſent from him in the other part, wherein he ſaith, when I faile in ſome works to ſuſpect my justification, tends to overthrow the glorious work of Justification: Had he ſaid that a Chriſtian is not duplicate page duplicate page thence abſoluetly to cōclude, that he is not juſtified, he had ſaid right; but to ſay that he muſt not ſuſpect his juſtification when he failes in ſome works (as to inſtance David in adultery, Peter in denying Chriſt, which were failings in ſome works) is no ſound nor ſafe Doctrine. That height and glory of faith, beleeving in hope againſt hope, is not exerciſed in the ſlighting of our ſinnes, but in a great deſertion, and the want of a ſpirituall fight to behold the brightneſſe of the Lord ſhining upon us. Or when Faith revives a man from under the ſad apprehenſion of his fall or backſliding, it is done, when he hath made ſearch after his former evidences, and diſcernes at leſt the root of grace alive in the ſoule.