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If he give his Son to death, will he not also freely give us all things? Whence we may observe; First, That the greatest and most eximious expression of the love of God towards believers, is in sending his Son to die for them, not sparing him for their sake, this is made the chief of all. Now if God sent his Son to die for all, he had as great an act of love, and hath made as great a manifestation of it to them that perish as to those that are saved. Secondly, That for whomsoever he hath given, and not spared his Son, unto them he will assuredly freely give all things; but now be doth not give all things that are good for them unto all, as faith, grace, and glory; from whence we conclude, that Christ died not for all. Again, ver. 33. he gives us a description of those that have a share in the consolation here intended, for whom God gave his Son, to whom he freely gives all things, and that is, that they are his elect; not all, but only those whom he hath chosen before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy; which gives another confirmation of the restraint of the death of Christ to them alone, which he yet farther confirms, ver. 34. by declaring that those of whom he speaks, shall be freely justified and freed from condemnation; whereof he gives two reasons: First, Because Christ died for them. Secondly, Because he is risen and makes intercession for them for whom he died, affording us two invincible arguments to the business in hand. The first, taken from the infallible effects of the death of Christ. Who shall lay any thing to their charge? Who shall condemn them? Why? what reason is given? It is Christ that died. So that the death doth infallibly free all them from condemnation for whom he died. Secondly, From the connexion that the apostle here makes between the death and intercession of Jesus Christ; for whom he died for them he makes intercession, but he saveth to the utmost them for whom he intercedeth ;' Heb. vii. 24. From all which it is undeniably apparent, that the death of Christ, with the fruits and benefits thereof, belongeth only to the elect of God.

Sixthly, Eph. i. 7. 'In whom we have redemption;' if his blood was shed for all, then all must have a share in those things that are to be had in his blood; now amongst these is that redemption that consists in the forgiveness of sins,

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which certainly all have not, for they that have are blessed; Rom. iv. and shall be blessed for evermore; which blessing comes not upon all, but upon the seed of righteous Abraham. Seventhly, 2 Cor. v. 21. He made him to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.' It was in his death that Christ was made sin or an offering for it. Now for whomsoever he was made sin, they are made the righteousness of God in him; by his stripes we are healed;' Isa. liii. John xv. 13. 'Greater love hath none than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.' Then to intercede is not of greater love than to die, nor any thing else that he doth for his elect; if then he laid down his life for all, which is the greatest, why doth he not also the rest for them, and save them to the uttermost.

Eighthly, John xvii. 9. 'I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine;' and ver. 19. For their sakes I sanctify myself.'

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Ninthly, Eph. v. 25. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved his church, and gave himself for it;' as Acts xx. 28. The object of Christ's love and his death is here asserted to be his bride, his church, and that as properly as a man's own wife is the only allowed object of his conjugal affections. And if Christ had a love to others so as to die for them, then is there in the exhortation a latitude left unto men in conjugal affections for other women besides their wives.

I thought to have added other arguments, as intending a clear discussing of the whole controversy, but upon a review of what hath been said, I do with confidence take up and conclude, that these which have been already urged will be enough to satisfy them who will be satisfied with any thing; and those that are obstinate will not be satisfied with more. So of our arguments here shall be an end.

BOOK IV.

CHAP. I.

Things previously to be considered to the solution of objections.

THERE being sundry places in holy Scripture, wherein the ransom and propitiation made by the blood of Christ is set forth in general and indefinite expressions; as also a fruitlessness or want of success in respect of some through their own default, for whom he died, seemingly intimated; with general proffers, promises, and exhortations, made for the embracing of the fruits of the death of Christ, even to them who do never actually perform it; whence some have taken occasion to maintain a universality of redemption, equally respecting all and every one; and that with great confidence, affirming that the contrary opinion cannot possibly be reconciled with those places of Scripture, wherein the former things are proposed. These three heads being the only fountains from whence are drawn (but with violence) all the arguments that are opposed to the peculiar effectual redemption of the elect only; I shall (before I come to the answering of objections, arising from a wrested interpretation of particular places) lay down some such fundamental principles, as are agreeable to the word, and largely held forth in it, and no way disagreeable to our judgment in this particular, which do and have given occasion to those general and indefinite affirmations as they are laid down in the word, and upon which they are founded; having their truth in them, and not in a universal ransom for all and every one; with some distinctions conducing to the farther clearing of the thing in question, and waving of many false imputations of things and consequences erroneously or maliciously imposed on us.

The first thing that we shall lay down is concerning the dignity, worth, preciousness, and infinite value of the blood and death of Jesus Christ. The maintaining and declaring of this, is doubtless especially to be considered; and every

opinion that doth but seemingly clash against it, is exceedingly prejudiced, at least deservedly suspected; yea, presently to be rejected by Christians, if upon search it be found to do so really and indeed, as that which is injurious and derogatory to the merit and honour of Jesus Christ. The Scripture also to this purpose is exceeding full and frequent in setting forth the excellency and dignity of his death and sacrifice, calling his blood, by reason of the unity of his person, God's own blood;' Acts xx. 28. Exalting it infinitely above all other sacrifices, as having for its principle 'the eternal Spirit,' and being itself 'without spot ;' Heb. ix. 14. Transcendently more precious than silver or gold or corruptible things;' 1 Pet. i. 18. Able to give justification from all things, from which by the law men could not be justified; Acts xiii. 28. Now such as was the sacrifice and offering of Christ in itself, such was it intended by his Father it should be. It was then the purpose and intention of God that his Son should offer a sacrifice of infinite worth, value, and dignity, sufficient in itself for the redeeming of all and every man, if it had pleased the Lord to employ it to that purpose; yea, and of other worlds also, if the Lord should freely make them, and would redeem them. Sufficient we say, then, was the sacrifice of Christ for the redemption of the whole world, and for the expiation of all the sins of all and every man in the world. This sufficiency of his sacrifice hath a twofold rise. First, The dignity of the person that did offer and was offered. Secondly, The greatness of the pain he endured, by which he was able to bear, and did undergo, the whole curse of the law and wrath of God due to sin; and this sets out the innate real true worth and value of the bloodshedding of Jesus Christ. This is its own true internal perfection and sufficiency; that it should be applied unto any, made a price for them, and become beneficial to them, according to the worth that is in it, is external to it, doth not arise from it, but merely depends upon the intention and will of God. It was in itself of infinite value and sufficiency to have been made a price, to have bought and purchased all and every man in the world. That it did formally become a price for any, is solely to be ascribed to the purpose of God, intending their purchase and redemption by it. The

intention of the offerer and accepter that it should be for such, some, or any, is that which gives the formality of a price unto it; this is external; but the value and fitness of it to be made a price, ariseth from its own internal sufficiency. Hence may appear what is to be thought of that old distinction of the schoolmen, embraced and used by divers Protestant divines, though by others again rejected; viz. that Christ died for all in respect of the sufficiency of the ransom he paid; but not in respect of the efficacy of its application; or, the blood of Christ was a sufficient price for the sins of all the world; which last expression is corrected by some, and thus asserted, That the blood of Christ was sufficient to have been made a price for all, which is most true, as was before declared; for its being a price for all, or some, doth not arise from its own sufficiency, worth, or dignity, but from the intention of God and Christ, using it to that purpose, as was declared; and therefore, it is denied, that the blood of Christ was a sufficient price and ransom for all, and every one, not because it was not sufficient, but because it was not a ransom. And so it easily appears what is to be owned in the distinction itself before expressed; if it intend no more, but that the blood of our Saviour was of sufficient value for the redemption of all and every one, and that Christ intended to lay down a price which should be sufficient for their redemption, it is acknowledged as most true, but the truth is, that expression (to die for them) holds out the intention of our Saviour in the laying down of the price to have been their redemption; which we deny, and affirm that then it could not be, but that they must be made actual partakers of the eternal redemption purchased for them, unless God failed in his design, through the defect of the ransom paid by Christ, his justice refusing to give a dismission upon the delivery of the ransom.

Now the infinite value and worth which we assert to be in the death of Christ, we conceive to be exceedingly undervalued by the assertors of universal redemption, for that it should be extended to this or that object, fewer or more, we shewed before to be extrinsical to it; but its true worth consists in the immediate effects, products, and issues of it, with what in its own nature it is fit and able to do, which they

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