SEVEN ARGUMENTS to prove, that in order of working God doth justify his Elect, before they do actually believe.  
With some Answers to the Objections that some make against the same.  
For the confirmation of those that do truly believe, lest they should attribute any part of the Office of Christ to the act of their believing.  Ezekiel 16. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 
Son of man, cause jerusalem to know her abominations. And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto jerusalem, Thy ●●●th and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan, thy father ●as an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.  
And as for thy nativity, in the day that thou wast borne, ●●y navel was not cut, neither waist thou washed in water to ●●pple thee, thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.  
None eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, ●●●t thou wast cast into the open field, to the loathing of thy ●●●son, in the day that thou wast borne.  
And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine ●●ne blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live: 〈◊〉, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.  
Printed in the year 1643.   

SEVEN ARGUMENTS, to prove, that in order of working God doth justify his Elect, before they do actually believe.  
With some Answers to the Objections that some make against the same.  
THis Proposition being contradicted, We are justified before God, before the act of our believing: This is the Proposition which I do now undertake to vindicate, by the assistance of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose honour is not a little concerned in it. I will first of all lay down seven Arguments for the confirmation of the Truth: and then I will answer unto five Objections, brought by some against it.  

The Proposition;  
We are justified before God, before the a●● of our believing.  

Argument I.  
LEt me speak for those that are not abl● to speak for themselves; I mean th● little Babes, to whom belongs the Kingdom of God. I argue thus: Infants do● not believe; But Infants are justified: Therefore some that do not believe, are justified: Which if it be granted, it will follow, tha● some are justified before they believe. Tha●● Infants are justified, need no proof; Tha●● Infants believe not, must be proved, (●●though the Church of England hath lon● since put it out of doubt.) First, Faith cometh by hearing, Rom. 10. 17. How sh●● they believe in him of whom they have n●● heard? Shall we say, that Infants in th● Womb hear the Word? Secondly, Fait● is a Knowledge, as some say; a Persuasion as others; a T●●st, as others: But Infan●● are capable neither of Trust, Persuasion, O● Knowledge; therefore Infants are not capable of Faith. But some have said, That Infants hear the Word of God, believe in God, and love God, in an unknown, way; is sometimes John Baptist sprang in his Mother's Womb for joy, at the salutation of the Blessed Virgin: But Saint Augustin● did answer long ago, not more wittily then truly, That this was done by a singular Miracle. Neither doth this conclude, other Infants to believe any more, than we may conclude, all Asses to be good Counsellors, because we read, that Balaams' Ass spoke more wisely than her Master.   

Argument II.  
HE that is in Christ, is justified; But we must be in Christ, before we can believe: Therefore we must be justified, before we can believe. The Major is plain, the Minor is proved, That we most be in Christ before we can believe: To believe, is a fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5. But we must be in Christ, before we can bare fruit; Therefore we must be in Christ, before we can believe. Joh. 15. 4. As the Branch cannot bear frui● of itself, except it abide in the Vine, 〈◊〉 more can ye, except ye abide in me. Secondly, if Faith be a good fruit, it is required, that men must be good Trees, before they can bring it forth; otherwise, Grape● should be gathered of Thorns, and Figged of Thistles, Matth. 12. 33. If you will, the Argument may be this: He that hath th● Spirit of Christ, hath Christ; But we have the Spirit before we believe; Therefore we● have Christ before we believe.   

Argument III.  
ALL the Elect of God are justified before God; But some of the Elect of God do not yet believe: Therefore some that do not believe, are justified before God; and so by consequence, before they believe. The Major is proved: They that cannot be charged with any thing, are justified; But none of the Elect of God can be charged with any thing: Therefore the Elect are justified. The Minor is proved; Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? it is God that justifies: Who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, Rom. 8. 33. He risen again for our justification, Rom. 4. 23.   

Argument IU.  
THey that have their sins taken away, are justified; But the Elect have their sins taken away before they believe: Ergo, The Elect are justified before they believe. The Major is proved: Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and whose sin is covered, Rom. 4. 7. The Minor; That the Elect have their sins taken away before they believe, is proved Joh. 1. 29. Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world; and Esay 35. 8. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all; and 1 Pet. 2. 24. Himself bore our sins in his own body on the Tree; and Rom. 6. 6. Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. Did Christ take away sin, or not? Did he bear them? Did he destroy the body of sin? If you say, No; how will you escape the Sword of the Spirit? If you say, Yea; I desire no more.   

Argument V.  
WE were made sinners in the first Adam, before we had done good or evil; Therefore we are made righteous in the second Adam, before we have done good or evil. This consequence is proved. Rom. 5. 18, 19 As by the offence of one, Judgement came upon all men to Condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life: for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. If you shall place the Emphasis of this Text, in All, and Many, you will cause the hearts of the universal Gratians to leap for joy; which (I believe) you would not willingly do. Therefore you must be forced to place the Emphasis in As, and So: As we sinned all in the loins of the first Adam, So were we all made righteous in the loins of the second Adam, The Lord Christ. And this agreeth with the Ministry of Reconciliation; to wit, That God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, 2 Cor. 5. 19 Truly, this Argument was of so great force, that it did wring out of Cardinal Bellarmine this confession, as the Apostle teacheth, Rom. 5. That Christ may be put on, without a proper act of our soul: I confess, I differ from the Cardinal, in his means of putting on Christ; yet this his confession I acknowledge to be true.   

Argument VI.  
WHere there is full satisfaction made, and the party offended accepting that satisfaction, and contented to rest in it, there must needs follow perfect remission of sins; But in Christ crucified (before we believed) was full satisfaction made, and God was contented to rest in that satisfaction: Therefore there will follow perfect remission of sins, etc. First, that there was full satisfaction made in Christ, is proved Heb. 10. 11, 12, 13, 14, vers. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. But the second, that God is therewith contented to rest in that satisfaction, we have the witness of the Father, Matth. 3. 17. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Aquiesco, saith Beza. See Esay 53. 11. He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.   

Argument VII.  
IF we are not justified in his sight before we believe, then are we unjust sinners, workers of iniquity; then doth the Lord hate us, for he hateth all the workers of iniquity, Psal. 5. You know what absurdity will follow, if you say, we must believe before God can love us: But if God hate us to day, and love us to morrow, let Arminius with his disciples hear this, and wonder, why they should be blamed that say; We may be loved to day, and hated to morrow; Children of God to day, and of the Devil to morrow: when they who would seem their greatest Adversaries, will not spare to say; We may be hated to day, and loved to morrow; the Children of the Devil to day, and of God to morrow. But that God loved us first, before we believed, when we were enemies, in our blood, etc. is so plain, that I will not willingly so dishonour you, as once to conceive that you will deny it.  
Here is an end of the seven Arguments; which (if need had required) might have been seventy. Now I will answer the Objections.   

Objection 1.  
We are justified by Faith; therefore, not before Faith.  
Answer. 
 

First, it should have concluded, not before the act of believing.  
Secondly, I deny the consequence, and say, we may be justified both by it, and yet before, in a different sense.    
This Proposition, We are justified by Faith, is very ambiguous. He was not a Fool who (an hundred years since) said, That this Proposition was one of those things, hard to be understood; which they that are unlearned and unstable, wrist as they do other Scriptures, to their own destruction, 2 Pet. 3. 16. I would our Age had not proved it true, that the misunderstanding of this Proposition hath turned upside down the Doctrine of Justification amongst pudling Preachers.  
There is in this Proposition two words ambiguous and doubtful:  
The first (Justified) which sometimes in Scriptures signifieth to be reputed, reckoned, or accounted Just; as, It is God that justifieth. Sometimes it is taken for to be declared, or manifested to be Just; as, By works a man is justified, James 2. 24. If you take Justified in the first sense, we say, we are not reputed or reckoned Just by the act of believing. If you take Justified in the second sense, I say, we are justified (that is, declared to be Just) by believing; Faith manifesting to our Consciences, that we are Just before God: By Faith we understand, that God hath freely justified us in his Son.  
Another word ambiguous in this Proposition, is (Faith) which is diversely taken: sometimes for the act of Faith, or believing; and sometimes for the object of Faith, the thing believed: as, Faith was reckoned unto him for righteousness, Rom. 4. that is the object of Faith: So that it is all one as if he had said, God or Christ was reckoned to him for righteousness. If we understand the act of Faith; then I say, as before, we are not reckoned Just by the act of our Faith: if by Faith we understand the object of our Faith; then I say, we are reckoned or reputed Just by God, in, by, or through Christ Jesus, our Faith.   

Objection 2.  
He that believeth not, is condemned already, John 3. 18.  
Answer. This is all one with, He that believeth not, shall be damned: which you must understand of final unbelief, which I grant to be a Note of Damnation.   

Objection 3.  
Without Faith it is impossible to please God: therefore we cannot be justified without it.  
Answer. I deny the Consequence; and I perceive so will you also, when you please: For you will affirm, a justified person may displease God; and then, why is it not possible for a man to displease God, and yet be justified? To please God, is so to do those things which God approves in us to be well done; which we cannot do, without Faith. That this is the meaning of the Apostle, is plain by his reason; For he that cometh unto God, must believe etc. We cannot come unto God, before we believe; but cannot God come unto us, before we believe. Now Justification is God's act upon a sinner, not a sinner's act upon God.   

This also answereth the fourth Objection. Whatsoever is not of Faith is sin.   

Objection 5.  
We are by nature the Children of wrath, etc.  
Answer. This were of some force, if you could prove us altogether in the estate of nature as well in Gods account as in our esteem, and so quite exempted from grace until we believe; which you cannot do, for the Apostle witnesseth the contrary, 2 Tim. 1. 9 According to his own purpose and grace given us before the world began: if grace were given before the world began, surely before ever we believed.  
God is Alpha and Omega; therefore what he promiseth shall come to pass to his, is done with him, Rev. 21. 6. For his works were finished from the foundation of the world, Heb. 4. 3. And so I rest    
A Servant of Jesus Christ to live and die, H. D.