A treatise of Mr. Cottons clearing certain doubts concerning predestination together with an examination…A treatise of Mr. Cottons clearing certaine doubts concerning predestination together with an examination…

But, you see, God retaineth after the fall an holy will and purpose of restoring life unto the world upon an equal condition, as appeareth by his Oath, by his Covenant, and by his Works; therefore the conclusion, which is the point in hand, is evident.

But, you see, God retaineth after the fall an holy will and purpose of restoring life unto the world upon an equall condition, as appeareth by his Oath, by his Covenant, and by his Workes; therefore the conclusion, which is the point in hand, is evident.

I marvel what you mean to call Gods decree of condemnation his act of retribution; retribution being an act temporal and ¹transient, the decree of God is an act immanent and eternal: And therefore it is not so handsomely said to be the putting forth of an act, for so much as it is immanent and not transient. 'Tis manifest, I confess, that sin is always precedent to the retribution of punishment; as it is without controversy, that sin neither is nor can be antecedent to Gods decree, sin being temporal, ⟨p. 111⟩but all Gods decrees eternal. And I have found it by experience to be an usual course with our Adversaries, to confound condemnation with the decree of condemnation. And Junius himself, very incongruously, in my judgement, calls this decree, Praedamnatio; to make the fairer place, as I guess, for sins precedency thereunto, at least in consideration: But no necessity urgeth us to any such course; and we may well maintain, that God in this decree of condemnation hath always the consideration of that sin for which he purposeth to damn them; for, undoubtedly, he decrees to condemn no man but for sin. It is impossible it should be otherwise; condemnation, in the notion thereof, formally including sin. But I like not your expressions in the distinction you make, saying, God considers men in this sin, not as newly fallen in Adam, but as voluntarily falling off (you mean long after) by some act of careless and wilful disobedience. When God made this decree, they were not newly (that is, a little before) fallen in Adam; for that fall in Adam was temporal, but the decrees of God are eternal: And to consider as newly fallen, when as yet they were not, much less were they fallen, is not so much to consider, as to err or feign. But like as God decreed to suffer all to fall in Adam, and many also to continue both therein, and in bringing forth the bitter fruits thereof even until death; so he purposed to condemn them for those sins: but take heed you do not make an order of prius and posterius between these decrees; lest either you make the decree of condemnation precedent to the decree of permission of those sins for which they shall be condemned, which will be directly contradictory to your Tenet here;