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…

1. That God did lay upon every man, a necessity of being borne in Original sin. But in this also he speaks at pleasure, quoting no passage of any Author. God may be said to lay upon man a necessity of eternal condemnation, dying in sin unrepented of: yet no sober man will say, that God is the author of a mans condemnation, by Gods only order and pleasure; For this implies, that there is no meritorious cause of condemnation in man. God (we say) of mere pleasure, bestows the grace of repentance on whom he will; because he finds all equal in natural corruption, and no difference in any, whereby to move God to bestow grace on him rather then on another. The case is not alike when God comes to bestow salvation and inflict damnation; for some he finds dying in sins, others dying in the Lord: yet we deny not but by power absolute, and secluding the determination of his own will, he could annihilate the righteous as well as the wicked. In like sort the whole course of nature depends merely upon the pleasure of God: yet we say it is natural for a Leprous person, to beget a Leprous person: and so as natural it is, for that which is borne of the flesh to be flesh, though each depends upon the constitution of God. For albeit Adam lost the spirit of God by his transgression, and all supernatural graces wherewith he was endued; yet like as God by regeneration, of his mere pleasure restored them afterwards to Adam, and in due time doth restore them to every one of his Elect: so in their very conception, if it pleased God, he could for Christs sake infuse them; notwithstanding the sin of Adam; and consequently it is the free act of God, in refusing after this manner to deal with them. Yet this nothing hinders, but that the propagation of spiritual corruption unto all Adams posterity, may be as natural as the propagation of any hereditary disease from the Father to the child: and over and above, that it is not in the way of mere pleasure, but in the way of justice; for the sin of Adam, which was the sin of our nature, bereaving him of that original righteousness wherein he was •reated: and causing all mankind to be, 1. Derived from him, whereas he could have otherwise provided, 2. And that from Adam after his nature was corrupt with sin, whereas he could have derived posterity from him before his fall, had it pleased him.

1. That God did lay upon every man, a necessity of being borne in Originall sinne. But in this also he speaks at pleasure, quoting no passage of any Author. God may be said to lay upon man a necessity of eternall condemnation, dying in sinne unrepented of: yet no sober man will say, that God is the author of a mans condemnation, by Gods only order and pleasure; For this implies, that there is no meritorious cause of condemnation in man. God (we say) of meer pleasure, bestowes the grace of repentance on whom he will; because he finds all equall in naturall corruption, and no difference in any, whereby to move God to bestow grace on him rather then on another. The case is not alike when God comes to bestow salvation and inflict damnation; for some he finds dying in sinnes, others dying in the Lord: yet we deny not but by power absolute, and secluding the determination of his own will, he could annihilate the righteous as well as the wicked. In like sort the whole course of nature depends meerely upon the pleasure of God: yet we say it is naturall for a Leprous person, to beget a Leprous person: and so as naturall it is, for that which is borne of the flesh to be flesh, though each depends upon the constitution of God. For albeit Adam lost the spirit of God by his transgression, and all supernaturall graces wherewith he was endued; yet like as God by regeneration, of his meere pleasure restored them afterwards to Adam, and in due time doth restore them to every one of his Elect: so in their very conception, if it pleased God, he could for Christs sake infuse them; notwithstanding the sinne of Adam; and consequently it is the free act of God, in refusing after this manner to deale with them. Yet this nothing hinders, but that the propagation of spirituall corruption unto all Adams posterity, may be as naturall as the propagation of any hereditary disease from the Father to the child: and over and above, that it is not in the way of meer pleasure, but in the way of justice; for the sinne of Adam, which was the sinne of our nature, bereaving him of that originall righteousnesse wherein he was reated: and causing all mankind to be, 1. Derived from him, whereas he could have otherwise provided, 2. And that from Adam after his nature was corrupt with sinne, whereas he could have derived posterity from him before his fall, had it pleased him.