THE Fullness and Freeness OF GOD'S GRACE IN CHRIST DECLARED. Namely, How God Orders and appoints Men to their final ends; some to Honour, some to Dishonour to Eternity. The Second Part.  
LONDON, Printed by Thomas Newcomb, for John Clark and Miles Mitchel, and are to be sold at their shops in Mercer's Chapel, and in Westminster Hall, 1655.   

The Epistle to the Reader.  
Gentle Reader,  
THis Treatise, 
The First Part was printed. 1642.  being the Second Part of God's Free and Full Grace and favour to miserable man. In this Second Part is handled this point, What is God's final End for which he made both Men and Angels, together with all things in Heaven and in Earth subservient to them, their use and benefit; and also, that in pursuance of his final End, he doth Order and appoint both men and Angels to their Final Ends, according to their Works, good or bad, some for Honour, some for Dishonour to Eternity; and it is granted on all sides, that God doth order and appoint them thereunto. But all the Question and Controversy is, how he doth order and appoint them thereunto, Wherefore I have endeavoured to help where most need is, for then and there help is most seasonable, and whereas my former Treatise is something obscure by reason of the depth and height of the point there handled; namely, Election and Reprobation, and that in both Treatises; I deny personal Election and personal Reprobation without respect to Faith or Works, good or bad: and this way goes Reverend Calvin and others. Also I deny any Election of any man or men personally to Eternal life, infallibly upon God's foresight of their perseverance in Faith and Works to the End, as that Reverend man Arminius and others, for the Truth in sacred Scripture falls between both these two mistakes, yet to the Learned and Intelligent Reader that has his mind and wits exercised in Divine Mysteries, it is not obscure; for before I printed that First Part, I presented my Manuscript to three Grave, Reverend, and godly Divines to have their judgements upon it; namely, Dr. Twist, Dr. Gouge, and Mr. Gataker, and they all understood it clearly with much ease, for one of them said unto me, that you in that Treatise say all that we do, but stay not there, but say a great deal more; my Answer was, because you say not enough to the depth of the fall of man in the first Adam, nor to the raising of the World, and all mankind by the second Adam; therefore I must say more than you, and the height and depth of this point in this manner handled, is it that makes it obscure to some that will not studiously take pains to understand it, but in this second part I have brought it as low and plain as I can to the Understanding of all men, as the nature of the point will admit; and Gentle Reader, I wish thee as much good in reading it, as I have had in studying and writing it, Farewell,  
Thine in Jesus Christ, FRANCIS DUKE.   

The Contents of the several Chapters in the ensuing Treatise.  

CHAP. I. IN this Chapter by way of Introduction, two things are premised, first in what sense known unto God are all his works; secondly, what is God's final end for which he made all things, that is both men and Angels, together with all his works subservient to them, and their use. pag. 1  
CHAP. II. In this Chapter is proved that God made seven means to accomplish his final end; six whereof are briefly handled in this Chapter, p 7  
CHAP. III. In this Chapter is briefly handled the fall of man by way of Introduction to that which followeth, p. 12  
CHAP. iv In this Chapter is proved, That God gave being to the seventh means to carry on and accomplish his final end. p. 15  
CHAP. V In this Chapter is proved the manifold Wisdom of God in six particulars, in pursuance of his final end, p. 20  
CHAP. VI In which is opened the second Branch propounded, That as Adam's unrighteousness in its guilt and punishment by God imputatively in the feign Mass was extended unto all mankind, even so in that fallen Mass the righteousness of the seed of the woman was by God imputatively extended to all wankind to justification of life, that is, to put them in a posture in which they may receive his said gift of life eternal, or to be either as is said. p. 31.  
CHAP. VII. In this Chapter is handled the first ingredient to make up the said posture, namely, that immediately upon the said universal imputation; God by the Spirit of Christ did put or infuse an internal disposedness naturally in all mankind toward himself hereditarily to descend through all Generations, p. 36  
CHAP. VIII. In this Chapter is handled the second ingredient to make up the said posture, That is, the Spirit of Christ strives with the spirits of all men in the world universally to depress the seed of Original Sin in them, and to preserve and increase the said disposedness to God in them, p. 42  
CHAP. IX. In this Chapter is handled the third and last ingredients which makes up the said posture; namely, that God immediately upon the fall of man gave a rule suitable to all men to work and operate by, in reference to his final end upon all men, p. 54  
CHAP. X. In which is proved that the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of Noah's posterity which were confounded and scattered at Babel in their succeeding Generations, to preserve them in a narrow way to eternal life. p. 59  
CHAP. XI. In which is handled the third particular in the said Rule, namely, to let all men see how suitable this Rule is to them. p. 70  
CHAP. XII. In which is handled the sixth Branch of the manifold wisdom of God formerly propounded in the fifth Chapter, namely, the Execution of God's final End upon all men, some to honour, and some to dishonour, by the said Tenor of the Gospel, according to their works, good or bad, to men without the Church, and to men within the Church visible, yea and the invisible members of Christ. p. 78  
CHAP. XIII. In which is proved, how God ordained and executed his final end upon all the Angels to their final ends for ever, according to their works, some to honour, some to dishonour. p. 37  
CHAP. XIV. Containing some useful Observations and Answers to Questions for further clearing the precedent Premises.    

CHAP. I. In this Chapter by way of Introduction two things are premised, First in what sense known to God are all his Works; Secondly what is God's final End, for which he made all things, that is both Men and Angels, and all his Works subordinate to them and their use.  
IT is affirmed in the Text, 
Acts 15.18.  That from the beginning of the World God knoweth all his Works; Now all Gods Works whatsoever as his, had a threefold beginning, and may be comprehended in three particulars;  
First the Angels, and the Heaven of Heavens their own habitation.  
Secondly, This inferior World, Man's Habitation, and his preservation.  
Thirdly, This World's restoration by redemption. And these three comprehend all the Works of God, and every one had a threefold beginning known to God: as concerning the first, namely, Angels, it will be handled in the thirteenth Chapter.  
Secondly this inferior World, and Man its principal part, had a threefold beginning; First from its original Fountain, God's own Essence its potential and virtual productive cause; and so this World in all its parts, Man the chief, was in God; 
Heb. 7.9, 10.  as Levy was when he was not, but in Abraham's loins potentially: And as that virtue was in Christ which healed the woman of the bloody Issue before it was extended to her health; and as a Rose is in its root in Winter, when it is not existent; so this World in all its parts, had its first beginning in God's Essence, its potential, virtual, and productive cause; and therefore this beginning must needs be known to God, it being so in himself.  
The second beginning of the world, not in time, but in the order of Nature, was the second step of God to all his Works, namely the Council of his own Will; for the Text saith, He worketh all things after the Council of his own Will, 
Eph. 1.11.  and so the world was framed in all its parts before it was created; and so known to God in this beginning, it being also in himself.  
The third beginning of the World was, when God reduced the said potency and council as he purposed in himself, 
Gen. i. to verse last.  to the production of the Creation in all its parts, by his Creative word, as appears in Genesis.  
Secondly, God's work of Redemption and Restauration of the World by Christ, when the Creation in all its parts in Adam's transgression deservedly fallen into corruption, vanity, and bondage, but not to its depth, because God immediately did interpose the imputation of Adam's unrighteousness upon the whole world in all its parts, 
Psal. 145.9. Rom. 5.18.  with the imputative satisfactory righteousness of Christ, the second Adam, and so extended his tender mercies over all his works in this inferior world, 
Rom. 8. from 18 to 24.  and so put the whole creation into a posture of travelling from that bondage of corruption unto now, until the glorious liberty of the Sons of God; for this travel ariseth not from its own will or natural instinct, but by God who hath subdued it by Christ's aforesaid righteousness; and this work of God had a threefold beginning as well as the Creation; for it is manifest by the Oracles of God, that Christ the seed of the woman was from God's potency and his council, as is employed in that he was fore. ordained to be the Redeemer in time before the world was; and it is also employed that then God looked upon man as in the fallen Mass in Adam's loins, as under blame, unholy, 
2 Tim. 1.9.  and an object not lovely: For saith the Text, He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, so that he saved us and called us with one holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us through jesus Christ before the world was, 
1 Pet. 1.10.  which God that cannot lie hath promised before the world began; 
Prov. 8.22, 23, 24.  Therefore the great work of the world's restauration, had the aforesaid threefold beginning, and is and was so known from the beginning to God: 
2 Tim. 1.9.  and from the premises thus proved, it clearly follows, that not only the innumerable number of men and Angels were known to God before they or the world did exist, 
Tit. 1.2.  but also all their arbitrary motions, operations, and contingent workings, and all contingent events were known to God, as certain and not contingent to him, 
Heb. 1.2.  as that the Angels would apostate from their own habitation and tempt man, and that man also would apostate from his first estate, and that from two particulars: First from man's remissness to God's word and rule: Secondly from the natural liberty of his will, implanted in him by God, which consists in this, to choose and refuse all objects as it likes, or as it likes them not.  
From this ground it is that man in his innocency might or might not sin, and so the ground how God permitted sin to be both in men and Angels, and the ground of all contingency in their operations, events and contingencies: And therefore when God would make a means to carry on his final end unchangeably, he passed by that contingent faculties in men and Angels, and pitched only upon the seed of the woman personally God Man, ordained thereunto before the world, as we see, and as will appear in its due place. Now the ground why God knows all his works, as is proved, is this also; not only because he made all, but also the whole Creation, with the innumerable company of men and Angels together, with their contingent events in all their works, with all circumstances amounts but to a finite thing or things, 
Rom. 4.17.  and therefore to the infinite God are as nothing for him to know, who calleth things that are not, as if they were, who discerneth the thoughts and intents of the heart, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; 
Heb. 4.12, 13.  but all things are open and naked to his eyes; and saith the Text, All the Nations are as a drop of the bucket, and counted as the small dust of the balance, he taketh up the Isles as a very small thing, all Nations are before him as nothing, and they are counted unto him less than nothing and vanity. And therefore it was all one to God to know all things when they were not, as now when they are, and are as nothing to him so much; for the first thing premised, namely, In what sense known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world.  
The second thing premised is this, What Gods final end is for which he made all things, namely both men and Angels, and all his creative works subservient to them and their use; In brief, it is no more than this, that which is and shall be upon men and Angels executed last, that was in creating all things by God, in order of nature intended first, and that was his final end, whatsoever it was. But more particular this is his final end, namely that he will make both men and Angels by their use of all that he hath endued them with, vessels of honour, or vessels of dishonour to eternity, according to their works, good or bad, by his rule made suitable to them. But as concerning men, I must premise one thing before I come to the point, That is, all mankind departing this world in infancy, or the like, are considered by God under another capacity, for which I refer the Reader to my former Treatise of Free Grace, 
Pag. 36. to 39 and 44. John 6.39. Rev. 10.6.  printed 1642. to the pages in the Margin.  
But as concerning mankind, so to be made to honour and dishonour, as is affirmed, the Scripture affirms its last execution and final consummation shall be at the last day, 
Rev. 20.12, 13  that is after that day when time shall be no more, as now it is, in which day the Text affirms, all the dead shall be raised and judged every man according to his works, 
2 Cor. 5.10.  for saith another Text, We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that every man may receive the things which are done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or evil; and that this shall be executed last, it further appears by the words of our Saviour, who saith of himself, When the Son of Man shall come and all his holy Angels with him, than he shall sit upon the Throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all Nations, 
Mat. 25.31, 32. to 46.  and he shall sever them as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the Goats. And he having instanced in one particular of works good and bad, as comprehending the nature and kind of all their works, concludes all, namely, That the wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into life everlasting. So much for the second thing premised, namely what Gods final end is, for which he made or created all things, namely both men and Angels, and all his works subservient unto them and their use; the further enlargement of this point will fall in the following Chapters in its full proof, and what Gods suitable rule to man is: Hence observe, that the moving cause why God created all his works, was this final end, it being the ultimate end of all his glories centuring in himself; for which he made all things; yea the wicked for the day of evil, because they all attempt to assume his glory, not to him, but to themselves, which he will not give unto another, as will appear more in its due place.   

CHAP. II. In which is made known a sevenfold means to God's foresaid final end, whereof six are handled in this Chapter.  
THe which End in order of Nature in God's intention was first, and in execution last, and the means in God's intention in order of nature last, but in execution first; Therefore the first thing that God did, he gave being to means for his final end, and they primarily were seven, some more remote and general, and some more near and more particular.  
The first means more remote and general, was this inferior world, as included in its remotest matter, which God did make out of no pre-existent matter, as Heb. 11.3. and saith another Text, The earth was without form, and void, 
Heb. 11.3.  and darkness was upon the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters; and yet the first verse names it by the name of heaven and earth; and the ground of it is this, because that confused lump was the preexistent matter of heaven and earth, and all things else; and the ground of that is this, because the spirit of God by its moving filled it with an intrinsical vigorous disposedness to be whatsoever God by his Creative Will and Word would command it to be: 
Rev. 4.11.  Wherefore when he commanded light out of that darkness, 
Gen. 1, 2, 3.  it presently was; then saith the Text, God said, Let there be light, and it was so.  
Then God commanded a Firmament to be in the midst of the waters, and the waters to be separated from the waters, that is, the water under the Firmament, from the waters that were above the Firmament, and God called the Firmament Heaven, verse 6, 7, 8. Then he commanded the waters to one place, and so the earth to be for use as now it is, verse 9, 10.  
Then he commanded the life and being of all vegetable creatures, and it was so, verse 11, 12. Then he commanded to be the Sun, Moon, and Stars in their orderly course and warbling influence to fall on the earth, and for signs and seasons, and succession of days and nights, and it was so, verse 14. to 19  
Then he commanded the innumerable number of all sensative creatures, to live and move and have their being, from verse 20. to 25.  
Thus God gave being to the first means more remote and general to his final end.  
Then God gave being to a second means more near and more particular, the principal part of the Creation: Namely, man, whose personal existency was in a twofold nature, the one sensible, the other an intellectual spirit, or rational soul: The first was his elementary body of earth for a time a lifeless trunk, but God stayed not there, for saith the Text, And breathed in his nostrils the breath of life, 
Gen. 2.7.  and man became a living soul.  
And because he was a principal part, the whole did terminate in his nutrimental support, some to feed, some to cloth, the air to imbreath, and the earth to bear, and the sweet influence and aspects of the heavenly bodies to his delight.  
Again, because the chief part therein God put the whole to depend on his operations, not for his being, but for its well or woe; and therefore the whole creation together with himself, fell into the aforesaid vanity, bondage and corruption; and man thus made, was God's second means, for man must first be, and so supported to be, before he could be to honour or dishonour to God's foresaid final end.  
Again, man's reasonable soul being of an immortal nature, and so of an everlasting duration, was therefore a third means suitable to God's final end, that is, to be to honour or dishonour to eternity, which could not be; if he were not of an everlasting duration.  
From this ground it is that man's dead body shall be raised and spirituallized; therefore when some men denied the immortality of their souls, and consequently the everlasting duration thereof, our Lord proved to them the truth thereof: Have you not read what was spoken unto you of God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living: Affirmatively inferring to them that those three men then were, and now are living, though their bodies are dead and turned to dust. 
Mat. 22.31, 32.  Again God having endued man's reasonable soul with two natural faculties, his understanding and will, the understanding its natural property to look to truth, as really such, or as it appears so to be, and to judge, and accordingly so to operate the whole man: and to the will, Two things are natural to it, the one is, that it doth follow a good, as the eye doth follow the light, that is the true good, or as it appears so to be, the other is to nil and will, that is to choose and refuse all objects as it likes, or as it likes them not; and so from this understanding and will, man from his own council and voluntary choice, terminates all his works; wherefore it is a righteous thing in God to judge man according to his own works, good or bad; and therefore God made these twofold faculties, a fourth means to his said final end: Again God implanted in man's internal knowable power in his first estate, the Law of Nature, that was naturally to love God above all, and his neighbour as himself, arising in man also by Gods demonstrating his truth and goodness to man in the whole frame of nature; in all, through all and above all, and so man was internally disposed to work aright to any rule that God should make suitable to him, and therefore this Law of Nature was a fifth means to Gods said final end; for saith the Text, 
Col. 3.10. Gen. 1.27.  Man was renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that created him; but for a further enlargement of this Law of Nature, I refer the Reader to the first Chapter of my former Treatise. Again a sixth means to the said final end, is, that before the fall God instituted a rule suitable to man, I say instituted by Gods own word of truth, namely, not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil upon pain of death, and here man's will might nil the evil of sin, and the evil of punishment; and here man's understanding might adhere to truth, that is, the truth of God, 
Gen. 2.9 17.  and here his will might choose a good, that is, the good of obeying God's command, and also the good of eternal life, employed in that word, Knowledge of good, and also in the name of that Tree of life. So thus by this rule God ordained to make man in the estate of innocency, a vessel of honour or dishonour to eternity, according to his works, good or bad, and so we are come to God's final end, for which he made all things; I now should come to the seventh means, but I must first in brief touch upon the fall of man, by way of Introduction, and so come unto it in the fourth Chapter.   

CHAP. III. In this Chapter is brifly touched Man's fall by way of Introduction to the seventh means to Gods final End.  
THe fall of man was from God in his truth, the chiefest good to the Apostate Angels lies: and so to the deepest evil, for by this he lost all relation to God, but to live, move and be, as have the Devils and damned, and became one with the Apostate Angels, not in their angelical nature, but their diabolical nature, and deserved damnation to eternity; for men and Angels became Devils, not by loss or change of their essence or natures, but by change of their intentions and operations from God's rules of truth, 
John 8.44.  to their own lies.  
But I must in a word premise one thing before I go any further; that is, God in Scripture names the innumerable company of Apostate Angels, as if they were all but one; as by the name of Devil, a Liar, a destroyer, that evil one, and so forth; and the ground is no more but this, because they are all one in intentions and operations, in their designs against God's glory in this final end.  
Therefore when they saw or understood by Gods instituted Rule to man, that he had thus laid the Platform of his Glory in his final end to eternity, 
Mar. 5.9. 1 John 3.8.  than they laid their Platform how to confound and frustrate Gods final end in reference to his glory, in one particular branch, and that from a twofold ground. First that branch was this, 
Rev, 12.9.  they envied man as being but a part of this inferior world, a sensative creature, that he should be put in a posture by his operations to God's rule, and so in a possibility to rise to that glory which primitively was their own.  
The second ground, because God justly for their sin rejected them from that glory, and so stood reserved in Chains of darkness unto the Judgement of the great day; therefore they attempted to spoil God of his glory, and as their end led them to their means, so their means leads us to see that this was their end; for because they knew man in respect of his body was a sensitive creature, and therefore they were to man invisible, wherefore their first means was a visible creature and subtly disposed; saith the Text, 
Gen. 3.4.  Now the Serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field.  
Their second means was the Serpent's tongue, 
Num. 22.28.30  by actuating it as the good Angel did the Ass' tongue, so to convey their minds in speaking to the woman in that speech and language which God had made natural and familiar to man; for the Text saith, He said to the woman, yea hath God indeed said, ye shall not eat, and so forth.  
Their third means was to wave the man in this business, because most strong, 
Gen. 3.14. 1 Tim. 2.14.  and to pitch upon the woman, the weaker vessel, and so to compass the man by her, the more unperceived by him.  
Again, because the woman replied to the Serpent, God's word from his instituted rule; namely, that God hath said, Ye shall not eat, and so forth. And by this they did perceive that two things did interrupt and endanger their design: The first was God's word by his instituted rule; the second was the woman's credit or belief, that she did or might give to it, because by the natural liberty of her will, she might choose God's word, and refuse theirs.  
Therefore they betook themselves to a fourth means of their own; namely a Lie, or Lies to prevent that danger of their desired end, wherefore by the Serpent to the woman they said, Ye shall not die at all, implying unto her, there was no truth in those words concerning their dying if they did eat of the forbidden fruit, for God doth know, in the day that ye shall eat thereof, that your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil, implying Gods rule obeyed was the only thing that kept her from aspiring to so great a happiness, therefore God is an imposter to you, and not to be believed, but disobeyed for your own good upon these Lies; 
Gen. 3.6.  the woman looked on the Tree the more wishly; for the Text saith, When the woman saw the Tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant for the eyes, and a Tree to be desired to make one wise, she hereupon wiled the Devils lies, and niled God's truth, believing to operate to his instituted rule; for the Text saith, She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat: Thus the Apostate Angels by their four means accomplished their end, by frustrating Gods final End, in one main branch, as they supposed, in the loss of his glory, and to his dishonour for ever, by nulling his truth, in that all mankind together with themselves, might fall into eternal misery, and so not one ever should aspire to eternal happiness that glory over theirs: For in Adam all die, that is, eternally vessels of dishonour. But for the further enlargement of the fall of man, I refer the Reader to the third Chapter of my former Treatise; but now in this particle of time when man fell, and the world with him, than God gave being to the seventh means to carry on his final End, by the assent of humane nature, to eternal glory, in his manifold wisdom, to the rebounding of his glory to all eternity, notwithstanding what was done by the Apostate Angels, as will appear in the next Chapter and Chapters following.   

CHAP. IU. In this Chapter is proved that God gave being to the seventh means to accomplish his final end.  
IN this case, as is said, God passed by Men and Angels, because this means is not man only, nor God only, but personally God Man, that is, the second in the one God assumed, not the person of any man, but the nature of every man, as it was said the seed of the woman. And this person by this personal union, was made the the seventh means in the beginning of time, namely in that instant of time in which the whole frame of Nature fell, by its principal part, as is described, 
Gen. 3.15.  for than saith God, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, affirmatively concluding he shall break thy head; 
Luk. 1.70.  so that this seventh means was then known by name, that is, the seed of the woman. And thus God spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets since the world began; and accordingly when the fullness of time was come, 
Gal. 4.4.  God sent forth his son made of a woman, and so forth. And because the Text saith, God sent forth his Son made of a woman, he tells us that himself was the sole efficient of this means, for woman's seed was but the subject matter, and no formal cause, nor man any efficiency in it, but God only and alone according to his word to the Serpent; I will, and so forth. Wherefore when an Angel said unto Mary, 
Luk. 1.31, 32, 33, 34, 35.  Lo thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bear a son; Then said Mary unto the Angel, How can this be, seeing I know not man? The Angel than tells her how, saying, The holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee, 
Heb. 1.4, 5, 6.  shall be called the Son of God. From this ground the Text saith, Who shall declare his generation? implying none but God himself, he being so much better than the Angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they; For unto which of the Angels said he at any time, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Again, when he bringeth in his first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the Angels of God worship him.  
Quest. In regard he was not born nor begotten until the fullness of time, how can he be Gods first begotten?  
Answ. I answer, He was begotten so, as never none was, nor ever shall be, by the power of the most High, and so the first begotten in this sense that ever was.  
Secondly, The first begotten in priority of time, for he was the first born of man from the dead fall of Adam, in that word of God when he threatened destruction to the design of apostate Angels by woman's seed; and so the first begotten from the dead fall of the whole frame of Nature, this was intimated by God when he instituted the earth's first fruits to be his, and of the beasts which first opened the womb, to be his, and the firstborn of man to be his, implying that Christ was the only firstborn from the dead of every creature in an universal relation, and that he was the seventh means to destroy all the apostate Angels foresaid means; and so to carry on God's final end is clear. For this purpose saith the Text, was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil; and our Lord himself saith, For this end was I born, 
1 Epist. joh. 3.8  and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. The which truth may be considered negatively or affirmatively.  
Negatively thus, That God never did, 
joh, 18.37.  nor now doth intent glory to himself by man's operations, good or bad everlastingly, but according to his rules made suitable to man.  
Or affirmatively thus, That God really intended and still doth, to return glory to himself for ever by man's operations, good or bad, according to his rule suitable to man, that is some to honour, and some to dishonour, according to their works to all eternity; and not as the apostate Angels lyingly affirmed, that God really intended neither; for we see they denied man should die at all; and for life, God intended no such thing to us in our first parents, as precedently is proved: Consequently it must follow from their lies, as our Familistical Ranters affirm, that all shall be alike, that is, none saved nor damned. 
john 8.44.  As the Scriptures affirm; But these filthy dreamers are the children of their Father the Devil, whose works they will do. But for the further enlargement how our Lord did witness the truth, and what that righteousness of his  which is imputed to the world in general and to man believing the truth more special; I refer the Reader to the eighth Chapter of my former Treatise, to the which the fourth Chapter in the same Book will give much light.  
Because the Text saith, 
Observe.  God sent his Son in the fullness of time: Hence observe what is employed in those words; namely, That it was full time then for God to send him, and for him to come; because by that time the apostate Angels had not only seduc d Noa's posterity by apostasy from that posture God put them in by Christ, to Heathenish Idolatry universally, as in due place will appear, and also what that posture was which they left, 
Rom. 10, 11, 12  but also seduced Abraham's seed in the like apostasy, excepting some very few of both sorts, by which Gods final end became almost as it was in the fall of Adam: 
Psal. 2.3,  Therefore when the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, as saith the Text, to see if there were any that would understand and seek God; he concludes all are gone out of the way, and so forth; but when the time was come that by the just judgement of God, he shut up all men in unbelief, it was to this end, that he might have mercy upon all, to be put into the said posture and way of peace, in pursuance of his said final end. 
Rom. 11.32.33  This was the insearchable depth of God's wisdom, that Paul so much adored and admired.  
Again, although the Text saith, 
Observe.  God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son: Observe the moving cause why God sent his Son, was not his love to the world primarily, but in love to himself in this said final end; wherefore when the Text said, God so loved the world that he sent his Son, it comes with this proviso, That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; otherwise not; for that's employed.  
Again observe, although man's efficiency was wholly excluded in producing Christ, 
Gen. 2.22, 23.  yet nevertheless he was verily the Son of Man, as he calls himself: First because woman was produced out of man, and so flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone, and he of the woman's seed. Therefore the Son of Man, also his Mother the Virgin was produced by generation of man and woman in the course of nature, and he of her, and so the Son of Abraham and the Son of David, and so forth. 
Mat. 1.2.6.    

CHAP. V In which is laid down how in this seventh means God doth carry on and accomplish his final end.  
IN this Point falls in the manfold wisdom of God; but I will pitch only upon six principal Branches thereof, as first, When man became with the apostate Angels one, in deserved misery to eternity, and also one in their diabolical nature, as is proved then in that point of time: In the seed of the woman God elected the fallen mass of mankind out of that state, into a posture in which all mankind may receive the said gift of life attained by Christ the second Adam, which they lost in Adam, or be either Vessels of honour or dishonour to eternity, according to their works, good or bad.  
The second Branch, 
Rom. 5.18.  That as Adam's unrighteousness in the fall by one offence in its guilt and punishment by God was imputed to all mankind, even so the one righteousness of the seed of the woman the second Adam by God's gift imputatively came upon all man kind and so put all men by mercy in a posture in which they might receive the said gift of life, or to be either, as is said.  
The third Branch, That immediately upon the said Election and Imputation by the Spirit of Christ, God put an internal disposedness into all mankind to descend hereditarily in their natural generations, disposing them to operations according to the said posture.  
The fourth Branch, immediately upon the said Election and Imputation, the same Spirit of Christ began to strive, and still so doth with the spirits of all men to keep them in that posture, in all ages, and in all places of the world.  
The fifth branch, immediately upon that Election and Imputation, God in mercy gave a rule suitable to all mankind in the state they are in by that Election, to direct their operations proceeding from their internal disposedness to receive the said gift of life, and to avoid the contrary death.  
The sixth Branch, That according to the operations of all men, good or bad, God by that suitable rule maketh them vessels of honour or dishonour to eternity: So that thus by this seventh means Gods final end is carried on, and accomplished eternally to his glory in the said branch, notwithstanding what was done by the apostate Angels: In man's fall, or ever since, according to that God said unto the Serpent, He shall break thy head. Of these six branches in their order; First in the Election of the fallen mass of mankind out of that state into the said posture, which is the first branch proposed, the foundation of this universal election, was laid in the humane nature of Christ, the seed of the woman; I will put enmity, saith God, between thy seed and her seed, clearly implying that humane nature, as such, woman's offspring was elected out of that fallen Mass into the said posture in Christ, but not the nature of Angels, but left to sink deeper in their fallen estate and design, by the power of Christ the woman's seed; for saith God, He shall break thy head; and the Apostle affirms the same, He chose us in him, saith he, before the foundation of the world; and it implies in the Text as before is noted, Man's Election was out of the fallen mass, that is, as unholy and under blame, and not loved as in ourselves; and therefore he saith, He chose us in him that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. 
Eph. 1.1.4.  And the Apostle Peter points out, that our Election was to the said posture, when he saith, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, unto sanctification of the spirit, through obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. 
1 Pet. 1.2.   
This word Us in the Text, He chose us, in its full drift and scope, is to be understood in a twofold sense, that is, restrictively and universally,  
Restrictively thus, He chose us, that is, us among mankind, which believingly operate according to our rule and posture, as all were elected unto to receive eternal life by Christ's own righteousness imputed, so that he chose us into the possession of that eternal life in belief; and so this word Us, comprehends all Believers, only as such to whom the Epistle was sent.  
Secondly, This word Us is to be understood, Us Men, that is, Humane Nature, as such; and so it comprehends all mankind universally, as chosen out of the fallen mass into the said posture when the fallen nature of Angels were left to sink deeper into their diabolical nature and damnation, as is proved.  
But if it be questioned what that posture is, to which all mankind was elected unto out of the fallen Mass.  
Answer, It is no more but this, namely, A disposedness to operate to receive the said gift of life; and to make up this meet disposedness, there goes a threefold ingredient.  
First, as is said, immediately upon the said Election and Imputation by the Spirit of Christ, God put an internal disposedness into all mankind, hereditarily to descend in their natural generations, disposing them in operation according to the said posture, which falls to be handled in the third Branch of the manifold wisdom of God propounded.  
Secondly, immediately upon the said election and imputation, the same Spirit of Christ began to strive, and still so doth with the spirits of all men, to keep them in that posture in all ages, and in all places of the world, which is to be handled in the fourth Branch propounded.  
Thirdly, immediately up on that election and imputation God gave a rule suitable to all mankind in that state they are in by that election, to direct their operations to receive the said gift of of life, and to avoid the contrary death which falls to be handled in the fift branch propounded; the which threeing redients make up the said posture.  
And from this posture it is that most men in the world before they can come to receive God's gifts of justifying faith, 
jona 2.8.  do apostate to lying vanities, so forsaking their own mercies; Thus did Cain and the old world before the Flood, for which God brought in the Flood. Thus did Noah's posterity after the Flood, apostate to lying vanities, by building the City of Babel, and a Tower therein to reach the Heavens, for which God confounded and scattered them. Thus did Terah in Shems' Family, Abraham's Father, apostate to Idols, and so became a Den of Devils.  
But when all Families of the earth was thus sinking, 
jos 24.2, 3, 4. Ezek. 16. from 3. to 15.  as vessels of dishonour eternally for aught themselves can do, from which condition that aforesaid election out of Adam's fall, relieved man into the said posture, yet nevertheless then in that point of time, in pursuance of his final end, God taketh hold of the universal nature of man, and preserves it from sinking; for he not only commanded Abraham to departed from his Country and kindred, and from his father Terah's house, but with reference to that very time, saith the Text, Verily he taketh not hold on the nature of Angels, but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold. These words lead us to a fourfold Querie.  
First, why Abraham is named more in this business than any other man?  
Secondly, Why Abraham is named in reference to the seed of man, as in his loins, he being Terah's son?  
Thirdly, 
Heb. 2.16.  Why was not Abraham's person assumed in personal union with the second in the one God, he being thus named by way of eminency in the Text?  
4 Why this word he taketh hold as to the nature of Angels is spoken negatively, and to the common nature of man affirmatively, both being in the fall, one in apostasy, as is proved; nay now all Nations of men were in a relapsed apostasy to them, we see, and as will more appear in due place?  
For Answer unto the first Querie, 
Gen. 12.1.  Why Abraham is named more in this business than any other man; It was because when all the Families of the earth did apostate at Babel except Seems, wherefore in his Family the Oracle of Christ was only resident, and because Abraham's father Terah was the first in that Family that did apostate from this posture to Idols, and became a den of Devils, Abraham being his son, was therefore named rather than any other man, implying man's misery is God's opportunity; for in the Mount will the Lord be seen, as to all mankind in the fallen mass he was.  
Answer to the second Question, Why Abraham is named in reference to the seed of man in his loins, he being Terah's son; the meaning is, no more but this, the proper subject of election is not only man as corrupt, but as universally corrupt: Therefore God names the common seed of man in the loins of one of this idolatrous brood, the fittest Emblem of the continued act of God in Election of man out of the fallen mass, as in Adam's loins, and therefore the seed of Abraham is named in the Text.  
Answer to the third Query, Why was not Abraham's person assumed into personal union with the second in the one God, he being thus named by way of eminency in the Text? Answer, If Abraham's person, or any man's else, had been assumed to the second in the one God, it would have pointed out a personal election and rejection of mankind, and therefore to remove that, he assumed not the person of any man, but the nature of every man, and so elected humane natures fall'n mass out of that estate into the said posture, either to honour or dishonour for ever, as is proved.  
Answer to the fourth Query, Why this word he taketh Hold, as to the nature of Angels, is spoke negatively, and to the common nature of man affirmatively, both being in the fall one in Apostasy; nay now all Nations of men were relapsed in Apostasy as we are? Answer, The meaning is no more than this, When men universally do apostate from the said posture so sinking unto destruction, than sometimes in this case in pursuance of his final end, God as a continued act to the nature of Angels, letteth the nature of Angels sink lower and lower into destruction, and as a continued act, taketh hold of the nature of man to stay it from sinking; and therefore the Text speaketh negatively to them, and affirmatively to man; for first he taketh hold of the nature of man by promise, into personal union with the second in the one God, when the seed of the woman was first named, and in these words to Abraham, In thy seed shall all Nations be blessed; God saith not of seeds, as of many, but as of one, that is Christ, saith the Text; and here he taketh not hold of the nature of Angels; but here we see he takes hold of the seed of Abraham in Christ's person.  
Again, the extent of this taking hold reacheth all Nations, for God did not only take hold of the humane nature into the person of Christ, as is said, but also taketh hold of a seed of humane nature in a national extent at that time by promise in Abraham's loins, in the seed to be when they were not, and to this end to be a means to return the blessing of Christ upon humane nature over all Nations, that is, to return them to the aforesaid posture in which they might receive the said gift of eternal life, and all comprehended in these words to Abraham; I will make of thee a great Nation, and thou shalt be a blessing, in thee shall all the Families of the earth be blessed: that is, that now lie under a curse in my wrath in Heathenism: And here again God taketh not hold of the nature of Angels, but in the election of this one Nation in Abraham's loins, of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold as a continued act of the universal election of Adam's fall'n mass.  
But if you ask me what was that wrath they lie under, and how all Nations but one became Heathens; I answer, It was when Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God, and saw that they were all gone out of the way, and all corrupt and abominable, which made God wrath with them, under which wrath they then lay.  
If you ask me when this was, God came down to see.  
I answer, It was when Jehovah came down to see the City of Babel and the Tower, that the offspring of Noah was building in the Plain of Shinor, for then and there he confounded their Language, and so scattered them upon the face of all the earth to walk in their own ways, and so they all became Heathens, excepting a very few, until by virtue of the said continued Act of a twofold laying hold of the seed of Abraham, they were put into that posture in which they might receive the said gift of eternal life; wherefore saith the Apostle, The Scriptures foreseeing that God would justify the Heathen through faith, Preach the Gospel before unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the Nations be blessed.  
Hence observe, 
Observe.  that in the said taking hold of this Nation in Abraham's loins or seed, God not only elected that Nation to be as a part of the whole nature of man; but as such to be Christ's visible Church and Spouse, I say the nature of man as such, but not Angels nature as such, nor elected he this Nation upon his foresight of their faith or believing operations, 
Esa 44.1. Psal. 147.20.  but to be put in the said posture in which they might believe, and in believing operations receive the said gift of eternal life; 
Rom. 3.2. Hos. 2.19.20.  For unto them was committed the Oracles of God, when denied to all Nations; wherefore saith God to this Nation, I will marry thee unto me for ever, and so forth, 
Rom. 11.29.30.  in pursuance of my final end, for that's employed; and in this sense the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. From this ground God did call the Gentiles to the said posture, and so will the jews that now lay in their apostasy; and I say in this sense the gifts and callings of God are without repentance to mankind, with respect to his said final end.  
Observe. Again observe this Election conferred upon that Nation, the greatest honour that ever any Nation had, Nationally considered: First, that of them concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is God over all blessed for ever: The second was the aforesaid Election of humane nature, as such in them to be Christ's Spouse elect: 
Rom. 9.5.  The third was this, as saith our Lord, Salvation is of the jews, 
John 4.22.  because the Oracles that were committed to them, was from them derived, being the light of eternal peace to all Nations that then sat in darkness or shades of death.  
Observe. Again, observe that this election conferred not their being, nor their being so honoured, for their own sakes no more than any other people who had none of these honorsbut only for Gods own namesake in pursuance of his said final end: 
Esa. 43.25. Esa. 48 9.11. Ezek. 36.29, 30.31.  Not for your sakes do I these things, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you, O House of Israel: So Samuel tells them, saying, The Lord will not forsake his people for his great names sake, 
1 Sam. 12. c. 22.  because it hath pleased him to make you his people.  
Again, 
Observe.  Observe that the visibility of Christ's Church is in the flesh or bodily part of man, or in bodily operations, which, as saith our Lord, profiteth little; therefore let all men within the visible Churches of Christ, 
Tim. 1.4.8.  take heed they perish not in making the visibility of their profession, their religion; but to be sure to make eternal life as obtained by Christ, and so Christ their Religion in their Intellectual spirit, and in truth according to the Scriptures; for the quintessence of true Religion is invisible; because as God and Christ the object is invisible, so the intellectual acts of man's belief or credit, he gives to God, and acts of love are invisible, 
Rom. 2.28.29.  whose praise is of God, and not of men, that cannot see invisibly, or invisible things.   

CHAP. VI In which is opened the second Branch propounded, That as Adam's unrighteousness in its guilt and punishment by God imputatively in the fallen Mass was extended unto all mankind, even so in that fallen Mass the righteousness of the seed of the woman was by God imputatively extended to all mankind to justification of life, that is, to put them in a posture in which they may receive his said gift of life eternal, or to be either as is said.  
FOr proof of this Point, the Scripture saith, 
joh, 1.29.  Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgement came upon all men to condemnation, 
Rom. 5.18. Heb. 2.9. 1 jon 2.2. 2 Cor. 5.14. 1 Cor. 15.22.  even so the free gift of the righteousness of one, came upon all men to justification of life. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.  
Again, men from their believing operations in Scripture speaks the same, for say they, We see Jesus who was made a little lower than the Angels for suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that he by the grace of God should taste of death for every man, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world; and we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, that is, to the said posture in which they might receive life as well as to receive judgement according to their works, good or evil.  
Again, the same men say also, that all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself in jesus Christ, and hath given unto us, that is, Us Apostles, and those that succeed us in the Ministry of Reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing their trespasses unto them. And then the Apostle demonstrates a reason of this reconciliation of all mankind into the said posture; namely, because God hath made Christ to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  
But sin inherently was not in him, nor actually committed by him; for the Text saith, He knew no sin; and himself saith, Satan has nothing in me: therefore he was only imputatively made sin for us; and contrarily we were imputatively only made the righteousness of God in him to justification and acceptation into the said posture to a right reception of the said gift of eternal life, in pursuance of Gods said final end: Therefore as by one man's offence death reigned by one, much more they, namely, believers which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one jesus Christ. Thus all mankind were put into the said posture by the imputation of Christ's righteousness.  
Again, if the whole frame of nature was put into a posture by Christ's righteousness imputed, in opposition to the unrighteousness imputed of Adam, as is proved, and so traveleth until now from the bondage of corruption, to be partakers of the glorious liberty of the Sons of God, then much more did the force of the imputation of that righteousness put the principal part of the frame of Nature, namely, man into the said posture of reception of eternal life.  
Hence observe that the imputed guilt and punishment of Adam's one offence, and the imputed gift of Christ's one righteousness were both of one universal extent to the whole Creation, and so to all mankind, the principal part thereof; for even as one extended judgement to condemnation upon all, 
Gen. 12.1.  even so we see the other removed the guilt and punishment thereof, that is, of Adam's one offence; so as never man perished for it, that is, for Adam's one offence once committed; for it came, as saith the Text, upon all men to justification of life, as is proved.  
Again, observe, That in this universal justification in the Point of remission of the said guilt and punishment, so far as to put all men into a capacity to the said posture: I say, Hence observe, That man's faith or belief was of no use in this justification, for we see it came upon all men when it was neither thought on, nor sought by them, even when God said, Adam, Where art thou? Seeking to save that which was lost in the seed of the woman, by breaking the Serpent's head, as is proved.  
Again, Though in point of remission of the guilt and punishment of Adam's one offence, so far as to put man into a capacity to the said posture, his faith was of no use; but observe, that as that righteousness is a gift which brought in it the said life, so also in this point, man's belief of this truth is now of use; namely, as an instrumental qualification in point of reception of that gift; for as it is a gift, so it must be received; for as the imputative gift gives man right unto eternal life, so his reception of it gives him possession of that gift from this ground; It is said, He that believeth hath eternal life; but he that receives it not, has it not, and therefore abideth in death, because he hath not believed in the only begotten Son of God.  
Again, Observe therefore when the Scripture affirms man is justified by faith, it is because by his belief he received this justification, as is opened in this Point of Eternal life; for than he hath the end of what did precede his reception thereof; namely, of the remission of Adam's one offence, and the said capacity to the said posture, because he hath so received that gift of eternal life.  
Again, If this gift of righteousness thus came upon all men to justification, as is described, hence observe; That to ascribe justification to a man's Faith or Belief, is to arrogate to man that which is not his, because we see it is in the said gift of righteousness; and also this doth derogate from God's glory in that gift of life, as also from the glory of Christ who obtained it by his righteousness, as well as the remission of the guilt and punishment of Adam's one offence, & the said capacity to that posture in which by faith, he may receive the said gift of life, as precedently is proved, and as will further appear in due place.  
Again, If the said gift of life came upon all men, as is proved: Hence observe, That when the Apostle saith, Abraham was justified by faith, he means as faith is an instrumental qualification submitting to this righteousness of God by receiving it by belief of the Doctrine in Christ, as in opposition to a supposed Doctrine of Works to attain eternal life, maintained by the children of Abraham in the flesh, but not his children after the faith, in this Doctrine of Christ, as clearly appears in the drift and scope of the third and fourth Chapter to the Romans.  
Again, If this gift of righteousness so came upon all men to justification, and that before faith; it justifies as in pardon of Adam's one offence, and so brought all mankind into the said capacity and posture, and this gift of life to them, then certainly God never ordained nor instituted man's faith or belief for his justification, that is, for acceptance to pardon of his sin, and life eternal, but it only comes upon man in his gift of this one righteousness, as is described; but for what this one righteousness is, I refer the Reader to my former Treatise, in pag. 113.   

CHAP. VII. In which is handled the third Branch of the manifold Wisdom of God propounded, and the first Ingredient in the said posture; namely, that immediately upon the said Election and Imputation, God did by the Spirit of Christ put, or infuse an internal disposedness into all mankind, hereditarily to descend in their natural generations, and so in a capacity to the said posture in which man may receive Gods said gift of eternal life.  
TO this end, immediately after the fall of Adam, God dissolved the total amity of Will and operations, which was between man and the Apostate Angels, for God no sooner willed it, but immediately he did it by saying to the Serpent, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 
Gen. 3.15.  man's productive root, for that is employed; but the foundation of it, and the derivation of an internal disposedness in all mankind to the said posture, was laid in the seed of the woman, namely, in Humane Nature in the person of Christ, who only made way to it by breaking the Serpent's head; for as Adam in his fall deservedly brought a total internal darkness as well as death upon all men, so Christ the second Adam deservedly, 
John 1.4.9.  is life and light in himself; for as saith the Text, In it was life, and that life was the light of men, this was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Thus the Spirit of Christ doth write his Law in the hearts of all mankind, 
Rom. 2.14.  as a continued Act in their natural generation; from this only ground it is that all mankind do by nature the things contained in Christ's Law; which, as saith the Text, showeth the effect of the Law written in their hearts; if written, than it must needs be, God writ it by Christ's Spirit, there being no middle state between perfection before his fall, and a total devastation of righteousness and holiness in his fall.  
Again, If the effect of Christ's Law be in the hearts of all mankind, and disposeth them naturally to do the same things, as saith the Text; consequently this is a disposedness to amity with God; and consequently this is a disposedness to enmity to the apostate Angel's design in all mankind, according as God said, I will put enmity between thee and the woman: from this light of Christ in every man it is, that their consciences do accuse and excuse, as the Candle of the Lord in every man's breast, which he hath thus set up.  
Again, We find in men that are apostate from the said posture to Idols, by custom or the acquired habits, dead in sins and trespasses to that posture to receive the said gift of life; yet we find in them the remainders of this light of Christ; I do not mean so much remaining only among the best of the Heathens, who by a patiented well-doing did seek honour and glory, immortality, and eternal life, as in the aforesaid Text, Rom. 2. but as for instance, those Idolaters mentioned in Jonah, as appears in two particulars; First they did believe that God is, although remotely: And secondly that he is a rewarder of them that seek him, although they do it with much confusion; and the like in the Ninivites; but first in the Mariners, they refer their cause by lot to God to determine a point of difficulty; implying, they did believe, though remotely, yet truly, that God is; and conceiving the second, they prayed him not to lay innocent blood to them; implying, they did believe he is a rewarder of those that seek him.  
So likewise the King of Ninnive, he did believe God, as saith the Text, that is, That God is, as well as his threaten, to be true by Jonah. And as for the second, That he is a rewarder of them that seek him, is clear also, because he did seek him upon this reason, saying, Who knows whether God will be entreated to turn away from his first wrath. If thus much amity toward God be in such men as these, certainly some remainders of enmity to Satan, and amity to God, is in all mankind: Hence it follows without all contradiction, that the precedent premises are true, That Christ is the true light which lighteth every man which cometh into the world: Hence it is that our Lord said unto such men, or that man which by custom in sin, hath turned that light into darkness, as we see here these men had done, saying, If the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?  
Again, The force of this internal light and Law of Christ demonstrates itself to be his Law by this particular in all mankind, that is, as Christ himself is God's only Seat of mercy, or mercy's seat to the world; so all mankind in their distress invocate God to take off their misery under the notion of mercy; so cannot the apostate Angels invocate God under the notion of mercy or pity, and the ground of it is this, as they have no internal princple by Christ, as here we see all mankind hath, therefore they have no internal disposedness to seek relief from him under the notion of mercy: and from this ground it is, that their consciences cannot excuse them, as men's can do.  
Objection. If the natural liberty of man's will consists in its choosing and refusing all objects as it likes or licks them not, than man by nature may without this internal Law of Christ's Spirit from the natural power of his will choose God's gift of eternal life.  
Answer. It is one thing to have power to choose and refuse all objects, as it likes, or as it likes them not, as have the Devils, and good and bad men; for this power cannot be lost but in the annihilation of the Creature; and another thing rightly to choose that which is good, and rightly to refuse that which is evil: This power man lost in the fall; therefore no man can rightly choose, or rightly refuse any object, good or evil, since the fall, according to Gods will in relation to Christ, but by the Spirit of Christ, which put the said enmity into all mankind, and so from degree to degree, they being faithful in that little, would give them more, even to the gift of faith, rightly to receive the said gift of life; and thus, if the Son make them free, they are free indeed, rightly to choose good, and to refuse evil; for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.  
Objection. If the natural Liberty of Man's Will is to choose and refuse all objects, as it likes, or as it likes them not, How can the Will be disposed naturally to any one thing; as naturally to God's Law, in a capacity to the said posture.  
Answer. The natural Liberty of the Will is one thing, and the natural Property of the Will is another; For, as the natural property of the Understanding is to adhere to Truth, as such, or as it appears to be such; so the natural property of the will of man is to adhere to God, as such, or as it appears to be such; and in the fall man lost not this natural property no more than its natural liberty; but the rectitude thereof was totally lost, both in Will and understanding; for he lost all righteousness and holiness wholly, and so became totally evil as are the Devils themselves; for there was no middle estate in the nature of Adam's Covenant, but good and evil.  
Therefore in the depth of that darkness, Christ enlighteneth by his Spirit, the intellectual spirits of all mankind, so far as attendency to adhere to truth, and to the true good, as such, which includes a virtual tendency to love God above all, and its neighbour as itself: Therefore the Will by the assistance of Christ's Spirit, may be terminated to one thing to which it has thus a natural tendency; as in the Saints, when they in the third degree of belief are Fathers in the faith, 
Rev. 3.10, 11, 12. Rom. 8. from 35 to 39 1 Tim. 1.19, 20 2 Tim, 2.12, 13 Acts 10.34, 35 See my former Treatise; p. 108 131, 132, 133. and from page 134 to 140.  than God so terminates their wills to himself, virtually at least, that nothing shall be able to separate them from him, nor he from them: and the grounds why God will so terminate the Will to the Saints that improve their measure under manifold trials, is this, He loves to glorify his Justice in the distribution of his mercy by the Gospel's Tenor: so on the contrary, to the Saints which totally backslide before they come to the third degree of Faith, so far as to make shipwreck of Faith and a good Conscience; he by the justice of the same rule of mercy, doth make that final, which they have made total; for God is no respecter of persons.  
The ground why this internal disposedness is Christ's Law, is not only because it is infused by Christ's Spirit, as is proved; but also the whole government of all mankind in relation to eternal life and death, 
Acts 7.53. Gal. 3.19.  is only and alone in his power since the fall, and therefore he gives all Laws external or internal, and he adjudges men for transgressing those Laws. This was that which was figured at Mount Sinai, when God gave all those Laws to that one Nation, as a part of the whole of mankind, he then gave all those Laws by an Angel into the hand of a Mediator, the which Mediator was Christ in the truth, but Moses in the Type, who administered those Laws to the people.  
Hence observe, That all mankind in their native production and succeeding generations, are not conceived and born dead in sins and in trespasses, nor children of wrath; for by reason of the said universal election, and universal imputation of Christ's own righteousness, all mankind are conceived and born in the favour and mercy of God by Christ, notwithstanding the bitter seed of original sin in their natural production; for we see it is reduced to be but a seed by the said internal disposedness, and so are in a capacity to receive the said gift of life; for the whole need not the Physician, but the sick, since Original corruption is an evil privitive and positive.   

CHAP. VIII. In which is handled the fourth Branch of the manifold wisdom of God, precedently propounded, and being the second ingredient to make up the said posture; namely, that the Spirit of Christ striveth with the spirits of all men in the world, to preserve and increase the said internal disposedness, consequently to depress the force of the seed of original sin, so to bring and to keep men in the said posture in which they might receive God's gift of eternal life.  
THis Spirit of Christ thus began to strive immediately upon the fall, and upon the said universal election, and universal imputation in these words, Adam, Where art thou? so seeking to save what was lost, and so forth. 
Gen. 4.4.5.   
Again, Thus Christ's Spirit strove with the spirits of Cain and Abel: To Abel in an approbation and confirmation of his operations in this posture, to continue to receive and hold fast the said gift of life; for saith the Text, God had respect unto Abel, and to his offering; and the reason is, 
Heb. 11.4.  because it was by belief Abel offered a more acceptable offering then Cain.  
Again, the same with cain's spirit; for when he began to go on in nourishing the seed of original sin to the acquired habits therein, so to extinguish the light of Christ in him, than the same spirit of Christ strove with his spirit to suppress the one, and to cherish and increase the other; for in respect to the one, God gave him no respect but to his discontent and discouragement; but in respect to the other, he encourages him to go on in his posture, as Abel his brother, saying, If thou dost well, shalt thou not be accepted? implying most certainly, Thou shalt as well as he.  
Now the ground why this Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, that thus strives with the spirits of all mankind, as with these two men it did; is this, Because ever since the fallen Mass of mankind, Christ immediately entered, as the firstborn of every creature in an universal relation to the whole world, in pursuance of Gods said final end, and thereupon according to his own saying, All things that the Father hath are mine; and so saith he, The Spirit shall take of mine; that is, not only to comfort the faithful in this world, 
John 16.8, 9, 10, 11.  but also to reprove the world of sin, that is, to the same end as to Cain; and saith the Text, When he shall come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: Of sin, because they believe not in me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father; Of judgement, because the Prince of this world is judged.  
And according to this, the said Spirit of Christ thus strives with the spirits of all men, as to Cain and Abel, and so to the world's end, that is, to depress the one, and increase the other, as is said, to bring them into the said posture, and to preserve them therein; and it clearly appears, that it so did strive with man, during the first world; for saith God, When their Apostasy did abound, my Spirit shall not always strive with man, 
Genesis 6.3.  for that he also is flesh.  
Whereupon God limited the time of the striving of Christ's Spirit with them from time to come, 
Gen. 7.1.  to one hundred and twenty years, and no longer; 
1 Pet. 3.18, 19 20.  and as this Spirit striveth with Abel's spirit to preserve him and establish him in the said posture: consequently so did it with all the righteous in the generations precedent, and to the end of that world, even until there was but one righteous man left, saying unto them, Thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation, so establishing and confirming his mind in the said posture,; so that thus the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of the men of that world, both good and bad, when once thelong patience of God waited in the days of Noah, for to return and keep them in the said posture to receive his gift of life in the said righteousness of the seed of the woman.  
Again, In the next world thus the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of all men, to preserve the one, and to depress the other, as is said, and that by the Ministry of Christ, by Noah to his own posterity, who, saith the Text, 
2 Pet. 2.5.8.  was a Preacher of righteousness, 
Gen. 9.28.  the which righteousness that he preached to their spirits was twofold; The first was manifested to them by the Sacrifices he offered unto God, which figured unto them the satisfactory righteousness of the seed of the woman imputatively, 
Gen. 8.21, 22  bringing to them the said gift of eternal life, and also further manifested, in that God smelled a savour of rest, and from thence ratifying to them and their generations, the good of this world, and that to come, in reference to keep them in the said posture in their succeeding generations: 
Eph. 5.2.  and to this end Noah their Father lived thus with them three hundred and fifty years after the Flood.  
The second righteousness which he preached, was the rectitude of his operations, which is sanctification; and this he preached to his posterity by his posture in the right reception of God's gift of eternal life, by the manner of his sacrificing and building an Altar unto Jehovah, and by making choice of Beasts, in refusing unclean, and taking clean, 
Gen. 8.20.21.  and also by his building the Ark according to the commandment of God, all being fruits of his operations, according to faith in his said posture. 
Heb. 11.4.7.8.  So much for the second righteousness, namely, Sanctification, which he preached, and also for the first righteousness which came upon all men for justification of life.  
Again, Likewise the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of Shems' Family-Church: for Noah's three hundred and fifty years, a Preacher of righteousness after the Flood extended within two years of the birth of Abraham, as Learned Broughton observes in his Consent of Scriptures.  
Again, When this Family began to Apostate from the said posture to Idols, as appears in Terah the Father of Abraham, and were become corrupt and abominable, not knowing the way of peace, like to those who were confounded and scattered at Babel; than it is employed, that God precedently had strived with their spirits; for now he began to put an end to the striving of the Spirit of Christ with the spirit of Shems' Family, in that God commanded Abraham to departed from his Kindred, and from his Father's house, to this end, to raise a Nation out of his loins, to carry on Gods said final end, and so leave that Family to themselves.  
Again, When that one Nation was existent, and did spring out of Abraham's seed in number as the sands on the Seashore, or as the Stars in Heaven, than the same Spirit of Christ strove with their spirits also, in the succeeding generations to preserve and increase the one, and to depress the other, to bring them into the said posture in which they might receive the said gift of life, as saith Nehemiah unto God, 
Neh. 9.20, 30.  Thou gavest them thy good Spirit to instruct them; 
Hagg. 2.5.  and saith God to them, According to my Covenant with you when I came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaineth with you: And Nehemiah saith also, Yea many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy Prophets; but for their gain saying this Spirit so striving with them all the day-long in their generations, God put a period to this striving of Christ's Spirit, so denying them the gift of faith to believe, that they might not receive his said gift of eternal life; and therefore saith the Text, excepting to some few of them, Behold ye despisers, and wonder, and perish, for I work a work in your days, 
Esa. 49.6. Luke 19.41, 42 Hab. 1.5. Acts 13.41.  which ye shall in no wise believe, although a man declare it unto you. Hence it is our Saviour said, If thou hadst known, even thou in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace, but now they are hidden from thine eyes.  
Again, under the Gospel, now it is unvailed of Moses vail, and that the visible Churches of Christ stand constituted, not as Family-Churches only, as to the days of Moses, nor constituted a visible Church, as was that one Nation, a part of Humane Nature, as such, were they good or bad; but now under the Gospel constituted of Believers, as such, according to the judgement of harity: And thus the Spirit of Christ also strove with the spirits of men in the visible Churches, as well as unto the men of the world, to cherish and increase one, and to depress the other, to keep them in the said posture in a right reception of the gift of life: Hence saith the Spirit of Christ to the Church of Smerna, Be thou faithful unto the death, and I will give thee the Crown of Life. Thus the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of men in the Church of Sardis, Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent; If thou therefore wilt not watch, 
Rev. 2.10.  I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know the hour when I will come upon thee. 
Rev. 3.11.  And so likewise to the Church of Philadelphia, Christ's Spirit striveth with their spirits, 
Rev. 1.4.  Behold I come shortly, hold that which thou hast, let no man take away thy Crown: And this Point is apparent, for the seven Epistles were sent to the seven Churches. So much for the Spirit of Christ striving with the spirits of men in the visible Churches under the Gospel.  
Again, Not only with the visible, but the same Spirit strives with the spirits of the invisible Members of Christ's mystical body, to preserve and increase their internal and spiritual graces, and to depress the power of original sin in them, as in others, to keep them in the said posture and right reception of the said gift of eternal life; for saith the Text to the said visible Churches, Let him that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches; these words four times repeated, implies, That in these visible Churches there were some whose spirits did hear and understand what the Spirit spoke.  
And thus the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of the eleven Apostles, 
Mark 16.14.  which were invisible Members, Judas being dead; for the Text saith, He appeared unto the eleven and upbraided them with their unbelief at another time: Thus strives his Spirit with theirs, saying, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you, continue in my love, 
John 15.9, 10.  if ye keep my Commandments, ye shall abide in my love.  
Another time thus the Spirit strove with theirs, Oh faithless and perverse generation, 
Mark 17.17.  how long shall I be with you, how long shall I suffer you: At another time thus the Spirit strove with the spirit of Nathaniel to establish him, Because I said I saw thee under the Figtree, 
John 1.50.  Believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these.  
Is is so, that Christ's Spirit thus strives with the spirits of all sorts of men in the world? Hence observe, That all those who have not yet received the gift of Faith, nor the gift of eternal Life, and so do fall into eternal death, shall be left without excuse in their own consciences to eternity; because it will witness to them that God would have given them both, but they refused, and if they had received it, than their salvation was of God, because attained by his Son, given by himself: As also, Christ's Spirit thus striving with their spirits, and therefore it will also witness that their destruction is of themselves; and so Gods most sweet righteousness in this administration will shine to his glory in their ruin to eternity.  
Again, Is it so, that Christ's Spirit thus strives with all men to cherish and increase the said light of Christ in them, and to depress the seed of the Serpent in them, and that they are thus internally meetly disposed towards the said posture: Hence observe, it must needs follow, that all men which become totally dead in sins and in trespasses to that posture, so as that they cannot change or alter their operations thereunto, no more than the Black Moor can change his skin, or the Leopard his spots; I say, Hence observe, That all men that are thus dead in sins and in trespasses in the world, it ariseth not from the seed of original sin, but as an occasion, and only from their custom in sin and wickedness, unto the acquired habits therein, as the cause, for it is custom in any thing that brings another nature.  
Again, Is it so, that the Spirit of Christ strives with the spirits of all men to preserve and repress, as is proved; Hence observe, That when God by Christ's Spirit is pleased to inliven the spirits of some men to the said posture, which were dead in sin and in trespasses, and leaves other some in the same condition so to perish: I say, hence observe, That God in this case neither inlivens the one, nor leaves the other from love or hatred to either of them personally considered, but out of love to himself in pursuance of his final end; for thus he took up the Jews when they lay polluted in their blood, being Terah's Idolatrous brood, and said they should live, that is, in this posture that they might receive his gift of life; and that not for their sakes, but for his own names sake; and thus he had mercy upon some of the Gentiles in the fullness of time, that were dead in sins and in trespasses, that they might live in this posture; and thus the Jews which have been dead in sins and in trespasses this sixteen hundred years, this Spirit of Christ will inliven their dead spirits, that so they shall or may receive the said gift of life again; for in this sense the gifts and callings of God to mankind are without repentance, that is, to call men, and thus to give them, as is said, in pursuance of his said final end.  
Again, Is it so, that the Spirit of Christ strives with the spirits of all sorts of men in the world, to preserve and increase the one, and to suppress the other, as is proved. Hence observe, That all men which as yet have not the gift of faith, are to be careful that they are faithful in that little they have received, but especially not to resist this Spirit striving with their spirits, as we see did Cain, the old world. Noah's posterity at Babel, as did Shems in Terah's, and Israel Gods Elect the offspring of Abraham, lest God denying them the gift of faith, and so his gift of life; For then in seeing they shall not see, and in understanding they shall not understand, and shall never truly nor rightly be able to see the things which do belong to their eternal peace.  
Again, Is it so, That this Spirit of Christ's thus strives with all men of the world, and also with all men in the visible Churches of Christ, and also with the invisible Members, as is proved; then let them which think they have the true Spirit of faith in God, and love to God and their neighbour, kindled in their breasts by this Spirit of Christ's, beware they quench not the Spirits flame of love and firm faith by inordinate cares and love of this world's profits or pleasurable lusts, lest they having begun in the Spirit, do end in the flesh, and reap corruption.  
Again, Is it so that the Spirit of Christ thus strives and effects in the hearts of the invisible Members of Christ's true faith and love, and other graces, Then hence observe, That although in attaining eternal life they can do nothing, but in that Christ alone doth all; and also that in the gift of internal light of Christ, and in the gift of faith, and in the gift of other graces and in the increase and growth of them, the invisible members of Christ are merely passive in all this; yet hence observe, That by the same spirit of faith and love, they are enabled to keep their hearts with care and diligence; so that no man or power shall take away their Crown of comfort, and hope of glory; First, because in the said gifts they have received the spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind in some degree, therefore they are able so to do. A second Reason is this, The Spirit of Christ is at hand when they so put forth that power they have, not only to assist them to keep their hearts in these endeavours, but also to add that wherein they are merely passive, as I said before, namely, to add the increase of all these graces they have, and so they grow from strength to strength in Zion; and therefore they may, and are able to keep their hearts as is said. And therefore saith our Lord, As I say unto all men, so I say unto you, Watch lest ye enter into temptation.  
The Reason why I call the third in the one God, or the third Person in Trinity, the Spirit of Christ, is this, Because that as all that the Father hath, is Christ's, in pursuance of this said final end; so Christ by the third in the one jehovah, in God's merciful voice in the Creation, and most eminently, and most properly by the voice of the Gospel in the tongue of man to man, by the Ministry of this Spirit, doth strive with the spirits of all men to depress the mind of the Devil in them, and to implant the similitude of the mind of Christ in them, which is man's sanctification in order to the Father's will, to a right receiving of his said righteousness imputed to their eternal life, or to be either, as is proved.   

CHAP. IX. In which is handled the fifth branch of the manifold wisdom of God precedently propounded, and the last ingredients which makes up the said posture, namely, that God by the seed of the woman immediately after the fall, gave a rule suitable to all men to work or operate by, in reference to his said final end.  
THis Point divides itself into three parts, two whereof are handled in this Chapter, the third in the next.  
The first declares unto all men who it is that Governs them by this Rule, for a Governor is employed.  
The second is to let all men see what this Rule is.  
The third is, that all men may see how suitable this rule is unto them. Of these in their order.  
As for the first, Certainly he that restoreth all mankind out of the fallen mass of death, into the said posture, to receive the said gift of life, he it is that governs man by his own Rule; and therefore saith man, believing truth, To us a Child is born, and to us a Son is given, and the Government shall be laid upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Councillor, and the mighty God, and so forth. And saith the Lord himself, 
Esa. 9.6.  All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; and then goes on governing all men in this Government by his Apostles, by the said suitable rule; 
Mat. 28.18, 19  For he commanded them, saying, 
Mar. 16.16.  Go ye therefore into all the world, and Preach the Gospel to every creature; He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved; but he that will not believe shall be damned. From this ground it is, that the Father judgeth no man, because he committeth all judgement to the Son. 
John 5.22.  So much for the first Point.  
Secondly, That all men may see what this Rule is; And in a word, it is no more but this, namely, The Tenor of the Gospel; and that is a Rule of Justice and Mercy; for the Gospel itself is one thing, and its Tenor is another; and the Gospel itself is no more but this, God's highest mercy manifested by Christ to man, to relieve him out of his deepest misery: First employed immediately upon the fall, 
Gen. 3.15. Luke 2.10, 11.  when God said unto the Serpent, The seed of the woman shall bruise thy head. Secondly, In the fullness of time, when the Angel said, Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy that shall be unto all people; that is, That unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord: and the Gospel's Tenor is no more but this as is said, A Rule of Justice and Mercy for all men to work by, and not a Rule of Justice only, as was that to Adam in his innocency before the fall, in pursuance of Gods said final end.  
For proof of this Point, the Oracles of God manifested it, first in Cain and Abel; to Cain, although his operations were not well according to this rule, yet the mercy of it appeared to him after he had not done well, in this, That God interrogatively promised him acceptance, saying, If thou dost well, shalt thou not be accepted; implying most certainly, Thou shalt, as is Abel thy brother. And in the next words appears the justice of this rule, If thou dost not well, sin lies at the door.  
And as concerning Abel, because his operations were according to his posture, the justice of this rule appeared to him, in that God approved thereof, and the mercy of this rule, because it admitted acceptance of him, although unperfect in the perfect operations of another man, as appears by his sacrifices, which employed the imputative righteousness of Christ; for saith the Text, 
Gen. 4.4.  Abel offered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain; by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, 
Heb. 11.4.  God testifying of his gift, and so the same tenor of mercy and justice all along down the old world to the Flood, the mercy of it, when the wickedness of man is great on the earth by Apostasy from the said posture, and all ungodlyness; yet the mercy of this rule gave them time to repent and turn to the said posture to receive the said gift of life, namely, one hundred and twenty years, in which time the long-sufferings of God waited in the days of Noah, so also the justice of this rule of mercy brought in the flood upon the world of ungodly, and to Noah its justice and mercy were also both extended, as unto Abel, because he kept to the said posture in a constant reception of the said gift of life, for by faith he being warned of God of things which were not yet seen, moved with reverence, prepared the Ark to the saving of his household, through which Ark he condemned the world, and so was made heir of the righteousness which is by faith; and the same tenor was also extended to Noah's posterity after the flood, and none other: for as this justice scattered them from the Land of Shinor for their Apostasy from the said posture, upon the face of all the earth, as is proved, so the mercy of this rule followed them eighteen hundred years under that wrath of God, and none other, as in the tenth Chapter following will appear, and as in the seventh Chapter of my former Treatise is proved; and this same Tenor, and none other was extended to the said Nation elect in the loins or seed of Abraham, the mercy of it was figured in the Pot of Manna, and the Rod that budded, and the two Tables of the Moral Law, as jointly enclosed in the Ark, and so a figure of the perfection of the satisfactory righteousness of Christ imputed to the world, and therefore God named it his Mercies Seat, and so he spoke from thence to that Nation as a part of all mankind, and the justice of this Tenor was figured to that Nation, 
In my former Treatise p. 70.  in the manner of the delivery of the Gospel into the vail of Moses, as in fire, in smoke, in earthquake, yet it was the justice of this merciful Tenor, because it was delivered on that Mount from God by an Angel into the hand of a Mediator, namely, Moses in the type, which was Christ in the truth; and therefore it is said, the Law came by Moses, but grace and truth by jesus Christ. That is, the grace and truth of all contained in those Laws, came by jesus Christ, and so made up a Gospel of glad tidings to that people, and all Nations: From this ground they had a daily sacrifice for sin in their generations, and this Tenor more clearly appears to that Nation; for God having styled them the house of Israel, he thus faith unto them, If the wicked will turn from his sins that he hath committed, 
Ezek. 18.20, 24.29.30.  he shall surely live; there is the mercy of this Tenor, If the wicked turn not, the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself: there is the justice of this Tenor.  
Again, This same Tenor, and none other now, is when the Gospel is unvailed, nor never shall to the world's end; for all men stand bound to their believing operations in their said posture, to receive the said gift of life, or to perish, as witnesseth our Lord in the forecited Text to the Apostles; Go ye into all the world and Preach the Gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved: There is the mercy of the Gospel's Tenor, He that will not believe shall be damned: There is the justice of its Tenor.   

CHAP. X. In which is proved that the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of Noah's posterity which were confounded and scattered at Babel in their succeeding Generations, to preserve them in a narrow way to eternal life.  
THis Point divides itself into three parts; First, that they had the truth of God to direct them to that way.  
Secondly, That that truth was the truth of God to them in the seed of the woman, Christ the Lord.  
Thirdly, 
1 Rom. 18.25, 26, 28.  That by this truth some of the best of them did attain eternal life, although the generality refused it, and so perished: Of these in their order.  
First, That the truth of God they had is clear in Rom. 1. and the 18. because the Spirit of Christ by Paul chargeth them with, with holding the truth in unrighteousness, and with turning that truth into a lie, and so forsaking the Creator which is blessed for ever, Amen, as verse the 25. And for this cause God delivered them up from Christ's Spirit, striving with their spirits to vile affections, verse 26. And the reason thereof is further amplified in the 28 verse, namely, as they regarded not to acknowledge God in that truth they had, even so God delivered them up to a reprobate mind; therefore this truth of God the Heathens or Gentiles had, although confounded and scattered at Babel from the residence of the Gospel, and its Tenor with them.  
Secondly, That this truth was the truth of God to them by the seed of the woman, Christ the Lord is clear also; and it was twofold, the one external, and the other internal: The external truth was manifested and showed to them by Christ the Lord, by the whole creation, he being the only firstborn of every creature, as the second Adam from the dead fall of Adam, for so he opened the womb of the whole creation in its tendency and travel from the bondage of corruption, it than fell in to be partakers of the glorious liberties of the Sons of God, and that this travel of the Creation is a continued act by the force of Christ, as aforesaid, is clear; for the Text saith, It traveleth until now; yet here note by the way, That the continuation of the good things in Nature in the Creation, is not simply from Nature, by virtue of the Creation, as such, for that was lost in the fall, as is employed in the Text; because it saith, The Creation is not subject unto vanity willingly, that is, by its own natural instinct, but by reason of God who caused the Creation to depend, first upon the operations of the first Adam; and then upon the second adam's, as is employed in the Text, namely, by reason of him who hath subdued the same in hope, from whence the earnest expectation of the Creature or Creation waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God: Yet again, note this by the way, That although the Creation by man's fall lost its blessedness to its self and to man, yet it lost not its being no more than the Apostate Angels or damned men, which detain their being to eternity, for the being of all things is grounded on God's essence only, and never depended on either Adam's operations; and because the Creation thus travels by the force of God's favour in Christ; it was the ground why the Psalmist sweetly sings that Jehovah is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works; and if tender mercy be over all, than misery was first over all, for misery is mercies most proper object; to which mercy is extended from the premises, thus proved, 
Psal. 145.9.  follows this conclusion.  
That the Voice, Language, or Speech of the whole Creation of good from God to man in all its force and effects by all creatures ever since Christ, was the firstborn in the promise to break the Serpent's head, is the general voice of glad-tidings of God to man, by jesus Christ's satisfactory righteousness imputed; for we see its tendency and dependency to blessedness hangeth only upon that; so that in a word, the whole Creation in general is the voice of the Gospel; and that is the reason why in the New Testament and the Old, the voice of the Gospel Preached by men is brought in, in a sense, speaking one and the same thing to mankind; yet note that it is with this difference, The one a general and remote voice, and the other the more distinct and particular, as by Writings in the Oracles of God, and by the speech and language of man to man by the word Preached; and thus David brings them in jointly, saying, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament show his handy works, day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge, there is no Speech nor Language where their voice is not heard, their loin is gone forth throughout all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world, in them he hath set a Tabernacle for the Son, and so forth: and then he joineth the Gospel thereunto in these words, 
Psal. 19 from verse 1 to 8. Note, The Creation began thus, to preach Christ from its first step into this travel from the bondage of corruption, to be partakers of the glorious liberties of the Sons of God: and when that first step began, you may see in my former Treatise, page the 35.  The Law of God is perfect, converting the soul, the Testimony of the Lord is sure, and giveth wisdom unto the simple, the Statutes of the Lord are right, and rejoice the heart, and so forth. And Paul speaking of the Preaching of the Gospel, concludes, Faith is by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; and then having spoken of jews and Grecians in the 12 verse, concluding, That be that is Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him; and then puts the Question in the 18 verse, saying, But I demand, Have they not heard? meaning the Grecians or Heathens as well as the jews: and then he answers the question, namely, That the Gospel was heard by them in the said words of the Psalms, No doubt their sound went out throughout all the earth, and their words into the end of the world; implying, That both voices ought to be heard, and being rightly heard, they both breed virtually in the heart of man, faith in Christ; 
Rom. 10.12, 17, 18.  yet with this difference, the one implicit and more weak, because its voice is but general and remote, the other more clear and strong, because his voice is more clear and near to the spirit of a man. So much for the external truth of God in Christ, by which Christ's Spirit strove with their spirits to direct them in that narrow way to eternal life.  
Secondly, The internal truth of God in Christ by which the Spirit of Christ strove with the spirits of the said confounded and scattered offspring of Noah at Babel, in a word, is no more but this, namely, The remainder of the said internal Law and light of Christ in their hearts for, as is proved, they were excluded the residence of the Gospel with them, as is employed in the Text, Rom. 2. it saith, 
Rom. 2.14.15.  The Gentiles which have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law, and are a Law unto themselves, which show the work of the Law written in their hearts: And this Law in the hearts of them all, if they had submitted to this inward striving of of the Spirit of Christ with their spirits, and not detained it in unrighteousness, as they did, it would have produced the circumcision of the hearts of them all; which is the true rectitude of the mind, or sanctification, as it did to some of them which did in that little they had, seek to do well, and so it was effected in them, namely, Circumcision, which is by nature, saith the Text, verse 27. and in the 29 verse, To be circumcision of the heart and spirit, whose praise is not of men, but of God. So much for the internal truth of God in Christ to direct the Heathens in the narrow way to life.  
But the Question may be, What life that was that the best of those Heathens did attain unto?  
I answer, Neither more nor less, but the same eternal life which the believing jews received by operations in God's gift of Christ's imputative righteousness, as appears in the sixth verse, God will render every man according to his works, that is, To them which through a patiented well-doing, 
Rom. 2.6.7, 10.  seek for honour and glory, immortality, everlasting life; and in the tenth verse, To every man that doth good, shall be glory, and honour and praise, to the jew first, and to the Grecian; for there is no respect of persons with God, for to this hath our Lord Christ made his promise, They that seek shall find, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened: From this ground it was that the Apostles were not ashamed to Preach the Gospel in Heathenish Rome to believers; his first reason is, Because it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the jew first, and also to the Grecian  
His second Reason is, Because by it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, that is, from faith implicit, as most weak to faith more strong and expressive, as formerly is proved.  
His third Reason is, Because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all unrighteousness of men which withhold the truth in unrighteousness, for as much as that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for saith he, God hath showed it unto them, namely, by the Creation and the Gospel, 
Rom. 1.19.  as aforesaid; for that is here employed.  
The first Reason why the Spirit of God thus strives with the spirits of these Heathens and all men else, may be this, although it be all alike unto God in respect of his final end, whether the most or least number of men be made vessels of honour or dishonour unto eternity, so all be either one or the other, because by his merciful and just proceed in the suitable rule, his glory in a most sweet righteousness shineth forth eternally in either to his praise; and yet nevertheless in respect to man, it being his Creature, 
Acts 17. from 25. to 29.  his offsprings and generation, which as, saith the Text, he hath made of one blood, and under the aforesaid universal election; yet in this respect God would rather man would as he should and might according to this rule, and Christ's Spirit striving with his spirit, return by his operation into the said posture, to receive the said gift of life, and be blessed for ever: As I live, saith the Lord God, 
Ezek. 18.27.  I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live; when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, 
Ezek. 33.11.  and do that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.  
The second Reason why the Spirit of Christ thus strives with the spirits of these Heathens and all men, is, because the Apostate Angels do universally endeavour by their temptations, lies, and delusions, to keep all mankind from receiving the said gift of life, and therefore do endeavour not only to extinguish the Preaching of the Gospel, but also to extinguish and turn the internal light of Christ in all men into darkness, and if they could possible draw all men into eternal darkness; and their main end in all this is, that God might not have any glory in man's felicity to eternity; and therefore to repel this their design in that particular branch, it is that the Spirit of Christ thus strives with all men, and for this end we see the seed of the woman was elected to be Christ the Lord, and second Adam; and for this end God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever by believing operations will receive the said gift of life, shall not perish but have everlasting life; for therefore we see God elected the fallen Mass of mankind out of that despicable estate into the said posture, as is proved; and also therefore we see that God elected one Nation to be, and to be in the said posture to carry on his said final end, as it respected this particular branch, not for their sakes, but for his own names sake: and likewise we see to carry on this said final end in this particular branch, He hath mercy upon whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth, when by their acquired habits in sin against the said posture, they are all alike dead in sin and trespasses, I say not in love or hatred to any of these men personally considered, but only in love to himself, in the prosecution of this branch of his said final end, as is proved, that he called the Gentiles to this posture, but denied it at that time to the jews, and so on this sixteen hundred years, and that in pursuance of the said branch, will call them to this posture again, by which they may receive the said gift of life; and this is the ground why he precedently made so many glorious promises of calling the Gentiles, and also of the jews according to his Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and from this cause only they are beloved for their Father's sakes, as is proved; and therefore it is that the Spirit of Christ thus strove with the spirits of these Heathens and all men else, as is proved.  
The third Reason may be this, Because the more men are brought by the striving of Christ's Spirit with their spirits to believing operations in this posture by the reception of this gift of life in point of justification, the more fruit of righteousness abounds also in their sanctification in a redundancy to God's glory against the Apostate Angels said design; and therefore it is that the Spirit of Christ thus strives, as with these Heathens, so with all men.  
The first Use is for Information, That if the Spirit of Christ thus strives with the spirits of all mankind to bring them to, and to keep them in this posture. Hence we learn two things; First, That the striving of this Spirit to all mankind, as is proved, is the universal favour of God in jesus Christ to all men in the world. The second is this, That those amongst men which by believing operations, rightly receive the said gift of righteousness, shall muchmore receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, and shall reign in life by one, namely, jesus Christ, that as sin had reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness 
Rom. 5.19.  unto eternal life by jesus Christ.  
The second use is this, That God will never revoke that pardon of the guilt and punishment, namely, eternal death due to all mankind for Adam's one offence; First because of his said gift of life which came upon all men unto justification in the imputative righteousness of Christ, as is proved; for, for this end he gave the Spirit of Christ thus to strive with the spirits of all men from the beginning of the world, to the end thereof, that they might receive the said gift of life; therefore the pardon of the said guilt and punishment due to all mankind for Adam's one offence, stands irrevocable to eternity,— for ever since the fall this is the condemnation, now this light of life is come into the world, because men love darkness rather than light.  
The third Use God is irrevocable in this Point also, namely, To give to any man the possession of eternal life in this world by belief, and the fruition in the next world, which is constant in his believing operations in the said posture, according to the striving of Christ's Spirit with his spirit; for saith our Lord, He that endureth to the end, shall be saved.  
In the fourth place this informs us also, That if any man be by God dispossessed of his eternal life in this world, and so in the next, it must needs follow, he quencheth this Spirit of Christ, which thus by belief gave him possession of it here, and so would have done there, had he not persisted in quenching, and also in resisting the said Spirit, by following lying vanities, and so forsaking his own mercies, as did Demas, and the seven Churches of Asia, till God removed the Candlestick from them, and left them in darkness, and Demas to embrace this present world.  
Is it so, That the Gospel and the Universe of this Creation has a tendency, and bends jointly as one in man's universal good, and virtually to breed in him the faith of God in jesus Christ, as is proved.  
Then hence observe, That those that stand in an universal relation to men, at the Stern of Magistracy as Gods, stand bound universally to further the good of man, not of this life only, but of that which is to come; namely, to set up in their Territories and Dominions, in all convenient places, the Preaching of the Gospel, to beget the belief of God in jesus Christ in the minds of men.   

CHAP. XI. In which is handled the third particular in the said Rule, namely, to let all men see how suitabble this Rule is to them.  
THe suitableness whereof is opened in nine particulars; as first, It has its Institution in God's word of truth, and the natural property of the understanding of all men, being, as is proved, to follow truth as such, or as it appears to be such: wherefore we see the Apostate Angels came to our first Parents in the appearance of truth, therefore it is universally suitable to all mankind in this respect.  
Secondly, This rule tenders to man, not only a good to be received by his operations according to it, but also his sweetest and chiefest good; namely, to enjoy God in belief of the truth in this life, and according to truth, to eternity in the next; and so this rule is suitable to man's will, whose natural property is to follow good, or as it appears so to be, as the natural property of the eye is to follow the light; wherefore the Apostate Angels came to us in our first parents, as is proved in appearance of a good; wherefore this rule is universally suitable to all men in this respect.  
Thirdly, ever since the fall of Adam, God in his word requires no man by his workings to attain eternal life for himself or others, but only by his workings in the said posture to receive eternal life, attained only by the Lord Christ, and given imputatively by God himself; therefore this rule is universally suitable to all men, none excepted but Christ himself.  
Fourthly, Because the natural liberty of man's will consists in this, namely, to choose and refuse all objects, as it likes them, or as it likes them not, as is proved. And because this rule tenders a twofold object to will or nill, that is, to choose or refuse; namely, good or evil, that is, eternal life or death for it to choose or refuse; therefore it is universally suitable to all in this respect, none excepted.  
Fifthly, because this just and merciful rule admits mercy to man after he hath not done well, according to his said posture, man being ever since the fall imperfect; therefore this rule is suitable universally to all men, none excepted but Christ the Lord.  
Sixthly, Because it is  to all men which propound to themselves an end in their workings, to ground those workings and operations upon their own belief or faith of a good to be attained and attainable, as do Merchants which send or go by Sea or Land for wealth, or the like, or upon their own belief of some evil or danger, as did these Mariners, which to avoid the danger of death by their operations, cast the wheat out of the Ship into the Sea; and therefore because this rule requires man's own belief of God's truth and the said good, and to avoid the contrary evil, to be the ground of all their operations in the said posture, He that believes shall be saved, he that will not believe shall be damned, as is proved: Wherefore because this Rule requires all men thus to make their own belief, as is said, the ground of their operations in this posture; therefore this rule is universally suitable to all men, none excepted but men that are dead in sins and trespasses by acquired habits herein, or sots, idiots, mad men, or the like: From this ground it is that our Lord saith, This is the work of God, That ye believe, and so forth; and from this ground it is, that Abraham's believing operations in this posture, 
Rom. 4.4.  was so much respected, as opposed to men that made their own works, as works in this posture, to be the ground only of their acceptance with God to eternal life; and from this ground, namely, That man makes his own belief of God's truth, and the said good to be the ground of his operations in this said posture it is, that faith is so highly extolled in Scriptures by the Spirit of Christ; for in so doing they render unto God the sole glory of all his truth and goodness revealed in the seed of the woman, Christ the Lord, and his imputed righteousness, and God's gift of life therein.  
Seventhly, Because man's reasonable soul or spirit is of an everlasting duration, and never to be extinct, and man's body when raised a spiritual body, so to be also; and because this rule tenders to man an estate of well and woe, of an everlasting duration, and that all things else under the Sun, are only suitable to his moldring body, and to a change, as also is it; therefore this rule is universally suitable to all men in this respect, none excepted.  
Eightly, Because this rule not only admits man to do well after he hath done evil, as is said; but when he so returns, admits pardon of the guilt and punishment due to him for his sin or sins, as is proved; therefore this rule is suitable to all men capable to operate to this rule, Christ only excepted, in whom was no sin.  
Ninthly, Because God hath given an impression and dictate of the effect of this rule, as it respects its execution in reference to his final end, in the minds of all men naturally; namely, that he will render unto all men according to their works; and from this ground it is, that the consciences of all men do either excuse or accuse them, according to their own works, good or bad, the which is the dictate of this rule, and Gods said final end, as is said; therefore this rule is universally suitable to all men, none excepted.  
From the Premises thus proved ariseth these following Observations; First, That this Gospel, as carrying along in it this Tenor, a just and a merciful rule is it which all mankind are under to work by, in relation to their eternal state, and none other, as is proved: Hence saith the Apostle, The Gospel was Preached unto us as to them, meaning to us in the last days as to the Jews, and unto all in former ages before them; wherefore not any of mankind since the fall ever was, or now is, nor never shall be under a Covenant of works, properly so called, the Lord Christ only excepted; therefore it is a mistake to affirm that all men which are not true believers, are under a Covenant of works, and wrath of God, and out of the grace and favour of God in Christ: For we see proved at large, that the favour of God in Christ pardoned to all mankind eternal death due to them for Adam's one offence, and that every man is born with the internal light of Christ in him, and hath reduced the total nature of sin to a seed, and also God hath given the Spirit of Christ to strive with the spirits of all men, to keep that seed of original sin from the acquired habits, if men will be faithful in their little, and to increase the internal light of Christ in them, and to bring them to, and to keep them into the said posture, that they may receive his gift of life in Christ: therefore it must needs follow that the former Doctrine is a great mistake.  
Secondly, Is it so, That this Rule, the Gospel Tenor, is the only and alone suitable rule for all men to work in reference to their eternal happiness: Then hence observe. If any man desires or expects union with God in point of blessedness, it must only be by his works in the said posture, because only by the reception of the said gift of life wrapped up in Christ's righteousness imputed, man comes to God the fountain of life; for so Christ is only the way, the truth and the life; therefore those fantastic men which dream of an union with the Divine Essence, have an union indeed, but not in their sense; for only this union they have, namely, That they live, and move, and have their being in God, as have all creatures, as such, and so have the Apostate Angels, and the damned in hell, but not that union which they dream of; namely, an Union in the Divine Essence, essentially the same nature, and therefore as they reject all Ordinances, so their operations in this posture, according to the said suitable rule; and yet the Text which affirms we are partakers of the Divine Nature, shows wherein it consists, namely, by operations and workings according to this rule, to suppress the effects of the seed of original sin; for saith the Text, We are partakers of the Divine Nature, in that we fly the corruptions that are in the world through lusts, and this sin and lusts we came to know by the Law, that is, the Gospel, which was once under a vail; for saith the Apostle, I had not not known sin, except the Law had said, thou shalt not lust: Now the ground of this blasphemous error is this, These men fancy to themselves, that the Creation is eternal, that is, without beginning or end, and themselves being a part thereof, are therefore eternal, yea God himself, all which is contrary to the testimonies of the sacred Oracles of God; for it positively affirms the world had a beginning, it shall have an end, and God will according to his sacred Oracles, as he shaketh the wicked out of the corners of the earth, as jobe speaks, so will he shake and make these men vessels of dishonour in torments to eternity, according to the justice of this rule of mercy which they now despise, and he will laugh when their fear cometh, to their destruction, if they return not in to the work of the said posture in time; therefore let all men beware of these men's fancies, and what God says in his word, we must believe it, or else do worse; for the Scripture speaks in this tone to man from God, Thus saith the Lord, as did the Prophets in old time, implying, what God says in his word, we must believe it, and so rest; and if we believe the Lord and his Prophets, we shall surely prosper.  
Again, thirdly, Is it so, That this is the only rule suitable to all men, as is proved; hence observe, This Rule points us unto a twofold righteousness, The first is the rectitude of man's internal intentions, and external operations, by the force of which man rightly receives the said gift of life, and this righteousness is called in Scripeure, Sanctification. The second righteousness is this, When man by the said rectitude hath believingly received God's gifts of Christ's righteousness imputed; and because in that righteousness is included life eternal, 
Rom. 4.  and acceptance with God, therefore this righteousness so received, is called our justification; Therefore let no man presume to be acceptable with God for his own operations in the said posture that is for works, as works, as did the Jews before mentioned; for if we do, it is true, we may rejoice in ourselves, but not in God, no more than could Abraham if he had been of this opinion, as the Apostle affirms.  
Fourthly, Is it so, That God makes all men good or bad, according to their works, vessels of honour or dishonour, as is proved, and as will more appear in the next Chapter: Then hence observe, That the absolute power and sovereign pleasure of the infinite God, in reducing the reasonable creature to its final end to eternity, as the Potter makes one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour of the same lump, he doth it only and alone by this rule, so suitable to all man kind, according to their works, and not by a decree of reprobation personally considered upon man, as is rendered by reverend Calvin in these words, Not man's undeservings is the cause of man's reprobations, but the will of God to reprobate; the which Point the Scripture speaks not, and we see it proved, that thus to shape men as is thus described, is God's final end, beyond which there is none, for, 
Calvin's instications in the Margin p. 462.  for this end he made all things for his glory, as we see proved; he made the whole world and all its parts for this, and he ordained and elected the Lord Christ the seed of the woman, to carry on and accomplish this his final end, as is proved.   

CHAP. XII. In which is handled the sixth Branch of the manifold wisdom of God formerly propounded in the fifth Chapter, namely, the Executiou of God's final End upon all men, some to honour, and some to dishonour, by the said Tenor of the Gospel, according to their works, good or bad, to men without the Church, and to men within the Church visible, yea and the invisible members of Christ.  
ANd first, Cain was the first man without the Church, from the time he departed from Adam's Family, the first visible Family-Church of Christ in the world; and in reference to this Point, 
Gen. 4.14.16.  the Text saith, Cain went forth from the presence of Jehovah; and saith Cain to him, From thy face shall I be hid; and saith the Text, Cain was of that wicked one, and slew his brother: and wherefore slew he him? The Text answers, Because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous; wherefore the Spirit of Christ by Judas, 
2 Epist. Joh. 3.12. Judas, ver. 7.  concludes the execution of the justice of the said Rule upon Cain, as upon Balaam and Corah, and so a vessel of dishonour for ever; consequently thus God executed his final end upon those of the old world, who were without the Church, 
2 Pet. 2.5.  that is, which were not of the Family-Churches of the first ten Fathers before the Flood; for the Text saith, God spared not the old world, and brought in the Flood upon the world of ungodly; and the like execution after the Flood on men without the Church, namely, Noah's posterity, 
Rom. 2.11, 12.  when they became Heathens upon their confounding and scattering at Babel; for of them the Text saith, As many as have sinned without Law, shall perish without Law, and God will render to every man according to his deeds: Consequently thus this execution doth and shall proceed upon men without the Church to the world's end. So much for those without the Church.  
Secondly, concerning the visible Church, God declared this execution impartially unto Cain when he was a member of the visible Church, when he said unto him, If thou dost well, Shalt thou not be accepted: meaning, as is Abel thy brother; implying, Yea, most certainly thou shalt; But if thou dost not well, sin lies at thy door: And accordingly the justice and mercy of this Rule was executed upon Abel; for because his operations were Right in belief, 
Heb 11.4.  therefore according to the justice of this Rule, God rewarded his labour of love by mercy, receiving him into glory in the imputed righteousness of his Son; both which is employed in the Text, which saith, By faith Abel offered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, and obtained witness that he was righteous, consequently thus the Lord proceeded in execution in the Families of the ten Fathers before the Flood; and it is employed Genesis the fixth, in that he took special notice of their degeneration from their operations to him in their posture to amity with the world, in that the Text saith, The Sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, and took them wives of all which they chose; for thus did God when there was but one Family-Church of Christ's left, and that was Noah's; for saith God to him, Come thou and thy house into the Ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation, that is, Thee only; for that is employed. Again, this execution proceeded thus upon the Family-Churches of Christ after the Flood, as is employed in the eleventh of Genesis: For there, all that did apostate at Babel, and were scattered from being a visible Church of Christ, their names are wholly left out in the Genealogy of Noah in that Chapter, implying this execution had cut them off, and left them in the vanity of their minds to perish, excepting some few of them, which did seek honour and glory in that narrow way to eternal life, as before is proved; but the contrary it implies, the mercy of this rule was executed upon Shems' Family-Church of Christ, 
Gen. 11.10. to verse last.  which kept to this posture, and so were preserved to be vessels of honour, as is employed in this, that Shems' Family their names are all upon Record, their births, their lives, their deaths, written as it were in the book of life.  
Again, thus this impartial execution proceeded upon the next visible Church which sprang out of Terah's idolatrous brood, namely elect in Abraham's seed, then unborn, to be a visible national Church of Christ, as before is proved; and of this Church the Text doth say, Although the number of the children of Israel be as the sand on the Seas shore, a remnant shall be saved, for God will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness, that is, according to this righteous rule of justice and mercy; and therefore when the generality of that people did degenerate by undervaluing the righteousness of Christ, which as to us, so to them was the righteousness of God, in which was included life and glory for them by overvaluation of their own works and operations in that posture they were in, by this they brought on the execution of the justice of the said rule of mercy, as is employed in the Text, which saith, They sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the Law, and they stumbled at that stone, they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God; and thus they fell by degrees under the execution of Gods said final end, this sixteen hundred years, and now are to this day no visible Church of Christ.  
Again, the next visible Churches of Christ to this, were those under the New Testament, and were chosen and elected into those Churches by a new way, as never none was before, that is, only of believers, according to the judgement of charity, and not mixed of believers and undbelievers, as it was in the said Family-Churches from the beginning, now as in the Jewish Churches to the times of the Gospel, and the said admittance into the Church as believers only under the Gospel unvailed, is employed in the words of our Lord in his great Commission: 
Rev. 2.12. Rev. 2.7. And as more may appear at large in c. 2, 3.  He that believeth and is baptised, that is, he that believeth and is received into the Church by Baptism, is in the Ark of salvation: and God executes his final end by the said just and merciful rule as before; some to honour, some to dishonour, according to their works to eternity, as appears in those Epistles to the seven Churches of Asia, in that the Lord Christ takes special notice of their good works and their bad; to their good works in the said posture, he makes gracious promises and encouragements, as that he will give them a Crown of life, and so forth; and for their several evil works, many grievous threaten, among the rest, to remove their Candlestick of light and life in him, and so to leave them in darkness, as vessels of dishonour for ever, that is, to be no Churches of his.  
Again, thus God executes his final end by the justice and mercy of the Gospel's Tenor upon the invisible members of Christ's mystical body, according to their works, good or bad, some to honour, some to dishonour for ever; for Paul speaking of these men as of himself, saith, We walk by faith, and not by sight; implying, they were the invisible members of Christ, which walk not by sight only, as do those which are only visible members: Wherefore we labour, saith he, being present or absent, we may be accepted of him. And in the next words he gives a reason why they do so, 
1 Cor. 3.16, 17.  namely, We must all appear before the judgement Seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad; and in reference to this point, saith God himself, When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them, for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die; 
2 Cor. 5.9, 10.  and therefore saith God unto the Prophet, Thou Son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness, neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness, in the day that he sinneth: 
Ezek. 18.26.  And in reference to this point, to these invisible members, 
Ezek. 33.12.  the Apostle saith, Know ye not that ye are the Temples of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you; if any man destroy the Temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the Temple of God is holy, which Temple ye are, let no man deceive himself, and so forth.  
Again, in reference to this Point the Lord Christ himself speaks to his eleven Apostles which were invisible members; also for John 13.10, 11. when he had said, Ye are clean, but not all, for he knew who should betray him, therefore he said, saith the Text, Ye are not all clean; but when judas was gone forth from them, verse 30. then in the fifteenth Chapter and third verse; Now, saith he unto them, ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you, that is, your hearts are purified by belief and love to me; thereupon saith he, Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. 
Joh. 13.10, 11.30. Joh. 15.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10.  And saith he, I am the Vine, he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; and yet in the next words he tells them, Their evil works will bring them to be vessels of dishonour for ever, saying, If a man abide not in me; he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burnt; implying, And so shall you, if ye abide not in me: But on the contrary, If they rightly operate in the said posture, they shall be vessels of honour for ever; saying, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you, herein is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit, so shall ye be my Disciples; that is, ye shall continue so for ever; for they were his Disciples before: And saith he, If ye keep my Commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's Commandments and abide in his love, that as I abide for ever in his love, so shall you, if ye keep my Commandments, or otherwise not; for that is employed. Thus we see that God executes his final end upon the invisible members of Christ, some to honour, and some to dishonour, as to all men else.  
Again, That the full consummation and final execution of this final end shall fall in at the great day, 
Judas 6. Joh. 11.24.  as jude calls it, and the day of the resurrection, as Marcha calls it; And then the Sea and the Grave shall render up their dead, and then shall every man, saith the Text, 
Rev. 20.13. John 5.19.  be judged according to his works, and shall come forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation, and before him shall be gathered all Nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left; then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, 
Mat. 25.33, 34 41, 46.  inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world; then shall he say also unto them on his left hand, Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels, and these shall go into everlasting punishment, but the righterous into life everlasting: So upon this last and final execution of God's final end, then cometh the end, when Christ shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all Rule, and all Authority and Power, that is, all Authority, Rule and Power, raised in a world of ungodly men by the Apostate Angels delusive lies and temptations against the truth of Gods said final end in the foresaid particular branch; for till then Christ must reign, 
1 Cor. 15.24, 25, 28.  as it is in the next words, until he hath put down all enemies under his feet, implying, and no longer in this Government, by his Spirit striving in the Gospel and its Tenor, a just and merciful Rule, as is employed in the 28 verse, when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son himself be subject unto him that did put all things under him: yet it is one thing that this Administration, 
Heb. 1.6. Psal. 45.6.  as such, shall cease for ever, as we see it shall, and another thing that the personal union in Christ God-Man shall cease, for that shall never be, for so he is and ever shall be above the Angels, and they shall worship him for ever, as it is written, Thy Throne is for ever O God, and so forth, and let all the Angels of God worship him, and so shall he be worshipped of all the glorified Saints for ever; for if by the Angels, much more by them, notwithstanding he is their head, and they members of his triumphant body, yet he as head and members, shall, as is said before, be subject to God the Father in this respect, for as there was a time when Christ should have the pre-eminence in all things for the prosecution of his Father's final end; so now that end being attained, and time shall be no more. Now God must have the preeminency to all eteruity.   

CHAP. XIII. In which is proved, how God ordained and executed his final end upon all the Angels to their final ends for ever, according to their works, some to honour, some to dishonour.  
IN the prosecution of this Point, I will briefly touch these six particulars, First, That some of them God elected; secondly, That some of them he rejected; Thirdly lay down the ground of that rejection; Fourthly, That they transgressed God's Law; Fifthly, lay down what that Law was; Sixthly, I will lay down the ground why God elected the other Angels, and to what they were elected more than they had together with the rest before any fell; of these in their order.  
First, The Text affirms that some of them are elected, 
1 Tim. 5.21.  as appears by Paul's charging Timothy before the Elect Angels: therefore some of them are elected.  
Secondly, The others were rejected from the good that the other were elected to, to an evil equivolent contrarily; for the Text affirms, That God cast them down to hell, that is, when the rest remained in heaven, and delivered them, saith the Text, into Chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgement; and jude saith, 
jud. v. 6.  God hath reserved them in an everlasting Chain under darkness unto the judgement of the great day; and our Lord saith, For them is prepared everlasting fire, therefore these Angels stand rejected by God for ever from the said good, to the contrary evil.  
Thirdly, The ground of that rejection is named in the forecited Texts; namely, sin; for the Text saith, God spared not the Angels that sinned; also jude saith, those Angels kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation; and our Lord points out the same: For when he had said the Devil was a murderer from the beginning, he also saith, and abode not in the truth; therefore the ground of their rejection was sin. 
Joh. 8.44.   
Fourthly, if they sinned, as we see it is proved, this must needs follow, 
1 Ep. Joh. 3, 4. Rom. 5, 13.  a law they had, which they transgressed; For, as saith the Text, sin is not imputed where there is no Law: and our Lord himself implies, They stood bound by a Law to worship God their maker as they are his crreatures; therefore said he to the Devil, It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; and therefore a Law they had, for it is  to God only to be without Law, 
Luk. 4.8.  who is without limits in his essence, and therefore so in his operations.  
Fifthly, in a word, the Law they had and transgressed, was no more but this, namely, The Law of Nature, that is, their nature and existency which they had received from their maker, bound them, and by an innate principle called upon them by their operations in flames of burning love in all their strength to worship and serve him, so to return him the sole glory of all that they had received from him; for from this ground our Lord alleged the same Law that God gave to man against them, because they were his creatures, aswell as man, saying, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; and we all know God's Law written in man's heart, and in God's Law, is one and the same thing in kind, yet with this difference in man imperfect, otherwise man could not do the things by nature contained in the Law, having not the Law, as before is proved.  
Sixthly, The ground why, and to what God elected them that stood, to more than what they had together with the rest, before they fell, was this: 
Job 4.18.  Before the fall they were all alike unstable in that estate, according to that in job, he found not steadfastness in his Angels; the reason is because of the contingent events that might arise to them all, being included in the natural liberty of their will, from whence they all alike might refuse or choose to give their maker his glory due unto him, or might choose or refuse to assume his glory unto themselves, because the natural liberty of the will in Men and Angels, consists in this as is said, namely, to choose or refuse all objects, as it likes, or as it likes them not: therefore their estate stood all alike contingent for the future to stand in it, or to fall from it: Therefore because these Angels did voluntarily refuse to assume God's glory to themselves, and did choose to render the sole glory of all they had, to him in all their strength; therefore this was the ground why God elected them, for as certainly as God rejected the others for rejecting his glory due unto him, as is proved, so certainly he elected these Angels to an establishment in their choice, namely, so to render him glory to eternity, as a reward of their labour of love; consequently to be blessed to eternity, because they might refuse so to do, as did the others: Thus God did render to all the Angels according to their works, good or bad, some to honour, some to dishonour, and so accomplished his final end on them all to eternity.  
And because this final execution hath thus passed upon them all, it follows, That as the rejected Angels can never will to render glory to God, as once they might before they abused it, because by the justice of that execution, God doth deny them any influence or efflux from him to them, to convey or continue any good in them more than to be, that they may eternally be, to be eternally miserable; so on the contrary by the same execution there flows a continual influence from God to the elect Angels, to keep and support them in the said choice, to render him his sole glory to eternity, which indeed is their blessedness for ever: for the service of God is perfect freedom to men and Angels.  
Objection. If the workings of men and Angels be a moving cause to God thus to reject or elect them, than the moving cause is not in or from God himself, but from causes extrinsical, which cannot be.  
I answer, it is true, and so it is in this case, because he was moved to work all things, not according to their works, but after the council of his own will, as he purposed in himself, that is, to propound this his final end, and all the means suitable to accomplish it, from whence issued forth the Creation of men and Angels in their natural liberty of their will; that so the events of the operations of men and Angels might be contingent, that from thence might arise their works, good and bad, and accordingly to be elected or rejected, some to honour, some to dishonour; therefore the moving cause was and is in God himself, to carry on and accomplish his final end by his own means, as is described. Hence we may inform ourselves aright of two things.  
Use. First, What it is that is God's great decree upon which all things depend, in which he is irrevocably unchangeable, that is, in that he decreed this final end, and all the said means to accomplish it; for we see for this end he created the Heavens and the Earth with all therein, and both in relation to men and Angels: and to carry on this end, we see he elected and ordained the seed of the woman, Christ the Lord, the second Adam; the seventh means to carry on this final end.  
Secondly; We may hence inform ourselves that God made not the heaven of heavens for Angels sakes, although it be their own habitation, nor this world for man's sake, although it be with all therein related to man's use and good; I say he made it not for man's sake, but all for his own names sake, in reference to his final end; and it must needs be so, for we see it proved, he respects no man's person more than another in pursuance of this his final end, be they men without the Church, or be they men within the Church, Saints by calling, or Saints indeed; and in truth such, if they abide not so, are by God judged impartially, some to honour, and some to dishonour, as are all sorts of men, for he made all for himself, yea the wicked for the day of evil; wherefore God is most righteous in all this, not only because he wils it, but also because he wils it thus to men and Angels, by the said suitable rules, and not according to the forementioned mistake of many reverend, learned, and godly men.  
Object. How can that be a just act in God to punish a finite creature for works that are but temporary, done in a small time, with a revokable punishment to eternity.  
Answ. I answer, Punishments with us men respect not time, but according to the nature and degree of the fact; for we by our Laws take away this life which now men have, for facts done in a short time, and that life so taken away, is lost to them, as now it is to eternity, and yet we judge this fact a just punishment, if for theft or murder, or the like, then much more is the righteous administration of God to proceed thus with men and Angels; but as for that fact of Angels, it was most transcendent, First because they voluntarily left their first estate, as not liking it; and the reason why they so did, is in the Text, that is, They were puffed up, that was to be above what God had made them, althoughed the highest created nature, and so next to the uncreate and unmeasurable essence of God, therefore they being puffed up, their sin was, they would have been he, because between him and them there was no middle thing; therefore because they would have been eternity itself, eternity in punishment is their just reward.  
Again I answer, If the case of men and Angels in the Point of Eternal Reprobation had been this, 
Jer. 18. from v. 1. to 10.  that not man's undeservings had been the cause of reprobation, but only the will of God to reprobate without respect to their sins, 
Pag. 65. to the last clause, and from p. 71. to p. 77.  there had been some ground for this objection; but because God thus proceeds, as is said, only according to their works to the said suitable rules; therefore it is most just and righteous: But as for the aforesaid mistake of Reverend Divines, being grounded principally upon the ninth to the Romans; therefore I refer the Reader to the Exposition of the ninth to the Romans in my forementioned Treatise, to the pages in the margin.  
Object. God made men and Angels in the natural liberty of their will, purposely that they might be vessels of honour or dishonour for ever, and did know before they were, which of them, and how many should be in misery to eternity, therefore he then willed it as now it is; and was not this a most heavy destiny of God upon them; and who hath resisted his will.  
Answ. I answer, true it is, in his said final end, and all means to accomplish it, as is proved, he is unchangeable, irrevocable, and unresistable by men and Angels, that is, in those habilitles and endowments they received of him, if they work to him, according to the suitable rules to them, they shall infallibly be vessels of honour to eternity, and this he will never revoke; and also to those men and Angels which in those endowments they have received from him, and work contrary to him in his Rule made suitable to them, as is described, he will make them vessels of dishonour to eternity irrevocable, and so none hath resisted his will: Therefore let all men submit to his will, if they will not perish by following their own will.  
Answer. Again I answer, I answer, There was a time and means in which, and by which all men and Angels which are now under eternal misery, might in that time, and by that means, have been vessels of honour for ever, in which time, and during which means, God would rather, had it been so as it respected them, as is proved; but now as it respects God himself, he likes it well as now it is, because they did as they did when they might have been otherwise, as is proved; therefore although in one respect they could not resist his will, yet in the other respect they might have been otherwise then now they are, and that with his will, as now they are in torments according to his will; and although it be true that God made men and Angels in the natural liberty of their will, purposely that they might be either; yet by him necessitated to neither: therefore the destruction of men and Angels that perish, is of themselves, although he in his unmeasurable perfections did know the persons, and number of them that would perish, all things being naked unto him, as is proved; therefore a most just administration in God to men and Angels.  
Answer. Again I answer, There is couched in this Objection, the seed of the old Serpent, that is, that Gods will might be subordinate to our will and lusts, and what's that? but he must forsooth make men and Angels, not for his own sake and glory, but for their sakes and glory; and what is that, but to be God, 
2 Tim. 3.13. Luk. 4.29. Mar. 4.39. Mar. 6.49. Job 38.12, 13. 2 King. 20.11. Mat. 15.13.  which is the fancy of our Familists, as well as their father the Devil, being puffed up, his Will, will they do, by fancying a Deity in themselves, calling themselves Christ, and the like, which if they be, why do they not as he did; When the Jews led him to the edge of the Hill on which the City was built, to destroy him, he passed away from them, and could not be detained of them; but so did not one of those Familists, although he strove with them that carried him to prison, for his fancy was of no force, for to prison he was carried: and if they be Christ, why do they not walk upon the waters, and command the seas and winds that they may obey them, as did Christ; or if they be God, why do they not cause the light to take hold of the corners of the earth every morning, and cause the Sun to go back so many degrees, as pleaseth them; and if they be God, why do they not shake the wicked out of the corners of the earth; and then they shall shake out themselves, and so the world shall be well rid of them: But however, that which our Lord saith, shall stand firm, Let them alone, every plant which my Father hath not planted, shall be plucked up by the roots, which will be soon enough to their eternal woe, if they return not by those means which God hath put into their hands by the said assistance of Christ's Spirit to receive his said gift of eternal life obtained by himself.   

CHAP. XIV. Containing some useful Observations and Answers to Questions for further clearing the precedent Premises.  
ANd whereas it appears from proof, that God hath passed upon man a fivefold Election and Rejection in prosecution of his final end in respect to their eternal estate.  
The first being out of the fallen Mass; from being one with Devils into the said posture.  
The second being a continued act of the former by electing and rejecting two Nations, the one to be Christ's visible Church, the other not, being but virtually in the loins of two babes, their being but individually in their mother's womb unborn.  
A third being when God electeth and rejecteth men which by their acquired habits in sin, are both alike dead in relation to Christ, for than we see he chooseth to inliven the minds of some, and denies it to the others, as he did to us Gentiles, and denied it to the Jews at that time.  
A fourth election and rejection being that execution of Christ by the visible Churches on earth, choosing or receiving into the Church's men which according to the judgement of charity are believers, and rejecting or refusing men which cannot be judged in charity to be believers, for in this case, 
Mat. 22.3.14.  although many are called by the Gospel, yet few are chosen, because few believe.  
A fift being the consummation of the precedent elections and rejections in the final execution of his said end at the day of judgement, by making all men vessels of honour or dishonour to eternity, according to their works, good or bad; and as for any other elections or rejections upon man in relation to their final estate to eternity, the Scripture speaks it not.  
And from the Premises thus proved, it appears there is no personal election of any man from God's foresight of their faith or works, nor any personal election or rejection, merely personal without respect to works, good or evil, but only after the council of his own will, as he purposed in himself, that is, to finish his said final end by those seven means formerly proved, under which falls in the fivefold elections and rejections, and none other.  
But if it be objected, If there be not an election personal in any of the twofold respects, then by reason of the natural liberty of man's will, God's glory of his grace in Jesus Christ to eternity, stands contingent, may fail and fall, and come to nothing.  
I answer, and deny that the stress and weight of the glory of God's grace in Christ any way depends upon the natural liberty of man's will, but the stress and weight thereof relies upon an infallible means, namely, the foresaid seventh means, It shall bruise thy head, that is, infallibly; and from this ground this seventh means was by the depth of God's wisdom composed, personally God-Man; and therefore the stress of God's glory by Christ, depended not upon the natural liberty of Christ's humane will, but upon his personal operations; and accordingly in that person the fall'n humane nature of man, ascended the heavenly glory above the Angels; and so the Apostate Angels chief design in the said branch was destroyed, if no more of the fallen nature of man had ascended the Angel's glory  
Secondly, I answer, The stress and weight thereof depends not upon the natural liberty of man's will, because so much of the fallen nature of man which departs this life in infancy, or the like, ascends the heavenly glory also, notwithstanding the seed of original sin that is in them, because the imputation of Christ's righteousness upon the world, did interpose the imputation of Adam's unrighteousness upon the world, and so is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, as is proved.  
Thirdly, I answer, the stress and weight of the glory of God's grace in Christ in man, having the use of his understanding, dependeth not upon the natural liberty of his will; but the stress thereof dependeth upon the Spirit of Christ, striving with man's spirit in the Gospel; for if those men perish by the abuse of the natural liberty of their wills, quenching and resisting this Spirit, so striving that they put away this eternal life, yet nevertheless God has the glory of his grace in Christ in their destruction, because no man since the fall is condemned by a Law of works properly such, but by the justice of the Law of grace in Jesus Christ, namely, the Gospel Tenor, or Rule of mercy and justice, as before is proved: From this ground the Ministers of the Gospel are the sweet savour unto God in Jesus Christ in them that perish.  
Fourthly, I answer, The glory of God's grace depends not upon the natural liberty of man's will, but upon the universal favour of God to man in Christ; for had those that are perished been faithful in the said little which he in Christ hath given them, than he would have given them more and more, even to his gift of faith rightly to receive Christ; and in that faith have given them three degrees, that is, from babes to young men, and Fathers in Christ; and in the last degree, he would have confirmed them in that union and communion with himself by Christ; that nothing should be able to separate them from him, nor him from them, in that blessed union and communion: And because God was thus real towards them, the glory of his grace redounds eternally to his praise; for it must follow, that their destruction is of themselves, therefore the glory of God's grace stands stable to eternity in Christ, notwithstanding the liberty of man's will, and its contingent events.  
And for conclusion, take these following Observations.  
First, In regard God created the natural liberty of man's will, purposely to be one means to his said final end, that from the contingency of its events, men's works might be good or bad, so to be rendered vessels of honour or dishonour to eternity; therefore that opinion of both those personal elections, and that of personal rejection falling point-blank to cross this means, or to make it of no use, must needs be a great mistake.  
Secondly, hence observe, That although the Spirit of Christ strives, as is said, with the spirits of all men in all places of the world, that it taketh up his dwelling place only in the heart or spirit of man when he is a right believer, and not before.  
Quest. If it is demanded, What the Scripture means by the dwelling of Christ's Spirit in the hearts of believers, and in none else?  
Answ. I answer, first, Although the infinite Essence of God is not contained in the heaven of heavens, that he was pleased for a time to take up his dwelling place only in the Temple in Jerusalem, and in no place else in all the world, even so he was pleased to take up his dwelling place in the Humane Nature bodily, in the person of Christ, and so in no humane nature besides; of this the said Temple was a figure; wherefore he said to the jews, Destroy this Temple, and I will raise it, and so forth.  
Secondly, I answer, This Temple also was a figure that God would take up his dwelling place in the hearts of true believers only; and in a word, this dwelling in the Temple, and in Christ himself, and in the hearts of his members, is no more but this, his abiding residence in a manifestation of himself in a peculiar presence of his love and favour, as in the Temple more than in any peculiar place in all the world, and most eminently in Christ's humane body, more than in any created nature, as is proved, and his dwelling in the hearts of believers, is a secret and silent manifestation of himself to their minds, and is so restrained to them, as it once was to the Temple at Jerusalem, and therefore the Text says to believers, if they destroy this Temple in themselves, God will destroy them.  
Again, Observe that Gods dwelling place as personally considered, is only in the humane Nature of Christ; therefore Christ alone is personally Gods Elect for this end: so to be the said seventh means, therefore to affirm that any part of humane Nature, besides that in his person, is personally Gods Elect to eternal life, is a great mistake.  
The Reason why God thus dwells in the hearts of no men else in all the world, is this; because they are Regenerated only, and their belief or faith the principal part thereof, is that, by which Christ dwelleth in their hearts, as saith the Text, Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, so that the truly sanctified mind is Christ's only habitation of all mankind.  
A Second Reason why Christ thus dwells only in the hearts of Believers by Faith, is this; because where this Sanctification or Holiness is not, there is no proper place for him to manifest himself there, as is said; for all men else that are, by being faithful in their little, are but coming towards Christ or God, by the said striving of his Spirit; that so, he might give them Faith, but yet having it not, there is no dwelling place for him, and for all sorts of men in the world besides, they are dead in sins, and in trespasses, their Light being turned into Darkness; and therefore the children of the Devil, and then what fellowship hath Christ with Belial?  
Question. If Christ by his Spirit thus strives with the spirits of all men, not only as by his Prophets and Ministers, but also in the days of his flesh personally by himself: Why do so few men believe rightly, as to receive God's gift of Eternal Life, and be saved?  
Answer. Because men do so follow this life of sense, suitable to the body, and in their Understanding, do wink to follow their Lusts, and will not see nor understand that which they do by the Doctrine of Christ, truth shining to them either by the Creation, or the sacred Oracles in which Christ's Spirit so strives with their spirits. And therefore because they are not faithful in their little they precedently had received, whereby they might in some degree have been brought towards that Right Faith, and received God's gift thereof, and also the said gift of life by it, is that so few are saved. For from this ground it was that Christ could not do no great works amongst them to whom he preached in his own person, and so by a demonstrative force strengthening the striving of his spirit, 
Mark. 6.5, 6.  by his Doctrine upon their spirits. For the Text implies, it was because of their unbelief; that is, of what they might have believed from that light which formerly they had received, as we see proved by those heathens which had not the Oracles of God, yet being faithful in their little, by the assistance of Christ's Spirit striving with their spirits, were brought to Circumcision of the heart, which as saith the Text, is by Nature, and were saved, as is proved.  
The ground why Christ's Spirit can do no great works to such men as is said is this, he will not cross the orderly means to his father's final end, namely not to force the Will of man, for then the nature of the Will is destroyed, consequently the Reasonable Soul annihilated, which must not be in respect of Gods final end, for so God should destroy that means purposely made by himself, that man might be made to honour or dishonour, as is proved, and therefore Noah by the spirit of prophecy in his prayer to God concerning the Calling of the Gentiles into the said posture, doth rightly point at the manner of Christ's Spirit striving with man's spirit, saying, God persuade japhet to dwell in the Tents of Shem, that is not only by a moral persuasion in the voice of the Gospel, but also by the Spirit of Christ, the rectitude of the Understanding and the Will rightly to operate, to receive the said gift of Christ's Righteousness and life in it, and thus always God proceeds with the spirits of men ordinarily in all the world, 
Rom. 10.20.  except in case of Restauration of the World from one universal Apostasy, then as is proved, 
Act. 2.17.  God is found of them that sought him not, as in the Call of the Gentiles, and pouring out the imbreathing of his Spirit, as it were compelling the Gentiles into the said posture by a more clearer manifestation to their minds in the Gospel being unvailed then ever the jews had, but still this must be remembered, that this extraordinary Cause is in prosecution of his final end, against the Apostate Angel's design against the said particular Branch and therefore not for man's sake, but for his own Names sake; for to this end, he gives to some a greater emminency of Gifts and Graces throughout all Ages and Generations of men as to Moses, Abraham, Daniel, and David, and the seventy Disciples, and the Apostles, and so forth; but in an ordinary course God proceeds with men to give them more Faith, and so of every Grace according as they are faithful in their little, and not otherwise.  
Obser. You put so much stress upon the use of man's Natural faculties in reference to his operations to that Rule which you call suitable to all men, yet the Scriptures lead us another way: namely, that man's happiness is from a more immediate thing without all this ado.  
Quest. What thing is that?  
Answ. The Text affirms, when God had made the body of man of earth a liveless Trunk, he then breathed into his face or nostrils the breath of life; that is, God breathed into that body his own Essence or Nature, and so man became one spirit with God, partaker of his divine Nature, as saith the Text. Therefore here is no use of all those natural faculties, nor man's operations to a Rule to receive Eternal Life, as given by God in Christ's imputed Righteousness: For God himself is Eternal Life, which is Christ in us, the hope of Glory, as saith the Text, and this Life of God, or God in Christ in us, in its own Nature is above all Ordinances; wherefore to speak truth, all Rules and Operations, and Ordinances to us are useless and void.  
Reply. 1 We will examine all those Texts you allege and first that in Genesis, the Metaphor being taken from breathing spoken of by Moses, is taken from Creatures, that live by breathing, as man, or beast, or the like; and although there be a near relation between their breath and their Nature; yet they are two distinct things; that is, their breath, or breathing is one thing, and the Essence or substance of their bodies in another thing still distinct, although never totally separated but by death; so in this cause the divine Essence or Nature of God is one thing, and that Virtue that he was pleased to put forth to give being to the Reasonable Soul of a man, are ever distinct. As for Example, The Nature of God in the person of Christ breathed upon the Apostles, and endued them with an Apostolical spirit; that is, in the Rectitude of their Understandings in Divine light, and their Wills in pure affections in love to his Glory in the Conversion of the World by the Gospel; yet still that virtue in its Effects in them was one thing, and his Divine Nature or Essence in himself was another thing, 
Matth. 5.30.  so likewise from the same divine Essence there went virtue to the woman of a bloody Issue, for the Text saith, He knew there was virtue gone from him, and it gave her health, and her Nature was not the Divine Nature of God; so likewise in the shadow of the Apostles bodies God was pleased to put forth himself by virtue flowing from himself to the cure of many diseased people as they went in the streets; yet the people's bodies that were cured, and the shadow of the Apostles bodies, and the virtue that flowed from God, and Gods own Essence were all distinct things in their several Natures and Kinds; even so, when God gave being to the Reasonable Soul, by breathing into man's Nostrils, the breath of lives his own Divine Nature, 
Gen. 2.7.  and that Creative power, another thing by which he was pleased to put forth to the production of man's Reasonable Soul, and as formerly is proved; the Essence of God is one thing; and that Radical virtue or potency is another thing in its Effects; so when he was pleased to reduce that virtue and potency to act creatively, that was another thing; from which thing it is, that the Creature is the Offspring of God, from whom it sprang, and in whom it continually is, and cannot be otherwise, 
Act. 17.18.  he being Infinite: In him we live, move, and have our being; but for the manner how we live; move, and have our being; is known to God alone, and not perceived by us; but because God's Word hath said it, we must believe it.  
Again, 
1 Cor. 6.17.  for the next Text, that Believers are one spirit with the Lord: The Text refers it only to Believers, and not to all man kind; as the drift of your opinion point at: for the words are these, But he that is joined or cleaveth to the Lord is one spirit with him, and is opposed to those that did join or cleave in their minds, as well as with their bodies to Harlots, yet these men and women were not one spirit Essentially, but Individually still they were twain, so on the contrary, true Blievers are of one spirit in pure Affections, cleaving to God and Christ; yet nevertheless the Divine Essence of God is one thing, and still their bodies and souls are two distinct Natures, so the scope of this Text is directly against your opinion.  
Again, for the next Text, in regard it refers Believers to Gods precious Promises, and Faith, 
1 Pet. 1.4, 5.  and Love, and Virtue, and Knowledge, to flee the Corruptions that are in the World through Lusts, and that by these they are partakers of the Divine Nature, they all employ the use of their operations, as flowing from their Natural Faculties to the said suitable Rule, by the assistance of the Spirit of Christ; therefore the scope of this Text also, is against your Opinion.  
Again, the other Texts, Christ in you the hope of Glory, the drift of it is no more but this, 
Colos. 1.23, 27.  That Christ dwells in Believers hearts by Faith and Love, from whence they live in hope of a full fruition and glory with him for ever in the next Life. But as for your blaspeamous Error, If you be the Divine Nature Essentially, it fully enjoys itself infinitely; therefore your Error is Contrary to the Nature of Hope, therefore the drift of this Text is also against you.  
Again, Whereas you allege the Texts of Scripture, and the like, it is only an Introduction to draw men's minds from believing the sacred Scriptures to be God's Word, to believe that the only true Scriptures is the Divine Essence, essentially in themselves, and so to believe a lie; for what man can believe that is in his right mind, that himself is God or Christ; and yet cannot walk upon the Sea as Christ did: nor deliver himself out of the hand of his enemies, and not render himself into their hands till he pleased, as did the Lord Jesus Christ when his hour was come, nor cause the Sun to go back so many degrees as pleaseth themselves as God did.  
Again, for Conclusion take this one Observation more from the precedent premises: 
Gen. 17.10, 11, 12, 13.  Namely, that there is a threefold ground why God made a Law that Infants as such, should be members of Christ's visible Church, and so under the use of Ordinances in the Church.  
The first is this, because the whole Humane Nature, as such God Elected in the person of Christ the seed of the Woman in the fallen Mass out of that fall into a capacity of the said posture in which they might if they lived to the use of Reason by belief, receive in the gift of Righteousness Eternal Life as is proved, and this Election is the first ground of their right to be Members of Christ's visible Church, and so the first ground why God gave that Law, Hence it is that Christ saith, 
Matth. 19.14.  suffer little children and forbidden them not to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of heaven.  
A Second Ground is this, If the whole creation have a right of relation to Christ by Virtue of his Righteousness imputed, as interposing the unrighteousness of Adam's imputed, and by it travels until now, as is proved. Then much more hath Humane Nature as such a right of relation to be Christ's visible Church, and this was the second ground of that Law why Infants should be members, the which Law was never repealed.  
A third Ground was this, Because as is proved, all mankind dying in Infancy or the like, ascended to Heaven, and there are Members of the Church Triumphant, therefore much more have they a right to the Church Militant, and all Churches and Ordinances here upon Earth, the which right can never be lost, except they live to be able to act unbelieving Operations, and so put away their right, as did Esaw, judging themselves unworthy of Eternal Life, and this is a third Ground of that Law, whereby Infants are instituted Members of the Visible Church of Christ.  
FINIS.