A Complete Body of Divinity, Sermons · 51 (Question 13 cont.)
SERMON LI.
1. WE are m…re particularly to conſider of the way in which the Apoſtacy was …rought about: in which the Cauſes of it come …o be enquired into: and though there is but …ne of them mentioned in the Anſwer yet we may here methodically look upon the other. Here then we may obſerve that Divines do diſtribute theſe Cauſes, into thoſe that are blameleſs, and ſuch as are blameable: and I ſhall offer ſomething in reſpect of them both.
1. THE blameleſs Cauſes are reckoned three;
1. The Law of the firſt Covenant.
2. The Decree of God concerning this Affair.
3. The Permiſſive Providence of God which was at work about it.
What in…ence theſe had into the Fall, and how far th… may be called Cauſes, I ſhall endeavour to diſcover diſtinctly.
1. CONCERNING the Law of God: we read, Rom. 4.15. The law worketh wrath. and 7.10, 12. And the commandment which was ordained to life, I fo…d to be unto death. Was then that which is good, made death unto me? God forbid. But ſin that it might appear ſin, worketh death in me by that which is good, that ſin by the commandment might become exceeding ſinful. Hence they ſay that the Law was a cauſe by accident of the fall; becauſe if there had been none, man had not fallen. Others call it Cauſe ſin… q… no…, but I ſuppoſe it may be more properly called an Occaſion then a Cauſe: to be … whatſoever influence it had, it was altogether blameleſs, Rom. 7.12, 14. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and juſt, and good. For we know that the law is ſpiritual: but I am carnal, ſold under ſin. We may then gather up this matter in theſe Concluſions.
(1.) THAT the Law was the Rule of Man's Obediance. It was the meaſure of his duty, and that ſervice which he owed to his Maker: it put the diſtinction between what was good for m…n to do, and what was evil, Mic. 6.8. He hath ſhewed thee, O man, what is good. It was the h…dge which was ſet up to keep him right; and whiles he kept within the …ounds of it, he did well.
(2.) IT was neceſſary that man ſhould have a … given him to wa… by. For as he was made by a rule, ſo he muſt be guided by a rule. If it had not been given to him, he could never have been happy; without it he had been left in the dark without any light, yea in a wide wilderneſs without any way: he could not have acted well without a law; for, to act well is to act by a Rule. God therefore did man no wrong in giving him a law to …aint him to happineſs, for he wrought it on his heart, and made him compleatly fit to attend it. Eccl. 7.29. God made man upright.
(3.) THE proper ſcope and nature of the Law, was to be a guide to man to the enjoyment of Life and Happineſs. Iſai. 56.2. Jam. 1.25. But whoſe locketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, … being not …, but a d…er of the …, is … in his d…ed. It is the ſcope of every rule, as ſuch, to g…i…e to ſome e…d … n…w … was made for a cloſure with God, …s … only bleſſedneſs, and the Law was t… direct him hereunto, and was …t…d exactly for it; David therefore calls it a light, and lamp; and declare, them … have great liberty who keep it, Pſal. 119. and for this reaſon it is deſervedly called a law of liberty, Jam. 1.25.
(4.) YET if there had been no law, Adam had not ſinned. It was therefore ſo an occaſion of his ſinning. Rom. 4.15. For where no law is there is no tranſgreſſion. Adams act in eating, &c. had been no ſin, if there had not been a law prohibiting it; if man's actions were under no rule, he could not do amiſs▪ all would be alike, and the moral difference between good and evil would not have been; where there is no way, there can be no going out of the way. Hence we read in Rom. 7.5. For when we were in the fleſh, the moti… of ſins which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. i. e. both diſcovered, and excited occaſionally. Adam found f…lt which the Law, and ſo he ſtumbled … it, and that gave him a fall; the law … the thing, and therefore when it is done, the law makes it a ſin by this prohibi… which elſe it had not been.
(5.) HENCE the Law was an occaſion of the fall, only as man oppoſeth himſelf to it, otherwiſe it had never procured it a mighty Rock daſheth in pieces a ſtately Ship that runs it ſelf upon it; an hard floor ſhivers a glaſs that falls upon it. The rock had done the ſhip no harm, if it had ſtood clear of it; the glaſs might have remained whole for all the floor, if it had not fallen upon it. The Law had let man alone, if he had not run himſelf againſt it by oppoſing it; hereby it makes him a ſinner which otherwiſe he had not been.
(6.) HENCE man's Apoſtacy was no way neceſſitated by the nature of the Law which was given him. The rock which the ſteersman fooliſhly runs againſt, may be a ſea mark, to guide him to ſhape a right courſe to his haven; his own folly procures him a ſhipwrack, by it. To be ſure the glorious law of God, wa a directory to man, to guide his courſe to the haven of everlaſting bleſſedneſs, …e, by falling foul of it, was ſplit, and diſabled for ever reaching the harbour of felicity, and ſo the law which was of it ſelf a ſavour of life, bacame a ſavour of death.
(7.) HENCE the Law was altogether blameleſs. Though the command prove death conſequentially, yet it was ordained for life, and hence it is holy, Rom. 7.10. And the commandment which was ordained to life, I found … death. 'Tis the commendation … to ſhiver in pieces the veſſ… … againſt it, and falls foul of it, … of the law, to … the man that … himſelf upon it. It Adam … ſo …ld as to …le with the comma…d, it is at he ſhould bear the marks a…d b…e… up… h… as toke…s of his pre…ump…o…: and he muſt the … himſelf for all the miſchief … …riſeth to him from it.
2. CONCERNING the … of God about this Affair; this alſo, though it was concerted in the tall of man, yet rather is to be called an Antecedent, then a Cauſe of it; tho' fooliſh man be ready to cry out, i… … will? Here take theſe …ertions.
(1.) THAT God … certainly from all Eternity … the fall of man. That He foreknew the …arity of it is undeniable, for he laid in for a remedy againſt the evil effects of it, reſpecting his elect, …aving … the… in Chriſt before the … …f … word, Eph. 1.4. which fore-knowledge could have …o ground but in his porp…ſe; the thing being in it ſelf contingent: this was o…e of theſe … by which God would a…ra…ce the glory of his juſtice and his grace in man. As there fore mans apo…tacy did not fall out be…des God's fore ſ…ght, ſo neither beſides his holy purpoſe; had not be decreed it, it had never been.
(2.) HENCE m…n's …ell was … …i…ble with reſpect to the Decres. i. e. the event could he no other in regard of that. Either the purpoſe of God muſt be void, or elſe man moſt fall; but the counſel of the Lord ſhall ſtand; ſo that there was a neceſſity of the event, becauſe God had ſo determined; and there is no Liberty granted to man, to cavil at or quarrel with divine decrees. See how the Apoſtle anſwers ſuch daring objections, Rom. 9.1…, …0. That will then ſay unto me, why doth …e yet …ind f…h? For wh… hath reſi…ted his will? Nay …ut O man, who art th… … repliest againſt God? ſhall the thing ſer…ed ſay to … ſer…ed it▪ why haſt th… made … thus?
(3.) THAT God's decree did us violence to man's free-w…ll. They …bour of a great miſtake, who ſuppoſe that … neceſſity p…ts a force upon the ſubject of it. The Decre… conſidered in it ſelf is an immanent … …, and therefore hath no e…acy upon the creature. Man was made a cauſe by counſel of his own actions, according to the decree, and acts as ſuch notwithſtanding it; without … compulſion; yea it determined that he ſhould do ſo.
(4.) HENCE the blame of man's fall cannot be imputed to the decree; no… is the man blameleſs for it. And this will be evident. For,
1. THAT God ſhould give man a law and bind him a…ter obedience to it on peril of death, and yet purpoſe that he ſhould fall and dye, belongs to his ſupremely, and was according to his infinite wiſdom, to lay a foundation for the coming of the Second Adam, and the advancing of his glory. So that there was no unrighteouſneſs with God in this regard: as he made all for his own glory, ſo he may contrive, and deſign his own glory by them, as beſt pleaſeth him. Rev. 4.11. And for thy pleaſure they are, and were created.
2. THAT God did Adam … wrong in g…ing … ſ…ch a …, and binding …m und…r the pea… …ies of it, in c…ſe of diſobedience. Adam was God…s creature, God had abſolute domi… over him; he was made for an end, and … have a rule to govern him to it: and the law which God gave him was ſuitable to …is nature, a law of li…e, adapted to his … crea…ed abilities, good for him, and … have led him to the fruition of the … good i… he had complied with it. It … therefore Adam's lawful duty to obey …is command, and God exacted of him no … than what he might do without wronging of him, hence are thoſe three titles p…t up… the law, R…m, 7.1…. Wherefore the law is … and the commandment holy, and juſt, and go… …oly, as it directed man how to glorify … as his laſt end; … in the ſanctions of it; good, as it po…ted … in the way to … bleſſedneſs.
3. THAT man's action by which …e fell … an … obedience to the decree, but … beli…n againſt the precept. Man could … it in compliance with the decree, becauſe … did not know it; and if he had know… … was not his rule. God's decree is his … rule of efficiency, but the command was … rule of obedierce, Deut. 29.29. The … things belong unto the Lord our God; but … things which are revealed, belong unto us, … our children for ever, that we may do … words of this lo…. It was God's will … ſhould be man's duty to obey him i… all … commands; and this man knew; for … impri…ted on his nature. Now this will … God was that which man reſiſted and … himſelf againſt; which was a revolt ſuch his God, and a re…ancing of his duty; … that which was his duty according to … decree, for this was an everlaſting rule, … man ſhould obey God.
4. HENCE, the decree of man'… … m…ral influence at all … blameable cauſe is a moral cauſe; … work… … …tation; but man had no … from … underſtood nothing … it. Man in …inning acted without any … ra…e regard to the decree, only conc… himſelf with the command, againſt … he entertained a prejudice, and accord… revolted from it: and this he did with … liberty as if there had been no decree … it, as will hereafter be diſcovered; ſo … here is …o blame at all to be charged.
3. WITH reſpect to God's per…ſſive Pr… dence which was … about man's …ll. … …ies the … …fficulty; and that … this permiſſion belongs to the Providence … God; and for that reaſon is not a … … pe…ion or ceſſation of divi… … as … nians and Jeſuits dream; but hath an … or efficacy in all thoſe things that are … by the creature, by divine permiſſion. And therefore we muſt allow it a cauſal … into the very action by which … …ell from … p…i…itive ſtate, although we are not to charge any blame upon it. Let us then briefly reflect upon this in a few Concluſions.
1. IT was Gods pleaſure to give man that …, which was to be the trial of his obedience: viz. reſpecting the Tree of Knowledge. And he did it on purpoſe f…ra trial; of which we may take a more diſtinct account when we come to it. But God would have man's obedience put to the proof; and it was with a purpoſe to let man know his own mutability: hence in prohibition given him, Gen. 2.17.
2. IT was God who ordered the Temptation which was leading eventually to man's fall. As he provided matter for the tempter to work upon, ſo he over-ruled the affair ſo as that man ſhould be tempted. It is certain that there was the active concurſe of God's efficacious influence in diſpoſing of this matter; for there is no creature … without him, Act. 17.28. The entity of every action, ſo much as a thought proceeds from him; and it is he that determines it to this or that; the Devil could not have thought of ſuch a thing, nor come to Adam, not ſpoken any thing without a concurſe of God's efficiency; and that is voluntary in God.
3. GOD determined the event of this Temptation: and therefore he influenced accordingly. God's efficiency gives being to all his …, and therefore, becauſe he had decreed it, he brought it about by his permiſſion, ſo … there was more than a meer leaving it to c…tingency; His hand was in it, and it will appear how, if we add,
4. THAT God gave not to Adam theſe influence of conforming and aſſiſting grace, that were needful to his ſtanding. Adam had all habitual … was requiſite to a Creature ſo concerned; but a Creature hath a neceſſary depend…nce on the Creator, for its concurring … to all its actions; without which it … nothing. Now Adam had not theſe … upon him in … of the temptation, but was left to himſelf; for if he had be would not have fallen; God could … aſſiſted him and kept him, but he did …. And,
5. THE …rful efficiency of God, … of diſobedience in which man's fall … accompliſhed. Not only did he ſuſpend his a…tance but he alſo influenced the act itſelf; elſe it had never been; all action it entirely from the ſuperiour cauſe; Adam …ould never have looked on the fruit: nor … about it, nor conſented to eat it, … ſtirred his hand to take it, nor opened his mouth to taſte it, if there had not been an-actire concurſe of the divine power … him in the very act, thus to exert all theſe powers of his.
6. … in all theſe things the Providence of God without any blame; which will be evi… theſe things, (1) WE muſt diſtinguiſh between a phyſical and a moral Cauſe. All blame relates to a …ral cauſe; not to one meerly phyſical. Blame arise… from a doing that which one ought not to do, or not doing what he ought, and ſo he that command or perſwades another by argument to a ſin is guilty and blame worthy, but no ſuch thing can be charged on God's Providence, for he for had man upon pain of death, Gen. 2.17. hence, Jam. 1.12. Let no man ſay … is tempted, I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil. neither t…pteth be are man. (2.) WE muſt …ſo d…ſtinguiſh between a cauſe of the act, and a cauſe of the obliquity of it. Every a…t hath an Entity in it; and is ſo far good; the Obliquity of this the evil. And that is as it bears a reſpe…t to a rule, which is broken …y it: and this is of a mee… moral conſideration. Now the … belongs to Efficiency, and ſo cannot be will …ut divine concurſe; but the ſinfulneſs of it, is a deficiency moral in it, and therefore belongs only to the creature: …hence that, Act. 2.23. Him being delivered by the determined counſel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucify'd and ſlain. (3.) ADAM did not cant thoſe influences, 'till he was willing to want them. That man could not obey unleſs he had divine aſſiſtance, belonged to his nature, as he was a dependent Being, which is a property of every ſecond Being, inſeparable from …t; and he could not but know it, by the light of nature which he had. Tha… it was his du…y, as ſuch a creature to have re…tifyed his dep…ndance by asking it of God, is not to be dou…ted. Prayer is a natural du…y, belonging …o natural worſhip, and is an acknowledgment of that dependence; had Adam asked help of God, and it had been deny'd him, he might have had ſomething to plead; but he conſerted to be without them, in the very Temptation he had influences which preſerved the … of grace in him 'till he put …t away, he … wanted ſuch as were for the acting of … …bit; and he, by entertaining the Temptation into deliberation on the offer of it, willingly was without them. (4.) PREVENTING influences were not due to him, but belonged to God … God … …ither give them, … he did to the ſtanding Angels, or he might with-hold them, as he did from the other Angels, and Man. And as he gave them not, that which he did not owe them, ſo it was no to be imputed to him, as any blame on him, or wrong done to them. And though man, by the want of them, was in hazard, by reaſon of his own mutability, yet becauſe God did …ot owe them to him; and he was furniſhed with that which was ſuffician… to lay him under the obligation of Obedience; and might have had divine help, if he had ſought it; he did not fall therefore, becauſe he wanted any help whereby to have ſtood; but becauſe he choſe to be without that help, and deliberately conſented to commit that ſin which was his ruin, as will appear.
USE. LEARN we hence then, How vain as well as dangerous, a thing it is for men to excuſe their ſin, by charging it either upon God's Law, Decree or Providence. This is too commonly done; but whether it be with reſpect to the firſt ſin, or any other, it proves pernicious to them that do it. We may thus fill our hearts with prejudice againſt God, and ſo harden our ſelves in ſin, and ſtrengthen our impenitency; but if we think thus to implead his Juſtice in taking vengeance upon us for ſin, we put a cheat upon our own Souls; and when we come to ſtand before the righteous Judge, he will wipe off all the aſperſions which we have caſt upon him, and make us to know, that our perdition is of our ſelves. Our beſt and only ſafe courſe is, to adore the ſupream wiſdom and liberty of the Great God, and confeſſing our own guilt, and his holineſs; to enquire what remedy there is to be obtained, that we may be delivered from the miſeries which are fallen upon us for ſin; and ſet our ſelves to comply therewithal: ſo may we eſcape, and be delivered from our Judge. But, if we neglect this way, and ſet our ſelves to fret againſt thoſe Judgments of God, which are a great deep, and paſt our finding out, we ſhall know to our coſt in the day of Revelation, that then every month ſhall be ſtopt, and the whole World ſhall be found guilty before God.
[FEBRUARY 23. 1691.]