Truman:

Use 1.

How much to blame are those that dread not extremes? It is very common with men, when once they are fully convinced that there is a dangerous error on the one hand, to be careless how far they run to the other hand, and to entertain an error as dangerous, and maintain it to help against the other; though it may prove as incommodious to their souls, as once our predecessors found it to the State, when they fetch in the Saxons to drive out the Picts.

St. Austin tells us it was the great care of every orthodox teacher in his time, to take heed lest they should Grace, as to deny free-will; and lest they should so defend free-will, as to deny Grace: and a good care it was [lib. 2. de peccat. me ir. cap. 18.].

Some have spoken against free-will to good in any sense, have spoken without fear, of over-speaking of man’s impotency to Good, without any check or limitation; yea, and called it a Natural Impotency in the sense explained, that the most understand it  (without explication) of a Natural Impotency, which to affirm, is virtually to lay man’s destruction at God’s door, notwithstanding that Christ’s death and the Gospel, and to clear man. How sad it should be to us, that many have expressed themselves in such terms (though they did contradict it again virtually), that if wicked men had believed them (without doubt they had such checks of conscience, that they did not), they might have encouraged their hearts, as if their refusal of Christ and Grace was not their malignity and wickedness; was not a moral thing, but their weakness; a weakness opposed to willfulness, or however, different from it,  a “cannot” distinct from “will not;” which every one has a notion that a man may be pitied, but not blamed for. If any say I have spoken thus, and held thus; but now see it is an error subverting the very foundation:” but I did practically hold the contrary, or I could not have reproached others, or repented of my former sins: I readily believe you, and shall only say, “Learn charity to those that differ from you.”

Again, some have so defended free-will, that they have maintained that God gives to men only a power of choosing Good and Evil, and will go no further with any.  If any such are sensible that blasphemy to the Spirit is written on the forehead of this opinion, and that it makes the Spirit’s help needless to a man of sound intellectuals; having a sufficient objective evidence, and shall say, “I held this notionally; for I did pray, which I could not have done had I held it practically:” I shall say the same, I readily believe it, do you also learn charity.

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Harmon:

Fifth Sermon on Romans 11:33

In keeping with the passage that he is expositing, Amyraut’s sermon on Rom 11:33 again sustains a pervasive doxological emphasis. In response to God’s free creation, his general revelation of his patience, and forbearance in nature and providence, and his particular revelation to the Jews and in Christ, efficaciously applied in some, the only appropriate response is to cry, “Oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom of God!” As a result, Amyraut’s purpose in his exposition of the passage is primarily to speak of the freedom of God. He observes the circumstances of Paul’s words and several conclusions, particularly of a twofold election.⁶⁹

The epistolary context of Paul links his praise of God’s wisdom with his discourse on his dealings with Jews and Gentiles. Paul has described how God allowed Israel to fall so that opportunity may be given to extend grace to Gentiles. Yet, the Jews will be called back in the future. This transfer of the center of God’s saving activity confirms that all are placed in rebellion so that God might have mercy upon all. But, this does not mean that God saves every person. According to his first kind of mercy he does, providing that they believe. But, according to the second kind of mercy that creates faith in its recipients, he does not desire for every person to be saved. On one hand, all men are not saved because many refuse God’s offered salvation, but on the other hand, they could have been saved, but their corrupt natures made it impossible for them to believe.⁷⁰

To each group, Jew and Gentile, God acted differently before the manifestation of the gospel. To the Gentiles, God gave only the revelation of himself through nature and his providence. Even this revelation was often despised, and so God allowed Gentiles to fall into infamously licentious behavior as judgment. At the same time, in Judea there were two different groups. Some faithful ones held to the promises of the Messiah and did so by the Spirit’s inward power. Others were restrained in their outward behavior from reprehensible living, while sinful passions continued to writhe within them. This apparent contrast in outward behavior between Jews and Gentiles could seem to provide a contrast in the working of God’s salvation. If Jews behaved better than Gentiles, were they saved by their works? And now that the gospel had come to Gentiles, were they saved in a different manner, by grace? To avoid this possible confusion and to emphasize God’s mercy above all other considerations, God largely removed the light of salvation from Israel for a time. This focus upon the Gentiles could then confirm his mercy.⁷¹

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Lever:

For unto thee, even unto thee, saving health is provided, and proffered of God, in him, and by him which says:

They that be in health have no need of a Physician, but they that be sick and diseased: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners unto repentance: Come thou therefore unto me, which labors, and are heavy laden, and I shall ease thee. I shall help, deliver thine own sins. Come therefore in sorrowing thine own sins, and pitying all men’s misery, and I will not refuse the sacrifice of thy oblation of thy humble spirit and contrite heart. I would not have set forth the abomination of thy sins so openly, and showed so many tokens of plagues and vengeance coming presently, but to make thee more willing to come at this my earnest calling because now thy danger is great, thy time is short, and thou can have no refuge or remedy, if thou do not speedily come unto me, which am willing and able to heal all thy diseases, to forgive all thy sins, to deliver thee out of all dangers, and to turn perilous plagues of vengeance from thee, into plentiful provision of all comfortable commodities unto thee.

Remember and consider the example of the children of Jacob, which by envying of their brother Joseph, casting him into a dungeon, and telling him unto strangers, deserved such a plague of famine and hunger, as forced them to seek for food in a strange country: and there when as they pitying Benjamin their youngest brother with charitable love one towards another, did all together humble themselves in prayer before the ruler of the country, which did speak sharply: then the ruler, being in deed Joseph their brother, could no longer use himself strangely towards them, but with loving pity did forgive them all their former faults against him, and did make most comfortable and plentiful provision for them, their father, their wives, and children. And if you, whose sins have caused Christ to be bought and sold, to die and suffer, which have falsely pretended, faintly favored, yea shamefully slandered, and cruelly persecuted the gospel of Christ, which willfully and wittingly in manifest and manifold perjuries, have provoked the wrath and vengeance of GOD, which have envied, hated, and slandered one another, and so deserved dangerous plagues: if you will now pity them that be in misery, and in unity of Faith and brotherly charity, altogether humble yourselves in prayer before your heavenly Father, then Christ which has all authority, of tender heart will embrace you with loving pity, take you as his own brethren, forget and forgive all that has been done against him, and provide plentifully all things commodious or necessary for you and yours. He will fetch you from far into that wealthy place, where as he is a ruler: he will gather you out of all quarters, into that church, whereof he is the head, that which you did mean evil towards him, will he so order as shall be best for you. I say surely, for all you your being thus now called, will come after this manner, yea if you be many all the rest also shall be spared for your sakes, if you be but few in number, yet ever one of you shall be so provided for, that if there remain upon earth any godly comfort for you, ye shall be reserved and kept to see and enjoy it: and if nothing shall remain but misery and mischief, then shall ye be preserved and delivered out of the grief and danger of it, unto joy and glory with Christ.

Thomas Lever, A Treatise of the right way from Danger of Sinne & veneance in this wicked worlde, unto godly wealth and salvation in Christ, (Printed by Henrie Bynneman for George Byshop, 1575), chap. 10, [pp., 108-111] [Some reformatting; some spelling modernized; no original pagination; pages numbered manually from chapter 1; and underlining mine.]

Lever:

Redeemed souls perishing:

1) As for example of ryche men, loke at the merchauntes of London, and ye shall see, when as by their honest vocacion, and trade of marchandise god hath endowed them with great abundaunce of ryches, then can they not be content with the prosperous welth of that vocacion to satisfye theym selues, and to helpe other, but their riches muste abrode in the countrey to bie fermes [farms] out of the handes of worshypfull gentlemen, honeste yeomen, and pore lahorynge husbandes. Yea nowe also to bye personages, and benefices, where as they do not onelye bye landes and goodes, but also lyues and soules of men, from God and the comen wealth, vnto the deuyll and theim selues. A myscheuouse marte of merchandrie is this, and yet nowe so comenly vsed, that therby shepeheardes be turned to theues, dogges into wolues, and the poore flocke of Christ, redemed wyth his precious bloud, moste miserablye pylled, and spoyled, yea cruelly deuoured. Be thou marchaunt of the citye, or be thou gentleman in the contrey, be thou lawer, be you courtear, or what maner of man soeuer thou be, that can not, yea yf thou be mailer doctor of diuinitie, that wyl not do thy duety, it is not lawfull (or the to haue personage, benefice, or any suche liuyng, excepte thou do fede the flocke spiritually wyth goddes worde, and bodelye wyth honeste hospitalitye. I wyll touch diuerse kyndes of ryche men and rulers, that ye maye se what harme some of theim do wyth theyr ryches and authoritye. And especiallye I wyll begynne wyth. theym that be best learned, for they seme belyke to do moste good wyth ryches and authoritie unto theim committed. If I therefore beynge a yonge simple scholer myghte be so bolde, I wolde alke an auncient, wyse, and well learned doctor of diuinitie, whych cometh not at hys benefice, whether he were bounde to fede hys flocke in teachynge of goddes worde, and kepyng hospitalitie or no? He wold answere and saye: syr my curate supplieth my roume in teachynge, and my farmer in kepynge of house. Yea but master doctor by your leaue, both these more for your vauntage then for the paryshe conforte: and therfore the mo suche seruauntes that ye kepe there, the more harme is it for your paryshe, and the more synne and shame for you. Ye may thynke that I am sumwhat saucye to laye synne and shame to a doctor of diuinitie in thys solemne audience, for some of theim vse to excuse the matter, and saye: Those whych I leaue in myne absence do farre better then I shoulde do, yf I taryed there my selfe. Thomas Lever, Sermons,  (London: Bloomsbury,1871), 29-30. [Original spelling retained;  italics original; some bracketed words inserted; and underlining mine; the archaic font character for “s” substituted with the modern s.]

2) The filthye gredye puttockes, wylde haukes, and rauenyng kytes be fupersticious papistes, carnall gospellers, and sedicious rebelles, which as ye haue seene, by late experience, haue moil cruelly caught, spoyled, and deuoured the lambes, the chekynnes, the chyldren of God, redemed and boughte with Christes bloude. Wherfore as Christ in his owne persone dyd once lament and bewayle Ierusalem, so dothe he nowe many tymes in the persons of his propheticall Preachers, lament and bewayl Englande, saying: O England, howe ofte wolde I haue gathered thy chyldren, as a hen gathereth her chikens vnder her wynges, and thou woldest not. Euen with the same affeccion that the shepherde cryeth, seeyng the wolfe le[e]ryng towardes the shepe, and with the same affeccion that the hen clocketh and calleth, spyeng the kyte houeryng ouer her chekyns: with the same affeccion it behoueth the minister and preacher of God, seeyng vntollerable vengeaunce hangynge ouer Englande, to aye, to call, and to geue warnyng vnto the people, saying as [it] is written In the first of Esay: If ye willyngly wyl heare and obeye, ye shall eate the good comfortable frutes of the earthe: but if ye wyll not, and prouoke me vnto angre, the swoorde shall deuoure you: Quia os Domini locutum.¹ For it is the mouth of the lord that hath spoken.

Now your reuerende maiestie, most gracious kyng, and you honourable wyse godly counsellers, you are the chiefe shepherdes, you are the most reuerende fathers in Christe, hauynge the wynges of power and authoritie, to shadow, saue, and keepe these lambes of god, these [the] chekens of Christ, and these chyldren of the heauenly father, redemed with Christes bloude, and committed vnto your handes, to be saued, kepte, and prouyded for.

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