Of Predeffination. Éffence, nor of his Will as a Will , but of his Will asextrinfecaily deno- minated, a Decreeto damn judos ; e. g. becaufe no otherwife is Judas an Obje& capableófgiving fuch anextrinfick denomination to Gods Will. II. Both youand I hold, andmuff hold, that God decreeth todamn all that (hall be damned. * Butit is falfe, that wehold that he doth it without any refpe& toforefeenfin. For s. He.fore-feeth this sin as the only meritorious caufe of their damnation ; what he doth in time, that is it which he decreed to do from eternity : But in time hedamneth no man but for Sin; therefore from eternity he decreed to damn no' man butfor Sin : For fin, I fay , as the caufe of damnation , which Dr. Tivif doth frequentlyprofefs. 2. And though thissin can be no proper efficient caufe of Gods Volition or Decree, yet it is aprefuppo- fed neceffary qualification in the Objea, as fore-teen in the Mind of God, and fo, asaforefaid, is an Obje&ive Caufe as fore-feen. III. The executionof Juftice, and glorificationof it, and GodsHo- liners thereby is good, and fit to be the Obje&of Gods Volition or Decree. But in the word Reprobation is in molt mens fenle included much,whichwe hold not, which is to be opened furtheranon. IV. And as to the abfolutenefr of Gods Decreeto damn thofe that are dammed ; I think youwill not deny it your felf, fuppofing them to be fore.feen finally. impenitent Sinners: God doth not onlywill, that all thefinally impenitentPall be damned ; nor only that, e. g. Judas fhall be damned , if he be finally impenitent; But an that judas as forefeen finally impenitent, fhall certainly be damned. So that when the condi- tion is fore-feen in the Recipient or Obje& ; it is nolonger ameer con- ditional Decree, but abfolute,fuppofing that condition. hi all thiswe are agreed. * Pafquerrin i.Yho.g.z;. a. g. p. D C°c lufio (bqauh d oit df ermripas o. nie, ex fcriptura multes' a Dee reprobara. vid. Ruiz de prude fin. 'read. t.per toile,. The f coaid Crimination. A. H. Butthat's notall ; Butyou hold, That God eternally decreed mens fin; yea, all the fin of Men and Devils; fome fay, That he de- creed to predetermine men infuparably to the forbidden A&; and the moderateft, that he*decreed theevent,that Sin (hould cometo pals ipfo aVod. apqu °p33 peel% permittentequamvis non eficiente ; or at leak, that he decreed hispermit: ubi dielt Dent deere- fion of it. neff, ut Judui Cbrifiam e s. I. The first fort are thofe few o whom I in the be g innin g renounced 1edi° rollerenr, ex pr e- fetentia quad iá libera of whom the. Dominicans , and good Dr. Twig., and Rutherford his voluntate,fattaci effent, Follower (de provìdentia).are the chief I eafily confefs to you that ca,r iaraesP/ toner God made theLam, and God made man, and God maketh the objei`fs, and God caufeth the À& as a natural All ingenere, by a natural general concourfe : And if it could be alto proved , that God were the chief efficient Determiner of the Will, and that by necefritation to. this Alb or Objeet comparatively - rather than to that, (e.g. that David willed the Alts which were Murder and Adultery,) I could never deny that God is the chief Author of theSin. For the formal reafonof Sin is Relative, viz. Its difconformity to the Lawof -God. And the Relation refulteth without any new All or Agent, roam fundamento e omni abfoluto r; And neither God nor Man do or can do more to caufe the Relation. And Dr. 7wifè and Rutherford fo far taw this, that the up-lhotof all, their Vindication is ; r. That God caufeth not fin as fin , but as a means to his Glory: 2. That God is under no Law, (as we are), and therefore can be no Author of Sin. But, to the firft I anfwèr E It's
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