of his will but according to a lawe which is this whosoever believeth not shall be damned And albeit God made that lawe according to the mere pleasure of his will yet no wise man will say that God denyes glory and inflicts damnation on men according to the mere pleasure of his will the case being cleere that God denyes the one and inflâ—cts the other merely for their sinnes who are thus dealt withall And indeede albeit men are founde aequall in their moralitie when God denyes the grace of faith and repentance unto some which he bestowes on others yet when he comes to deny glory and inflict damnation on men dealing otherwise with others he doth not finde all to be aequall but some he findes to have ended their dayes in the state of faith and true repentance others to have finished their dayes in sinn in infidelitie or impaenitencye And accordingly we distinguishe betweene absolute election unto salvation election unto salvation absolute absolute reprobation unto damnation and reprobation unto damnation absolute we grant absolute election unto salvation and absolute reprobation unto damnation but we deny eyther election to be unto salvation absolute or reprobation unto damnation absolute Yet there is a considerable difference betweene these for as much as finall infidelitie and impenitency are the meritorious causes of damnation but faith repentance and good workes are but the disposing causes of salvation Yet like as God inflicts not damnation but by way of punishment so he doth not bestowe salvation on any of ripe yeares but by way of reward Yet here allso is a difference for damnation is inflicted by way of punishment for the evill workes sake which are committed but salvation is not conferred by way of reward for the good workes sake which are performed but merely for Christs sake All this this Author as I sayde doth very judiciously confounde for the advantage of his cause taking no notice at all of these distinctions whether wittingly dissembling them or ignorantly not discerning them albeit the genuine condition of our Tenet rightly understood doth clearly bespeake them So that if he woulde fairely sett hâ—mselfe to the impugning of our Tenet as touching the absolutenes of Gods decree he should leave the consideration of election and reprobation as touching those things willed by them which we call salvation and damnation insist upon the consideration of election and reprobation as touching those other things willed therby which we call the giving of faith and repentance unto some and the denyall of faith and repentance unto others wherin we willingly professe that God caryeth himselfe absolutely throughout not only decreeing thâ—se according to the mere pleasure of his will without all consideration of ought in man but giving them allso unto some and denying them unto others according to the mere pleasure of his will without the consideration of ought in man Now in this point this Author is content to be silent for he findes no such harshnes imputable unto us in this Tenet of ours Neyther indeede can he stande to maynteyne his owne Tenet without plunging himselfe into manifest Pelagianisme For if God doth not give faith repentance unto men according to the mere pleasure of his will but upon consideration of somewhat founde in man then grace shall be given according unto workes which was condemned in the Synod of Palestine above 1200. yeares agoe all along impugned by the orthodoxe in opposition to the Pelagians and Semipelagians But I am willing to proceede further with this Author and to proove that God shoulde not be unjust though he inflict torment upon a creature though never so innocent For consider shall it not be lawfull with God to doe what he will with his creature Hath not man power to doe what he will with the workmanship of his owne handes And shall this power be denyed unto God How did he afflict his most holy and innocent Sonne only to make his soule an offering for the sins of others And what power hath God given us over inferior creatures that are not capable of sinne are capable of payne enough through diseases and through our imployment of them to doe us their faithfull services we put them to death after such a manner as wherby they may proove beneficiall unto us eyther for food or physicke neyther doe we offende God in this though some kindes of death proove more paynfull unto them yet so long as hereby they proove more usefull unto us we doe not transgresse And now adayes all sides confesse that it is in the power of God to annihilate the holiest Angell in heaven and that in the execution herof he shoulde execute no other then a lawfull power And who had not rather be content to suffer a continuall payne so it be tolerable then to dye much more then to have both body soule turned into nothing When the old world was drowned how many thousands of infants perished in that deluge choaked in the waters which were guiltie of no other sinne then what they sinned in our common Father Adam So in the destruction of Sodom and Gommorrha by fire how many Infants were burnt to ashes some in their mothers wombe some hanging on their mothers breasts when the earth opened and swallowed up the congregation of Dathan and Abâ—ram their litle ones were swallowed up together with their rebellious parents and shall we say that God was unjust in the execution of these and such like judgments Yet Medina professeth that God as Lord of life and death hath power to inflict any payne on any creature be he never so innocent and this he delivers ex concordi omnium Theologorum Sententia And indeed no reason can define those boundes limits of payne and sorrowe eyther as touching intension or duration within which in the execution of payne God must consist beyond which he cannot proceede incolumi justitia And will thâ—s Author deny that by the sinne of one man sinne entred into the world and death by sinne hath spread it selfe over all even over those that did not sinne after the similitude of Adams transgression that is over Infants Is this the fruite of God his making us after his owne image that herupon we shoulde circumscribe and lâ—mit the execution of his power over us in comparison with others and that only by rules devised by fleshe and blood And if he doth execute no other then a lawfull power can he be justly censured of crueltie But seing he ordeynes no man to damnation but for sinne and that to the manifestation of his justice which is his glory is he lesse good or wise or just in this The scripture playnely teacheth us that God made all thinges for himselfe even the wicked against the day of evill and shall we suspende our judgements as touching our adherence unto this divine and sacred truth untill such time as we have made triall how this doctrine will relish with infidells What
it is not of workes so neyther is it of faith seing before they were borne they were aequally as uncapable of faith as of workes and consequently that Gods ordeyning men unto salvation proceedes merely according to the good pleasure of God and not upon consideration eyther of workes or faith 2. As touching reprobation that it is no more of evill workes then election is of good workes for as much as before they were borne they were aequally uncapable of the one as well as of the other and the doing of evill is expressely excluded as well as the doing of good whence it followeth manifestly that Gods ordeyning men unto damnation proceedes as much of the mere pleasure of God and with as litle consideration of sinne as Gods ordeyning men unto salvation proceedes of the mere pleasure of God without consideration of any righteousnes in man though fleshe and blood be farre more apt to tumultuate and make insurrection against this doctrine of reprobation then against the proportionable doctrine of election Thirdly consider the vanitie of his amplifications in two particulars First in that he aggravates the matter by the circumstance of the greatest part of mankind wheras it is manifest by reason that if it be just with God to deale thus with the least part of mankinde yea with any one it is as just with God to deale in like manner with the greatest part of mankinde yea with all and every one Secondly he aggravates it by the circumstance of the least consideration of sinne which we are sayde to deny to have place in reprobation wheras divine consideration hath no degrees at all wherby it may be capable of greater or lesse sin indeede hath degrees in man but divine consideration hath no degrees at all Fourthly to come nearer to the point and to discover their jugling in stating our Tenet most calumniously Consider I pray doe any of our divines meynteyne that God did ordeyne to damne any man but for sinne It is apparent they doe not all acknowledging that like as God doth damne no man but for sinne so doth he ordeyne to damme no man but for sinne For doe they not all professe that the ende intended by God in the reprobation of certein men is the manifestation of Gods justice which if God doth intende how can it be otherwise but that whom he ordeynes to the suffering of everlasting torments those he ordeynes to the suffering of everlastâ—ng torments for their sinne and for nothing els And to adde one thing more not for their sinne which they sinned in Adam only for thus I had rather expresse my selfe according to scripture phrase then as this obscure Author doth in calling it only Adams sinne but for those very actuall sinnes and transgressions which they are guilty of Now this Author caryeth the maâ—ter so as if our doctrine were that God ordeynes men to be tormented not for sinne but merely for his owne pleasure And to this purpose he caryeth himselfe very judiciously for the advantage of his owne cause in confounding the cause of the decree with the cause of the execution therof Confounding the most receaved distinction of the Schooles concerning the will of God as considerable eyther quoad actum volentis as touching the act of God willing or quoad res voliâ—as as touching the thinges willed by God The act of God willing can have no cause sayth Aquinas neyther doe I finde any crossing of this amongst Schoole divines untill the Iesuites arose And the same Aquinas applying the same distinction to praedestination which is the very will of God in a certeyne kinde spares not to professe that Never any man was so madde as to affirme that merits are the cause of predestination quoad actum praedestinantis as touching the act of God predestinating It seemes he knewe of none so madde as to affirme this but since his dayes there hath risen up a sect of Iesuites a sect of Arminians more then enough that are so madde and yet cary this madde doctrine of theirs in such a confidentiary streyne as if they were the only sober men of the world Then agayne the thinges willed by God in predestination are of different condition and that so different that looke what alone is the cause of Gods decree that and that alone is the cause of the execution looke what alone is the cause of the decree quoad actum decernentis that and that alone is the cause of the decree quoad rem volitam or decretam but not so of the other as for example the things willed by God in predestination are grace and glory by grace I understand the grace of faith and repentance Now like as the act of Gods decree is of the mere pleasure of God no temporall thing being fitt to be the cause of the aeternall decree of God in like sort the giving of faith and repentance proceedes merely of the good pleasure of God according to that God hath mercy on whom he will Rom. 9.18 and to obteyne mercy at the handes of God is to obteyne faith Rom. 11.30 But as for glory and salvation we doe not say that God in conferring it proceedes according to the mere pleasure of his will but according to a lawe which is this whosoever believeth shall be saved which lawe we willingly professe he made according to the mere pleasure of his will but having made such a lawe he proceedes according to it No such lawe hath he made according wherunto to proceede in the dispensation of grace of faith of repentance And in like sort though God findes men aequall when he bestowes grace on some and not others yet he findes them not aequall when he comes to bestowe salvation on some and not on others The like distinction is coÌ„siderable on the part of reprobation which allso is the will of God in a certeyne kinde I say we must distinguâ—she in this decree the act of God decreeing and the thinges decreed by hâ—m And these thinges are of a different nature and so dâ—fferent that looke what alone is the cause of the act that alone is the cause of one thing decreed by it but not so of the other As for example the things decreed by reprobation are 1. The denyall of grace by grace I meane faith and repentance wherby that infidelitie hardnes of heart which is naturall to all is cured 2. The denyall of glory together with the inflicting of damnation As touching the first of these looke what is the cause of reprobation as touching the act of God reprobating that and that alone is the cause of the denyall of Grace to witt the mere pleasure of God For the Apostle playnly teacheâ—h us that as God hath mercy on whom he will to witt in giving faith and repentance so he hardneth whom he will by refusing to give them faith and repentance But as touching the denyall of glory and inflicting damnation God doth not proceede according to the mere pleasure
if they are destitute of certaine graces and that it was Gods will never to bestow any such grace upon them What disparagement I say is this to Gods goodnesse wisedome or justice in damning men for sinne voluntarily and freely committed by them Or is his meaning that God doth damne them for being destitute of such certeyne graces Why did he not speake it out plainly Was he ashamed expressely to deliver so shamefull an untruth would he rather have the propitious Reader to apprehend by 〈◊〉 way a beliefe of that which he was ashamed to utter What divine of ours was ever knowne to affirm that God doth damne a man because God doth not regenerate him or for the want of regeneration God damnes no man but for sinne and that actuall most freely committed by him in case he live to the committing of sinnes actuall It is true that all are born children of wrath by vertue of that sinne which we all sinned in Adam This is as true as the word of God is true and that the Epistles of S. Paul to the Romans and to the Ephesians are a part of Gods word And if he hath a tooth against our doctrine touching originall sinne eyther touching the nature or touching the guilt of it even the guilt of aeternall death why did he not shew his strength in the impugning of it Yet what are these graces which God he sayth hath never willed to have given them who are damned according to our opinion implying that according to his opinion God did well to bestow them even on those who never enjoyed them Why doth he scuâ—k in this manner and conceal himself for fear of comming to the light Is it because he cherisheth an evill conscience in hugging some erroneous points in his bosome therefore he hateth the light Is faith one of those graces which God did will to bestow on them who yet neuer had faith If God doth will to bestow faith on them how comes it that they have not faith Is not God able to give them faith Looke but upon our selves whatsoever we will doe and are able to doe that we doe if then God be able to worke faith in any man if withall he will worke it how is it possible that such a one should want faith Who hath resistâ—d his will Againe to give a man faith is to shew him mercy for to obteyne faith is to obteyne mercy Rom. 11.30 If then God will give faith to any he doth give faith unto him For he doth shew mercy on whom he will Rom. 9.18 But let us devise what is this Authors meaning as touching God his willing faith to them that never have it It may be his meaning is that God is ready to worke faith in man upon a condition Now what is that condition Can it be any other thing then some worke of man And what followes hereheÌ„ce but that God gives faith according to mens works which is pure Pelagianisme condemned for heresie in the Church of God from time to time Or will they say that God is ready to worke faith in man provided that man will but let them speake out and say plainly that God is ready to worke faith in man provided that he doth first worke it in himself For even the will is Gods worke Phil. 3.13 and God workes in us every thing that is pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ. And what shall be the condition of Gods working in us the very will Yet still they frame themselves to the Pelagian Tenet as if grace were conferred according unto workes directly contrary to the doctrine of S. Paul 2. Tim. 1.9 Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling not according unto our workes but according to his owne purpose grace Lastly is their meaning this God will concurre with us to the working of faith so we will concurre with him And doe any of our divines denye Gods concurrence to every good worke though this concurrence we hold to be meerely impossible For in like sort it is as true that man will concurre to the working of faith if so be God will concurre with him and this is mainteyned by Iesuites and Arminians and Gods foresight of this is their scientia media Now consider I pray the absurditie hereof For upon this mutuall supposition on both sides it is utterly impossible any action should proceede As for example if you say you will go to London if so be I will go with you and I say likewise that I will go with you if so be you will go with me so long as neyther of us doe absolutely resolve to go to London it is impossible eyther of us should go to London at all Againe if God doth thus onely concurre to the working of faith and this be sufficient to make him the Author of faith why may he not as well be accompted the Author of every evill act that is committed throughout the world For doe not your selves mainteyne that God in like sort concurres to the producing of every evill act But perhaps by Gods will in this place is meant Gods commandement For it is a jugling world wherein we live aequivocation is most congruous to their courses who desire to play fast loose Now doe any of our divines deny that God commands all in the Church all that heare the Gospell to beleeve whether they be the elect of God or whether they be reprobates But will it follow herehence that Gods purpose is to give them faith Or will they deny faith to be the gift of God oppose Paul to his face Phil. 1 29. and Eph. 2.8 Yet you will say God punisheth them for refusing to beleeve I grant he doth For this refusall is the free act of their wills and by mere power of nature they might absteyne from this refusall and have beleeved as well as Simon Magus did as well as profane persons doe as many an hypocrite doe which is only fides acquisita And it is well knowne they beleeve many a vile legend But then he will say such a faith shall never save them and I willingly confesse it shall not For it never brings forth any love of the truth any conformity thereunto in their lifes Yet are they never a whit the lesse inexcusable that refuse to beleeve Secondly why doe they not beleeve but quia noÌ„â—â—â—â— and Austin both in his lib. 3. de Gen. ad literam cap. 1. and his retraction thereof both sayth and justifyes as omnino true that even naturall men may both beleeve if they will and from the love of temporall things convert themselves to the the keeping of Gods commandements if they will For indeed this impotency which is found in all of doing that which is good is not so much naturall as morall having the the roote therof eyther only or cheâ—fly in the will of man And if they may believe if they will is it not just with God to punish them for
not believinge Therfore if a quaestion be made why the wicked doe not this or that which is good his answeare is quia nolunt but sayth he if you further demaund Quare nolunt Imus in lâ—gum sayth Austin yet without prejudice to a more diligent inquisition of the truth I answere sayth the same divine that the reason is eyther because it appeares not unto them what it is or appearing what it is yet it doth not delight them Sed ut innotescat quòd latebat suave fiat quod minime delectabat gratiae Dei est quae humanas adjuvat voluntates But to prosecute this argument farther then this Author dreames of we say there are but three sorts of supernaturall acts and they are eyther faith devine or hope devine or charitie divine all other acts are naturall and performable by a naturall man whether they be the acts of all morall vertues or an â—xterior conformitie to the meanes of grace wherby it comes to passe that some doe proficere ad exteriorem vitae emendationem but none of these acts are acceptable with God unles they proceede from and are rightly qualified by those three theologicall vertues faith hope and love all which are divine and supernaturall the love of God being such as is joyned with the contempt of our selfes as for faith and hope it appears how supernaturall they are by the supernaturall condition of theire objects Now suppose that a man were so exact both in naturall moralitie and in an outward conformitie to the meanes of grace as not to fayle in any particular as he hath power to performe any particular hereof naturally in this case I say if there were any such he shoulde be in the same case with those that are guilty of no sinne but sinne originall which yet the word of God teacheth us to be sufficient to make all men to be borne children of wrath though as Austin speaketh their poena be omnium mitissima and that such perhaps for so as remember he proposeth it ut mallent paenamillam subire quam non esse As for the necessitie of sinning which he saith God hath imposed upon them Corvinus confesseth that all men by the sinne of Adam are conjecti in necessitatem peccandi and that out of the opinion of Arminius his wordes are these Fatetur Arminius hominem sub statu peccati necessariò peccare nisi Deus istam necessitatem gratiose tollat And this he calls a litle after necessitatem peccandi But yet to cleare this necessitie which he doth not we doe not say that any man sinnes any particular sinne as the sinne of lying whoring swearing stealing necessarily for undoubtedly it is in the power of man to absteyne from any of these but this we say whatsoever they doe they sinne in some sort or other whether they committ fornication or whether they absteyne from fornication or from any other act forbidden in as much as they doe not absteyne from it in a gracious manner and acceptable unto God For they that are in the flesh cannot please God as in not absteyning from it for Gods sake in conscience of his word in reference to his glory out of the sence of his love towards them in Christ in acknowledgment that all power of doing things pleasing in his sight proceedes from him c. As for the imposing of this necessitie of sinning upon man When a man by defiling his body through incontinency bringes some filthy disease upon him which he propagates to his posteritie shall we say God imposeth this disease upon him and his though it cannot be denyed but even the course of nature is the worke of God in the like sort when Adam by sinning against God corrupted his owne nature and therewithall his whole posterity shall we lay the blame of this on God and call him the imposer of it and not on Adam yea on our selves who sinned in Adam as the Holy Ghost teacheth us to speake We speake plainly in saying that the love of God to the contempt of our selves is not naturall to any man unlesse he be indued with the Spirit of God but Adam was created and we in him in the state of grace and indued with the Spirit of God by vertue whereof the soule of man was fixed upon God as upon his end to enjoy him and to use all other things even our selves and all for him and in reference to his glory But whan man by the practise of Satan circumvented did voluntarily avert himself from God and converted himself first inordinately to the love of himself and then to the eating of the forbidden fruite for the acquiring of a state of better perfection It was just with God to withdraw his Spirit from him and leave him in that condition wherein he found him that is averted from God as his end and convert to the love of himself and to the creature â—o use not for Gods sake but for his owne sake and for the satisfying of his owne lusts 1. Thus were we all in Adam averted from the love of God to the contempt of our selves unto the love of our selves joyned with the contempt of God and consequently in an inordinate manner converted to the creature which is the originall corruption wherein we are all borne bereaved and that justly of the Spirit of God Wherefore let us not blaspheme God and blame him as the imposer of this necessity upon us but blame our selues as the corrupters of our selves Or at least if we cannot concoct this yet let us deale plainly and deny originall sinne and give Paul the lye to his face in saying we were all boâ—ne children of wrath Yet know and consider that Gods power in thus abandoning all mankinde for their sinne 〈◊〉 Adam is farre inferior to that power he shewed in cruciating his owne Sonne his most innocent and holy Sonne in making his soule an offering for our sinne And that God hath power not only to annihilate the holiest which is without all question but to inflict upon him any payne Medina is bolde to professe Ex concordi omnâ—um Theologorum Sententia And Vasques the Iesuite acknowledgeth as much though herein they say he should not cary himself as Iudex but as Dominus vitae mortis What that Zanchy is who is here mentioned as one of the principall Doctors of that Synod of Arles for so I presume is his meaning and not of the Synod of Dort I know not but had he alleaged the booke and quoted the place I would have returned my answer thereunto and shall be ready to doe as much as soone as I shall be made acquainted with the particulars out of the Author Zanchy himself It is as cleare as the Sunne that God in his word makes himself the lover of Iacob and the hater of Esau before they were borne and that as the Potter at his pleasure makes of the same lumpe vessells some to honour some to dishonour so God
judgements are of such a nature that they are least felt where they are most suffered And as he opposeth this so doth he impugne the doctrine of Gods word concerning the impotency that is found in all to beleeve to repent untill God be pleased to cure that infidelitie and impaenitency which by propagation of nature is derived unto us all and made as naturall unto us as flesh and bone As where it is sayd that men cannot beleeve cannot repent they that are in the flesh cannot please God That the naturall man perceaves not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnes unto him neyther can he know them because they are spiritually discerned that the affection of the flesh is enmitie against God it is not subject to the Law of God nor can be That we are all naturally dead in sinne and that our raysing therehence is no lesse worke then regeneration or new birth All this he setts himself purposely to oppose and that in a vile manner by base insinuations to undermine this doctrine rather then by any just argument to overthrow it But when we deale about the reformation of such a one we will pray unto God to accept our endeavours and to shew his power in making his word in our mouths powerfull as to the convicting of his sinne so to the humbling of him and bringing him acquainted with the Spirit of bondage to make him feare and that he may be pricked in the heart as the Iewes were when by Peters Sermon the Lord brought their horrible sinne close home unto them in crucifying the Sonne of God If so be he may finde sinn to be as an heavy burthen unto him and cry out unto us to minister a word of comfort unto his weary soule and in this case we will be â—old to apply unto him the comforts of God in Christ because our Saviour calls unto him all such as labour are heavy laden promising that he will ease them Yet if we doe exhort him to pray it followeth not that this exhortation is in vaine no more then exhortation to Infidels is in vaine when we exhort them to faith in Christ. For albeit neyther the one nor the other can be performed without grace Yet upon our exhortation God can worke this grace in him if it please him Many come to Church with a profane heart yet in the hearing of it it pleaseth God to convert some of them and Ekron may be as the Iebusite and God is able to turne Lebanon into Carmel and to make the most wast places finitefull even as the garden of the Lord. And Saul was converted in his heate and furious persecution of the Church of God God can convert not only aversas à vera fide but adversas verae fidei voluntates ex nolentibus volentes facere and that omnipotente facilitate as Austin hath observed It is untrue that grace workes a man to pray in such sort as to make it impossible for him not to pray for that were not to worke him to pray freely Vpon supposition that God by his Spirite doth worke a man to pray it is impossible he shoulde not pray but how contingently and freely So that impossibilitie is not simply an impossibilitie but only secundum quid and joyned with a possibilitie simply so called to the contrary Otherwise it could not be done contingently and freely For to produce a thing contingently is to produce it with a possibility to the contrary and to worke this or that freely is so to worke this or that as joyned with an active power eyther to forbeare and suspend the action or to produce a contrary operation And thus Aquinas most learnedly sheweth how that the efficacious will of God is the cause why both necessary things come to passe necessarily and contingent and free things contingently and freely and accordingly he hath ordeyned different second causes some working necessarily others working contingently freely But this is more it seemes then this Author hath hitherto beene acquainted with And as he hath exercised his Provinciall witt in opposing the doctrine of Gods word in the most untheologicall manner that I thinke was ever knowne to the world so I wish he would keepe his course and shew as little scholasticalitie in refuting Aquinas also in this particular And albeit God gives him not grace to mocke him yet the dutie of prayer doth no lesse oâ—lige man then any other duetie seing God gave this grace to us all in Adam and in Adam we all have sinned and by that sinne our nature is become bankrupt of grace untill God in mercy and for his sons sake be pleased to have compassion upon us to restore it But he is master of his owne times and bestowes this grace on some sooner on others later on some not at all When God sent Ezechiel to his people it seemes by that we read Ezechi 2.3.4.5 he sent him not to better them but that they might not say they had no Prophet among thâ—m and to cuâ— of that excuse yet I hope this Author is not in such a measure obduâ—ate as to say there was any such confusion in Ezechiels doctrine as here he chargeth upon ours which yet is merely according to his owne shapinge and with what felicitie he hath succeeded in this aâ—tâ—fice of his I have endeavaured to make it appeare unto the indifferent and unpartiall Reader We teache that no man can have evidence of his reprobation but by finall impenitency or by committing the sinne against the holy Ghost and in eyther of these cases there is just cause of despayre to Pelagius himselfe how much more to his disciples that oppose the grace of God after the truth therof is in such sort cleered let them looke unto it whether not against the voyce and light of their owne conscience As for securitie can the feare of God open a way therunto or doe we maynteyne any other perseverance in the state of grace then by the feare of God according to that Ier. 32.40 I will put my feare in their hearts that they shall never depart away from me To the question in what state David had bene had he dyed in his adultery he tells us of an answeare which is usually made by the Synodists as he saith namely that it was impossible for David to have dyed before he had repented because that after this he was to begett a sonne from whom the Messias must descend But who these Syndodists be whether of Dort or of Arles he mâ—ntions not much lesse the place where As for the Synod of Arles I never heard of it but by this manuscript In the Acts of the Synod of Dort I have beene something versed but I have not mett with this answer there nor ever heard of it before I read it in this Pamphlet And to my judgement it is imperfect in two particulars neyther of which this Author takes notice of the one is in altering the