An answer to the discourse of Mr. William Sherlock, touching the knowledge of Christ,…

What then must we do now? ¹We must venture and try, God hath elected but few: Christ hath shed his blood for few; therefore we must venture, and an hard venture it is, and great odds against us. Thus the Author: To which, I answer, God hath elected but few: But do secret things belong to us? May we pry into the eternal Rolls, and make them the measures of our acting? No surely, the Rule is before us in the Gospel, which we must not wave, because there are secret Decrees: A man, that would argue against himself; and his venturing upon Christ from these principles, must do it thus: If I am eternally reprobated, then it is to no purpose to venture upon Christ: but I am eternally reprobated; Ergo, it is to no purpose to venture: But how doth he know the Minor, or what reason hath he for it? What madness and desperate rashness is it to say that which he cannot know, and that against his own Soul and eternal ⟨p. 524⟩Salvation? Is there any such reprobation in Scripture, as bars out of Heaven, such as by Faith venture upon Christ? No surely, Christ hath so far dyed for all men, as to found for them that general promise: whosoever believeth, shall be saved: This is a plain sure foundation for men to venture upon, none that by Faith venture upon Christ shall be barred out of Heaven by any Decree of God, because his Decree cannot clash with his Promise: It is very irregular arguing to say, I know not Gods Decree, therefore I'll neglect my duty. St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to work out their Salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God, which worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure, Phil. 2.12, 13. Might the Philippians have said, how do we know what Gods pleasure is, or what he will work in us? Why should we work at such a venture, or at the pleasure of another? No, the fear and trembling in the Text was enough to keep them back from arguing at that rate: Suppose now, that there were no such thing as Election, will there not be a paucity, and an hard venture still? Our Saviour tells us, that few find the way to life, Matth. 7.14. And God, ⟨p. 525⟩whose prescience is immutable, eternally foresaw that it would be so; and what must we do now? May we deny the truth of Christs words, or of Gods prescience? Surely we ought not, or may we argue thus: Few enter into life, why should I venture? Its an hard venture, and great odds against me;