Whately:

Thou sees how great a thing this globe of earth and water seems to be to them that walk upon it, yet in comparison of the heavenly sphere that does encompass it, what is it else, but a point, a prick, a center, a thing of nothing, that holds no proportion to those higher regions, and now assuredly, that there is no more proportion betwixt the sins of all men, and God’s mercies, than betwixt the point of the earth, and the circumference of the skies. He is willing to pardon more than all of them can commit, and, therefore, only they be not pardoned, because they will not humble themselves to seek pardon. Thus then must thou raise up thy falling heart, I have do with a most infinitely merciful and tender hearted Father, that does not desire the death of him that dies, but is ten thousand thousand times more willing to give me pardon than I am to crave or accept it. It pleases him more to bestow forgiveness, than me to receive it. O do not so great an injury to God, as to set any bounds and limits to his goodness, to diminish or detract from the boundlessness of his compassion, to think that thou can possibly exceed his goodness with thy badness, but go unto him and acknowledge, saying, “O Lord, the multitude of thy mercies do far surmount multitudes of thy mercies,” and so thou shall be safe. 

William Whately, The Oyle of Gladdnesse. Or, Comfort for Dejected Sinners (London: Printed by G M for George Edwards, and are to be sold at his house in Greene-Arbour, at the Signe of the Angell, 1637), 90-93. [Some spelling modernized and underlining mine.]

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The Suffrage concerning the second Article

THE FIRST POSITION²⁶

Out of an especiall love and intention both of God the Father, and of Christ himselfe, Christ dyed for the Elect, that hee might [p. 44] effectually obtaine for them, and infallibly bestow on them both remission of sinnes, and salvation.

This first proposition declareth, that the Elect shall without faile have remission of sinnes, and eternall life by the death of Christ, and that out of the especiall love and intention of God the Father, and Christ. This is proved out of the holy Scriptures, which doe shew forth the efficacie of the death of the Sonne of God in respect of the Elect, John 11. 51. Jesus must dye for the Nation, and not onely for that Nation, but that hee might gather into one the sonne of God, which were dispersed, Ephes. 5. 25. God loved the Church, and gave himselfe for it, that he might sanctifie it, &c. In which words is declared the intention of Christ offering himselfe, as the same offering concemeth the infallible bestowing of salvation, [p. 45]

THE SECOND POSITION

Out of the selfe same love by and for the merit and intercession of Christ, faith, and perseverance, are given to the same Elect, yea and all other things, by which the condition of the covenant is fulfilled, and the promised benefit, namely, eternall life is obtained.

This position sheweth, that out of the death and intercession of Christ, those gifts of grace doe flow to the Elect, by which they are effectually brought to life eternall. Rom. 8. 32. 33. 39.²⁷ Hee that spared not his owne Sonne, how shall he not even with him give us all things? Heb. 8. 10. I will give my lawes into their mindes, and in their hearts I will write them. For that grace, which is given unto the Elect for the death of Christ, is the grace of effectuall reemption. Now wee understand by the grace of redemption, not such a grace, by which men may bee redeemed, if they will, [p. 46] but by which they are in event mercifully redeemed, because God so willeth.

THE THIRD POSITION.

God taking pitie on mankinde being falne, sent his Son, who gave himself a ransome for the sins of the whole world.

In this oblation of Christ we consider two things: the manner of calling of men to the actuall participation of this sacrifice, and the benefit divers wayes redounding unto men by the same sacrifice.

As for the manner, there is no mortall man, who cannot truly and seriously bee called by the Ministers of the Gospell to the participation of remission of sinnes, and eternall life by this death of Christ. Acts 13. 33.²⁸ 39. Bee it knowne unto you that remission of sinnes is preached by Christ. John 3. 17. He that beleeves not, is condemned, because he hath not beleeved in the Sonne of God. There is nothing false, nothing colourably fained in the Gospell, but whatsoever is offered or promised in it by the Ministers of the word, is after the same manner offered & [p. 47] promised unto them by the Author of the Gospell.

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Stock:

1) I have loved you,] A speech spoken with affection, specially by valuing his love, and disdaining to have it so neglected of those upon whom he had bestowed it. Some thing it is a speech of imperfect, broken off, and interrupted with grief, when he would have added more. The supply may be, I have loved you always, but you acknowledge it not, neither answered me with love again, but for this repaid me with sins.

Love given¹ to God, signifies not a passion nor affection, for there is no such thing in God. Ira Dei non perturbatio animiejus, sed judicium quo irrogatur pæna peccato, August. of the anger of God, De civitate Dei, lib. 15. Cap. 25. So of this, it is no passion,² but his free election to bestow, yea, an actual giving to them the adoption of sins and eternal life. For God is said to be angry, when he does that a which commonly men do when they are angry, and to love, when he does that which men do when they love. Now this cannot be understood of his general love, of which all are partakers, men and angels, blessing, preserving, sustaining them: for then it were not great matter that he affirms here to his. But of a special love, that is, his choosing of them to be sons, and to bestow on them eternal life. I have loved you, that is, I have chosen you to be my people, and I will be your God, to be my children, and I will be your Father, and to give you the inheritance of sons, than which can be greater? Richard Stock, A Learned and Very Useful Commentary Upon the Whole Prophesie of Malachy (Printed by T.H. and R.H. for Daniel Frere and William Wells, and are to be sold at their shops in Little Britaine, 1641), 15. [Some spelling modernized; some reformatting; italics original; footnotes mine; and underlining mine.]

2) Now we come to speak of the love of God, and the question is:³

Quest. What is the love of God?

Answ. The answer is, it is a communicable attribute, whereby, God loves himself, his Son, and his Spirit, and then his creatures, freely, but not equally: to explain these points, we give love to God as other attributes, not as qualities, not as accidents, not as any thing coming from God, that was not in him before, because there is nothing in God, that is not in God. Love is given to God, as void of all imperfection, or error. It is a that the learned have, that whatsoever attribute given to God, must be free from all imperfection, and error, before we can attributed it to him, and, therefore, love as it is an attribute given to God, must be purged from all imperfection.⁴ There are three things in Love. First, a good will, that one bears to another. Secondly, a good work. Thirdly, a delighting in that which is loved. These things are in God, none has a better will than God, none does more good than God, and there is none that delights more in his beloved, than God himself. Again, we say it is a communicable attribute, not that love is in God, as it is in man, but because there is something in man, that is like this love of God, man being made a partaker of the godly nature, that is, they have this in the quality, that God has in substance, and, therefore, we call it a communicable attribute. In the next place, we say it is that whereby he loves himself, his Son, and his Spirit. It is for his own glory that he loves himself, as it appears, in that the Scripture says, that God is a jealous God, jealous of his worship and service: if he be jealous, there is a kind of love of himself [which] goes with it: 2. Commandment. So he loves himself, and he loves also his Son, therefore he is called his “beloved Son,” Matt., 3:7. So he loves the Spirit as proceeding from himself, and being properly the love whereby the divine nature loves itself. So he loves creatures, as angels, and men, and other creatures: that he loves, this appears by many testimonies of Scripture, Angels and men are called the children of God. Angels, Job 1:6, “Upon a time the children of God came,” &c. So “Adam is called the son of God,” Luke 3. Last: Next he loves his creatures freely, the cause why he loves them is in himself, not in them. He loves some with a special love, and some with a general, freely that appears by the Scriptures, John 3:16, ‘God so loved the world,” 1 John 1:3, “Herein is the love of God made manifest, that he has given his Son,” 1 John 4:19, “God loved us first”; if first then freely, and no love in us, procured his love. Again, he loves them not equally, for he loves men more than other creatures: Tit. 3:9, “The love he bears to me is manifest.” Yet further, he loves some men more than others, Exod. 19:5, “you shall be my peculiar people”; as if he should say, ‘though all the nations be mine in general, yet you shall be my chief treasure. Tit. 2:14, “a peculiar treasure”; these are treasures that men lock up. He loves those that are elected, and those that are called. Those that are elected, he loved them when they were enemies, Eph. 1:4, “He loved them before the foundation of the world.” But he loves them better whom he has called, than those he has not called: Prov. 8:17, “I love them that love me,” those whom he has endued with his Spirit, Psal. 146:8, “the Lord loves the righteous,” &c. to conclude this with that of Saint Augustine,⁵ ‘God loves all that he has made, he loves specially men, and angels, and among men, he loves those especially, that are the members of his Son, and most of all, he loves his Son,’ &c., and so we have made manifest this description. Richard Stock, A Stock of Divine Knowledge. Being a Lively Description of the Divine Nature. Or, the Divine Essence, Attributes, and Trinity Particularly Explained and Profitably Applied. The First showing Us What God is: The Second, what We Ought to be (London: Printed by T.H. for Philip Nevil, and are to be sold at his Shop in Ivie Lane, at the Signe of the Gun, 1641), 158-160. [Some spelling modernized; some reformatting; italics original; footnotes mine; and underlining mine.]

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Babbington:

Come we, therefore, unto the fourth sort, which is true faith.

And what I pray you is that?

True faith is a knowledge, firm and certain of the good will of God towards us: which is being founded upon the truth of his free promise in Christ, is both revealed to our minds, and sealed in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Another in more words to the same effect speaks thus: Vera fides est non tantum notitia qua firmiter assentior omnibus que Deus nobis in verbo suo patefecit, sed etiam certa fiducia a Spritu Sancte per Evangelium in corde meo assensa, qua in Deo Acquiesco, certo statuens non soluma aliis,¹ sed mihi quoq remissionem peccatorum, eternam justifiam & vitam donatam esse, edg, gratis ex Dei misericorda propter unius Christi meritum: True faith is not only a knowledge whereby I firmly assent unto all things which God in his word has opened unto us, but also a sure trust raised up in my heart by the Holy Ghost, through the Gospel, whereby I rest in God certainly persuaded, that remission of sin, eternal righteousness and life is given, not only to other[s], but also to me, and that freely of the mercy of God, for the merit of Christ only.

This were sufficient, but that most plainness in these points is most profitable: and, therefore, if you will take every part by itself, I think it will be good.

Consider then with yourself what is first said of faith, namely, that it is notitia, a knowledge, which you must understand thus, not as we know these outward and worldly matter, by sense, but it is an assurance or certainty in us, more than an apprehension, proved by these places and and others: “This is eternal life, to know thee to be the only very good, and whom thou has sent, Jesus Christ.” Again, “which mystery has been hid,” (says S. Paul) “Since the world began, and from all ages, but now is made manifest unto his saints.” Also in another place, “That their hearts might be comforted, and they knit together in love, and in all riches of the full assurance of understanding to know the mystery of God, even the Father of Christ. And we know,” (says S. John), “that we are translated, &c., we know.” All which places you see evidently prove faith to be a knowledge, it could not be, and, therefore, joins faith and knowledge, saying, “And we believe and know, that thou are that Christ, the Son of the living God”: For he yields a reason why he and other of the Apostles believed in Christ, namely, because the knew that he was the Son of God. Which being so, it necessarily follows, that they believe not, to whom those things are unknown, that he has revealed in his Word. And, therefore, the tale of Popery concerning implicita fide, an ignorant faith, is mos foolish: for faith and knowledge are so knit together, that they cannot be separated.

Gervase Babbington, An Explanation of the Catechism Contained in the Book of Common Prayer,” in The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God, Gervase Babington, Late Bishop of Worcester (London: Printed by Miles Flesher, 1637), 172-173. [Some spelling modernized; italics original; and footnote mine.]

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¹Latin is unclear here.