Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

B. These are weighty matters, and deeply to be considered, with many thoughts and cautelous sobriety. We have two questions fallen before us: 1. How far Gods Grace is resistible. 2. How God or man do cause diversities. Though I have been drawn on to speak much to the last, it is here but in order to the resolving of the first. The last is to be spoke to by it self anon. Before we come to that, these things I here conclude of. 1. That the Diversity of Nature, or Receptive Dispositions, being presupposed, God hath an established order of means, and a congruous established universal Concurse, which quantum in se, as far as belongeth to it to do, worketh equally on all. 2. That this established measure of aid, or concurse, recipitur ad modum recipientis, and operateth variously as to the effects, according to the various disposition of the Recipients: from whom the ratio diversatis is to be fetched, and not from it. 3. That this established measure of Concurse or aid may by the greatness of the Passive and Active Indisposition and Ill-disposition of the Recipient, be both resisted, and overcome or frustrate. 4. That as Adam did resist and overcome such Grace, so do all wicked ¹men in some cases now. And so do all godly men, in most of the sins (if not all) which they commit. 5. As God rarely worketh Miracles, (and we hardly know when he violateth his established course of nature, though we may know when he worketh beyond the power of any second cause known to us, and when he leaveth his ordinary way) but ordinarily keepeth to his established course and use of the second causes (even in his wonders.) So it is very ⟨p. 177⟩probable, that in the Works of Grace, Recovery and Salvation, he ordinarily keepeth to his established order, his Ordinances, and fixed degree of Concurse. 6. Yet as God is still above all his Works, and a free Agent, and is no further tied to one constant order and measure of Concurse, than he tieth himself by his Wisdom and Free-will; so God is free in the conveyance of his Grace, and can when he please, forsake that order, and work Miracles by Grace, as well as on natural things above nature. He can strike down Saul, and convert him by a voice from Heaven; and in a word, can do what he will. 7.

B. These are weighty matters, and deeply to be considered, with many thoughts and cautelous sobriety. We have two questions fallen before us: 1. How far Gods Grace is resistible. 2. How God or man do cause diversities. Though I have been drawn on to speak much to the last, it is here but in order to the resolving of the first. The last is to be spoke to by it self anon. Before we come to that, these things I here conclude of. 1. That the Diversity of Nature, or Receptive Dispositions, being presupposed, God hath an established order of means, and a congruous established universal Concurse, which quantum in se, as far as belongeth to it to do, worketh equally on all. 2. That this established measure of aid, or concurse, recipitur ad modum recipientis, and operateth variously as to the effects, according to the various disposition of the Recipients: from whom the ratio diversatis is to be fetcht, and not from it. 3. That this established measure of Concurse or aid may by the greatness of the Passive and Active Indisposition and Illdisposition of the Recipient, be both resisted, and overcome or frustrate. 4. That as Adam did resist and overcome such Grace, so do all wicked