from eternity predestinated to damnation; and thus by his providence he executes his decree of reprobation. Syst. Part. 1. ch. 4. passim. God is as much the author of sinful as of holy volitions, and the professed Calvinist who denies this is not so consistent with himself as the Arminians. Syst. Vol. 1. p. 197. "Calvin, and the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, assert that the divine decree and agency, respecting the existence of sin, imply more than a bare permission, viz. something positive and efficacious." Those are not Calvinists" who hold to only a bare permission."* Syst. Vol. 1. p. 215. OTHERS. from his kingdom, God stood by him and moved him to pursue after them, with increased malice and revenge. And what God did on such particular occasions he did at all times." Emmons, p. 387. By immediately acting upon the heart with energy to produce the volition, God produces every sinful act ; and in this manner from the beginning to the end of his life, does God reprobate every sinner, who is lost. Emmons, 10th and 16th Sermons; and Williams, passim. 6 In * To talk about bare permission, where God, as a punishment, blinds and hardens, says Calvin, is weak. His view of the providence of God in reprobation, is summarily exhibited in B. 4. ch. 4. sec. 3, 4 and 5. evil motions of wicked men God worketh after two sorts; the one by withholding his grace, whereby they might be moved to good; the other by using the ministry of Satan to stir, frame and incline their wills." "Whereas when his light is taken away, there remaineth nothing but darkness and blindness: whereas when his Spirit is taken away, our hearts wax hard and become stones; whereas when his direction ceaseth, they are wrested into crookedness, it is well said that he doth blind, harden and bow them from whom he taketh away the power to see, obey and do rightly. The second manner, which cometh near to the property of the words, is, tha for the executing of his judgments by Satan the minister of his wrath, he both appointeth their purposes to what end it pleaseth him, and stirreth up their wills, and strengtheneth their endeavours." In this manner he hardened Pharaoh, Sihon, and the wicked Israelites. B. 4. ch. 4. sec. 3 and 4. To say that the spirit from the Lord, which influenced Saul and others was the Holy Ghost is blasphemy. B. 4. ch. 4. sec. 5. AND CALVIN, 4. The blame of all bad actions belongs to man and the devil: the praise of all good ones entirely to God. Inst. B. 2. ch. 5. sec. 2. and B. 2. ch. 1. sec. 1. B. 2. ch. 2, sec. 3. "OTHERS. 4. Men are altogether blameable for their bad actions, because "God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty that it is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined to good or evil." Con. C. Scot. Con. P. C. U. S. and Say. Plat. ch. 9.sec. 1. But to man belongs no praise, to God is due all the glory, of every good work, because all ability to will and to perform good is wholly of the special grace of God. Con. P. C. U. S. Con. C. Scot. and Say. Plat. ch. "It is through his grace 1.6. 4. Nevertheless, although God by his providence does create all volitions, yet men are as praise-worthy for good ones, and as blame-worthy for bad ones, as they could be were they independent, or were there no God in heaven. And the reason is obvious, for men will what they will, and choose what they choose, as much as were their acts of will not caused immediately by God. He creates in them a choice, or he makes them will. Syst. Vol. 1. p. 206 and 217. OTHERS. 4. Men act freely while acted upon, and therefore deserve praise or blame, according to their exercises. "Our depend. ence on the Deity cannot deprive us of moral freedom." "Reason and common sense have different offices." "We know by reason that we are dependent, and know by common sense, that we are active." Hence all know that their actions are their own, and not the actions of God. Emmons, p. 219, 220 and 228. CHAPTER VIII. OF THE APOSTACY AND IFS CONSEQUENCES. HOPKINS, AND OTHERS. some way or other, the occasion of the universal sinfulness of his future offspring. And the question now before us is, how his sin was the occasion of ours." To effectuate the apostacy, "Adam's first offence was, God in his providence made use of the Devil, who by the same agency took possession of a serpent, and by this subtle animal tempted Eve, so as to produce an unholy volition in her heart. She again was used as the instrument to produce a selfish disposition in Adam; because "1. Adam did not make us sinners, by causing us to commit his first offence." "Nor can we more easily be B. 2. ch. 1. sec. 4. This was a most detestable act, and kindled the vengeance of God against all mankind. The immediate effect of Adam's sin was the death of his soul, in a spiritual sense, and the loss of the image of God. "Therefore, after that the heavenly image in him was defaced, he did not alone suffer this punishment, that in place of wisdom, strength, holiness, truth and justice, (with which ornaments he had been clothed) there came in the most horrible pestilence, blindness, weakness, filthiness, falsehood, and injustice, but also he entangled and drowned his whole offspring in the same miseries. not believe his word." He "By this sin they fell from disbelieved the threatening, and their original righteousness, so, to become like God, he and communion with God, and touched, he tasted, he fell. so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions. This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the This is the corruption that cometh by inheritance, which the old writers called original sin, meaning by this word, sin, the corruption of nature, which before was pure and good." B. 2. ch. 1. sec. 4 and 5. *As the image of God was lost through unbelief; so the same image is restored by faith. This faith cometh by hearing. "Therefore Bernard doth rightly teach that the gate of salvation is opened unto us, when at this day we receive the gospel by our ears: even as by the same windows, when they stood open to Satan, death was let in." Inst. B. 2. ch. 1, sec. 41 God always originates volitions in us, in view of motives. The consequences of eating of the forbidden fruit were, 1. An immediate spiritual death, for they fell into complete ruin: and this was the death threatened and, 2. A total depravity of heart.* They lost all their love to God, all their disinterested affections; and thus were deprived of the image of God, who is love. As all the trees and plants were included in the first trees and first seeds, so all men were created and comprehended in the first man, so that his obedience or transgression should affect all mankind as it affected him. "By the constitution and covenant with Adam, his first disobedience was the disobedience of all OTHERS. pos lieve, 2. That he made his terity sinners, by transferring to them the guilt of his first transgression." Guilt is a personal thing and can no more be transferred than action. " It was unjust in the nature of things that the Supreme Being should transfer the guilt of Adam's sin to his posterity. Hence we may safely conclude, that the guilt of Adam's first sin was never transferred." "The doctrine of imputation, therefore, gives us no ground to suppose, that all mankind sinned in and fell with Adam, in his first transgression; or that the guilt of his first sin was, either by him, or by the Deity, transferred to his posterity. Nor can we suppose,t 3. That Adam made men sinners, by * Calvin teaches, that man had the supernatural gifts of faith, the love of God, the love of man, with a principle of progressive holiness and righteousness, which were entirely lost by the fall, and which are wanting in every natural man. He had also the natural powers of understanding and will, which were not blotted out, but together with the body were vitiated, so that he is subject to blindness of mind and iniquitous desires. B. 2. ch. 2. sec. 4, 12, 16, and B. 2. ch. 1. sec. 8, 9, 10, 11. †The opinion we form of our own character, say the friends of this modern system, will depend on our idea of sin. Should we discover that we were born, with an original defect in the construction of our minds, and constitution of our animal faculties, we should feel that we were unfortunate, or miserable, but not guilty beings. Should we on the contrary find, that there is no sin, but in moral action, no sin impersonal; that all have been active, while acted upon by a divine impulse, that all have become filthy, and have ruined themselves, we should be without excuse. |