Ruler. See Rom. i. 25. ix. 5. 2 Cor. xi. 31.

1 Tim. vi. 15.

ARG. IV. It will alfo follow from this Notion, that as God is liable to be continually repenting what He has done; fo He must be expofed to be conftantly changing his Mind and Intentions, as to his future Conduct; altering his Meafures, relinquishing his old Designs, and forming new Schemes and Projections. For his Purposes, even as to the main Parts of his Scheme, namely, fuch as belong to the State of his moral Kingdom, must be always liable to be broken, through Want of Forefight; and he must be continually putting his System to rights, as it gets out of Order, through the Contingence of the Actions of moral Agents: He must be a Being, who, instead of being abfolutely immutable, muft neceffarily be the Subject of infinitely the moft numerous Acts of Repentance, and Changes of Intention, of any Being whatfoever; for this plain Reason, that his vaftly extenfive Charge comprehends an infinitely greater Number of those Things which are to Him contingent and uncertain. In fuch a Situation, He must have little elfe to do, but to mend broken Links as well as he can, and be rectifying his disjointed Frame and difordered Movements, in the best Manner the Cafe will allow. The fupreme Lord of all Things muft needs be under great and miferable Difadvantages, in governing the World which He has made, and has the Care of, through his being utterly unable to find out Things of chief Importance, which hereafter fhall befall his Syftem; which if He did but know, He might make seasonable Provision for. In many Cafes, there may be very great Neceffity that He fhould make Provifion, in the Manner of his or dering and difpofing Things, for fome great E

vents which are to happen, of vast and extensive Influence, and endlefs Confequence to the Univerfe; which He may fee afterwards when it is too late, and may with in vain that he had known before-hand, that He might have ordered his Affairs accordingly. And it is in the Power of Man, on these Principles, by his Devices, Purpofes and Actions, thus to difappoint God, break his Measures, make Him continually to change his Mind, fubject Him to Vexation, and bring Him into Confufion.

But how do these Things confift with Reason, or with the Word of God? Which reprefents, that all God's Works, all that He has ever to do, the whole Scheme and Series of his Operations, are from the Beginning perfectly in his View; and declares, that whatever Devices and Defigns are in the Hearts of Men, the Counsel of the Lord is that which shall ftand, and the Thoughts of his Heart to all Generations. Prov. xix. 21. Pfal. xxxiii. 10, 11., And that which the Lord of Hofts hath purposed, none fhall difannul, Ifai. xiv. 27. And that he cannot be fruftrated in one Defign or Thought, Job xlii. 2. And that what God doth, it shall be for ever, that Nothing can be put to it, or taken from it, Eccl. iii. 14. The Stability and Perpetuity of God's Counfels are exprefly spoken of as connected with the Foreknowledge of God, Ifai. xlvi. 10. Declaring the End from the Beginning, and from ancient Times the Things that are not yet done; faying, My Counsel fhall ftand, and I will do all my Pleafure. -And how are these Things confiftent with what the Scripture fays of God's Immutability, which reprefents him as without Variableness, or Shadow of Turning; and speaks of Him moft particularly as unchangeable with Regard to his Purpofes, Mal. iii. 6. I am the Lord; I change not; therefore ye Sons of Jacob are

not confumed. Exod. iii. 14. I AM THAT I AM. Job xxiii. 13, 14. He is in one Mind; and who can turn Him? And what his Soul defireth, even that he doth: for he performeth the Thing that is appointed for me.

ARG. V. If this Notion of God's Ignorance of the future Volitions of moral Agents be thoroughly confidered in its Confequences, it will appear to follow from it, that God, after he had made the World, was liable to be wholly frustrated of his End in the Creation of it; and fo has been in like Manner liable to be fruftrated of his End in all the great Works He hath wrought. 'Tis manifeft, the moral World is the End of the natural. The reft of the Creation is but an House which God hath built, with Furniture, for moral Agents : And the good or bad State of the moral World depends on the Improvement they make of their natural Agency, and fo depends on their Volitions. And therefore, if these can't be foreseen by God, because they are contingent, and subject to no Kind of Neceffity, then the Affairs of the moral World are liable to go wrong, to any affignable Degree; yea, liable to be utterly ruined. As on this Scheme, it may well be fuppofed to be literally faid, when Mankind, by the Abuse of their moral Agency, became very corrupt before the Flood, that the Lord repented that he had made Man on the Earth, and it grieved Him at his Heart; fo, when He made the Universe, He did not know but that he might be fo disappointed in it, that it might grieve Him at his Heart that He had made it. It actually proved, that all Mankind became finful, and a very great Part of the Angels apoftatifed: And how could God know before-hand, that all of them would not? And how could God know but that all Mankind, notwithstanding

Means

Means used to reclaim them, being still left to the Freedom of their own Will, would continue in their Apoftafy, and grow worse and worfe, as they of the Old World before the Flood did?

According to the Scheme I am endeavouring to confute, neither the Fall of Men nor Angels, could be foreseen, and God must be greatly dif appointed in thefe Events; and fo the grand Scheme and Contrivance for our Redemption, and destroying the Works of the Devil, by the Meffiah, and all the great Things God has done in the Prosecution of thefe Defigns, muft be only the Fruits of his own Difappointment, and Contrivances of his to mend and patch up, as well as he could, his Syftem; which originally was all very good, and perfectly beautiful, but was marr'd, broken and confounded by the free Will of Angels and Men. And ftill he must be liable to be totally disappointed a fecond Time: He could not know, that He fhould have his defired Succefs, in the Incarnation, Life, Death, Refurrection and Exaltation of his only begotten Son, and other great Works accomplished to reftore the State of Things: He could not know after all, whether there would actually be any tolerable Measure of Restoration; for this depended on the free Will of Man. There has been a general great Apoftafy of almost all the Chriftian World, to that which was worfe than Heathenifm; which continued for many Ages. And how could God, without foreseeing Men's Volitions, know whether ever Chriftendom would return from this Apostasy? And which way could He tell beforehand how foon it would begin? The Apostle fays, it began to work in his Time; and how could it be known how far it would proceed in that Age? Yea, how could it be known that the Gospel, M 2

which

which was not effectual for the Reformation of the Jews, would ever be effectual for the turning of the Heathen Nations from their Heathen Apoftafy, which they had been confirmed in for fo many Ages?

'Tis reprefented often in Scripture, that God who made the World for Himself, and created it for his Pleasure, would infallibly obtain his End in the Creation, and in all his Works; that as all Things are of Him, fo they would all be to Him; and that in the final Iffue of Things, it would appear that He is the first, and the laft. Rev. xxi. 6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the first and the laft. But these Things are not confiftent with God's being fo liable to be disappointed in all his Works, nor indeed with his failing of his End in any Thing that He has undertaken, or done.

GOD's certain Foreknowledge of the future Volitions of moral Agents, inconfiftent with fuch a Contingence of thofe Volitions, as is without all Neceffity.

H

AVING proved, that GOD has a certain and infallible Prefcience of the Acts of the Will of moral Agents, I come now, in the Second Place, to fhew the Confequence; to thew how it follows from hence, that thefe Events are neceffary,' with a Neceffity of Connection or Confequence.

The chief Arminian Divines, fo far as I have had Opportunity to obferve, deny this Confequence; and affirm, that if fuch Foreknowledge

be