Chapter 7 - Of Predestination and Creation

God’s decree, in as much as it concerneth man, is called Predestination: which is the decree of God, by the which He hath ordained all men to a certain and everlasting estate, that is, either to salvation or condemnation, for His own glory.  1 Thess. 5:9, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Rom. 9:13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” And verse 22, “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.”

The means of accompanying God’s predestination are two-fold.

The creation and fall.

The creation, is that by which God made all things very good, of nothing, that is, of no matter which was before the creation.  Gen. 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and &c.,” to the end of the chapter.

God’s manner of creating, as also of governing, is such, as that by His word alone, He without any instruments, means, assistance, or motion, produced all sorts of things.  For to will any thing with God, is both to be able and to perform it.  Heb. 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”  Psalm 148:5, “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.”

The goodness of the creature, is a kind of excellency, by which it was void of all defect, whether punishment or fault.

The creation, is of the world, or inhabitants in the world.

The world, is a most beautiful palace, framed out of a deformed substance, and fit to be inhabited.

The parts of the world, are the heavens and the earth.

The heavens are three-fold: the first is the air, the second the sky, the third an invisible and incorporeal essence, created to be the seat of all the blessed, both men and angels.  This third heaven is called Paradise, 2 Cor. 12:4.

The inhibitors of the world, are reasonable creatures, made according to God’s  own Image; they are either angels or men.  Gen. 1:26, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

The Image of God, is the goodness of the reasonable creature, resembling God in holiness.  Eph. 4:24, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

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William Perkins