The divine will considered in its eternal decrees, and holy execution of them. By…

John's Baptism was not a mere external Sign or Shadow, but imported God's ordinative Counsel to bring men to Repentance; 'twas [Greek or Hebrew], to repentance, as its proper End, Matth. 3. 11. Gospel-preaching is not a mere sound or voice of Words, but it importeth Gods ordinative Counsel to turn men unto himself. Hence every true Minister is said to stand in Gods counsel, and for this very End, to turn them from the evil of their doings, Jer. 23. 22. Every Ordinance speaks an ordinative Counsel for some spiritual End, a serious Ordination for the good of Souls. Oh! that every one would think so indeed, how surely would they find that God is in it of a truth; whosoever comes to an Ordinance so thinking, justifies Gods Institution and meets his Benediction; but ⟨p. 534⟩he who comes and thinks otherwise, doth by that very thought forsake the ordinance of his God, and reject his counsel, though not in so high and gross a manner as the Pharisees and Lawyers did, who would not so much as outwardly partake of John's Baptism. Again; they urge that, What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? Isai. 5. 4. Here (say they) were omnia adhibita, not a tantillum gratiae wanting; here seems to be the ultimus conatus, the utmost Acting of Grace, even equal to those Operations of Grace which were in the Converts of the Jewish Church, and that upon a double account; First because God says, What could be done more? Secondly, because God had done so much that he expected the grapes of Holiness and Obedience from them; and yet after all this they brought forth wild Grapes: Hence the Remonstrants conclude, that Conversion is wrought in a resistible way. I answer; those which will take the true measure of the Grace set forth in this Text, must first consider to whom this Grace was afforded; 'twas to the Jewish Church ⟨p. 535⟩in common, even to every member thereof: this granted, as it cannot be denied, I proceed to answer, first as to that expression, What could have been done more? Either the meaning of it is, what could have been done more in a way of internal Grace, or else it is, what could have been done more in a way of external Means; the first cannot be the meaning, that God could do no more in a way of internal Grace;