Free and Impartial Thoughts, on the Sovereignty of God, The Doctrines of Election, Reprobation, and Original Sin: Humbly Addressed To all who Believe and Profess those Doctrines.

While I am thus rendering human Learning, its just Tribute of Praise, Truth requires, that I should be free to detect those little Arts, so often practised to deceive the Unwary, and misguide Mankind. As I am fully persuaded, the Generality of those Writers; who stick by this Covenant, and endeavour to vindicate the Honour, Justice, and Goodness of God therein, do it only for Decency sake, and to put (as I observed) a more plausible Outside on their Doctrines; I think it incumbent on me to detect this equivocal Way of Writing, and shew, that while the Doctor is endeavouring to persuade you he does not believe these Doctrines in their most harsh and severe Sense, there is Reason to suspect he does notwithstanding, secretly and strongly, believe them in that very Sense: nay, he seems to resolve them very artfully into the Sovereignty and Majesty of God. Any Man, who reads the Book, may perceive, how greatly the Doctor is put to it for Arguments, to answer Objections; and he himself knows it to be impossible to make any tolerable or reasonable Defence, of such unreasonable and unaccountable Doctrines: and therefore, lest his own People should, from some Expressions, which, at first sight, might look as though he was arguing merely upon a Principle of moral Fitness, suspect his Sincerity, he has (Second Edition, Page 274) given strong Intimations of his Faith, as follows:

“The Doctrine of Reprobation, in the most severe and absolute Sense of it, stands in such a direct Contradiction to all our Notions of Kindness and Love to others, in which the blessed God is set forth as our Example, that our Reason cannot tell how to receive it; yet if it were never so true, and never so plainly revealed in Scripture, it would only be a Doctrine which would require our humble Assent, and silent Submission to it; with awful Reverence of the Majesty and Sovereignty of the great God, &c.”

This proves, I think clearly, on what Authority the Doctor himself believes these Doctrines; and whoever knows, how common it is for Men of this Faith, to make a specious Shew of reasoning with others on a Principle of moral Fitness, and among themselves, without Scruple, resolving all into mere Sovereignty, will not think I have been too forward or severe in my Observation. I humbly presume, what I have offer’d against this Notion of God’s Sovereignty, is a plain Confutation of the Doctor; and I here, with all due Submission, invite him, or any of his Brethren, to defend the Doctrines; and this Quotation, against me. If they do really resolve these Doctrines into God’s Sovereignty, let them speak it out plainly; if they do not believe them in this Sense, let them speak that out plainly too; that we may clearly understand, in what determinate Sense, they do believe them.

The Doctor has taken a great deal of Pains to make the World believe, that Christ died for all Men, when it does not appear, that he himself believes any such thing. Hear him, Page 89, “And methinks, when I take my justest Survey of this lower World, with all the Inhabitants of it, I can look upon it no otherwise, than as a huge and magnificent Structure in Ruins, and turned into a Prison, and a Lazar-house, or Hospital; wherein lie Millions of Criminals, and Rebels against their Creator, under Condemnation to Misery and Death, who are at the same time sick of a mortal Distemper, and disorder’d in their Minds, even to Distraction: Hence proceed those infinite Follies, which are continually practised here; and the righteous Anger of an offended God is visible in ten thousand Instances: yet there are Proclamations of Divine Grace, Health, and Life, sounding amongst them; either with a louder Voice, or in gentler Whispers, though very few of them take any Notice thereof. But of this great Prison, this Infirmary, there is here and there one who is called powerfully, by Divine Grace, and attends to the Office of Reconciliation, and complies with the Proposals of Peace; his Sins are pardoned, he is healed of his worst Distemper; and tho’, his Body is appointed to go down to the Dust, for a Season, yet his Soul is taken upwards to a Region of Blessedness; while the Bulk of these miserable and guilty Inhabitants, perish in their own wilful Madness and by the just Executions of Divine Anger.”

As I have hitherto troubled the Reader with little Quotation, and it being now so necessary to let us into the true Spirit of the Doctor’s Belief, notwithstanding any seeming Appearance to the contrary, I hope to be pardoned. You perceive here, that all are called, but the greatest Part, in such a weak and imperfect Manner, that is out of their Power to embrace the Call, and so they perish as unavoidably and unjustly, as though no such Call were extended. The Distinction, which is here made between moral and natural Necessity, the Doctor thinks sufficient to silence all Objections, Page 285. I have endeavour’d to shew the contrary, and I hope with better Success. Again, what the Doctor observes, Page 245, is worthy of Notice, – “Though there must be a very good Sense, in which Christ may be said to die for all Men, because the Scripture uses this Language; yet it does not follow, that the Doctrine of Universal Redemption is found there: I cannot find that Scripture once asserts that Christ redeemed all Men, or died to redeem them all.”

This is, I think, manifestly a Contradiction, and the Doctor, it seems, believes it, only because the Scripture, as he thinks, reveals it. Where is the Difference between dying to save all Men, and, dying to redeem all Men? And yet Jesus Christ, it seems, did the one, but not the other. According to him (the Doctor) the Scripture assures us, that is, the Word of God assures us, both that Christ did, and that he did not die to redeem all Mankind; which is a flat Contradiction. In what good Sense, I should be glad to know, could Christ be said to die for all Men, when God purposely, and peremptorily, with-holds proper Assistances to restore the greatest Part? If this be to die for all Men, it is certainly not in a good, but in a very bad Sense. But, perhaps, the Doctor means, that Man, consider’d in his primitive Rectitude, has Power sufficient to obey the Gospel as proposed to Sinners, and that Adam’s Posterity, consider’d as fallen in him, are under the same Obligation to keep the Law, as Adam was. But of this I have already taken due Notice, and therefore I need only put the Doctor in mind of a few Words of his, drop’d Page 340, in his Consideration of the State of dying Infants. He thinks, “it would be by no Means agreeable, to have them condemned to a wretched Resurrection and eternal Misery, only because they were born of Adam, the original Transgressor.” This is a rational Sentiment, and I wish it were well improved; for it is better to suppose them entering on a new State of Trial, or downright Annihilation to be their Portion: But what Havock does this Concession make with the Doctor’s other Doctrines, of Christ’s dying for all Men in a good Sense, of considering us in point of Obligation to keep the Law inviolable, the same as Adam was before his Fall; of God’s either granting no Aids to enable us to do this, or such as are too weak and insufficient to enable us thereto! We are, he allows, under a moral Incapacity to keep the Law, but not a natural Incapacity, and therefore God may justly exact our Obedience. But pray consider, if both a moral and natural Ability be requisite to keep God’s Laws, what signifies which of these is wanting, when we may as well be without both, as without either. It signifies little, what Epithets we bestow on the Word Necessity. Wherever it prevails; and whether it be moral or natural, if it is not self-caused, but comes on Man, either by the immediate Decree of Heaven, or by the Act of another, it is Necessity, irresistible Necessity, and no Distinction can palliate it.

I allow indeed, when Man is created upright, and furnished with sufficient Understanding and Ability to please the Almighty; and yet, abusing his Liberty, becomes at length so enslaved to his Passions and Appetites, as to fall into this moral Debility, the Law of God is still his Duty to observe: On the other hand, allowing Mankind to have lost their moral Ability to practise Virtue in the Fall of Adam, and that God, taking Pity upon Man, grants him sufficient Light, to discern his State, and sufficient Power, to obtain Redemption from it, this Man is also under the same Obligation to keep the Law of God, as though his moral Powers had never sustained any Decay or Loss in Adam; and I dare affirm, that in no other Sense, can Man be accountable for the Pravity of his Will. And let the Doctor observe this, – If it would be unsuitable to the Mercy of God, in the Case of Infants not committing actual Sin, to punish them eternally, only because they were born of this first Transgressor, would it not be equally unkind, to leave such as arrive at mature Age, under the Power of those restless and irresistable Propensities to Evil, derived from Adam, and to punish them eternally, only because these Propensities, derived in virtue of being born of the first Transgressor, constantly, and in spite of any thing we are able, considered in a moral and natural Sense, to do to the contrary, produce Vice and immorality? All evil Actions, consequent upon this Propensity, are, in fact, as necessary and unavoidable to us, as the Propensity itself, Where then, in point of Innocence, can the Difference be, between having imputed Guilt and this Propensity, in Time of Infancy, and living long enough in this World, to feel, and shew to others, its arbitrary Effects, in producing Vice and Impiety whether we will or no? and where then is the Reason, for such very different Treatment of Infants and adult Persons? I must observe one Thing – The Doctor and his Brethren, as they make the Work of Salvation, a very easy and agreeable Thing to the Elect, on the one hand; so they assign the poor Sinner a very hard Task, on the other: He that offends in one Point is, they say, guilty of breaking the whole Law. Here is a plain Instance of taking Scripture in a literal Sense, when it can by no Means be so understood. According to this, a Man, that only steals, may be said to commit Murder, and be punished as a Murderer as well as a Thief; though we know he has not committed it.

In the main, we may conscientiously observe and keep God’s Laws, and yet in Time of Temptation and Weakness fall into some Evil, will, God therefore consider and punish us as those who live in the daily Breach and Contempt of all his Laws? No! For, on the contrary, God ever waits to be gracious to all such, as through Inadvertence fall into Sin, and are willing to forsake it. The View and Intent of our Apostle, in these Words, seems to be of very easy and plain Signification: There was in those early Times, as appears from our Saviour’s frequently reproving the Hypocrisy of that Generation, a Sort of People, who appeared zealous in the Externals of Religion, while at the same Time they neglected Things of far greater Moment: Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, ye pay Tithe of Mint and Cummin; and have omitted the weightier Matters of the Law: Mat. xxiii. ver. 23. They daringly violated God’s Laws in some of the most material and important Instances, and complied with others in a mere formal ostentatious Way; and were therefore guilty, in the Divine View, of the Breach of the whole Law; for mere Obedience upon improper Motives to a Part of the Law, while at the same Time they allow’d themselves in the known and deliberate Violation of more weighty Commands, was no true or proper Obedience at all: and, in this Sense, the Jewish Sacrifices of the Law, though commanded by the highest Authority, were always esteemed an Abomination; and the Christian Religion as well as the Law, is certainly liable to Abuses of the same Kind, from Men of hypocritical and corrupt Minds, whom therefore this Doctrine of the Apostle effectually and peculiarly regards and reproves: and I appeal to all, if this Construction of the Sacred Text be not more agreeable to Reason and Common Sense, than that which the Doctor has thought fit and convenient to bestow thereon. I beseech the Doctor to consider how, according to his Principles, this Covenant could be proposed to Adam, out of a kind and beneficent intention in the Creator, when God knew, in the first Place, that Adam would not keep it, and determined, in the second Place, upon the Breach of it, to leave the Bulk of Mankind to perish everlastingly, without Mercy, without sufficient or suitable Means of Redemption; and what a cruel Joke, upon the Calvinistical Scheme, of God’s willing the Fall, was here put upon Adam, and all his Posterity!

To talk as some do, of our existing in Adam at the Time of his Transgression, is very absurd, when, as intelligent and free Creatures, it is evident, we did not exist at all. Sin is a Transgression of some Law, which we have at the same time Power to keep. God never requires Impossibilities. He that made Man, knows best what he is capable of and hath undoubtedly taken care to proportion the Duties he requires of Man, to the Powers he hath bestowed on him. The contrary would be very hard dealing indeed – If a Law be dispensed to me, I must in the first Place have Understanding sufficient to judge of its Authority, and the Obligations it lays me under; and, in the second Place, I must also have Power to keep it, otherwise it can never be a Law suitable to me; and a Man’s Age, Complexion, Stature, and Circumstances, are as just Causes for Damnation, as the Breach of a Law which lies beyond the Reach of his Knowledge and Abilities. But supposing, in the last Place, that God did make such a Covenant with Adam, &c. (though I think I have shewn it to be impossible) let us see how the Doctrines of Election and Preterition will turn out then. I have already endeavoured to make it appear, that God does not act in that arbitrary Manner, which these Gentlemen teach; that though he is indeed governed by no Law without, or accountable to any for what he is pleased to do, yet his own Rectitude of Mind, is to him an invariable Rule of Righteousness, equally secure to all Intents and Purposes of a written Law without: and this argues the adorable and incomparable Excellency of his Being who, though by Nature he is infinitely above all Power and Authority whatever, yet his moral Perfections continually prompt him to promote the Happiness of the meanest of his Creatures. It was sovereign Goodness (rather than sovereign Pleasure) which prompted the Almighty to create Man, in order to communicate Happiness to him; and if Adam’s Posterity might be said to fall in him, yet God must at least look on them in a more favourable Manner, than if they had actually sinned themselves; and consequently it could never suit with his Goodness to punish eternally any one under this Circumstance, without first giving him an Opportunity of recovering from his lapsed State; nor could he ordain the Means on Purpose to save some by electing Grace, without saving all. God does nothing without sufficient Reason: he could save none under this Circumstance, but as they were in themselves Objects of his Pity and Mercy; and if ever there was an Object of Mercy, here it is, an immortal Soul condemned, for the Fault of another, which it could by no Means hinder or prevent, to suffer eternal Torment. There is something greatly moving in such an Object as this; and as all Adam’s Posterity were equally involved in his Guilt, all are Objects of Mercy precisely the same, and therefore there is not the least Ground for the Difference which we are told is made by Election; because ’tis making a Distinction where there is no Difference. Here is the Race of Adam, considered as equally fallen in him, divided into two very unequal Parts (equally in themselves, and altogether Objects of Mercy, if such an Object can be) by the Almighty himself. The smaller Number he is at all Events determined to save, and to destroy the greater Number.

In answer to this, I expect to hear that common, but weak Argument, drawn from an earthly Prince, his extending Pardon to one Criminal, and leaving another to undergo the Execution of his Sentence. But this is of the same fallacious Kind, as that drawn from the Case of Rebellion, and shews how very hard the Patrons of this Doctrine are put to it for Arguments. Two Men, condemned for one Crime, may not be equally wicked, and consequently one may better deserve Pity than the other, and to extend it, is in itself a rational and worthy Distinction, made between two such Criminals. Let us suppose, in order to illustrate the Argument, that a Man is compelled, by Thieves, to go out on the Highway, where he plunders, and is at length, with the rest, brought to Justice; his Sentence would doubtless be the same as theirs: But when he is consider’d, as having acted not by Choice, but by Necessity, he must needs be an Object of Pity. Nay, mere Justice itself will plead strongly in his Favour. Apply this (so far as it belongs) to the Doctrine of Original Sin; which if it makes Men Sinners at all, it must be by Necessity, there being no Possibility for us to prevent it; which is equal to the greatest Constraint that can be produced or imagined, and consequently all Men must, under this Consideration, be at worst suitable Objects of Mercy. Besides, the Weakness of this Argument will plainly appear, upon considering, with respect to earthly Princes, that where the Equity of making a due Distinction between one Criminal and another, is not the Reason, why one is pardoned, and the other left to suffer; it always arises either from Caprice, Interest, Solicitation, or from Misrepresentation of Facts to Monarchs; who, too often, see and hear through others, that are not always duly conscientious, to preserve inviolable the Trust reposed in them; and whether such Reasoning as this, can possibly affect the Almighty, any Man of common Understanding may easily judge.

But let them apply my Argument on the Sovereignty of God against the Certainty of their Election, and I believe they will find but little Reason to boast of their Doctrine of electing Grace. They tell us indeed, that this Doctrine of theirs, makes the Death of Christ of more Effect than ours, because it secures the Salvation of some. But I have proved there can be no Security in it; and surely that Doctrine, which puts all into a Capacity of Salvation, must be better, than that, which leaves almost every Man to perish; and if it was better to save a few, than to save none in this arbitrary Manner, it must still have been better and more to the Glory of Christ, arbitrarily to have saved all Mankind. They say also, that their Doctrine of Election is a much better Ground for Love and good Works, than is that of free Grace. But the contrary is apparent, because whoever thinks rightly, cannot be without this disquieting Thought. – If God, in a mere arbitrary Manner, and without any Regard to previous Fitness, has chosen me, and rejected another; how do I know but his Mind may change hereafter, or that he may not reverse this Decree? or if unconditional Election be the true Doctrine of the Gospel, and Man is equally dear and acceptable to God without, as he is with, good Works, what Inducement can such a Person have to please God that Way, when he is already as well pleased without them? If Election is founded upon an unconditional Decree, the natural Inference (in all such as believe the Doctrine, and themselves to be of the Elect) must be this – If I am of the Number of the Elect, nothing can frustrate my Happiness; I may gratify my favourite Passions, and wallow in all Kinds of Wickedness, Luxury and Sensuality, and be equally acceptable to the Almighty, as was David in the Sins of Murder and Adultery: On the contrary, if I am not of that Number which shall be saved, all my Pains and Obedience will never procure me Acceptance with God, and therefore I will seek all possible Gratifications in this Life, seeing it is the only Time and Place wherein I can obtain any Thing like Happiness; nor can the Liberty I take here increase my Misery hereafter, the precise Degree of that being fixed along with the Decree of my Damnation: Though this Persuasion of being set apart for everlasting Torment, has more often the Effects of Desperation and Self-Murder; and indeed the two Extremes of Presumption and Despair, are the natural Brood and Offspring of these Doctrines, as the reverend and learned Dr. Trapp has abundantly evinced, in his excellent Discourse, against the Folly, Sin, and Danger of being righteous over much. Hypocrisy and Persecution are also the genuine Offspring of this Faith; and whenever it has been tried, Persecution has grown up to a considerable Maturity: for as they pretend to know the Marks of elect and reprobate Men, what can be more natural, than for those, who apprehend themselves to be the former, to persecute and take Vengeance on the latter. Hath not God, by his own Decree of Damnation, set them an Example? and if he has set a Mark on the Reprobate, they (the Elect) may very reasonably, in Imitation of the Divine Conduct, endeavour to make them as wretched as possible here in this Life, and who shall lay any Thing to the Charge of God’s Elect? I am now shewing, what are the genuine Effects of this Doctrine, not charging Consequences on such as neither do see nor approve of them: there is great Difference in the Conduct of Men of this Principle; and its natural Effects are, by other Things intervening, often prevented, the chief of which may, I believe, be Want of Power and Opportunity; for tho’ many, when out of Power, might be apt to say (as Hazael did) what is thy Servant a Dog, that he should do this Evil? yet they would perhaps be in some Danger of behaving as that great Man did, when he came to be tried. Some again, who tho’ they profess the Doctrine, are yet (I doubt not) often under the Influence of God’s Grace, which, as it tends to humble the Soul, and render it more loving and humane than before, naturally prevents the Spirit of Persecution from taking such deep Root as otherwise it might. And here, though I do not pretend to be a nice Judge of the spiritual Part of Religion, yet I have heard such as have been accounted Men of the best Experience say, that when the Grace of God operates on the Soul, the ardent Love of Mankind is inseparable therewith. If then the better Sort of those, who profess this Doctrine, are ever sensible of this most agreeable and humbling Operation in the Soul, I ask them, if it does not naturally distend and enlarge their Wishes, in Behalf of all Mankind? and if this Spirit of Love be the genuine Effect of the Operation of God’s Grace, what shall be said of that ineffable and immense Fountain of Grace and Goodness, from whence it proceeds? But, on the other hand, it has been observed, that among mere enthusiastick and traditional Believers, of the Doctrine of Election, their Hypocrisy, Deceit and Dissimulation has overtop’d that of all the World besides, even beyond what human Nature could be thought capable of, in its most wicked and corrupt State; in short, they seem to have made the Deceit of Jacob, and all other parallel Places of Scripture, that furnish the worst Part of the Lives of good Men, a standing Rule of Behaviour – What a blessed Company has the Lord set apart for himself!