Of Redemption. 4. Andyou cheat your felvesand others more, in faying, [Not fróm any ill defert of theirs more than others]. When if you would (peak congruoufly, you thould only fay, that when all deferved to be utterly forfaken, [God effectuallyprevailetb with the Wills of hisElea, not for any good defert of theirs above others. ] Youwould infinuate, that Godmuft punifh no man, unlefs he deferve worfe than every manwhom he for- giveth ; which is falfe. Do you not your (elves believe that all have finned, and come Ihort of the Glory ofGod ? and that God might juftly have let them perith ? Do you not hold your (elves, that all men are guilty of refining or finning againft Grace it felf as well as againft Nature ? and that . God may junly with-hold his Grace from the Re- je&ers of it? and if he did fo by all hedid not wrong them ? If God then leave not all, as he might do, but refolve toprevail with fome in- fallibly, do you reprefent this mercy asif it were cruelty to others ? What if it be apparent that you your (elvescharge God withasmuch of thatwhich you call cruelty to all the World, as the Synoddoth to the Reprobate alone ? (or as many ofus do?) For they do but fay that God leaveth theReprobate totheir own free Wills : And you fay that he doth foby all the World. You fay that God giveth all men that hear the Gofpel fo mush Grace, as that theymay have Chrin and Salvation, if theywill; And they fay fo too as confidently as youdo. Tell me ifyou can then what Mercy or Grace you plead for as com- mon more than they ? you cannot tell me : And will you wrangleas if you differed whenyou do not. Only they fay and think that they givemore toGods Grace as to theElect than you do, which is to be examined anon. And then you will quarrel about the caufe of the firft Caufe, the Will of God, anddream of it as if it were like theWill of Man, which isan effe& and that of many Caufes. Is itnot enough for you that fin is the caufe of all punithment, but it muft alto be the efficient caufe of Gods Will which is God ? Yet again I tell you that all lober men will agree with you, that Gods Volitions of extrinfick objets, Reprobation, denominate not Gods Effence asfilch; (for we ufe nottofay, [ God isReprobation orEle&ion : ] butonly hisEffence as terminated adextra.) And(togratifie you tothe utmoft) we diftin- guifh an operating efficient Caufe, froma recipient Caufe; And we main- tain that a sinner is the recipient Caufe of Gods damning Volitionor Reprobation: Asthutting the Windows is the caufe that my Room is dark, and opening them is the caufethat they are light, not by caufing the Sunto thine, but by receiving (or not receiving) it fo man is a receivingCaufeof theEffe&s of Gods Will and Operation, andof the Will andOperation it felf, asextrinfically denominated and diverfified by the Effe&s. But this recipient Caufe, is nothing but caufa mate - rialis objec1iva, which hath two parts, the ipfa materia and the materia difpo[itio. Take not on you Itill to differ, where you do not. The
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