⧠An ExpositioÌ„ of the .4 chap. of S. Ioans Reuelation made by Bar. Traheron in sondrie Readinges before his countre men in Germanie Where in the prouideÌ„ce of God is treated with an aunswer made to the obiections of a gentle aduersarie ¶ Imprinted Anno. 1557. To master Ro. Parker / and to maistres Anne his godlie wife / exiles for Christes cause / Bar. Traheron wisheth encrease of goddes grace VvHile I labored to conforte my selfe / and other in the consideration of goddes prouideÌ„ce / you know how one put in his fote / and assaied to impugne / some parte of that / that I had spokeÌ„ And though bi your procuremeÌ„t we met together / and after some debatinge agreed vpon the cheife pointes / that before semed to be in controuersie betwene vs / yet afterward it liked him to shew certaine reasons against my affirmation / ether for exercise of lerninge / or bicaufe he wold be better confirmed in the truth Now consideringe that the matter is of great weight / importaunce / and somewhat scrupulous in this weakenes of mennes capacitee / and suâ—â—â—câ—e to the reprehensions / and cauillatioÌ„s of licenâ—ious heddes / lest anie thinge shuld be bruted otherwise thaÌ„ I spake / I haue thought good to putte in priÌ„te al that I said in your presence / that al men maie know / what my meaninge is / not by rehersal sermons / but by mine awne writiÌ„ge And in this behalfe I haue partely folowed the counsel of M. Gilbert Barkley / whoÌ„ you know I haue in due reuereÌ„ce / for his great grauite / and singular integrite of life This poore frute of my studies I dedicate vnto you my most entierly biloued master Parker / and to the right worthie matrone your wife For seiÌ„ge the perfecte sincere loue / that shuld be betwene al maried folke / shineth most notably in you / I wold not sondre you in this place / whom god hath so ioigned / and made one in al good thinges I haue iudged it also my dutie for asmuch as the bowels of the saiÌ„ctes haue beÌ„ / and be daily refreshed by you / to rendre this testimonie of your singular godlines / and of my good affection towardes you / in the sight of the world God almightie confirme / and augmente in you the knowlege of his truth / and loue of righteousnes / blesse my biloued / WeÌ„tworth / Peregrine / Anne / Cecile your childreÌ„ / that they maie folow the godlie steppes of their Parentes / and that the mention that I make of theÌ„ in this place / â—â—ie be a spurre vnto them here after to set them forewarde in the loue of tru religion / and innocentie of life Amen ¶ THE FIRST READINGE As THE vision which Ezechiel saw / and describeth in the .1 cha serueth to this ende / to teach that the great miseries / and calamities / which the Iues suffred by the force / aÌ„d oppression of Nabuchodonosor / and the Babilonians / came not vpon them by chaunce / but by the ordinance / and prouidence of God / so this vision / which S. Ioan most liuely setteth before vs / sheweth in like maner / that the decaie / aÌ„d ruine the afflictions / and persequutions of the churche in this later time / and what so euer is don in the world bâ— Antichrist / and his membres / is not tossed at auenture by hap / but gouerned by the hand / and certaine prouidence of God And it is right necessarie for vs to know / that fortune and chaunce rule nor thâ— rost in mennes matters / rufflinge and tomblingâ— al thinges confusedly / as Epicures disciples thinâ—ke / but that god is the orderer / disposer / and goueâ—ner of al the thinges that be don in the world Foâ— it is not possible for vs to quiete our selues / whan we considre the loÌ„ge / and great prosperitee / and luâ—kie successe of false teachers / of Christes opeÌ„ / professed enemies / of most vngodlie cruel / barbarous / and wicked men / onles we be staied with this / thaâ— god ruleth / ordreth / and gouerneth al together / Sâ— therefore that there shal be an ende of the raginge oâ— tyrannous persequutors / and that the gouerner of al / shal turne al to the iust destruction / of the wicked to the conforte of his chosen / and to the aduaÌ„cemeÌ„t of his awne glorie Againe if we loke vpon our priuate state / and cal to compte our frailtie and infirmitie / the manifold diseases / and miseries whereuÌ„to wear subiecte / what coÌ„forte caÌ„ we haue / or what ende of morninge and sorow / if we be not persuaded / that Goddes prouidâ—ce reacheth vnto vs / and ordreth al that commeth vpon vs / not as semeth vnto vs / but as he knoweth to be best for vs. But here I must warne you of two notable fautes One is of theÌ„ / which whan they heare vs saie / that al thinges comme to passe / by goddes prouideÌ„ce / thincke / and affirme that we teache / that god is the autor of al the sinful actes / that ar don in the world Which is most false / most horrible / and detestable / â—ther to be spoken / or thought For it is as impossible for god / who is al together good / to be the autor of evil / as it is impossible for him / to leaue of his godhead / and to be no more god We saie than constantly / and with al vehementie of minde / that God is the outer of no euil / and we meane it not so / that bycause god worcketh it / therefore it is good / though of it selfe it be euil / but we meane / that he is in dede the propre worcker / and cause of no euil / that euil / and sinne springe not from him / but from the diuel / and from vs / and that he is simply / and merely the autor / and worcker of good thinges only / both whan he worcketh by him selfe / and whan he worcketh â—y and in vs. And yet we saye that nothinge commeth to passe without him / and that he ordreth / disposeth / teÌ„pereâ—h / and bringeth forth to light / al the euil actes that ar doÌ„ in the worlde But it is one thinge to vttre / to bringe forth / to dispose / and ordre mennes euils / and it is another thinge to worcke / and to cause euils in men It is one thinge to make an instrument euil / and it is another thinge to vse an euil instrument / beinge alreadie so made by another To make an instrumeÌ„t euil / is euil / to vse an euil instrument / is not euil simply / yea to vse an euil instrumeÌ„t to good endes / is good Satan / and our awne wil / hathe made vs al euil instrumentes God though we be now made il instrumeÌ„tes / vseth vs wel SataÌ„ / and our awne wil hath wrought / and caused
my hammer / and weapoÌ„s of warre / I haue by the beaten doune natioÌ„s / and destroied kindoÌ„mes I haue by the beaten doune the horse / and his rider c. Seinge than that men ar subiecte to goddes throne / and do not what they list / but be his instrumentes scourges / hatchettes / and hammers / we ought patiently to sustaine our present affliction and the great miserie of our countree And we maie wel conceaue hope of conforte and of better state consideringe / that god hath also an hoke in the nostrelles a snaffle in in the mouthes euen of the vnmerciful oppressors of his seruauntes in England / whereby he wil draw them another waye / and restraine theyr rage whan he hath duly plaged the reprobate sufficieÌ„tly chastised his chosen Only lette vs remoue the causes of these our miseries namely lothinge of goddes holie worde boilinge lustes idle wantonnes and greedie desires of wordlie thinges we shal see shortly Pharao and his furious armie drouned in the red sea And we that haue longe sounge morneful songes shal chaunge our tunes and singe another while ioifully with Moses and Mâ—riam The lord is our strength and our praise he his our saluation this is our god and we wil magnifie him our fathers god and we wil aduance him For this lette vs praie to this lette vs saie Amen amen ¶ After this lecture it pleased the partie spoken of before to make certayne argumentes against mine assertioÌ„ whereunto here foloweth the auÌ„swer ¶ The third reading My conscience beareth me witnes that thorough goddes grace and goodnes I haue taught you the truth in this place and that I haue spoken reuerently of god and his worckes I am charged in dede with vnreuerent speech But alas what shuld moue me to speake vnreuereÌ„tly of hiÌ„ who made me whan I was nothing who saued me whan I was lost who restored me to life whan I was ded who quited me whan I was to be damned who raised me vp to heauen whâ— I was to be cast in to hel / who hath fed mâ— from my cradle and than most plentiously whâ— I was an orphane who also I am certaine hatâ— deliuered me out of manie daungers thauoidance whereof to procure I had nether counsel nor purpose nor thought in whom noâ— being chased out of my countree and banished from mine acquaintaunce knowen frendes I finde swete comforte and great plentie of ioies / euen in the middest of teares But the maner of my speaking foundeth vnreuerently / though in my mind / I maie thincke reuerently If this be an vnreuerent speech to saie that it was goddes wil and ordinance that Adam shuld sinne than this is an vnreuerent speech / to saie that it was goddes wil and ordinance / that the Iues shuld crucifie Christ and that Iosephes brethern shuld sel him in to Aegypte But the holie gost saieth / by the mouth of his holie Apostles / and primitiue church that the Iues and the geÌ„tiles came together to do what soeuer goddes hand purpose had ordained to be don And the same holie gost saieth by the mouth of the right vertuous and holie man Ioseph you sent me not hither but god Howbeit you must know that whan we saie that it was goddes wil and ordinance that Adam shuld sinne the meaninge is not that god delighted in Adams sinne or that god alowed Adams sinne or that god was the propre cause or propre worcker of Adams sinne / but the meaning is that it was goddes wil that Adam shuld sinne thorough Satans enuie / and Adams awne faulte not for the sinnes sake / or in respecte of the sinne but for the end that he wold turne the sinne vnto And that the hole matter that I haue taught you herein is true I haue a sure ground For the scripture teacheth plainly that al the thinges that ar don in the world ar gouerned by goddes wil. The testimonie of Salomon is plaine that God hâ—th wrought al thinges for him selfe eueÌ„ the vngodlie to an euil daie And. S. Paule speaking of goddes bliâ—ding and reiecting of the Iues and receauing of the gentiles to mercie pronounceth that al thinges ar of him / by him and into him Ieremie repeouing the furious madnes of them that denied goddes prouidence in his tyme maketh this demaÌ„de with a stomake Who is he that saieth a thing is don and god commaunded it not that is to saie ordained it not The same Ieremie whan the king of BabiloÌ„ purposed to inuade the Moabites and being now in his iornaie chaunged his purpose and came against Ierusalem crieth out I know lord that maÌ„nes way is not his awne nether is it of man / to gouerne and to directe his awne steppes And therefore Salomon saieth also that mannes steppes ar guided of god And to teaâ—h vs certainly that nothinge commeth to passe by chaunce and to remoue al matter of doubtinge in this question the same Salomon teacheth / that those thinges wherein hap semeth most to haue place procede out of the iudgdmeÌ„t of god Lottes saieth he ar cast in to the lappe but the hole iudgement is from Iehoua How eloquently and how diligently is this matter beaten in to mennes heades in the propheties of Esaie Where god after that he hath shewed that he wold raise vp king Cyrus from the east to beate dounne Babilon and to conquere manie nations to the confusion of al Epicures babling bande asketh this question Who hath wrought and don these thinges And aunswereth thereto himselfe I Iehoua the fâ—rst and with the last ani hu I am he And in the 45. cha I the lorde and there is no more framing light and causing darcknes / making peâ—ce and causing euil that is waâ—re I Iehoua do al these thinges Breifely al the places of the scripture that teach that god is the iudge and gouernor of the world / teach that al thinges comme to passe by his wil and ordinance But this truth hath had aduersaries in al ages For to goe no higher S. Hierome though he haue some sentences that some to make with vs yet he hath one sentence that putteth me out of doubte that he halted and went to much a wrie in this matter For writinge vpon one of the prophetes he saieth in mockage that some ar so straite mainteiners of goddes prouidence that they affirme / that god knoweth how maneflies gnattes there be in the world which he thincketh to be to base a matter for god to be occupied in But how vntrue this is you know that haue heard the lord Iesus / who is in goddes bosome and knoweth al his secretes affirme that the heares of our heades ar nombred and that there falleth not a litle sparow vpon the erth beside the wil and ordinance of our heauenlie father Nether maie you thincke that god knoweth flies and gnattes and litle sparowes with ircksom tediousnes which is found in man bicause of his weacknes And therefore
god pleased not god ergo he did not his wil. I praie you good frendes shuld Adam please god in doinge goddes wil and ordinance with a faulte of his awne Senacherth did goddes wil and ordinance in afflicting the people of Ierusalem but bycause he did it with a fame of his awne god plaged him for doing that that he testifieth he had appointed him to do If you can not perceaue how men maie do Goddes decreed wil / with a fault of their awne / impute it to your ignorance / and want of vndrestanding / thincke it not by and by to be false that your measured witte can not comprehende The nexte argument is like the for ner / God rewarded not Adam with benifices / ergo he did not that goddes wil was to be don I wil make the like reason God rewarded not the Iues with benefites for crucifâ—inge of Christ ergo it was not goddes wil / and ordinance / that the Iues shuld crucifie Christ But yet the holie gost saieth that thei did that goddes hand and purpose had foreordained to be don Pigghiuâ— the papist frameth the argumeâ—t thus Adam in siâ—ninge and the Iues in procuring Christes death did that god wold and had ordained before to be don / ergo thei were not to be punished For right vndrestanding hereof / ye shal know that god / and wickâ—d men / wil some times one thinge but not after one maner Adams wil was to sinne and goddes wil was that he shuld sinne But Adams wil was to sinne bycause he wold be â—qual to god / iâ— knowinge of good bad And goddes wil was that Adam thorough his awne faute shuld sinne / to turne Adams sinne to good / and to bringe good out of euil The Iues wil was to put Christ to death / and goddes wil was / that his sonne shuld die But the Iues wil was / that he shuld die bycause thei wold satisfie their malice and crueltie vpon him and godddes wil was / that he shuld die to raunsome his chosen and so to declare h s â—â—â—stiâ—â—able goodnes Sainct Augustine sheweth verie handsomely how god willeth the same thinge / with a good wil / that men wil which a nawghtie wil. An vnthriftie child â—â—â—â—â—h the death of his father / whoÌ„ god wil haue to die Thei both wil one thiÌ„g namely the death of the man but they wil it not after one sorte For the enthriftie sonne willeth it to emote his father goodes God willeth it / to conuete him out of miserie if he be one of the chosen / or duly to punish him / if he be a reprobate Is this vnthrifte than worthie to be rewarded with benifites bicause he wold the same thinge that god wold Naie surely For he willed it vniustly to an euil purpose and god willed it iustly to a good porpose Boies in scoles to practise then sophistrie make the argument as handsomely after this sorte That wil that agreeth with goddes wil is good / the Iues wil agreed with goddes wil for thei wold that Christ shuld die and god also wold / that he shuld die ergo their wil was good To this wise men aunswer that the Iues wil agreed not with goddes wil in al causes and in al pointes and therefore it was not good but extremely euil The argument the refore is nawght For it is deducted ex causa non sufficiente .i. of a cause not sufficient But let vs peruse more of our aduersaries reasons God made man to immortalitie ergo it was not his wil that he shuld sinne and die I aunswer that this is not an absolute speech god made maÌ„ to immortalitie but a coÌ„ditional God made man to immortalite if he wold haue persisted and continued in the state that god made him in Whan Ionas saieth / yet .40 daies and Niniue shal be destroied this speech declareth not goddes secrete determinatioÌ„ but what shuld folow if thei did not repente God saieth to Abimelech hauing taken to him Abrahams wife Lo thou shalt die for the woman whom thou hast taken This semeth an absolute speech but in dede it hath a secrete condition which the scripture afterwarde expresseth in these wordes Restore hir now to hyr husband if thou restore hir not see the conditioÌ„ expressed know that thou shalt surely die Yet there remaineth another reason that wold make anie man to quake if he had nether wit / nor sparcke of a mannes mind If you grauÌ„t not coÌ„tingentiam saie thei than ye affirme that al thinges coÌ„me to passe by fatal destinee Here first I must tel you what coÌ„tingens is CoÌ„tingens is that which though it be doÌ„ after some certaine sorte yet hath of it selfe and of his awne nature that it might haue ben otherwise doÌ„ As for exemple / Iulius Cesar ouercame PoÌ„peie There is nothinge in the nature hereof but that PoÌ„peie might haue ouercoÌ„me Iulius Cesar The legges of the lord Iesus of theyr awne nature might haue ben broken Than we saie that manie thinges of them selues and of their awne nature be coÌ„tingent but touching goddes wil and ordinance there is nothing coÌ„tingent in the world that is to saie nothinge in the world coÌ„meth to passe other wise than he hath determined and ordained And so we saie that Iulius Cesar must nedes ouercoÌ„me PoÌ„peie and that the legges of the lord Iesus cold not be broken by reasoÌ„ of goddes ordinance But so we agree with the stoikes that saie that al thinges coÌ„me to passe by fatal destinie Naie surely For those foÌ„de philosophers taught that al thinges comme to passe by the copulatioÌ„ of causes wrapped one in another And they made god subiect to this ordre / and row of causes depending one vpoÌ„ another after such sorte as Homere deuised his chaine whereuÌ„to he tieth Iuppiter also But we saie not that al thinges coÌ„me to passe for that the causes ar so licked to gether that one thinge necessarely draweth another but bicause god hath thorough his secrete wil and purpose ordained al thinges so to be doÌ„ as ther be doÌ„ And we make not god subiecte to â—â—ained and lincked causes but we make al causes and al thinges subiecte to god This than that our aduersaries wold fraie vs withal was nothing but lightninge out of a basin After that I had gon this far two other reasoÌ„s of theirs were brought vnto me wh ch though thei maie be confuted by that that I haue al readie said yet I wil examine them bycause I heare / that they acknowlege most strength to be in them The first is this If it had ben goddes wil that Adam shuld sinne than Adam shuld haue wanted free wil / but god gaue him free wil / to kepe his commaund mâ—t if he wold ergo it was not goddes wil / that he shuld sinne This reason shineth to them as it were gold but in dede it is but gilted latin For goddes wil / and ordinance letted not but that Adam shuld do frely
same predicament / that those thinges be in whereunto thei ar coÌ„traries As for exemple darcknes is contrarie to light / and light is a qualitee therefore darcknes shal be referred to the same house 〈◊〉 sinne is coÌ„trarie to righteousnes / righteousnes is a qualitee therefore we shal putte sinâ—e 〈◊〉 the same predicament / and row that râ—ghteâ—snes is in / saie that sinne is a qualitee whereby mannes nature is corrupte / 〈◊〉 and sâ—â—â—de worthie to be cast awaie / and condemned of god But now these good 〈…〉 their reasâ—ning giue vs good couÌ„sel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bid vs be warie and forbeare to 〈◊〉 sucâ— thinges as the wicked maye turne 〈…〉 But so we shal cease to preache 〈◊〉 mercies of god For wicked men turne that to euil For the papistes saie that by preachinge of goddes mercies / we encourage men to sinne And some wicked men perchaunce take occasion thereby in dede to sinne the more boldly But thei plaie the sophisters and take non causam pro causa For the verie cause in dede of mennes corrupte behauior is their inwarde boiling sinful lust and not our preachiÌ„g Wherefore we maie not forbeare to speake the truth bicause euil men can wringe thinges to euil purposes But now lette vs comme to the lesson that these good scolemasters haue giueÌ„ you whereby ye ar taught to ouerthrow shortely and whithout sweate whatsoeuer we can allege / for the maintenance of our sentence For whan it is said that it was goddes wil that AdaÌ„ shuld sinne you must saie that god suffred Adam to sinne and so forth But these sufferers / that turne al goddes doinges in to suffringes / preately suffre them selues to be begiled if thei weene that manie wil streight waie beleue them For shal we saie that god suffred the Iues to conspire Christes death / whan the holie gost saieth his hand foreordained it Whan Micha saieth to Ahab Lo the lord hath giuen the spirite of liyng in to the mouth of al thy prophetes / is that nothinge els but god hath suffred thy prophetes to lie WhaÌ„ god biddeth the liyng spirite to go and to deceaue Ahab / I trow / he doeth more / than suffre him to go I saie not this as though this word suffringe might nowaie be ascribed to god but I saie that thei ar euil scolemasters / that teach you to turne al goddes doinges in to suffringes and yet teache you not in what sense you shal take the word suffringe For suffringe is taken sondrie waies We maie suffre a thinge with our wil and we maie suffre a thinge against our wil. He suffreth also a thiÌ„g to be don that meddleth not at al with the matter And he suffreth a thinge to be don that is contente and agreeth that it shal be don If thei saie / that god sufferd Adam to sinne as one that wold not medle with the matter / that is plaine sacrilege and robbeth god of his honor If thei wolde signifie in saiyng / that god suffred Adam to sinne that he was not the propre worcker and autor of his sinne / but ordained Adam to sinne by Satans propre worckinge and his awne faulte than thei meane as we meane And than their meruailous high lesson is vanished in to smoke Now to make at ende thus I trust you see that I stand vnwounded and vnhurte against these sore blodie blowes If anie man thincke that I haue ben to quicke against them / that be aduersaries in wordes and not in meaning lette him considre that I haue not had respecte to them only but also to the papistes which ernestly vse the same weapons against vs. And further bycause I trauail to mainteyne the glorie of my god which shineth to the dasellyng of wicked mennes yes in the hole gouernmeÌ„t of the world I thought good to vse some quicknes / and liuelines of wordes / to awake the dulnes of my hearers God our most merciful lord and father encrease the knowlege of his prouidence in vs al arme vs with patience in these miseries and confirme in vs the hope of a better state Amen amen ¶ An exposition of these wordes Leade vs not in to tentation made by Bar. Traheron loÌ„ge before these former lectures now added hereto that you maie know that he neuer saide nor thought that god is the autor of sinne as some most falsly and vngodly wold haue men to weene LEade vs not God tempteth and trieth men sondrie waies and to sondrie endes First to beginne with his awne whom he chose in Christ Iesus and prepared to euerbastinge life before the fundations of the world were laied he tempteth and trieth them to sondrie endes namely ether to make theyr vertues which he him selfe hath wrought in them to shine forth more clearely or to open their shame and nawghtie corrupte nature / that so afterwarde thei maie liue iÌ„ greater warines and feare of god / and more ernestly desire his helpe knowinge better their awne wickednes To the ende whereof we spake first he tempted Abraham Iob to bringe I meane their vertues to light and to make them more certainly knowen To thother ende he tempted kinge Dauid and. S. Petre and manie other not vtterly to destroie them but to humble them / to teach them to know and abhorre their awne wickednes and to fele more certainly his great goodnes and mercie And though god use this temptation to the profite of his chosen yet thei ought to praie that thei maie not fal in to it For though it be so that god of his great goodnes maketh our nawghtines to turne to his glorie / and our welth yet the godlie ought to abhorre to committe anie thinge / whereby their god is iustly offended But you wil saie / if he be offended with those our dedes / why bringeth he vs in to them With our dedes he is surely offended but he is delighted with that that he bringeth to passe by them namely with our humilitee with our better knowlege of our awne weaknes with our more warie walking afterwarde in due feare of him This tentation in to which God bringeth his electe / endureth but a time But he bringeth some in to a perpetual tentation / vtterly giuinge them vp to Satan hardening them in wickednes for euer The godlie do not praie / that thei maie not be led in to this temptatioÌ„ For thei haue a sure confideÌ„ce that thei ar goddes children For otherwise thei might not cal him father And if thei thincke that thei be goddes children thei must thincke / that thei be goddes chosen And bycause thei be goddes chosen / thei must thinke that thei can be no more damned / than god can cease to be god For whoÌ„ he hath oÌ„ce choseÌ„ theÌ„ he hath chosen for euer Nether caÌ„ he repeÌ„te him of the thinge that he hath once purposed / nor chaunge his purpose For that shuld argue some imperfection in him / which can not be in
vndrestanding I take S. Iames wordes For I wil not make hī to sette his head and to rūne against the euident scriptures For who hath not red these wordes in the .24 of the .2 boke of kinges Goddes anger encreased against Israel / and he surred vp Dauid against them to saie go and nōbre Israel and Iehuda For by that acte / as it appeareth Dauid greatly and iustly offended god / and brought a sore plage vpon him selfe / and vpon the people For Dauid surely would trust in the multitude of his people leauinge the confidence / that he ought to haue had in God only Therefore the scripture saieth that god stirred him to nombre his people / to make his nawghtie distrust in god knowen and to punishe the people which had offended him with otheir sinnes Howbeit god was not the autor / and worcker of Dauides distrust nor of the peoples sinne / but moued Dauid to shew forth that / whereby al the world might se that god iustly punished him Againe we haue in the 12. of the .2 boke of kinges these wordes Behold saieth god by the prophete Nathan to Dauid after he had committed abominable adulterie and slaine innocent Vrie I stirre vp euil vpon the out of thine awne house I wil take thy wiues in thy sight deliuer them to thy neighbor and he shal lie with thy wiues / in the sight of this sunne For thou hast wrought in secrete but I wil do this thinge before al Israel Now though it cāme to passe by goddes ordinance that Absolō laie openly with Dauides wiues yet it is plaine that god wrought not in Absolom that vile adulterous minde but vsed that nawghtie minde that Absolom had to punish Dauides shameful adulterie murder Touchinge the seconde matter that god tempteth no man to euerlastinge damnation some allege the prophete Ezechiel where god saieth I wil not the death of a sinner but rather that he shal turne and liue And. S. Paule to Timothee God wil haue al men to be saued To these scriptures this is myn aunswer Where god saieth in Ezech. that he wil not the death of a sinner we must vndrestand it of those sinners whom he hath chosen before the beginninge of the world to be conuerted to liue For it is euident by S. Paule that god hath some vessels of wrath ordained to destructiō therefore he giueth thē vp for euer to wallow in their sinnes and in them punisheth one sinne with another If anie mā thīke it vniust that god shuld ordaine some to destructiō punish sinne with sinne let hī shew that thei were not worthie / to be ordained to destruction and to be so punished God than wil not the life and cōuersion of those whom he hath appointed to destruction For than his wil shuld be against his awne decree Wherefore as I said we must vndrestand that he willeth the life and cōuersion of them whom he hath appointed to saluatiō / of none other For whan sainct Luke saieth / that as manie beleued as were appointed to euerlastinge life / he teacheth thereby that the rest which beleued not were neuer appointed to euerlastinga life And who can saie / that it is goddes wil to saue anie / besides his awne appointment If anie man wil take these wordes god willeth not the death of a sinner for god delighteth not simply and absolutely in the death of a sinner but for a certaine respecte / the hebrue word kaphets which Ezechiel vseth is shal fauor helpe their vndrestādīg I know ī dede what maner of obiectiō some rauinge vnlerned spirites make against this vndrestanding / but it maie be assone cōfuted / as rehersed For thei saie that god willeth nothinge wherein he delighteth not For wil saie thei being a power of the mind which hath hir free worcking in choosing and desiring / or in refusing and not willing willeth nothinge but that wherein it delighteth These seelie soules can not make a difference betweene willing of a thinge for it selfe willinge of a thīge for a certaine purpose and not for it selfe If their saiyng were tru men in a tēpest might not cast their goodes in to the sea for sauing of their awne lyues onles thei delighted in the losse of their goodes Iudges might not wil theues to be hanged / onles thei delighted in their hanginge and so the first poore men shuld be verie noddies and al iudges plaine murtherers Yea so thei affirme that god cold haue no wil that his sonne shuld be tormented onles he delighted in his torment And than thei saie ether / that Christ was crucified whether God wold or no / and against his decreed wil ordināce or els thei assigne to god that I abhorre to vttre for the falsnes of it and abomination But we wil combre our selues no farther with such dotinges of brainsicke men Touchinge the wordes of Ezechiel thei maie be also shortely thus vndrestanded that goddes wil is not / that anie sinner conuerted / and repentant / shal die Where Sainct Paule saieth that god wil al men to be saued he fighteth not against himselfe but meaneth that god hath chosen some of al sortes and states whom he wil bringe to the knowlege of his truth But bicause we can not know certainly which thei be S. Paule biddeth vs praie for al sortes of men for kinges / and noble men which yet seme farthiest frō god and godlines For god amonge al sortes of men hath some whom he wil saue And this is no new exposition / though new men vse it For this is an old worne and wel knowen sentence Distributio est non pro singulis generum sed pro generibus singulorum quia de qualibet conditione hominum aliquos predestinauit ad vitam Which wordes teach / that goddes wil is to appointe to life and saue some of euerie sorte and condition and not euerie one of al sortes and conditions And surely it is mere madnes to saie that god wil saue more than his sonne wold praie for The wordes of his sonne / whose wil agreeth with the fathers in al thinges ar wel knowen I praie not for the world saieth he but for those whom thou hast giuen me Why it is not goddes wil / to saue al I know not thoroughly / that it is not his wil I know and I know that whom soeuer he condemneth he cōdemneth iustly And herein I appeale to the cōsciences of al men For no man liuinge in the world can auoide but that he shal be cōstrained to graūt that there is in him most iust matter and most iust causes of damnation For al men ar defiled with sinne sinne was not in them by their creation but thei pulled it vpō them wrought it in them selues declining from their first state So al men ar worthie to be left in the puddel of the filthie sinnes wherein thei haue willingly drouned them selues in the end to be damned And so god is iust if he giue them ouer in this life to the wickednes whereof the verie cause and roote is in them selues by their awne procurement if he appoint them to euerlasting punishment after this life which thei haue iustly deserued thorough their manifold horrible offences Now I wolde tarie you no lōger sauinge that as often as we speake of this matter / rude men rush in / and thincke to roote vp al with their twifold snouttes For if it be so that god hath al readie foreappointed whom he wil saue and whō he wil condemne than saie thei preachinges and exhortations be vaine and superfluous and it stilleth not how men liue For the reprobate can no waie be saued and the chosen can no waie be damned Hereunto the godlie shal aunswer first that it is not superfluous to preache to the reprobate / for thereby their damnatiō is made iuster and thei ar driuen farther frō al excuse And to the chosen it is right fruteful For thereby it pleaseth god to awake their slepie sluggishnes to quickē their dul mēbres For god worcketh two waies in them by his spirite within by his worde without By his spirite he lighteneth their darcke mindes / and new frameth their croked hertes By his word he spurreth them forewarde / inflameth them to desire to seke newnes of life If than god wil vse his worde as an instrument whan he wil shew the efficacie mightie worckinge of his hand with what face can anie man saie that preaching is superfluous to the chosen If god wil that waie prepare them to his farther worcking in them / shal anie man forbidde him to vse the meane / that semeth good to him Secondly / where thei saie that it shal not skil how men liue we wil desire them to vnderstand / that the reprobate thorough their wicked life heaping of sinne vpō sinne make their damnatiō and torment more greuous And as for the chosen thei findie not in dede to liue wel that thei maie wīne heauen but thei studie to liue wel bicause heauen is alreadie theirs Thei labor not to make thē selues goddes childrē thorough good worckes but bicause thei be goddes children therefore thei worcke wel Thei saie not bicause we ar alreadie saued we wil do not good workes but thei saie bicause we ar saued therefore we wil studie to do good worckes and to shew our selues thanckeful to him / who of his only mercie hath saued vs. For thei know that thei ar appoīted to goddes kīgdome saued to this ēde that thei shuld glorifie their heauenlie father thorough good workes be fashioned after the image of his sonne not to wallow themselues in filthie lustes but to liue in puritee holines before god their saueor who renueth reformeth al those with his holie spirite whom he hath foreordained to enioie his kingdō euerlastingly Wherefore these wild bores weare their tuskes inuaine against this adamāt which maie be hitte but neuer hurte This much I had to saie to you at this tyme giue god the glorie Amen This note .i. standeth for that is to saie In the end of the .2 reading for let saie reade / let vs saie Anno. 1558.