The riches of Gods love unto the vessels of mercy, consistent with his absolute…The riches of Gods love unto the vessells of mercy, consistent with his absolute…

We willingly grant with Zanchy that God can will nothing which is not just; Not that hereby we make any justice to precede the will of God; but because he hath a lawful power to do what he will; And there is a justice of condency consequent to all his actions. It is otherwise, I confess, with a man though the greatest of men, as wise as Solomon; though vessels after God's own heart, as David: But hence it followeth not, that because in an earthly King there is a justice antecedent to his will, therefore it is so in the King of heaven and earth. If this Author think otherwise, let him know I am not yet sufficiently convicted of the purity of his understanding purged from prejudice and false principles &c. as thereinto to make the last resolution of my faith.

We willingly grant with Zanchy that God can will nothing which is not just; Not that hereby we make any justice to precede the will of God; but because he hath a lawfull power to doe what he will; And there is a justice of condency consequent to all his actions. It is otherwise, I confesse, with a man though the greatest of men, as wise as Solomon; though vessells after God's own heart, as David: But hence it followeth not, that because in an earthly King there is a justice antecedent to his will, therefore it is so in the King of heaven and earth. If this Authour thinke otherwise, let him know I am not yet sufficiently convicted of the purity of his understanding purged from prejudice and false principles &c. as thereinto to make the last resolution of my faith.

Yet I confess he carrieth himself magnificently as if he had attained to this purgation, as when he saith, That these absolute decrees of salvation and damnation, are not part of God's revealed will; But where hath he proved the conditional decrees that he stands for, are any part of God's revealed will. Where doth he find that God decreed to bestow faith and repentance upon a man, because of some good works of his, or deny it to others for failing of some good work? As for salvation and damnation we plainly profess, that God intended not to damn any man, but for sin, nor to bestow salvation on any man of ripe years, but by way of reward of his faith, repentance, obedience and good works. Doth not he beg the question all along, when he carrieth his conditional decrees in a confidentiary manner, without once offering to prove thè by any one place of Scripture? Here I expected he would not beg the question, when he chargeth us to beg the question most insipidly; When it is well known that our Divines are frequent in proving their doctrine out of Scripture; which if it fail of sound proof in the judgment of his understanding purged from prejudice and false principles; yet with no modesty; whatsoever their judgment be) can he tax them for begging the question. For to beg the question is not once to offer to prove what they say; which is this Author's discourse all along. But to supply the place of arguments, he usually foist's in a phrase at pleasure in expressing our Tenet of God's decrees; as of Decreeing immutably and unavoidably; Or as here he speaks of Damnation and salvation inevitable; whereas we do not use to clog our own expressions, or our Readers apprehensions with any such bugbears. We rather say that God decrees all things to come to pass, that do come to pass, and that agreeably to their natures, as necessary things necessarily; and contingent things to come to pass contingently. And surely for doctrines of faith, I think every sober Christian hath cause to entitle the King to be the Author of them, this Author doth not so much for his: