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…

We come to the Jews; be it so, that they were worse then Pilate, yet many of them in despite of their sins were converted unto Christ; I say, of them that crucified him, and preferred a murderer before him; Pilate was not: at least we have a record of the conversion of the one, Acts 2. none of the other. Yea Saul breathing nothing but wrath and fury against the Church of God, as Ferox scelerum—Quia prima provenerant; being heartened with the blood of Stephen, as with a cup of sweet Wine, was converted unto Christ, when many a moral, quiet, peaceable, and nothing factious Jew, had not the mercy showed him that Saul had. They abused (you say) their talents and means of grace, in a worse manner then could be excused (yet who worse then Saul or Manasseh) by any necessity or impotency of corrupt nature. But who I pray, goes about to excuse them this way? we certainly excuse them not, ⟨p. 241⟩no, nor they themselves neither; for it were most incongruous they should, even as if Epicures should complain of the sweet morsels which they roll under their tongues, that they are so sweet, that they cannot forbear to be in love with them. But will you deny God to have a hand in hardening them, to the committing of so foul excess? what is the meaning of giving over to vile affections? to do things inconvenient, and that in an abominable kind? and that to what end but this, that so they might receive the just recompense of their error? yet that error is well known to have been incident, as well to the very elect of God, as unto Reprobates. By the way you signify, that by the neglect of the helps and means afforded them, they fell short of these duties, to the performance whereof they might have reached. Their sin was in doing contrary to their knowledge and conscience upon due information out of Gods Word; this is to neglect the means; And consequently to use the means aright, was to do accordingly as they were informed. And indeed, if they had done otherwise then they did, they had not done so bad as they did. I find such giddiness of discourse usually amongst the Arminians; while they satisfy themselves with phrases, never examining particularly, the matter and substance of their own expressions.

Wee come to the Jews; bee it so, that they were worse then Pilate, yet many of them in despight of their sinnes were converted unto Christ; I say, of them that crucified him, and preferred a murtherer before him; Pilate was not: at least wee have a record of the conversion of the one,