Eutychus. Yes, every man, without exception; as well the Reprobates as the Elect, though for a different reafon; the Elect, that by believing, he may be faved; and the Reprobate, that by not believing, he may be without excuse.

Epenetus. This must certainly be against the juftice of God; because it maketh him require faith in Chrift, of those, to whom he hath precifely denied, by his abfolute purpose, both a power to believe, and a Saviour to believe in. For how can they believe, if they be abfolute Reprobates? They want faith, and they muft want it for ever; God hath decreed they shall never have any to their dying-day. For no man can be justly tied to impoffible performances; because no man can fly like a bird, or reach heaven with the top of his finger: therefore God cannot with juftice exact of any the performance of these actions; nor can he, of Reprobates, the obedience of faith. But further: the Reprobates, cannot be tied to believe; because they have no object of faith, no Christ to believe in. The devils have no part in Christ, or the New Covenant: now can we fay, that it would be juft in God to bind them to believe, or punish them as tranfgreffors of the Covenant for not believing? No more can we fay, that God can justly require faith of Reprobates, or deftroy them for not believing, when they have no more part in Chrift, or in the Covenant of Grace, than the devils have. For you deny that Chrift died for Reprobates; calling it a lye, to fay he did die for them; and can God juftly bind men to believe a lye? If a man fhould command his fervant to eat, and punish him for not eating, and in the mean time fully refolve that he fhall have no meat to eat; would any reasonable man say that such a man was just in the command, or punishment. Change but the name, and the cafe is the fame. For as Bishop Uther hath faid, "What would not a man fly unto, rather than vield that Chrift died in no wife for the Reprobates, and that none but the Elect had any kind of title to him; and yet many thousand Reprobates fhould be bound in confcience to believe;

that

that he died for them, and tied to accept him for their Redeemer and Saviour, yea, and fhould be condemned to everlafting torments, for want of fuch a faith, (if we may call that faith, which is not grounded on the word of truth) whereby they fhould have believed that, which in itself was most untrue, and laid hold of that, in which they had no kind of interest." And how contrary would this be to the Spirit of our blessed Saviour, who was of too pitiful a difpofition, to upbraid or jeer a poor creature, much less to punish him for being fuch as God had made him; or for being fuch as he must needs be. We read, our Saviour upbraided Chorazin and Bethfaida, Mat. xi. 21, because they repented not; which he could not have done, had it been impoffible for them to repent; for he tells them, If the mighty works which were done in them, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in fackcloth and afhes: which was as much as to tell them, that it was not at all for want of means and mercy on God's part, but for want of will on theirs, that they did not do what was commanded to be done. And though he faid it fhould be worfe with them, than with Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, worse with Capernaum, than with Sodom, worfe for the Jews than for the Ninevites; yet it is not because one had a greater neceffity of finning than the other, but becaufe one was guilty of greater contempt than the other; not because God had abfolutely decreed a greater punishment to the one; but because the one had means of finning lefs than the other. Or elfe we should make God guilty in the fame kind that we fhould be, who fhould upbraid a ftammerer for not fpeaking plain, or reproach a man for being naturally blind. Nor ought any man to be reproached for being born deaf, but for being like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ears. He that bindeth my feet, and then invites me to come unto him, intends nothing towards me, but a bitter jeft; for if he were ferious, he would fet my feet at liberty, that I might come in good earnest, and not say to me, as we do to a child that is fallen down, Come hither to

me,

me, and I will lift thee up. Yet that is what Calvin is fain to fay, (being pinched with that text, Exek. xviii. 23, Have I any pleafure at all that the wicked should die, and not that he should return from his ways and live.) "That God wills not the death of a finner, fo far forth as he wills his repentance; experience teacheth us, he doth fo will, as not to touch his heart that he may repent:" which is all one as to say, he wills it fo, as to command it: but he does not will it fo, as to leave it poffible; that is, he wills it in fhew, but not in reality. Now dare we think, that the Father of all Mercies, and God of all Confolation, who fpareth when we deferve punishment, did determine us to punishment, without any refpc&t to our defervings? He that had mercy upon wicked Ahab, 1 Kings xxviii. 29, merely because of his attrition, sure did not damn him abfolutely before he had done good or evil, yea, even before the foundation of the world. He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, Lam. iii. 33, much less doth he damn men for his mere will and pleasure. When God doth execute a temporal punishment only upon those that have deserved it, he comes to it with reluctancy, and therefore calls. it his ftrange work, Ifai. xxviii. 21, a work he loves not to be acquainted with: a work which he doth fometimes execute, because he is just, but still unwillingly because he is merciful; and therefore he fo expreffes it, as we are wont to do a thing we are not used to, and know not how to fet about it. How Shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How fhall I deliver thee, Ifrael? how Shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I fet thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within me; my repentings are kindled together. And again: I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, for I am God and not man, Hosea xi. 8,

[To be continued.]

9.

VOL. III.

X x

The

The LIFE of GREGORY LOPEZ.

[Continued from page 307.]

CHAP. IV.

God exercifes Lopez in another manner; he removes from the Valley of Amajac.

'HE conflicts of Lopez were not with the devil only;

THE

he fuffered from men alfo. As the Spanish foldiers paffed by his cell to make war with the Indians, fome called him heretic and Lutheran; others faid, he was a fool or madman. But this fervant of God had nothing to fear: he remained unhurt, either by one fide or the other; and in the midst of the dangers to which he was expofed, he continued without interruption, in his ordinary exercise of conformity to the will of God.

2. After he had continued three years to repeat without ceafing, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, he found himself so ftrengthened, that he had no longer any will but that of God. He then entered upon another exercise, which confifted not fo much in words as in actions: and this was, an ardent love for God, and for his neighbour. This he practised in fo excellent a manner, that he was daily going on from strength to strength, without relaxing or abating any thing in this exercise of perfect love.

3. He was fo advantageoufly fituated at Amajac, that he would never have quitted that place, had he not thought himfelf obliged fo to do, by the love of his neighbour, whom he earneftly defired to ferve. Several who heard, of his manner of life were offended, that he did not attend the fervice of the church; although he had no opportunity of fo doing, the church being seven leagues off. In condefcenfion to their weakness, he refolved after having ftayed at Amajac between

three

three and four years, to remove thence and fettle in one of the villages of Alphonfo d'Avalos. He received him with much humility and affection, and offered him a lodging in a place planted with trees. He accepted it gladly, but not the food provided for him ; for he lived wholly on milk and cheese,

4. After he had fpent two years here, God put it into his heart to return to his little cell: the night before his journey, that great earthquake happened, in the year 1567: and opening his window, he faw the joifts of his chamber fall, without receiving any harm.

He ftopt in the way at Sebaftian Mexia's, who entertained him gladly. He recompenfed him by his good example, and the excellent counsels which he gave him. These made so deep an impreffion upon him, that inftead of the fine rich cloaths, of which he was fo extravagantly fond before, he wore for that time, only coarfe brown cloth like Lopez.

Mexia conceived fo ftrong an affection for him, and had so great an esteem for his wisdom, that he refolved to leave all his estate to his disposal.

But Lopez being apprifed of this, and not judging it proper, after he had renounced all his own goods, to embarrass himself with thofe of another man, refolved immediately to proceed in his journey, whatever instances could be used to detain him.

5. Father Dominic Salazar, a Dominican, was preaching to those who were working in the mines round about Zacatecas. He was a man of great virtue, and the converse he had with Lopez made him conceive fuch a high efteem and love for him, that he preft him extremely, to go to the monastery of St. Dominic at Mexico; where he would give him a little cell, faying, that by this means, he might without danger or hinderance pafs his life in retirement and prayer: and yet without being deprived of the advantages that may be received in a religious fociety. Lopez yielding to his reasons, accepted his offer, and refolved to return to Mexico.

6. He had paffed near feven years in the valley of Amajac, X x 2

in