The divine life in three treatises

Object. 1. They say [It is true that God hath much to do with us, and for us: but it followeth not that we have so much to do with him, or for him, as you would have us to believe: For he is necessarily Good, and necessarily doth good; and therefore will do so, whether we think of him or not: The Sun will not give over shining on me, though I never think on it, or never pray to it, or give it thanks. Nor doth God need any service that we can do him, no more than the Sun doth: nor is he pleased any more in the praise of men, or in their works.

Object. 1. THey say [It is true that God hath much to do with us, and for us: but it followeth not that we have so much to do with him, or for him, as you would have us to believe: For he is necessarily Good, and necessarily doth good; and therefore will do so, whether we think of him or not: The Sun will not give over shining on mee, though I never think on it, or never pray to it, or give it thanks. Nor doth God need any service that we can do him, no more than the Sun doth: nor is he pleased any more in the praise of men, or in their works.

Answ. 1. It is most certain that God is Good as necessarily as he is God: But it is not true that he must necessarily do good to you, or other individual persons; nor that he necessarily doth the Good he doth to them. As he is not necessitated to make Toads and Serpents as happy as Men, or Men as Angels; so he is not necessitated to save the Devils or damned souls (for he will not save them.) And he was under no greater a necessity to save you, than them. He was not necessitated to give you a being: He could have past you by, and caused others to have […] ⟨p. 204⟩[…] ⟨p. 205⟩⟨p. 206⟩possest your room. As it was Gods freewill and not any necessity that millions more are never born, that were in possibility of it: (For all that is possible doth not come to pass.) So that you and millions more were born, was not of necessity but of the same freewill. And as God did not make you of Necessity but of freewill; so he doth not Necessarily but Freely, justify, or sanctify, or save. If he did it by necessity of nature, he would do it to all as well as some; seeing all have a natural capacity of grace as well as those that receive it: God is able to Sanctify and save more, yea all, if it were his will: And it is not for want of power or Goodness that he doth not. Millions of beings are possible which are not future. God doth not all the good which he is able, but communicateth so much to his several creatures as to his wisdom seemeth meet. If the damned would be so presumptuous as to argue, that because God is able yet to sanctify and save them, therefore he must do it of necessity of nature, it would not be long before they should thus dispute themselves out of their torments. God will not ask leave of sinners to be God: Their denying him to be Good (that is, to be God) because he complieth not with their conceits and wills, doth but prove them to be fools and bad themselves.