culous deeds, and gave him this commiffion to deliver, and among other things, to fay, And in very deed, for this caufe have I raifed thee up, for to fhew in thee my power, and that my name may be declared through all the earth. The conclufion is fet down, verfe 18. and that not only of this part of the answer, but of the whole, in thefe words, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will be hardeneth.

But for farther clearing of these verses, we may take notice, ift, of the way how the apostle citeth this place: he fays, The feripture faith unto Pharaoh; for the fcripture theweth, how Mofes is commanded of the Lord to fay unto Pharaoh; and thus ftill appealeth unto fcripture, and taketh up the fcripture as fpeaking as if it had a voice, and the fcripture's speaking, and the Spirit's, as all one. 2dly, Of the way how the Spirit of the Lord in fcripture expreffeth this obduration. And therein we have 1. the act afcribed to God; and 2. the Lord's holy ends, why he thought fit to act fo. 1. The act is thus fet forth, Have Iraifed thee up; or, as it is in the original Hebrew, I have made thee to land; that is, in my providence I have fo ordered matters, as that thou whofe heart was full of perverfeness and wickednefs, fhould come to the throne, and ty rannize over my people Ifrael, and when I defired to let them go, fhouldft obftinately refuse; and notwithstanding of my frequently reiterated commands, and terrible wonders which I caused to be wrought before thee, thou shouldft perfift in thy wil fulness, obftinacy, and rebellion, till at length thou shouldft be deftroyed: As if he had faid, I knew what a perverfe, wicked heart thou hadft, maliciously fet against my people, for thy own bafe profit and advantage; and this 1 would not cure, or remove, by my grace, as I might have done: I fent my commands to thee, and knew thou wouldst not yield; I dealt with thee, and will yet deal with thee, in a way

fuitable to thy corruption, and propose fuch arguments and motives as thy corrup tion will gather ftrength from, and at which thy will will neither bow nor break, but become more obftinate and rebellious. Then, 2. there is the Lord's holy ends: And (1.) more near, That I might shew my power in thee; that is, of fet purpose I have brought thee to that place, and kept thee alive from the former plagues, and in my holy and wife providence, have so ordered matters, as that thou grow ftill the more and the môre cbftinate, and shall gather all thy power and strength, all thy militia and trained-bands together, that I may deftroy thee at once, and thereby make thee feel how ftrong a party I am, and how great folly it is in thee to fight against me, and kick against the pricks; for the Hebrew may be rendered thus, That I might fhew to thee, or make thee fee. And then (2.) more remote; And that my name may be declared through all the earth: that is, that in all places where this fhould be known, I might get the glory of my power, in overturning and overthrowing a proud and mighty tyrant; of my wif dom, in outwiting fuch a monarch, and all his politicians; and of justice, in executing judgment on fuch a tyrannous prince, and wicked people; and of goodness and mercy, in delivering his people; and alfo of faithfulness, in keeping promise to his own, and fulfilling his threatenings to their enemies. Then the conclufion is, Therefore he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth: His melting of the hearts of fome by grace, and hardening of the hearts of others, by refufing to mollify them by grace, by propofing fuch objects as will occafion, by reafon of their corruption, more hardness; and delivering them to Satan and their own corrupt hearts, fo that they fhall full wax worfe, until they be destroyed, are acts of his mere good-will and pleasure; and in them he followeth his own will.

.

As in the former verfes we have shown, 3 A how

how the Arminian glofs upon this place of fcripture is falfe and groundlefs; fo, before we come to obferve any thing, we fhall do here in like manner. They fay, the apostle is here clearing how the Lord, without any rub upon his fpotlefs juftice, may damn the children of the flesh, that is, fuch as feek righteoufnefs by the works of the law, because he did fo to Pharaoh, for the glory of his juftice. But,

ift, We have shown before, that the apostle is meddling with no fuch question; nor can there any fentence in all the chapter be pitched on, which can, with any fhew of probability, ground fuch a fenfe; and for it we have nothing but mens groundless dreams, deftitute of all colour of proof, and which constraineth all that maintain it to misinterpret, yea, and to ufe violence to many fentences, as we have had fentences, as we have had occafion already to fhew.

2dly, It fhould crofs our expofition, for merly cleared.

3dly, This would make the apoftle's argument to be a non fequitur; for it will not follow, that becaufe God raifed up and hardened Pharaoh, &c. that therefore God in juftice may condemn all fuch as feek righteoufnefs by the works of the law; and that because Pharaoh is no fit example of fuch as are feeking righteoufnefs by the works of the law, being a rank Heathen and idolater, little minding righteousness, either by faith, or by the works of the law, moral or ceremonial.

dus, where Mofes is fent, and this word put in his mouth, (1.) to lay the boafting: and flay the pride of that proud tyrant, who thought, that feeing he had flood out fo long, notwithstanding of five or fix fore plagues fent already, he might stand out againft all that could come; and seeing the God of Mofes was not taking away his people by force, he could not do it, but was following another courfe; and feeing he could not do that, he could not be fo powerful as they called him; and therefore he thought himself able enough to stand out against him. And (2.) to strengthen and encourage Mofes, that he might not faint, feeing ftill that mighty king's obstinacy, knowing that he was in God's hand, and that the Lord had a hand in his obduration, having a purpose to get a more glorious name to himself thereby. Now, what can thefe words contribute to this scope, if they must be fo understood, as proving fuch a propofition?

5thly, According to thefe mens judg ment, this act of obduration was not fo peremptory; but Pharaoh, had he pleased, might have turned gracious and believed; and how then can it be a fit proof of God's damning of fuch as feek righteousness without faith? For fuppofe he had been converted, he had not then been a proof of this, but rather of the other; and that he might have been converted, notwithstanding of all this fentence of obduration past and to come, is truth, according to their opinion, who will fay and grant any thing, before they speak any thing to the difparagement of their Diana, Free-will.

ticularized,

ticularized, can prove fuch a point? Will it not rather prove what we fay, that the Lord has particularly appointed fo many, even fuch and fuch, to falvation, and others, confidered particularly, he has paft by and deftinated to deftruction?

7thly, We cannot think that the apoftle is proving that which is manifeftly falfe, and altogether unbefeeming God, as this affertion of theirs, viz. That God bath decreed to fave all believers, and damn fuch as believe not, is, according to their meaning; I fay, according to their meaning, for I deny not that the thing itself is true; for they fay, the Lord made this decree, when he knew not who in particular fhould believe and be faved, and who not. Now, I fay, it is altogether unbefeeming the Lord to make fuch decrees: For, 1. notwithstanding of this decree, it might have come to pafs, that not one fhould have believed, or that not one fhould have refused to believe, as is clear; for as yet, in their opinion, the Lord has determined nothing touching the one or the other; yea, it might have come to pafs, that none should either have believed, nor yet not believed; for neither can we believe nor misbelieve, when there is no gospel to believe; and as yet, according to their opinion, the Lord is not refolved to fend the gofpel, and where there is no law, there is no tranfgreffion. Now, fuch a decree as this is unbefeeming the majesty of God. 2. This makes God's decrees to be conditional; for the meaning is this, I will fave Peter and John, if they will believe; and thus God's decrees fhould hang at man's belt; a most unbefeeming thing. It is true, he has decreed to fave none but believers; but his whole decree fhould be thus taken up: He has decreed to fave Peter and John, certainly, peremptorily, and determinately, and that by faith, and therefore has decreed as peremptorily, to give fuch and fuch, in particular, faith, &c. for both are in one decree; one decree takes in both means, and all the means,

and the end: yea, hence it would follow, that God fhould not know who should be faved, who not.

8thly, According to this opinion, the apostle's conclufion fhould be impertinent : For, 1. it could not follow, that the Lord hardeneth whom he will, for that imports the hardening of particular perfons, but only that he hardeneth what fort or kind of perfons he pleaseth, and the apostle never speaks fo. 2. If the meaning of this, he hardeneth whom he will, be, that he hardeneth all that deserve such a punifhment at his hand; then, in like manner, when he says, he hath mercy on whom he will, the meaning fhould be, He hath mercy on fuch as deferve it; for there is the fame reafon for both: but this were altogether falfe. 3. How can it follow from this, that God punisheth all unbelievers according to his decree, therefore he punisheth, or hardeneth, whom he will? for no magiftrate who punifheth folk with death according to law, can be faid to punish by death whom he will; fuch a speech as this is not ufual: yea, the apoftle's way of expreffing himself imports a quite other thing, and his whole scope alfo. 4. The apostle refereth this obduration to the Lord's will, as the prime cause thereof, and not to man's actions, as meriting the fame. 5. And if this had been the meaning of the apostle's thefis, which he is now concluding, there had been no ground once to have imagined, how it could ever have. entered into the heart of any man to think that God dealt not juftly in hardening fuch as deferved it in juftice. 6. He fpeaks of fuch a hardening as is irresistible, when he fays, he hardeneth whom he will; but they deny all fuch thing; and nothing elfe but. fuch a hardening could be infered from that place of Exodus: for there it is faid, he hardeneth him of purpofe, that he might thereby get glory; now he had miffed his end if it had not been peremptory, and fo the argument would run well thus, He hardened Pharaoh merely for his own holy 3 A 2

ends,

ends, and therefore he hardeneth whom he will peremptorily. 7. The very expreffion of hardening whom he will, imports clearly the hardening of particular perfons, and not of fuch or fuch qualities. 8. If their expofition hold, there could be no feeming ground in the world for the following objection, Why doth be yet find fault, for who bath refuted his will? as we fhall fee more fully afterward.

OBSERVATIONS.

I. In all this myfterious point concerning predestination, both as touching election and reprobation, we fhould altogether decline the judgment of carnal reafon, which is enmity unto God, and have our judgments only captivated by the word of the Lord; therefore doth the apostle prove every piece of this doctrine by the word, and every ftep is according to the rule: For the fcripture faith unto Pharaoh.

II. There is no point neceffary to be known for our falvation, how deep and profound foever it be in itself, and how far foever tranfcending the reach of human reafon, and the capacity of corrupted nature, but acquaintance with the fcripture will help us to fome clearer apprehenfions of it, which is as a compafs to guide us by fhelves and rocks, and as a threed to guide and direct our steps in many and dangerous turnings and windings; and our unacquaintednefs with this lamp makes us many a time wander in the mift, and mifs our fteps: For the fcripture faith unto Pharaoh. III. Howbeit many read the fcriptures as they do any other book, and find not, nor hear any speaking voice therein; and many look upon it as a dumb and dead letter, unable to decide any controverfy; yet it has a powerful voice when it is carried in by the Spirit of God unto the confcience and understanding; and it hath a determin-. ing voice, puting a point to all controverfies, leaving nothing neceffary to be known undecided, if we could rightly take it up; for its voice is the voice of the Spirit of

God, which is a Spirit of truth; what it faith, God faith; for the apoftle fays, For the fcripture faith unto Pharaoh; for the Lord by Mofes faid unto Pharaoh, and this is recorded in Scripture, to fhew us, that what the fcripture faith he faith, and it fhould be fo looked on by us; their voice is one.

IV. It becometh the fervants of Jesus Chrift to carry themfelves faithfully in the ditcharge of their duty, and to fpare neither one nor other, no not the greatest, but courageoufly, zealously, and faithfully ought they to carry themfelves, and deliver the meffage of the Lord, how bitter and unpleafant foever it be; as indeed fometimes God will pu: a fharp meffage in their mouth to deliver unto great ones, who are often. times fmall friends to Chrift and his church; for Mofes, who was faithful in all things, gets this fad meffage to carry unto Pharaoh, a king, and a proud tyrant, fwelling in his pride and abundance, For this caufe have I raifed thee up, &c.

V. However, when enemies are raging and fpueing out their venom against the church of Chrift, and are increafing in wickednefs, and growing worfe and worfe, the people of God are ready to think that he has forgoten their cafe, and is taking no notice of what the enemy is doing against them; yet the Lord is fo far from winking at, and mifkening what their enemies are ploting and acting, and from being a carelefs and indifferent fpectator, that there is not a confultation they have, or a step they move, but the Lord, in his wife and finlefs providence, has a hand in it: For this caufe have 1 raifed thee up. The Lord is deliberately and advisedly, in his wife providence, carrying them on, for his own holy ends.

VI. Tho' the malicious enemies of God and of his church, be driving at nothing lefs than the glory of God, when they are ploting and contriving, acting and carrying on their devices, to the ruin and fubverfion of God's people, and affronting of the Lord their Mafter; and altho' the people of the

Lord

Lord be looking upon him as fartheft off from his purposes, and from geting glory to his name, when enemies have the ball at their foot, and all things going on according to their defire; yet the higher his enemies be, they are nearer a fall, and the Lord is nearer his end and purpofe; the time of his appearing for manifefting of his power, and glorifying of his name is then at hand; for that was a mean which he ufed for this end: For this caufe have Iraifed thee up, that I might fhew forth my power in thee.

VII. As the confideration of this, that the more that wicked enemies thick to rob God of his glory, by coming to a height, they do the more contribute to illuftrate the fame; fhould lay the pride of enemies; fo it fhould not a little chear up the fpirits of his own people, when they have fuch proud and prevailing enemies to engage with; for for thefe ends was it declared unto Mofes, that for this end God had raised him up, &c. VIII. Tho' we be ready to admire and wonder, why the Lord, who may crush the devices of his enemies in the very fhell, and break their power in the bud, and fo hinder them ever from coming to a head, fuffereth them to profper and gather forces, and come to their height; yet we fee it is for wife and holy ends, even for the glory of his own name: For this caufe have Iraifed thee up.---that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

IX. The upfhot of all the enemies victories, plots and devices, will be glory to God's great name: For this caufe have I raifed thee up, that I might fhew my power in thee, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth: he will thereby get the glory of his power, when he has fqueezed them, even when they are at a top-fpring of pride and strength; and of his faithfulness, in minding his covenant and promife; of his justice, in taking vengeance on his enemies, when all would think they are paft correction; and of his goodness and mercy, in kything then, when

his people and all onlookers are most ready to fufpect his love, and to,cry out, that his mercies hath failed for ever, and that he hath forgoten to be gracious; and alfo of his wifdem, in fo contriving and carrying on the whole bufinefs, as ferving most to advance his glory.

X. Albeit the Lord, who is holiness itfelf, be free of fin, and cannot justly be accounted the author thereof; yet fin entereth not into the world whether he will or not, or beyond his intention; nor is he a bare fpectator and onlooker when fin is commited, but hath decreed, from all eternity, that fin fhall exift by his permiffion; tho' he approve not of fin, yet he purpofeth and decreeth, that fin fhall be commited, himfelf permiting it willingly, for his own holy ends: for here he has a holy active hand in hardening Pharaoh; For this caufe have I raised thee up, I have made thee to ftand; and Pharaoh's hardnefs of heart was a great fin; and this active verb, I have raised thee up, or made thee to stand, fignifies more than a naked permiffion, or an indifferent on-looking; and this hardness of heart doth not fall out beyond the Lord's intention, feeing it is intended as a mean to bring about his end: For this caufe have I raised thee up.

XI. The Lord, in hardening of the hearts of fone, doth not infufe any wickednefs, as if he thereby did make foft hearts hard; nor doth he allow it by his command, nor force it by his power; nor doth he harden only by the preaching of the gofpel, which Pharaoh never heard But, 1. by not removing that natural hardnefs which is upon the heart, and denying his grace whereby that might be helped. 2. And delivering them over to Satan who blindeth them more, 2 Cor. iv. 4. and to the fwing of their own corruption, laying the bridle on their own neck, Rom, i. 28. 2 Thef. ii. It. And, 3. by difpenfing fo in and about them, in his wife and holy providence, as that thereby their corruption is the more irritate, and their hearts

are