B. You wholly mistake and misreport us. If we differ from you, it is by going further from the matter of the Objection than you do your selves.
1. We hold, that God giveth many men power to do more than they do: And consequently that he decreeth to give it them. Men do not do all that they can do. Indeed we hold, That no man can do any thing, which God doth not give him power to do, and decree to give it him. And dare any of you deny this. There is no power but of God.
2. I hold not, that God hath any Will or Decree in proper sense, Not to give Grace, not to give Faith, not to give Repentance, Help, Means, &c. But only that he doth not decree to give it, where he giveth it not indeed; But as Lombard afore-cited, saith, He neither Willeth, nor Nilleth 1it. My Reasons are, 1. Only Good is the Object of Gods Will, and Evil of his Nolition. But nothing is not Good, nor Faith, Repentance, &c. nor Grace, evil: Therefore God doth not will nothing, or nill the said good.
2. Frustra fit per plura, &c. It is presumptuous to feign needless Decrees and Volitions in God: But the Decree of nothing (of not giving Grace) is vain: For nothing will be nothing, without any Decree or Volition of God, as well as without any efficiency. If God neither make, nor will more Worlds, more Sons, more Men, there will be no more, though he have no Will or positive Decree that there shall be no more.
3. No man knoweth where to bound the Doctrine of Decrees de nihilo; And to make them infinite or boundless, soundeth so presumptuously and profanely, that common reason doth disclaim it. It is possible that there be as many more sands, pebbles, straws, &c. made as are: It is possible to make every stone, or sand, an Animal, or the choice of a thousand other things: It's possible to give each man and Creature the choice of a thousand other names, places, circumstances: And must we feign in God a positive Will or Decree of every one of these possibles that they shall never be? That this Sand shall not be a Man, nor that Bird a Stone, 2&c. It is enough to conceive that Gods infinite Wisdom knoweth what is fittest to be, and that all that he willeth shall be; and that he willeth no more; and therefore no more Creatures will be. But he willeth to give power to free Agents, to do or not do certain acts in specie; and therefore they can do more than he decreeth they shall do.
2.
B. You wholly mistake and misreport us. If we differ from you, it is by going further from the matter of the Objection than you do your selves.
1. We hold, that God giveth many men power to do more than they do: And consequently that he decreeth to give it them. Men do not do all that they can do. Indeed we hold, That no man can do any thing, which God doth not give him power to do, and decree to give it him. And dare any of you deny this. There is no power but of God.
2. I hold not, that God hath any Will or Decree in proper sense, Not to give Grace, not to give Faith, not to give Repentance, Help, Means, &c. But only that he doth not decree to give it, where he giveth it not indeed; But as Lombard afore-cited, saith, He neither Willeth, nor Nilleth 1it. My Reasons are, 1. Only Good is the Object of Gods Will, and Evil of his Nolition. But nothing is not Good, nor Faith, Repentance, &c. nor Grace, evil: Therefore God doth not will nothing, or nill the said good.
2. Frustra fit per plura, &c. It is presumptuous to feign needless Decrees and Volitions in God: But the Decree of nothing (of not giving Grace) is vain: For nothing will be nothing, without any Decree or Volition of God, as well as without any efficiency. If God neither make, nor will more Worlds, more Sons, more Men, there will be no more, though he have no Will or positive Decree that there shall be no more.
3. No man knoweth where to bound the Doctrine of Decrees de nihilo; And to make them infinite or boundless, soundeth so presumptously and profanely, that common reason doth disclaim it. It is possible that there be as many more sands, pebbles, straws, &c. made as are: It is possible to make every stone, or sand, an Animal, or the choice of a thousand other things: It's possible to give each man and Creature the choice of a thousand other names, places, circumstances: And must we feign in God a positive Will or Decree of every one of these possibles that they shall never be? That this Sand shall not be a Man, nor that Bird a Stone, 2&c. It is enough to conceive that Gods infinite Wisdom knoweth what is fittest to be, and that all that he willeth shall be; and that he willeth no more; and therefore no more Creatures will be. But he willeth to give power to free Agents, to do or not do certain acts in specie; and therefore they can do more than he decreeth they shall do.
2.
- 1Aquin. de Repub. a. 3. q. 23. ad 3. Reprobatio Dei non subtrahit aliquid de potentia reprobati. Unde cum dicitur quod quod reprobatus non potest gratiam adipisci non est intelligendum secundum impossibilitatem absolutam, sed conditionatam.
- 2Id. ib. ad secundum, Praedestinatio est causa & ejus quod expectatur in future vita a praedestinatis, scil. Gloriae & ejus quod praecipitur in praesenti, scil. Gratiae: Reprobatio ver• non est causa ejus quod est in praesenti, scil. culpae, sed est causa derelictionis • Deo, est tamen causa ejus quod redditur in future, scil. poe•ae aeternae.Id. ib. ad secundum, Praedestinatio est causa & ejus quod expectatur in futur• vita a praedestinatis, scil. Gloriae & ejus quod praecipitur in praesenti, scil. Gratiae: Reprobatio ver• non est causa ejus quod est in praesenti, scil. culpae, sed est causa derelictionis • Deo, est tamen causa ejus quod redditur in futur•, scil. poe•ae aeternae.
