a Premonition. y. And yet it is more clear that it is variousdegrees of puni(hment which are comprized in the word [ Death i or [ Fdiusmortis] in the threatning And that we cannot fay,that 70 -lice made it necejfäry toGod to punifh the 'leali vain thought orremifsnefs with the "greatefl puuilis. ment, or damnation. But ( as to the uncertainties) i. With what degree ofpuni(hment God in yu,flice muff, or would have punithed a vain thought, or any in continent with his habitual prevalent love ? 2: Or whether a vain thought mull needs have feparatedSoul and Body , or caufed that which we call Hell ? 3. Or whether God could in Jufticehavepar- doned that vain thought, upon left fatisfaFfion than the fufferings of Chrifl ? Thefe with many others are queftionstoohard for me, what ever they may be to wirer men: But I am fatisfiedthat God would never have damned inHell any Soul that had the habitual predominant love of God , though culpably remìfs, and otherwife finful, whilehe remained fuch ; yea that Hell and fuck love of God are incontinent : And therefore if any fuchfin would have damned Adam, it mutt be by further quenching and expelling theSpirit ofGrace, or forfeiting and lofing Divine affiftance, and fo firft lofng thathabit of love. The ree I leave to the more illuminated. II. Now asto theM. s. (laid to be written by a youngman ofNew England, deceafed, M. PV.) it hath fomuch accuratenefs, that in reading it, I greatly lament the Authors death, beforematurityand converfehad reftified Tome of his notions, and he had longer improved his excellent underflanding for the Church. And becaufe my Doctrine is particu- larly oppofed in it, I (hall flay to animadvert on thefubftance of the Book. And it maybe reduced to thefe Propofitions. a. Thegreat fundamental point of it is, That man wasmade toglorifie Gods yufficefor ever. Animad. This is agreat truth, notwell confidered bymany : But it is but apart of the truth, which is, That manwas made tcglorifre Gods Vital Power, Wilder, and Love, and isgovernedeminently by Wifdom, making O RD ER, and juflly keeping it , together with mercy, becaufe the gloryofHolinefs and Love all) is theend. Which I have more carefully opened hereafter. §. 2. M. S. The reafon offpecial government is, That man iscaufa con - filio; Though as he defireth and feeheth good ingeneral, he is but a natural Agent: And thereforeTwiffe erreth inPaying, thatGod may punifh an in- nocent man, becaufe he may afflilf aBeall. Anf. s. By caufaconflio he meaneth a rationalfree Agent, having an Welled and Free-will; This indeed maketh and proveth man afubjeti made to bemorally governed. But when he had laid all his finds on this Free-will under the name 'of caufa confilio, he went too far in feeming with Gibieuf (whom he citeth and followeth as his great Light) to confine the nameof true liberty to the Amplitude and Holinefr of the Will, which isanother kindof Liberty : And (as Armatur trulyfaith) Gibieuf was fitter for aferaphick pious Dticourfe (in a Platonick firatn) than for fuch Controverfies. 2. As Rada and other scotifls well prove, there is no A& of the Will, even to good in general, which is not free, though fame be neceffary, and the inclination isnatural and not free. 3. Yea he proveth, that there is no fuch thingas a Volition of any good ingenere, fairing as the generical nature of good is found in force parti- cular (in effe cognito.) 4. Twiffewas not fo weakas tocall that purrifh- inert
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