nature not so much by allurement of will as by very constrainte of necessitie I come now to the vse and handlyng of Ciuill trades and forreine disciplines and to other dutiefull actions and considerations of the same kynde which are dayly frequented in mans lyfe In the whiche albeit Luther will confesse many thynges to be conteined that are subiect vnto Freewill yet will he not otherwise graunt thereunto but that euen in the selfe same the vnderstandyng mynde is many tymes deceaued will defrauded and freédome altogether ouerthrowen And yet doe we not for that cause vtterly extinguishe will or freédome nor wrappe vp and entangle the mynde nor spoyle reason of coūsell nor dispossesse mā frō his aunciēt inheritaunce of choyse or will howsoeuer the cruell outrage of Sinne hath weakened and wasted the sinewes and strength of nature beyng well created at the first yet remayneth neuerthelesse that naturall power of the soule not onely in those that are renewed in spirite but in them also that are not regenerate in respect of those actions especially wherof I made mention before But if the question be remoued to those actions which do not belong to the naturall and common conuersation of life but apperteine to the spirituall worshyppyng of God and concerne the kyngdome of Christ who can not here easily discerne that Freewill before it receaueth Grace though it be garnished with neuer so gorgeous a tittle hath besides a glorious tittle onely nothyng els whereby it may defende it selfe from seruile bondage or rayse it selfe vp to attaine the true freéedome of Saluation I doe not speake here of that freédome Osorius which is properly opposite to constrainte and compulsary violēce wherof we vaunte all in vayne nor of that naturall power of the reasonable soule whiche we seéke not to shake of ne yet of mans will beyng regenerated which we do not disable finally nor yet of those actions wherewith this sensible lyfe is beautified but I speake of those affections which are ascribed to the spirituall lyfe of the person that is regenerate in Christ. Whereupon accordyng to those fiue distinctions afore mentioned as many seuerall kyndes of questions do arise which for auoydyng confusion must be seuerally distinguished First if a question be moued of the freédome of nature being pure and sounde as was before the fall of Adam who doth not know that the state of that will was most pure and freé And it is not to bee doubted that mans Freewill was absolutely perfect in his first creation But that man by sinne lost the same freedome altogether August Secundarely if the question bee remoued ouer to the substaunce and to that part of man wherewith the mynde is endued with vnderstandyng and appetite as if this be the questiō whether mans will which is called freé were after the fall of Adam vtterly extinct and of no substaunce we do aunswere here with Ambrose that the Iudgemēt of will was corrupted in deede but not vtterly taken away And agayne The deuill did not spoyle man of his will vtterly but bereft him of the soundenesse and integritie of will For although mans will and the vnderstandyng parte of his soule was miserably corrupted through originall Sinne yet was it not so altogether abolished but that there remayneth some freédome to doe freé I call it in respect of those thynges which are either naturally carryed to motion without Iudgement as brute beastes or whiche are forced by coaction agaynst nature as stones By this therefore that is spoken it appeareth that will wherewith we are naturally endued in respect of the essentiall and naturall disposition thereof doth alwayes remayne in mans nature how corrupt soeuer it be yea and remayneth in such wise as hauyng alwayes a freé and voluntary operation in naturall causes without all forreine coaction vnlesse it be hindered and a naturall sensibilitie also and capacitie as Iustine tearmeth it in heauenly thynges if it be holpē And this is it that Augustines wordes seéme to emporte to my Iudgement where speakyng in the defence of Freewill vseth these wordes Beleeue sayth hee the holy Scriptures and that will is will and the grace of God without helpe whereof man can neither turne vnto God nor profite in God Agayne in his secōd Epistle to Valentin The Catholicke faith doth neither deny Freewill applyable to good life or badd life nor doth esteeme therof so highly as though it were of any value without the grace of God either to turne frō euill to good or to perseuer stedfast in good or to attaine to euerlasting goodnes whereas it feareth not now left it may fainte and decay c. And agayne in an other place I confesse sayth hee that will is alwayes free in vs but it is not alwayes good But the maner how it is sayd to bee alwayes freé must be learned of the same Augustine It is either free from righteousnesse sayth he when it is the bondslaue of sinne and than is it euill or it is free from Sinne when it is handmayd to righteousnesse and then is it good c. It appeareth therefore by this twofold freédome of Augustine that mans will is alwayes freé both in good thynges and in euill thynges But we ought to conceaue of this freédome in this wise not that she hath power of her owne strength to make choyse of good or euill namely in spirituall matters as our aduersaries doe dreame But accordyng to Augustines interpretation whē will is naught it is of her owne disposition naught when it is good then is it guided by grace not vnwillyngly but voluntaryly without compulsion yet freé notwithstandyng alwayes whether it be good or bad bycause it is alwayes voluntary neuer constrained And this much touchyng the propertie naturall disposition of mās will which who so will deny seemeth in my conceite to do euen all one as if he should deny that man is a reasonable creature for I seé no cause why reason may be more sequestred from man then will ought to be seuered from reason Which two thynges are so vnited together with a certeine naturall affinitie are so mutually linked together with an inseparable knot in the reasonable soule that Reason cā neither performe any exployte without will nor will enterprise any thyng aduisedly without the guidyng of Reason Therefore as Iudgement belongeth properly to Reason so to will and to worke apperteineth properly to will whether it be to good or to euil The one wherof respecteth the substaūce of will the other is peculiar to the disposition therof But as this liuely Reason being enclosed within her certeine limittes boūdes hath her proper peculiar obiectes so that she is vnable to rayse it selfe beyond the cōpasse of naturall vitall causes vnles it be enlightened euē so will beyng straighted wtin the same limittes boūdes of naturall causes hath no power at all in it selfe either to attēpt or to
and absolutely And yet neither may this be denyed in any wise that of the generall masse of all the creation any one thyng caÌ„ be without the coÌ„passe of Gods Deuine foreknowledge or done without his will albeit we must neédes confesse with Augustine that many thyngs are done agaynst his will Now therefore encombred as it were betwixt these two whirlepooles how shall we say that he doth either will Sinne which he doth forbyd and punish or that he doth not will sinne whenas nothyng can be done God not beyng wittyng and willyng thereunto Surely as touchyng Sinne God ought not to be named the Authour of Sinne properly Neither as Ambrose truely writeth can iniquitie issue from thence whence floweth all righteousnesse And yet can not God be excluded from the direction rule of Sinne altogether vnlesse we may thinke that somethyng may chauÌ„ce in mans lyfe which the almighty eye of God either seéth not or that his will willeth not If he do not seé it where is then his eternall foreknowledge if the thynges which he seéth be done without his knowledge and will where is his euerlastyng omnipotencie which worketh all in all and wherewith he is sayd to doe all thinges that he will in heaueÌ„ and in earth What shall we say then If God will not haue Sinne why is sinne committed so woÌ„derfully ouerflowyng If he will haue sinne how may it be defeÌ„ded that he is righteous for after this sorte reasoneth Osorius as though the righteousness of God could not be excusable if God may be supposed either to will Sinne or to be any cause or procurour of Sinne. Albeit this drift of Osori whereby he coÌ„cludeth that God willeth not sinne bycause hee is righteous may be in some respect yelded vnto so that it haue relation to the same will of God which hath discouered it selfe vnto vs in his expresse law which will the Schoolemen tearme VoluntateÌ„ sigui or if he argue on this wise God is righteous Ergo He is not a Sinner God is righteousnesse it selfe Ergo He can not sinne This Argument would hold well enough But this other Argument can not be good to say God is righteous and the founteine of all righteousnes Ergo God can not will Sinne in any others without preiudice to his owne righteousnesse As though God could not will Sinne in some respect not sinnefully with that most secrete and vnsearcheable will wherewith he orderâ—in and sweetely disposeth all thynges in heauen and in earth not empayring in the meane space any ioate of his own righteousnes at all Nay rather what if euen for the selfe same cause bycause he is righteous some kynde of actions do sometymes burst out whiche beyng committed of men in respect of mans nature are Sinne but in respect of God are not Sinne but punishementes of Sinne powred fromout his most iust Iudgement for it is not the least office of Iustice to punish sinne by sinne nor is it by and by necessary to Iudge alyke of the causes them selues whenas one selfe same action doth proceéde froÌ„ diuerse causes vnlesse the causes be altogether correspondent in action When the Magistrate doth execute the offendour he is both the cause of his death and doth willyngly cause him to be executed not bycause he delighteth in his death but enduced onely by necessitie of doyng Iustice he doth in that respect both rightfully and necessaryly minister Iustice. But if a priuate maÌ„ or a RussiaÌ„ should willyngly put a maÌ„ to death he should be deémed a murtherer When the parent doth chastize his vnthriftie child with the rodde he doth the same rightfully yea if he dyd it not he should Sinne. But if the brother should beate his brother or the seruaunt his felow seruaunt the same could not but be culpable Wherfore in all maner of actions regarde must be had not onely what is done but how it is done so must the ende and causes also bee considered whiche being in nomber many tymes many diuers not all of one nature do neuerthelesse concurre For it may be as it doth oftentimes come to passe that in causes beyng coÌ„currauÌ„t in one actioÌ„ may be great diuersitie So that one selfe same cause may be in one kynde of actioÌ„ wicked and in another actioÌ„ meére righteousnesse It may so come to passe that a man at a tyme may committe robbery or fall into some other haynous wickednesse where if you seéke for the very cause of executyng that action you may rightly impute it to the frayltie of mans nature If you seéke the procuryng cause that draue him to consent no doubt it was his wicked thought and corrupt mynde which is altogether replenished with sinne neither is it to be doubted but that Sinne is engendred out of the corrupt will of maÌ„ without the which as Anselme doth witnesse no wicked action is committed Whereby appeareth at the length that because no vncleannesse can be founde in the will of God therfore his most sacred nature can by no meanes be defiled with Sinne. But if you be desirous to learne from whence this corruption and euillnesse of the mynde imaginatioÌ„ doth proceéde Caluine him selfe whom you accuse very greéuously shall aunswere you in his owne behalfe This corruption of mynde sayth he commeth partly by the procurement of Sathan partly by the frayltie of nature which man did defile by his owne voluntary fall Whereupon he sayth when the cause of euill is sought for we ought not to seéke it els where then in our selues but the whole blame therof we must lay vpon our selues You will say then and how then will these wordes of Caluine agree with Luthers doctrine seing Luther maketh God the Authour both of good and euill and Caluine maketh man the cause of euill Nay rather by what meanes can you forge vnto vs such a crafty deuise of iarryng in so vniforme an agreement of IudgemeÌ„t betwixt Luther and Caluine Caluine supposeth that the cause of euill ought not to be sought for els where then in man Luther teacheth that no righteousnesse ought to be sought for els where then in God onely And where be these felowes now which either go about to make man excusable or God culpable of vnrighteousnes by any meanes for to this effect teÌ„deth the whole force of Osor. brablyng agaynst Luther as though God could not will sinne by any meanes but that the glory of his Iustice should by and by be blemished And bycause mans will imaginyng or doyng wickedly at any tyme can not imagine or do euill without Sinne therefore Osorius dreameth forthwith that it fareth in lyke maner in Gods will which is most vntrue For nothyng withstandeth at all but that many causes of semblable affections may concurre oftentymes all which nothwithstandyng may not altogether powre out semblable force of operatioÌ„ after one and semblable sorte And therfore this is no good Argument God accordyng to his secrete
They that doe fortifie Grace in such wise as that maÌ„s Freewill may in no sense be admitted withall doe not Iudge therof rightly For mans will whether it be good or whether it be euill doth neuer cease to be after a certeyne sort Free either Free to righteousnes or Free to Sinne which if it be good she receaueth her goodnes of Grace if it be euill she sucketh that euill of her selfe and therfore sucketh it of her selfe bycause it is seuered from Grace Furthermore it must be coÌ„sidered in what sence Augustine doth construe Freewill Surely if our aduersaries doe interprete Freewill after this sence as though it coÌ„teyned in her owne power a Free election of chusing good or euill they swarue altogether from Augustines interpretatioÌ„ Who by this vocable Freewill seémeth to signifie nothyng els then that will onely which worketh those thynges voluntaryly that it worketh whether they be good or euill An other Obiection out of Augustine Beleue the holy Scriptures both that there is Freewill and the grace of GOD without whose helpe man can neither be conuerted to God nor profite with God Agayne out of his 2. Epistle to Valentine The Catholicke fayth doth neuer deny Freewill either towards good life or towards euill life Neither doth it attribute so much vnto it as that it may be of any value without the grace of God whether it be conuerted out of euill into good or whether it continue profityng in good or whether it attayne to the euerlasting good whereas now it feareth not least it quayle and waxe faynte c. What is meant els by these wordes of Augustine but that vnder the name of Freewill that will be vnderstanded in man which is capable aswell of euill as of good and may be euill of it selfe through corruption of Nature but good onely by reformation of Grace All actions that men take in hand do proceade froÌ„ God the first mouer and ruler as from the first cause thereof accordyng to Luthers doctrine All sinnes are actions Ergo After the Lutheranes doctrine all sinnes doe proceade from God as from the chief and first cause First in the Maior this word Actions must be distinguished Some Actions are Naturall some are Deuine and Supernaturall Now if the Maior haue respect to these Actions then is the Maior true and the Minor to be denyed For the Maior doth not meane properly these Actions which are not of nature but agaynst nature of which sort are sinnes and the ActioÌ„s of wicked Spirites or if it do meane those Actions it may be denyed There is besides theâ—e a thyrdkynde of Action which is called a Freé and voluntary Action I call it Freé for this cause wherby will is willingby euill without all coaction as August witnesseth And these kyndes of Actions which are proper and peculiar to man doe proceade from will as from the nearest and most proper cause although not altogether without the prouidence and ministery of God which as it powreth it selfe abroad through out all maner of thyngs by a certeine secret influence beyond all reach of capacitie euen so doth it encline and make plyable the very wills of men to whatsoeuer purposes it pleaseth him Yet so notwithstaÌ„dyng as that no man is constrayned thereunto by this inclination For neither is any man compelled to be euill agaynst his will when he doth naughtyly except he will him selfe So that now it is neédelesse for any man to seéke for the cause of Sinne without him selfe as Caluine truly teacheth But Osorius doth obiect here agayne Whosoeuer doth entice and allure an other to wickednesse is as much in faulte as he that is allured thereununto at the least is not voyde of blame God doth moue and prouoke mens wills to do haynous offences after the Lutheranes doctrine Ergo God him selfe accordyng to the Lutheranes as the first motioner and cause of euill can not be cleare of faulte The Maior is true there where both he that doth allure he that is allured are lead both by one kynde of coÌ„sent are holden both together vnder one selfe coÌ„ditioÌ„s haue both regarde to one selfe ende in their doyng But now all these thynges doe chaunce farre otherwise in God then in men For as God doth worke nothing but that which is wrought with a maruelous pure sincere will who caÌ„ will nothyng but that which is most good euen so doth he attempt nothyng at any tyme but that he may doe of his most Freé Iustice nor is tyed to any conditions or lawes Now where no law is there neither is any Sinne at all For Sinnes properly are defined not so much by the bare actions as by the conditions lawes and endes At a word to make this matter more discernable God coÌ„maunded Abraham that he should kill his Sonne if any other had coÌ„maunded the same or if the Father had attempted to do the same at any others coÌ„maundement he had â—urely sinned But now sithe it was the Lordes Commaundement neither was there any sinne in him that did commaunde neither in him that did assent no though he had slayne him in deéde What â—hall we say of this That the same Father of heaueÌ„ and earth when he gaue his onely begotten sonne to be flayne yea altogether vndeseruyng it for this Tragedy was not played surely without his hand and secrete counsell shall we therefore say that he sinned bycause in this worke he willed the same that the murtherers dyd For neither was his coÌ„sent absent nor seneâ—ed froÌ„ their will which did Crucifie the Sonne of God ne yet his ordinaunce yet was this ordinauÌ„ce of his cleare from sinne notwithstaÌ„dyng but their fury lacked not sinne In deéde his consentyng will dyd will the same that they willed But not after the same sort for a farre other maner of end For in them that dyd Crucifie Christ appeareth a treble ArgumeÌ„t playne demonstration of Sinne. First bycause they brake the lawes that were commaunded theÌ„ contrary to all equitie right Agayne for that they layed violent handes vpon the innocent beyng enflamed with malice and despight wherein also they did not respect any other end but to embrue their madd murtheryng handes with innocent bloud to establish thereby their arrogaunt ambitioÌ„ All which were farre otherwise in God For first who euer limited any lawes for God which he might not breake Wherfore beyng Freé from all law he neither did any thyng here nor at any tyme els can doe any thyng that is not in all respectes most lawfull for him to doe And yet neither did the Father here so procure the death of his Sonne but that the Sonne him selfe did voluÌ„taryly of his own accord yeld theruÌ„to Moreouer in this the fathers will was nothing amisse in his ordinaunce nothyng malicious in the end nothyng but most glorious for our saluation For on the other side in all this actioÌ„ was woÌ„derfully vttered expressed his
c. And these giftes of God in deéde as Augustine reporteth if there be no Predestination are not foreknowne of God if they be foreknowne then is there a necessary predestination of God which we do defend To conclude Christ doth aduertize hys disciples That God doth know well inough what they stand in neede of before they doe pray and yet he willeth them to pray notwithstanding shewing vnto them aforme of prayer also Sufficient aunswere is made nowe Osori if I be not deceaued vnto the obiections of your fraternity that is to say to your trifles and slaūders if not to all yet at the least to the very principall pillers and chiefe stayes of your vagarant disputation if not with such force and dexterity as may be able to putte your ouerthwhart obstinacy to scilence yet as much for the defence of Luthers cause as will satisfie the reasonable Reader I trust sauing that there remaineth one quarrell or cōplaynt of yours as yet agaynst Luther A hanger by of all the rest as it were whereunto I cannot tell what I shall say whether I were best to laugh at it or aunswere it for who can possibly resfrayne from laughter to reade that ridiculous counterfayte Prosopopoeia of yours wherein lyke a very foolish Rhetorician you haue thrust in vppon the stage a lusty Ruffler who in the person of a Swartrutter may accuse Luther for the vproares raysed by the countrey Boores in Germany As though of all that whole route of Clownes any one were heard at anye tyme to accuse Luther as Author of this tumulte or woulde haue vttered somuch as halfe a word of reproche against him for the same if he might speake for him selfe were not compelled to vse herein the counterfaite person of an other or as though the Hystories do not declare sufficiētly from whence the spryng head of all this mischief burst out at the first surely not from Luther but from an other Crowbyrde from an other Chayre of pestilence Osorius what soeuer it was But goe to Let vs heare what dronken eloquence this gallaunt counterfaite swart Rutter doth gushe out vnto vs out of Osorius drousie tankerd And with what flashes of thundryng wordes he meaneth to scorche vppe Luther withall O Luther why doest thou accuse the harmelesse and innocent why doest thou rage why art thou madde Truly I should haue wondered if Osorius would haue spoken any thyng agaynst Luther but with some haryshe eloquēce Nay rather Osori if your selfe be not starke madde what kynde of maddnes What rage what accusatiōs do ye tell vs of here Wherfore let it be as lawfull for Luther to aunswere for him selfe agayne and with like speéche not to the Germaine ruffler but to the Porting all Byshop whom if he might reproue agayn contrarywise after this maner O Osorius why do ye accuse the guiltelesse why doe ye keépe such a sturre why are you so franticke who if were well in your wittes would neuer reproche me with such madnesse But what haue I haue done what haue I deserued is it bycause I would not encline to the furious disorders of the rebellious what dyd I euer so much as moue a finger towardes that cause did I not reproue them forthwith with penne and speache very instauntly did euer man more earnestly bende the force of his arme agaynst them thē I did my writing If they would but haue harkened to my counsell and continuall admonitions the matter had neuer proceéded to so much bloudshead What And shall I receaue this recompence for my good meanyng towardes you to be accoumpted a madd man No say you not bycause ye wrote agaynst them doe we reprehend you but bycause you ministred the occasion of this vprore But from whence do ye gather this to be true Osorius Forsooth bycause they did learne this of you that we were not able of our selues to doe either good or euil for that God doth as you say worke all in all in vs. c. In deéde I haue denyed that to thinke good or euill is in our owne hād And what hereof I pray you in what respect are these wordes applyable to the Countrey Boores and to their rebellion Doth that man open a gappe of licentiousnesse and seditious treachery to husbandmen which doth abate that Freédome from mans will in doyng or atchieuyng any enterprise which your Deuines do falsely challenge as proper to mā Is it therfore lawfull to be wicked bycause many tymes men are hindered agaynst their wills from puttyng a mischief in executiō or shall the will be therfore not wicked in doyng wickedly bycause it is not freé but enforced to yeld to a necessary Seruilitie which of it selfe it is not able to shake away Is the wicked Spirite therfore excused bycause in doyng euill he doth it not so much of any Freédome as of Necessitie for how shall he be sayd to be freé which amiddes the race of his rudenes is now and then restrayned agaynst his will and is not Lord of his owne will not so much as in doyng euill yet doth this beyng not freé of him selfe nothyng withstād but that he continue euill still what and if I had sayd that the will of the wicked of it selfe is not freé but euery way captiue and bonde is it therfore to be imputed to God forthwith not to men whatsoeuer they shall do wickedly As though when men do thinke or committe euill they be compelled thereunto agaynst their willes are not willyngly and of their owne motion chiefly drawen thereunto For to confesse this saying to be most true That God is he that worketh all in all yet doth he bryng to passe nothyng in mā surely without their owne wills so that if there be any euill in them there is no cause why God should be accused for it but euery man must laye the fault of his owne folly and wilfulnes to his owne charge But say you for as much as God doth lead mens willes hereunto by what reason cā ye couple the stabilitie of your doctrine with the defence of Gods Iustice. I do aunswere First when we do ioyne the singuler prouidence of God workyng all in all in all the actions of mans lyfe we do set the same forth as all thynges may be referred to this as to the primer cause efficient which doth not worke properly but in respect of the last end of all thinges Here now for as much as God is of his owne nature most best and most perfect hereupon it commeth to passe that he which hath ordeined all thynges for him selfe can in no respect be the cause of euill 2. Then as touchyng the middle causes whereas there is no man that doth not fall through his owne default and the procurement of Sathan it shal be reason therfore that no man seéke for the cause of sinne without his own selfe and that he complayne not of God for the same 3. But yet to admit
Cap. 13. August de grat Christi contra Pellag Lib. Cap. 20. Luther de seruo Arb. Cap. 48.47 ObiectioÌ„ of the Defendours of Freewill taken out of the booke of Hyperaspistes Aunswere Iohn 8. In that men are called holy and wise must be referred not to their deseruyngs but to grace wholy Aug. Epist. 89. ad Hillarium August de serm Dom. in monte Lib. 2. An Argument out of the wordes of August to Hyllary In what sense Aug calleth will Freewill Will seemeth rather to bee termed voluntary theÌ„ free The Confession of Auspurgh Caluinus contra Alb. Phâ—gium Lib. 5. August de bono perseuer prosper Cap. 12 andâ— 21. A comparison of Luthers AssertioÌ„s and the Papistes The fruite and coÌ„moditie of Luthers doctrine Osorius Pag. 151. The man hath spoke Ibidem Osori Pag. 152. The manifold consideration of Necessitie What is Necessary Two beginnynges of Neccessitie Necessitie of CoactioÌ„ Pag. 151. The shamelesse and lyeng cauill of Osorius Osori Argument Aunswere Necessitie of sinnyng is not to be imputed to God but to our selues An other Argument of Osorius Aunswere Freedome taken two wayes Necessitie to be taken two maner of wayes The Necessitie that Luther teacheth doth take awaye fortune and chaunce but taketh not awaye freedome from will Freedome is taken away by coaction not by Necessitie Osori Argument Pag. 151. The CoÌ„futation Origene against Celsus 2. booke Our actioÌ„s must be guded by approued reason and not vncerteine certeinetie An other suttle Sophisme of Osorius is opened Pag. 151. The ObiectioÌ„ of Celestine the Pelagian agaynst Augustine Aug. Aunswere Obiection Aunswere August vpoÌ„ the wordes of the Apostle theâ— 2. Sermon August Epistle to Sixtus Celestius the Pelagian against Augustine August de Corrâ—pt grat Cap. 6. Osor. cauill Pag. 151. Aunswere Osori double errour All thyngs are subiect to Gods prouidence Chaunceable thingesâ— Destiny fortune chauÌ„ce be excluded from beyng the causes of actions The order of superiour and inferiour causes Freewill is neither altogether boÌ„d nor altogether free Necessitie vnchangeable and of certeintie In respect of Gods prouidence all thynges are done of Necessitie and not by chaunce Obiection An Argument taken froÌ„ the preceptes and exhortatioÌ„s of Gods law Pag. 15â— Aunswere August de gratia libero arbit Cap. 16. August agaynst the 2. Epistles of Pelagius Cap. 10. Why the Commaundements of the law were ordeined out of S. Paule Rom. 3.5 Mans infirmitie doth not take away the Necessitie of the law The Necessitie of certeintie doth not diminishe mans endeuour The foreknowledge of GOD doth not take away freedome from man Osorius Pag. 152. Aunswere Of the truth of Gods Predestination and foreknowledge How thynges may be tearmed chaunceable Luther falsely accused to make GOD the Authour of wickedness Luthers assertion defended agaynst the cauill of Osorius An admonitioÌ„ to the Readers August Enchirid 100. To be the cause of Sinne properly ought not to be imputed to God Ambrose of the callyng of the Gentiles the second booke the last Chapter CoÌ„mittyng of sinne can neither be without the knowledge of God nor without his will altogether by what reason Will to be distinguished in God Osor. Drift It is no repugnancie to Gods righteousnes to will sinne in some respect without sinne There is many tymes great diuersitie in causes of oneselfe same action Anselm de casu Diabo li. Cap. 19. Caluine agaynst Pighi Lib. 5. Luthers Caluines doctrine true and agreable touchyng the cause of Sinne. Gods will is not to be measured by the affection of maÌ„s will wherein Osorius doth erre Aug. Lib. 3. de Trinit The will of God higher then all other causes An Obiection out of the Psalm Aunswere Agaynst Gods will without Gods will August agaynst Iâ—liaÌ„ the Pelag. Lib. 5. Cap. 3. Gods will taken two maner of wayes The secrete will of God that is vsually called his good pleasure Gods will discouered in his word is termed Voluntas Signi God is not cause of euill accordyng to his will reuealed by hiâ— word Gods will can not be exempt altogether from the orderyng of causes MaÌ„ 's destruction commeth of himselfe yet not without Gods prouidence Certayne actions in respect of man may be sinnes in respect of God may be righteous God is the cause not the cause of sinnes in sundry respectes August de Praedest grat Cap. 4 How blynding and hardning is to be taken with God Aug. de lib. Arb. grat Cap. 21. 2. Thessa. 2. The true cause of sinne is properly in man not in God August Enchirid Cap. 95. An Argument out of August August against Iulyan the Pelagi 5. book Cap. 3. 1. Kinges Cap. 12. 1. Kings 12. 2. parillipo Cap. 25. 1. Paralipo 12. 2. Paralipo 24. Esay 63. Ezech. 14. Iob. 1. Iob. 1. The meanes of Gods prouidence is notified by example Not to striue agaynst Luther but to warre agaynst God hymselfe Cicereos discourse agaynst Gods prouidence is detestable Cicero de natur deor lib. 2. August de Ciuitat dei 5. Booke Cap. 9. Aug. de Ciuitat dei lib. 5. Cap. 9. Aug. in the same booke and Chap. A suttle Sophisme practizyng to persuade meere absurdities An execrable conclusion The suttletie of the Sophisme is disclosed August de Ciuit. Dei Lib. 5. Cap. 9. Luther doth neither teache euery Necessitie absolutely nor take away freedome from all men August de Natur. Grat. Cap. 22. Osorius pag. 152. An answere to the false diuinitie of Osorius Aug. de Correp grat cap. 14. August de Ciuitat dei lib. 5. Cap. 9. Aug. de peccatis meritis lib. 2. Cap. 5. Oso Cauiâ— August in hys treatise vpon Gen. agaynst Manichaeus lib. 1. Cap. 2. How causes are called onely and proper causes Rom. 3. Pag. 154. Paules meanyng expouÌ„ded accordyng to Osorius Rom. 9. Rom. 10. Rom. 11. The disposicion of Paules discourse of predestination and election after the interpretation of the faithful Osorius pag. 152. Examples of Isaac and Iacob Ismael and Esau. Rom. 9. The example of Pharao All reward of merites excluded Osorius Pag. 155. Maior Minor ConclusioÌ„ Election what signifieth after Osorius logick August Ephes. 1. The ordina-Glose vpon the 1. chap. to the Ephe. Whether Gods Election doe depend vpoÌ„ our actions to come Pag. 256. How Osor. doth define the purpose of God Pag. 156. The cause and reason of Election according to Osor. and the new pelagianes The crafty cauillation of Osorius Pag. 156. Aunswere Rom. 11. Rom. 9. Workes foreseene are not they which are done but whiche are to be done accordyng to the schoolemeÌ„ Workes foreseene are in no respect the cause of Gods election The second Reason The third Reason The fourth Reason The fift reason The sixth Reason The seueÌ„th reason Ezech. 1.16 Corinth 1. August ad Simplicianum The eight Reason the 9. Reason Aug. retract lib. 1. cap. 19. The 10. reason Aug. contra Iulia. pelag lib. 5. cap. 3. August ad Simplici Lib. 1. Quaest. 2. Osori
Argument Aunswere Aristot. Ethic Lib. 3. Cap. 3. The Fallax from that whiche is not the cause to the cause 4. Causes of Election or Predest by Paule Rom 9. Ephe. 1. Rom. 9. Osor. 2. argument The argument pag. 153. Aunswere The Aduersaries obiect resolued Leuit. 20. Numer 11. Marc. 1. The reason of the aduersaries touching the mercy and iustice of God and the cause of the same expounded and confuted The respect of merites are directly against Gods free power Pag. 156. 157. Osori Obiection Aunswere August de nat grat Cap. 5. Math. 12. Rom. 3. Arguments Both the propositiōs of the arguments are denyed All the defence of Gods iustice doth consist in hys will Aug. de Trinit lib. 3. Obiectiō of a Sclaunderer The argument of the Aduersary Maior Minor Conclusion An Aunswere out of S. Paule The Apostle doth aunswere two manner of waies Rom. 9. The similitude of the Potter Rom. 9. S. Paules Argument against foreseene workes The aunswere of this Proctour and others The confutatiō of the aduersaries aunswere Rom. 9. August de Praedest grat Cap. 7. Electiō depēdeth not vpon fayth in our workes but fayth and workes depende vpon Election The stinolous cauillation of Osorius hys ouerthrow Rom. 11. Rom. 9. Rom. 11. Aug. depredest grat Cap. 7. Osorius taken tardy as Enemy to Grace Osori pag. 257. The summe of Christian doctrine doth consist in foure thynges chiefly Electiō and Predestination Vocation Conuersiō Iustificatiō and lyfe euerlastyng Glory of immortalitie Osori doth couer an Enemy of Grace vnder a glorious praysing of vertue Rom. 9. Osori pag. 157. August ad simplicia Lib. 1. Quest. 2. The meanyng of Paule opened by Augustine The defēce of Gods Iustice consisteth not in any thing els thē in the onely mercy of God according to Osorius Esau. Iacob The hardenyng of Pharao Osorius Pag. 158. The confutation of Osori Obiection The chief meanes wherewith Gods Iustice may be defended Rom. 9. An other exception of Osorius confuted Osorius pag. 158. The reason of Osorius touchyng the cause order of predestination Aug. ad simplici lib. 1. quest 2. Rom. 9. The words of Paul expounded August ad simplici Lib. 1. Quaest. 2. In Predest the first cause must be coupled with the last end Osori pag. 158. 159. 160. The aunswere to Osorius cōclusion Pag. 161. Osori pag. 161. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The office of a Iudge of a creatour farre diuerse Rom. 9. Osori pag. 161. The Argument of Osori out of S. Paule The aunswere with an explication of S. Paule Osori Cauill vpō the wordes of Paule Fashioned The will purpose of God the first cause Election Predestination Creation Calling accordyng to his purpose Vocation accordyng to purpose Fayth Iustificatiō The Glory of God the last end Pag. 161. Osori Obiection pag. 161. Aunswere Aunswere Whether vessels of honour be made of wickednes onely as of the first cause Pharaoes Reiection proceeded not of his Rebellion but his Rebellion rather of his reiection A double consideration of the Vessels of wrath Rom. 9. Cauilles of the aduersaries An answere to Osorius Cauils Gods will taken two manner of wayes Psal. 113. Luke 10. Gods will is the beginning and rule of all thinges How wicked men do the will of God I. Thessa. 4. The order and processe of causes Rom. 9. The place of Paule to the Rom 9. expounded The cause effecient The cause deficient How the causes of Election and damnation do differr agree betwixt them selues How Gods will doth behaue it self in the Elect. The damnation of the wicked ought not to be imputed to God In the damnacion of the wicked two thinges are to be cōsidered Malum culpae Malum poenae How the damnation of thē that perish thorow their owne default tourneth to good in the sight of God Aug. Enchi Cap. 95. Aug. Enchi Cap. 100. How the efficient cause of saluation and damnation do differre The efficient cause The deficiēt Cause out of Aug. lib. de Ciuit. dei 12. Cap. 6.9.7 Question Answere The promise of God is generall with a promise Singuli generum Gunera singulorum The end of Creation to Godward The prouidēce of god ought not to be accused in the destruction of the Reprobates How Gods sufferaunce dealeth in mens actions or life Whether Gods sufferaunce or hys will beare more rule in mans lyfe A dubble obiection The originall of sinne is to be ascribed vnto the Creature not vnto the Creatour God dyd not create man to the ende he should perish Frō whēce the cause of damnation sprang at the first The Obiections confuted The cause of eche mās dānation is within him selfe Infidelitie proceedeth rather of ignoraunce thē of will Fayth being the gift of God springeth not frō mans will 1 Peter 2. 2. Thessa. 1. Actes 13. 1. Cor. 2. Esay 6.9 Math. 20. Luke 8. 1. Pet. 2. Two things to be considered in Gods mercy Whether Gods mercy be generall to all indifferently and how it is generall Grace of Vocation Grace of Election Fayth and Saluation take their originall from Grace rather then from our owne will An Aunswere to the place of Chrisostome The secret will of his good pleasure vnreuealed i. Beneplaciti The expresse will of God reuealed i. Voluntas Signi Vocation taken two maner of wayes accordyng to Augustine◠August ad Simplici Pighius touchyng the equalitie of Gods Grace towardes all Pighius similitude taken out of the Epistle to the Hebrues The Reason of Pighius and Osor. is cōfeted Whether it be of God or of man that the good and the euill do differre An answere Pighi similitude The place out of the Epist. to the Hebrues An other Reason of the aduersary leading to absurdity An acceptiō of persones The aduersaries obiections are mett withall That those that are not chosen doe not come how mans will gods predestination do seuerally work Selfe power or libertie to liue after her own will Aug. contra 2. Epist. pela lib. 1. Cap 3. Aug. de predest 1. sancti Cap. 3. Mans will is neuer so free but that it is alwaies coupled with Necessitie The strēgth of Orignall sinne Gods predestination both elder in tyme and in power surmonnting all mās will The obiections of the Aduersaries The aunswere Aug. ad bonifacium lib. 1. Cap. 19. De lib. arb Cap. 2. 17. Aug. de correp grat Cap. 1. epist. 107. ad victalem Wherein effectuall Grace doth consiste Aug. de gra libe arbit Cap. 5. Aug. contra 2. Epist. pela lib. 1. Cap. 18. Osori pag. 162. The complaynt of Osorius agaynst Luther touchyng the subuersion of Ciuill societie The Tyrannicall state of the Pope somewhat troubled by Luther The Pope The Cardinalls Mytred Byshoppes Droues of Monckes Friers The Wolfe doth accuse the Lambe for troublyng the water Gene. 26. The seat of the beast in the Apocali Apoc. 16. 2. Thessa. 2. Amos. 7. 3. Kyngs It is declared by exāples what and how
be takē for no part of any cause not bycause we dispoyle her of all maner of motion but we doe distinguish the maner of motion in such wise that all the prayse of well doing be ascribed vnto him vnto whom onely all is due whatsoeuer we will or can as Augustine reporteth and that in this respect Freewill is endued with no actiuitie whereupon it may vaunte her force For so shall we liue more out of daunger sayth he if we yeld ouer all vnto God and not commit part of our actions to him and part to our selues c. And agayne in the xiij Chapter of the same booke I graunt in deede that we will and worke but God worketh in vs both to will and to worke according to his good pleasure Thus it behoueth vs to speake and beleue This is godly this is true that by this meanes our Cōfession may be hūble and lowly and all attributed vnto God c. But I heare what this arrogaunt hautynes of Frewill doth whisper agaynst this humble Confession If all this sayth he be the worke of God and no power bee left in mans endeuour that may procure furtheraunce to our conuersion Ergo sithence there is nothyng left in vs to doe what are we thē other then as good as stones stockes Which Argument Osorius hath gathered as hee sayth not out of S. Paule but out of Luthers braynsickenesse I would haue marueiled if Osorius could haue gathered any Argument from any without some reproche or could haue reproched any man without a lye But thus to doe is not to gather some thyng frō an other but to lye rather not to dispute by Arguyng but to play the part of a captious scoffer But to let passe this dronken scoffe as which neither furthereth his cause nor empayreth Luthers estimation we will turne our talke agayne to the matter Luther is here therfore cited for a drunckard who by blazing abroad Medusaes head doth enchaūt men into stones and flyntes And why so Forsooth bycause he doth deny that we do aspire to the fauour of God of our own strēgth but affirmeth that all whatsoeuer we do take in hād or bryng to passe towardes the attaynement of saluation we obteine the same wholy through the onely worke of Gods grace which worketh all in all in vs. Hereupon Osorius cryeth out forthwith That will is fast tyed boūde and restrayned with euerlasting fetters so that men must of necessitie be chaunged into stones rockes and stockes So that it is much to bee feared least by this Argument he turne Peter also into a stone bycause Christ called him a Stone least he chaunge Christ him selfe Peters Maister also together with Peter into some stony substaunce bycause Paule calleth him a Rocke and bycause the Prophetes doe nominate him the Corner Stone It is also to be feared least he bewitche into stones all the whole aūcient race of the old Testament of whō we heare the Prophetes speake in this wise And I will take away from their fleshe their stony hart c. If the propheticall Scripture do accustome to resemble the properties of personages by some similitude of domme creatures after an vsuall phrase of figuratiue speache may it not likewise be lawfull for vs to expresse the hardnesse of mās nature vnlesse we enchaūt mē forthwith into stones stockes flyntes I beseéch you Or bycause we professe that Freewill is all together vneffectuall in those thynges which apperteine vnto God and to worke or vnderstād things which passe beyond the reache of mās capacitie vnlesse it be plyed by Gods Spirite is there no force therfore in Freewill to worke in other thynges or to worke in those thynges which belong vnto God beyng holpen and assisted by the grace of God And will you so frame your Argument from the proposition Secundum quid to conclude with that which the Sophisters terme Simpliciter Wherein though you be a Byshop your fatherhoode seémeth to me to haue committed a double errour First bycause you cōceaue not the sense of those men sufficiently whō you quarell against next bycause you deceaue your selfe in the selfe same Assertiō which you do mainteine For those men which do call backe all the causes of actiōs frō Freewill attributyng them to Gods grace onely doe not conceaue of it after such sort as though the mynde beyng endued with heauēly strēgth whē it is made plyable doth not apply it selfe any thyng in the meane space For euē as Gods secrete Grace through Iesus Christ our Lord is not powred into stones stockes or brute beastes as Augustine doth truly record but into him which was created in the Image of God euē so God doth not worke in this his owne Image as hee worketh in a stone or after the maner as huge heauy burdēs are drawen by mans pollicie in the which abydeth no inward operation as Aristotle sayth which may auayle to motion The matter goeth farre otherwise here and the natures are farre vnlike True it is that the heauenly grace doth draw vs in deéde not through any force of externall coaction as blockes Images are drawen but God leadeth and boweth which way him listeth euery person inwardly by his owne will or plyeth hee any man otherwise then voluntaryly It is well then say you If will do nothyng but when she will and if it will alwayes first before it do how then shall will bee sayd to worke passiuely whiche both willeth alwayes those thynges which it doth and doth nothyng but that whiche it willeth The Aunswere is easie Will in deéde doth nothyng but when it willeth this is true For otherwise it could be no will vnlesse it did doe willyngly and voluntaryly But yet neither doth will alwayes all those thynges whiche it willeth And agayne to be able to will it is alwayes made plyable first By the one whereof may be vnderstanded the Instrument or toole of action by the other the cause of action Wherfore whenas will is taken after this maner that it yeld to the guiding of the workeman in the maner of a toole by what meanes can it be called either freé which serueth as bounde or how can it be sayd to do which in doyng doth alwayes suffer and is driuē And yet it doth not so alwayes suffer by doyng that it neuer doth any thyng of it selfe and agayne doth neuer so doe in those thynges which apperteine vnto God but that it is made plyable to doe And therfore the maner how it doth and how it suffereth must be aduisedly considered For we doe confesse that both are true after a certeine sort as Augustine testifieth in his booke De Correp gratia Let thē not deceaue them selues therfore sayth he which say To what purpose are we taught and commaunded to eschue euill and to do good if we can not doe it but as God doth worke the same in vs to will and to
whiche it is Of this Necessary Aristotle hath seâ— downe two principall begynnynges the one internall the other externall Then also distinction is made of this Necessitie which is moued force of the internall cause and inward proprietie of Nature So that some thynges may be called simply and absolutely necessary as God and those thynges whiche beyng chaunged do emply contradiction as if a man would say that foure were not an euen nomber that foure and threé were not seuen in nomber And this is called Geometricall Necessitie which will not admitte any chaunge by course of nature There is an other Necessitie called Naturall Necessitie Which albeit bee of her selfe the begynnyng of her owne motion yet it consisteth not in so simple and absolute an estate but followeth onely the vsuall course of her owne nature And after this manerâ— fier is sayd to bourne of Necessitie The Sunne is continually carried about in his course of Necessitie whiche can not chuse but doe as they doe accordyng to the proprietie of their naturall disposition yet doe they not follow their naturall inclination so absolutely and vnauoydeably but that God may hinder and alter their dispositioÌ„ or make them cease from their naturall operation Such a kynde of Necessitie to Sinne we say that man is clogged withall sith the fall of Adam if the holy Ghost and Grace be absent For of them selues they can not but sinne albeit there is no let in their nature but that they may bee holpen or chaunged and otherwise altered as we seé come to passe in those that are regenerate in Christ. That Necessitie therefore whereby wicked men are sayd to bee lead to sinne is not so absolute and vnaduoydable that they can not chuse but sinne for assoone as the holy Ghost and the Grace of Christ commeth this Necessitie is vtterly cut of And thus much of that internall Necessitie But the Necessitie that spryngeth from externall causes is also deuided two maner of wayes Whereof the one is violent and is called Compulsary Necessitie As when a thyng is forced to moue or to styrre agaynst her own nature And this Necessitie can by no meanes fall into mans will for it is impossible that will shall will any thyng vnwillyngly The other is stable and infallible or of the Hypothesis or by reason of the Consequence which Logicians do take to be in Sensu composito not in Senfu ` Diuiso Now this Necessitie called of the ConsequeÌ„ce is on this wise As when a thyng may be true by occasioÌ„ of the Necessary couplyng together of one proposicion with an other though the thyng that is concluded for true bee not Necessary of it selfe And in this respect we do affirme that all our actions are done of Necessitie not by the force of the inwarde cause or els their owne nature that is to say if they be considered apart referred to their next cause to witte vnto will Euen so will beyng considered apart in her owne nature from the externe begynnyng to witte Gods prouidence and foreknowledge it is sayd to be freé in his certeine kynde so that it is endued with a certeine facilitie to encline it selfe to whether part it will although it bee not able of her selfe to moue and encline at all but vnto that part which God did foreknow Whereby you perceaue Osor. in what sense this Necessitie which we do affirme is not alwayes absolutely tyed to our actions as farreforth as they doe proceéde from our owne will but through the couplyng conioynyng of Gods Predestination with our workes Which thing to be euen so the Deuines did seéme to signifie ` Per Sensum Compositum and Necessitatem Consequentiae ¶ A Description of Freewill and the thynges apperteinyng thereunto after the rules of Diuinitie taken out of August P. Lombard anâ— others Fiue thyngs chiefly to bee coÌ„sidered in Free-will 1. What Free-will is Will. Is a thyng properly perteinyug to reason whereby man doth liscerne good froÌ„ euill what is to be desired or what to be eschewed Free Freedome is a thyng properly perteinyng to will whereby of voluntary appetite without foreine coaction it may either will good or euill but to will good coÌ„meth of Grace which maketh to will and to doe ¶ The desâ—â—â—ption of Freewill talen out of Argâ—na 〈◊〉 lâ—b 2. Dist. 24. Freewill is an â—â—â—initie of reaâ—on and will whereby good is chosen through the assistauÌ„ce of Grace or euill if Grace bâ— absent or thus Freewill is a facuine of the Soule which can will good or euill discernyng them both 2. In what thyngs Freewill doth consiste In God first and chiefly Whose wiâ—l is of it selfe simply and absolutely most 〈◊〉 froÌ„ all boÌ„dage of 〈◊〉 and all infeccion of sinne for God can â—ot of his own nature sinne not bycause any force restrayneth him but bycause of his own nature he caÌ„ not so will so that God is both holy of necessitie and yet this necessitie 〈…〉 Freewill from God in whoÌ„ all â—ccessitie ioyned with all freedome is reliaunt In blessed Angels Whose state and condition is this that their will is made stedfast and vnchaungeable in all goodnes not of them selues but through Grace In mans nature and that foure maners of wayes according to the fourefold diuision of mans state 3. In what respect it is called mans Freewill Not in respect of things present nor thyngs past bycause present thyngs and thyngs past be of this qualitie that beyng done they caÌ„ not be vndone nor thynges paâ— can be reuoked But is called Freewill in respect of thyngs to come And these be the thynges that our Lombardines do affirme are in 〈◊〉 power but vntruely for maÌ„s habilitie to confesse truth is directed by gods euerlasting decree neither is it in maÌ„s habilitie to order chauÌ„ceable thynges at his pleasure 1. In the state of innocencie Whose freedome was once such which could both sinne not sinne And in this sense the auncient writers must be vnderstanded as often as they speake of mans Freewill that is to say of the Freedome of mans nature 2. In the state of blessednesse or of his heauenly couÌ„trey as scholemen terme it where man shal be endued with a freedome that can not Sinne by any meanes 3. In the state of life after sinne before regeneration by Grace In which state man hath no Freewill to do any thyng but to Sinne deadly as Lombard sayth and of this state meaneth Luther writyng of bonde will 4. In the state of life after sinne after regeneration by Grace In whiche state man hath freedome not to Sinne except veniall Sinâ—e as sayth Lombard But although Augustine and Luther doe yeld an habilitie not to Sinne after a certeine sorte Yet in respect of actuall Sinne they doe not except man either from veniall or deadly Sinne. Bycause was neuer any man yet found Christ onely excepte endued with such 〈◊〉 of Grace that had not in all his lyâ—e Synned yea and that
Necessitie established which may by some lawfull meane reduce vs to nature or at least reteyne vs in some couenable order of lyfe not ouerpassing this also withall that where the Maior treateth of the obedience of mans lawes in the Minor that Necessitie which Luther doth teach ought not be referred to maÌ„s lawes nor the discipline of externall lyfe but to the obedieÌ„ce of Gods law onely Moreouer for that I haue promised to helpe to vnderproppe Osorius Logicke which is of it selfe very ruinous and ready to fall to the grounde I will not refuse to frame by some order and forme the remnaunt of his allegations into Argumentes that the Reader may more easily be instructed what aunswere to make to euery of them particularely The freedome of mans will beyng takeÌ„ away the force of lawes preceptes and rules of good lyfe and all ordinaunces of Ciuill discipline and statutes do cease The Necessitie which Luther teacheth doth abolish all freedome of mans will Ergo This doctrine of Necessitie being allowed Lawes decay good statutes and ordinauÌ„ces and all endeuour of good and godly lyfe is extinguished First in your Maior proposition this word Freedome must be distinguished namely to be taken either as opposite to coactioÌ„ or opposite to bondage if in the Maior you vnderstaÌ„d of coacted freédome then is the Maior true For whosoeuer taketh away freédome from man doth also dispoyle him of will But if you vnderstÌ„ad of bonde freédome then euen by this meanes is your Maior cleane false Next we deny your Minor with Augustine wherein also this word Necessitie must be distinguished Whiche beyng deuided into two partes the one whiche is called CoÌ„pulâ—ary Necessitie the other whiche is sayd to be of the Consequence or ex Hypothesi wherof the first â—euer any of our Writers dyd deny the other can none of all your Doctours deny whiche consistyng of the foreknowledge of God by a certeine vnmoueable coniunction of causes and byndyng Necessitie to thyngs fore-ordeined by God doth vtterly abolish fortune and chaunce but doth not take away will nor withstandeth the freédome therof as there is no contradiction but one selfe thyng may be called both Uoluntary and Necessary also For freédome of will is not taken away through Necessitie but through coaction As for example when we say that God liueth euerlastyngly and ordereth all thynges vprightly we doe confesse that both these are peculiar to Gods nature of Necessitie and not by any forreine coactioÌ„ After this maner in the booke of Exod. Whereas Pharao did endeuour to stay the children of Israell from departyng out of Egypt we must neédes confesse that he did it of Necessitie in respect of Gods secret appointemeÌ„t in deéde he neither could will nor do otherwise But in respect of his owne inclination which was the very peculiar nearest cause that moued him to stay theÌ„â—o Necessitie of coactioÌ„ forced his will to this vnwillingly but that which he did he did uoluÌ„taryly and with no lesse earnest willingnes of mynde did he bring to passe the thing which his greédy affection had willed before Although a man may be constrayned to do somethyng many tymes agaynst his will yet can he not be framed by any meanes to will a thyng that he would not For the will which willeth not is not now called will but vnwillyngnesse nay rather nothyng at all And for the same very cause bycause there is no such thyng at all in the course of nature nor to be founde any where therfore hath it no denomination nor vsuall name of speache whereby it may be expressed in Latine of the same sorte also are the other Argumentes touchyng Artes and Sciences whereof he cauilleth so much after this maner If all thynges that happen bee referred to the power of God and are done of Necessitie according to Luthers doctrine which byndeth all the actions of men to Necessitie It would hereupon follow that all Sciences should be ouerthrowen all endeuour of maÌ„ vtterly frustrate nor any industry of meÌ„ were it neuer so skilfull employed in husbandry to byeng and sellyng to traffique to prouision for the familie to Surgery and Phisicke or any other actions of mans lyfe whatsoeuer shall profite nor be auayleable I do aunswere this to bee most true that the operation of all thynges ought to be referred to the will and prouidence of God as to the chief and principall cause by whiche prouidence all thynges are ordered of very Necessitie But this Necessitie taketh not away habilitie to endeuour from men but causeth onely that mens actions are not chaunceable For albeit the thyngs that God willed doe necessaryly come to passe yet doth mans will neuertheles yeld her diligent endeuour which will the prouidence of God doth not take away but gouerneth In deéde maÌ„s will doth worke yea and freély worketh that is to say worketh voluntaryly not coactly yet it worketh so as if God helpe it worketh well if God doe not helpe it worketh ill And yet whether it worke well or ill it alwayes worketh of Necessitie neither doth will employ her habilitie any ioâ—e lesse beyng gouerned by God but rather is encouraged to worke so much the more earnestly bycause the thynges come to passe necessaryly whatsoeuer Gods will hath foreordeined to bee done by the industry of man Certes this saying of Luther is vndoubtedly true that nothyng happeneth in all the actions of mans lyfe either well or euill either without Gods knowledge or without his will or els without his direction And yet bycause the successes of those thynges are vncerteine vnto vs therefore followyng the rule of our will and reason and withall obeyeng the will of God who coÌ„maundeth vs to do our endeuour we do apply all our diligeÌ„ce earnestly to worke coÌ„mending in the meane whiles both our selues the successe of our trauaile to the tuitioÌ„ of almighty God at whose especiall commaundement all thynges come to their end necessaryly obey his direction of very Necessitie Wherby you perceaue that our endeuours and trauailes doe nothyng lesse decrease or waxe more dull to worke bycause they are foreknowen and directed by God but our will is by so much more encouraged to worke bycause we will obey Gods will who coÌ„maundeth to worke And therefore that Sophisme of yours is altogether Sophisticall deceauable not much vnlike to that whiche we read in Origine in his second booke agaynst Celsus where the Sophister to dissuade the sicke body from counsell of Phisicke frameth this ArgumeÌ„t If thou be Predestinate sayth hee to recouer health thou shalt surely be hoale whether thou take Phisicke or no but if thou be Predestinate to dye the Phisition shall both loase his labour and thou cast away thy money to no purpose Whom the sicke person perceauyng to be towardes Mariadge with the lyke Sophisme driuyng out as it were one nayle with an other aunswereth after this maner If it be thy destiny to haue
issue of thy body thou shalt haue one whether thou marry a wife or not marry a wife but if thou be predestinate to be childlesse thou shalt surely be childies though thou marry a wife neuer so much The deceite of this Sophisme lurketh herein Bycause our endeuours and Imaginations ought not to depend vpoÌ„ an vncerteine certeintie whiche may be applyable to good or euill indifferently or vpon chaungeable aduenture the successe wherof we know not but must be ordered by a direct assured rule of reason For albeit on the one side it may so come to passe that he that marryeth a wife shall haue no children yet on the other part for as much as it is impossible to haue children without copulation of man and womaÌ„ therfore that ought to be yelded vnto that seémed consonaunt to reason not that which the Argument concluded videl therfore he must not marry a wife In lyke maner fareth it with the other Argument concernyng the Phisition Although it may so come to passe that no Phisicke may helpe me yet bycause it is most agreable to reason that vnlesse Phisicke be ministred health will not bee recouered I will follow herein the most approued rule of reason and will not wilfully throw my selfe by an vncerteine Necessitie of destiny into that whiche seémeth impossible or at least lesse agreable to reason Wherfore as these assumptions be false thou shalt in vayne marry a wife thou shalt vse Phisicke in vayne in lyke maner I aunswere that Osorius Argument is Sophisticall where hee argueth that our endeuours are applyed in vayne that we do trauaile in vayne Well to go foreward to the other triflyng toyes of this Sophister An other Argument touchyng rewardes and punishmentes For as much as vertue and vyce doe proceede from out the free choyse of will it can not be but that he which doth bereaue will of her freedome must also dispoyle the lyfe of man of due reward for vertue and punishment for vyce Luther by byndyng all thynges to Necessitie doth bereaue will of her freedome Ergo by Luthers doctrine it doth come to passe that neither punishment shal be executed vpon malefactours nor vertue aduaunced with condigne reward The very same Argument did Pelagius long â—ithence vse agaynst August though not in the selfe same wordes yet all one in effect I aunswere the partes therof And first concernyng freédome of will mentioned in the Maior how it ought to be distinguished hath bene declared before already Then if in the Minor you respect that kynde of Necessitie whiche forceth vs to yeld whether we will or no your Minor is false As touchyng reward for vertue and punishment for vyce Celestius the Pelagian vrged agaynst Augustine in the same wise Man is not to be blamed sayth he for committing the Sinne which he can by no meanes auoyde Augustine maketh aunswere Nay rather sayth he man is therefore faultie in that hee is not without sinne bycause by maÌ„s Freewill onely it came to passe that he should fall into that Necessitie of Sinnyng which Necessitie by his owne will he can not withstaÌ„d Whereby you perceaue Osor. that Necessitie of sinnyng is neither vtterly abolished froÌ„ maÌ„s nature that malefactours are duely punished notwithstaÌ„dyng for their offences By what reason may this be iustified will you say sithence the Iudgement of our choyse whereby we fall into Sinne is not freé but subiect to thraldome Be it as you say but thorough whose default this seruitude came first is already declared Agayne whether offence be committed through frée or seruile choyse of will it maketh litle to the purpose for the quallyfieng of the punishment so that it appeare to the Iudge that the fact was committed of willfull and corrupt lust and affectioÌ„ But you will say agayne If the offence be voluntary Ergo the doing therof consisteth in our owne power For what soeuer is voluntary seemeth to be within the compasse of our habilitie I aunswere To will we haue in deéde naturally in vs but to will well we haue not So that habilitie to will is of our selues to witte We are able to will but to will well is not in the power of will for this soundenesse of will AdaÌ„ lost when he had receaued it through his own abuse As touchyng rewardes I Aunswere Albeit our deédes deserue not to be rewarded yet doth God righteously reward theÌ„ whenas he doth crowne his owne giftes in vs. Neither doth it follow hereupon bycause God doth reward good workes in vs that therfore those good workes are our own as proceédyng froÌ„ vs through our owne strength habilitie But bycause he hath vouchsaued to make those giftes to be ours bycause he powreth those good giftes into vs therefore worthely are those good giftes rewarded as his owne And yet neither is this reward geueÌ„ as due to desert in respect of the worthynes of the worke but of his gracious liberalitie which he hath bountyfully powred vpon vs vndeserued before to make vs obedient vnto him Briefly if this Aunswere though of it selfe very playne and manifest shall seéme but of small credite with you I will bryng you Augustine for an umpyer betwixt vs sufficient enough I trust who beyng long agoe assayled with the same Obiections by the Pelagians shall for the better maintenaunce of his owne credite fully auÌ„swere these cauillations of those heretiques like vnto your selfe For the PelagiaÌ„s did obiect agaynst him in this sort If it be true that all thynges froÌ„ the begynnyng are determined to their end by Gods foreordinaunce decreé that meÌ„s willes are directed by God to what purpose are lawes made punishment ordeined for malefactours why are men rebuked reproued reprehended accused for what do we that we haue not receaued what maruell is it if we be disobedieÌ„t to God wheÌ„ as he that commauÌ„deth to obey hath not geuen will to obey Euen as Augustine hath aunswered this Obiection long sithence so let Osorius coÌ„tent him selfe to be auÌ„swered in as few wordes For correcting of vyce sayth he punishment is ministred for two causes First bycause no man is euill but by his owne default for the euill that he worketh is euill voluntaryly and of his owne accorde And although it ought not to be doubted that maÌ„s will ought to be subiect to Gods will whom maÌ„ can not let to worke what him best liketh for as much as when him listeth he frameth mans will to worke after his will yet here is no cause to the contrary but that man should receaue due punishement for the offences which him selfe committeth willfully seyng that he is the worker of his owne Sinne for no man Sinneth agaynst his will The other cause why transgressours are worthely punished is bycause the trespassours either are regenerate and such beyng cleansed before and fallyng agayne to their former filthe of their owne accorde can not pleade for defence that they
neuer receaued grace as men who through their own Freewill haue made frustrate the Grace of God once receaued by their owne wickednesse But if they be not regenerate yet is that damnable originall sinne worthely punished that will through anguish of punishment may conceaue desire to be regenerate if at least the man that is so chastized be the child of promise That God by outward vsing this meane of scourge vexation and chastizement may by secret inspiration fashion and frame the will to obedience c. And thus much hetherto coÌ„cernyng lawes and ordinauÌ„ces for rewardyng vertue and punishyng vyce in Ciuill gouernement There followeth now an other absurditie to witte where he sayth that by Luthers doctrine man is altogether dispoyled of vnderstandyng depriued of Iudgement bereft of reason and driueÌ„ to that extremitie as to be no better then a naturall stoane throwen out of a mans hand Osorius Argument Whosoeuer do attribute the orderyng of all thynges to absolute Necessitie exemptyng freedome from will doe spoyle men of their vnderstandyng depriue them of Iudgement and bereue them of reason and do traÌ„fforme them into brute beastes and stoanes Luthers doctrine doth bynde mens actions and willes to Necessitie Ergo Luthers doctrine doth dispoyle meÌ„ of their senses and turneth them into stoanes I deny the Maior of this Argument In the Minor I distinguish this word Necessitie Lastly the Argument is altogether vicious and that for two causes Either bycause Osorius thinketh That no Necessitie at all byndeth thynges to be directed by the eternall prouidence and ordinaunce of God or els he supposeth this Necessitie to he such as must neédes exclude all freédome of will Both which are false And first touchyng Necessitie Luther other auÌ„cient writers do learnedly affirme That the actions of mans lyfe are not subiect to fortune but herein they do acknowledge the prouidence of God which they assigne to be the onely and principall gouernesse and guide of maÌ„s lyfe as which directeth maÌ„s purposes boweth and bendeth his will and ordereth all the enterprises thereof Moreouer they teach the same prouidence to be such as whiche is not whirled about through blynd and sudden motions wherein no place is left to the happenynges of fortune nor such a prouidence as must neédes depend vpon inferiour causes or vpon a necessary couplyng together of causes wherein destiny is excluded nor such a prouidence as is vnaduisedly vncerteinly tossed to fro accordyng to the wandryng chaunces of fortune wherein fortune chaunce is taken away but such a prouidence as consisteth in a certeine assured stedfast permanent order workyng so in the meane whiles by inferiour and mixte causes neuerthelesse not as though it were tyed to those causes with any such necessary bonde of couplyng that it may not possibly doe otherwise by her owne absolute and most freé motione neither as though those causes could not possibly doe otherwise but must of Necessitie follow the direction of the same prouidence whereunto they be subiect Whereby it commeth to passe that Freewill beyng occupyed in these meane causes neither ceaseth to be altogether freé as being forced by no forreine constraint but guided by her owne accord nor yet remayneth so absolutely freé but that it is constrayned whether she wil or no to yeld to the direction of Gods prouidence voluntaryly notwithstandyng not coactly Wherupon amongest the learned this Necessitie is called Necessitas immutabilitatis aut certitudâ—nis whiche though doe not vrge thynges with violent coaction yet for as much as nothyng is in al the creation of nature of so small substance as can be without the coÌ„passe of Gods knowledge therfore albeit many things seéme accordyng to our capacities to be done by chaunce yet in respect of Gods prouidence if wee duely consider the originall and principall cause of thynges that are done wee shall finde nothing done but which could not but be done of very Necessitie I make hast to the other absurdities to witte to Osorius his most friuolous brabblynges For in this sorte he crawleth from mans lawes and ciuill gouernement to Gods lawes arguyng as it were in this sort If will be nothing auayleable to good lyfe nor of it selfe can do nothyng but Sinne then are Gods lawes commaunded in vayne in vayne also are exhortatioÌ„s and aduertisementes ministred in vayne are blessinges and cursinges set downe in the Scriptures But no man wil say that these are coÌ„mauÌ„ded in the Scriptures in vayne Ergo this doctrine of Luther is false execrable whereby he leaueth none other habilitie to Freewill but onely to sinne whereby he bindeth all things to necessity This Maior must bee denyed beyng nothyng els but a most manifest cauillation to witte tendyng to this effect as though God commaunded vs to doe nothyng but that we might of our owne selues performe whereunto Augustine aunswereth in this wise O man in the commaundemeÌ„t learne what thou oughtest to doe in the punishment learne thy weakenesse through thyne owne default In the prayer learne from whence thou mayest obteyne c. By the law of commaundyng and forebyddyng therefore accordyng to Augustine we come to the knowledge of our Sinne and infirmitie not of our owne strength power yet is not the law therfore coÌ„maunded in vayne For to vs that aske in the Sonnes name and acknowledge our infirmitie is Grace promised which worketh in vs both to will and to doe accordyng as the same Augustine doth recorde in the same place Let vs remember that hee doth say make vnto your selues a new hart and nâ—w Spirite who hath sayd I will geue you a new hart and I will geue you a new Spirite How is it then that he that sayth make vnto your selues a new hart fayth also I will geue you a new hart Why doth he commaunde if him selfe will geue Why doth he geue if maÌ„ be the worker but bycause he geueth the thyng that he commaundeth and helpeth him whom hee hath commaunded that hee may do it For through grace it commeth to passe that man is endued with a good will which was before of an euill will c. Therfore by this Argument of Augustine appeareth that this word of admonition exhortation or of rebukyng vsed in the Scriptures is as it were a certeine meane or instrument which the holy Ghost doth vse in conuertyng the will of such as are not yet regenerate and in beautifying the first issues of his good giftes in such as are regenerate that they may grow to a more rypenesse through Repentaunce through Fayth and through Prayer And by what wrest of Logicke doth Osorius gather habilitie of Freewill out of the holy ordinauÌ„ces seyng Augustine doth in so many places so directly gayne say him but especially in his 2. booke agaynst the two Epistles of Pelagius writyng in this wise I can see nothyng in the whole Scriptures geuen by God in commauÌ„dement to man to proue that
man hath Freewill that may not bee founde either to bee geuen of Gods liberalitie or required to set forth the assistaunce of his grace This much Augustine Briefly to knitte vp the matter in a word or two if you will know to what end commaundementes couenaunts and exhortations are deliuered by God Learne this out of S. Paule if Augustine caÌ„not satisfie you That is to say Bycause after the knowledge of good euill is once receaued we are therfore vnder the law of Necessitie bycause also we are vnder the law whether we be able or not able to performe the law speaketh vnto vs of Necessitie that if we be able to performe them we should lyâ—e by them and that if we despise them euery mouth should be stopped and all the world be culpable before God And withall that such as are not yet regenerate in Christ vnderstandyng how much is coÌ„maunded beyond their habilitie power may fleé to prayer and seéke for the Mediatour and call vpon him for assistaunce of Grace on the other side such as the holy Ghost hath endued with more bountyfull giftes of his gracious liberalitie may with more earnest bent affection yeld them selues thankefull to God who hath geuen them strength to be able to walke in his wayes Whereby it is come to passe that neither the Necessitie of the commaundement is made frustrate by our imbecillitie nor mans endeuour any thyng weakened by the Necessitie of infallible certeintie nor yet freédome or will disabled by Gods prouidence all which you do most falsely reporte to ensue vpon the doctrine of Luther I come now at the last to that great and most haynous matter the very chief and well-spryng of all the other absurdities To witte Wherein Luther maketh God to be the Authour of all mischief and chargeth him with vnrighteous dealyng in this ArgumeÌ„t for sooth For where as Luther doth attribute the successes of all things be they good be they euill to God as to the chief and principall originall and doth conclude all thynges vnder the absolute Necessitie of prouidence hereupon the aduersary doth gather threé moustruous inconueniences The first that by this meanes men haue not freédome vpon their owne willes The second that men are not Authours of their owne sinne The thyrd that God doth execute his Iudgementes vpon men vniustly for the Sinnes whereof they be not the Authours but God Whereupon Simme Suttle argueth from destruction of the consequent on this wise Osorius Argument God doth not take away freedome from mans will nor is Authour of euill but euery man is Authour of his owne euill Neither is God iniurious to any man in executyng his punishment vpon him for his offence Ergo Luthers doctrine is wicked and haynous whiche teacheth absolute Necessitie of doyng good or euill by the foreknowlede of God and whereby he imagineth God to be the Authour of wickednesse There are extant in the Scriptures many famous and notable testimonies touchyng the truth of Gods Praedestination and foreknowledge of thynges to come which neither Osorius nor all Portingall are able to gaynsay Whereupon Necessitie of al the actions which we do must neédes ensue in respect of the Hypothesis as SchoolemeÌ„ tearme it But as touchyng his glorious assumption of the haynous inconueniences concurraunt withall that is most false For first neither doth the freédome of mans will perish so but that men may alwayes willyngly voluntaryly chuse that whiche they will Neither is any man charged with such Necessitie as the force of coÌ„straint may compell him to doe that whiche he would not And it may come to passe as is mentioned before that the thinges which be Necessary vpoÌ„ the Hypothesis beyng done without the same Hypothesis may seéme to be chauÌ„ceable and not Necessary And by what meanes then is will bereft of freédome vnlesse paraduenture bycause God seyng mans wil inclinable to all wickednesse doth not restrayne it when he may for this cause he may be sayd to take away freédome from will But this withstandeth our disputation of Necessitie nothyng at all For although this freédome be holpen to good yet remayneth the same neuerthelesse freé to wickednesse in the sense spoken of before But he might haue holpen you say In deéde nothyng was more easie For what caÌ„ not his omnipoteÌ„cie bryng to passe wtout any difficultie but what then I pray you Ergo God is vnrighteous bycause wheÌ„ he could geue grace he would not Truth in deéde if god did owe this grace to any maÌ„ of duety but by what law will you auerre that God was bouÌ„de to geue this grace of duetie First God did at the first creatioÌ„ endue the whole nature of mankynd with Freewill So also if he did suffer mankynd aftewardes to be directed by the same Freewill I pray you what vnrighteousnesse was there in him hitherto as yet But ye will say that this Freewill is spoiled and vneffectuall to worke spirituall good thynges through whose default I pray you through Gods default or mans default If it were maÌ„s default for what cause then is God accused as either vniust for not geuyng assitauÌ„ce or cruell for punishyng the Sinne which euery of vs doe committe of no coaction but of our owne voluntary will But besides this he chargeth GOD to be the originall cause of all mischief If that be true then must this needes follow whiche were execrable to be spoken that wicked meÌ„ are vnrighteously damned as whom him selfe had created to the end they should be damned and so doth punish them for the offences whereof him selfe was Authour and procurer at the first For this is Osorius obiection For remedy whereof I perceaue that I had neéde to goe circumspectly to worke least God be disabled in any thyng that is due to his omnipotencie or that more be ascribed to his power then is agreable with his Iustice. Moreouer as there want not testimonies in the Scriptures which in vtter apparaunce may seéme very well inclinable to either part so I thinke it not amysse to vse herein some ayde for the better discouerie thereof Besides this must be had no small consideration of the simple and vnlettered multitude who once hearyng God to bee named the Authour of wickednesse and not vnderstandyng the matter aright will forthwith interprete thereof as though it might bee lawfull for them forthwith to rush into all disorder whatsoeuer that they are vniustly punished if they doe the euill which God doth both will and cause to be done Whiche kynde of people I wishe to be aduertized when they heare the direction and orderyng of all thynges good or euill to be ascribed vnto God that they Imagine not these wordes to be so spoken as though God were willyng to haue iniquitie committed That is to say as though GOD were either delighted with wickednesse or as though wicked men when they do wickedly did therein accomplishe Gods will simply
vnsearcheable will doth sometymes encline the willes of men to committe horrible mischiefes and after a certeine maner willeth Sinne. Ergo God may be iustly accused of vnrighteousnes iniquity Which Argument applyed in the behalfe of mans nature might seéme to be of some validitie perhappes in the opinion of men But to transpose the same from men to God It can not holde And why so bycause there is great difference betwixt thynges wherof God is the Authour and thynges wherof man is the doer For euen Sinnes them selues and wickednesse as they come frō God are scourges yea and that most righteous and whatsoeuer is decreéd either by his couered or discouered will it is in this respect both holy and righteous bycause the will of God ought alwayes to be accompted for the very foundatiō of all righteousness Upon which matter let vs heare what Augustine speaketh in his thyrd booke De Trinitate euen his owne wordes The will of God is the chief and principall cause of all kindes of actions and motions For there is nothyng done whiche proceedeth not frō that vnsearcheable and intelligible wisedome of the most mightie Emperour accordyng to his Iustice vnspeakeable for where doth not the almightie wisedome of the highest worke as it willeth which reacheth from one ende of the world to an other mightely and ordereth all thynges sweetely and doth not these thynges onely which beyng in dayly practise and by reason of common vse are not much marked or marueiled at but thynges also passing all vnderstandyng and capacitie and whiche for the rarenesse of vse and straungenesse of successe seeme marueilous as are Ecclipses of the Sunne and Moone earthquakes mōsters and vgly deformed vnnaturall shapes of creatures such like Of the which no one thyng commeth to passe without the will of God though it seeme to be otherwise in the Iudgement of many persons And therfore it seemed good to the phātasticall Philosophers to ascribe such vnkindely operations to other causes beyng not able to discerne the true cause thereof which in power surmounteth all other causes to witte the will of God wherefore besides the will of God there is none other principall cause of health sickenesse reward punishment of blessinges and recompences This is therfore the onely chief and principall cause from out the which do flow all thyngs whatsoeuer and is it selfe without beginnyng but endureth without endyng Let vs now gather the Argumēts of Augustine into a short abridgement If the will of God be the souereigne and principall cause of all motiōs what remayneth but that Osorius must either deny that Sinnes are motions or yeld vnto this of necessitie that the same motions are not done without the will of God which will neuerthelesse must be adiudged cleare from all reproche Moreouer if the same motions which are on our behalfe Sinnefull be punishementes for Sinne What should lette why that euē the selfe same sinnes should not seéme to proceéde after a certeine maner frō God without any preiudice of his Iustice at all none otherwise truely then when as God is accompted the creatour of monsters Ecclipses of the Sunne Moone vnpassable darkenes vntymely byrthes and yet notwithstandyng no ioate of his maiesty and integritie empayred But we are vrged here with an Obiection out of the Scriptures where it is sayd that God is not a God that willeth iniquitie Aunswere As though Luther did not perceaue this saying of the Prophet well enough or that he were so impudent at any tyme as that he would cōtrary to the Prophet deny that sinnes raunge immoderately agaynst Gods will We rehearsed a litle earst out of Augustine that somewhat may be done agaynst the will of God which neuerthelesse cā not happen without his will In the one part wherof the vnsearcheable wisedome of his Deuine counsell is playnly discernable in the other the thyng that is naturally wicked displeasaūt in Gods eyes So that the thing which is of it selfe in respect of it selfe naturally euill may become good in respect of Gods ordinaūce in respect of the end whereunto it is directed by God The worke of our redēption from sinne and death is a good worke of Gods mercy But man should neuer haue stoode in neéde of this redēptiō vnlesse death sinne had happened Therfore death and sinne could not execute their malice wtout the foreknowledge ordinaunce of God So also no lesse notable is the worke of Gods Iustice in executyng his iust wrath agaynst Sinners which seueritie of Iustice had neuerthelesse neuer expressed his wonderfull brightnesse if sinne had neuer bene committed But here I suppose Osorius will not deny that men rushe headlong into wickednesse and Sinne if not by Gods prouidence yet by his sufferaūce at the least For it may be that many thynges may happen by a mans permission in the which he that did permit them may be blamelesse notwithstandyng I heare you well aunswere to the same that it is not altogether nothyng that Osorius doth alledge in deéde and yet this allegation of his comprehendeth not all For first I demaunde what if Osorius beyng a Bishop do suffer Gods flocke committed to his charge to starue by defraudyng thē the necessary foode of the word whom of duety he ought to cherish with all diligēce and care What if the Shepheard doe willyngly suffer the maggotte to pester the sheépe or what if the Maister should suffer the seruaunt to perish whose perplexitie he might haue releued by puttyng his hand to in tyme may not we iustly accuse Osorius of fraude for not feédyng or can Osorius acquit him selfe by any slipper deuise of negligence in this behalfe If in cōmon cōuersation of lyfe the man that will not repell iniury when he may be adiudged in euery respect as blameworthy as if he offereth the iniury him selfe by what meanes can God whō you say doth permit sinnes to be done either deémed be excusable in respect of this sufferaunce onely or how can you charge vs as accusing him of iniustice bycause we say that he doth not onely permit but also will sinne after a certeine maner Which thyng Augustine doth very well declare If we suffer sayth August such as are vnder our correctiō to doe wickedly in our sight we must needes be adiudged accessaries to their wickednesse But God doth permitte Sinne to raunge without measure euen before his eyes wherein if he where not willyng surely he would not suffer it in any wise and yet is be righteous notwithstandyng c. Wherfore your allegation of bare Sufferaunce doth neither helpe your cause nor disaduantageth ours any thyng at all But go to let vs somewhat yeld to this word of yours Sufferaunce whereupō ye stād so stoughtely yet will ye not deny but that this Sufferaunce of God is either coupled together with his will or altogether sundered frō it If ye confesse the will and Sufferaunce be ioyned together how can God be
sayd then either to suffer the thyng whiche he willeth not or to will the thyng wherof him selfe is not after a certeine maner the cause but if you sunder will from Sufferaunce so that Gods Sufferaunce be made opposite to his will That is to say contrary to the determinate coūsell of God in bringyng any thyng to passe Surely this way your bare Sufferaūce will not be sufferable but foolishe false and ridiculous For neither can any thyng be done without Gods Sufferaunce but must be done by his will and agayne nothyng soundeth more agaynst the conuenience of reason that any thyng may be done with his will otherwise thē as him selfe hath decreéd it to be done But if so be that ye set Gods Sufferaunce opposite to his will namely to that will wherewith he vouch safeth and accepteth any thyng veryly it may so be that some one thyng may be executed by Gods Sufferaunce yet altogether agaynst his will so that we forget not in the meane space that this Sufferaunce is not idle fruitelesse but altogether effectuall not much vnlike the orderly proceédynges in Iudgementes whenas the Iudge deliuereth ouer the trespassour to be executed it is cōmonly seéne that the Sufferaunce of the Iudge doth worke more in the execution of the offendour thē the acte of the executioner yet the Iudge is not altogether exempt from beyng the cause of his death though he be cleare of all blame in that respect And therfore to make you conceaue our meanyng more effectually Osorius you may vnderstand by the premisses That the will of God is to be taken two maner of wayes either for that vnsearcheable will not manifested vnto vs wherewith thynges may happen accordyng to to the determined decreé of his purposed coūsell whereunto all thynges are directed And in this sense or signification we doe affirme that God doth will all thynges that are done and that nothyng at all is done in heauen or in earth that he would not haue to be done Or els how should he be called Omnipotent if the successes of thyngs be other then as he hath decreéd them Secundarely the will of God may be takē for that which by expresse word and commaundement he hath reuealed vnto vs and which beyng done he accompteth acceptable in his sight And in this sense The faythfull and godly onely do execute the will of God euen that will wherewith he can not will nor allow anythyng but pure good After this maner is that will fully disclosed and ensealed vnto vs in his Scriptures wherewith God is sayd to be a God that doth not will Sinne. Accordyng to that former will which is hidden from vs and is neuertheles alwayes iust and discouered vnto vs but in part by his word as there is nothing done without his prouidence foreknowledge so in this sense we do affirme that he willeth nothyng at all but that which is of all partes most pure and most righteous be it neuer so secrete For euen as it is hidden frō the knowledge of all men what shall come to passe by the purposed appointement of God so shall nothyng come to passe but that which he hath decreéd vpon before neither should any thyng at all be done if he were altogether vnwillyng thereunto Finally to conclude in few wordes all whatsoeuer concerneth this present discourse God can not be sayd to be properly truely the very cause of sinne accordyng to that will which he would haue to be reuealed vnto vs in his Scriptures And yet if the cōcurraūce of causes must be deriued from the first originall surely God ought not be excluded altogether from the orderyng appointmēt of sinne Frō whence if we respect the meane second causes it is vndoubted true that mākynde doth perish through his owne default For no man liuyng sinneth vnwillyngly But if we tourne our eyes to the first agent principall cause by the which all inferiour causes haue their mouyng Then is this allso true that all second and subordinate causes are subiect to the eternall prouidence and will of GOD. And therefore both these may be true That mans destructiō commeth through his owne default And yet that therein the prouidence of God beareth the sway without any preiudice at all to his Iustice. But this prouidence notwithstandyng is altogether vnslayned for albeit Gods euerlastyng purpose be sayd to be the cause of our sinnesiull actions yet are those Sinnes in respect of Gods acceptaunce meare righteousnesse For GOD in most vpright disposed order doth by Sinne punish Sinne. And therfore with those Sinnes in that they are scourges of Gods Iustice God doth worthely execute his iust Iudgement agaynst mē which although his pleasure be to vse otherwise accordyng to his vnsearcheable counsell either to execute his Iudgement vpō the reprobate or to manifest his mercy towardes his elect neither is he iniurious to the one in exactyng that which is due neither culpable in the other sorte in forgeuyng that which he might haue exacted These two thyngs therfore especially be to be beleued to be inseparable in God though mās capacitie cā scarsely atteine hereunto the first That there is no wickednes with God Secondly That God hath mercy of whom it pleaseth him to haue mercy and doth harden their hartes whō he willeth to be hardened Now that we haue spoken sufficiētly in the defence of Gods Iustice and acquited it cleare from all quarellsome accusation to retourne agayne to our former question If Osorius doe demaunde now if God bee the cause of Sinne Bycause I will protract no tyme I aunswere in two wordes That in seuerall and sundry respectes it is both the cause not the cause Now let vs seé how this will hang together First I call him the cause not bycause he distilleth new poyson into man as water or other liquour is powred into empty caskes from somewhere els for that neédeth not for euery man ouerfloweth more then enough already with faultynes naturall though no new flames of corruption be kyndeled a fresh but bycause hee forsaketh our old nature or bycause he withholdeth him selfe from renewyng vs with grace Bycause nature beyng not holpen waxeth dayly worse and worse of it selfe without measure and without end Whereupon Augustine debatyng of mans induration speaketh not vnfitly on this wise But as touchyng that whiche followeth Hee doth harden whom hee will Here the force of mans capacitie is ouerwhelmed with the straungenesse of the word But it must not be so taken as though God did beginne to harden mās hart which was not infected before For what is hardnesse els then resistaunce of Gods commaundementes which who so thinketh to be the worke of God bycause of this saying He doth harden whom hee will let him beholde the first beginnyng of mans corruption and marke well the commaundemēt of God the disobedience whereof made the hart to offende and let him truely confesse that whatsoeuer
punishement befalleth him sithence that first corruption bee suffreth it righteously and deseruedly For God is sayd to harden his hart whom hee will not mollifie so is hee sayd also to reiect him whom hee will not call and to blynd them whom he will not enlighten For whom hee hath Predestinate them hath he called c. 2. Moreouer after this withdrawyng of Grace this also followeth thereupon That God doth righteously minister occasioÌ„ of sinnyng in the wicked and reprobate and maruelously enclineth the hartes of men not onely to good but also to euill If we may beleue the testimony of Augustine Who in his booke De Libero Arbit Grat. alledgyng certeine testimonies out of the Apostle Where it is sayd that God gaue them vp to vyle affections Rom. 1. And agayne hee deliuered them vp vnto a reprobate mynde And in an other place Therfore God doth send them strong delusion that they should beleeue lyes By these and such lyke testimonies of Sacred Scriptures appeareth sufficiently that God doth worke in the hartes of men to bende encline and bow their willes whereunto him listeth either to good accordyng to the riches of his mercy or to wickednesse accordyng to their owne desertes to witte by his IudgemeÌ„t sometymes reuealed in deede and sometymes secret but the same alwayes most righteous For this must be holdeÌ„ for certeine and vnshaken in our myndes That there is no iniquitie with God And for this cause when ye read in holy writte that meÌ„ are deceaued or amazed or hardened in hart doubt hereof nothyng at all but that their sinnefull deseruyngs were such before as that they did well deserue the punishment that followeth c. The premisses considered and for as much as God doth vse the peruersenes of men will they nill they to these purposes endes whereunto he hath decreéd them may any maÌ„ be doubtfull hereof but that God ought not by any meanes be excluded from the disposing of sinnes 3. Besides this also whereas the holy Ghost misdoubteth not to speake in the Scriptures after this vsuall phrase of speach to witte That God doth harden mens hartes doth deliuer vp into reprobate myndes doth dazell with blyndnesse doth make eares deafe doth lead into error and such like How shall we say that sinnes doe happen now without God Albeit neither doe we say that God is therefore properly and simply the cause of wickednesse whenas we are of our selues more then enough the true naturall cause of wickednesse Be it therfore that the will of maÌ„ is the cause of sinne but seyng this will must of Necessitie be subiect to the will of God and be directed by the same surely it may not be lawfull to exclude God from the direction and disposition of sinnes If Osorius shall thinke him selfe not yet fully satisfied with this auÌ„swere he may be resolued agayne if he will with this That the whole cause of sinne is resiaunt in man him selfe and in his corrupt will but the cause wherfore sinne doth become sinne must be ascribed to Gods good ordinaunce in the one wherof is sinne and the punishment for sinne as Augustine maketh mention Out of the other affections be ordeyned that such affectioâ—s as be may be wicked which affections notwithstandyng are not in the guidyng cause it selfe but are by hym guided to some good purpose end of which doctrine let vs heare what August doth him selfe testifie professe It is out of all controuersie sayth he That God doth well euen in suffering all things whatsoeuer yea euen in the thynges that be wickedly done for eueÌ„ those he suffereth to be done not without his most iust Iudgement now whatsoeuer is iust the same is good surely Therfore albeit the thynges that are wicked in this respect that they are wicked be not good yet that not onely good be but euill also is neuertheles good For if it were not good that wickednes should be surely the almightie goodnes it selfe would by no meanes permitte it to be done who without doubt can as easely not permit the thynges that he will not as he caÌ„ easily do the things that be done If we do not firmely beleue this the grouÌ„dworke of our faith wherein we do coÌ„fesse that we do beleue in God the Father almighty is in great hassard For God is not called omnipoteÌ„t for any other cause in very deede but bycause he is able to do what he will the operatioÌ„ of whose Deuine will the will of no creature caÌ„ hinder or preiudice by any meanes at all c. This much Augustine And bycause I will not be tedious I argue vpon Augustines wordes in this wise Euery good thyng doth proceede from God as from the Authour and guider therof But it is good that wickednesse be Ergo God is the Author and directer that wickednesse commeth to passe But here some Iulian of Pelagius sect with him our Portingall Prelate Osorius will brawle and cauill That those deédes of wickednesse are committed through the sufferaunce of God forsakyng them and not by his omnipotent power workyng in theÌ„ meanyng hereby I am sure That God doth permit wicked thynges to be done in deéde but by his power forceth no man to doe wickedly Agaynst such persones Augustine doth mightly oppose hym selfe euen to their teéche prouyng those thynges to be done by Gods power rather then by his SufferauÌ„ce and for more credite voucheth a place of S. Paule Who knittyng those two together to witte Sufferaunce and Power writeth after this maner What and if God willyng to shewe his wrath and to make his power knowen did suffer with long patience the vessels of his wrath prepared to destruction c. Rom. 9. Afterwardes produceth many examples reasons taken out here and there of the Propheticall Scriptures to make good his Assertion Achab was Deliued ouer to geue credite to the lyeng mouthes of the false Prophetes First in that he beleéued a lye you perceaue that he sinned Moreouer in that he was geuen ouer not without cause you conceaue the punishment of sinne I demaund of you now by whom hee was geuen ouer you will aunswere of Sathan neither will I deny it though it seéme rather that he was deceaued by him then deliuered ouer But goe to Who did send Sathan but he which sayd Go forth and doe so vnlesse Osorius do suppose that to send forth and to suffer be all one which besides him no man els will say I suppose By like Iudgement of God Roboam is sayd to be driuen to harken to sinister Counsell bycause he should refuse the counsell of the Elders And from wheÌ„ce came this I pray you but from him of whom it is written in holy writte For it was the ordinance of the Lord that he might performe his saying which he speake by the mouth of his Prophet 1. Kynges 15.12 The lyke must iudged of Amasias who had not fallen into that perill if he
by vnauoydeable Necessitie If this be graunted sayth he all Ciuill societie is rooted out Lawes are established in vayne correction praysing dispraysing good counsell are ministred in vayne neither anye ordinaunce deuised for the aduauncement of vertue and punishement of vyce serueth to any purpose at all Now bycause these haynous and daungerous absurdities are not tollerable in any weale publique Therfore sayth Augustine this man will not yeld that there should be any foreknowledge of thyngs to come So that by this meanes he forceth the Reader into these inconueniences to chuse one of these two either that mans will is of some force or els that thynges must be determined vpon before of Necessitie beyng of opinion that they can not be both at one tyme together but that if the one be allowed the other must needes be abolished If we leane vnto Gods foreknowledge and prouidēce then must Freewill haue no place on the other side if we mainteyne Freewill then foreknowledge of thyngs to come must be banished So the whiles Cicero beyng otherwise a man of wōderful experience as August sayth endeuoureth to make vs freé doth bring vs wtin the cōpasse of sacrilege as horrible robbers of Gods foreknowledge and beyng ignoraunt him selfe how to vnite this freédome and foreknowledge together rather suffreth God to be despoyled of his wisedome then men to be left destitute of Freewill which errour Augustine doth worthely reproue in him For it is not therfore a good consequent bycause the well orderyng dispositiō of all causes is in the hands of God that mans Freewill therfore is made fruitelesse altogether for that our willes them selues being the very causes of humaine actions are not exempt frō that well disposed order of causes which is alwayes vnchaungeable with God and directed by his prouidence And therfore he that with his wisedome doth cōprehend the causes of al thyngs the same also in the very causes them selues could not be ignoraunt of our willes which he did foreknow should be the causes of al our doyngs Go to now Let vs compare with this blynd Philosophy of Cicero the Diuinitie of Osorius in all respectes as bussard-lyke For as Cicero doth vphold the freédome of mans will by the ouerthrow of Gods prouidence and predestination and contrarywise by the ouerthrow of mans Freewill doth gather and establish the certeintie of Gods prouidence supposing that they can not stand both together In lyke maner our Osorius imaginyng with him selfe such a perpetuall and vnappeasable disagreément betwixt Necessitie in orderyng of causes and mans Freewill that by no meanes they may argreé together what doth he meane els thē pursuyng the platteforme that Cicero before him had builded in the couplyng of causes but to come to this issue at the length either to establish the doctrine of Necessitie with Luther or agreéyng with Cicero vtterly to roote out the foreknowledge and prouidēce of God for if to chuse be the propertie of will then are not all thynges done of Necessitie accordyng to Osorius opinion Agayne if not of Necessitie then is there no perpetuall orderyng of causes after Ciceroes suppositiō If there be no perpetuall order of causes neither is there any perpetuall order of thynges by the foreknowledge of God which can not come to passe but by the operation of causes precedent If the perpetuall orderyng of thynges be not in the foreknowledge of God thē all thyngs atteyne not the successes wherunto they were ordeyned Agayne if thyngs atteyne not the successes whereunto they were ordeyned then is there in God no foreknowledge of thynges to come Let vs cōpare now the first of this suttle Sophisme with the last The choise of mans will is free Ergo There is in God no foreknowledge of thynges to come Let Osorius aduise him selfe well what aunswere he make to this Argument If he hold of Ciceroes opinion what remayneth but hee must neédes condemne vs of Sacrilege as Cicero doth whiles he endeuoureth to make vs freé But I know hee wil not hold with this in any case and in very deéde Ciceroes Argument ought not to be allowed for that he doth not discende directly in this Argument frō proper causes to proper effectes For whereas Freewill is mainteyned in the one propositiō this is no cause wherefore it should be denyed that thynges are done by Necessitie As also this is not a good consequent lykewise bycause Necessitie is taught to consiste in an vnchaūgeable orderyng of causes and in Gods foreknowledge that therfore nothyng remayneth effectual in our Freewill And why so bycause agreéyng herein with Augustine we doe confesse both to witte Aswell that God doth know all thynges before they be done and that for this cause the thynges foreknowen are done of Necessitie And that we also do willyngly worke whatsoeuer we know and feéle to be done by vs not without our owne consentes But you will Reply That Luther contrary to Augustines doctrine both leaue mans lyfe altogether destitute of Freewill tyeng all our actions fast bounde in the chaynes of vnauoydeable Necessitie I do aunswere As Luther doth not defend euery absolute and vnaduoydeable Necessitie but that whiche we spake of before of the consequence No more doth he take away all freédome from will neither from all men but that freédome onely which is set contrary and opposite to spirituall bondage no nor yet doth he exempt all men from that freédome but such onely as are not regenerate with better Grace in Christ Iesu. For whosoeuer will inueste such persons with freédome is an vtter enemy to Grace And no lesse false also is all that whatsoeuer this coūterfaite Deuine doth now groūde him selfe vpon and hath more then an hundred tymes vrged touchyng this opinion of Necessitie For in this wise he brauleth agaynst Luther and Caluine If the thyngs that we doe are done of meere Necessitie and decreed vpon from the furthest end of eternitie Surely whatsoeuer wickednesse we do committe as not lead by our owne voluntary motion but drawen by perpetuall constraynte is not to bee adiudged for Sinne. Which triflyng Sophisme we haue vtterly crusht in peéces before by the authoritie of Augustine Neither came euer into the myndes of Luther or Caluine to mainteyne any such Necessitie which by any cōpulsary externall coaction should enforce will to committe wickednesse vnwillyngly For no man sinneth but he that sinneth voluntaryly Albeit none of our actions are destitute of a certeyne perpetuall directiō of the almighty Lord and Gouernour yea though neither the sinnes them selues can not altogether escape the prouident will and foreknowledge of God Yet is not the peruerse frowardnesse of the wicked any thyng the lesse excusable but that they ought to receaue cōdigne punishment accordyng to their wicked deseruynges for whosoeuer hath voluntaryly offended deserueth to be punished And therfore herein Osorius friuolous Diuinitie doth not a litle bewray her nakednesse that whereas debatyng about the matter of
sinne he seémeth not to haue learned this lesson yet out of Augustine that sinne the punishmeÌ„t of sinne is all one And therfore mainteynyng one lye by an other doth conclude as wisely that it is not agreable to equitie sithence men are Instrumentes onely God the worker of all thyngs that they should be condemned as malefactours which are onely Instrumentes with as good reason as if the sworde wherewith a man is slayne should be adiudged faultie not the persoÌ„ that slue the man with the sword Whiche I my selfe would not deny to be agaynst all reason if that matter were as Osor. would applye it But who did euer speake or dreame that men were Instruments onely in doyng wickednesse and that God is the Authour and worker of all mischief These be the wordes of Osorius not Luthers nor Caluines That wicked men are Sawes Instrumentes many tymes in the handes of God for the punishement of sinne this not Luther onely but Esay also doth boldly confesse Go to And will you therfore coÌ„clude that men are nothyng els but instruments and tooles onely very wisely I warraunt you deriuyng your Argument from the propositioÌ„ Exponent to the Exclusiue nay rather maliciously wrestyng and peruertyng all thynges from the truth to slaunderous cauillyng August doth sundry tymes witnesse that mens willes are subiect to Gods will and are not able to withstand it For as much as the willes them selues sayth he God doth fashion as him liketh and when him lysteth and that our willes are no further auayleable then as God both willed and foresawe then to bee auayleable Whereby you seé that Gods almighty power doth worke in our willes as in a workeshoppe wheÌ„ he purposeth to do any thyng that then he doth neither traÌ„spose our willes otherwise or to other purposes then by the seruice of our owne willes And yet doth it not therfore follow the mens willes are nothyng els then Iustrumentes and tooles onely of Gods handyworke as the thyng that of it selfe doth nothyng but as it is carryed and whirled about hither thither without any his own proper motioÌ„ through the operation of the agent cause onely Truly Augustine sayth very well We doe not worke by wishinges onely sayth he least hereupon cauillation arise that our will is effectuall to procure to lyue well Bycause GOD doth not worke our saluation in vs as in vnsensible stoanes or in thynges which by nature were created voyde of reason will c. In deéde God doth worke in the willes and harts of men and yet not rollyng or tossyng them as stoanes or driuyng whirlyng them as thynges without lyfe as though in enterprising and attemptyng of thynges the myndes and willes of men were carryed about by any forrein constraint and Deuine coaction without any voluntary motion of the intelligible mynde And therfore Osorius doth hereof friuolously and falsely forge his cankred cauillation and maliciously practizeth to procure this doctrine of Luther to be maligned As though we did deuise man to be lyke vnto a stoane or imagined God to be the onely Authour and worker of mischief bycause we do teach that mens willes are subiect to Gods wil as it were secundary causes Certes if that â— August writeth begrauÌ„ted for truth That Gods will is the cause of thynges that are done Why should the same be lesse alowable in Luther or not as false in eche respect in Aug. since they both speake one selfe sentence be of one iudgement therein Neither is it therfore a good consequent that Osor doth phantasie The onely will of God to be so the cause of sinne as though mans will did nothyng reproueable for sinnyng or punishable for deseruyng For to this end tendeth the whole cutted conclusion of all Osorius brabblynges But if you haue no skill to know the nature of a distinctioÌ„ as yet you must be taught that it is one thyng to permitte a sinne voluntarâ—ly an other thyng to committe a sinne voluntaryly Wherof the first is proper to God the other is peculiar to men the first may be done without all offence the other can bee done by no meanes without wickednesse Whereas GOD is sayd to will sinne after a certeyne maner the same is sayd to be done accordyng to that will which they call Gods good pleasure neither euill nor without the truth of the Scriptures And yet it followeth not hereupon necessaryly that God is the onely and proper cause of sinne No for this is accompted the onely cause which excludeth all other causes besides it selfe So is that cause called the proper cause which doth respect onely one end yea and that also the last end in respect wherof it is accompted to be the proper cause Whereas therfore sinne is the last end not of Gods will but of mans peruersenesse we do affirme that it is not done in deéde without Gods will but that man is the proper cause therof and not God For if the causes of thynges must be proportioned by their endes surely sinne is not the last end of Gods will in respect that it is euill but in respect that it is the scourge plague of sinne and to speake Paules own wordes The shewyng forth of Gods righteousnesse and the feare of God then which ende nothyng can be more better or more holy And where is now that iniquitie and cruelty of God Osorius which by misconstruyng Luther wickedly maliciously your fruitlesse Logicke taketh no fruite of but which your deuilishe Spirite and slaunderous cursed fury doth corrupt But that I may not seéme to stand to much vpon refutyng this toye lettyng slippe many thynges here in the meane whiles whiche make nothyng to the purpose nor conteyne any other thyng almost in them but vayne hautynesse of speache Tragicall exclamations maddnesse feéuers frensies spittyngs reproches horrible coÌ„tumelies wherwith this vnmanerly Deuine hath most filthely defiled whole papers I will come to those places which carry a certeyne shew of lesse scoldyng and more Scripture After this maner the vermine crawleth foreward But that ye may perceaue how illfauouredly your Doctours haue interpreted those testimonyes of Paule which you haue heaped vp together I thinke it expedient to disclose the meaning of Paule And that this may be done more orderly it behoueth to note diligently to what ende Paule gathered all those reasons together It is well truly This cruell scourgemottoÌ„ weried throughly with whippyng poore Luther miserably vnmercifully buffetyng him doth now at the length hyde his rod vnder his gowne beginneth to creépe to high desk will teach somewhat and God will out of the Scriptures so that we shall neede nothyng now but a Camell to daunce whiles this Assehead minstrell striketh vppe his drumme And therfore harken in any wise you blinde buzardly Lutherans you caluish Caluinistes you foolish Bucerans sith you be so blockish by nature that of your selues you can coÌ„ceaue nothing of
Axe of the truth and vtterly rooted out with the vnuanquishable force of Gods scripture Therfore first Let vs heare what discourse he maketh of Gods Iustice and mercy against the Lutheranes For whereas Luther and all good men of Luthers opinion do professe that the regarde of merites is directly cōtrary to Gods libertie and power as touchyng his Election and Predestination Osorius on the cōtrary part doth enforce all his might possible to proue that it is not so vsing these Argumentes especially Whereas we were all wrapped vp in one brake of perdition so that beyng ones defiled with sinne we became all most worthy of euerlastyng destruction for our naturall hatred agaynst Gods law engraffed fast within the nature of our bodies subiect to the outrage of lust God in whō neither any rashnes not vnrighteousnes can fall beyng a most iust Iudge towardes all men indifferently could not of his vnuariable equitie with singular clemēcy so embrace some as he must hate others vnlesse there were some cause or reason to enduce him to extēde his mercy to some and to execute Iudgement agaynst other But God now doth perceaue the whole cause therof to consiste in the maner of liuing and workes not the workes which were already done but which God foresawe should be done For what is there that the wisedome of God in his infinite knowledge doth not comprehende euen as it were present though the same be to be done in the vttermost minute of ages And by this reason it may be that God accordyng to the seuerall conditions of men did of his clemency elect them to eternall life whō he foresawe would be obedient to his Cōmaūdementes And on the other side did exclude them from the fruitiō of his kyngdome which he foresaw would vnthankfully despise his heauenly benefites And by this meanes sayth he Gods Iustice may right well be defended all the defence whereof standeth vpon mercy which otherwise cā not by any meanes deliuered from due reproch What a mockery is this as though if God should follow his owne libertie and will in the order of Predestination without all workes foreseéne before his Iustice could not stand inuiolable nor garded safe enough from all slaunder or suspition of vnrighteousnesse I demaunde then what if God out of this huge lumpe hadd chosen no one man at all whiche he might lawfully haue done if him lysted what if he had duely Iudged to deserued damnation the whole masse of mankynde which did altogether deserue his indignation wrath to speake Augustines wordes could any man cōdemne him of iniustice Goe to May not he that oweth nothyng to any man of his owne meére liberalitie lawfully exempt vndeserued out of this corrupted loste masse whō him listeth or haue mercy on whō he will haue mercy could not hee indurate and reiect whom he would without respect of meritorious workes followyng whenas there was matter more then enough ministred by their former desertes to condemne all to destruction As for example Admitte that a mā haue two debtours whereof the one is indebted vnto him in an exceédyng great summe of money the other oweth not so much by a great deale and the bountyfull creditour vouchsafe to forgeue the greater summe to that first I pray you is there any iust cause here for the other to grudge agaynst the creditour If he doe shall not his mouth be forthwith stopped with that aunswere of Christ in the Gospell Is it not lawfull for me to doe as I will with myne owne is thyne eye euill bycause I am good The very same doth that place of Paule seéme in my simple capacitie to emply where treatyng of the Election of the yoūger and refusall of the elder and of hardenyng Pharaos hart withall he doth annexe immediatly vnto the same what shall we say then is God vnrighteous makyng this Obiection agaynst him selfe as vnder the person of Osorius after this maner If God did not worke after the proportion of foreseene workes and deseruynges Ergo God may seeme to be vnrighteous in his Election and should offend against Iustice distributiue This Argument the Apostle doth forthwith deny saying God forbyd and withall rendreth a reason of his illation negatiue namely that both propositions bee Iustifiable in God Both that God is not vnrighteous And also that God accordyng to the equitie of his Freewill doth take mercy on whom he will haue mercye not in respecte of anye mans deseruynges but of his owne freé bountyfulnesse benignitie and mercy And therfore for the better establishyng of this his defence he doth forthwith cite the same wordes that were spoken to Moyses I will haue compassion on whom I haue compassion and I will shew mercy to whom I do shew mercy So that hereby you seé good Syr that to the worke of Election and Predestinatiō the Apostle iudgeth Gods will onelye though there were no cause els matter sufficient to acquite his Iustice freé from all flaunder and reproch that in my Iudgement now the defence of Gods Iustice which you haue placed in Gods mercy seémeth more aptly applyed to his will For as he can will nothyng but that which is most righteous so nothyng is truly righteous in deéde but that whiche proceédeth from the will of GOD. So that now it shall not be neédefull at all to be inquisitiue accordyng to the coūsell of Augustine after any other principall causes besides Gods good will consideryng that no hygher cause can be founde of greater importaunce But what can be so well spoken but that some will be founde somewhat scrupulous without cause will not in most brightest Sunneshyne seé wtout a candle Therfore this cauillyng colcouerthwart creépeth yet foreward If it be true sayth hee that Gods Election is directed by his will onely in allowyng or makyng hardharted whom he will that no man cā resist his will It seemeth then that Pharao and others who of indurate contumacy of mynde are wicked whereas in that their wickednesse they do execute the will God that they are not the cause of their owne wickednesse nor that they can chuse but do the wickednesse whereunto they are violently thrust necessitie If it be so what iust quarell can God haue then agaynst those whom him selfe hath made to be stiffenecked wherefore he should condemne thē To be short The substaunce of the Obiection is for the most part knitte vp in this Argument If God do harden mens hartes then should not Pharao be the cause of his owne Sinne consideryng no man can resist the will of God Or to reduce this consequent into a Sillogisme No mā hath iust cause to blame him whom him selfe enforceth to offende God doth iustly finde fault with sinners Ergo God doth compell no mā to sinne nor doth make them endurate I do Aunswere First euen by the self same Obiections wh the Apostle vnder the person of the
of them that are forsaken whether do ye think that the same proceéded from the secret purpose of God or of themselues if from thē selues how shall thys appeare for asmuch as Election and Reprobation also are not seperated by any distinction of the Creator or distaunce of tyme and were both together before the foundacions of the world were layed as appeareth most manifestly by the examples of Iacob and Esau and sundry other semblable examples But Osorius will coyne vs here some straunge Oracle to witte That GOD dyd create the nature of the vessels in deede but not the very vessels of wrath as whiche tooke their originall from Sinne and infidelity and not from God the Creatour And who did euer deny this to be true Goe to What monster doe these great bellyed hilles Calue out at the length Forsooth a very wonderfull conclusion God did not create wickednesse Ergo He did not not forme the vessels of wrath But that this creéppled curtoll of Osorius may stād vpright vpō his legges let vs helpe here Osor. haltyng Logicke once agayne For in this wise shall it be able to craule vpon his feéte Onely wickednesse brought to passe that they become vessels of wrath God did not create wickednesse Ergo GOD doth not create vessels of wrath but euery one maketh him selfe a vessell of wrath thorough hys owne wicked will by cause he would not be made the vessell of Mercy First the Maior is not to be graunted simply and absolutely For if this must be yelded vnto for a truth that onely wickednesse doth make the vessels of wrath why should not this also be taken for matter confessed vpon equall relation of contraries to witte that vertue onely doth make the vessels of mercy and withall that it consisteth in the habilitie and power of euery good body that will not be a vessell of dishonour to become a vessell of honour Moreouer where it is sayd that wickednesse doth make the vessels of wrath is not agreable with the truth Dauid did committ agaynst his owne soule not one wickednesse alone no more was Saule beyng a persecutour cleare of his proper wickednes also yet the same Dauid notwithstādyng his wickednesse was a vessell of Election Be the same spoken of Mary Magdalene of the theéfe finally of many of Gods Elect whose horriblenes of Sinne did not make thē vessels of wrath notwithstandyng Besides this also if it be true that Osorius speaketh That wicked men do not make them selues vessels of wrath but through their owne will and wickednesse Tell vs a good felloshyp what offence hadd Esau committed beyng the vessell of wrath not by any action of lyfe but beyng borne euen so by nature Be the lyke spoken of Ismaell Cain the māquelier became worthely abhominable in the sight of God by the murther of his owne brother but before this murther committed and before any priuy grudge conceaued what had he done when in his first oblation both him selfe and his oblatiō was reiected Iudas Iscariotes had not yet betrayed his Maister whenas he was both the vessell of wrath and called also the Sonne of perditiō The Phariseés had not yet vttered any tokē of hatred agaynst Christ when they were called of Iohn Baptist the generation of Uipers What shall I say of Pharao Whose destruction if we behold euen worthely and deseruedly layed vpon him by the Lord who may dought it that his owne Rebellion deserued that he should be rightfully punished but if we respect the secrete former determination of the Deuine reiection and induratiō which was before in the secret mynde of God It is out of all question that the same induration proceéded not of the rebelliō of Pharao but that his Rebellion sprang out of his induration rather as succeédyng thereupon Wherfore if we interpret of the wrath of GOD to be a punishment of Gods seuere Iustice we deny not but that the same falleth vpon none saue such as through their owne wickednesse haue deseruedly procured their owne destructiō And this wrath of God in deéde as it is alwayes righteous so doth it alwayes follow but neuer go before the vngodlynes which is either peculiar to euery person or is parcell of the inheritable infection of the first father Adam But if vnder this vocable Wrathe that will and decreé of the highest God be noted wherewith those are secluded from Election whiche are called the vessels of wrath Then is Osorius raungyng Fable both false absurde wherewith he would seéme to persuade that it is a very easie thyng to be chaunged from wooden and earthly vessels into vessels of siluer and gold if we will our selues and that it is in euery mans owne power to be made a vessell of wrath or a vessell of mercy as him listeth As though Gods will were of no force at all to determine vpon matters but as it is regulated by mans will And as though it were also as necessary then to be made a vessell of mercy whenas mā is not willing to be made a vessell of wrath But such a vessell doth neuer display his lightsomnesse in the house of God as I thinke Osori But to what purpose then belongeth that saying of Paul It is neither of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that taketh mercy If Gods euerlastyng decreé be of no more force in these matters to determine vpon any certeintie but such as must be guided by the raungyng rule of mans will which is as much as accordyng to the old sayd law Quite agaynst the heare Albeit I will not deny in the meane tyme that we are not able to discerne truly betwixt the vessels of wrath and the vessels of mercy but by good or euill workes that we seé to be in them Yea it cōmeth hereby many tymes to passe that such as sometymes seémed in their owne conceites to be them selues the vessels of wrath beyng afterwardes endued with better Grace doe in processe of of tyme feéle the contrary But this hangeth not now vpon the cobbwebbe of mans will but dependeth wholy vpon Gods Election which beyng alwayes agreable and stable in it selfe is neuer chaūged how variable soeuer the motiōs of men are Therfore if this be the very meanyng of Osorius wordes his Iudgement is commendable enough But it is one thyng to be adiudged somewhat in the opinion of men Osorius an other thyng to be directed by the vnsearcheable counsell of God What then will some man say Did God create his cretures to the end to destroy them did he create his creature to wrath destructiō Is it credible that his will is to harden the hartes of any to wickednesse whose will is to haue all saued or that he who hath predestinate his creatures to glory can cast thē into destruction And can it be possible that he who doth testifie of him self in the Scriptures which will not the death of a Sinner but rather that
he liue and be conuerted shall now alter his nature and will not the lyfe but the destruction of a Sinner whenas also all things are good that God hath created can he hate the worke of his owne handes yea not onely after he hath created it but also before hee hath made it I am not ignoraunt Osorius of these and such lyke your not absurdities but cauilles rather which you are wont to thrust vpon vs now and then To the which to make a playne and distinct aūswere First the nature of causes it selfe must bee considered Then must a playne distinction of Gods will be opened For when question is made of Gods will the Scripture doth not speake therof alwayes after one maner phrase of speach nor expresse the same euery where after one onely signification Sometymes this name of will is taken in a most large and ample signification for that which Gods decreé hath determined shall come to passe in all matters As in that place of Paule God doth take mercy on whom he will haue mercy and doth indurate whom he will c. And agayne God did what soeuer he would doe in heauen and in earth And in an other place Bycause it seemeth so good in thyne eyes O Father Luke 10. And this will seruyng in eche respect to as many purposes as the foreknowledge and essence of God doth both go before all other meane and secondary causes in order of tyme and of it owne power also doth dispose all thynges good Syr not as though it would enforce them agaynst their willes by any outward coaction but doth so dispose and order thyngs with a certeine secrett power as that through their voluntary and seruiceable yeldyng they atteyne at the last to the same purpose whereunto the will of God did first chiefly foreordeyne and direct them Whereby it commeth to passe that though the will of God of it selfe make no persons euill properly yet that wicked persons notwithstandyng shall accōplish the will of God if not accordyng to the euent and successe properly and absolutely yet by accidentall meanes So that on this wise albeit the destruction of the wicked proceéde from the voluntary corruptiō of man not from Gods will as from the nearest cause yet do not those wicked persons fulfill their wickednes without Gods will For in as much as it is a due scourge and punishment of sinne man is not punished therewith without Gods will Agayne by this word will is signified sometymes that wherewith God by his expresse word doth notifie him selfe to be delighted to be well pleased and which is acceptable in his sight Of whiche sort are all thynges whiche be naturally good and commendable In which significatiō God is sayd not to will wickednes nor to will the death of a sinner And of this will speaketh the Apostle This is the will of God your sanctification And this will the faythfull onely do performe properly and simply We haue spokē now of will we must now create somewhat of the order of causes Wherein this is to be noted aboue all other To witte that the first causes haue alwayes relatiō to the vttmost endes the meane concurraūt endes effectes to the meane middle causes Forasmuch therfore as the will of god that is to say the decreé of God is the originall of all causes we must then seeke out what the last end is which may be answerable to this will now the same is sufficiently discouered by Paul If God sayth he willing on the one side to shew hys wrath and to make his power knowne do with much sufferaunce and lenyty beare with the Vessels of wrathe prepared vnto destruction and on the other side to make knowne the richesse of hys glory towardes the vessels of mercy which he hath prepared to glory c. By which wordes who doth not easely perceaue that the last and principall ende of Gods workmanship doth consist in this not that wicked men should perish but that the Larges of hys heauenly mercy should more mightely increase in the saluation of hys faythfull Now because this could not be brought to passe by any other meanes vnlesse there were some on the contrary part vpon whome the seueritie of Gods Iustice might be exequuted it seémed good therefore to the Almighty Creator of all the creation in this vnspeakeable Workshop of the whole world to dispose his vessels to seuerall vses not all vnto honor nor yet all vnto dishonor but some he made seruiceable instrumentes of hys Iustice other some meéte instruments of hys mercy not that he created his creatures to this effect as to the finall and vtmost end of hys purpose that they should perish but because he had so determined with himselfe in his secret counsell before the foundations of the world not to haue mercy vpon all therefore it could not othertherwise be but that such as should be forsaken of him beyng forsaken and yelded ouer to themselues should fall away of very necessitie For Gods grace withdrawing assistaunce mans imbecillity must withall neédes fall to the ground and Nature being nowe ouerthrowne Gods Iustice coulde not but execute his office punish greuously of very necessitie And hereof cōmeth the destruction of the reprobates persecutors of hys people the efficient cause wherof cōsisteth truely in euery of their own corruption but the cause deficient in the will of God And therefore we ought not to Iudge alyke of the causes of Election and Damnation For although these be certayne brāches of predestination and concurre altogether in one kynde one originall and one end yet do they differ notwithstanding in the maner The fountayne original of them both is the decreé of God and the ende is the glory of God And yet is not Election to lyfe euerlasting of the same sort that reprobation to destruction is For hee hath chosen by making hee doth reiect not by doyng somewhat but rather by forsaking And in the saluation of that Godly that whol cause is so wholy shut vp in God as that besides him no person nor cause can come betwixt that may challenge any interest in the title of Election and Saluacion But that matter goeth otherwise in the destruction of the reprobate for albeit such as perishe are not damned at all without the will of God yet besides this will also that obstinate rebellion of mans will thrusteth it self in wherby they do worthely procure to thē selues deserued Damnation For God doth neyther so cast of those whom he doth cast away as one that did enforce them to commit filthines but forsaketh euery such one and yeldeth him ouer to hys owne guiding Now Freewill beyng nothing els but fraylty and feéble weakenes it selfe vnable to defend the brickle inclination of nature agaynst the monsturous assaultes of vnsatiable lust yeldeth it selfe coward captiue to euery storme of suttle Tētation By meanes whereof
whereas he sayth that the remnaunt of flesh euen in the holy ones is like a wilde sauadge Tyger euer resistyng against the Spirite and whereas also he doth cōuince the whole fleshly Iudgemēt of mā of faultynes naturall he differeth herein nothyng at all From Paule and Augustine Augustine writyng vpon Iohn Let no man flatter him selfe sayth he of him selfe he is a Sathan◠Let man therfore take away Sinne that is his owne and leaue righteousnes vnto God c. Osorius is not so blokishe as to make Luther equall with Diagoras but much more wicked And why so He adiudgeth is to be more tollerable to thinke there is no God at all thē to conceaue that God is wicked and vnrighteous But Luther doth conceaue him both wicked and vnrighteous Ergo c. Undoughtedly a very haynous fact yea more then Diagoricall If so be that any man either were euer so detestably abhominable as to be able to conceaue any such thyng of God But frō whence shall this mylde charitable allegation of this most curteous Prelate appeare at the length vnto vs to be truly vouched agaynst Luther For sooth vnlesse I be deceaued as the mā is not altogether blockish he will coyne vs this euident demonstration out of the bottome of his owne braynes Whosoeuer doth impute the faulte to an other of the thyng he can not auoyde doth vnrighteously Sinne is a thyng in man that can not be auoyded as Luther doth say Ergo God imputyng Sinne vnto man after Luthers doctrine is vniust The Maior proposition is true in those persons which were not them selues the cause of the thyngs whiche they could not auoyde But man now through his owne will hath throwen him selfe into that Necessitie of Sinnyng which he is not able to ouercome Wherupon the fault of the trespasse that he committeth is iustly imputed vnto him selfe nor can he nothwithstādyng chuse but doe the thyng that is committed And so by this reason the Maior is false Moreouer as touching the Minor Two thynges are to be considered in Sinne as it is taken to be the punishment of Sinne cleauyng fast vnto vs. The Acte and the Imputation For although the Acte he not taken away altogether through the corruption of nature Yet through Christ the Imputation of the Sinne is take away Therfore if a man cā not be freé from Sinnyng Let him obteyne a remedy for sinne in Christ in whom Sinne though be vnauoydable in this weake nature yet can not be hurtfull at all bycause it is not imputed Whereupon Augustine very fitly Sinne sayth he may be auoyded not when the proude will is aduaunced but when the humble and meeke will is holpen And the same is holpen in them which call earnestly by prayer which do beleue and which are called accordyng to Gods purpose He is in vayn cōmaūded to make choise who hath no power to applye him self to the thing which he doth chuse But we are commaunded to chuse both lyfe and death aswell good as euill Ergo We haue abilitie in vs to applye our selues aswell vnto life as vnto death aswell vnto euill as vnto good These thynges are alledged lyke as if there were any man that did vtterly driue away wil or abilitie of freé choyse frō mē We doe confesse that man hath a freé not a coacted power to chuse good or euill For we do chuse both not through any coaction at all but of our owne voluntary will albeit our choyse is not all alike in both for we make choyse of the thyngs that apperteine vnto Saluation after one sorte and of the thinges that are wicked after an other sorte For wicked thynges and thynges that are not godly euery man greédyly catcheth after of him self is greédyly carried thereunto yet so neuerthelesse of him selfe as of his owne nature he can not otherwise do if he be not hoplē But good godly thyngs no man can chuse through the naturall inclination of Freewill vnlesse he be thereunto assisted by the ayde of the holy Ghost This therfore that is read in the Scriptures God left man to the power of his owne counsell he set before mans face lyfe and death good and euill aduising him to chuse life c. Is a true saying but with this restrainte alwayes annexed that of hym selfe he was able to rush into all euill and beyng ayded by the holy Ghost he might be able to doe well on the other side not beyng holpen that he is neither of abilitie to do any thyng acceptable to God well nor could chuse by any meanes but worke the thyng that was displeasaunt vnto God If man be not the thyng that he can not be of his owne power and will but be compelled of Necessitie to be that which he ought not to be Ergo This is not now to be imputed to man nor yet seemeth he to be in any fault for it The Aunswere is out of Augustine Nay rather it is therfore the fault of the man that he is not without Sinne bycause it came to passe by mans will onely that he should come to such a Necessitie which could not be counteruayled vp the onely will of man If to Sinne be naturall not voluntary then either is it not sinne now or surely not to be imputed But if sinne be voluntary and not naturall nor of Necessitie then in respect that it is voluntary it is auoydeable by will that it neede not cleaue vnto vs of very Necessitie Augustine doth Aunswere God created Nature at the first pure and sounde◠which may not be accused as if it were the cause of Sinne. But afterwardes mans owne will did defile this good nature which beyng now corrupted conceaueth Sinne which neither can be healed without the grace of God Moreouer touchyng the thing that is done by will voluntaryly it can not be denyed but that the same will may be chaunged and so the will being chaunged the thing also that was done voluntaryly may be altered But whereas it is sayd that will may be chaunged by will it selfe this sauoreth surely of a wonderfull arrogancie For asmuch as the flesh willeth agaynst the Spirite and the Spirite agaynst the flesh as the Apostle him selfe witnesseth And these two are at warres agaynst eche other so that ye may not doe the thynges that ye would Gallat 5. Either a man may be without Sinne or he can not be without Sinne. If he can not what reason is it that Sinne that can not be but present should be imputed If he may be without Sinne how is will then bounde by Necessitie which might haue eschued the thyng that was committed And to this also Augustine maketh Aunswere That a man may in deede be without Sinne if God do helpe him we do not deny but this reason proueth not that there is any man without Sinne that is not holpen neither do we agree thereunto
for want of health and strēgth become vnable to execute his Embassie ought the Prince to be blamed for it or the Ambassadour rather who by his owne folly hath disabled him selfe And that is it that Augustine doth seéme to emply in his booke De perfectione Iustit Nay rather for this cause sayth he the man is blameworthy that he can not perfittly doe his duetie nor liue without Sinne bycause by mans owne will it came to passe that hee should be driuen to that Necessitie which could not afterwardes be shaken of agayne by mās will alone Thyrdly here is to be noted that there be foure maner of meanes or wayes to obserue the law 1. Either by the force of our owne strength and by this meanes the greatnesse of our strength is ouercome by the law 2. Or by the helpe of some other And so nothyng withstandeth but that we may fulfill the commaundementes of the law 3. Or by the operation of the holy Ghost in vs to make vs to lyue godly 4. Or by Imputation through fayth in the Mediatour who freély forgeueth our imperfection and iustifieth the Sinner and wicked also All sinne is voluntary Ergo No man sinneth of Necessitie Here must be a distinction added in these wordes Will and Necessitie If Necessitie be taken in this place for coaction then is the consequent true but if it be taken for euery vnchaūgeablenesse which of it selfe can not be otherwise altered then is the Argument faulty Moreouer in the Antecedent If the word Will be taken for a sounde Will able enough of it selfe such as was in the first creation of nature the consequēt were not amisse and was true in deéde in Adam But if we take it for that Will which is in vs now defiled and full of corruption the Argumēt concludeth no Necessitie at all no more thē if a man should argue on this wise Euery man by nature is two footed Ergo Euery man may goe If Nature here be meant for sounde the Argument is good but if it haue relation to one sicke of the palsey or to a maymed mā or one that is bounde with roapes beyng fallen in the hands of theéues your selfe will deny the Argument And why so not bycause man is not two footed by nature if ye regarde his first creation but bycause this nature is woūded through the disobedience of our first parētes and maymed altogether so that now either we haue no feét◠at all or they be not sounde surely or if they be hoale and soūde they are not at libertie to treade on the groūde but fast bounde by theéues and are holden captiuate vnder Sinne so that either we be not able to go at all or at least lesse able to treade the right tracke that we ought to doe vnlesse the holy Samaritane come and let lowse our bandes namely the assistyng Grace of Christ Iesu of that which Augustine speaketh very notably If we will mainteyne Freewill sayth he lot vs not gaynsay that from whence will taketh her Freedome for he that denyeth Grace whereby it is made free either to eschue euill or to do good is willing to continue still in bondage c. And therfore when we debate or dispute of Will the question must not be referred to nature it selfe but rather to the corruptiō of nature There is no Necessitie of sinning where will hath a freedome to doe All men are endued with a Freewill to doe Ergo There is no Necessitie of sinnyng in men Where Freédome of Will is there is no Necessitie of Sinnyng this propositiō is false For there is not such a repugnaūcie betwixt Will and Necessitie whosoeuer sinneth freély the same also sinneth voluntaryly No man is enforced to Sinne but is drawen to wickednesse by the enticementes of his owne will and not by any foreine constrainte Chrisostome He that draweth draweth him that is willing Wherfore if our owne will do carry vs headlong to Sinne let vs not Impute it to Necessitie but to lust And therfore to make a distinction of these thynges Osorius and that ye may be satisfied if it be possible Voluntary and Necessary are not opposite For they may both light together at one tyme in Will When Will enlightened by the inspiration of the holy Ghost doth earnestly couet after euerlastyng lyfe this it doth of Necessitie in deéde yet neither vnwillyngly nor cōstrayned thereunto for it cā not come to passe by any meanes that will may be any tyme enforced to will that whiche it will not Nay rather Augustine is of this opinion that it standeth as much agaynst the conueniencie of reason for man to will the thyng that he will not as if a mā would contend that any thyng could be hoate without heate And yet that Necessitie in the meane tyme wherewith wicked men are sayd to Sinne is not so absolute and vnauoydeable as that they can not chuse but continue in their wickednesse For assoone as the holy Ghost and the grace of Christ preuēteth them that chayne of that Necessitie is forthwith broken in peéces And therfore Augustine doth say that it proceédeth of nature to be able to haue fayth hope and charitie but to haue thē in deéde commeth vtterly of Grace For that power and habilitie is not put in execution vnlesse Grace be geuen from aboue And thus farre forth Augustine did agreé with Pelagius that to be able commeth of nature but Augustine addeth withall that Pelagius would not agreé vnto That to will well and to liue well must be ascribed onely to grace Nothyng ought to be accompted for sinne which doth not depende vpon the free choyse of man This is true if it be taken of that kynde of Sinne that is called the punishment of sinne For otherwise Originall sinne is neyther voluntary nor vndertaken of any choyse If you be willing and be obedient ye shall eate the fatte of the earth But if you will not nor will be obedient the sword shal deuour you for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Ergo It is in mans power both to will and not to will Augustine The whole law is full of such conditions And these Commaundementes were geuen to suppresse the pryde of Arrogant persons by way of sufferaunce vnder a colour vntill the seede should come that was promised That is to say That men should be tyed to the commaundementes whiche otherwise presumed proudly before of their owne strength In the accomplishing of the whiche man faynting and made to quayle in hys owne conceipte he shoulde be forced to flee to the deliuerer and Sauiour And so being terrified by the rigour of the Law should by the same Lawe as by a schoolemaister be conducted to fayth and to grace c. This much Augustine Sinne is eyther of Will or of Necessitie if it be of Necessitie then doth Osorius deny it to be sinne if it be of
most iust Iudgemēt agaynst sinne his most excellēt piety towards his sonne his most tēder loue towardes mākinde For in that he did most sharpely and with seuerest Iustice punish our Sinnes in his owne sonne he restored him to life to a most ample kyngdome wtall thereby prouided most fatherly for all our saluatiō generally We Read lykewise in the holy Scriptures It is necessary that offences shall come it is necessary that heresies be c. And it is not to be doughted but that this Necessitie doth issue frō the ordinaunce of God And what then if these offences do chaunce altogether besides the ordinaunce of GOD how then doe they chaunce of Necessitie Agayne if they happen by the ordinaūce of GOD how shall we then defende the goodnesse of GOD Forsooth euen by the same meanes that I spake of before For if he which dyd foreordeyne those offences were alyke affectioned and of the same mynde nor dyd respect any other ende then the persons themselues do from whom those offences doe aryse there should nothing withstand but that he should be in the self same fault and in all respectes as blameworthy as they But nowe sithe there is so great diuersitie betwixt them in the maner of doyng and the respect of the end hereby it commeth to passe that in one selfe action that which is committed by mē is a most haynous cryme and in that which commeth of GOD appeareth most euidently a wonderfull commendation of Iustice and pyety But here is yet a very great knott in thys bullrush whereupon Osorius scrapeth agayne very busily To cōfesse this to be true that offences and heresies must aryse by men yet forasmuch as their willes are not otherwise ordered but by the guyding and leading of Gods direction it can not be denyed but that God hymselfe as one that doth suggest some matter first must be accompted for an Abettour or furtherer for whosoeuer shall be the cause of any other cause or action euē the same must needs be an accessary to the cryme that is committed That offences and other sondry inconueniences of this present lyfe do flow from out the corrupt affections of men as out of their naturall source and sprynghead is most true And agayne that the willes of men which way soeuer they bend them selues are guyded not without the permissiō and especiall prouidence of God This is also most true Furthermore that the very Will of God and hys prouidence doe seéme to be in some cause that offences and inconueniences do aryse I doe confesse likewise agreéing herein with August Well and what hereof what if we graunt that God is after a certayne sorte the cause of euill Ergo Osorius doth conclude presently vpon the same that God as beyng the cause of euill cannot be excused of blame But if he do so hee is at hand that will deny his argument For it is not a good consequent which is deriued from the cause of offences and euilles but onely in such offences and sinnes which are not themselues the very punishment of sinnes and reward of trespasse where the euills that are committed be the vttermost effectes of the cause agent Whereof neyther of them both may be imputed to God For neyther doth Gods prouidence work in the corrupt affections of men as the principall cause vnto the last ende moreouer neyther are mens wills enclined or hardened to wickednes by the operation of God but where God hath most iust cause so to do aswell because God doth all thinges to make the excellency of hys power and Maiesty to appeare more glorious and to beé wondered at as also because hee doth harden the hartes of no person but to th end with sinne to punish the former sinnes wickednes and mischieuous facts that haue bene committed before Yea and this also most rightfully Whereupon August sayth this must be grounded and vnremoueable within your hartes That there is no vnrighteousnes in God And for thys cause when ye do reade in the holy scriptures that men are seduced by God or that their hartes are hardened dought nothing at all but that they haue committed before offence enough for the which they ought worthely to suffer c. If mans nature be of it selfe so valiaunt as to defend it selfe sufficiently agaynst all stormes and assaultes of sinne wherefore then doth he suffer himselfe to beé caryed away willingly and wittingly out of the right way why doth he not preuent all occasions and temptations as heé ought to do why doth he not practize the same courage that his owne reason inuiteth him vnto If he cannot why then euen from the beginning throwing ouer boorde the helme of Gods gouernement did he take vpon hym to be pylote of hys owne course why did he presume to be wise without God why was he so arrogant with so hauty and lofty a courage to geue the attempt vpon the tree of lyfe and graspe of the fruit thereof why being not contented with hys owne simplicitie chose he rather to raunge the field himselfe with the bridle in his teéth thē to abide the managing of the Lord who now if were able to gouern him selfe without Gods assistaunce doth worthely breake hys neck if he fall ouer the rock If he cannot guyde hys owne wayes euē for this cause is he worthely forsaken and spoyled because him self cast of of God beyng hys Ryder frō hys back Whereupon this is a good consequent and must be graunted of Necessitie that eyther God is not the cause of euill or if he be yet that in this cause is nothing at all but that whiche standeth most of all with equitie and Iustice likewise that in man is nothing but that whereof he may worthely condemne hym selfe The will of God doth worke together with mans will in sinne according to the Lutheranes It standeth therfore with as good reason that the same should be imputed to the one that is imputed to the other If the circumstaunces of them both were in all respects like the consequent would be good but the circumstances beyng altered the state of the conclusion is altered also All the actions of mans life are gouerned by the disposition of the secret prouidence of God This is very true Mans will also doth endeuour withall together with the same Here is therefore an operation and working on both partes God worketh and man worketh and both in one matter But bicause God doth order things after farre other meanes and respecting an other ende then men doe herein redowndeth vnto hym the highest commendation of power Iustice aud Bounty Men are worthely blamed as beyng the very causes of their own harmes When Ioseph was solde by hys brethren when Iudas betrayed the Lord when Absalon defiled hys fathers concubines When Pharao witheld the people of Israell When Semei rayled vpon Dauid When Antiochus waxed wrothe agaynst the Iewes long sithence whenas Antichrist euen now gryndeth hys teeth agaynst the
seély flock of Christ when as Paule breathed out threatninges and slaughters no man will deny but these were haynous horrible factes of all which notwithstanding no one wanted the singuler counsell of God and hys especiall prouidence whereupon it could not possible be otherwise but that the thinges which he had determined before should so come to passe in the ende For neyther doth enter into mans thought any thing that God doth not will before that mā shoulde will neither doth mans will purpose any thinge which is not both foreseéne and foreordained of God What thē shall we therefore accuse God as Author of the wickednesse of the vngodly because these thinges chaunce of Necessitie which God hath purposed shall come to passe and can by no meanes be altered For so seemeth Osori to conclude hys argument But I argue agaynst hym in this wise and with two reasons First If this preordinaunce of God whereof I speake do bryng such a Necessitie of externall coaction vppon men as Osorius doth speake of as that no man could sinne voluntaryly but cōpelled thereunto by God it might not seeme altogether perhaps from the purpose to impute the fault thereof to God But what is he now or what mā hath euer bene so horribly wicked at any time who in performing his treacherous deuises can say that he was constrayned agaynst hys will to commit the facte that he would not haue done being neyther led thereunto of any motion of him selfe nor blynded with any hys owne affections Moreouer although the will of God doth work together with mans will or as Augustine liked rather to speake whether God do worke in the hartes of men to apply their willes whervnto it pleaseth hym eyther to godlines for hys good mercies sake or to wickednes and vyce according to their owne deseruinges or whether man be afflicted with any crosse of persequution yet doth God bring all these to passe according to his own iust Iudgement sometimes open and manifest but alwayes most righteous for what sitteth more with iustice thē to punish offenders then to tame and suppresse the outragious pryde of rebellious Nature But forasmuch as all the workes of GOD are directed chiefly as to one ende from whence then may man take a more large occasion to magnifie and extoll the Iustice of God then out of hys owne works And therefore though weé confesse that it is one selfe work which is wrought by God and by man yet because in the selfe same worke God worketh by an other way and to an other ende Namely putting in vre the worke of hys Iustice and because men do the workes of pryde of Luste of wrath and of couetousnes hereupon it commeth to passe that sinne is worthely imputed vnto them the will of God remayning alwayes righteous and good notwithstanding For this rule is to be holden alwayes vnshaken That all the works of God are wrought for the best So the fall of our first parent Adam the hardening of Pharaoes hart the treasō of Iudas the persequutiō of Paule tended to as good purpose as the perseueraunce of Noah in fayth The humblenes of Dauid Peters denyall of hys maister and the conuersion of Paule For what soeuer is wrought by God doth alwayes tourne to the glorifiing of hys power and magnifieng hys Iustice of hys Iustice because by sinne he doth punish sinne and that most righteously of hys power whē with hys mighty hand and onstretched arme he doth aduaunce and deliuer them for his wonderfull mercies sake and of hys free liberalitie it pleaseth hym to vouchsaue But Osorius is a wylypye and will not be destitute of a starting hoale but will seéke to escape through some chynk or moushoole And because he doth perceaue that Gods power cānot be vtterly sequestred from the Actions of men he like an olde tryed shifter will collour the matter and applye the workes of God which we haue rehearsed to Gods foreknowledge For this is the subtill distinction whereunto our aduersaryes flee for their defence They say that no prouidence of God that may enduce any Necessitie doth go before to cause men to sinne Onely that God did foreknow that they would so do that they were such in deed not for that God did foreknow that they would be such but rather that he did therefore foreknowe that they should be such through their own inclination Where the Aduersaryes make mencion of the foreknoweledge of God they doe not altogether lye in this poynte For it is most true that the Maiestye of God doth behold as it were with present view all thinges that are haue bene and shal be as though they were present in hys eye but herein they go amisse where they practize to establish the foreknowledge and permission of God so firmely that they would haue hys vnchaungeable prouidence seuered from the same which cannot possibly be by any meanes for what may a man thinke if God doe foreknow and permitte wickednes to raigne which he is not able to turne away where is then hys power if he be able and will not where is then his mercy what father is so hard harted that seéing his childe ready to receaue some harme will not call him from the perill if he may But say they he that doth wickedly he also that doth consent thereunto are both in one predicament Therfore as it is an absurde thing not to confesse God to be omnipotent or that any thing is done that he cannot do so is that as false also to say that any thing with God will not is permitted wtout hys knowledge and agaynst hys will For howe shall we conceaue that God doth permitte any thing to be done but because hys will is that it shall so be done whereupon we may frame an argument agaynst those persones who reiecting the necessary doctrine of predestination flee onely to Gods Permission on this wise If God do permitte sinne that doth he eyther with hys will or agaynst hys will But he doth not permitte it agaynst hys will for there can nothing be done agaynst the will of God Then followeth it that God doth willingly permitte sinne and will not stay nor hinder it Which beyng graunted their obiection hath a dubble error First because they take away sinne altogether from the will of God casting the same wholy bpon hys Permission Next because they do feare least Gods Iustice should be blemished beyng of this opinion To witte if God do worke in the hartes of the wicked when they do sinne Then must it be taken for confessed that the cause of sinne shal be forthwith imputed to God and withall that men shall hereof take iust occasion to excuse thē selues Both which are easily confuted For first of all whereas it is sayd that GOD worketh in the hartes of men to encline their willes whereunto it pleaseth hym eyther when he doth thrust vpō men outward calamities as straunge diseases cruell Warres flames of
the wicked doers and the laude and prayse of them that doe well for so is the wâ—ll of God Beholde you haue both my propositions out of Peter First the chief and most excellent authoritie of kinges then rulers and Magistrates sent and assigned by kinges for the punishment of the vngodly and the coÌ„fort of the godly Lastly you heare also that it is the will of God that by this meanes executioÌ„ of Iustice may duly proceéed Wherfoâ—â— cast away all your cauillations and beyng an Elâ—â—r your selfe if you bee wise geue attentiue and speédy eare to Peter the Elder You thunder out your malicious slaunders agaynst the demeanour and ignoraunce of our Byshops discharge your venemous stomacke agaynst them And here vnhappely as it chaunced ye begyn your talke with extreme incongruitie yea redoubling the same for your more skill For thus ye write What Byshops name you Illino whether they whom you haue disgraded from their Sees and deteine them in chaines or Illi they rather whoÌ„ you haue takeÌ„ out of Brothelhouses and Tauernes and haue enstalled in the degree of holy Byshops Is it eueÌ„ so proude comptroller Can you make so euident a fault contrary the principles of GraÌ„mar and write Illi they in steéde of Illos them Enquire of your wormeeateÌ„ companion Dalmada he will amend your escape and will be sory that you haue sâ—ypped your penne so childishly I doe medle with these trifles much agaynst my will neither would I haue done it at all but to treade downe your hautynesse a litle which can continually quarell with me for titles and sillables yea without cause I know that such escapes chaunced many tymes to Tully him selfe but I ought not forgeue you any fault at all consideryng you do so with cruell wordes â—ourge my poore speach though otherwise both cleane and pure Latin And now this I do auÌ„swere to that your filthy accusatioÌ„ agaynst our Byshops that they are replenished with more ornamentes of true Byshops wherof Paule made mention to Timothe then Osorius hath or euer will haue except he shape him selfe to a new maÌ„ betymes And how much the more their vertue godlynes beauâ—ified with singular learnyng is manifestly approued extauÌ„t to all our eares eyes so much more detestable hatefull is your quarell agaynst those auncieÌ„t Fathers especially for that you do rage so beastly agaynst your brethren whoÌ„ ye neuer haue seéne nor do know Paule coÌ„maundeth that a Byshop bee vnreprouable but you do not onely reproue but maliciously deface the estimatioÌ„ of Byshops who haue neuer offended you in word or deéde I pray you good sir how can you cleare of reprehension and fault that your caÌ„kred choler so lauishly vomited agaynst those graue Fathers whom you know not You demaunde also why those same Byshops did not vndertake the defence of Religion agaynst you and by what meanes I crept thereunto beyng a Ciuilian Truly I do franckely acknowledge my selfe to be a Ciuilian Osorius and not a Deuine As for you you are neither Ciuilian nor Deuine and therfore I might be the more â—old to try Maistrie with you Let any men that will peruse that your tedious Epistle to her Maiestie and he shall finde nothyng therein but huge heapes of idle wordes madde mazes of long SenteÌ„ces full of yrkesomnesse vnmeasurable and haynous lyes and slauÌ„ders agaynst true godlynesse Agayne let your second great Uolume bee layde abroad what is in it els but a dounghill of tauntes and reproches agaynst me No sparcke of Diuinitie except those pestilent deuises forged out of Schoolemen of pardons of couled Uipers Confessions flames of Purgatory and other patcheries of these late vpstartes Wherefore if ye will prouoke our Byshops to disputation you must open your Budget and make a shewe of better ware of purer or at lest somewhat more learned Diuinitie then you shall finde what spirite and courage they be of in the meane tyme whiles they are occupyed in matters of more importaunce you may content you with Haddon beyng but a meane aduersarie whiche hath and will alwayes haue skill enough to suppresse your insolencie and confute your trifles You demaunde an other question touchyng our Byshops By what Religion by what Ceremonie by what authoritie they were instituted who layd handes vpon them who consecrated them how holyly how sincerely this matter was executed I aunswere you at a word Handes were layd vpoÌ„ them lawfully and prayers likewise poured out for them accordyng to the prescript ordinaunce of the Gospell we doe vse our owne ceremonies like as you doe yours and as other Nations doe minister their owne At the last you Enquire of their holynesse foolishly forsooth consideryng it is an inward action of the mynde and wherof no man liuyng can pronounce any certaintie Ye murmur I can not tell what Of a confused functioÌ„ of Byshops and Deuines bycause I ascribed the office of administration of the Sacramentes to Byshops but of determinyng causes to Deuines As though Byshops are not Deuines and Deuines Byshops or as though seuerall functions may not be vndertaken many tymes in the Church or as though Byshops beyng the chiefest of the Clergy haue not a charge to execute matters apperteinyng to the Church in their own right or as though this question seémeth not to haue proceéded from a captious Sophister rather theÌ„ from a gray headed Byshop You say That the rumour goeth abroad how that our Byshops are chosen to this end especially that beyng contented with some portion of Reuenewes of their Byshoprickes the rest should be confiscate vnto our possession as a cleare gayne If this bee a rumour this rumour is wicked and slauÌ„derous and such a one as the grauitie of your person should stoppe your eares from and deceit in hart But if this lye be deuised by you and your fraternitie into how horrible a sinne doe ye wilfully drowne your selues that will scatter such wicked slaunders agaynst your brethren whoÌ„ ye know not But you say that I such as I am are charged with the greater part of this infamie for when we choose such Byshops we geue iust cause to men to conceaue some suspition of our auarice and couetousnesse Ye write monstruously Osorius Do we choose Byshops or do I choose Byshops how long and in what places hath this custome preuayled that euery particular subiect or the vulgare multitude should choose Byshops your fraÌ„ticke communication denounceth you a maÌ„ more worthy to be whipped in Bedlem theÌ„ to be disputed with all in Schooles For ye seéme to be altogether voyde of commoÌ„ sense The election of our Byshops Syr Ierome is ordered accordyng to the auncient and best receaued Canons choyse is made by the Deane and Chapter of the most excelleÌ„t in vertue and learnyng The Prince doth confirme the election The Archbyshops do consecrate them that are chosen Of whoÌ„ some are nothyng inferiour to your Maister shyppe in auncientie of race wherein you
that is able to accomplishe the law as he ought to do Ergo No man linyng is able to attaine the true commendatiō of his righteousnes but in respect of his workes is of necessitie subiect to the Iudgement and curse of God In this Argument doth the whole force pithe of Paules disputatiō cōsiste if I be not deceaued In the Maior first proposition whereof he setteth down before vs the seueritie of Gods Iudgement In the Minor or second proposition he condemneth all men generally as guilty of sinne By the conclusion he allureth and as it were driueth all men to Christ necessaryly By this Argument you may playnely perceaue vnlesse you wil be wilfully blind like a want how you haue piked out not one scrappe so much of all that you haue hitherto raked together to salue the credite of your cause Finally to make shorte with you I referre you to note marke examine and search out all whatsoeuer the Churche doth acknowledge of the sayd Apostles Letters Epistles yea all his sentences Ye shall finde in them all so nothing agreable to this your Assertiō That Paule should attribute righteousnes to workes or promise be meanes therof possession of euerlastyng inheritaunce as that his whole bent and endeuour may seéme to bee in no one thyng els so earnest as in this wherein he trauaileth earnestly to persuade that the promise of God poureth out vpō all them that beleue in Iesu Christ most plentyfull and assured freédome yea such a freédome as is clearely deliuered from all entanglyng of workes So that the same Apostle doth inferre his conclusion on this wise If inheritaunce come by the law then not of promise And in an other place If we bee made heyres through the law then is our fayth made frustrate and the promise of none effect Rome 4. And agayne If righteousnesse come by the lawe then did Christ suffer in vayne Gal. 2. And least that your lying spirite should with sinister interpretation wrest those sentences spoken of the law to the ceremoniall law you may heare the Apostle there treating of that law which was geuē for offendours vntill the promised seéde should come which law should in steéde of a Schoolemaister lead vs as it were by the hād directly to Christ which law did shut vp all vnder sinne as well Iewes as Gentiles that the promise might be geuen vnto the beleuers through fayth in Iesus Christ. All whiche titles of the law can not be construed to haue any apte agreément with the ceremonies of the Iewishe Sinagogue And where are now those workes of the law maister Osorius vnto whom Paule doth promise possession of the kyngdome if you exclude those wherof Luther preacheth Sitheace Paule him selfe doth so wisely and carefully not onely exclude all presumption of mans righteousnesse from the inheritaūce of the kingdome but also rēder a reason wherfore he doth so By what law sayth he by the lawe of workes No ye may not beleue so Osorius And therfore that ye may the better vnderstand how no matter of Confidence at all is left to the consideration of the workes of the law But by the law of fayth sayth S. Paule the same lawe which consisteth in fayth and not in workes That is to say if we beleue the Paraphrast The very same law which requireth nothyng but fayth Now therfore sithence these matters are so throughly debated in the holy Scriptures discouered manifestly by the holy Ghost with what shamelesse face dare Osorius thrust those workes in the doctrine of freé Iustification whiche the Spirite of God doth so openly reiect or with what impudencie dare he affirme that Paule doth promise the right and title of inheritaūce to them whiche worke good deédes Whereas the same Paule mainteynyng the challenge of fayth and not of workes pronoūceth so expressely That God doth accept his fayth for righteousnesse whiche doth not worke but beleueth on him that doth Iustifie the wicked Which two sentences beyng so meérely opposite and contrary eche to other I referre me to the Readers Iudgemēt whether Paule shal be accōpted vnconstaunt or Osorius a false Fabeler But I heare a certeine gruntyng of this Pigge beyng no lesse an enemy to the Crosse of Christ thē to Paule who assoone as he heareth good workes to be banished from the effect of Iustification doth straightway cite vs to the Consistorie as though we did vtterly choake vp all care studious endeuour to liue vertuously and destroy all preceptes and rules of godly conuersation And hereupon conceauyng a vayne errour in his idle braynes he rageth and foameth at the mouth outragiously not much vnlike to Aiax Sometyme called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who beyng swallowed vp of extreme frensie did most foolishly assayle and batter poore seély sheépe in steéde of Agamemnon and other noble Pieres of Greéce But let vs once agayne geue eare to his gay Logicke which being sometyme esteémed the Schoolemystres of Inuētion and displaying the truth this Gentlemā hath made therof an Arte of lying and desceit as thus Luther doth exclude all good workes from the cause of Iustification Ergo Luther doth extinguishe all vertue and abolishe all Morall and Ciuill actions Agayne Luther doth make fayth onely beyng voyde of good workes the cause of Iustification Ergo Luther doth require nothyng in Christians but Fayth Onely I aunswere that this is a Fallax and a Sophisticallye deriued from the proposition that is tearmed in Schooles Secundum quid to Simpliciter Furthermore herein also hee doth bewray his Sophisticall iugglyng whereas by his liedger de mayne he conueyeth away the state of the questiō which concerneth the thynges onely to the circumstaunce of the persons For whereas we agreéyng herein with Luther do enquire the thyng onely which is the instrumentall Cause of our Iustification before God he in his aunswere doth describe vnto vs what maner of life they ought to lead that are already Iustified And bycause it is most requisite that those which are Iustified by the freémercy of God through fayth shall continually exercise thē selues in good workes hereupon he concludeth That Luthers propositiō wherein he affirmeth that fayth onely doth knit vp the knot of our Iustification without all ayde of workes is vtterly false As though Luthers disputation concerned the actions and endeuours of them to whom righteousnesse is geuen and not rather of the cause of Iustification onely or as though he did not as carefully require all faythfull persons to the dayly and cōtinuall practize of godly lyfe as any of all the Byshops of Portingall doe But if you be so vnskilfull Osorius as you seéme to be you must learne that it is one thyng to treate of the persons whiche are made righteous and other thyng of the Cause that doth make them righteous And therfore this is a deceitfull and a friuolous Argument The possession of heauenly kyngdome is promised to them which doe good deedes Ergo
Furthermore who be holy vnblameable before God Euen those truly which are voyde of all crime but accordyng to Luthers doctrine you can not bee voyde of crime for hee denyeth that sinne is extinguished and affirmeth that the flames of all abomination do broyle out therof as out of a whotte flamyng Ouē scorching and cōsumyng all things by meanes whereof no man can bee founde vnblameable without spotte The sutteltie of this Sophisticall cauill tendeth at the last to this end God hath chosen vs sayth the Apostle that we should become holy and vnblameable But according to Luthers doctrine no man can be holy and without fault in this lyfe Therfore hereof ensueth an vnauoydeable conclusion Bycause no man liuyng is cleare frō offence therfore neither Haddon nor any of all the Lutheranes can be reckoned amongest Gods Elect. Packe ye hence therefore as banished outlawes all ye vyle Lutheranes packe ye hence with all your torne ragged workes into the helles of Osorius damnable curse For the gate of Election is not opened to any but vnto Popes Osorians Phigianes Hosianes Eckyans and others the like Lordynges in whose most pure and choise behauiour no droppe of filth can be founde worthy of Reproch If Osorius him selfe had not bene so shamelesse beastly as to blaze abroad this trifling Argumēt it would haue loathed me to haue rehearsed the same in this place nor would I vouchsaued any aunswere thereto but that I thought good to geue the Reader a tast of his blockishe ignoraunce that he might smile at it a whiles or at the least learne by this to esteéme of all other his poppet reasons almost in all his booke for scarsely any founder matter is scattered in any part thereof FIrst of all The Apostle both teache that we are elected and chosen that we should become holy This is true Whereby you may perceaue Osorius that whatsoeuer holynes we be endued withall doth neither goe before nor accompany election but that it ought to follow altogether not in order of tyme onely but in respect of the end and effect thereof For the Apostle doth not say GOD hath chosen vs bycause we were holy or should afterwardes proue holy but that we should become holy so that Gods Electiō is now the cause not the effect of our good workes And if good workes do follow Electiō in order of time I seé no cause to the contrary but by the same reason our Iustification should likewise necessaryly follow For as much as the consideration of them both is all one For whom hath chosen the same he hath Iustified and with the same grace that he hath chosen vs hee is sayd also to haue Iustified vs by one selfe same meane and to one selfe same ende For God hath chosen vs if ye aske here the cause of his freé mercy accordyng to the good pleasure of his will if ye seéke the meane In Christ Iesu If ye looke for the ende to worke good deédes not for the good deédes sake not for any our deseruinges but to the prayse of the glory of his grace Truly none otherwise fareth it in the matter of Iustification For whom God of his freé mercy hath chosen the same also he hath freély Iustified not by any other meanes then in Christ Iesu not bycause he foresawe that we would be holy but to that ende that we should walke circumspectly and holyly in his sight But what emporteth this saying that we should become holy and vnblameable paraduenture Osorius bee of the opinion that the Catharres Celestines and Donatifies were imaginyng that herein our full and absolute regeneration of our renewed nature was signified vnto vs and that we should accomplish such a kynde of thyng as the Grecians do call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without the which Gods Election and our Iustification could not by any meanes consist Ueryly I could wishe withall my hart that we all could direct the course of our lyfe in such sort accordyng to this Puritanisme of Osorius And that we were all endued with such integritie and Angelicke innocēcie that no part of our life might be defiled with blemish or iust reprehension But what shall we say Such is the condition of mans life such is the weakenesse of the fleshe that euery man hath his infirmitie And we haue not as yet so put of the Nature of man altogether that we should bee forthwith transformed into Angels Goe to then what if it come to passe that in this brickle estate of our frayltie any of vs doe folter and falldowne are we therfore excluded forthwith from our Electiō or haue we by and by lost the benefite of our Iustification I doe not thinke so Osorius For in what sence shall the Electiō of God he sayd to be permanent if it may be cut of and haue an ende or how shall it be called stedfast and assured if it hange vpon the vncerteintie of our frayltie But do not the true elect say you fall at any tyme into deserued rebuke what thē shall euery one that is worthy rebuke be forthwith cast of frō his Electiō A good felowshyp Osorius What if this fall happē before Baptisme You will say that Baptisme doth washe it cleane away What and shall not fayth and Christian Repentaunce clense our offences after Baptisme likewise If there be no forgeuenes of those Trespasses which we Christians doe commit after Baptisme To what ende is that Article in our Christian Creéde wherein we cōfesse remission of Sinnes If no offence be made to what purpose serueth Pardon Surely where nothyng is blame-worthy their Pardon may goe play Let vs seé now will you now dispoyle vs of an Article of our fayth and withall bereue vs of hope of remission that erste bosted so boldly of your strong belief in the wordes of Christ But you say God did chuse vs that we should be vnblameable I do heare you Osorius allow your Obiection if you will likewise accept of myne aunswere Whatsoeuer is forgeuen to the guiltie by Pardon and purged by forgettyng and forgeuyng there is nothyng remaynyng to terrifie that person from Imputatiō or make dismayed for any controllement For that we may so bold to glory as Paule doth What is he that shall accuse the elect of God God is he that doth Iustifie who shall then condemne vs We may lawfully adde hereunto Who shall comptroll vs You seé therfore in what wise Gods elect doe appeare now excusable and righteous not so much through the cleannesse of their deédes as through the bountie of him that Imputeth Not from the begynnyng of vnrighteous nature to speake Augustines own wordes but by conuersion from sinne to righteousnes nothyng blame-worthy but bycause it doth not please the Fatherly clemēcie to exact sharpe and narrow triall of them whom he hath chosen in his Sonne And therefore the Apostle notyng the same thyng sayth Whom he hath chosen in Christ Iesu that they should become holy and
now sithence this vpstarte wrestler is skipt ouer the old barriers and hath catcht the collers in hand may any man doubt but that the whole force of the Enemy beyng vtterly discomsited and compelled to fleé the field the Maiestie of Freéwill hauyng bene long tyme wounded and weakened with greéuous maladie yea and through feéblenesse euen yeldyng vp the ghost shall presently recouer health stand vpon her feéte and be strong For this lusty gallaunt disdayneth to encounter as Bythus did sometyme with Bacchius or as Ecerinus with Pacidianus or as Hercules agaynst two or as Horarius agaynst threé brethren at once or with one man hand to hand onely but of valiaunt courage challengeth the field agaynst foure choise and tryed souldiours at one choppe together to witte Luther Melancthon Bucer Caluine Yea with them also agaynst the whole armye of Lutheranes Agaynst whom neuerthelesse if Osorius durst haue cast his gloue when they liued amongest vs or if they were present now to aunswere the challenge and defende the cause no doubt the iustie crakes of proude Iacke bragger would carry but a small coūtenaunce to moue the godly to be displeasaunt withall But as to rake the dead out of their graues and to pike quarell agaynst ghostes and spirites is the common guise of euery rascall varlet so to the discreét and well disposed hath it bene accompted most filthy and contemptuous yea most to be abhorred in our Osorius at this present who in all this his discourse of Freéwill alledgyng no one thyng agaynst them but that whiche in their writynges and bookes is fully aunswered and satisfied yet as though they had made no aunswere at all crawleth hee foreward neuerthelesse patchyng together his rotten and motheaten trumperie wherein neither is any thyng of his owne inuētion nor any new stuffe but that he hath somewhat furbushed the old rusty Argumentes of other raynebeaten souldiours with a fresh glaze of raylyng and slaunderous tearmes like the foolish Choughe attiryng him selfe wholy with the feathers of other Fowles and in this respect also more vyle and lothsome That where the other doe in their arguyng make a certeine shew of some reason vouched either out of Scriptures or of Doctours wrongfully wrested but he for the more part doth so frame his discourse rather to the accusing of men then to the discussing of the controuersie and doth so handle his matters as one hauyng regarde rather to the persons agaynst whom hee quarelleth then to the cause which ought to haue bene discouered by him The man is fully persuaded that Freewill ought to be mainteyned by all meanes possible But what the will or choyse of mā is what thyng is freé or not freé in the will of man what is necessary and what difference is betwixt freé and necessary and how many maner of wayes necessary to be taken he doth neither discouer by definition nor distinguishe by Argument nor deuide by partition nor doth declare what diuersitie and difference ought to be betwixt braunche and braunche Many sondry persons before him haue stoutely maynteined the quarell of Freewill yea with no lesse courage then they would haue done if the state of their countrey had bene in hazard In the same quarell long sithence the Celestines and Pelagians kept a great sturre agaynst Augustin Amōgest many others of late yeares wrate chiefly Roffensis and Eckius agaynst Luther Cardinall Pighius hath stuffed vp tenne Inuectiues full agaynst Caluine Likewise many others haue written agaynst Melancthon agaynst Bucer and others All which albeit preuayled very litle agaynst the truth yet to the end they might the more easily deceaue vnder a certeine visour of the truth they did shuffle amōgest their owne writynges many sentences of the Scriptures and many also of the most approued Doctours After all these our Osorius intendyng to vphold Freewill beyng in great ieopardie to perish what doth he what bryngeth he what vttereth he at length elles but certeine simple croppes scattered here and there in the fieldes of holy Scriptures which he hath gleaned together and wretchedly misordereth to make his Assertions get some credite yet nothyng auayleable to his purpose God knoweth In the meane whiles he citeth not one world so much out of the autenticke monumentes of the auncient Authours nor out of Augustine who was altogether busied in decydyng this controuersie and by whom he ought chiefly haue bene guided in this cause either bycause he hath practised other sciences and read nothyng of this writer or els bycause he is wicked and craftely dissembleth the thynges whiche he hath read And yet all this notwithstandyng this our Portingall champion so carrion leaue in the knowledge of Scriptures altogether disfournished of Doctours persuadeth him selfe to be man good enough if it may please the Muses to beare the whole brūt of the battell in the behalfe of Freewill against freély Luther Melancthon Bucer and Caluine not with mayne strength onely but euen with a proude Portingall looke But go to bycause we will not protract any long tyme with the Reader in wordes purposing to wrestle somewhat with Osorius herein Let vs approche to the marke And bycause the whole force of his communication seémeth to tend to this end to accuse men rather then to open any matter worthy to be learned and for as much he obserueth no order in teachyng in accusing ne yet in disputyng but beyng violently whirled and carried as it were in some forcible whirlewinde of accusation raūgeth the field without Iudgement and out of all aray and after a certeine confused maner of talke doth wrappe vp and mingle all thynges togethers as it were vnder one confused heape we on the contrary part will to temper our aunswere that as neare as the matters will permit we may dispose in some reasonable frame the chief pillers and Arguments of his accusation which him selfe hath set downe most disorderly And therefore in my simple conceite the whole substaunce of all his accusation whatsoeuer may bee gathered into foure or fiue principall places chiefly whiche he seémeth to finde fault with all most in Luthers doctrine as matters full of absurditie and which he obiectagayust Luther in this wise First that Luther affirmeth that there is no freé choyse or freédome in the will of man That all thyngs haue their begynnyng through absolute and vnanoydeable necessitie That impossible thynges are commaunded by God That men are damned for the thynges which they commit not of their owne freé and voluntary motion but compelled by fatall necessitie That God is to be taken for the originall and Authour of all mischief and wickednesse For into these few places as in a short Cataloge may be deuided all whatsoeuer is comprehended in this huge masse of Osorius Inuectiues Which beyng in this wise placed it remaineth that we frame our aunswere to euery of them particularly as oportunitie and place shall offer them in the discourse and so to purge and wash away as
worke Nay rather let them vnderstand if they be the children of God that they are made plyable by Gods Spirite to doe the thynges that ought to be done and when they haue done so to yeld thankes to him by whom they were made to do so For they are made plyable bycause they should do something not bycause they should do nothing c. Which saying doth make euident vnto vs that eche of these two are to be founde in Freewill both that it is made to do when it doth well and agayne that it selfe also doth when it is made to do So that herein is no contrarietie at all but that it may both demeane it selfe by suffering and also by doing and to aunswere for Luther with Luthers owne wordes to witte after diuers and seuerall sortes and after the common phrase of speach in diuers and seuerall respectes For in respect of the worke it selfe whenas will occupyeth the place of an Instrument or toole it both doth is made to do euen as other tooles do in any matter whereunto they are applyed But if you haue relation to the efficient cause or workeman to whose vse it serueth in steéde of a toole in this respect the will of man demeaneth it selfe altogether sufferyngly as the which in respect of procuryng of Gods Grace from whence issueth all motion of good will it worketh nothyng at all but simply obeyeth suffereth For in any good worke what is mans will elles then an instrument of the holy Ghost voluntary in deéde bycause it is moued whether soeuer it is moued of her owne accord yet is it an instrument notwithstandyng bycause of thynges well done it is neither the cause it selfe nor any sparcke of the cause in respect of the worker but a seruaunt rather and a handmayde onely whose seruice the Spirite of God being the worker doth apply to do these things which it pleaseth him to haue to be done in vs for the accomplishyng wherof it ministreth no helpe at all as of her selfe But the Papisticall generation can not disgest this by any meanes to whom sufficeth not that Freewill shal be taken as an instrument or as it were a workeshoppe onely vnlesse it beare as great a stroke or rather with Gods Spirite workyng together with it nor doe they thinke it sufficient that the whole action of our Election and regeneration bee ascribed to the onely freé mercy of God vnlesse we also as felow workemē be coadiutours of this worke together with God For euen the same doe Osorius wordes emporte manifestly which folow in this wise Do ye not therefore perceaue sayth he by Paules owne wordes that Freewill is approued by his authoritie which Luther doth practise to ouerthrowe For to what ende would he haue called vs fellow workers with God if none of vs did further the worke that GOD worketh in vs to what purpose would he haue admonished vs to worke our owne Saluation if to do it were not in our owne power We are together Gods labourers as Paule reporteth 1. Corinth 3. Where I know that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie together labourers But what is this at the length to the purpose doe you not here playnly put the old Prouerbe in practize to witte I aske you for Garlicke and you offer me Oynyones I desire to borrow sickles and you lyke a churlishe neighbour deny that you haue any Mattockes How carefull the Apostles were in plantyng the doctrine of the Gospell we are not ignoraunt nor do deny And it is not to be doubted that Gods prouidence vsed them as most choyse instrumentes to addresse and husband his Uynearde yea and that not without singular profite But we make no enquiry here as now how much mans industry did bryng to passe by the outward preachyng of the word or whom it profited most but the question is here touchyng the fruite of inward cōuersion whether Freewill of her selfe do worke or not worke any furtheraunce towardes the embracyng of fayth towardes repentaūce towardes spirituall righteousnes towards attainement of Saluation and towardes the regeneration of lyfe So that the state of the question be now to witte Whether mās mynde and will beyng of the selfe same nature that it was when we were first borne be endued with any actuall or effectuall power able to worke together with Gods holy Spirite towardes the begynnyng of our conuersion and entryng into our godly consideration of good purposes and actions of inward obedience Wherein many writers doe vary in Iudgement and opinion yea that not a litle But Osorius propositiō alledged here of the Apostles together workers maketh nothyng to the purpose nor auayleth to the maintenaunce of Freewill a rushe For to admit that the Apostles were together workers with God yet that those same together workemē should be hypred to worke in this Uyneard and sent abroad into the Lordes haruest proceéded not of their owne voluntary motion or Freewill but of the freé Election and callyng of God onely Agayne this their Ministery as farre forth as concerneth their own persons euen then when they laboured most earnestly was extended no further then to the outward preachyng dispensation of the word for as touchyng the inward conuersion of the hearers nourishment of their fayth this was the onely worke of the holy Ghost and not of the Apostles Paule did plante Apollo did water But what doth this helpe to Freewill when as neither he that plāteth nor he that watereth are any thing at all but God onely who geueth the encrease And what is the reason then why they are sayd to bee nothyng Is it bycause he that plāteth and he that watereth and he that ploweth doth nothyng at all was Paule nothyng or did he not worke at all who beyng continually trauailyng is reported to haue laboured more then all the rest or shall we say that the rest of the Apostles did nothyng which did employ not their trauaile onely but shedd their bloud also in furtheryng the worke of the Gospell Yeas veryly wonderfull much if you respect the outward Ministery of Preachyng the word and their function But we doe enquyre of the inward operation of conuersion and the renewyng of the myndes which is the onely worke of God not of Freewill nor of mans outward endeuour Godly Preachers in deéde doe pearce into the eares of men with outward voyce set downe before them the wordes of fayth and truth And yet thus to do springeth not of their own Freewill but from the freé callyng of God whereby they are lead to do the same but to beleue the doctrine inwardly to become faithful hearers of the wholesome word is the onely worke of the holy Ghost who by secret inspiration doth dispose the myndes doth renew the hartes doth inspire with fayth finally of unwillyng doth make willyng so that here is no place left now for Freewill to challēge but that he onely possesse
any thyng if you shall thinke that it ought not to be accōpted in any respect a partener in workyng a good worke For aūswere wherof I would wishe you to harkē not to the wordes that I speake but vnto Augustine It is most true Osori that whatsoeuer good worke is wrought by vs the prayse thereof ought to redounde wholy not to our Freewill but to Gods grace which performeth all whatsoeuer is performed by vs godly and worthy prayse For that is it that the wordes of Augustine emporte that true and humble confession doth require in vs. That is to say That we referre all vnto God And yet this grace of God doth not so worke all that whiche is proper to it selfe by her selfe onely as workyng in vs without our Freewill And agayne it neither worketh so together with our Freewill that any portion of prayse or rewarde should bee ascribed to Freewill for any of all whatsoeuer is due vnto God And therefore where as Augustine in his booke De gratia libero arbit◠both affirme that neither grace without Freewill nor Freewill without grace is sufficient We do confesse both to be true for either of them worketh with the other I cōfesse it but yet after a certeine seuerall sort For the Grace of God worketh when it helpeth mans Freewill yet it worketh in such wise as that it is neuer wrought by an other it doth so helpe Freewill as beyng neuer holpen by Freewill Furthermore it doth so helpe but that it is alwayes freé not to helpe if it will In fine whēas Gods grace doth worke most effectually by helpyng mās will yet worketh it not so with mās Freewill as stādyng in neéde of the helpe of Freewill by any meanes but rather vsing the seruice therof But the state of Freewill is farre otherwise For Freewill worketh together with Gods spirite not as commaundyng his seruice at any tyme but alwayes wantyng his assistaunce In the one wherof you perceaue the efficacie of the cause that worketh in the other the seruice onely of the Instrument Moreouer when will doth worke most effectually Gods grace directyng it yea and freély bycause it worketh voluntaryly yet doth it neuer attempt any good thyng of her selfe without the directiō of grace neither by any meanes otherwise then as it is holpen but neuer helpeth grace by which it is both wrought and holpen Yea and then also when it is wrought it so worketh that it can not chuse but worke of very necessitie Euen as Seruauntes in respect of their birth are freé but beyng commaūded by their Maisters whom they be bounde vnto they must obey whether will they nill they of very Necessitie In like maner fareth it with mens Freewilles albeit they stand in such plight as that they be alwayes carried with freé motiō that is to say with voluntary motion to the thynges whatsoeuer they do yet is it so farre of to be able enough of their owne power to prosecute their purposed imaginations as they would wishe them selues that many tymes they are withdrawen agaynst their willes from executyng the mischief whiche they conceaued Agayne to do good deédes they are so the Seruauntes of grace that when they are drawen they can not chuse but obey of very necessitie What neéde examples in matter most apparaūt How oftē and how many doe we finde that purpose many thynges in their myndes which notwithstandyng come to a farre other maner of end then they were deuised for beyng quite ouerthrowen by the onely countermaunde of almightie God As appeareth in Balaam and the brothers of Ioseph of whom the first was barred from speakyng that which he determined the other from executyng their deuises by the wonderfull prouidence of God It would be to much to recite all the exāples mētioned in the scriptures to this effect as Pharao Sennacherib Hamman Antiochus Herode the Pharisees Iulian and innumerable others of the same sorte whose Freewill beyng wonderfully interrupted euen amiddes their chiefest practizes was neither able to do any good thyng well nor yet accomplishe the euill that they had imagined accordyng to their determinate purpose It shall suffice to produce one or two examples whereby it may make both euidētly appeare how that it neither resteth in the choyse of mā to proceéde in euill doyng after his owne will nor to leaue of frō doyng well beyng drawen by Gods Spirite Saule breathyng forth as yet slaughter threatenynges whenas he persequuted the Christiās with wholy bent affection of Freewill what crueltie would he haue executed if he could haue brought to passe the deuise which he had throughly determined in mynde And why could hee not doe it But bycause there is no freédome in mans Freewill of it selfe euen in workyng wickednesse but such as beyng hindered many tymes alwayes bonde must be enforced to acknowledge her owne weakenesse on euery side Let vs couple with Paule the Apostle Peter that we may learne in thē both how that we are not able of our selues either to frame our lyues altogether to wickednesse or to direct the same sometyme to godlynesse And first touchyng Saules wicked will in his most wicked enterprises how litle it auayled hath bene declared already Let vs now behold Peters fayth not by what meanes he receaued it at the first but let vs seé what his fleshly will was able to doe to the vttermost of his power either in refusing fayth when it was geuen him or in forsakyng it when he was holpen Upō which matter let vs geaue care to the testimonie of Augustine When it was sayd vnto Peter sayth hee Peter I haue prayed for thee that thy fayth may not fainte Darest thou presume to say that ` Peters fayth should haue fayled though Peter him selfe would haue wished it to haue fayled considering that Christ prayed that Peters faith might not fayle as though Peter would haue willed any thing elles then as Christ had prayed for him that hee should will Whereupon appeareth that Peters faith did not depend so much vpon his owne will is vpon the prayer of Christ who did both helpe his faith and direct his will And bycause his will was directed of the Lord therfore could not the prayer made for him be vneffectuall And therfore when hee prayed that his faith might not fayle what prayed hee for els but that he might bee endued with a most free most valiaunt vnuanquishable and most perdurable will in the faith Thus much Augustine And therfore Ieremie the Prophet cryeng out vnto the Lord most worthely I know O Lord sayth he that the way of mā is not in him selfe neither is it in man to walke and to direct his owne steppes Whiche wordes me seémeth that Luther did note not altogether vndiscretely whose wordes if I would here set downe I can not seé which part therof Osorius would be able to confute For in this sorte doth Luther argue If mans way mans
steppes be not at his owne disposition how shall the way of the Lord the pathes of the Lord be at mans direction And hereupon deriuyng an Argument a Comparatis as they tearme it in Schooles addeth forthwith how then is mā able to dispose him selfe to good whenas he is not able of him selfe to make his wayes euill For otherwise if he be able how then did the Prophet say that he knew that mans way was not in him selfe or how is it that in the 16. of his booke of Prouerbes the wise Kyng beyng enspired with the same Spirite confesseth that he knew as he testified The hart of man sayth he purposeth his way but the Lord doth direct his steppes Albeit this is not spoken to this end as though we did affirme that mās will is no wayes freé towardes wicked thynges for who knoweth not how frayle and prone the disposition of mās will is alwayes to catch hold of euill though from doyng therof it be many tymes hindered The comparison tendeth to this ende onely that if mans Freewill beyng hindered and bonde seéme many tymes lesse freé to put in executiō euill thynges how much lesse freédome thinke you doth it enioy towardes the thynges that further vnto godlynesse for as much therfore as this appeareth to bee most true by the euident testimonies of the Scriptures and experimented by the continuall course of mens actions and conuersations Let vs heare what Osorius doth obiect agaynst Haddon But I say thus that all good men all godly men all men most endued with heauenly giftes doe testifie that in this sentence of thine lurketh haynous wickednesse vnshamefast impudencie detestable maddnesse and most execrable treacherie Unlesse your so manifold lyes hetherto dispersed abroad and as it were clouted together in one lumpe vnlesse your shamelesse face Osorius and that your impudent vsage in lyeng and blaunching your monstruous vanitie the lyke wherof can scarse possibly be founde in any writer surely more monstrous in no man had long sithence disabled all the substaunce and credite of your talke in the Iudgemēt of all good and godly men you might happely haue founde some one which would haue soothed this your cōmunicatiō But now hauyng vttered scarse one true Sentence throughout all this worke of yours with what countenaunce and with what face dare ye speake in this wise But I say this c. And what doth this famous speaker tell vs at the length I do say this that in this sentēce of Luther Melancthon and Caluine lurketh haynous wickednesse vnshamefast impudencie detestable maddnesse and most execrable outrage Goe foreward then and tell vs first without a lye if you can I pray you what they haue vttered in their wordes Forsooth bycause they stand stiffely herein that mans mynde is alwayes holden captiue his will fast chayned dispoyled of all abilitie to doe in so much that we can neither doe good nor euill no nor thinke any good thought by any meanes Finally this is the effect of their opinion that there is no difference betwixt vs and any other toole or instrument c. Truely I should haue marueiled much Osorius if that lyeng spirite in your mouth if your wicked lippes deceitfull toung could haue vttered any thyng vnto vs without a lye or haue made a lȳe without raylyng Yea Syr Is the winde in that doore who that assigneth freé and voluntary power to doe good not in our owne will but in Gods grace who that ascribeth all our actions especially these which be godly to the direction and disposition of God who that affirmeth that our will is neither freé of it selfe without Gods Grace and that it doth nothyng els but sinne deadly when it worketh after disposition of her owne nature doth he so dispoyle man naked altogether of all will as though it could doe nothyng at all or purpose nothyng at all or as though he made no difference betwixt man and any other instrument or toole who that endeuoureth to proue manifestly by the Scriptures this thyng chiefly that all the thoughtes of mans hart and all his senses alwayes are prone and inclined at all tymes to wickednesse doth hee seéme to affirme that man is voyde of all feélyng of thought Tell a good fellowshyppe the man that doth that which is in his owne power or the man doyng that whiche is in his owne power doth nothyng els but sinne doth this man now nothyng at all whiles he sinneth or whiles he imagineth mischief doth he imagine nothyng at all And how then I pray you doth Luther spoyle men of their will or how is hee reported to bynde mans will fast in euerlastyng chaynes in such wise as that it can not onely not doe but also not thinke any good or euill But Luther doth deny that it resteth in mans Freewill to make his wayes euill And what inconuenience is there in this sentence if the meanyng therof be taken in the right sense as it ought to be Truely if our wayes either good or badd were simply and absolutely at our owne disposition how is it that the Scripture teacheth that mans steppes are directed or how is it that the Prophet doth deny mans way to be his owne or how read we in the holy Prouerbes That when mā hath prepared his hart most yet it is the Lord that gouerneth the toung How often doe we finde the old Prouerbe to proue true that man doth purpose one way and God doth dispose an other way How rife are the examples of some persons which with halter in hand and knife ready bent to dispatch them selues of their wretched liues or whiche haue practized to drowne them selues haue not accomplished the wicked fact that they deuised euen then when they were most willyng thereto Surely Gods diuine prouidence doth wonderfully dally with mans thoughtes and imaginations deludyng ouerthrowyng makyng frustrate transposing beyond all expectation of man the thynges which we haue most firmely determined And what freédome is this at the length whiche is alwayes constrained to serue at an others appointement the strongest force wherof beyng many tymes hindered must alwayes depende vpon the permission and commaundement of the hygher power whiche thyng Augustine doth very well declare All willes are subiect sayth he to the will of God bycause they haue no power but such as hee graunteth The cause therfore that maketh this and is not made is God other causes doe both make and are made as are all created Spirites but chiefly such as are endued with reason And agayne Our willes are so farre able by how much God would haue them to bee able and foreknew it And therfore in what soeuer abilitie they stand they are vndoubtedly able and what soeuer they shall doe they shall surely do bycause he did foreknown that they should be able and should do whose foreknowledge can not be deceaued c. And agayne in an other place Neither is it to be
doubted that mens willes can not resiste the will of God but that he must needes doe what God will for as much as he doth dispose the willes also as him listeth and when him listeth Therefore to will and to nill is so in the power of him that willeth and nylleth that it neither goeth beyond Gods power nor hindereth his will but is many tymes hindered by the power of God and alwayes ouermaistered c. But that is somewhat more hard which is obiected out of the same Article that will is so fast bounde that we cā thinke no euill thought by any meanes For so doth Osorius cite the place Wherein he doth first cast a myste before the Readers eyes and then deale iniuriously with Luther For he doth neither faythfully nor fully rehearse the wordes of his Article He is also no lesse iniurious to Melancthon and Caluine whō he alledgeth as partakers of the same opinion Albeit I know right well that they doe not varie from Luthers meanyng yet did they alwayes of very purpose refrayne from this kynde of speache Where did Melancthon euer write that all thynges are performed by vnaduoydeable necessitie Where did Caluine say that Freewill was but a deuise in thynges Who euer heard Bucer say that man was not of power to thinke euill not bycause they varied from him in meanyng and Iudgement but they chose rather to quallifie with some more plausible kynde of stile that which seémed to be propoūded by him somewhat more roughly But to returne agayne to Luthers wordes I doe reknowledge herein not your new furnished cauill Osorius but the auncient rusty canker of many others agaynst Luther as of Leo Roffensis Eckius Iohānes Coclaeus Albertus Phigius Iohn Dreidon Alphansus de Castro Andrew Vega Peter Canisius and such like which do neither read Luthers writyng with Iudgement neither consider his meanyng nor cōferre the first with the last but catch here and there a worde halfe gelded for hast and out of these beyng sinisterly construed if they finde any one thyng more then other fitte to be quarelled withall that they snatch vp that they vrge stiffely and are alwayes rakyng their nayles vpon that scabbe as the Prouerbe sayth And bycause amongest all other his Assertions they can picke out no one sentence more odious in the Iudgement of the simple people it is a wōder to seé what a coyle they keépe here and how viperously they gnaw and turmoyle this one Sentence wherein he sayd That mans will hauyng lost her freédome is now of no force at all not so much as to thinke an euill thought And in this respect surely I can not but marueile much to seé the vndiscreéte disorder of some but chiefly the singuler shamelessenes of Osorius For albeit Luther in so many his Commentaries Sermons Bookes and Aunsweres doth vrge this one pointe alwayes and euery where trauaile earnestly to proue that mās Freewill beyng voyde of Grace auayleth to nothyng but to cōmitte sinne yet doth Osorius so frame all his writyng agaynst Luther as though Luther did teach that mans Freewill could not so much as thinke an euill thought And frō whence doth he pike this quarell out of the wordes of Luthers Article before mentioned I suppose But for as much as Luther doth in the selfe same Article openly professe that Freewill of her owne nature auayleth to nothyng but to Sinne and that all the imaginations of the hart do of a certeine naturall inclination rushe headlong into euill in what sense can that mā be sayd not to be able to thinke an euill thought whiche is alwayes occupied in imaginyng euill But I beleue he will presse vpon vs with Luthers owne wordes wherewith he affirmeth that no mā of him selfe is of power to thinke a good thought or an euill thought c. Well let vs heare what conclusion this Logician will coyne out of these wordes Mans minde whether it thinke well or euill doth neither of them both of her owne power Ergo Mans mynde of it selfe cā neither thinke a good nor an euill thought I do here appeale to your Logicke Osorius What kynde of Argumēt is this by what rule make you this cōsequent what bycause the substaunce of the matter doth depend vpon the first causes properly will you thereupō conclude that the secōd causes do therfore nothing at all Or bycause the freédome of doyng is restreined to the first and principall cause to witte to the onely Maiestie of God that therefore mans will is no cause at all bycause it is not freé and that therfore it cā thinke no ill thought by any meanes bycause it doth it not of her owne strength and libertie as though to do a thyng properly a thyng to be done of her owne proper power were all one to say So then by this reason the Iewes which crucified the Lord of glory shal be sayd to do nothyng bycause all the outrage whatsoeuer they kept was determined before by Gods vnsearcheable coūsell In like maner Pharao in withholdyng the people of Israell and Nabuchadonasor in spoylyng them may be sayd to do nothyng bycause the hart of the one was hardened by the Lord and bycause the other leadyng his armye into Egypt was constrayned to chaunge his will in his iourney and bende his force agaynst Ierusalem Likewise neither the Shippe whiles she sayleth nor the Pylote within the Shippe do any thyng at all bycause their course whether it bee fortunate or vnfortunate is not alwayes directed after their owne will but as the wyndes the tydes do driue them For what doth Luthers disputation of Freewill enforce els but that he may referre all the order of doyng to Gods freé disposition onely Neither doth hee dispoyle mā of will altogether which doth onely disable will of freédome Neither is it a good consequent to say bycause mans will is denyed to be freé therfore that man is altogether destitute of will bycause it is not freé but alwayes captiuate bounde an handmayde as the which in euill thyngs is either alwayes seruaunt to Sinne or in good thynges handmayde to grace euen as an Instrument or toole is alwayes at the bestowing of him that worketh withall For what should let but Luther may as well call Freewill by the name of a toole as Esay doth name the wicked by the name of Sawes in the band of the Lord and as well as in many places of Ezechiell those hartes are called stoany hartes which the Lord doth promise to soften and mollifie with his grace And yet I will not much trouble Osorius herein For whether will be freé vnto euill or be seruaunt vnto euill it maketh litle to the present purpose nor will stād Osorius much in steéde This is vndoubtedly true that mans naturall strength bee it freé or be it bond is more thē strong enough to all wickednesse So were all these stormes raysed agaynst Luther neédelesse also consideryng that he doth so frankely
are sequestred froÌ„ all felicitie euen so farre seéme we to be cut of from all freédome without the Grace of the Redeémer For shyppe wracke beyng once made of vniuersall blessednesse I can seé none other remedy but that freédome must be drowned withall Therefore the selfe same thyng whiche doth open Paradise beyng shut fast agaynst vs must of necessitie restore freédome agayne which can not by any meanes be brought to passe through force of nature or through any power of our owne It consisteth onely in the Grace of the Redeémer As our Redeémer him selfe witnesseth in S. Iohns Gospell If the Sonne shall make you free then shall you be free in deede Notyng vnto vs this one thyng chiefly by those wordes the state of our bondage to be such as except it be renewed with Grace of the Redeémer that in all this nature of ours is nothyng freé Moreouer as concernyng the vsuall maner of speach that men are called good holy and wise I know that men haue bene accustomed to bee tearmed so But what is this to the purpose The question here is not by what name meÌ„ are called but of what value euery thyng is in the sight of God And yet do I not doubt at all but that many men may bee in their kinde good holy and wise euen so to be esteémed well enough But howsoeuer this holynesse godlynesse and wisedome of meÌ„ seémeth in mans Iudgement yet is nothyng whatsoeuer it be if it proceéde not from the grace of God For what hast thou that thou hast not receaued After the same sorte do I aunswere touchyng freédome whiche beyng once lost through Freewill must of necessitie sticke fast cloyed in the puddle of thraldome vnlesse it be renewed agayne by Gods grace WhereupoÌ„ August very aptly Freedome sayth he without grace is no freedome but coâ—tumacle And as in this place August denyeth that to be liberty which is seuered froÌ„ grace so in an other place he will not graunt that to bee named will except it be conuersaunt in good things Will sayth he is not will but in good thyngs for in euill wicked thinges it is properly called Luste not will Wherfore if there be neither freédome where Gods grace is not present nor will where wickednesse is practized by what meanes then will Osorius mainteyne that Freewill is in euill thinges whenas in that respect there is neither freédome nor will There is also in the same August in the same his Epistle to Hillary that may well be gathered and framed into an Argument on this wise The lyfe of libertie is the perfect soundenesse of will But in doyng euill mans will is not sounde Ergo In doyng euill mans will is not freé For euen so are we taught vp Augustines wordes The lyfe of libertie sayth he is the soundenesse of will and by so much euery man is more free by how much his will is most sound Albeit I will not striue much about the contention of tearmes If any maÌ„ be minded to name the choyse of will applyable towardes good or euill to be voluntary rather then freé he shall not erre much in my Iudgement Neither will I be offended if a man do say as Augustine doth that maÌ„s will is freé towardes euill thinges so that he hold the meanyng of Augustine as well as the wordes For I am of this mynde that when Augustine doth name mans Freewill couple it to grace he calleth it freé in this respect bycause beyng freé froÌ„ all forcible constrainte it beÌ„deth it selfe through voluntary motioÌ„ that way whereunto it is directed be it to goodnes through Grace or to euill through naturall lust And in this sense accordyng to August meanyng the ConfessioÌ„ of Auspurgh doth expouÌ„de maÌ„s will to be freé that is to say yeldyng of his owne accord The selfe same do Bucer and Melancthou also this also doth Caluine not deny who doth neither striue much about this tearme of freédome doth learnedly also professe that the originall cause of euill is not to be sought elles where then in euery mans owne will But as concernyng Luther for that he doth vpon some occasion sometyme expresse his minde in writing somewhat roughly wherein afterwards he discouereth his meanyng in a more mylde phrase of speach it was not seémely in my conceite to racke out those thynges onely whiche might breéde offence cloakyng meane whiles those thynges fraudulently which do wipe away all mislikyng He doth set downe in his Assertion thus That it is not in mans freé power to thinke a good or euill thought Agayne in the same Assertion the same Luther doth not deny that all mans imaginations of their owne inclination are carried to all kynde of naughtynesse that Freewill can do nothyng of it selfe but Sinne. On this wise with lyke heate of disputation rather then of any errour he calleth Freewill sometyme a fayned or deuised tearme not to bee founde in deéde any where makyng all thynges to be gouerned by vnauoydeable necessitie Which vehemencie of speach many men do cast in his teéth reprochfully now and then And yet in other places agayne expâ—undyng him selfe he doth grauÌ„t without all Hyperbolicall speéche that in inferiour causes Freewill can do somewhat and withall doth franckely affirme that it can do all thynges beyng assisted with Grace And why is hee not holden excused as well for this as snatcht at for the other why doe the aduersaries shut fast their eyes and blindfold them selues willyngly at matter well spokeÌ„ and neuer looke abroad but when they liste to carpe and cauill Was there euer any so circuÌ„spect a writer whose latter diligence more attentiue heédefulnes might not alwayes amend some ouersight escaped at the first either in Exposition or Iudgement of thynges The more that Solon the Sage grewe in yeares the more he increased in knowledge and may it not bee lawfull for vs to encrease vnderstaÌ„dyng with our age likewise Surely August could not excuse the errours of his youth neither shamed he to confesse in his age the ouersight that escaped his penne in youth vnaduisedly not onely to reforme them by ouerlickyng them as the Beare licketh her whelpes but also to reuoke them openly with an open graue and grayheaded retractation and to pray Pardon of his errours franckly nor doth in vayne permitte those bookes to be preiudiciall vnto him whiche hee wrate beyng a young man saying very modestly of him selfe that hee began then to write like a learner but not aâ— grounded in Iudgement Neither was such perfection to be required in Luther who albeit vttered somewhat at the first in wordes otherwise then common custome of Schooles were acquainted with it had bene the partes of graue Deuines not to prye narrowly into the vnaccustomed phrase of wordes so much as to sift out the substaunce of the doctrine how agreably it accorded with the Scriptures in truth and sinceritie And if
had harckened to Ioas the kyng of Israell now what shall we alleadge to be the cause why he did not harken to the good counsell of Ioas Here will Osorius runne backe againe after his wounted maner to Freewill or to Sathan the mouyng cause And this is true in deéde in respect of the second and instrumentall causes But Gods sacred Oracles beyng accustomed to searche out the souereigne and principall cause of thyngs do rayse them selues higher and do aunswere that this was wrought by God him selfe who dyd not onely suffer hym but of his determinate counsell directed him also thereunto bycause hee would auenge him selfe of the kyng for his abhominable Idolatry When Dauid caused the people to be nombred I know that Sathan is sayd to prouoke hym thereunto as we read in the Chronicles But let vs marke what the Scripture speaketh els where And the wrath of the Lord being kindeled agaynst Israell he stirred vp Dauid to nomber his people 2. Sam. 24. And nothyng withstandeth truely but that both may bee true Neither is it agaynst cōueniēcie of reason as Augustine truly witnesseth that one selfe wickednesse may be a punishement scourge of sinne vpō the wicked by the malicious practize of the Deuill by Gods iust Iudgemēt also seyng it skilleth not whether God bryng it to passe by his own power or by the seruice of Sathan Esay the Prophet cryeth out in his Prophecie O Lord why hast thou made vs to erre from thy wayes and hardened our hartes from thy feare And in Ezechiell GOD speaketh by the mouth of his Prophet And if the Prophet bee deceaued I the Lord haue deceaued him Let vs consider Iob hym selfe the most singular paterne of perfect patiēce whom beyng turmoyled with infinite engynes of Sathans Temptatiōs all men will confesse to be plagued by the horrible malice of Sathan True it is will you say and with Gods sufferaūce withall Be it so But I demaunde further who made the first motiō of Iob whē God sayd on this wise Hast thou considered my seruaunt Iob And wherefore did God make this motion first But that it may appeare that the Enemy is not permitted onely but made a Minister also to make triall of mans patience Furthermore after that he was robbed spoyled of all his goodes and Cattels and throwen into extreme pouertie I would fayne learne who stale those goodes from hym That dyd the Caldeans Sabees will Osorius say I am sure which is true in deéde Yet Iob doth not so acknowledge it But liftyng hym selfe vp higher and entryng into a more deépe consideration of that souereigne prouidēce which ordereth and disposeth the seruice of all the workes of his creation at his owne pleasure professeth earnestly that none els dispoyled him of his goodes but he that gaue them The Lord gaue sayth he and the Lord hath taken blessed be the name of the Lord. c. But that wōderfull force and vnmeasurable power of Gods wisedome and prouidence disposing all thynges accordyng to his euerlastyng purpose with outstretched cōpasse spreadyng it selfe farre wyde abroad throughout all degreées successes of thynges is not discouered vnto vs by any one thyng more notably discernable thē in the death of his sonne Iesus Christ in that most innocent Passion of all other the most innocent death I say of our Sauiour Iesu Christ In the whiche as there were many causes goyng before and the same also not a litle differyng eche from other yet amongest them all was there none but was not onely ioyned with Gods sufferaunce but was long before also foreordeyned by his will decreéd by his wisedome yea ordered almost by his owne hand For otherwise in what sense is he called The Lambe slayne frō the beginning of the world whenas they were not yet created that should kill him and when as yet were no sinnes committed by mankynde whiche might procure Gods wrath If God from the furthest end of eternitie in his euerlastyng foreappointed wisedome and determination had decreéd vpō nothyng that should cause those thyngs to come to passe afterwardes through vnauoydeable Necessitie Out of those matters heretofore debated and argued two thyngs may you note Osorius wherof the one concerneth Luthers doctrine and is true the other toucheth your suggestions and is false For as to the first wherein Luther doth discourse vpon Necessitie agaynst the mainteynours of chaūce and fortune cā no more be denyed by you then Gods prouidence in gouernement of the present tyme and foreknowledge of thynges to come can be any wayes deceaueable On the other side where as you do with so gorgeous colours glorious titles blaze forth the beautie of mans Freewill ioynyng in league herein with the old Philosophers auncient Maisters of ignoraunce and especially Cicero bendyng your whole force to ouerthrowe the doctrine of necessitie what els doth your whole practize herein thē the same which August did long sithence worthely reprehēd in Cicero To witte Whiles you striue so much to make vs free you practize nothyng els but to make vs horrible blasphemours and withall endeuour to vndermyne the vnpenetrable Castell of Gods foreknowledge For who is able to foretell thynges to come which he neuer knew or preuente the assured certeintie of successes of thyngs without the vtter subuersion of the infallible prouidence of Gods foreknowledge Wherfore I would wishe you to be well aduised Osorius least whiles you thinke to molest Luther with your outragious barkyng for affirmyng an infallible Necessitie flowyng from aboue from out the founteine of Deuine operation in direction of thyngs ye fall your selfe headlong at the last in this cōbersome gulfe to be adiudged not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but playnly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and beyng not able to endure the doctrine of Necessitie ye entangle your selfe vnto such an inextricable maze of impietie as that ye shal be thought to practise the abādonyng of the vndeceueable certeintie of Gods most Sacred Scriptures out of heauen after the example of that your fine Cicero whiles ye affect Cicero to much in the nymblenesse of your stile For what els can be gathered out of that detestable discourse of Cicero as August calleth it or out of this execrable opiniō of Osor if he will be the man he seémes for How can those things be auoyded which God doth know shall come to passe most assuredly but that Necessitie must be graunted by the doctrine of prouidence or Necessitie beyng excluded Gods prouidence also be rent asunder withall For after this maner doth Cicero dispute in his bookes De natura Deorum If thynges to come saith he be foreknowen then it must neédes followe that euery thyng must proceéde in his due order but for as much as nothyng is done without some cause therfore must a due order and knittyng together of causes be graunted of Necessitie Whereupō must neédes ensue that all thynges that are done are performed
be agreable to reason For God did also foreknow the euill will of the reprobate as there is nothyng in the world that his vnsearcheable purpose did not foreknow euen aswell as he foreknew before the glory of the elect that should come yet did he not therfore chuse vnto glory some bycause he foreknew thē nor did chuse all thynges which he did foreknow but whatsoeuer his Electiō had predestinated it is out of all doubt that the same were all foreknowen 4. Agayne the foreseéne pety workes which they make to be the cause of Election are either our owne or properly apperteynyng to God If they be Gods and not ours where then is the freédome of our choyse any merites of works But if they be ours that is to say in the direction of our owne willes then is that false that Paule teacheth God it is that worketh in vs both to will and to worke declaryng hereby that we are vnable to will or to attemp any thyng that good is without Gods assistaunce 6. The fift reason is this whatsoeuer is the cause of the cause is worthely adiudged the cause of the effect If the foreseéne workes of the faythfull be the cause of Predestination certes they must neédes be the cause of Iustification also whiche is directly opposite and aduersary to the doctrine of Paule and the Grace of Christ. 6. Workes as they issue from vs are thynges vncerteine But Gods Election is a thyng alwayes certeyne and permanent Now by what reasō will Osorius proue then that thyngs beyng of their own nature certeine vnchangeable shall depēd vpon thynges transitory and variable Not but foreknowledge sayth he of thynges that are foreseene doth stand in a certeine permanēt and vnremoueable assuraunce Neither do I deny this And therefore when the foreknowledge of God hath established thyngs in such a Necessary vnaduoydeable assuraunce whiche will be chaunged by no alteration what should moue him to gnaw so greédely vpon Luther for teachyng such a Necessitie of our workes 7. When as God did regarde the people of the old Testament as a Damsell naked polluted and adulteresse c. Agayne in the new Testamēt where we are heare the vyle things things despised in this world and thyngs which are not to be had in estimation with God Moreouer whereas accordyng to the testimony of August Gods Electiō is said to haue ouerpassed many Philosophers notable for their vertue famous for the cōmendable cōuersation of life doth not the thyng it self declare sufficiently that the whole exploite of our saluation is accōplished not of any desert of our workes that were foreseéne but of his onely bountyfull benignitie and most acceptable freé mercy 8. Moreouer what shall be sayd of Infantes who are taken out of this worlde assoone as they are Baptised what shall we thinke of the theéfe hangyng on the Crosse and others the lyke who hauyng lyued most abhominably were yet receaued into the kyngdome of Christ by holy repentaunce onely thorough fayth whenas they had done no good worke at all were either any workes to come foreseéne in these persons which were none at all shall we Iudge that they wanted Electiō bycause they wanted workes foreseéne before 2. Furthermore whereas this seémeth to be the onely scope of Paules Epistle to extoll and aduaunce the freé mercy of God by all meanes possible surely this scope is vtterly ouerthrowen and rooted out if the whole action of freé Election must be decided by merites of workes foreseéne before Whiche matter moued Augustine so much that to preferre knowledge of workes yea of foreknowledge of fayth either before the Grace of Election he adiudged matter of all other most intollerable 10. Lastly bycause Osorius doth so scornefully loathe our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 innouations as her termeth them as newfangled deuises of rascallike abiects to make it euidēt that we are not altogether destitute of antiquitie to iustifie our Assertions to be true we will ioyne with vs herein the Iudgement of Augustine who excludeth foreseéne workes altogether from the worke of Gods Electiō For these are his wordes most expressely set downe And least peraduenture the faythfull should bee thought to be Elect sayth he before the foundation of the world for their workes that were foreseene he proceedeth addeth therto But if Electiō come by Grace then cōmeth it not now of workes Or els Grace now is not Grace at all c. What say you moreouer to this that in an other place hee doth vtterly deny that choyse was made of the younger to beare rule ouer the Elder through the very foreknowledge of any workes at all c. Which matters being thus set in order what remayneth but that we encounter with our aduersaries argumentes wherwith they endeuour to reuiue the auncient heresie of Pelagius and hale it out of hell agayne For as those olde heretiques dyd teach that mans will was so farforth freé as that euery man was elected for the merite of their workes foreseéne before by God none otherwise do these our new Pelagians iarre vpon the same string or not very much vnlike treading the track of their forerunners the Archheretiques referring all thinges in lyke sort to workes foreseéne before least something maye seéme to bee found altogether without recompence in the behalfe of our most bountifull and souereigne God And amongest these notable Champions rusheth out this couragious ringleader Osorius and geueth a proud onset agaynst the kingdome of Grace and hath so disposed the whole force of hys battery that the maiestie of Freewill may not by any meanes bee endamaged trustyng chiefly to this Target of proofe before mentioned arguyng on this wise If election did consist of freemercy onely sayth he without respect or choyse of any the thinges that God did foresee he might be worthely accused of vnaduised and rashe dealyng But now whereas God accordyng to his vnpenetrable counsell doth determine all thinges aduisedly in a certayne well disposed order Ergo Gods Election doth not consiste of his mercy onely without respect or choyse of workes which he foresaw would be done by the faythfull To aunswere these thinges brieflye If Osorius senselesse iudgement were not throughly ouerwhelmed with heddinesse and rashenes he would not skatter abroad such black and thick cloudes to vse Augustines wordes and such crafty cautels of confused disputations We doe know and confesse Osorius that God doth neuer any thyng at all aduētures nor vnaduisedly Yet doth not that rashe imagination therefore followe whiche you haue as rashely conceaued in that blynde denne of your intoxicate braynes to witte that workes foreseene before are the cause of Election Moreouer Gods Election is neyther therefore decreéd vpon without cause nor yet therefore guyded by blynde chaunce though it hang not vpon the choyse of works afterwardes to be done But Osor. beyng a very naturall Philosopher and very Ethicall seémeth to
he doth that no wrong Thy God he is thy potter what art thou to cōtend with him a weake man with thy most mighty God a lump of clay with the potter for this is the effect of your Argumēt Surely God willeth nothing that he willeth without most iust and righteous reason but in such sort that this very will cannot seeme to proceede from any els where or otherwise be defended in the order of predestination but of works foreseene and of the foreknowne well vsing of good giftes as the schoolemen do say Which saying how false and friuolous it is shal be declared both out of Augustine and more notably out of S. Paule for these are the wordes of Augustine discoursing vpon Esau If so be sayth Augustine that God did therefore predestinate Esau to become vassall to his younger brother because he did foreknowe that he would worke wickednes then did he also predestinate Iacob to become Lord of his elder brother because he did foreknow taht his works would proue good And therfore the saying of the Apostles is false Not of works c. And imediatly after enterlacing many other thinges betweene If you will once graunt quoth he that a man may be chosen or refused for the thing that as yet was not in him but because God did foresee what would be in him it followeth hereupon that he might haue been chosen for the worthines of his workes which God foresaw would be in him though as yet he had done nothing and this saying that they were not yet borne will not preuayle thee at all where it was spoken And the elder shall serue the younger to declare hereby that it was sayde Not of workes because as yet he had wrought nothing at all c. But to let passe August Let vs heare what Paule himselfe speaketh Who debating very largely vpon this poynt of Predestination doth amongst other at the last breake out into this speach touching the same If God willing on the one side to shewe his wrath and to make his power knowen hath with great sufferaunce and lenity borne with the vessels of wrath prepared to destruction and on the other side do make knowne the riches of his glory towardes the vessels of mercy which he hath prepared to glory c. Let vs more exactly ponder the wordes of the Apostle where he sayth that God was willing therein you heare first that God doth will and withall the cause and reason why he willeth ye perceiue expresly set downe afterwardes But he is sayd to will wrath that is to say willing to shew the seueritie of his Iustice Where I pray you or towardes whom what towardes all creatures indifferently Certes this might he haue done according to his Iustice but this would he not do for his mercy sake Towards whom thē Towardes the vessells of wrath prepared vnto destruction Where you heare the name of a Vessell you doe withall conceaue a Potter bycause no vessells are made without the Potter Moreouer where this worde Prepared is annexed thereby forthwith commeth to remembraunce the will of the Potter not the will of the thyng fashioned For it standeth not in the power of the port it selfe to fashion and forme it selfe after it owne will but the fashioning therof resteth in the will and purpose of the Potter For if any sense or feélyng at all were in earthen vessells would any vessell fashion it selfe into a vessell of dishonour if it had power to fashion it selfe by any meanes into a vessell of houour whereupon it followeth consequently that the order and disposition of fashionyng resteth wholy in the will of the Potter and not in the will of the vessell Now therfore as concernyng the will of the Potter left any mā shall thinke that his will is vnaduised nor directed by equitie and reason The Apostle doth forthwith set downe the cause therewith the mouth of the slaunderous backbyter may be stopped To shew sayth he the riches of his glory towardes the vessels of mercy which he hath prepared vnto glory c. He doth not say bycause God foresaw the good workes of the godly and the euill doynges of the wicked that these were therfore ordeyned to dānation those other chosen to saluation but hee sayth that those are prepared to destruction whom he would haue to be vessells of wrath the others to glory And yet this notwtstandyng neither vnaduisedly nor contrary to equitie Wherein if any man be desirous to know the reason or the Iustice of God in his predestination let him heare Augustine herein The whole masse of mankinde was subiect sayth he to one state of perdition rightly deseruyng the scourge of Gods Iustice which whether be executed or pardoned proceedeth not of any vnrighteousnesse in God Now it pleased Gods good will of his mercy to make a choyse of some of these and to relinquish other accordyng to his Iustice. If you require a reason hereof the Apostle doth not hyde it from you To make knowen sayth he the riches of his glory towardes the vesselles of mercy which he hath prepared vnto Glory c. Wherein the principall and first cause of doyng is ioyned together with the last end therof In the meane space many meanes are enterlaced betwixt these two For euen as the will of God doth not otherwise preferre his elect to the honour of glory but as it were through many tribulations so neither doth he execute the seueritie of his Iudgement agaynst the Reprobate by by but by long sufferaūce much lenitie and tolleration of their wickednesse But as the afflictions of the elect is not the cause of their saluation so neither the lenitie and long sufferaunce of the wicked is the principall cause that moueth God to exercize the seueritie of his Iustice agaynst them And therfore are they called Vessells the one sorte vessells of wrath the other vessels of mercy prepared either to destruction or to saluatiō first and before either God did with patience endure the wickednesse of the one or with tribulations exercize the Fayth of the other To conclude therfore in few wordes briefly I come agayne to the Argument that was proposed which albeit he choppeth together without all order of teachyng yet in my conceite a mā may briefly reduce it into this forme For out of these wordes of Paule wherewith God is sayd to haue borne with the vessels of wrath in much lenitie Osorius doth gather his cutted Sillogisine with a wonderfull dexteritie of witte Gods deuine Iustice did scourge none but such as with much lenitie he did beare withall first Neither are any destitute of Gods mercy but such as forsake it beyng offred Finally saluation and the mercy of GOD is extended vnto all persones but vnto such as will not them selues be saued The defence of Iustice consisteth wholy in mercy And onely mercy doth acquite Gods Iustice from all reproche Neither doth any man perishe but beyng condēned
for his owne treachery and wickednesse To aūswere in one word If this suttle Sophister do meane heare of Iudgement or of execution of condemnation I will graunt him his whole consequence For who did euer deny this but that God doth exercise his lenitie towardes the most abhominable rascalles yea long and very much in much patience doth allure them to repentaūce and agayne that no man is damned but who that perisheth through his own default without all vnrighteousnesse in God But if he meane of the cause of Predestination We deny his antecedent For whereas that most sacred purpose of the Deuine Predestination and Reprobation doth issue and spryng from out the onely will of God beyng in deéde most vnsearcheable yet most righteous And whereas also men are first fashioned in the same will as in Gods worke-shop to be either vesselles of wrath or vesselles of mercy before that any lenitie or mercy doe appeare to be extended towardes any of them from God by what meanes then will Osorius affirme That the defence of Iustice cōsisteth wholy in mercy and that there be no vesselles of wrath but such as will not be vesselles of mercy Or how will he charge Luther with accusing God of vnrighteousnesse who by all meanes possible doth continually enforce with August that there is nothyng in God but that is most righteous though it appeare vnto our capacities neuer so much past all findyng out Nay rather why should not Osorius bee duly reproched for this matter whose whole bent enforceth nothyng ells but that Gods Iustice can by no meanes ells be defended but by the workes of men knowen before which how voyde is of all truth we haue already declared both out of S. Paule and out of Augustine sufficiētly enough as I suppose That in the meane tyme I slippe not ouer by the way that other saying of Paule where makyng mention of veselles he doth not say that they were fitte or meéte vesselles but vesselles formed not ready or apt vesselles but vesselles prepared and fashioned either to dishonour or to honour Whereby you may perceaue that this whole action cōsisteth not in any the workemāshyp of the Potter nor in the good or euill vsage of Gods gifts but onely and wholy in the secret purpose will of the maker But Osorius doth deny this that God did fashiō any vesselles vnto destructiō How shall we know this to be true Forsooth by the wordes of the Apostle For hee doth not say the vesselles which God him selfe did forme vnto destruction as he spake a litle afterwardes of the vessels of mercy which he prepared vnto Glory Goe to And what mystery I pray you pyke you out of this Forsooth that ye may vnderstand that godly mē are predestinated to glory through the will and mercy of God and that wicked mē euery one through his owne voluntary default are throwen out into condemnation c. I heare you Osorius And I do aūswere that this is true in deéde that you Reply that no man perisheth at all but who so perisheth by his owne procurement and default But what is this to the purpose Sithēce Paule in this place doth not treate of the executiō of punishment but raysing him selfe farre hygher debateth vpon the very cause end of Predestination Reprobatiō Now as concernyng the execution of condēnation condemnatiō it selfe if we search for the cause therof Surely the same is neither one nor alone but in sundry and diuerse respectes If you require the inward cause and whiche in deéde is peculiarely to bee assigned in man it is Sinne If you require the outward cause in respect that it is the punishment of Sinne the cause of the destruction of Sinne is Gods Iustice. You will say then what will you make GOD the cause of destruction and condemnation Yea surely good Syr in that sense that I spake before For why not as well as when the murtherer his hanged if you respect the outward cause of his death ye will not deny but the Iudge was cause therof but if ye behold the inward cause he that is executed being guilty of his owne fact can charge no man with his death but him selfe But you will say although the Iudge doe punishe the malefactor yet did he neuer so forme the malefactour to the end he should be hanged And no maruell For he doth occupy the place of a Iudge onely who hath no other authoritie at all agaynst any such person vnlesse he haue committed some offence worthy of Iudgement for he is but a Iudge he is not a Creatour But the matter fareth farre otherwise in the most sacred Maiestie of God who hath absolute and full power ouer his creatures not onely to punishe after they haue committed offence in the nature of a Iudge but also to determine vpon his creatures before any their deseruynges what him pleaseth in the nature of a Creatour to frame them to dishonour or to call them to honour as him lysteth Therfore as he is a Iudge he doth punish Sinners in deéde but as he is a Creatour he doth fashion his Creatures according to his will euen as the Potter doth fashion his Pottes And to this effect tend those wordes of Paule If God willing to shew forth hys wrath and to make knowne hys power towardes the vessels of wrath c. But you will say GOD hath not fashioned vessels of wrath nor hath formed any person vnto destruction Why then let vs likewise imagine that the Potter doth not make some Uessels to dishonor but all to honor rather But sithence that all Uessels are not framed by the handes of the Crastesman to beauty and dignitie but some applyed and made to serue for more base and vyle vses according to the testimony of Paule◠By what meanes then will the similitude alleadged be aptly applyed to God to witte if that God may not do towardes hys Creatures the same that the Potter doth to hys Vessels But now will you heare this Argument finely contriued with a merueilous nimblenes of witte Paule doth not say the Vessels which he fashioned vnto destruction as he doth in the same place speake of the Vessels of mercy which he did prepare vnto glory Ergo It may be vnderstanded thereby that wicked men are not throwne into destruction by Gods will but for their owne wickednes As though both might not be graunted together namely that wicked men are throwen into destructiō by Gods will yet neuertheles not without their owne desert But the name of God say you is not expressed in this place And why so because the Apostle speaking of the vessels of wrathe doth say that they were fashioned vnto destructiō but doth not say that God did fashion thē vnto destruction Surely here is a very niece pointe of descāt Go to Admit this also that gods name is not expressed yet haue ye not taught vs that it is not vnderstanded here
No say you for so much as nothing could more varie from the minde of the Apostle nor be more repugnaunt to the most milde nature of God then to conceaue that God should hymselfe frame vessels vnto dishonor seyng that no man runneth headlong into ruine but through hys owne voluntary blindenes And who did euer deny this yet doth this nothing more exclude the will of God from fashioning his vessels as him listeth As on the other side neither doth the will of God receaue vnto mercy those that haue offended so that nothing withstādeth now why the vessels of wrath should be lesse deémed to be fashioned vnto destruction by the will of God and withall that themselues also do procure to themselues their own destruction But why did not Paule say you set downe thys matter in expresse wordes which God himselfe did forme vnto destruction whiche he would surely haue done if he had thought that God had bene the Authour of destruction Truely I will aske you a question in as few wordes Osorius why the Apostle did choose rather to say Vessels Fashioned to destructiō then leauing out the word Fashioned to say Vessels of destruction for this would haue accorded farre fitter with your exposition if so be that he thought that the Vessels did perish without the will of God Agayne why did he call them Vessels and not creatures rather why did he annexe this supply to witte Wrath finally why did he bring in God himself willing to shew forth hys wrath agaynst the Vessels of wrath but that you should vnderstand that all those circumstances are to be reduced to the most sacred will of God euen as to the working hand of the Potter For first as I sayd before when you heare this word Vessels thereby you vnderstād the Potter Secōdly when you heare this word Fashioned therein the hand of the Artificer is cōceaued Thirdly when you heare Fashioned vnto destruction therin appeareth the certeinty of Gods will in his Predestination Whereas the Vessels do perish it is their own fault but where it is sayd that they are Fashioned thereunto this surely is not proper to the Vesselles but doth note a certayne other hygher cause and a more playne demonstration of the creator for Vessels are not wont to bee Fashioned of any but of the craftesman as I suppose what man is so madde to say that Vessels made are made of themselues namely to their owne dishonor and not formed thereunto by the workman rather and I maruell greatly that Osorius hauing any sense or feéling in him at all cannot quickly conceaue the meaning of the Apostle eyther by the comparyng of the text together or by the maner and order of speéch namely sith the matter it selfe doth so disclose so many manifest reasons to discusse the doubtfull signification of the wordes First you will not deny but that this will of God wherewith he had decreéd both to shew hys wrath that is to say the seuerity of his Iustice and his mercy also was euen from the beginning This will then beyng once determined vpon by God could neyther by any meanes be made of none effect nor againe by any meanes made discernable vnles it were poured out vpon some matter whereupon it might worke And euen here doth that wonderfull Electiō of God display it selfe at the first wherewith before the foundations of the world were layd he had predestinated them whom he would should be saued and reiected thē whō he would haue dāned Next vnto this Election immediately ensued the Creation wherewith the almighty Creator with a most singuler excellency and exquisit workmanship did forme all vessels out of one selfe lump of Clay and yet not those all ingenerall appoynted to one ende For some vessels he made to serue to shew forth hys mercy some other to shew forth his Iustice. These things being thus established immediately after Creation ensueth Vocation or Callyng the same two maner of wayes accordyng to hys purpose and not according to his purpose wherof the one is lynked with Grace making acceptable the other is voyde of Grace though not altogether yet destitute of effectuall Grace And hereupon doe issue Blindenesse Rebellion Hardenesse of hart Infidelitie Breache of the Law Execution of Iustice not by force of any coaction but by reason of the sequele or consequent For the grace of God once denying assistance what soeuer remayneth in man is nought els but the seéde of the Serpent or some vncurable Fistula wherewith man is deadly poysoned Agayne out of the other Vocatiō which is according to purpose springeth Fayth a will to obey forgeuenes of Sinne Iustification and such like inestimable treasures not ensealed into vs by nature but frāckly geuen vs from aboue Now out of that Infidelitie and execution of Iustice ariseth the destruction of the Reprobate of the which Paule treateth here which is not without the speciall will of God Or els in what sense doth he say God was willing to shew his wrath and yet not without their most due deseruing neither as on the other side Saluation and Glorification do spring of Fayth Iustification for asmuch as in them the cōmendatiō of his Iustice in the other the dignite of hys mercy doth shew forth their bright beames to the inestimable glory of gods maiesty who is the chief and principall ende and foundation of all workes Wherefore forasmuch as God was willing to shew both as well hys wrath as also hys mercy and this hys will could by no meanes be accōplished vnlesse there were some vpō whom both hys wrathe and hys mercy might make hys power on eche part discernable hereupon then is no small stoare of proofe ministred wherby may be perceaued from whence aswell the destruction of the reprobate as the Saluation of the elect doth proceéde And first of all your selfe do not deny that godly persons are predestinated vnto glory through the onely bountifulnes of God I demaunde now whether thys selfe same mercy of God haue predestinated to glory all creatures generally or not all I attend your aunswere If you will say all without exception where then are the vessels of wrath what shal be come of this saying God willing to shew hys wrath vpon the Vessels ordeyned to destruction Finally what shal be thought of that saying of Christ Many are called but few are chosen If so be that all are receaued by a generall Electiō how can this Election be made frustrate and vneffectuall or what kinde of Reiection can there be then But if you will not say all it followeth then that there must bee some Uessells of reiection of Necessitie as well as of mercy to witte by like agreablenesse of contraries Or els how shall a man vnderstand that some vessels are Predestinate to Glory vnlesse by the same Argument ye confesse that some vessels were also reiected to dishonor which beyng agreé vpon I demaund further of the reprobation
if commeth to passe that mans life beyng left voyde of the help of God as a ship destitute of a Pylot tossed to and fro with outragious wyndes and waues of the Sea which of her self she cannot withstand doth easily driue it self vpon the Rocke of damnation and rendes in peéces hauing none other guyde but it self But the estate of the Electe is after an other sorte for whom GOD hath chosen those doth he not yeald ouer to their owne conduct but stirreth them forward with the force of hys secret good will and doth drawe thē vnto hym self doth so draw them that beyng called they must neédes obay moreouer he doth so call thē that heé doth forwith Iustifie them that are called and doth so Iustifie them with his freé and bountifull mercy that he doth at that length glorifie thē whom he hath Iustified In all wh Action of Saluation Gods Grace doth so accomplish all and euery part thereof as that nothing at all is left for mans will to glory vpon but very much paraduenture that may ouerthrow it Wherupō the Apostle very aptly sayth that it is neither of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that taketh mercy On the contrary part I meane in the shipwrack of damnation mans wayward peruersnes beyng left vnto it self doth therin throughly play all her partes so that there is nothing now wherew t it may iustly accuse God neyther is there any man condemned but he that through hys own default doth purchase to himself damnation In which damnation too things offer themselues in the meane tyme to be considered not onely what he suffereth which hath deserued to be punished but what he hath deserued which suffereth and how righteouslye hee suffereth in the one whereof mans offence is declared in the other Gods Iustice is discernable The first whereof the deuines do call the euill of the offence thother the euill of the punishment Paule calleth it the reward of Sinne therefore whereas a man doth commit euill and is punished for that euill let hym thank hymself for it But whereas he is righteously punished herein let him not murmure against God as though he were the Author of euill for that which is righteously done can not be vnorderly done Although the punishment seéme euill to him that suffereth that he would not suffer yet he is himself the Author of that punishment bicause he did that which he ought not to haue done Moreouer neyther is that thing forthwith euill in the sight of God that appeareth euill to mans iudgement these thinges therefore are to be wayed by the circumstances of the ende For euen as the cloudy ouerspreading of the darckened night doth not diminish any part of the cleare day light but rather beautifie the lightsome clearenes of the bright sunneshine euen so where the persequutors of the Church do dash sometyme on a Rock are drowned although it be euil to thē that perish properly and of it own nature yet in that they dash on the Rock and perish in respecte of Gods ordinaunce and in respect of the end wherevnto all thinges are directed it is not euill in the sight of God but tourneth to good rather and to the setting forth and beautifiing of hys glory So Augustine not vnfitly It is good sayth heé that euills be neyther is there any inconuenience in this that Euills may not happen without Gods will which yet are performed contrary to his will That is to say agaynst that rule and ordinaunce which hymselfe doth allow and commaund To conclude Albeit the Saluation of the elect and the destruction of the reprobate doe proceéde both from one originall namely from the secret counsell of almighty God yet this same decreé neuerthelesse doth not expresse it selfe after one maner at all tymes if you haue regarde to the maner of the operatiō For the cause of Saluation of such as are saued is so wholy shutte vppe in the closett of Gods mercy that God onely and alone is the whole and onely efficient cause therof so that the same cā by no meanes be ascribed to any other But the damnation of the reprobate albeit can not escape the knowledge of the secrete purpose of God bycause no one thyng be it of neuer so small value can be done without his will yet if we seéke the true and efficient cause therof whereunto may it be more properly imputed then to Sinne and to the Deuill the father of Sinne But for as much as God doth compell no man to committe wickednesse but rather yeldeth them ouer whom he forsaketh to their owne lustes hereupon doth it consequētly follow that the first seédes of originall corruptiō beyng destitute of the grace of God suckyng vppe more deadly poyson of ragyng lust by the contagious motions of it owne naturall will cleane contrary to Gods will is become by that meanes the cause and procurour of his owne destruction The cause deficient wherof as I vouched before out of Augustine is onely in God but the cause efficient cōsisteth no where els then in man onely These premisses considered and duely examined I returne to the Question that was proposed Whether God by his bare decree did create his Creatures to destruction and made them vessels of wrath Whether we will not graunt that the promise of God was vniuersall Whether we may imagine such a will in GOD as will not haue all to be saued and come to the knowledge of the truth I doe aunswere Gods promise is without all controuersie generall and is extended generally to all mankynde yet with this Prouiso All whosoeuer do beleue or shall beleue in the sonne of God And there is no dought but that his will doth agreably condiscende with his promise at all tymes and in eche respect very readyly bent inclinable and fauourable towardes the saluation of all ingenerall so that those All be vnderstād with the same Prouiso to witte all that are engraffed in Christ Iesu by fayth Agayne as vnder the name of this vniuersall subiect All to speake with Augustine not euery particuler of all the generalities but the generalities of euery particuler is comprehēded for els as All haue not the true fayth so neither is the promise made vnto thē all who do not beleue in the Sonne nor is there any will in God to saue them but to cast them of rather But as concerning Creation if the end therof besought for I doe aunswere that God did create man vnto righteousnesse For we were created to good workes accordyng to the testimonie of Paule That we should walke in them But man abusing the freédome of his owne will contrary to the will of God to witte contrary to the rule of righteousnesse fallyng quite away from righteousnesse into vnrighteousnesse did at the length through the same vnrighteousnesse throwe him selfe headlong downe into vnrecouerable destructiō What them Shall
creator himself in destroying hys creature may well be adiudged to haue condemned now not his creature which he made but the creature of Sathan which the Serpent destroyed But you will say Then was the Image of God deformed as soone as it was created I know it but by whose default by Gods default or mans default but why did not the good creator of the world forbid it to be done when as he foresaw it would come to passe As though he gaue not an especiall commaundement to the same effect in playne wordes Nay rather if your reason be so captious as will not be satisfied but with naturall reason I might more reasonably demaunde this reasonable question of you why dyd not man obay the expresse restraynt of God For what do ye reade was not Adam forbidden to touch the vnhappy Apple of vnlucky knowledge was he not carefully admonished and forewarned by denouncing the daunger that would ensue thereupon And beyng sufficiently armed with the power of Freewill hadd he not strength enough in him selfe to take heéde why thē did he not looke to him selfe at the least in season if he were not willyng to beleue and obey Gods aduertizement Certes as lōg as her reprosed him selfe his whole sauetie in the saue keépyng and custody of the Lord he was in no daunger at all But settyng Gods commaundement at naught once whenas he chose rather to become the bondslaue of Sathan aspyring to be as wise as his Creator and God here what should Gods Iustice doe now which was not bounden to be any more carefull for an other bodyes Seruaūt And yet for all this God of his mercy did not so forsake and yeld ouer his creature although his Creatour most vnkyndely forsooke him beyng his Creature He did beautifie this runneaway with the light of Reason whereby he might know what ought to be eschued and what ought to bee embraced Furthermore to make him more carefull to regard vertue he planted into him very deépe rootes and prickes of conscience hee added moreouer Statutes and Lawes not onely emprinted within euery ones hart but engrauen also outwardly in spectible Tables Finally besides these written ordinaunces of the law he did euer now and then among rayse vppe Prophetes vnto them who with liuely voyce and teachyng should neuer cease by aydyng by promising by terrifieng by obtestyng by sweéte exhortyng briefly by all maner of meanes should neuer cease to reteine the people in an vniuersall obedience accordyng to order duetie What shall we say to this also that he furnished the very Gentiles them selues though they were neuer so beastly and barbarous with the doctrine of Philosophers oftentymes with coūselles of grauen men with wonderfull helpes of good letters and preceptes of Philosophy persuadyng them to all thynges and withall not sparyng to pricke them foreward to the embracing of vertue and eschewing of vyce with horrible examples oftentymes as it were with a spurre I beseéke you now what wāted to be added more either to Gods Iustice to expresse mercy or to his mercy to expresse Iustice or to his diligēce to expresse his continuall fatherly carefulnesse But here wanted naturall strength you will say Yet was not God to bee blamed for this but mans folly rather And yet neither in this behalfe did Gods fatherly goodnesse deny his assistaunce for euen for this so are also he made a playster And to Cure this vniuersall poyson of nature he gaue as vniuersall a Mythridatū made with the precious bloud of his onely begotten Sonne wherewith the weakest Creature in the world and the most ouerwhelmed with Sinne might easily atteyne remedy of eternall lyfe For as much therefore as mankinde was of euery side so wōderfully fensed with so many and so great benefites of Gods gracious mercy what is there that any man may eyther want to be supplied by thys our most bountifull God and Creator or what could this good and mercifull God haue done more liberally for hys creatures but here bursteth out more contention and quarreling amongest the deuines wherein they plunge thēselues to much For whereas this fayth in Christ is not pertinent to all persons and that the greater sort of people do not acknowledge the sonne of God and that he is not so faythfully Reuerenced as becommeth and that they repose not the safety of their imbecillitie in this Christ as they should now commeth here the question what the cause should be then of this hys reiectiō from whence it proceédeth from out the will of men or or from out the decreé of God or out of both causes beyng coupled together Osorius here grounding hys authoritie vpon his fine Cicero doth very mightely affirme That they were therfore made the vessels of wrath because they would not be made the vessels of mercy But how this may be true I can not conceaue sufficiētly Although I do not deny this that those which eare made vessels of wrath are altogether replenished with a rebellious will wherewith they do voluntarily forsake the offered grace of their vocation yet this same will is not the cause of reprobation but the effect rather doth follow and not go before it and it selfe is made rather then maketh reiectiō For neither such as be razed out of the booke of Election are therefore become the vessels of wrath because they did forsake mercye but they doe therfore throw away mercy offred vnto thē bycause beyng excluded from the grace of Electiō they were foreappoynted to be the Uessels of wrath castawayes so that Osor. might haue spoken more truely on this wise that such were made the vessels of wrath whō God would not haue to be the Uessels of mercy And for thys cause those Pharaonicall persequutors of the church were subiect to wrath not onely because they will not be partakers of Gods mercy but also because they cannot Besides this also in as much as all the Mercies of God are contayned in Christ onely and in the knowledge of Christ as as it were fast lockt in the Ark of God in what sense will Osor. say that they which will not beleeue are made the Uesselles of wrath as though the sinne of Infidelity did not rather proceéde of the ignoraunce of Iudgement then of any motion of will of purpose For it consisteth not within the compasse of naturall strength for euery man that will to be able to know Christ as him listeth But such as it is geuē vnto frō aboue that they may be able to know and haue a will also to know Christ. Otherwise in what sense do the scriptures teach that Christ shal be the stone of offence and Rock to stumble vpon to them who doe not beleeue and do stumble vpon the worde of fayth whereunto they are marked if the whole matter were atchieued not by the decreé of God but did hang vpon the determinatiō of man euē as the Apostles doth testifie in an other place that
all do not apprehend fayth Agayne we heare also by the testimony of the same Paule That it is neyther of him that runneth nor of him that willeth but of God that taketh mercy finally of theÌ„ which are ordeined sayth Luke to eternall lyfe and whose harts as the same Luke recordeth God doth open to make them know the word of God And agayne the same Paule doth deny them to haue knowne the Lord of glory for if they had knowne hym they would not haue crucified Christ. But what was the cause that they knew him not but because the whole matter thereof rested not in their owne willes but because by Gods secret decreé it was not geuen to them that had eares to heare and eyes to seé For their eares were made deafe that they should not heare and their hartes were blynded that they should not vnderstand And therefore the Lord himself doth openly pronounce that manye were called but fewe are chosen Moreouer in an other place the same Lord calleth his flock a little flocke And why doth he call it a little flocke good sir I beseech you If Gods mercy so largely poured abroad and so freély offered as you seeme to blaze it out doe extend it selfe to all persons indifferently without exception why do not all persons then indeffereÌ„tly repayre vnto Christ at the least why is not the greatest part drawne vnto him forsooth because they will not say you You are come back agayne to the first question For I demaund what the cause is why they will not but because it is not geuen vnto them so that ye may perceaue now the very welspring of this fountayne springeth not from mans will but from the counsell of God Or els how doth Christ name them which be hys to be but few in number but that he foreknew assuredly that it would be so or how did he foreknow it but because it was decreed first of an infallible certeinty And therfore Christ teaching his disciples spake openly and playnly vnto theÌ„ That it was geueÌ„ vnto them to know the misteries of the kingdome but to others in parables that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not heare Likewise Peter confirmed by the same spirite speaking of the rock of offence doth openly denounce not onely what they should do which should be offeÌ„ded at Christ but also that they were ordayned of very purpose so to doe And yet I will not deny that which they teach of the mercy of God I do know and confesse that it is farre and wyde dispersed abroad euery where and that the same mercy of GOD denyeth it selfe to no person as Augustine sayth but to such as will not receaue it But in thys same very mercy neuerthelesse two thinges are to be considered That God doth not onely offer those promises of benefites and blessings of his meére mercy bounteous liberalitie but also that he doth inspire the hart of man inwardly with hys spirite to receaue those thinges that be offered And so after the first maner of speakyng I do confesse that there is a certayne generall grace of God and a certayne freé choyse of Election layed open to all without exception that he may receaue it that hath a will to receaue it so that vnder thys word layd open Gods outward calling be vnderstanded which consisteth in preceptes in exhortatioÌ„s in Rules writteÌ„ either in the tenne CoÌ„maundementes or in the conscience or in preaching of the word And in this sense may we rightly say the Pharao hymself wanted not the grace of God nor Saule no nor any of the rest whom he did oftentimes allure with geÌ„tle promises terrifie with miracles reward with giftes enuyte to repentauÌ„ce with prolonging of punishment suffer with much patience alluring calling all men dayly to amendment of lyfe All which be infallible tokens of hys mercifull will called Voluntas Signi But after the second maner of speakyng if we behold the mercy of GOD and that grace which maketh acceptable or if we respect that will of his wherewith he not onely willeth all to be saued but wherewith hee bringeth to passe that these whom he will shal be saued the matter doth declare it selfe sufficiently that that Mercy and Grace of acceptyng those thyngs whereunto they are called is not layd open for all and euery one indifferently but is distributed through a certeine speciall dispensation and peculiar Election of God whereby they that are called accordyng to the purpose of his grace are drawen to coÌ„sent By meanes wherof it commeth to passe that the same callyng accordyng to Gods purpose fayling euery man hath not in his own hand to chuse or refuse that earnest desire and generall Grace indifferently offered but such as haue either receaued the gift of God or are denyed the gift of God Neither doth the matter so wholy depende vpon the choyse of our will either in chusing or refusing totally for then might it be verified that there was no Predestination before the foundations of the world were layd if our ElectioÌ„ were necessaryly guided by our willes and that our will were the foundation of our SaluatioÌ„ Therfore whereas they say that God doth accept them which will embrace his grace and reiect theÌ„ which will not receaue it is altogether vntrue Nay it rather had bene more coÌ„uenient to fetch our fouÌ„teine froÌ„ the wellspring of Grace then froÌ„ the puddle of our owne will So that we might speake more truly on this wise That God doth endue vs with his grace and fauorable countenaunce bycause we should be willyng to embrace his ordinaunces and Commaundementes on the contrary part as concernyng those that will not receaue his grace offered that such do worthely perish And that the very cause that they will not receaue it doth hereof arise bycause their will is not holpeÌ„ and that they do therfore not receaue it bycause they are not theÌ„ selues receaued first For as touchyng the Obiection vrged out of Chrisostome that God did as much vnto Pharao in deede as hee could doe to saue him if ye referre Gods doyng there to that will which is called Nâ—on signi but to beneplaciti which God could would vtter in those whom he made Vessels of mercy wherof S. Paule maketh mention treatyng of the mercy of Predestination surely the Scripture is quite repugnaunt agaynst it saying God did harden the hart of Pharao For if GOD did harden the hart of Pharao how then did he to Pharao as much as he might But if Pharao did harden his owne hart after that God had not mollified his hart had not tamed his insolencie and not bowed him to godly inclinations which he is accustomed to doe to his elect In what sence then is he sayd to haue done as much to Pharao as to his other Vessels of mercy whom Election had Predestinated to be saued But to let Chrisostome passe
a whiles Let vs heare Augustine hereupon and make him as it were Iudge of the cause For where question is made Whether God did call all men indifferently by a generall inspiration to fayth and Saluatiō Augustine doth make this aunswere For as much as vocation or callyng is taken two maner of wayes to witte internall and externall true it is sayth he that all men are indifferently called after the maner of that externall calling but all are not as indifferently drawen by this internall vocation And if the cause be sought for why all are not drawen indifferently but that to some it is geuen to others some not geuen He maketh this aunswere Some there be that will say quoth he it is the will of man But we say it is the Grace and Predestination of God But God doth require mē to beleue I confesse sayth he yet is fayth neuerthelesse the gift of God For he that doth require faith doth promise withall that he will bring to passe that they shall performe that which he commaundeth c. And agayne If it be demaunded whether mercy be therefore geuen to man bycause he beleueth or that mercy were therfore bestowed vpon him bycause he should become beleuyng to this questiō he maketh the very aunswere of the Apostles I haue obteined mercy bycause I should be faythfull He doth not say bycause I was faythfull c. And this much hetherto out of Augustine Let vs now come to Pighius And bycause we are happened vpon this place to discourse vpon to witte the equall dispensatiō of Gods mercy It shall not be amisse to consider briefly his opinion herein agreéyng with Osorius altogether For these be the speaches of Pighius God doth offer him selfe sayth he an equall and indifferent father to all persons he ouerspreadeth all mē generally with the one selfe same gladsome beames of mercy and clemency without any difference Now if some through this lenitie become tractable and other some hereby made more indurate this discrepaunce proceédeth frō the corruption of mē There is no vnequallitie of distribution of lenitie and mercy in God For proofe whereof takyng a Similitude out of the Epistle to the Hebrues the iiij Chap. For as not euery land watered with like bountyfulnesse of the heauenly dew doth yeld lyke fruite to the husbandman but one land yeldeth forth corne an other thornes brambles the one wherof is blessed of God the other accursed euen no lesse ioyously doth the mercy of God shyne indifferently with generall and equall largesse and bountie towardes all vniuersally which beyng set wyde open to all alike doth deny it selfe to none but such as will refuse it them selues But some turne to amēdemēt of life through this mercy others some do abuse this mercy to more outragious licentiousnes of sumyng And agayne fetchyng a similitude frō the heate of the Sunne Whereas the Sunne yeldeth one selfe same heate we doe seé that through the same the earth is made more stiffe and hard and the waxe softened and made more plyable Hereupō Pighius gathereth That what soeuer difference is betwixt the good and the reprobate the same wholy to issue out of the corruption of men and not out of the will of God But our Expositours haue sufficiently aunswered this slipper deuise that this Assertion of Pighius and of his mate Osorius that Gods mercy is powred alike into all men is vtterly false and absurde where they do affirme that God maketh no choyse in the dispensation of his Grace that there is great difference betwixt the godly the vngodly in deéde that there is great difference betwixt the good bad we do not deny But where they doe ascribe the principall motion and efficient cause hereof in mans will onely and not in God onely they are altogether deceaued For as concernyng the common nature of mā truly in this we may with more certeintie determine equabilitie of condition in mankynd as that they reteine one semblable condition and qualitie of freé choyse for as much as all beyng created out of one lumpe are alike all poysoned alike with one kynde of infectiō as men that be altogether vnable of them selues to doe any thyng auayleable to Saluation And for as much as this imbecillitie doth infect all mākynde alike as with a generall pestilence It appeareth therfore euidently that this difference standeth not so much vpon the determination of their will or at least if it stand vppon their will yet that it doth not proceéde first from mans will but from the callyng of God whiche offereth it selfe not alike to euery one nor after one maner to all ingenerall but doth diuersly drawe some after one sort and some after an other For as I sayd before The Scriptures haue set downe a double maner of callyng the one wherof is generall and outward The other is inward accordyng to purpose to witte the callyng of them whose willes the holy Ghost doth enspire and enlighten with an inward effectuallnesse But this Similitude of the Clay and Waxe is ridiculous and worthy to be laughed at Bycause that this distinction can not be appliable to Freewill after the fall of Adam For of the whole ofspryng of Adam not some be plyable as Waxe nor some lumpish as hard earth For where God doth fashion vessels of one kynde of Clay as Paule sayth some vnto honour some vnto dishonour no mā is so madd to affirme that the Clay is the cause of this difference but the Potter rather Moreouer to as small purpose serueth that place to the Hebrues which treateth not of Grace Freewill but of the word of God and men whom he doth exhort by way of demonstratiō and cōparison of frutefull grounde to receaue the word of God fruitefull and professe the same with effect The same also is to be vnderstanded of that Parable of the good ground yeldyng to the husbandman plenty and aboundaunce of fruite mentioned in the Gospell But how may these be applyed to Freewill or what will Pighius coyne hereof If Gods word take roote in none but such as be good what auayleth this sentence to establish the doctrine of Freewill For the question is not here whether they onely be good which receaue the word of eternall lyfe effectually But this is the pointe that must be touched From whence men receaue habilitie to be made good of the nymblenesse of their owne will or of the callyng of God And therfore that Parable serueth to no purpose in this case as beyng applied for none other end but to signifie the dispensation and disposition of Gods holy word which in a maner may aptly be compared to seede wh though the husbandman do sow vpon euery ground indifferētly yet it yealdeth forth fruite but in a fewe yea in those also that be good groundes But hauing now rent in sunder these slender and trifling cob webbes The aduersaries notwithstanding be neuer a deale the
more quieted but hauing pyked together a fresh supply of skiptacks do rush vpon the grace of predestination with a new Hooboube agayne for the maynteinaunce of Freewills quarrell For with these shuttlecocks do these Redshankes with their Colonell Osor. set vpō vs for to Admitte say they that God doth make choyse but of a few and passe ouer an infinite nūber of others this seemeth to argue no small repugnācie in Gods mercy a wonderfull crueltie in hym neyther is it consonant to Reason For if he suffer the more number to perish because he will not saue them he is cruell if he cannot saue them he is not omnipotent Moreouer if he cast them of without iust cause of offence or deserte he is vnrighteous if in equall cause he make vnequall distributione of hys Election he shal be iudged an acceptor of persons But the almighty and most mercifull God doth nothing now that is not in all respectes most consonaunt to reason no cruelty no vnrighteousnes finally no one thing that is not replenished with goodnes Albeit this mowsy and drossy chaffe long sithence blowne abroad in the eyes of Augustine by the Pelagianes hath bene sufficiently fanned away in hys booke entituled De articulis falso impositis Yet following Augustine herein more then I neéde somewhat to please Osorius withall least he exclayme agayne that his argumentes are not throughly resolued I will auswere in few wordes on thys wyse It cannot be denyed that few are chosē and many called yet is not the goodnes of God any ioate impeached in this respect nor his cruelty encreased First in that he did choose few or any at all was an especiall work of his goodnes Then in that it pleased hym to proclayme a generall calling to the participacion of hys Gospell for all men vniuersally was also a poynt of great clemency but in that those that are called do not come proceéded not of any cruelty in God no nor yet is any fault thereof to be layd to hys charge but vnto mens disobedience but how can it be sayd to be mans fault say you seéing that not their willes but Gods predestination withstandeth them so that they cannot be able to come In deede that mens will is no obstacle vnto them to come this doth no man affirme for hereof springeth all the faulte that is in man Agayne to saye that Gods eternall Predestination is no preiudice to them that fall away surely no man can deny this likewise but how this predestination of God is an Estoppell must be seene not by powringe in new poyson for that neédeth not but by forsaking the olde thus therefore the will of man is an obstackle but not alone So is Predestination also an obstackle but not without the will of man So that here both mans will worketh and Gods predestination worketh ech one in hys owne kynde but after a seuerall maner of operacion in the difference whereof because Osorius will seeme so bussardly blinde we will not refuse to open it vnto hym And first Gods Predestination in deéde hath her operation according to the infallible will of hys most freé decreé not so much in the thinges themselues as most inespeciall in the wils of men and expresseth in this their will such a kynde of operation that it felfe in the meane tyme is forced of none and doth alwayes goe before the actions of mans will and doth guyde and gouerne those wills whiche direction and conduct mans will doth attēd vpon which withall worketh also in things subiect vnto it and after a certaine maner of her owne doth moue it selfe freély that is to say doth with earnest affection bēd it selfe willingly of her owne accord and voluntary inclination to the thinges which it embraceth or despiseth for it doth neyther choose any thing but that it willeth nor refuseth any thing but that it selfe willeth not finally attempteth nothing at all but willingly that is to say of her owne accord and with a very willing minde And yet not altogether so freély as Osorius surmiseth whiche is in very deéde cause of Osorius hys error herein and drowneth hys iudgement most in this question For as often as he heareth mencion made that will doth vse her certaine freé choyse in consenting or dissenting he dreameth by and by that the same will is such as is subiect to the direction of none other but is at her own libertie and is endued with full and absolute power in her selfe whiche power the Greékes do call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to eschew the thinges that it willeth and to do the thinges that it willeth so that it doth nothing of Necessitie but which it might otherwise do according to it owne pleasure if it will Agayne if a man make neuer so little motion of the purpose of predestination he doth by and by so interprett thereof as though nothing were left for man at all to be able to conceaue with reason or deliberate with iudgement or make choyse of through any voluntary motion of will but to be enforced to all thinges by a certeine externall coaction as it were by vnauoydeable and fatall Necessitie Both wh are vtterly false to speake directly the very dotage of Osorius For as we do not despoyle will of her libertye nor banysh it out of the worlde nor raze it out of our writinges so doe we not magnifie it like an Idoll we do not root it out of nature but we make it subiect to God nor do deny that it is freé after a certayne maner but do declare in what sort it is freé for then it is freé when it is made free we do not so derogate from it as though in attempting or Relenting it had no feeling or sense but we do neyther esteéme it of so great a price as though it acchieued any thing of her own strength without the speciall conduct of Gods predestination Moreouer we doe neyther so establishe thys same Predestination working in mens willes as though it enforced them agaynst their willes and violently to do the thinges they would not For will cannot chose but will yea willingly alwayes and freely what soeuer it doth nor can do any thing but that it willeth Or els will were no will at all whether it did wel or otherwise But to will well and to do well she is not able of her selfe but boroweth her abilitie thereunto from els where And yet to do euill hath it more then enough in it selfe yea without any helpe at all which she doth both will of her selfe and doth of her self bring to passe freely albeit not altogether so freely yet but that this freedome is alwayes captiuate with miserable thraldome and bondage For will beyng left destitute of heauēly assistance is so subiect seruile to her naturall lust ouerwhelmed with backward affectiōs that when it doth euill it cā do no better of it self though it
determineth to be done The Logitians that haue described the fourme of a Sorites doth deny that this kinde of arguyng is of any substaunce vnlesse the parts of the true properties and differences do accord and aunswere eche other with a necessary coupling together of the kyndes and the formes and that the proper effectes be applied to the proper causes Of all which there is not one so much obserued in all this heape of wordes and sentences wherein if I might as lawfully vtter some follishe skill by creeping forward after the same sorte with follish childish degrees of propositions it would not be hard for me to conclude out of gramtyng the freédome of mans will That there were no Predestistation nor prouident of God at all in heauen which we proued before out of Augustine â— was once concluded vpon by Cicero First such as doe affirme that God is the chief and principall cause of all thyngs and do graunt all things to be subiect to his will do not erre except Augustine do erre who discoursing vpon the will of God The will of God sayth he is the first and Soueraigne cause of all formes and motions for there is nothing done that issueth not fromout the secrett and intelligible closett of the highest Emperour according to vnspeakeable Iustice for where doth not the omnipotent wisedome of God worke what it pleaseth hym which mightely stretcheth hys power from one ende of the worlde to the other and ordereth all thinges most sweetely Thus much Augustine And yet this cause doth not therefore enduce such a Necessitie of coactione as Osori doth imagine as that no freédome of will should remayne in man that he should do nothing of hys own accord that he should deserue nothing worthy of punishment but should serue in steede of an Instrument as it were enforced through fatall coaction should be gouerned by an others power that it selfe should bring nothyng to passe wherefore it ought to be punished Now for asmuch as Luthers Assertion doth maintayne none of all these what is become of that horrible accusation wherein Luther is sayd to accuse God of vnrighteousnesse It is not agreable with Iustice sayth he that such as are onely instrumentes of wickednesse should be punished But according to Luthers doctrine men in doing wickedly seeme nothing els then instrumentes of wickednes Where finde you this M. Doctour where haue you it who euer besides Osorius spake on this wise either waking or sleéping sometime Gods prouidence doth vse the seruice of man to punish euill doers Euen so did God auenge hym vpon the sinnes of owne people by the Babilonianes Agayne to take vengeaunce of the Assirianes was Cirus the Duke of Persia raysed vppe So did God vse also the malice of the Iewes to finish the worke of our redemption for vnlesse that Natione had conspired agaynst the sonne of God we had not bene redeémed And what is the deuill himselfe but the Rodde of correction in the hand of God and as it were an Instrument of vengeaunce ordayned to punishe the outragies of euill doers yet doth it not therefore follow that deuils and wicked persones when they are called Instrumentes of Gods wrath are nothing els but Instrumentes as though they were forced onely and themselues did nothing at all and as though by doyng nothing themselues deserued no wrath For neyther do we so imagine meÌ„ to be like vnto stoanes as I haue sayd before as though we left vnto them no abilitie in action euen as the mynde of man vnlesse it be ayded can of it selfe do nothing but sinne so doth no man sinne at any tyme but by hys owne voluntary motione which sinne albeit he doth not commit without the will of God yet because he doth commit it contrary to the will and commaundement of God he is not acquired of hys fault As when a murtherer killeth men albeit he seeme after a certeine maner to exeâ—uute the will of God yet because he doth not the deede onely beyng of the minde simply to serue hys God but rather to follow the rage of his malice therfore is he neyther excusable as beyng not faulty nor is God to be accused for vnrighteous because he executeth hys wrath Wherfore it is false and slaunderous which Osorius doth conclude vpon the Assertion of Predestination For he coÌ„cluded two absurdities chiefly but with a farre more grosse absurditie The first That God is the cause of destruction and reprobation The secoÌ„d That they which offend are punished vnworthely Both which are vnmeasurably vayne For albeit the decreé of God be the first and soueraigne cause in all actiones by the which all other second and inferiour causes are gouerned and although there is condemnation to the Reprobates without the same decreé Yet neuerthelesse this same condemnation is both adiudged righteous and floweth also from their own will properly not properly froÌ„ the decreé of God For many thinges be done agaynst the will of God by a certayne wonderfull and vnspeakeable maner as I haue sayd whiche come not passe notwithstanding without hys will He ruleth ouer the mindes of men as Augustine reporteth and worketh in their hartes to encline their will whither him listeth eyther vnto good thinges for hys great mercyes sake eyther to euill thinges according to their deseruings after the proportioÌ„ of his owne IudgemeÌ„t sometymes manifest sometimes secrett but alwayes most iust and righteous bringing to passe by a certayne merueilous operation of hys owne power that in the things which men do agaynst the will of God it cannot be but that the will of God must needes be fulfilled Therefore the will of God as you seé is the first and soueraigne cause of all causes and motiones whiche neuerthelesse must be so vnderstanded that thys first cause respect properly nothyng but the last ende Now this ende is the glory of God and the most excellent commendation of hys Iustice and mercy In the meane tyme the other middle endes do depend vpon their owne middle and proper causes and are referred vnto the same Whereby it commeth to passe that betwixt Gods decreé and the condemnation of the Reprobate many causes of condemnation doe come betwene to witte Infidelitie the Inheritable corruption of Nature defiled and whatsoeuer fruites spring thereof Now the proper efficient cause of this Infidelitie and naturall corruption is mans will not Gods predestination which corruption and Infidelitie notwithstanding are so gouerned by Gods decreé so subiect there vnto that although they be not executed by the decree of God yet chaunce they not at any tyme besides hys decree nor without hys decreé whereof God as Augustine sayth is not the cause efficient but the cause deficient Now therefore where is that fatall and euerlasting Necessitie Osorius which as you say doth thrust men maugre their heades by violent coaction without any their owne will into all kynde of wickednes where are the vndescrued
doth geue nothing of set purpose but that he pursueth his owne worke to an end in a certeine perpetuall order and course 9. That man doth not so worke together with God as bringing or adding any thing of his owne but doth worke by measure onely in spirituall thinges by how much he is forced by the cause agent So doth the minde see but being enlightened Iudgement doth discerne and chuse but guided by the direction of the holy Ghost The will is obedient but being first regenerated The hart is willing but being renewed man doth endeuour doth will and doth bring to passe but accordyng to the measure that he hath receaued 10. Moreouer where as it is declared that man hath a will aswell in good thinges as in euill thinges then if question be moued what kinde of thing will is of it selfe they do aunswere with Augustine That will is alwayes naturally euill that of it selfe it can do nothing but frowardly bende it selfe against the Iustice of God and that it is made good through grace onely and so made good that it may then of necessitie loue and sollow righteousnes which it abhorred before 11. They doe confesse with Augustine that men when they sinne do neuer sinne but of their owne accorde and by the proper motion of will and that they doe vaynely that do post ouer the fault therof to any others but to them selues 12. Agayne when they are directed to good thinges by the Spirite of God yet that their will is not excluded here for as much as euen this is the very grace of God namely that their will is enclined to desire good 13. That euen from the first creation nature is so weakened that sinne must cleane thereunto of very Necessitie Whiche Necessitie neuerthelesse proceedeth not from God nor from nature simplie neither from any destinie nor yet any forreine coaction but from the corruption of nature and from euery mans proper and peculiar inclination and is to be ascribed thereunto to which inclinatiō is annexed vnauoydeable Necessitie of sinning as Augustine recordeth 14. Luther Caluine and the others when they seeme to take away Freewill the same is so to be construed as that they doe not wholy take the same away but in that sense onely in the whiche that aduersaries doe establishe the same That is to say wherewith they do establish merite and preuētiō in Freewill 15. Last of all whereas the whole difficultie of this controuersie doth cōsist in three wordes chiefly to witte Will Freedome and Necessitie Our Deuines do distinguishe the same after this maner The will of God is takē ij maner of wayes sometymes for his secret counsell wherwith all things are necessaryly carried to the end whereunto God hath directed them before And so do we say that nothing is done besides this will It is also sometyme taken for that which God approueth and maketh acceptable vnto him selfe And in this sense we do see many things done now and then cōtrary to his will discouered in the scriptures And therfore according to his will God is sayd that he willeth all men to be saued whereas yet not all nay rather but a very few are saued 16. Freedome also which is peculiar to man is discerned by two maner of wayes either as it is set opposite to bondage and this Freedome Luther doth vtterly deny as he may well doe or as it is set contrary to coaction or fatall necessitie And this Freedome Luther neuer gaynesayd For as much as there is no will which can endeuour any thing against her will or the thing which she will not or which will may sinne at any tyme except she will her selfe 17. Likewise Necessitie is to be taken two maner of wayes the one of certeintie and vnchaungeablenesse as hath bene declared before which Osorius cā not deny The other of violent coaction which doth offer force vnto will And the same is imputed to Luther falsely 18. But now that former Necessitie which is called vnchaūgeable albeit it take her beginnyng from the cause of Gods Predestination yet this Predestination doth not cast such a Necessitie vpon thinges which may remoue Freewill no more doth it take away the Iustice of God wherewith he doth render to euery one according to his workes These thinges beyng thus set downe and duly considered it shal be an easie matter not onely to withstand the cauillations and subtelties of Osorius but to confounde the residue of the Sophisticall brables of all other aduersaries also wherewith they practize busily enough but all in vayne to oppresse Luthers cause weuyng their Cobbwebbes as I may tearme them for the more part after this maner hereafter following ¶ The Argumentes of the aduersaries agaynst the foresayd Assertions propounded and confuted If our actions be first determined and decreed vpon two inconueniences doe ensue vpon this Assertion .1 that the Freedome of mans will must vtterly perish .2 that men shal be constrayned by Necessitie as if they were bounde in bondes c. There are so many so manifest testimonies in the Scriptures concernyng the truth of Predestinatiō and the foreknowledge of thyngs to come that they can by no meanes be denyed As to the Obiection of inconueniēces it is vntrue For the Freédome of mans will doth not so perish but that men do alwayes chuse the thyng that they will of their owne accorde and willyngly Then also neither is any such Necessitie layed vpon any man which by force of coaction may driue him to do that which he would not Moreouer although it rest not in our Freédome that we may be chosen or forsaken it followeth not therfore that we haue no Freédome to any other thynges This is therfore a captious Argument falsely concludyng from the proposition Secundum quid ad Simpliciter As if a man would argue in this sort A fleshly man doth not conceaue the thynges that are of God Ergo The force of mans witte doth conceaue nothyng at all in any matter whatsoeuer Osorius maketh Luther worse thē Diagoras and Pighius maketh him worse then the Manichees Pighius Argument is framed in this maner The Manichees bycause they would ascribe wickednes to God did imagine two begynnynges Luther ascribyng wickednes and mischieuousnes to God maketh vs lyke vnto a Sawe whom God doth draw and driue forth and backe whether him lysteth Manichee did appoynt two natures in man th one good the other euill whereof that one could not sinne this other coulde not do well Luther doth neyther affirme two natures in man neyther doth so condēne the same nature of man wholy of it self but as it is corrupted after the fall hee doth affirme that of Necessitie and alwayes it doth resiste Gods Spirite yea euen in the very Saincts thēselues being euen from their very childdhoode enclined to euill Then that wicked men are as Sawes in the hand of God not onely Luther but Esay also doth confesse And agayne
Will then may it be auoydeable Augustine maketh aunswere That sinne is not of Nature simply but of Nature corrupted and of will depraued wherevpon ensueth vnauoydeable Necessitie to dwell in sinne vntill a Release be sealed and deliuered from the Grace of GOD through Iesus Christ our Lord. And therefore that man may be acquited of this Necessitie he is to be called vpon vnto whom the Psalmist cryeth out Set me at libertie O Lord from my Necessities c God doth neyther forbid nor commaund any thing in vayne He shoulde prohibite in vayne if the thynges that are contayned in the Lawe might not be eschued or fulfilled by vs. Ergo We be of power to accomplishe or to eschew the things which God doth commaund or prohibite Augustine doth aunswere The whole Lawe which is comprehended in these two commaundementes in not coueting and in louing To do good and to eschew euill doth com̄maund things that ought to be done in deede and forbiddeth the contrary nor so much because that we are of power and abilitie to accomplishe the same of our selues but because when as man feeleth hys owne disabilitie and weakenes to performe them he shoulde not swell nor be pufft vppe with pryde but beyng weryed and faynt in his trauaile should seeke for relief at Christs handes and so the law holding him in a couenable feare should in stead of a schoolemaister leade to the loue of Christ. God doth commaund nothing but that which is in our power to performe God doth commaund spirituall thinges chiefly Ergo Thinges that be most spirituall are in our power The Maior were true if the will were sound or such as was at the first in the first man Adam before the fall whiche was of power to enforce her selfe wholy to the keeping of the lawe nowe sithence all the powers of the soule are weakened and vneffectuall altogether to do any good we must seek for abilitie that may satisfy the law in heauen and not in our selues If man were not of power to be obedient God shoulde enstruct and exhort in vayne In vayne I confesse if he should vse none other meanes but externall preceptes to lead to the true profiting in Godlines But as now sithence he maketh hys doctrine effectuall through the inspiration of the holy Ghost it is farre of that his dotrine should be fruitlesse God commaundeth nothing that is out of our power True it is if you meane of that power not which is engraffed in our naturall corruptiō but that power wh God doth geue to hys holy ones peculiarly from aboue In the conuersione of a sinner God himselfe doth not by hys own will cōuert him alone but doth allure and exhort hym that he may cōuert hymself for in much lenity patient suffering he doth not punish hym but graūteth space place of repentance prouokīg solliciting pricking him forward to repentaunce vseth many occasions exhortations and corrections And therefore it is our part to be conuerted and to tourne agayne and hys office to receaue the sinner that retourneth and to quicken him The collusion and fallax of thys reason is in the insufficient nombring of partes or deriued from the cause insufficient for albeit God do work all these in the conuersion of a sinner yet doth he not vse these externall meanes onely but ministreth also in the meane space the motione of the harte withall and the inspiration of a secret renouation In the regeneration and conuersion of man euery of vs haue of our selues sufficiently to be obedient to the calling It is in euery man I confesse but not of euery man but proceédeth frō an other who calleth inwardly before that man doth outwardly obey The Tridentine Fathers doe obiect that man may refuse to geue hys consent and to reiect grace when it is offred That is true in deede and to true Neyther doth any man Imagine that Grace is so thrust vppon man in hys conuersion as though he shoulde be constrayned to receaue it whether hee would or no which neyther he can refuse though he will But this is the meaning hereof That the holyghost with hys secret effectuall operation doth so enlighten the hartes of hys elect that the Grace which he graunteth of hys owne liberalitie shal be receaued that the will cannot choose but receaue it with an harty desire and earnest willingnesse yea most ioyfully and gladly But if it happen that grace be forsaken that proceadeth from the corruption of our own fleshe and our naturall faultines naturally engraffed within vs. Agayne it is also in our power to geue our consent In vs in deede but not of our selues as Augustine reporteth who sayth that grace doth not finde good will in vs but doth make them to be good c. And in an other place Who ronneth to the Lord for Grace but whose foot steppes are directed thereunto by the Lord And therefore to craue the assistaunce of Grace is the very beginning of Grace God hath set before all men indifferently a ctrteine generall grace and promise and a free desire of choyse that all men may conceaue it that will We do not deny that we haue altogether a generall grace of God that calleth vs to eternall saluation But this must be confessed withall that Grace to embrace the thinges whereunto we are called is not graunted to all ingenerall without exception but distributed by a certayne peculiar Election and Predestination of God to some whereby it commeth to passe that it is not in euery mans power the will to refuse or take hold fast of this grace so generally offered but in their power vnto whom it is geuen for to take or refuse Grace offered is not in our own power Otherwise what place were left for Gods Election before the foundation of the world were layde If our will were a a rule of hys Election or the cause and beginning of our saluation And therefore this their cauillation that God doth receaue them that will be receaued and doth reiect them that will not be receaued is vntrue It had bene more agreable with reason to beginne rather at the Grace of God then at our owne will and it had bene more conuenient to haue sayd that the Grace of God is graunted vs to the end we may will those thinges that he commaundeth vs and that such as forsake it are worthely reiected in deede but in that that they are forsaken cōmeth hereof because they are not first holpen that they may be able to receaue If all the worke of our conuersione be in God onely that our endeuour auayle nothing thereunto what remayneth then for vs but that we must become no better then stocks and stoanes There is none of vs that affirmeth that men do nothing towardes their conuersion This is it that we do affirme that men when they be conuerted do consent to the worde
Gods Electiō goyng before did depend vpō mens workes that follow after they do conclude vntruely For as the Potter in fashionyng his earthē Uessells hath no regard to the merite of the clay euen so the purpose of God in the rule of his Electiō is free frō all respect of workes And therfore Paule doth resemble the same of the power of the Potter But if they will trāslate the same to the punishments rewardes of workes in this respect we confesse they say true euen as mē behaue thēselues so shall they finde their Creator affectioned towardes them Yet in such sort neuertheles that if any vertue or cōmendation be in the Uessell that may moue to please the same confesse that it commeth not of it selfe but of the free liberality of the Potter on the contrary if it haue any thing worthy of punishment then to yelde that this proceedeth from themselues and not from the Potter For he made Nature at the beginning whole sound and vpright Afterwardes came in vgly deformitie wilfully and voluntarily defiled through originall sinne God hath no regard but to the poore and contrite in Spirite Ergo The Grace of God is not promised to any but to such as are prepared thereunto before True it is that none but humble in spirite are capable of Gods Grace But from whence commeth this Iowlines and humble reuerence towards God truely not from the Nature of our corrupted flesh which is wont alwayes to be the Mother of pryde but from the onely gift of the holy Ghost Whereupon if any man vrge that there ought to go some preparation in man before apt to receaue the grace of God neyther will the Lutheranes deny this but so that they also confesse with Augustine that the same commeth to passe not by the direction of our Freéwill but by reformation and renewing of the holy Ghost Forasmuch as the cause of all men is generall and the estate indifferent as the Lutheranes do say Ergo There is no cause not reason why God in the choise of man should preferre some before othersome and seperate some from othersome S. Paule rendereth this cause for vnreproueable I will haue mercy sayth he on whom I will haue mercy Aunswering as it were to this same obiection that thys commeth to passe not because God findeth any cause in man but for that he onely receaueth hym of hys owne mercy I will not the death of a sinner but rather that he be cōuerted in liue If this saying be referred to the secret will of Gods good pleasure how is it then that such will not be conuerted nor fleé from Damnation whom the almighty will of God both would haue to be saued and can make able also to be saued But if it be vnderstanded of hys reuealed will which is called Volunt as Signi what maruell is it if such will not be saued but perish besides the will of God which are left to the power of their owne Freéwill by the secret and vnsearcheable will of God What soeuer is voluntary may be auoyded Synne is voluntary Ergo Sinne nay be auoyded This is aūswered before out of Aug. The Maior were true if it be vnderstāded of nature beyng soūde but now nature is woūded defiled either bycause it doth not seé by reasō of her blyndnes or bycause it doth not performe by reasō of her weakenes God would not commaūde the thynges which he knew man could not do Augustine maketh aunswere And who is ignoraunt hereof but he doth therfore commaunded some thynges which we are not able bycause we may know what we ought to craue at his hāds Where Nature and Necessitie beare rule there is no iust crime in Sinnyng The Lutherans do teach that Sinne doth cleaue fast with in vs by nature and that of very Necessitie Ergo. Accordyng to the Lutheranes doctrine there shal be no iust crime in Synnyng And hereunto aunswere is made before In the Maior I do distinguish Nature and Necessitie If it haue relation to Nature that was sounde and Necessitie of coaction true it is that there is no accusation of iust crime of Sinne to be layed there But if it meane Nature corrupt and Necessitie of inuincible and vnchaungeable bondage it is false of which Necessitie Augustine speaketh But now faultynesse punishable ensuyng did make a Necessitie of Freédome There is no reason to make it Sinne where is no power to be able to auoyde it I do aūswere that it was true in Adam who cōmitted that whiles nature was sounde which he might haue eschued but in vs not so who in this corrupted and forsorne nature now whether we may auoyde it or not auoyde it yet doth Sinne follow vs of Necessitie For if will could eschue Sinne yet can it not cleare it selfe from sinne of her selfe and of her own abilitie but onely through the assistaunce of helpyng grace whereupon will deserueth no commendation though it can cleare it selfe but if it eschue not the sinne which it might eschue so much the more doth it aggrauate the trespasse And why commeth not forth any one such at the length which can or dare boldly professe that he hath euer eschued the sinne that these Iacke braggers boast so much may be auoyded on the contrary although will can not escape from Sinne yet doth it not therfore cease to be Sinne bycause it sucked this imbecillitie not from nature wherein it was created at the first but from him whiche might haue bene without Sinne if he had would No mā lacketh the Grace of God but he that will cowardly faynte of hym selfe True it is but to make mā not to be faynt harted in him self it is neédefull that the grace of God be present first without the which all our good will is vneffectuall Moreouer whoso beyng holpen with grace doth begyn to will well to endeuour well is not now altogether a coward crauen but he that is faynt harted is therfore faynte harted bycause he was not assisted with the effectuall Grace of God God doth constrayne no man forcibly I do graūt but that they may be made willyng he doth first of vnwilling make them willyng draweth such as are stiffe-necked to become inclinable creating new hartes within them renewyng a new Spirite within their bowels to make them tractable and willyng seruauntes for hym selfe But thou accordyng to the hardnesse of thy hart doest procure to thy selfe vengeaunce The Apostle speaketh here of the externall blessing or callyng of God which he exercizeth indifferently aswell towardes the good as towardes the euill and not of the spirituall Grace of Regeneration wherewith he doth peculiarly seale and establish his Elect vnto hym selfe The Grace of God is none otherwise effectuall then as we be not sluggish or retchelesse to vse his helpe offered vnto vs. Ergo It is in our power either to receaue
the Grace of God offered vnto vs or els not to receaue it I deny the Argument For where the effectuall Grace of God is which worketh in vs not onely by outward callyng but also by the inward renewyng and earnest motion of the mynde as Augustine writeth to Simplician there can be no defect of will And agayne wheresoeuer is any want of will there is not Gods effectuall Grace which is comprehēded within these two partes outward callyng and inward drawyng So that the receauyng of grace is within vs in deéde yet commeth not of our selues but of the grace of God But the Refusall of Grace is both in vs and of vs and yet in such wise as that beyng left ouer to our owne weakenesse we are not able to doe otherwise of our selues There is obiected out of Augustine Hypognosticon 3. booke That we haue lost our freedome not to will but to be able and to performe First by that consent of the learned it is certeine that this booke was neuer made by August 2. the aduersaries do not interprete it aright 3. let the premisses be ioyned with that which followeth For he doth cōfesse that there is a Freewill hauyng Iudgemēt of reason in deéde not by wh it may be apt either to begyn or to end any godly action wtout God but onely in the actions of this present life And forthwith followeth in the same August When we speake of Freewill we do not treate of one part of man onely but of whole mā altogether c. Whereupō their errour is cōdēned which do affirme that corruptiō is wholy includeth within the flesh whereas by testimony of the same Aug. corruption hath defiled that inward powers of the soule likewise whereupō he speaketh in the same place on this wise Freewill beyng defiled the whole mā is defiled wherfore without helpe of the Grace of God he is neither able to begin to do any thyng that may be acceptable vnto God nor yet to performe it The Scripture doth euery where describe the Freedome of will Where it testifieth that God will render to euery man accordyng to his deseruyng whereas it cōteyneth ordinaunces and preceptes of good lyfe where it exhorteth euery where to godlynes forbyddeth to sinne and threateneth punishment Out of all whiche it is most assured that the power of freewill is declared If the whole Scriptures treate altogether euery where of these where be the premisses then First as touchyng merites Augustine doth Aunswere Woe be vnto the lyfe of man thought neuer so commendable if God deale with vs after our deseruynges As cōcernyng reward he doth aunswere after the same maner That reward is geuē in deede to them that deserue it but yet so as to deserue is geuen first from the grace of God and proceedeth not from mans Freewill vnto whō reward is geuen afterwardes That is to say Grace for Grace as Augustine sayth Moreouer as cōcernyng the preceptes and commaundementes in deéde GOD doth commaunde vs to walke in them but he doth promise that he will bryng to passe that we may walke in thē that is to say that he will geue vs both a mynde and feéte to walke withall Where a Recompence is made there is a consideration of merite Nay rather the conclusion would haue bene more correspōdent on this wise Where Recompence doth follow there doth consideration of obedience goe before For of Obedience the Argument is good enough but of Merite starke naught Where Recompence is there is regarde had both of Obediēce and of Merite out of the Maister of Sentēces Wherupon they argue on this maner Hope doth not trust to the mercy of God onely but to our Merites also And therfore to hope beyng voyde of Merites is not to hope but to presume as they affirme This Treatize here toucheth Merites and Obediēce both I aunswere vnto both First of Obedience the Assertion may be graunted But that Obedience is ment here that is made acceptable to God and proceédeth not from the will and abilitie of our Freéwill but from the grace of GOD onely But of Merite if the worthynesse of the worke be regarded we doe vtterly deny it if they vnderstand of Obedience approued and acceptable in the sight of GOD we doe not striue agaynst them so that they will reknowledge this much agayne that this Obedience of ours how ready soeuer it be doth not spryng from our owne abilitie but that we ought to acknowledge it as a gift receaued by the benefite of the heauenly Grace to be his gift onely and none others Agaynst this Masterlyke sentence I will set downe the opinion of Basile He that trusteth not in himselfe neither looketh to be iustified by workes that man hath the hope of Saluation reposed onely in the mercies of God Augustine disputyng agaynst the Pelagians which did say that the same Recōpence which shal be geuen in the ende is a reward of good workes going before doth aūswere That this may be graūted vnto them if they likewise agayne would confesse that those good workes were the gifts of God and not the proper actiōs of mē for those that are such that is to say proper vnto men are euill but yet are good giftes of God c. Whereupō in an other place If thy merites sayth he come of thy selfe they be euill and for that cause are they not crowned and therefore that they may be good they must be the giftes of God And agayne writyng to Sixtus Be there no merites of righteous men yeas truly Bycause they be righteous men but their merites brought not to passe that they were made righteous For they be made righteous when they be Iustified but after the maner of the Apostles teachyng Freely Iustified through the Grace of Christ. And agayne writyng vpon the 94. Psalme If GOD would deale accordyng to mens deseruynges he should not finde any thyng but that he might of very Iustice vtterly condemne c. But these sayinges bycause they apperteyne to the Iudgement of yeldyng Reward do concerne our cause nothyng at all who do not create now of the last Iudgement but of the Grace of Election properly Whiche grace whosoeuer will say is geuen accordyng to the proportion of deseruynges Augustine doth call the same a most pernitious errour It is Furthermore obiected that Augustine writyng vnto Prosper and Hyllary doth not onely in the very title of the booke ioyne Freewill with Grace but also heapyng a nomber of Arguments together doth very earnestly endeuour to confirme that man hath Freewill I do confesse that Augustine in these bookes as many tymes otherwise doth by certeyne Argumentes framed out of holy Scriptures teache Freewill and withall ioyne it with Grace But such Argumentes are they as him selfe afterwardes confuteth Moreouer consideration must be had in what wise he doth ioyne both these together how he doth part them a sūder agayne
done by him we beleue assuredly is done either to expresse his power or to make his glory discernable or to commend his Iustice or els to discouer the wonderfull riches of his mercy Wherfore when Luther doth affirme that with GOD all thynges are done by an absolute Necessitie whether they come by destiny chaunce or any fortune at all why should not it be as lawfull for him to speake so as for Osorius to speake in the lyke phrase and in lyke titles of words That God is of Necessitie the best the most iust and the most wisest But I heare the sounde of an Argument from the Popish Diatriba They say that they abridge not God of his power no nor that they can do it neither would at any tyme otherwise then as him selfe hath abridged it Although there be nothyng but that the omnipotency of God can bryng to passe yet would he haue nothyng lawfull for him selfe to do that might be contrary to his Iustice. And bycause it is an horrible matter that any man should be damned without euill deseruynges and that it is not reason that good workes should be defrauded of their due reward therfore it must needes follow accordyng to the rule of Iustice that God should chuse thē whom he would haue to be saued for the good workes whiche he did forsee to be in them and condemne the other lykewise for their euill doynges For otherwise if he doe not regarde the workes then were not his Iustice constaunt and permanent This Obiection must be ouertaken after this maner It is one thyng to treate of Gods Election and an other thyng to treate of his Iudgement As concernyng the Iudgement of God it is euident that no man is damned vnlesse he haue deserued it for his wickednesse and that no man is saued vnlesse some matter be founde in him whereunto his saluation may be imputed It is farre otherwise in Election and Predestination which is accomplished accordyng to Gods Freé determination and coūsell without all respect of workes either goyng before or commyng after Or els how can that saying of the Apostle be true Not of workes but of him that calleth c. meanyng thereby the Free Election of GOD Whereupon let vs heare Augustine very aptly discoursing in his booke De Praedestin Grat. It is sayd not of workes but of him that calleth The elder shall serue the younger He doth not say of workes done before but when the Apostle spake generally not of workes here he would that men should vnderstand it both of workes done and already past and workes not as yet done that is to say workes past which were none at all and workes to be done which as yet were not done c. Workes therfore haue both their tyme and their place Certes in Electiō they haue neither tyme nor place Neither is any thyng here of any value but the onely will of God which neither dependeth vpon fayth nor vpon workes nor vpō the promises but workes fayth and the promises and whatsoeuer els doe all depend vppon it For neither are our deédes vnto him a rule to direct his Election by but our deédes are directed by his Election as the effectes do consequētly depend vpon the causes and not the causes vpō the effectes Neither doth God worke vnrighteously in the meane tyme in this if he take mercy on whō he will take mercy or if he harden whō he will harden And why so For sooth bycause he is indebted to no man For sithence we are all in generall euen from our mothers wombes ouerwhelmed drowned in this puddle of originall sinne he may accordyng to his good pleasure haue mercy on whom it pleaseth him and againe passe ouer whom soeuer hym lysteth and leaue them to them selues that is to say not take mercy vppon them Whereupon all men may easily perceaue aswell the Reprobates what it is whereof they may iustly accuse thē selues as also they that are chosen how much they are indebted to God for his great and exceédyng mercy Euen as if one man kill an other with a sworde no man doth therfore accuse the sword but he rather is knowen to be in faulte which did abuse the sword to murther with as good reason for asmuch as men are nothyng els but as instrumentes of wickednesse onely in Gods hand they that yeld of Necessitie are not so much in fault as he rather deserueth to be blamed that caused them to do wickedly If so be that men whom God hath created after his owne Image were such kynde of Instrumentes whiche lyke vnto a sword or sawe were driuen not of them selues and without any motion or consent of their owne or if God were such a Royster or hackster that would delight in the slaughter of men the similitude were not altogether to be mislyked Now to graunt vnto them that the wills of men are directed and are subiect to a stronger power then they are able to resiste yet do they not suffer onely as Instruments brutish and senselesse doing nothyng them selues in the meane whiles Men are drawen in deéde but with their owne wills as Augustine maketh mention Neither is any man euill but he that will him selfe And if man will be of his owne accord euill who ought to be blamed therfore but him selfe For where shall we say that sinne is but where a will is founde to committe Sinne But Osorius ceaseth not as yet frō his chatteryng They that doe affirme that God hath seuered out of all the vniuersall masse of mākynde some whō he would prepare to euerlastyng glory and some others whom he would appoint to euerlastyng destruction not for any other cause but bycause it so pleaseth him doe plucke Gods prouidence vppe by the rootes The Lutheranes do alledge none other reason of Gods Predestination besides his will onely Ergo The Lutheranes do foredoe and plucke the prouidence of Cod vppe by the rootes I beseéche you Osorius if as yet you haue not cast away all feélyng of an honest and sober Deuine vtterly returne to your selfe at the length In deéde say you so Do they foredoe Gods prouidence which say it is so for none other cause but bycause it pleaseth him c. What kynde of Argument doe I heare from you Cā God be pleased to do any thyng that is not most correspōdent to reason or cā any Reason be of all partes so absolutely perfect that can disagreé frō the chief and principall patterne of his will or do you seéme a reasonable man that doe talke so fondly But I beseéche you Syr. For as much as the will of God whether soeuer it bende and encline it selfe is nothyng els but a most perfect Reason of it selfe and of all partes most absolute and without blemishe and for as much also as Reason it selfe is nothyng els then the very rule of Gods will nay rather for as much as the will of God is the very essence
substaūce of God what kynde of couplyng do ye desire to be had betwixt Reason and the will of God Who in deéde can will nothyng but that whiche is perfect sithe that nothyng is perfect but that which he willeth And whereupō then riseth this hauty crest of yours that can not be satisfied with the bare will of God beyng expressed in his playne word Neither seémeth it sufficiēt in your Iudgement that God should chuse any to saluation vnlesse his secret counsell herein may be made discernable by the deépe reach of your owne reason and that he should render an accoumpt and reason of his decreéd will herein vnto your Maistershyppe Albeit I doe not deny this to be true that the profounde wisedome of the Deuine Godhead can not be sundered from the knittyng together of his Reason and counsell that is to say from it selfe Yet out of what Schoole suckt you such Diuinitie O singuler Piller of the Romishe route so earnestly to require and to sift out the counsell and Reason of the Creatour euen in the very vnsearcheable wisedome of him that created you I suppose ye were thus schooled in your sacred confessions Surely you neuer learned it out of holy Scriptures If you neuer noted what aunswere the Lord made to Moyses in the Scriptures marke now somewhat more attentiuely I will haue mercy sayth he on whom I haue mercy and I will take compassion on whom I will take compassion c. Here you may seé a singuler Mercy of God in takyng compassion whereof you nor seé nor heare any other rendred in the whole Scriptures besides the onely will of God I will haue Mercy saith he will you know the causes and the persons the doth not say bycause I perceaue thē to be worthy of my benignitie whose foreseéne workes doe delight me now before I take Mercy but I do therfore take Mercy bycause I will take Mercy and I will take compassion on him of whom it pleaseth me to haue Mercy And therfore S. Paule addyng a very fitte conclusion Ergo sayth he God will haue mercy on whom he will haue mercy and will harden whom he will harden With these wordes bridlyng our nyce curiositie as it were and withall geuyng vs to vnderstand that it is enough for vs to know that so is the will of the Lord although there be no manifest demonstration made vnto vs of the cause wherfore he would so do For of what soeuer it shall please the Lord to bryng to passe albeit we can not atteyne the Reason yet ought we to grounde our selues vpon this for sufficient and lawfull Reason bycause the Lord hath brought it so to passe we ought also to learne of Christ this lesson Bycause it hath so pleased thy good will O Father For as much as it is not lawfull for any creature to presume to enquire any reason beyond the will of God Right well therfore and very profoundly doth Augustine geue vs this lesson It is not meete sayth he to search for the causes of Gods vnsearcheable will it is not lawfull to know it for that the will of God is the principall and highest cause of all thinges that are and therefore if when it is asked why the Lord did it it is to be aūswered bycause he so willed it if thou go further in asking why he willed it thou askest some greater and higher thyng then the will of God is Which can not possibly be founde out And agayne the same Augustine in an other place writyng of Predestinatiō and grace God sayth he taketh mercy on whō he will haue mercy and of whom be will not haue mercy he will not take mercy He geueth to whom him listeth and requireth that whiche is due vnto him of whom he will Here agayne ye heare the Will of God named yea and that alone wherewith if you be not yet satisfied bycause it is named alone harken what is immediately annexed by the same Augustine for thus it followeth He that shall continue to say God is vnrighteous let him harken vnto the Apostle O man what art thou that contendest with God man with God earth with the Potter c. Doth he herein not note you excellently Osorius and as it were poynt at you with the finger as that no man could possibly haue noted any matter more notably Paule the Apostle doth render no causes at all of Gods Election but his will onely Augustine dare enquire after none All the whole Scripture is throughly satisfied with his will onely Onely Osorius can not be satisfied nor thinketh it lawfull enough for God to doe that him lyketh best vnlesse with sutteltie of Reasonyng as it were with cutted Sophismes and Sillogismes mā mainteyne Argument with his GOD earth with the Potter Which thing how horrible it is learne at the least out of Esay the Prophet Woe sayth he vnto him that will contend with his maker a brittle pottesharde of the outcast potteshardes of the earth shall the clay say vnto the Potter why doest thou make me thus did thy handes fayle thee in thy worke c. As though there were any of the Creatures of God that doth vnderstand the mynde of the Lord or were euer counsellours vnto him or as though it were not permitted him to will as him lysteth or as though what soeuer pleaseth him were not lawfull for him to do vnlesse he did geue vs a reason and orderly render vnto vs the causes that moued him thereunto And what if he will not discouer it Osorius Yea and what if he ought not what if when him lysteth to display it most manifestly your balde mazer and the blockyshnes of your nymble capacitie can not be able to pearce into the vnsearcheable depth of his glory wisedome and counsell Ieremy the Prophet beyng commaunded to go downe into the house of the Potter and there to behold throughly the workemanshyppe of the runnyng wheéle and the hand of the craftesman when he saw the Uessell that was newly made and was by and by broken agayne neither doth he require a reason thereof of the workeman nor yet doth the Lord beyng the workeman rēder any reason vnto him onely he declareth his power in makyng new and renewyng agayne of that which was broken in these wordes Am not I of power to do vnto you as this Potter doth to his claye O house of Israell sayth the Lord. Behold as the clay in the hand of the Potter so are you in my hand O ye house of Israell And will Osor. dare be so bold beyng a fashioned lumpe of the Potters wheéle neither reuerencyng the Maiestie of his maker nor contented with his onely will to require a reason of his creation besides the lawfull will of the Creator and will he not permit it to be sufficient for God to doe in his owne workes what it pleaseth him best For what do these wordes of Osorius emporte els Where beyng squeymish at Luthers speache He doth
Iudge them not worthy to be heard in any wise whiche will affirme that God doth chuse whom he will vnto Saluation out of the whole masse of mankynde for none other cause but bycause it so pleaseth hym Pag. 163. First where hath Luther any such Assertion Why do ye not set it downe good Syr and admit that he hath what is it that your carpyng cauillation cā gnaw at here if you interprete it aright For although Luther seéme in your goodly conceipt to be more then a thousand tymes madd whom ye can neuer name without some gall of raylyng speache yet was he neuer hetherto so foolish as to haue a will to spoyle the most wise workes of God of Reason and counsell in any wise There is with God a most perfect stable vnchaungeable knowledge of all the workes of his owne handes but such a knowledge as doth altogether surmount the greatest reach of our nymblest capacities and seémeth rather to be wōdered at then to be searched out by vs. Surely it is farre beyond the Reason that you make vnto vs. For deliberately notyng with my selfe and entring into a very deépe viewe and consideration of the thynges which are spoken of Election of purpose of Gods prouidēce for this word Predestination as scarse fine enough for a Ciceronian you abhorte neither dare ye so much as once to name in all your bookes hereūto all your drifts seéme to tende that ye suppose that Gods Iustice can by no meanes be defended in makyng a differēce betwixt them whom he reserueth to be saued those whom he adiudgeth to be damned but by foreknowledge of those workes which God doth behold shall be in them As though Osorius would seéme to argue with God with such an Argument as this is There must be alwayes with God a stable assured and vpright reason in euery choyse to be made There can be none other iust cause of Reason of Gods Election and Reprobation but in respect of the merite that must follow Ergo To the attainyng the grace of Election some preparation of merite must needes go before First I do aunswere out of Augustine that it is a most pestilent errour to say that the Grace of God is distributed accordyng to merites this is one of the errours of Pelagius Then as touchyng the Maior There is in deéde with God a perfect sounde vnchaungeable Reason of all his workes But by what reason be ordereth his workes may not be subiect to the Iudgement of the claye as Augustine sayth but of the Potter Now I come to the Minor Which we do vtterly deny for where you make a definition of Gods prouidence in chusing or refusing whom he will to be none other then such as dependeth vpon the foreknowledge of workes this is altogether most brutishe and vnreasonable For albeit that preuēting for eknowledge of things which out Deuines doe call foreknowledge is vnseparably knitte together to the will of him that doth Predestinate yet do we not graunt the same to be the cause of Predestination For first as concernyng the cause efficient for as much as the will of God is the very substaunce of God aboue the which there cā be nothyng more highe there can be no efficient cause thereof rendered either before it in limitation of tyme or aboue it in Maiestie but the materiall and finall cause therof may after a sort be assigned The materiall cause about the which it doth exercise her force is mākynde and those thynges which God doth geue vnto men by Predestination namely Vocation Faith Iustification Glorification The finall cause is two maner of wayes either that which forceth him to doyng by the preuentyng will and reason of the first Agent or els that which is produced out of action And bycause there may be many endes of one thyng it may be that there is one end of Predestination an other end of him that is Predestinated and an other of him that doth Predestinate As for exāple As Saluation and life euerlastyng is the end of Predestination the end of him that is Predestinated is to beleue and to lyue well and the end of him that doth Predestinate is his owne glory and the manifestation of his Iustice power and mercy As we do reade in Salomons Prouerbes God doth make all thinges for himselfe and the wicked man also for the euill day And therfore if it be asked whether God do predestinate for the workes sake it may be aunswered with S. Paule that the holy ones are predestinated not for their good workes but to do good workes so that now the respect of workes be vnderstanded not to be the cause efficient of predestination but the effect rather For thus we heare the Apostle speake Euen as God hath chosen vs in hys sonne frō eternitie that we should become holy to the prayse of hys glory c. not because we were or should be holy sayth he but that we should become holy to the prayse of hys glory c. So that no reason of Election may appeare but that which is to be sought for in the freé liberalitie of hym that doth make the Election neyther that any other last end may be conceaued but the prayse of the manifestation of hys heauenly grace So that as without God there is no cause efficient which may enforce predestination so if weé seeke for the very beginninges of eternall predestination we shall perceaue that S. Paule doth reduce them to iiij principall heades chiefly 1. to hys power Where he sayth hath not the Potter power c. 2. to hys purpose or hys good pleasure For so we reade in the Epistle to the Ephesianes where he vseth both these wordes because he hath predestinated vs sayth he according to the good pleasure of hys will c. And immediately after whē we were predestinated sayth he according to hys purpose c. 3. to hys will Rom. 10. he will haue mercy on whom he will haue mercy and will harden c. 4. to hys mercy or loue Where he sayth Rom. 10. It is neyther of hym that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that taketh mercy Last of all if you demaund further for some reason of Gods Election who shall more liuely expresse the same vnto you then the Apostle Paule writing to the Romaynes on this wise If God sayth he willing on the one side to shew his wrath and to make his power knowne did with much lenity beare with the Vesselles of wrath prepared to destructiō and on the other side to make knowen the riches of hys glory towardes the Vessells of mearcy which he hath prepared to glory c. Unlesse you haue ceased long sithence to be a reasonable man Osorius what more perfect reason can be made vnto you or more manifest of Gods workmanship then this that is here set downe in Paule Whereby you may playnly perceaue that all these councells and workes
that the actions of mans lyfe are not gouerned without the prouident and circumspect direction of Gods will and that it is he alone that inclineth mens willes whither him listeth Yet neuerthelesse euen he that applyeth the willes hath enclosed also the same willes within certeyne limittes and lawes and as it were enuironed them with certeine hedges boūdes which whether we accomplish or no seyng he hath made the will of God manifestly discernable vnto vs certeinly they do not onely sufficiētly acquite and cleare his Iustice but also aboundantly commende the same 4. And lastly though we be neuer so vnable to the performaunce of his ordinaunces yet for all this can no iust accusation of quarell be framed agaynst God but the faulte must be wholy imputed vnto men and that worthely For why would this beastly flesh beyng throughly fortified at the begynnyng vnder the safe keépyng of God and vnderstādyng become Carter of his owne carriadge and guide of his owne flitteryng lyfe afterwardes refusing the conduct and leadyng of God Which if can now gouerne it selfe rightly in deéde as it ought to do let it then a Gods name enioy his owne knowledge but if otherwise yet is Gods Iustice sufficiently enough defended and euen for this same cause bycause he first forewarned them of the perill ensuyng it is with very good reason acquited of crime for what standeth more agreable with Iustice then to punish sinnes with sinnes and to crushe downe with sharpe and bitter correction that proude rebellious arrogancie agaynst the high God his Creator But howsoeuer the matter goeth here I do maruell at this in the meane whiles with what fayth and with what face this one place is vrged so much which maketh nothyng at all to sedition whenas many other thynges may be gathered out of my bookes euery where which are manifestly profitable for the preseruation of peace and tranquislitie For what els doe all my bookes and preachynges more earnestly emporte the necessary instructions of fayth beyng once established then that the multitude of the rascall rable and ruder Boores together with all other Christians should conforme their lyues altogether to patience and desire of concorde though they were oppressed with neuer so many iniuries where did I euer by worde or writyng teaze any man to armes Where did I euer geue so much as a crooked looke agaynst the Magistrate Nay rather who euer esteémed of the gouernours more honorably or taught the duetie of subiectes to their Princes out of holy Scriptures more earnestly faythfully who did euer more carefully aduaūce call backe to their former dignitie the Ciuill gouernours and Magistrates vtterly suppressed almost through the Romish Pontificall Tyranny whose mynde or penne dyd euer more hatefully abhorre disorderous vprores and outragious rebelliōs And if my writynges and behauiour doe not witnesse this to be true that I speake I am contended that this reproche be Registred amongest the other Beadroll of Osorius lesinges After that the light of the Gospell was restored Carolostadius began to plucke downe Images and to make an innouation in many thynges the matter beyng duely wayed was of it selfe commendable enough yet bycause he attempted it with violence and vprore the Magistrate not beyng made priuy vnto it I withstoode him The lyke attempt was made by Zuinglius and Oecolampadius about the matter of the Sacrament I doe not here debate of the truth of the cause And yet no one thyng restrayned me so much from subscribyng to their Assertitions as did the dought of broyles which I feared would afterwardes haue ensued I will adde also somewhat of my selfe when the Counsell was called at Wormes beyng cited by publique authoritie to appeare before the Emperiall seate I dyd not refuse Certainly the daunger was assured and apparaunt For beyng aduertized as I was on my iourney that I should haue regarde of my sauety in tyme I thought better to put my lyfe in hassard then susteine the reproche of disobediēce Beyng ouercome at the last not by Scripture but by power I cōmitted my cause to the mercy of the Lord to the authoritie of the Emperour I onely defended my cause constauntly If I had bene of so lewde a disposition so foreward to sedition as you suspect Osorius there wanted not at that tyme both Princes frendshyp and fautoures of the cause yea and perhappes there was tyme good enough to put it in practize But was there euer any Prince or Subiect encouraged by my meanes to moue discension This beyng done not long after in deéde the Boores of the Countrey began to raunge in that outrage whom afterwardes Muncer and Phyfer takyng partes withall brake out into lyke maddnesse The common weale beyng thus deuided disquieted how greatly I was greéued withall what meanes I vsed agaynst them accordyng to my duety what aunswere I made to their Articles with what reasons I refuted them what counsell I gaue and what exhortations to commō quyet and Christian obedience myne owne writynges extaunt as yet doe testifie for me and the Hystories therof doe sufficiently declare And Osorius him selfe doth not deny the same Yet takyng occasion of my writynges he shameth not to make me the authour of all this rebellion And why so We sayth he haue learned of you that we are not able of our selues to doe good or euill And what then Hereof we conceaued our foolehardynesse this was the cause that moued vs Boores to Armes O notable Argument cōcluded by clownes but very clownish surely I suppose Coridon him selfe could not haue done more rustically But if you will take occasion to argue agaynst me of that which you might haue learned out of my writyngs O ye Boores ye were in them enstructed after this maner That Magistrates ought to be reuerēced why did you not obey this lesson How often did I teach you that Rebellion must be eschued by all meanes possible that no priuate man should auenge his owne iniuries that it was not lawfull for any Christian to auenge any priuate wrong That Christ had no neéde of any warlyke guarrison That the Maiestie of the Gospell was able and strong enough of it selfe to mainteyne her owne quarell That there could be no more forcible victory for the truth and pure doctrine then which is atchieued with sufferaunce and patience that the nature of the same was such as the more it were pursued the more forcibly it would preuayle Why learned ye not to follow these lessons Lastly when ye were in Armes and dereygned in field and by sound of Trumpet had published your Articles and Requestes to the hygher powers how much dyd I moyle and turmoyle my selfe to reduce you to order and reclayme you from your attemptes teachyng you out of holy Scriptures conuincyng you aduertizyng you chidyng beseéchyng perswadyng threatnyng finally omittyng no part of duety vntouched whereby I might reclayme you from your hurly burly to peace and tranquillitie If so be that my
where none was Nay rather why dyd not the Pope rather throw away his proude ambition and filthy Iucre and embrace the wholesome counsell of his brother and sithence he disdayned the maÌ„ why did he not douchâ—afe to yeld to the truth If he be so humble a seruaunt of the seruauntes of God as in name title he professeth to be why shamed he to harken vnto a godly man a learned Doctour and a graue Deuine not onely teachyng the truth but also castyng him selfe downe so humbly Nay rather why shamed he not to abuse the name of his Christ his Gospell in so false and filthy a matter Why shamed he not to blind the eyes of the people with such smoakes and to delude theÌ„ for whom Christ shedd his most precious bloud so craftely finally why durst he spurne so malapertly agaynst the expresse authoritie of the word and for as much as there is nothyng of more valour and more excelleÌ„t in this life then freé remission and forgeuenesse of Sinnes which we do enioy by the onely bloud of the sonne of God what more pestilent practize of lyeng and deceite could haue bene imagined or what ought he to be adiudged els then the very enemy of mans saluation who betrayeng vs of the most precious iewell in the world doth sell vnto vs smoake and dead coales in steéde of true and perfect Treasure These thynges beyng so manifest and cleare as nothyng caÌ„ be more manifest and cleare for as much also as Luther defended so honest and rightfull a cause as no man euer better and whereunto he was not allured by any his owne affectioÌ„ but forced rather by the peéuishe frowardnesse and manifold iniuries of others euen agaynst his will which also he could neither recant without haynous offence nor mainteyne without perill of lyfe where be those ianglers now which slaunder Luther as that he sought meanes of him selfe to disturbe alter ceremonies where be those whoÌ„ you rayle at so much I pray Osorius Who do set vppe Schoole no where but that they make all thynges more abhominable Finally where be these new Gospellers who so vayne gloriously tooke vpoÌ„ them to restoare the puritie of Gods pure Euangely Nay rather where was your shamefastnesse where was your honesty when you wrate this where was your Logicke wheÌ„ you ouerflowed so monstruously with filthy lyes in steéde of true honest Argumentes For what so simple a witted maÌ„ may be fouÌ„de that caÌ„ not seé a great mayme want to Iudgement in you in this kynde of Logicke when he shall view and read so wynde shaken and rotten Argumentes where in all your Assumptions ye vouche no maner of truth nor yet of all the same Assumptions any one hangeth agreably with the other For first begynnyng with a manifestlye you Assume on this wise Your Prophetes say you and your Apostles tooke vppon them and bounde them selues with an oathe that they would restore the pure and liuely wellsprynges of the Gospell Which is most false where dyd they vtter any such promise in word or halfe a sillable of a word so much But what doe you assume hereof But nothyng is ameÌ„ded in your Churches through their endeuour Hereof we shall seé the proofe hereafter Goe to conclude at the length Therefore those new Gospellers of yours be not of God O wonderfully not concluded but confused Argument of yours as are all your Argumentes els But if I may be permitted to builde such scattered Cobbewebbes together without morter or lyme why may not I as lawfully argue on this wise Ierome Osorius Bishop of Siluano hath taken vpon hym to confute the Lutheranes But his attempt hath little preuayled vnlesse it be to make their cause more manifest Ergo The purest Elleborus doth grow in Antycyra But let vs proceéde and because you haue taken your pleasure hitherto with our Gospellers teachers reasonably well Syr Ierome may we be so bold to enquire likewise what your Gospellers and great Doctours haue performed at the leÌ„gth what fruites what notable marchaundizes they haue enriched their people withall what aunswere will you make to this They did neuer promise any such thing say you I do beleue you But I demaund not of you what they promised but what they performed howe much they profited to the restoring of the puritie of your Churche what they ought to haue done this is the thing that I do aske You suppose that they haue well acquited themselues when by your testimonye they neuer made any vaunt of themselues to bring any thyng to passe euen as though when your friend shall staÌ„d destitute of your helpe you care not how naked you leaue him so that you binde not your selfe vnto him with any parcell of promise But I am of an other opinion and this I reason with you not because you haue not profited nor giuen any hope of profiting or help towardes the restitution of the puritie of your Churche but this I say and do expostulate with you because the most pure doctrine ordayned instituted by Christ himselfe for our behoofe ratified by the Prophets and Apostles and most wisely deliuered ouer vnto vs by our elders is wholy altogether or surely for the most part therof I say not not conuerted but vtterly subuerted by you because you haue obtruded vpoÌ„ vs such an estate of the Church is neyther Christ nor his Apostles if they were nowe aliue would euer acknowledge which if any man will dought whether be true or no from whence shall be he better certified then if he throughly peruse the very shape and lyuely Image of that Romish Church which your self do represent vnto vs here comparing the samewith the true Apostolique and that auncient Romaine Church that was for many yeares agoe Therefore let vs now harcken to Osorius preaching of hys owne Church First sayth he we haue neyther the Gospels of Luther nor of Melancthon nor of Carolostadius nor of Zuinglius nor of Caluine nor of Bucer but we do firmelye retaine the Gospells of Mathew Marke Luke and Iohn c. This is well done indeéde if it be true that you say and I wolde to god it were so I would to God Osor. you woulde stande faste and vnremoueable within the limytts and bowndes of that doctryne which the Actes wrytinges of the Apostles and Euangelistes haue deliuered ouer vnto vs and beyng contented with the same Gospelles you would not seeke for any other meanes of Saluation but such as in these sacred Scriptures is ensealed vnto vs by the finger of the holy Ghost But what is the cause then that yee defraud the godly of these Gospelles why do you hyde them in darcknes and why do you ouerwhelm them not vnder a Bushell onely but with fagott also and fire and by all meanes possible els consume them As to that where you say that you renounce the Gospelles of Luther MelaÌ„chton and Caluine truely I doe wonderfully commend
Ionas Iohn Iero. in Ezec. Lect. 14. Cap. 46. August ad Bonif. Lib. 3. Cap. 7. August de Spirit Lit. Cap. â— Basil. in conc de humilit Aug. Lib. cont 9. Cap. â—â— Aug. Serm. de temp 49 August de Spirit Liter Cap. 11 Ierom. ad Ctesiphon coÌ„tr Pelag. Tomo 3. Ierom. coÌ„tr Pelag. Lib. 1. The holy and perfect life of Oso compared with S. FraÌ„cise Osor. Lib. 2 Cap. 100. How great the force of Popish coÌ„fession is Pag. 148. Osori ArgumentatioÌ„ discussed To be irreprehensible how it is taken in the Scriptures Rom. 8. August Epist 95. The Cause and end of Election Osori Obiection The confutatioÌ„ of the Obiection August de natura gra Cap. 53. 1. Timo. 5. 1. Tit. 3. 1. Timo. 6. Tit. 2. Collos. 1. How holynes frayltie be concurraunt in the holy ones Rom. 7. Of PredestinatioÌ„ and Freewill Pag. 149. 150. 151. Hercules not able to staÌ„d agaynst two yet Osorius agaynst foure Osori more couragious in accusing then in arguyng Osori his stinolous foolish treatyng of Free will The principall partes of Osor. accusation reduced into certeine places Luther in his AssertioÌ„ Article 36. Pag. 151. The repulse of the cauill Will caÌ„ not be seuered froÌ„ Reason The substaunce of Freewill is neuer seuered from Nature Adam created in absolate freedome How mans will is free not free The title onely of Freewill The name of Freewill without effect August vpoÌ„ the wordes of the Apost Serm. 13. Luther doth not take away will from man but freedome from will The words of Luther touchyng title onely are expounded Freewill beyng with out grace whiles she doth what it can of it selfe sinneth deadly Of Luthers Hyperbolicall maner of speach Outragious Hyperbolicall speaches in the Popish doctrine The Papistes can neither away with fayth onely nor with grace onely Luthers vehemencie whereupon it began August de grat Lib. Aâ—bit Cap. 16. Aug. in his booke de bono perseuerentie Cap. 13. The differences of tymes and persoÌ„s must bee distinguished Foure degrees of Freewill after Lomband 2. Lib. Distinct. 25 Freewill weakened after the fall but here must be obserued a distinctioÌ„ of actions Naturall actions Ciuill actions belongyng to the vse of common lyfe Actions merely spirituall Fiue kyndes of Questions 1. Quest. Aug. vpon the worde of the Apostle Serm. 2. 2. Quest. Ambros. of the callyng of the GeÌ„tils Lib. 1. Cap. 3. Capacitie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 August Epist 46. August de grat Lib. Aâ—b Lib. 1. Cap. 15. Mans freedome is twofold How freedome of will must be coÌ„strued How Free-will must be taken 3. Quest. Whether will be free to those thynges whiche are ruled by reason The Maister of the Sentences 2 booke Dist. 24.25 Nazienzenus in Oratione 4. Quest. August de peccat merit Lib. 1. Cap. 5. Aug. writyng against 2. Epistles of the Pelag 1. booke Cap. 2. Iohn 8. In the same booke the. 3 Chap. Aug. of the wordes of the Apostle Serm. 13. Aug. of the wordes of the Apostle Serm. 2. 11. De Ecclesiastic Dogmatibus 21 Mans will how it is free not free 5. Quest. Whether nature beyng not regenerated haue any free motioÌ„s in spirituall thinges Reason Will. Freewill in respect of spirituall functions is not onely weakened in vs but altogether blotted out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 power Aug. de boâ—â— no perseue Cap. 6.13 Luthers proposition of bonde will defended The bare Freewill of man beyng deuoyde of grace is none otherwise theÌ„ as a dead man without a Soule 1. Cor. 1. Aug. in his booke of Retract Aug. Enâ—hirid Freewill of it selfe vtterly lost Osâ—c 13. The Grace of God without our Free-will onely sounde and perfect August de Nuptijs coÌ„câ—p Lib. 2. Cap. 3. Pag. 148. Whether our conuersion be the worke of God onely Pag. 149. An aunswere of August De peccat merit Lib. 2 Cap. 18. August De peccat merit Lib. 2 Cap. 5. August De peccat merit Lib. 2. Cap. 5. Obiection Aunswere out of August Freewill hath no power of her selfe either of the whole or of any part to worke A Fallax a Diuisis ad Coniuncta Pag. 149. Against the 2. Epistle of the Pelag. 1. booke Cap. 18. The sutteltie of the Argument framed by not yeldyng cause sufficient August agaynst the 2. Epistle of Pelag. 1. booke Cap. 19. Grace doth not knocke alone but openeth mans will also August de verbis Apost Sermo 13. O Lord opeÌ„ thou our lyppes Obiection Aunswere Aug. vpon the wordes of the Apostle the. 15. Sermon August de grat Lib. Arbit Cap. 16. Freewill is made naked of all maner merite Aug. in the same booke the 13. Chap. Pag. 149. The beatyng down of Osorius Argument Ezechiell 11. Chap. and 36. Chap. The Fallax from the proposition Secundum quid to Simpliciter Osori double fault Aug. contra Iulian. Lib. 4. Cap. 3. Aristotles Ethickes booke 3. Cap. 1.5 Obiection The Aunswere How mans will doth execute the force of an instrument By what meanes wil doth both worke and suffer Aug. Lib. de Correp gratia Cap. 2. How will demeaneth it selfe passiuely and actiuely Mans will is taken for an Instrument yet free neuerthelesse Wherein the papistes do attribute to much to Freewill Pag. 149. 1. Cor. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The state substaunce of the questioÌ„ of Free-will How it is to be vnderstaÌ„ded that the Apostles were together workers with God The Argument of Osorius and the Papistes Tne Aunswere How Luthers wordes are to be coÌ„strued An other Argument of Osorius Pag. 149. An Aunswere Phil. 2. The double errour of Osorius Pag. 149. Osori doth attribute our Saluation partly to Grace partly to Freewill Osorius Obiection Aunswere August de grat Lib. Arbit Otherwise worketh Gods Spirite otherwise mans Freewill the diuersitie of them both Will doth nothyng in good things but wheÌ„ it is holpen applyed Grace doth plye but is neuer plyed Examples of maÌ„s will beyng hindered euen in the euill whiche it purposed Will obeyeth the spirite of God many times whether it will or no. The exaÌ„ple of Paule Peter August de Correp grat Cap. 8 Ierem. Cap. 10. Luther in his booke of Assertions Art 36 Prouer. 16. Man is not altogether depriued of free will to euil though the same be many tymes stayed Pag. 151. Pag. 152. Osor. lyeng rayling agaynst â—uther MelaÌ„cthon Caluine c. Osor. Pag. 151. Freewill is not of powder simply absolutely to make his wayes euill August de Ciuita Del Lib. 5. Cap. 9. Aug. in the same place August de Correp gratia Luthers Artic. 36. Osorius a lyeng Rhethoritian a grosse Logician Mans Free-will is an Instrument of Gods Grace Esay Ezechi Cap. 11. 36. This worde freedome is discussed distinguished Luther Lib. de Sâ—râ—o Arb. Cap. 46. August The power of doyng waÌ„teth not but it â—â— the freedome of power that wanteth August de bono perseuer Lib. 2.
before committed but Purpose concerneth thyngs to come preuenteth them Agayne if we must speake after the proper phrase of speache whatsoeuer is done by Iudgement must neédes be cōfessed to be righteously done according to deserte not accordyng to Grace But whereas the Election Predestinatiō of God which I think Osor. would gladly expresse by this word Purpose for this word Predestinatiō he dare scarse meddle withall as not worthy the finesse of a Ciceronian proceédeth from grace and not from workes by what meanes may any sentence be geuen vpon workes that were neuer done or how will Osorius say that Election commeth by Iudgement geuen vpon workes which Paule affirmeth to be ascribed to Grace freé mercy onely all merite of workes beyng excluded Hee sayth that in the euerlasting counsell of God all things which are which haue bene and which shal be are all as if they were presently in the sight of God so that in executing his iudgement he needeth not to regard the thinges thēselues I do confesse that all thinges whatsoeuer are be open and present to the foresight of God as if they were presently and openly done but what will Osorius conclude hereof vnto vs forsooth he doth conclude hereupon that God hath already determined according to the diuersitie of mens actions foreseéne by him before after this manner To witte That whome God doth foresee will cōtemptuously despise his benefites those he hath excluded from Paradise contrariwise whom God doth foreknow will behaue themselues in this lyfe dutifully and vertuously those he hath mercifully chosen to euerlasting lyfe as worthy of his mercy To impugne this crafty cauillacion I perceaue I shal be pestered not with Osorius alone but with Pelagius and with the whole troupe of the Pelagians for this hereticall schoole chattereth not vpon anye one matter more then in maynteining this one heresie But Paule alone shall suffice at this present to refell all the rable of them The force of the Argument tendeth to this ende at the last The wonderfull quicksited mynd of God did throughly perceaue euen from the beginning what manner of lyfe euery person would leade as well as if the view thereof had bene layed presently open before him Ergo Gods purpose was applyed according to the proportion of euery mans workes and life forseene of God before to choose the good to saluation and to iudge the wicked to damnation This argument is altogether wicked and tending altogether to Pelagianisme And the conclusion meerely opposite to the doctrine of S. Paule For if the difference of eternall election reiection do depend vpon workes foreseéne before Then doth the Apostle Paule lye who affirmeth that election is of Grace not of Workes Rom. 11. and agayne in the 9. Chapter of the same Epistle That the purpose of God might remayne according to election not of workes but of him that calleth What and shameth not Osorius to affirme that which the Apostle doth deny If it were expedient for me to ruffle Rhetorically agayne with a Rhetoriciane You seé Osorius howe great and howe champaine a plaine lyeth open for me to triumph vpon you and such crauēs as you are with lyke force in farre more weighty matter What tragicall exclamations could I bray out here what quartaine feuers what outrages frensies madnes dronkennes impieties impudencies yea what whole Cartloades full of raylinges and reproches frequented by you and pretely pyked out of your Cicero could I now throw back agayne into your teeth and spitt euen into your owne face But away with these madd outragies of rayling and this cāckred botch of cursed speakyng worthy to bee rooted out not of mens maners onely but to be razed out of the writinges bookes also of christians the contagious custome wherof being frequented by you to the noysome example of the worlde I do verily thinke vnseemely for the dignity whereunto you are aduaunced neyther would I wish any man to enure himself vnto the like after your example namely in the debating of so sacred a cause where the controuersie tendeth not to the reuēgement of iniury but to the discouery of the truth where skirmishe must be mayntayned and conquest purchased by prowesse of knowledge and Gods sacred scriptures and not by outrage of rayling And therefore to returne our treatise to the right tracke of the Scriptures leauing all bypathes aside the Apostle doth deny that election springeth out of workes What aunswere you to the Apostle Osorius you will vouch that old rotten ragge worne out to the hard stumps by your schoolemen to witte that the workes that were foreseene are the cause of predestination not those whiche are done but which are to be done for so doe the schoolemen expound and distinguishe it but this will be proued many wayes both friuolous and false by sundry reasons First if this be true which you did earst confesse and whiche Pighius doth euery where inculcate that of all thinges whatsoeuer nothing is to come or past but is as it were present in the sight of God Agayn if there be no diuersitie of times with God because his knowledge comprehendeth as you say all thinges past present and to come as though they were present in view how can hys election or reiection spring out of workes then that are yet to be done If they bee present in what sence call you them to be done in after tyme but if they be to come and to bee done in after tyme how call you them present or how doe these thinges agree together that there is nothing to come in respect of the foreknowledge of God and yet that election must be beleued to issue frō out the foreknowledge of works to come 2. Agayne in what respect soeuer these workes are taken whether in respect of God or of men which your schoolemen do distinguishe into works done and works to be done they vauntage thē selues nothyng by this distinction but that the question will continue as intricate as at the first For whereas all good workes which either men worke or shall worke do proceéde frō God the question reboundeth backe agayne frō whence it came first to witte Why God accordyng to the same purpose should geue good workes more to one then to an other if the performaunce hereof did arise of foreseéne workes and not rather of the determined will of him that calleth whiche is not limited by any conditions of workyng 3. Whereas the Scripture doth manifestly declare that we are created elected to good workes it appeareth therfore that good workes are the effectes of Predestination But the effectes cānot be the cause of that wherof they were the effectes Ergo workes can not be the cause of Predestination But if they alledge that not workes but the foreknowledge of workes in the purpose of God be the cause out of the which the Grace of Election ensueth and is gouerned surely neither can this