Here is a slim volume written by a Puritan minister and first published in 1700. Ness was born in 1621 and died at age of eighty-four. He suffered for his faith and was a preacher for sixty years. Like many Puritans he was of towering intellect and unwavering love and faith in the Lord Jesus. That he was of what has been known as the Calvinist persuasion goes without saying as the title of this book reveals. Actually, it does us all good to read books like this. Of course, some will throw their hands up in horror at the very thought of reading such a book that seeks to refute the five points that Arminius propounded against the Sovereignty of God and in favor of the freewill of man in the matters of salvation. However, I cannot but say that both sides of the argument tend to lead you down their various Devon country lanes. By this I simply mean those lanes that can sometimes be quite straight, or even crooked and winding but have high hedges on each side which prevent you looking over to the fields and hills. So the argumentations can lead you along without looking over the hedge into a wider perspective. When I read books like this I am humbled, the vastness of God’s truth means that our hearts are not large enough to fully understand and it requires statement of its poles to drive that vastness home to us. We are but of puny minds, even the best minds cannot bring these things together. Yet there are many of us who stand firmly one side of the argument or the other and castigate the other side from the safe ground of our convictions. However, I am sure we must read, reflect, humbly look at things and, acknowledging our limitations, enjoy the greatness of God’s choice, His election and yet also seeing that somehow we ourselves have a part in all. I know this is unsatisfactory to some of us, but our minds should not be closed to consider things, reading widely that we might be liberated from our neat little boxes. This book wonderfully sets forth the Calvinistic arguments, succinctly. Being a Puritan book means that it is not easy to read, but it will make you think and will enlarge your heart if considered meekly.
