GOD'S GOODNESS VINDICATED. 591 Arminius are in this agreed, (though I know some give another sense of ' neceeitas consequeetiæ.') But I come- closer to the chatter yet. 5. God decreeth no man's sin ; neither Adam's nor any other's. He may decree the effect, which sinners ;accomplish,!(as the death of Christ,) and he mayoverrule men in their sin, and bring good out of it, &c. But sin is not-a thing that he can will or cause, and so not decree, which signifieth a volition. 6. God cannot be proved to decree or will the permission of man's sin. For to permit is nothing. It is but not to hinder; which is noact ; and to decree and will is a positive act. And if you 'fain God to have a positive volition or nolition, of every thing, or negative, then he must have positive decrees of every mere possible atom, sand, worm, name, word, thought of man, &c. that such, and such a nothing shall never be; 'whereas there needeth no more to keep anything from being (in this case) than God's not causing it, not willing it, not decreeing it. The crea- ture's active nature, disposition, objects, and circumstances, are here presupposed; and the impedition necessary, is by act, or subtraction of these aforesaid, and God's ' non agere' needs no positive decree. I must tell the leaned reader, that this room will not to answer his foreseen objections. But I hope I have done it sufficiently elsewhere. 7. God hath not only decreed to give, but actually given, a great deal of mercy to them that perish, which had a natural ten- dency to their salvation. Christ hath so far died for all,.as that none shall perish for want of a sufficiency in the satisfaction made: he hath purchased and given for all a grant or gift of himself, with pardon, justification, adoption, and right to glory, on condition of acceptance, (where the gospel cometh.) In a word, so that none of them shall perish, that do not finally refuse the grace and salva- tion offered them. 8. Men are not impenitent ande unbelievers for want of, that called natural faculty, or power to choose and refuse aright ; but for want of a right disposition of their own wills ; and by such a moral impotency, which is indeed their viciousness, and the wick- edness of their wilts, and doth not excuse, but aggravate the sin. (See Mr. Truman, of " Natural and Moral Impotency.") 9. To rectify men's wicked wills and dispositions, God giveth them a world of means; the whole creation, and documents of próvidence; all the precepts, promises, threats of Scripture; preaching, example, mercies, judgments, patience, and inward motions of they Spirit; all which might do much to men's conver- sation and salvation, if they would but do what they could on their own part.
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