CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St.…

First, Because the Scripture when it speaketh of this great and wonderful work of Election, it doth still resolve all into the Counsel of his will, not into any thing fore seen in a man, Ephes. 8. Roman. 8. Roman. 9. and in many other places it is still said, He hath chosen us according to his Will, according to his purpose; Now if so be it were for any thing foreseen in us, it would be rather according to the Counsel of our will, and according to our purpose: There cannot any rational Answer be given unto this Argument, for according to the Adversaries, God doth not Elect or choose any, until he foresee what every man will do, and if he do well and persevere in this, then he is predestinated, but this doth at once dash out all the Prepositions Prae, and turn them into Post, it is not prae-destination but post-destination, not [Greek or Hebrew] but [Greek or Hebrew]; And this administers a second Argument.

First, Because the Scripture when it speaketh of this great and wonderfull work of Election, it doth still resolve all into the Counsell of his will, not into any thing fore seen in a man, Ephes. 8. Roman. 8. Roman. 9. and in many other places it is still said, He hath chosen us according to his Will, according to his purpose; Now if so be it were for any thing foreseen in us, it would be rather according to the Counsell of our will, and according to our purpose: There cannot any rationall Answer be given unto this Argument, for according to the Adversaries, God doth not Elect or choose any, untill he foresee what every man will do, and if he do well and persevere in this, then he is predestinated, but this doth at once dash out all the Prepositions Prae, and turn them into Post, it is not prae-destination but post-destination, not 〈non-Latin alphabet〉 but 〈non-Latin alphabet〉; And this administers a second Argument.

Secondly, If so be that God did Elect and choose to Eternal Life because he did fore-see our Faith, then the whole difference of one Believer from another would be attributed solely to mans Power; For to say, That this is Gods Decree, and his Appointment, that whosoever shall believe shall be saved, doth not in the least work upon any person, no more then that Decree of God, Whosoever shall do this shall live, doth suppose any that will exactly keep the Law, so that no man in the world may believe for all this Decree; And thus when Christ prayed for those who shall believe, he might have prayed for a Non ens, a thing which might never have been; Therefore all the Question is, How come some to believe and not others? How is it that of many who live under the same means of Grace, some are called effectually, and others grow more wicked and sinful? Certainly the Scripture doth not give this unto mans Will, but to Gods free-grace and Love, as