The divine will considered in its eternal decrees, and holy execution of them. By…

2. In the Permission of final sin there is much of Sovereignty, but nothing of Injustice; the great God is absolutus faber suae permissionis; he could let legions of Angels at once drop out of Heaven into Hell; he could let innocent Adam (as rare a piece as he was) break himself all to shivers by a fall; and what may he not permit sinful Worms to do? What are Creatures to him? If they miscarry, how many thousand thousand Worlds are there in the bosom of his Omnipotence? If he suffer all Nations to walk in their own ways, he doth but let a drop fall off the Bucket, or a small dust fly off the balance; he doth but leave Vanity to its own lightness, and a Quasi-nothing to its own nullity and defectibility. If he suffer sinful Man to run into sin, and that finally, he doth but leave the Dog to his own vomit, the ⟨p. 124⟩Swine to his own mire, the Viper to his own poison, a corrupted piece of old Adam to act [Greek or Hebrew], out of his own, as the Expression is, Joh. 8. 44. He doth but let the fountain of blood flow out, the corrupt flesh putrefy, the vicious womb of concupiscence conceive and bring forth, and the depraved Will of man forge out its own iniquities, and fetter and entangle it self with the cords and bonds of its own voluntary rebellions; and what Injustice can be in all this? especially seeing this Permission is not a subtraction of any inherent Grace, but only a suspension of assistant Grace as de facto would impede sin. If God be bound to afford such Grace, where is the Charter of that engagement? If he be not bound thereunto, where is the Injustice of that suspension? The Saints before a temptation, cast down their Souls before God and cry out, Nèinducas, Lead us not into temptation; and after a victory, they cast down their Crowns before him, and sing out, Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ. Wherefore when sin is prevented, God's free Grace is to be praised; and when sin is permitted, God's absolute Sovereignty is to be adored.

2. In the Permission of final sin there is much of Sovereignty, but nothing of Injustice; the great God is absolutus faber suae permissionis; he could let legions of Angels at once drop out of Heaven into Hell; he could let innocent Adam (as rare a piece as he was) break himself all to shivers by a fall; and what may he not permit sinful Worms to do? What are Creatures to him? If they miscarry, how many thousand thousand Worlds are there in the bosom of his Omnipotence? If he suffer all Nations to walk in their own ways, he doth but let a drop fall off the Bucket, or a small dust fly off the ballance; he doth but leave Vanity to its own lightness, and a Quasi-nothing to its own nullity and defectibility. If he suffer sinful Man to run into sin, and that finally, he doth but leave the Dog to his own vomit, the