I. [ The opin cessity doth right- clude re less, in very truth, the necessity of events does not of itself DISCOURSE draw with it any impiety at all. For piety consisteth only in two things: one, that we honour God in our hearts; which ion of neis, that we think of His power as highly as we can; for to honour anything is nothing else but to think it to be of great impiety in power: the other, that we signify that honour and esteem by minded our words and actions; which is called "cultus," or worship of God. He therefore that thinketh, that all things proceed from God's eternal will, and consequently are necessary, does he not think God omnipotent? does he not esteem of His power as highly as possible? which is to honour God as much as can be in his heart. Again, he that thinketh so, is he not more apt by external acts and words to acknowledge it, than he that thinketh otherwise? Yet is this external acknowledgment the same thing which we call worship. So this opinion fortifieth piety in both kinds, externally, internally; and therefore is far from destroying it. And for repentance, [Nor exwhich is nothing but a glad returning into the right way pentance.] after the grief of being out of the way, though the cause that made him go astray were necessary, yet there is no reason why he should not grieve; and again, though the cause why he returned into the way were necessary, there remains still the causes of joy. So that the necessity of the actions taketh away neither of those parts of repentance, grief for the error, nor joy for the returning. And for [Nor prayer, whereas he saith, that the necessity of things destroys prayer, I deny it. For though prayer be none of the causes that move God's will, His will being unchangeable, yet, since we find in God's word, He will not give His blessings but to [Matt. vii. 7. &c.] those that ask them, the motive to prayer is the same. Prayer is the gift of God, no less than the blessings. And the prayer is decreed together in the same decree wherein the blessing is decreed. "Tis manifest, that thanksgiving 687 is no cause of the blessing past; and that which is past is sure, and necessary. Yet even amongst men, thanks is in use as an acknowledgment of the benefit past, though we should expect no new benefit for our gratitude. And prayer to God Almighty is but thanksgiving for His blessings in general. And though it precede the particular thing we ask, yet it is not a cause or means of it, but a signification that we expect III. [Matt. vi. PART nothing but from God, in such manner as He, not as we, will. And our Saviour by word of mouth bids us pray, "Thy will," 10. Luke not our will, "be done;" and by example teaches us the xi. 2.] [Luke xxii. same, for He prayed thus, "Father, if it be Thy will, let this cup pass," &c. The end of prayer, as of thanksgiving, is not to move, but to honour God Almighty, in acknowledging that what we ask can be effected by Him only. 42.] [Reply.] taketh an act of J. D.-I hope T. H. will be persuaded in time, that it is not the covetousness, or ambition, or sensuality, or sloth, or prejudice of his readers, which renders this doctrine of absolute necessity dangerous; but that it is in its own nature destructive to true godliness. And though his answer consist more of oppositions than of solutions, yet I will not [T. H. mis- willingly leave one grain of his matter unweighed. First, he piety to be errs in making inward piety to consist merely in the estimation of the judgment. If this were so, what hinders but that the devils should have as much inward piety as the best Christians? for they esteem God's power to be infinite "and tremble." Though inward piety do suppose the act of the understanding, yet it consisteth properly in the act of the will; being that branch of justice, which gives to God the honour which is due unto Him. Is there no love due to God, no faith, no hope? Secondly, he errs in making inward piety to ascribe no glory to God but only the glory of His power or omnipotence. What shall become of all other the Divine attributes? and particularly of His goodness, of His truth, of His justice, of His mercy? which beget a more true and sincere honour in the heart than greatness itself. "Mag[His opin- nos facilè laudamus, bonos lubenter." Thirdly, this opinion of stroys the absolute necessity destroys the truth of God; making Him moral attri- to command one thing openly and to necessitate another God.] privately, to chide a man for doing that which it hath determined him to do, to profess one thing and to intend another. It destroys the goodness of God; making Him to be a hater of mankind, and to delight in the torments of His creatures, [Luke xvi. whereas the very dogs licked the sores of Lazarus in pity and 21.] commiseration of him. It destroys the justice of God; making Him to punish the creatures for that which was His [And to respect God's power only.] ion de butes of C [Thom. Aquin., Summ., Secund. Secund., Qu. lxxxi. art. 5.] own act, which they had no more power to shun than the fire DISCOURSE hath power not to burn. It destroys the very power of God; Author of all the defects and These are the fruits of im I. outward making Him to be the true evils which are in the world. potence, not of omnipotence. He who is the effective cause of sin, either in himself or in the creature, is not almighty. There needs no other devil in the world, to raise jealousies and suspicions between God and His creatures, or to poison mankind with an apprehension that God doth not love them, but only this opinion; which was the office of the serpent. Gen. iii. 5. Fourthly, for the outward worship of God. How shall a man [And the praise God for His goodness, who believes Him to be a greater worship of tyrant than ever was in the world, Who creates millions to God.] burn eternally without their fault, to express His power? How shall a man hear the word of God with that reverence and devotion and faith which is requisite, who believeth, that God causeth His Gospel to be preached to the much greater part of Christians, not with any intention that they should be converted and saved, but merely to harden their hearts, and to make them inexcusable? How shall a man receive the blessed Sacrament with comfort and confidence, as a seal of God's love in Christ, who believeth, that so many millions. are positively excluded from all fruit and benefit of the Passions of Christ, before they had done either good or evil? How shall he prepare himself with care and conscience, who apprehendeth, that "eating and drinking unworthily" is not the cause of damnation, but because God would damn a man, therefore He necessitates him to "eat and drink unworthily?" How shall a man make a free vow to God, without gross ridiculous hypocrisy, who thinks he is able to perform nothing but as he is extrinsecally necessitated? Fifthly, for [And repentance.] repentance, how shall a man condemn and accuse himself for his sins, who thinks himself to be like a watch which is wound up by God, and that he can go neither longer nor shorter, faster nor slower, truer nor falser, than he is ordered by God? If God sets him right, he goes right. If 688 God set him wrong, he goes wrong. How can a man be said to "return into the right way," who never was in any other way but that which God Himself had chalked out for d [See above, T. H. Numb. xi., p. 59.] [See 1 Cor. xi. 29.] III. PART him? What is his purpose to amend, who is destitute of all power, but as if a man should purpose to fly without wings, or a beggar who hath not a groat in his purse purpose to build hospitals? We use to say, " Admit one absurdity, and a thousand will follow." To maintain this unreasonable opinion of absolute necessity, he is necessitated (but it is hypothetically, -he might change his opinion if he would) to deal with all ancient writers, as the Goths did with the Romans; who destroyed all their magnificent works, that there might remain no monument of their greatness upon the face of the earth. Therefore he will not leave so much as one of their opinions, nor one of their definitions, nay, not one of their terms of art standing. Observe what a description he hath given us here of repentance :-" It is a glad returning into the right way after the grief of being out of the way." It amazed me to find gladness' to be the first word in the description of repentance. His repentance is not that repentance, nor his piety that piety, nor his prayer that kind of prayer, which the Church of God in all ages hath acknowledged. Fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes, and tears, and humicubations, used to be companions of repentance. Joy may be a consequent of it, not a part of it. It is a "returning," but whose act is this returning? Is it God's alone, or doth the penitent person concur also freely with the grace of God? If it be God's alone, then it is His repentance, not man's repentance. What need the penitent person trouble himself about it? God will take care of His own work. The Scriptures teach us otherwise, that God expects our concurrence :- Be zealous and repent; behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." It is "a glad returning into the right way;"-who dare any more call that a wrong way, which God Himself hath determined? He that willeth and doth that which God would have him to will and to do, is never out of his "right way." It follows in his description,-" after the grief," &c. It is true, a man may grieve for that which is necessarily imposed upon him; but he cannot grieve for it as a fault of Rev. iii. 19, [20.] e ["Posito uno absurdo sequuntur mille."] f [“ Δάκρυα, στεναγμοὺς, ἀνακλήσεις, χαμευνίας, ἀγρυπνίας, τῆξιν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, τὴν δι' ἐξαγορεύσεως καὶ ἀτιμοτέρας ἀγωγῆς ἐπανόρθωσιν.” Greg. Naz., Orat. xl. in Sanct. Baptisma, Op. tom. p. 642. B. fol. Paris. 1609.] I. his own, if it never was in his power to shun it. Suppose DISCOURSE a writing-master shall hold his scholar's hand in his, and write with it: the scholar's part is only to hold still his hand, whether the master write well or ill; the scholar hath no ground, either of joy or sorrow, as for himself; no man will interpret it to be his act, but his master's. It is no fault to be out of the "right way," if a man had not liberty to have kept himself in the way. nieth be either a cause or a God's And so from repentance he skips quite over new obedience, [T. H. de. to come to prayer, which is the last religious duty insisted prayer to upon by me here; but according to his use, without either answering or mentioning what I say: which would have means of shewed him plainly what kind of prayer I intend,-not blessings. ] contemplative prayer in general, as it includes thanksgiving, but that most proper kind of prayer which we call petition, which used to be thus defined,-to be "an act of religion, by which we desire of God something which we have not, and hope that we shall obtain it by Hims." Quite contrary to this T. H. tells us, that prayer "is not a cause nor a means" of God's blessing, but only "a signification that we expect" it from Him. If he had told us only, that prayer is not a meritorious cause of God's blessings, as the poor man by begging an alms doth not deserve it, I should have gone along with him. But to tell us, that it is not so much as “a means" to procure God's blessing, and yet with the same breath, that God "will not give His blessings but to those" who pray ;-who shall reconcile him to himself? The Scriptures teach us otherwise:-"Whatsoever ye shall ask the John xvi. Father in My name, He will give it you;"-" Ask, and it Matt. vii. 7. shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." St. Paul tells the Corinthians, that he was "helped" by their "prayers;"-that's not all;-that 2 Cor. i. 11. "the gift was bestowed upon him by their means :" so prayer 23. 16. 9-11 is a "means." And St. James saith, "The effectual fervent [James] v. prayer of a righteous man availeth much" if it be "effectual," then it is "a cause." To shew this efficacy of [Matt. vii. prayer, our Saviour useth the comparison of a father towards Luke xi. his child, of a neighbour towards his neighbour; yea, of an Luke xi. unjust judge, to shame those who think, that God hath not 51 8 [See Thom. Aquin., Summ., Secund. Secund., Qu. lxxxiii. art. 3.] 11-13.] [Luke xviii. 1-8.] |