Of Eletlion. w hether yea or not; And fo their State they were token forth of, when firll ~ Ekcted, was the fam e with that wtuch all tlungs Created had afore the De- Chap. 3· " cree of t heir beir g Crtated ; meer pofliblcs in reality of Creaturethip, pure~ nothi ngs every way, utter No~t" emJtus, which )'Ct God could Decree, and give an Exi!lence unro. When 1fa) [ w ery w.1y J NolH 1ltiti"fS, nor having a Shadow of Bei1tg : The meaning is. that not only they were nothing m that they were not yet" de ft ffoCreated; for fo the whole World, unnll Decreed to be Created, was 11othmg in actual extHence ; but that they lay afore God, as not yet fa much as Decreed robe Created, and fo had not a Being in Galls Dec"ree, till that p1!\ on them together,both for their C:reation and Election to Glory. For the under\\anding hcreot , we may with the Schoolmcn, make a Three· fold Ejfe or Being afcribed to the C reature. 1. An E{fe aC!twle, an atl:ual Being, which is when 'tis Created; 2. An Ejfe vo!itum ; which is a Being that lies iri Gods will, which is the State of them after God hath purpofed to Create them. ~· An Ejfe Po/]i6ile, which is a meer po!Iibility, afore Gods Decree palled ro have being , firft 'Decrad1t, and <hen to be by Creationgiven to it. Which I) ing in Gods power , in that he can, if he pleafe, make it, or otherwife not ; met rly lies in Gods underfl anding, in the Image or forms ofit. Now the State and common Condition ofall"Creatures, immediately afore God decreed to Create them, was this Latter only, which arofe from this, That Gods Power prefented to his Infinite underfianding, an Infinity of Sha– dows or Ideas , Images of Creatures, which he might make if he pleafed, which yet he never did, or ever willed to rmke; And the Numbtr of thtfe r/Ye m{intte, becaufe his Power is infinite to Create fuch, and his Underfiand~ Ing is infinite to fafhion and form up t he Shapes or Images in his Mind, of all that his Power can effect. Man is narrow both in his Underfianding and Power ;. and hts UnderHanding may never have the Forms or Models of all that he is able to do , or make, for to enter into his thoughts. But with God it is other– wife ; his Underftancling being infinite , cloth form up the Idea of all, and e~ very thing his Power can effect diHinctly. The State and Condition of t hefe things ' as they lav in Gods nmple fingle intelligence' the Scripture ex· pr ffe th in fuch Speeches and Terms as thefe, To God ti/J thi11g1 are p~l]ibh. 0 Now the mediate State ofall the Eleel: afore Gods Decree to choofe tbem, being no other than this , of all things elfe, as they lay in a Capability to Creation and the Decree of it; and under that view of things po!Iible only; they were objected or propofed to Gods Will, both for rheir Creation and E: led ion together; and Gods choonng of them havmg been (as was faid) an im– mediately conjuntl and a!Tociatcd Ad with Gods Decree to Create them,with– out a prefuppofition of their being yet to be Created, much lefs fain, And that both tl!c{e Ad <Proceeded hand in hand together, or rather like Twins tWined abdut rag tber , and their hands embracing each other, not depen: ding upon any other Confideration or view that was had of them; this I fay, be10g fuppnfed true , Hence it will follow, that the Stateof Gods Elect was of meer po!Iibles, as immed iately afore t~cir being Elected, as other Creatures, or themfelves were , in r, fpetl: unto Creation , and the Decree thereof: For it is certain , there could be no other Srate of t hings afore Creation was Decreed; Nor c0uld the D rvine UnderfiJndmg have any other view of any thing, or all t h<ngs, until Ius Will had pail a Decree upon them, and given a Fiat to create them : And what could that be other than that which God's Under• fl"nding hath ( now !lill ) rn his mind, of things which he never means to ere: ate, and yet might if he pleafed : And the fame was the cafe and condirion im· mediJte of the Elect, unto Election and Creation both, until the Divine San– ctionof hi<Will had come upon them: Till then they were meer appearances and Ondows, as allrhings elfe were, which God might or might no~ choofe" and create. And ttll t hey lay in that indifpofed heap"of things, about which' God had made r\odetermrn'atiorl at all, tin; nor eve\ will make any; they fl'oar-~ T · er!
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