CHAPTER 5
Of Providence.
I. God, the great Creator of all things, doth uphold, a direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things,b from the greatest even to the least,c by his most wise and holy providence,d according to his
infallible foreknowledge,e and the
free and immutable counsel of his own will,f to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.g
CHAPTER 9 (in context)
Of Free Will.
I. God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature determined, to good or evil.a
a Matt. 17:12; James 1:14; Deut. 30:19.
II. Man,
in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which is good and well-pleasing to God;b but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it.c
b Eccl. 7:29; Gen. 1:26.
c Gen. 2:16,17; Gen. 3:6.
III. Man,
by his fall into a state of sin,
hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation;d so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good,e and dead in sin,f is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.g
d Rom. 5:6; Rom 8:7; John 15:5.
e Rom. 3:10,12.
f Eph. 2:1,5; Col. 2:13.
g John 6:44,65; Eph. 2:2-5; 1 Cor. 2:14; Tit. 3:3-5.
IV. When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him from his natural bondage under sin,h and by his grace alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good;i yet so as that, by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly nor only will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.k
h Col. 1:13; John 8:34,36.
i Phil. 2:13; Rom. 6:18,22.
k Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:15,18,19,21,23.
V.
The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to do good alone in the state of glory only.l
l Eph. 4:13; Heb. 12:23; 1 John 3:2; Jude ver. 24.
a Heb. 1:3.
b Dan. 4:34,35; Ps. 135:6; Acts 17:25,26,28; Job chap. 38 to 41.
c Matt. 10:29-31.
d Prov. 15:3; Ps. 104:24; Ps. 145:17.
e Acts 15:18; Ps. 94:8-11.
f Eph. 1:11; Ps. 33:10,11.
g Isa. 63:14; Eph. 3:10 ; Rom. 9:17 ; Gen. 45:7; Ps. 145:7.
II. Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the
first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly:h yet, by the same providence, he ordereth them to
fall out,
according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.i
h Acts 2:23 .
i Gen. 8:22; Jer. 31:35; Exod. 21:13 with Deut. 19:5; 1 Kings 22:28 ,34; Isa. 10:6,7.
III. God in his ordinary providence maketh use of means,k yet is free to work without,l above,m and against them,n
at his pleasure.
k Acts 27:31,44; Isa. 55:10,11; Hos. 2:21,22.
l Hos. 1:7; Matt. 4:4; Job 34:20.
m Rom. 4:19-21.
n 2 Kings 6:6; Dan. 3:27.
IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men,o and that not by a bare permission,p but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding,q and otherwise ordering and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends;r yet so as the
sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God; who,
being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.s
o Rom. 11:32-34; 2 Sam. 24:1 with 1 Chron. 21:1; 1 Kings 22:22 ,23; 1 Chron. 10:4,13,14; 2 Sam. 16:10 ; Acts 2:23 ; Acts 4:27 ,28.
p Acts 14:16 .
q Ps. 76:10; 2 Kings 19:28.
r Gen. 50:20; Isa. 10:6,7,12.
s James 1:13,14,17; 1 John 2:16; Ps. 50:21.
V. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God, doth oftentimes leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of
their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption, and deceitfulness of
their hearts, that they may be humbled;t and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends.u
t 2 Chron. 32:25,26,31; 2 Sam. 24:1.
u 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Ps. 73 throughout; Ps. 77:1-12; Mark 14:66 to the end, with John 21:15-17.
VI. As for those wicked and ungodly men, whom God as a righteous judge, for former sins, doth blind and harden,w from them he not only withholdeth his grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings, and wrought upon in their hearts;x but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had,y and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes occasions of sin;z and, withal, gives them over to
their own lusts, the
temptations of the world, and the
power of Satan:awhereby it comes to pass that they
harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening of others.b
w Rom. 1:24 ,26,28; Rom. 11:7,8.
x Deut. 29:4.
y Matt. 13:12; Matt. 25:29.
z Deut. 2:30; 2 Kings 8:12,13.
a Ps. 81:11,12; 2 Thess. 2:10 -12.
b Exod. 7:3 with Exod. 8:15,32; 2 Cor. 2:15,16; Isa. 8:14; 1 Pet. 2:7,8; Isa. 6:9,10 with Acts 28:26,27.
VII. As the providence of God doth, in general, reach to all creatures; so, after a most special manner, it taketh care of his church, and disposeth all things to the good thereof.c
c 1 Tim. 4:10; Amos 9:8,9; Rom. 8:28 ; Isa. 43:3-5,14.
