being destitute of the ministry of the word; and many hearing do not believe, or lightly regard it; and many that do believe the truth thereof, are so wedded to their sins, that they have no desire to be divorced from them, and therefore they refuse to accept the gracious offer that is made unto them. And yet notwithstanding their refusal on their part, we may truly say, that good things were provided for them on Christ's part, and a rich " prices was put into the hands of a fool, howsoever he had no heart to use it." Our blessed Saviour, by that which he hath performed on his part, hath procured a jubilee for the sons of Adam, and his Gospel is his trumpet, whereby he doth proclaim "liberty to the captives, and preacheth the acceptable year of the Lord." If for all this some are so well pleased with their captivity that they desire no deliverance, that derogates nothing from the generality of the freedom annexed to that year. If one say to sin his old master, “li love thee, and will not go out free," he shall be bored for a slave, and serve for ever. But that slavish disposition of his, maketh the extent of the privilege of that year not a whit the straighter, because he was included within the general grant as well as others; howsoever, he was not disposed to take the benefit of it: the kingdom of heaven is like to a certain king that made a marriage of his son, and sent his servants to those that were bidden to the wedding with this message: "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen, and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready, come to the marriage." If we look to the event, they that were bidden made light of their entertainment, and went their ways, "one' to his farm, and another to his merchandize;" but that neglect of theirs doth not falsify the word of the kingm, viz. That the dinner was prepared, and these unworthy guests were invited thereunto; Prov. chap. 17. ver. 16. h Luke, chap. 4. ver. 18, 19. i Levit. chap. 25. ver. 24. Exod. chap. 21. ver. 5. Deut. chap. 15. ver. 26. Matt. chap. 22. ver. 4. m Matt. chap. 22. ver. 4. 1 Ibid. ver. 5. "For" what, if some did not believe, shall their unbelief disannul the faith, and truth of God? God forbid, yea, let God be true, and every man a liar, as it is written, that thou mayest be justified in thy sayings, and overcome when thou judgest. Let not the house of Israel say, the way of the Lord is unequal." For when he cometh to judge them, the inequality will be found on their side, and not on his. "O° house of Israel, are not my ways equal, and your ways unequal saith the Lord. The Lord is right in all his ways, and holy in all his works. All the ways of our God are mercy and truth;" when we were in our sins it was of infinite mercy that any way or remedy should be prepared for our recovery. And when the remedy is prepared, we are never the nearer, except he be pleased of his free mercy to apply the same to us, that so the whole praise of our redemption, from the beginning to the end thereof, may entirely be attributed to the riches of his grace, and nothing left to sinful flesh wherein it may rejoice. The freeing of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon, was a type of that great deliverance, which the Son of God hath wrought for us. Cyrus, king of Persia, who was Christus Domini (and herein but a shadow of Christus Dominus, the author of our redemption) published his proclamation in this manner: "Who is amongst you of all his people, the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up." Now it is true, they alone did follow this calling, whose spirit God had raised to go up. But could they that remained still in Babylon, justly plead, that the king's grant was not large enough, or that they were excluded from going up by any clause contained therein? The matter of our redemption purchased by our Saviour Christ lieth open to all, all are invited to it, none that hath a mind to accept of it, is excluded from it. "The beautiful feet of those that n Rom. chap. 3. ver. 3, 4. • Ezek. chap. 18. ver. 29, 30. P 2 Chron. chap. 36. ver. 23. and 1 Ezra, chap. 2. 9 Ezra, chap. 1. ver. 5. preach the Gospel of peace, to bring glad tidings" of good things to every house where they tread. The first part of their message being this peace to this house'. But, unless God be pleased out of his abundant mercy "to guide our feet into the way of peace," the rebellion of our nature is such, that we run headlong to the "ways of destruction and misery, and the ways of peace do we not know." They have not all obeyed the Gospelt, all are not apt to entertain this message of peace, and therefore, though God's ambassadors make a true tender of it to all unto whom they are sent, yet "their peace only resteth on the sons of peace," but if it meet with such as will not listen to the motion of it, "their" peace doth again return unto themselves." The proclamation of the Gospel runneth thus: "Let him that is athirst come," for him this grace is specially provided, because none but he will take the pains to come. But lest we should think this should abridge the largeness of the offer, a quicunque vult, is immediately added, and "whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely:" yet withal this must be yielded for a certain truth, that it is God who must work in us "to will and to do of his good pleasure;" and though the call be ever so loud and large, yet none can 66 come except the Father draw him." For the universality of the satisfaction derogates nothing from the necessity of the special grace in the application: neither doth the speciality of the one any ways abridge the generality of the other. Indeed Christ our Saviour saith, "I pray not for the world, but for them that thou hast given me:" but the consequence hereby referred may well be excepted against, viz. he prayed not for the world, therefore he payed not for the world; because the latter is an act of his satisfaction, the former of his intercession; which, being divers parts of his priesthood, are distinguishable one from another by Rom. chap. 10. ver. 15. Luke, chap. 10. ver. 5. Ibid. chap. 17. Rom. chap. 3. ver. 16. u Luke, chap. 10. ver. 6. John, chap. 6. ver. 46. Ibid. chap. 10. ver. 16. ▾ Apoc. chap. 22. ver. 17. y John, chap. 17. ver. 6. sundry differences. This his satisfaction doth properly give contentment to God's justice, in such sort as formerly hath been declared; his intercession doth solicit God's mercy. The first contains the preparation of the remedy necessary for man's salvation; the second brings with it an application of the same. And consequently the one may well appertain to the common nature, which the son assumed, when the other is a special privilege vouchsafed to such particular persons only, as the father hath given him. And therefore we may safely conclude out of all these premisses, that "the Lamb of God, offering himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world," intended by giving sufficient satisfaction to God's justice, to make the nature of man, which he assumed, a fit subject for mercy and to prepare a medicine for the sins of the whole world, which should be denied to none that intended to take the benefit of it: howsoever he intended not by applying this all-sufficient remedy unto every person in particular to make it effectual unto the salvation of all, or to procure thereby actual pardon for the sins of the whole world. So, in one respect he may be said to have died for all, and in another respect not to have died for all; yet so as in respect of his mercy he may be counted a kind of universal cause of the restoring of our nature, as Adam was of the depraving of it; for as far as I can discern, he rightly hits the nail on the head that determineth the point in this manner. THOM, CONTRA GENTILES, LIB. IV. CAP. LV. MORS Christi est quasi quædam universalis causa salutis; sicut peccatum primi hominis fuit quasi universalis causa damnationis. Oportet autem universalem causam applicari ad unumquodque specialiter, ut effectum universalis causæ participet. Effectus igitur peccati primi pa |