ARMINIAN-ISM. 29 fome certain perfons; And the refidue according to eleWon, Rom. xi. ç. thofe rvhom God knows ro be hie, 2 Tim. ii. t 9. men ordained to eternal life, Altsxiii. 48. us, Rom. 39. thole that are written in the lamb's book of life, Revel. xxi. 27. all which and divers others clearly prove, that the number of the cleft iscertain, not only materially asthey Sty, that there are to many, but formally alfo, that thefe particular - perfons and nG, other are they, which cannot be altered : (a) Clay the very nature of the thing it felt Clothfsdemo:Stratively evince it, that I wonder' it ran poffibly be conceived under any other notion : toapprehend anele£tion ofmen, not circumfcribed withthe circumfiance of particular perlatas, is fuch a eodceited Platanical abftra£kion, as it feems firange than any one dares profess to underftaod:.that there shouldbe a predeftinationand none pre, deflinated, an cicala,, and none ele£ted, a choice amongft many, yet none left or taken, a decree to lave men, and yet thereby libation deftinated to no one man, either re antfoe; indeedor inexpeElcrion: in a word, thatthere flnould bea purpofe ofGod to bringmen, untodory, ¡landing inviolable, though never any one attained thepro pofed end, is filch a riddleas no Oedipw can unfold : now fach an ele&ian, facha pre-. deftinatioa have theArminians fobflituted, in the place of God's everlafting decree: Ifre (b) deny, fay they, thatGod's eleG ien ceeendetb it felf reany f gular perjorrs, as fingufau perfons ;-that is, that any particular perfons, asPeter, Paul, Jahn, are by it e'.ettedt no? How then? (c) Why God bath appointed reithaur dffeeerrce, to difpefe the meansof faith, and ashe feet, thefeperfons to &limp, or not to believe, by the ufeof that means, fn at length' he derecrìinethof them : as f<tich Corvinos. Well then ; God chufeth no particular man to faivation, but whom he feeth believing byhis own power, with the help onlyof fuck means as are afforded unto others, who never believe, andas he maketh himfelf thus differ from them, by a good ufe of his Own abilities, fo alfo he may be reduced again into the fame predicament, and thenhis ele£tion which refpetteth nee him in his perfon, but only his qualification, quite vanilheth: but is this God's decreeof electiond Yes fay they; and (d) make a doleful complaint, that any other doctrine fhould be taught in the Church. It ie obtruded, fay the true-born fans of Arminius, on theChurch as!Smolt holy dottrine, that God by an abfolure immutable decree, from all eternity, out ofhis Oren good pleafre, bath chefin certain perfons, and theft but a fete in compar f n, without any . refpeíi bad to their faith and obedience ; and predjtinated them to evert f ing dife. But what . fo great exception is this dottrine liableunto; what wickednefs Both it include, that it dhould not be accounted molt holy? Nay, is not only the matter, butthe very terms of it contained in the fcripture? Doth not it fay the eleR are few, and theychufen: before the foundationof theworld ; without any refpe£t to their obedienceor anything thatthey had done out of God's meer graciousgood pleafure, that his free purpofe according to d ettion might Rand ; even becaufe fo it pleafed him ; andthis that they might be holy, believe, and be faitftified, that they might come unto Chiifs and by himbe preferved unto everlafting life ? yea, this is that whichgalls them, (e) no Fitch . will canbe afcribedunto God wherebyhe fo millet, any one to be faved, as that thence -their fad- 'V (Won fhauld before and infallible, faith the fatherof Chofe children. Well then let (f) Sr. Auffin his definition bequite reje£led, that predeftinationis a preparation of fuch benefits, whereby fame aremart certainly freed and delivered from fin, and brought to glory : and that alfo ofSt. Paul, that, by reafon ofthis, nothing can feparate us from the love of God, that is in Chrift : what is this elation in your judgment ? (g) Nothing but a decree whereby God bath appointed to fave them that believe in Chrit faithCareimes, be they who theywill : or a general purpofe ofGod, where- by hebath ordained faith in Chrift, to be themeans offalvation ; yea, but thisbelongs to `fuda , as well as to Peter, this decree carrieth as equal afpe£t to thole that are (a) Aquinas. (6) Nos negamos Dei eleftionem ad falutem extendere fefe ad fingularesperfonas, qua frogulares perfons, Rem. Coll. Hag. fol. 76. (o). Deus Ratuia indifcriminatim .media ad fitem adminiftrare, & prout has, vet illai perfons, iftiusmodi vet crediturasvet noncrediturasvidet, ita tandem de iiis ftatuit, Cor. ad Tilen. 76. (d) Ecctefie tanquam facrofaaRa doetrina obtruditur, Dram abfolutillimo& immutabili decreto ab omniretro eternitate, pro puro fop beneplacito, Gngulares quofdam homines,eofque, quoad cerero,, pauci/fimos, antra ullius obedientie out fidel in Chriftum intuitu predeftinalfe ad vitam, Prafot. lib. Armin. adPerk. (e) Nana Deotribal poteft voluntas, qua irevelit hominem ullum falvari, ut fobs inde illis conifer certo& infapibiliter, Arm. Ast"peg fol. 583. (f) Predellinatioeh preparatiobeneficiomm quibns eertitfime liberantur quicunque liberantur, Aug. debona per. fen. rap. 14. (g) Decretum eleftionis.nihil aliad eft, quam decretum quo Deus conitituit cerdeases in Chrifto juftificare, & faltase, Corvin. ad fol. t3 K damned,
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