Secondly, The real Christian closeth with, and embraceth Christ freely: forced Matches are like never to do well, nor will Christ force any; the sound Believer gives his consent freely and willingly: A Contract, or Match, made up by fears and scares, is no true one: There are indeed many times fears and scares in the preparatory legal work, which do more properly tend to loosen the Soul from its lusts and idols, from which he is called: but to choose Christ merely out of fear, and because I am scared with hellish horrors, as if Christ were not worthy the choosing or regarding, were it not for these which I dread and lye in danger of, this choice or embracing of Christ will not hold. It is true, the Jailer came to the Apostle ⟨p. 246⟩in a scare; but surely he did not take Christ in a scare; no he saw reason for what he did, and did it freely, willingly, there was much joy in the family, in consideration of what they had done, Acts 16.34. in embracing of that Christ whom Paul taught. It is an ill thing when the woman shall say, or the man, I had him or her against my will; but my Father would have it so, and if I would not have him, he would give me nothing; a wise Parent the whilst, to force his Child against her will; though she did say I will, when she came to the Marriage, but had her Father let her alone, left her to her freedom, I would never have had him, saith she. I have heard of such Marriages, where the Child, only in obedience to Parents, cross to her own judgment and freedom, have taken such a man to her Husband, to please Parents, but never had good day after; Christ abhors this: Thy people shall be voluntaries, (as some translate it, or voluntarinesses) in the day of thy power, Psal. 110.3. Castellio * saith true when he tells us, God doth not compel men, Ad animi justitiam; but in this he saith false, when he makes Justification to be, animi justitia, or justificare is justos facere: God, saith he, will have true and voluntary Jews, whom he may commend; but he should not do so, if he did compel them against their wills. And this, saith he, was signified in the Structure of the Tabernacle, which was the figure of the heart of a man, the Sanctuary or Temple of the Holy Ghost: Now that was made of gifts freely offered by the people, no man was forced or compelled to offer what he did, though in other points the Law did compel men.
Secondly, The real Christian closeth with, and embraceth Christ freely: forced Matches are like never to do well, nor will Christ force any; the sound Believer gives his consent freely and willingly: A Contract, or Match, made up by fears and scares, is no true one: There are indeed many times fears and scares in the preparatory legal work, which do more properly tend to loosen the Soul from its lusts and idols, from which he is called: but to chuse Christ meerly out of fear, and because I am scared with hellish horrors, as if Christ were not worthy the chusing or regarding, were it not for these which I dread and lye in danger of, this choice or embracing of Christ will not hold. It is true, the Jaylour came to the Apostle ⟨p. 246⟩in a scare; but surely he did not take Christ in a scare; no he saw reason for what he did, and did it freely, willingly, there was much joy in the family, in consideration of what they had done, Acts 16.34. in embracing of that Christ whom Paul taught. It is an ill thing when the woman shall say, or the man, I had him or her against my will; but my Father would have it so, and if I would not have him, he would give me nothing; a wise Parent the whilst, to force his Child against her will; though she did say I will, when she came to the Marriage, but had her Father let her alone, left her to her freedom, I would never have had him, saith she. I have heard of such Marriages, where the Child, only in obedience to Parents, cross to her own judgment and freedom, have taken such a man to her Husband, to please Parents, but never had good day after; Christ abhors this: Thy people shall be voluntaries, (as some translate it, or voluntarinesses) in the day of thy power, Psal. 110.3. Castellio * saith true when he tells us, God doth not compel men, Ad animi justitiam; but in this he saith false, when he makes Justification to be, animi justitia, or justificare is justos facere: God, saith he, will have true and voluntary Jews, whom he may commend; but he should not do so, if he did compel them against their wills. And this, saith he, was signified in the Structure of the Tabernacle, which was the figure of the heart of a man, the Sanctuary or Temple of the Holy Ghost: Now that was made of gifts freely offered by the people, no man was forced or compelled to offer what he did, though in other points the Law did compel men.
