Chapter VII (continued, part 3)
Abimelech, I kept thee, from that act of adultery. But then he suffers them to take a liberty to such or such particular corruptions and wickedness ; * Qu. that many might not run into all ? ED.
230 OP ELECTION. [BooK III.
so as indeed this fore -writing these men to this contention, rather than other
sins, was no more than leaving them electively, to that, and not to another, and leaving them to that way of sinning, and not other men of the same age, and in the same circumstances with them ; which particular way of sinning
is purely their own way, and their own doings, without his decree having
any influence upon them, but setting them in such and such circumstances. And this ordering thus some men to this sin, some men to that, though it
be from God s will, to order and leave them thereto ; yet the fact itself is
not from God, and yet is justly styled a fore-writing, appointing it so and so, and deserves the name, because it is electively, and designedly, and truly done by him ; and yet herein this appointment of his has no more outward
influence than of a man that would draw water into such and such a channel, he adds nothing to the propension of the waters, they run of themselves ; and thus God is said to have turned the Egyptians hearts to hate his people, and to turn the hearts of kings as rivers of waters.
2. This fore-writing to such great sinnings, is but by the way of punish ment of other sins which they first commit ; as Kom. i.,
* Therefore God
gave them up. That these men, Rev. xiii., worshipped the beast; this
account is given, 2 Thes. ii. 10, 11, Because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie : that they all might be damned, &c. And so he wrote down these men to this contention and
apostasy, upon the foresight of their sinning.f
8. Let me add this to justify God, that this fore-writing of men to several
particular ways of sinning, when as they are all prone to all or any, and every man would be as wicked as the devil, to whom no sin comes amiss ; to act
or set that man to this, is so far from being that harsh act of absolute repro bation, so exclaimed upon, that it is goodness and mercy to the generality of mankind. For, 1, it is done with a restraining them from other sins, which else would make this world an hell. I may express it by this com
parison : Suppose a thousand barrels, full of either precious or poisonous
liquor, that had each of them a thousand holes to let that liquor run out at ; for a man that is the disposer of them, to stop with pegs the most of those
holes, in every such barrel, and to let out here and there as he pleaseth ; some he lets run at the top, and there comes out weaker kind of poison, others at the bottom, whence the most deadly flows ; and he did all these in a wisdom and discretion, and by an appointment with himself : will any one
say, that this man is the cause of those effluxes of poison, which he barely lets out, and yet he is the appointer of them ?
Lastly, Hereby God shews an infinite wisdom, in the variety of those his
appointments, so shewing every man what is in his own heart, whilst he lets
it out in others ; and in this manner, appointing all manner of sinners to be extant in the world, as in Rom. i., as he doth all sizes of grace in his own, and all by appointment.
CHAP. I.] OF ELECTION. 231