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…

Fifthly, you do acknowledge that Gods purpose to give life unto the world upon condition of obedience, doth imply that God should accordingly give means to help them to the performance of this obedience; for you plainly signify that God purposing to give life unto the world upon condition of obedience, doth accordingly give means to help them to the performance of this obedience. Now I say, Gods purpose to give life unto the world, upon condition of obedience, doth no more imply that God must accordingly give means to help them to the performance of this obedience, then that God must accordingly give ability by the help of such means to perform obedience. And indeed, to what end tends the giving of means to help them to the performance of obedience, if they have not ability by the help of those means to perform obedience? In this very Section you profess the means which God affords are sufficient to bring them to those gracious ends, which God (you say) intends, if they be not hindered by men. Which doth imply that in your opinion, the men of the world have power to give way unto them, and not hinder them. Yet I confess you are very sparing to confess so much. But the more you are to blame by the face of your discourse to bespeak such opinions in your Readers, and to draw unto them, the maintenance whereof you dare not undertake your self. But let us consider what you deliver hereupon. And ⟨p. 210⟩First, though you do not attribute unto a natural man sufficiency, and power to believe: yet if you do attribute unto him sufficiency of power to perform ought, upon performance whereof grace shall be given him, whereby he shall be enabled to believe and to come to Christ, you shall even in this be guilty of that, which you call ungracious Pelagianism. Now as for your opinion of the power of a natural-man, you here express it partly negatively, partly affirmatively. You conf•••, they are deprived of those drawing and effectual means, without which none can come, and with which, none ever failed to come to Faith and Repentance. Touching which I have something to oppose concerning the phrase, and something concerning the assertion it self.

Fifthly, you doe acknowledge that Gods purpose to give life unto the world upon condition of obedience, doth imply that God should accordingly give means to help them to the performance of this obedience; for you plainly signifie that God purposing to give life unto the world upon condition of obedience, doth accordingly give meanes to help them to the performance of this obedience. Now I say, Gods purpose to give life unto the world, upon condition of obedience, doth no more imply that God must accordingly give means to help them to the performance of this obedience, then that God must accordingly give ability by the help of such means to perform obedience. And indeed, to what end tends the giving of means to help them to the performance of obedience, if they have not ability by the help of those means to perform obedience? In this very Section you professe the meanes which God affords are sufficient to bring them to those gracious ends, which God (you say) intends, if they bee not hindred by men. Which doth imply that in your opinion, the men of the world have power to give way unto them, and not hinder them. Yet I confesse you are very sparing to confesse so much. But the more you are to blame by the face of your discourse to bespeak such opinions in your Readers, and to draw unto them, the maintenance whereof you dare not undertake your self. But let us consider what you deliver hereupon. And