of our Lorde Iesus Chryst And afterwarde the god of hope fyll you with all ioye and peace in beleuinge that ye may bee ryche in hope through the power of the holy ghost By the whiche testimony not onely fayth but also ioy and peace and aboundance of hope are taught not to bee had but by the power and vertue of the holy ghost And the Apostle writing to the Ephesians of the richesse of grace the which grace geueth good thynges for euyll of fayth which is not hadde of our selfe but of the gyft of god speaketh these wordes But god which is riche in mercye for hys great loues sake wherewith he loued vs when we were dead by synne hath quickened vs together in Chryste by whose grace we are saued and hath raysed vs vp and hath made vs sit together in heauenly thynges through Chryste Iesus for by grace are ye made safe through faith and that not of your selues for it is the gyft of God commeth not of workes least any man should boaste himselfe For we are hys handy worke created in Chryst Iesu vnto good workes vnto the whiche God hath ordeyned vs before that we should walke in them Therefore the newe creature hath thys propertie through grace that they that are of Gods fasshioning which are made in Christ bi a heauēly natiuitie be not ydle sluggardes nor geuen to sloth but encrease from vertue to vertue goe from strength to strength walking in y e way of good workes For this is to bee made in fashion Thys is to bee made a newe creature of an olde This is to be reformed frō the image of the earthy man into y e image of the heauenly man All the which things he beginneth he augmenteth or encreaseth he perfourmeth finisheth eyther openly by the cooperatours or ioynt workers of grace or elles priuily by y e secrete ministring of the spirit whose husbandry whose buyldynge and whose workemanship we are Hovve that all the giftes of vertue are geuen and ordered of the lord god and that al things are in his hand and that God is the aucthour of all goodnes ¶ The .ix. Chapiter BY these testimonies as farre as I can perceaue it is sufficiently declared although other Documentes myght be gathered that fayth wherby the vngodly man is iustified is not had but by the gift of god and that the same is geuen for no merites goynge before but is geuen to thend that it might bee the beginninge of merites and where as it is geuen vnasked it is geuen that other good thinges myght bee obtayned by her askinges Concerning the which thing I wil gather certaine testimonies out of many which shewe forth the aboundaunce of grace by the diuersitie of the giftes thereof That it is of god therfore that a man choseth the way of god and riseth vppe when he is fallen the psalme of Dauid singeth saying The Lorde ordereth a mans goynges that he may will his way when he falleth he shall take no hurt for the Lorde putteth vnder hys hande Also the same Dauid teacheth that men come to god by the leadinge of god saying Sende forth thy lyght and thy trueth they haue led me and brought me vnto thy holy hyll and vnto thy Tabernacle or place of thy dwelling Also that the strength of man is in the lorde and that the wil of God doth preuent the deliueraunce of man My strength will I ascribe vnto thee sayth he for god euen my god is my deliuerer hys will shal preuent me In the prouerbes also we reade of wysedome and vnderstandinge for the Lorde geueth wysedome and from hys face commeth knowledge and vnderstandinge Also in the same boke speakinge of the distribucion of the wisedome of GOD without the which nothing is wel done It is thus said counsell is mine defence is myne I am wisdome it selfe and power is myne owne By me kynges raygne and tyrauntes by me obtaine the earth Also in another place that no man can go the right way but by the ordering of god The steppes of man are ordered of the Lorde For how doth a mortal man vnderstande his owne waies Also in another place Euery mā thinketh himselfe to be iust but the lorde ordereth the heartes And afterward the will is prepared of the lord Agayne in the same booke he speaketh of thought and deuise on this wise Many thoughtes are in the heart of man but the deuise of the lorde preuayleth It is sayde also in Ecclesi that both to haue thinges necessarye and to vse them wel is the gift of God There is nothyng good to man but that that he eateth drinketh and sheweth hys soule good of hys labour and truely I haue sene these things For it is in y e hand of God for who hath eaten or shall eate without him Also it is red in the same bohe that the hartes and workes of the righteous men are in the hande of God and that thei so much profyte and goe forwarde in theyr studies and desyres as he shall geue What paine soeuer a man take to gette hym he shall not fynde hym and whatsoeuer a wise man shal say to him to enstruct hym that he myght haue knowledge he shall not finde it out For I haue laid vp al these thinges in my hart my harte hath sene al this that both the iust men the wyse men also their workes are in the handes of god And it is spokē in y e boke of wisedome of the same worke of grace on this wise For he is both the captayne of wisdome and the amender of the wise In his hande are both we and our wordes the knowledge of all wisdom and works discipline Of Continencie also that it is had of Gods gift the same scripture speaketh on this wise After that I knewe that I coulde none otherwyse be chast except God gaue it me and this was also a poynte of wysedome to knowe whose gyft it is Vnto the which sentēce the doctrine of the Apostle Saint Paule agreeth wrytyng on this wyse in the first Epistle to the Corinthians I would all men were as I am my self but euery one hath his proper gyfte of God one after this sorte another after that Also the Lorde in the Gospell of Mathewe declareth the very same of chastitie For when his Disciples sayde If the cause of man and wyfe bee such it is not expedient to mary Iesus saith vnto them All men are not able to attayne vnto that ye speake of but they to whō it is geuen of my father It is read in Ecclesiasticus on the same wyse of the feare of God and of wisdom The feare of the Lorde is the crowne of wysdom and both are the gift of God Also in the same The feare of the Lorde hath sette it selfe aboue all thynges blessed is the man to whō it is graūted to haue the feare
Tvvoo bookes of Saint Ambrose Bysshoppe of Mylleyne entytuled Of the vocation and callyng of all Nations Newly translated out of Latin into Englyshe for the edifiyng and comfort of the single mynded and Godly vnlearned in Christes Church agaynst the late sprong secte of the Pelagians the maynteyners of the free wyll of man and denyers of the grace of God By Henry Becher Minister in the Church of God Allowed according to the order set foorth in the Queenes Maiesties Iniunctions Anno Christi 1561. VVe knovve that all thinges vvorke for the best vnto them that loue GOD vvhiche are also called of purpose For those vvhom he foreknevve them also he ordeyned before that they shoulde be lyke fasshioned vnto the shape of his sonne c. Moreouer those vvhom he foreappoynted those he also called and those vvhom he called he also iustified and those vvhom he iustified he also glorified ¶ A prologue to the reader HERE hast thou moste deare gentle Reader the two Bookes of that famous Clercke and auncient father S. Ambrose sometime Byshop of Milleyn entituled Of the vocation and callyng of all Nacions A worke surely of no lesse diuine wysedome and learnyng then of antiquitie and therefore a Iewell greatly to be esteemed and had in price of al those that be Godlye in Christes Churche who earnestly desire a right spirite and iudgement purely to discerne betwene trueth and errour in these peryllous dayes Wherin as our Sauiour Iesus Christ affirmeth that yf it were possible the very electe myght be disceyued But chiefly it is to be had in price of all those who not hauyng the Latin tongue are not able to reade the work to theyr edifying in the tongue wherin it was firste wrytten and compyled To whom the sayde auncient Father and famous Clercke in this presente treatise speaketh nowe more familiarly then before The worke it selfe is such as needeth not my praise But seyng I can not sufficiently expresse the woorthynesse thereof I thynke it better to omitt it with scilence confessing my barreynesse then for lacke of conuenient speache to diminishe the glory therof These and suche lyke workes haue not aforetyme ben so freely offered to the vnderstanding of the simple nor so easely come by as God be blessed for it they are in these our dayes Receiue them therefore louyngly and thanckfullye good Christen Reader and vse them godly aud reuerently for they are the good instruments tooles wherby the eternall God buyldeth the spirituall Ierusalem his Churche and by whom the lyuyng stones therof his elect children are dayly wrought shapen full fashioned vnto euerlastyng lyfe Learne also to render vnto God moste heartye thanckes therfore who shewyng more mercye vnto thee then vnto manye generations paste As he hath caused thee to be borne in these peryllous dayes so hath he prepared armure and weapon for thee wherewith thou maist defend thy self against all those enemies that shall aryse vp agaynst thee The occasion that moued Saint Ambrose to wryte this woorke was this There arose in Britayne in those dayes a Monke named Pelagius Byshop of Bangor that became the aucthour of a new sect before that time not heard of This man with the helpe of Celestine Iulian his fautors drew many into his errour He attributed so much vnto the free will of man that he affirmed that a man mought atteine lyfe euerlastyng by merites only without the grace of Christ Wherof he beyng blamed gaue place to thadmonition in suche sorte that he dyd not afterwarde altogether exclude grace but sayd that yf grace were geuen it was the easyer to attayne to saluacion how beit without it it mought be obteyned though with more difficultie He condempned praying in the congregatiō aswell for the faythfull as for the vnfaythfull as a thing vayne and vnprofitable because as he said that which they should aske was already in their power which with their diligence euery one of them myght do perfourme But when he feared least he should be condempned for it by the councell of Antioche he recanted althoughe he ceassed not afterwardes to teach the same in his wrytinges He added furthermore that the sinne of Adam hurted no man but him that committed it Also that all Infantes were borne as innocent cleane from sinne as Adam was when God first created hym Neuerthelesse he permitted them to bee baptized not to the puttyng awaye of sinne whereof he affirmed them to be voyde but that they might be honored with the Sacrament of their adoption And when he was publysshed and proclaymed to be an hereticke he wrote in the defence of his errour He was condempned by Zosimus and twoo C.xl. Byshoppes moe in the councell of Carthage and before that he was condempned bi Innocentius whose errour whē the Affricans with others especially this aucthour S. Ambrose S. Augustine and S. Iherome vtterly detested they tooke in hand by their seuerall wrytynges to put to scilence the remnaunte of that secte Sithens the which time it hath ben reputed and taken of all the godly learned in Chrystes Churche for a cursed prophane Phylosophycall errour I haue shewed thee gentle Reader the cause or reason of the first makyng and compylyng of this worke Nowe it standeth me in steede to shewe thee the cause of this my trauell in reducing it into the Englyshe tongue There arose in Kent in these late dayes namely sithens the preachyng of the Gospel a priuate man altogether vnlearned named Henry Hart that reuiued this errour of Pelagius and added thereto certeyne other errours This man with the helpe of his adherentes newe furbed this olde cancred heresye and put it to sale a fresshe in stede of an infallible veritie who also vnder the pretence of a sober lyfe and conuersation vsyng long heare long bearde long garmētes often reading of psalmes drewe manye into his errour both in Eastkent in Essex Sussex Surrey in the Citie of London This man after that his errour was espyed by the late Tharchbishoppe of Caunterburye Thomas Cranmer was by hym committed to prison with certeyne of his secte of whom some remayne alyue holdynge that errour some thanked be God are become newe men and other some are departed this lyfe and there they remayned vntyll they reuoked theyr errour and colourably subscrybed to the Artycles agreed vpon in the Synode holden at London in the reigne of the late kyng Edwarde the sixte Notwithstanding in hucker mucker he euer taught the same vnto those only which he knewe to be trustye and vnto those that were brought in by them who held the said Harte in such reputacion as yf he had ben an holy Prophete But after the death of kyng Edwarde when Quene Mary began her dominion the Christian Clergie was scattered abrode this Hart and his companions began to shewe them selues in theyr old lykenes of errour agayne with much more errour whiche they in the meane tyme had practised forged and gathered with
shall rede or heare these thinges they wyl saye y t we by these disputacions do speake agaynst the Apostle which sayeth that God wylleth all men to be saued and to come to the knowledge of the trueth The which part of the Apostles wordes we so fully and wholly do receiue that we withdrawe nothynge frō it of that that goeth before or commeth after that perteyneth therto For that we maye set asyde other testimonies of the Scriptures of God this place is sufficient to refell that that they falsely obiecte and to defende that that they wickedly denye The Apostle Paule wrytynge on this wyse to Timothie sayeth I exhorte you therfore that there be prayers supplications and thankesgeuynge made for all menne for kynges and for all them that be in aucthoritie that we may leade a peaceable and a quiete lyfe in all godlynesse and purenes for that is good and accepted in the sight of God our Sauiour which wylleth all men to be saued and to come to the knowledge of the trueth For there is one God and one mediatour betwene God and men euen the man Iesus Chryste whiche hath geuen hym selfe a raunsome for all men Of this rule therefore of the Apostles doctrine wherwith the vniuersall Churche is instructed least we shuld wander into a strange vnderstandyng after our owne brayne let vs searche what the vniuersall Churche vnderstandeth in it for there can be nothyng doubtfull in the precept yf that the obedience in the desyre do agree Therefore the Apostle commaunded yea rather the Lorde by the Apostle which spake in the Apostle that prayers supplications thankesgeuyng shoulde be made for all menne for kynges and for all thē that are constitute in aucthoritie The whiche lawe of supplication and praier the deuocion of all priestes and of all faythfull men doth so agreably holde that there is no parte of the worlde wherein suche prayers are not celebrate and made of the Christian people The Churche therefore in euerye place prayeth vnto God not only for the Saintes and them that are alreadye regenerate in Christ but also for al Infidels and ennemies of the Crosse of Christ for all Idolaters for all them that persecute Christe in his membres for the Iewes vnto whose blyndenesse the lyght of the Gospell shyneth not for Heretickes and Scismatickes whiche are without the vnitie of faith and charitie And what doeth the Churche aske for these but that they forsakyng theyr errours maye be conuerted vnto God maye receiue faith maye receiue charitie and being deliuered from the darknesse of ignorance thei myght come to the knowledge of the trueth The which thinges because thei are not able to geue it to them selues being so oppressed wayed downe with the wayght of euyll custome and tayed in the bondes of the deuyll neither are able to ouercome the thynges that deceiue them Wherein they haue stycked so fast that loke how much the trueth ought to be beloued so much do they loue falsehod It is the wyll of the mercifull and iust Lorde to be prayed vnto for all menne that when we see innumerable to be delyuered from suche bottomlesse mischeifes we shuld not doubt but that GOD hath graunted that that he was desyred to graunt And that we geuynge thankes for them that are saued should hope also that they whiche are not yet illumined shalbe delyuered by the same helpe of Goddes grace from the power of darkenesse that they may be trāslated into the kingdome of god or euer thei depart out of this life But if any man fayle of this grace of the Sauioure as we see it doth happen and the prayer of the Churche bee not receyued for them we muste referre it to the secrete iudgementes of Goddes righteousnes and we muste acknowledge that the depenesse of thys misterie cannot appeare to vs in thys life For our knowledge is vnperfect and our propheciyng vnperfect And we see now as it were by a glasse in a darke ryddell neyther are we wyser or haue more knowledge then the blessed Apostle who when he dysputed of the grace of GOD and was entred into the secrete of great misteries he fell downe vnder those thinges that was vnpossible to bee declared For when he had said brethren I would not haue you ignoraunt of this misterie lest ye should be wise in your owne conceypt that blindnes is happened in part of Israell tyl the fulnesse of the gentilles myght enter in and so al Israel might bee saued as it is wrytten He shall come out of Syon which shall tourne away vngodlynes out of Iacob and thys is the testamente that I wyll geue them that I wyll take awaye their sinnes For as concerning the Gospell they are enemyes for your sake but concernynge election they are beloued for the fathers sake for the giftes and calling of god are without repentaunce For lyke as ye sometyme also dyd not beleue in God and nowe haue obtayned mercy because of theyr vnbeliefe euen so they also haue not nowe beleued in your mercye that they myght obtayne mercy For GOD hath shutte vppe all in vnbeliefe that he myght haue mercy on all Therefore when in a certayne traunce or recesse of his mynde he had powred foorth these misteries of Goddes workes farre passynge the measure of mans vnderstandynge he tourned all the reason of the exposition therof into a wonder and meruayling greatly at the thynges whiche he had spoken he cryed out and sayde Oh the depth of the wisdome and knowledge of GOD how incomprehensible are hys iudgementes and hys wayes paste fyndynge out for who hath knowē the meanyng of the Lorde or who hath bene of his counsayle Or who gaue fyrst vnto hym and he shall rewarde hym For of hym and by him and in him are al thyngs To hym be glory for euermore Amen VVhy all nations in tyme paste vvere suffred to walke theyr own wayes one Israell onely excepted and vnto the knowledge of the trueth elected and why God geueth grace to one man and denieth it to another ¶ The fifth Chapiter THe assertion of hym that teacheth the thynges afore spoken wyll minister occasion of manye questions As it is demaunded what the cause shoulde be that Goddes grace was so variated through oute so many peoples and tymes that is to say why all nations in tyme paste were suffred to walke in their owne wayes one Israel only which was instructed by the woorde excepted and elected to knowe the trueth whose infidelitie at the last ministred occasion and gaue place to the saluation of the gentiles as and if thys one people did abyde in the fayth of his forefathers the mercye of god could not be geuen to other nations Also why they whose diminishing is the saluation of the gentils are not fyrst deliuered from theyr blyndnes before the fulnes of the gētilles shuld come in as though they coulde not be illumined with all men whiche shalbe all saued after that the adoption of the gentils shalbe once finished
Or howe all Israell shalbe saued when theyr obsecation and blindnesse is taken a way of whom an innumerable multitude are fallen awaye in theyr infidelitie and haue not come to the tyme wherein they are promysed to be saued Or howe the fulnesse of those nations whiche were not called before are sayde to enter in nowe when of euerye age condiciō of men so many thousandes of all nations vnder heauen do dye without beynge iustified in Chryste But the godly and wise teacher had leuer suspende the causes of these secretes and iudgmentes vnto the profoūditie and depth of the ryches of Goddes wysedome and knowledge then with rashe inquisition to dyscusse the misterie of the moste iuste veritie and moste mercyfull goodnesse whiche is taken awaye from the knowledge of man omittinge none of those thynges which it behoueth mē to knowe and medlynge not at all with those thynges whiche are not laweful to be knowen For there are manye thynges in the dispensatiō and ordering of Gods workes whose effectes only are shewed but the causes lye hydde that when it doeth appeare what is done yet it appeareth not why it is done that where as the worke is sene of all men yet the reason why it was done is shutte vp in secrete to thende that in all one and the selfe same thyng both presumption in thynges vnsercheable might be holden vnder also that faished of manifeste thinges might be confuted For though I knowe not why one man was created a Greeke another a Barbarian this man borne in richesse and he in pouertie one man the valiaunt beautie of a personable stature doth sette foorth another the croked deformitie of feble membres doth disfigure this man begotten of Christen parentes was norished in the cradell of veritie another beynge the broode of heretickes drynketh the poyson of errour with the milke of his mother And to be briefe although I can not discusse a thousand other differences in the habite of bodies in the qualities of myndes the condicion of times the maners of countryes yet foloweth it not therof that I am ignorant that God is the maker and the disposer of all these thinges who verely hath on suche wyse created the bodies and spirites of all men that besides the voluntarye or wylfull diuersitie that foloweth the studie of euery man he variated them in most vnlyke number in the beginning of their creation The manye opinions of vayne bablers would trouble vs and drawe vs diuers wayes which out of thynges vnable to bee knowen haue presumed to goe into inconueniences and haue ascribed these original inequalities and differences vnto fate or destinies when in dede there are none at all and vnto planettes or starres onlesse we dyd holde in moste sure knowledge that God the creatour hath formed of the natural Elementes euery vessel as he wyl and hath ordered one nature of soules and one nature of bodyes by measures after hys owne pleasure whiche workes of GOD might also be knowen to mans vnderstandynge yf they ought to be knowen and it myght be shewed why euery thynge was so made but that it is sufficient to knowe that they were so made The Lord saith vnto Moses who hath geuen man a mouth who hath made the dombe and the deafe the seynge and the blynde haue not I the Lorde God And by the Prophete Esay he saith Haue not I made the fruitefull the barreyne saith the Lord It is red in the boke Ecclesiasticus good and euyll lyfe aud death pouertie and richesse are of God Also Iob saith The dwellyng houses of robbers and brybers are full of plentifull store yet dare they boldly prouoke GOD whereas he hath geuen all thynges into theyr handes And the same Iob disputing of the increase and decrease of humaine and worldly thinges and referrynge all chaunges to the iudgmentes of God sayth With hym is there wysedome and strength he hath counsaile and vnderstanding If he pluck downe there is no man can builde vp if he close vp a man there is no man can open hym yf he withholde the waters all shalbe dried vp if he send them foorth they shall ouerflowe the earth with hym is power and wisdome he knoweth both the deceiuer and hym that is deceiued he bringeth counsellers to a foolyshe ende and Iudges into dasednesse he looseth the girdle of Kynges and gyrdeth theyr loynes with a rope he maketh Priestes without honour and ouerthroweth the rulers he changeth the lippes of the true speakers taketh awaye the learnynge of the Elders powrynge foorth dispite vpon Princes and relieuynge them that were oppressed who openeth the thynges that are buryed in darknes bryngeth to lyght the shadowe of death which multiplieth the naciōs and destroyeth them and maketh them that are destroyed sounde agayne whiche chaungeth the heartes of the Princes of the earth beguyleth them that they maye goe they wote not whyther They grope as in darknesse and not in the light and he wyll make them to goe out of the waye lyke dronken men And agayne the same Iob shewyng that the wyll of God can not be frustrate saith For he is alone saith he and no man can turne his thought and loke whatsoeuer his soule wylleth the same shalbe done Part of mankynd is deliuered and part of them doth peryshe if we shoulde ascribe that vnto the merites of mens wylles as though it shoulde seme that grace hadde refused naughtie men and chosen good men then shal the causes of innumerable people resist and be agaynst vs vnto whom by the space of so many yeres the preachynge of the heauenly doctrine hath not shone Neither maye we saye that their posterities were better of whom it is written The people of the nacions whiche sate in darknes haue sene great light vnto them that sate in darknes and shadowe of death light is sprong vp And they to whom the Apostle Peter saith Ye are an electe generation a kyngly priesthod an holy nacion a purchased people that ye myght shewe foorth the power of him that hath called you frō darkenesse into his so marueylous a lyght who in time past were not a people but nowe are the people of god on whom sometime he had no mercy but nowe hath mercy Wherefore that is not geuen for the merites of the yonger whiche the elders did not deserue For the vngodlynes was all alike that accused the children aswell as y e fathers and all one the lyke blindnesse of ignoraunce drowned and ouerwhelmed both the one and the other in lyke error But what knowlege can cōprehend or what wisdome cā finde out why God had mercy on the one sort had not mercy on the other The reason of this difference lieth hyd is secrete but not the difference it selfe We vnderstande not his iudgement herein but we se his workyng And why then do we falsely accuse his secret iudgement that owe thanckes to his manifeste mercy Let vs praise
of god is not fulfilled or els that it is fulfilled of any other then of hym that made that promise Truely that man shall be a lyer but god shall be true And euery one that receyueth his testimony sealeth this thinge sheweth thys thynge That he is made to see by that light which geueth lyght he is made obedient he is made to vnderstande as the Euangelist Iohn wytnesseth sayinge We knowe that al the worlde is set on wickednes and we knowe that the sonne of God is come and hath geuen vs an vnderstanding that we myght know the true God and shoulde be in hys true sonne VVhy he that is the Sauioure of al men hath not geuen to all men this vnderstanding that they might know the true god Also why some yonge Chyldren beynge regenerate are saued and other some not beynge regenerate do perishe and are lost ¶ The seuenth Chapiter BVt yf they aske why the Sauioure of all men gaue not thys vnderstanding to all men that thei might knowe the true God and that they might bee that is to say myght abyde and continue in his sonne although we beleue that the helpe of grace was not wholly taken awaye from any man Of the whiche thinge we wyll dispute more largely hereafter Although peraduenture this thinge be vnknowen also lyke as the other lyeth hydde why in tymes past all the gentiles beinge sette a syde and let passe he toke vnto hymself one people whom he would instruct in the waye of trueth Of the whiche iudgement of GOD yf we may not complayne muche lesse then maye we murmure of this that is done in the election of al nations for the things that God would haue to bee secrete and vnknowen maye not be searched for but those thynges which he hath made manifest are not to be denyed lest we be founde vnlawefully curious in the one and dampnably vnthankeful in the other Truely we are not ignoraunte that there bee some of so vndiscrete and vnaduysed presumption and of so proude an arrogancie that the thing which the noble teacher of the gentiles beynge taught not of men nor bi men but by god confessed to be laide vp farre and excedynge hygh aboue the measure of his know ledge thei dare rashely discusse in a doctryne falsely so called and wyll there haue nothynge hyd or secrete nothynge to bee vnknowen where the Apostle hath not opened what oughte to be vnderstande and knowen but what ought not to be searched for For as I haue sayde afore it is geuen to no studyes to no wittes to try out bi what iudgement or what counsayle god which is immutably good immutably iust alway forknowinge alwaye almightie hath therefore shutte vp all thynges in vnbeleife that he myghte haue mercy on all And yet in the time wherein he instructed Israell onely he deferred to illumine innumerable nations of vngodlye people and nowe suffreth the same Israell to be blynded tyll all nations and the fulnesse of the gentyles bee come in that peryshe by so many thousandes of those that are borne and dye againe and yet shall the sayde Israell be saued in them whom the ende of the worlde shall finde here The whiche misterie beinge opened and set abrode in all the whole body of the scriptures he hath shewed vs what he hath done what he doth or maye doe and what is yet to bee done But why it was his pleasure that it should so be done that is taken away frō mans vnderstanding But these men that are asshamed to bee ignoraunt of anye thinge and by occasion of the darknes of y e matter lay snares of disceyte do referre to the merites of mans will all the difference wherebi god choseth some and choseth not other some for many are called and fewe are chosen so teaching that no mā is saued freely but of retribution because it is naturalli graffed in all men that if they will they may bee partakers of y e veritie and that they haue grace inough that doe aske it The whiche diffinicion although it speake not of y e veritie of grace yet semeth it to shewe some reason of those men that haue free wil. But as touching infantes in whom y e cause is commen al one with other mortal mē in the original wound are with out anye merite or deserte of a good will There can no exposicion be made whereby it may bee taught why some of them are saued beinge borne againe and why other some do perishe not beynge borne agayne and that vnder hys prouidence and omnipotencie in whose hande is the soule and lyfe of euery liuinge thinge and the spirite of all the fleshe of man and vnto whom it is sayde The dayes of man are short thou haste nombred hys tyme. But I suppose these defenders of free will wil not vse the symplenesse of men so shamelesly that they will eyther say that these thynges do happen by chaunce or els wyll saye that they whiche are not borne agayne doe not peryshe for then should they bee manyfestly conuinsed either to agree with the Paganes in destenye or elles with the Pelagians to denye that sinne is transfused and powred forth vpon the posteritie of Adam And the Pelagians coulde not saye that infantes were vnbaptised by destenye but because the said Pelagians durst professe that such infantes were free from synne they deserued to bee condempned But forasmuch as the question of the seperation of al mē is already dysputed and tryed and forasmuch as infantes can not be seperated from the nomber of al men also forasmuch as the veritie spake of euerye age when he sayd the sonne of man is come to seke and to saue that which was lost In vayne go such men about to open the depenesse of the vnsearcheable grace by free wyll whiche appoint the cause of election in the merites of them that are elected And when they haue brought foorth manye thynges both foolyshe and false of the will and iudgment of the elder persons yet in the difference of infantes they can say nothing nor once bragge that thei haue yelded or rendred any reason of that question that is had in disputacion concernynge all men and yet is not perfourmed on all men But the multiformitte or diuersitie and also the great nesse of gods grace proueth that suche men doe affyrme agaynst the veritie that that thei speake of the elder persons willes and also that the testimonies of the holy scriptures are repugnant to theyr perswasion All the whiche thinges yf we shoulde speake of in thys present there shoulde be no ende of the disputacion The which thinges not withstandinge yf they come to memory they may not be omitted that it maye be declared as muche as is sufficient that all the good merites of men from the beginninge of fayth vnto the ende of perseueraunce are the gyft and working of god Of vvhat fountaine fayth springeth and whence the spirite of fayth is had
he thrise denyed Chryst with whom he had promysed to dye Then he whiche beheld the troubled heart of the Apostle not with humaine but with deuyne eyes and stirred hym by a myghtye looke vnto aboundaunte teares of repentaunce was able and coulde haue geuen vnto hys chiefe disciple that stedfastnes of minde That lyke as nothynge feared the lord him selfe from his purpose to perfourme hys passion So should not any feare at that tyme haue ouercommed blessed Peter But thys stabilitie was onely proper vnto him whiche onely truly and mightely sayd I haue power to put away my lyfe and I haue power to take it agayne But in other men so longe as the fleshe lusteth contrary to the spirite and the spirite contrary to the fleshe and so longe as the spirite is willinge but the fleshe weake the immutable feare of mynde can not bee founde for perfect and secure felicitie is not hadde in this life but in the life to come And in the vncertaintie of thys present conflicte and battayle neyther is victory it self in safegard frō pryde lying in wayte nor without daunger of mutabilitie And though Goddes deuine protection and fauoure do geue vnto innumerable hys sainctes power to perseuer and continue to the ende yet taketh he from none of them that that repugneth against themselues whiche also is of them selues that in all theyr studies and endeuoures euermore wyll and nyll do stryue amonge themselues The whiche fyght and battaile the saide blessed Peter suffred euen in the ende of all hys victories for the lorde himselfe protested the same when he sayd Verely verely I say vnto thee when thou wast yonge thou girdedst thy selfe and walkedst whyther thou wouldest But when thou art olde thou shalt stretch forth thine hands and another shal girde thee and leade thee whyther thou wouldest not And thys he spake to declare by what death he shuld glorifie GOD. Then who can doubt yea who can but knowe that thys moste stronge rocke which toke part both of vertue name of that principal rocke to haue had alwaye the desyre that constancie might be geuen hym to dye for Chrystes sake Notwithstandyng the obluctacion and strugling of feare was so vnable to bee auoyded that the man most gredie of marterdome was tolde aforehande that he should obtayne the vyctorie of passion and suffringe of death howebeit not without the temptacion of feare Therfore not without good cause not onely the Sainctes whiche are but beginners but also thei which are growen vp vnto the moste perfection do vniformely beseche the Lorde and saye Leade vs not into temptacion but delyuer vs from euyll For vnto all them that abyde in faith and in loue it is geuen of him that they be not ouercome in temptacion that he whiche doth glory shoulde glory in the Lorde And yet doth he ascribe that same glorye vnto them whom he geueth it vnto that though thei stande thorowe the helpe of God yet forasmuch as it laye in theyr owne power to fall it should be theyr own merite that they dyd stande Therfore like as thei which haue beleued are holpen y t they myght abyde in the fayth So they whiche not yet beleued are holpen that they myght beleue And lyke as the one sorte haue in their own power to go back so the other sort haue in theyr own power that thei come not And it is made manyfeste that by dyuers and innumerable meanes God wylleth al men to bee saued and to come to the knowledge of the trueth But they whiche come are guyded and dyrected by the helpe of god and they whiche come not do stryue the contrarye in theyr own stubburnes And although that manye men louynge their owne darknesse do not receyue the brightnes of the truth and many which were once lyghtened do fall agayne into darkenes yet doth the worde of God abyde for euer and nothing falleth awaye from the trueth of his promyse The foreknowen and promised fulnes of the gentiles doth dayly enter in and in the seede of Abraham all nations all tribes and all tongues are blessed for that which the father hath geuen to the sonne the sonne loseth not neyther is anye manne able to take oute of hys hande that whiche he hath receyued The foundation of GOD standeth stedfast and sure and the buyldynge of the Temple that shall endure for euer wauereth not The truth and mercy of GOD beynge stretched foorth vppon all men of whom that whiche is both denyed to no man and also is due to no manne is perfectly perfourmed and brought to passe in them whom he hath promysed For he worketh all in all but out of doubt it is all iuste thynges and good thynges For all the wayes of the Lord are very mercy and faythfulnesse Who lyke as he knewe before al worldes howe great a multitude of mē of the whole world eyther vsing his cōmon gyftes or being holpen with his speciall aydes but yet declining frō the way of trueth lyfe should enter into the brode way of errour and death Euen so had he alway in his foreknowledge howe great a nomber of godlye men through the helpe of grace and the seruice of obedience shoulde parteyne vnto euerlastyng blysse that none fallyng awaye from the fulnesse of the nombre of promesse who neyther shoulde fayle of aduauncement nor be destitute of helpe he myght glorifie them before all men whom he hath chosen out of all men For the manyfolde and vnspekable goodnesse of GOD hath in such sorte alwayes holpen and yet doeth helpe the generall multitude of men as we haue sufficientlye proued that none of them whiche perishe haue ani excuse that the lyghte of the trueth hath bene denyed hym neyther hath any man libertie to glori in his owne ryghteousnes forasmuch as theyr owne wickednes wayeth downe the one parte vnto paine and the grace of god conducteth and bryngeth the other part vnto glory ¶ The .x. Chapiter THerfore that which we haue declared in the begynnynge of this seconde booke the same do we now commende agayne vnto youre remembraunces that when we disputed of the depth height of grace we stayed vppon three moste wholsome and true diffinicions Whereof the one professeth that it commeth of the eternall and proper wyl of god that he wylleth all men to bee saued and to come to the knowledge of the trueth The other also teacheth that euery man which is saued and whiche commeth to the knowledge of the trueth is holpen and gouerned by the helpe of god and that he is therby kept that he myghte abyde in fayth whiche worketh by loue And the thirde doth temperately and soberly protest that all the reason of the wil of God cannot bee comprehended and that there bee manye causes of gods workes hydde from mans vnderstandynge as when in times in nations in families in Infantes in them which are not yet borne in them which are vnbegotten certayne thynges are knowen to
bee diuersly or notablye done whiche we doubte not but that they are of those thynges whiche the iuste mercyful Lord wyld not that they shoulde be knowen in this transitorie worlde The whiche thinge we must thynke to be so disposed and ordered for our profite that forasmuche as we are saued to whom god hath prepared y t which y e eye hath not sene the eare hath not heard neither hath entred into y e hart of man like as we beleue constātly that we shall see the thynges whiche we yet see not so shoulde we pacientlye looke to vnderstande the thinges which we do not yet vnderstande Therefore if craftie malice would cease yf wanton presumption would be still these thinges beynge as I trowe rightli handled there remaineth no more cause of strife neyther nede we to be occupyed in endelesse questions For I haue trauayled so farre foorth as the Lorde hath helped me that it might bee proued howe that not onelye in the latter times but also in al times past the grace of God hath bene present with all men by lyke prouydence and generall goodnes but by manyfolde and sundrye workinge and also by dyuers measures for eyther priuily or els manyfestly he is as the Apostle sayth the Sauiour of all men but especially of the faithfull The which sentence beyng of moste fine briefnes and most valeaunt strength yf it be considered with a quiet and calme aspect doth cease all thys controuersie that we speake of For in that he sayth whiche is the Sauiour of al men he hath assured vs that the goodnesse of God is generall vpon all men But in that he addeth especyallye of the faythfull he sheweth that there is a part of mankind whiche by the meryte of fayth enspyred by god is promoted by special benefites vnto the most high excellent and eternall saluation The which thing doubtlesse is done by no vnequitie of the moste iuste and most mercyfull GOD whose iudgment in these dyspensacions and orderinges is not to be iudged with arrogancie but is to be praised with tremblyng forasmuch as euen among those faithful people as is abouesayde not one and the same thinges nor lyke thynges are geuen to them all and before any part of mennes merites there is a moste vnlike measure of Gods giftes For if we dare not complaine of the iudgemente of oure carnall parentes when they doe loue some of theyr Chyldren more tenderly then the other euen afore any trial of their maners and before any seruyce of godlines And the affection and disposicion of maysters is free and at libertie towarde theyr seruaunts neyther is any man iustly reprehended whiche hath chosen to hymselfe oute of hys famyly and housholde seruauntes beinge all in one condicion and state some certayne seruauntes whom he would more louingly preferre and set forth and whom he would more liberalli instruct Shal we then cauyll and complayne of the most louynge equitie of the hyghest father and true Lorde because that in hys greate house also thynges are made variable by innumerable differences And when no man hath anye good thynge that is not of his gyfte yet al men shine not in like vertues or are enriched with lyke gyftes of the holy ghoste And we may not apply this diuersitie of degrees vnto the causes of merites forasmuche as the principall cause of all good merite is grace Of whose ryches is receyued whatsoeuer thynge is founde allowable in al men Therefore lyke as it is vngodly to conceyue in the heart anye griefe of those thynges whiche the holy ghoste manye sundrye wayes worketh in the Church So also we must not murmure at al at that prouidence that is ouer the vnfaythfull For the iudge is both iust and good neyther is he of an vnrighteous wyll nor yet of an vncertayne discrecion that we shoulde thynke whosoeuer perisheth ought not to perishe vnder the great mercy and iustyce of the almightie God There is no part of the worlde without the Gospel of Christ and albeit the generall callinge cease not yet is that speciall callyng also become common to all menne For of euery nation of euerye condicion and state of men are daylye adopted thousandes of olde men thousandes of yonge men thousandes of Chyldren And also those instrumentes and tyrauntes by whom the worlde is tormoiled do serue to the effectes of y e Christian grace For feare of present peryll hath drawen many a one to the water of regeneration who in the calme of peace did deferre to receyue the Sacrament of Baptisme and dreadfull feare hath sodainly constrayned that whiche quiet exhortation could not in longe time beate into weake and luke warme mynds Some Children of the Church beyng taken of theyr enemyes haue wonne theyr maysters vnto the Gospel of Christ and they were aboue them in magisterie and dignitie of fayth whom they serued by course and condition of warre And some barbarous men whyle they ayded the Romaynes haue learned in oure countreys that whiche they coulde not know in their owne countreys and haue retourned home to theyr owne abidinges with the doctrine of the Chrysten religion So then nothing is able to resist the diuine grace that the thynge that he hath wylled shoulde not be fulfilled when very discordes draw men to vnitie and plagues are tourned into remedyes that the Churche might thereof receyue increasinge whereof it was affrayde of ieopardie Therfore let vs looke vnto al the issues and ends of humaine thinges and we shal fynde that no times no busines no beginninges nor endes of generations wanted the eternall vnsercheable iudgementes of god All repugnauncie of variablenesse al causes of vnlykely successes which we are not able to searche and discerne were in that eternall knowledge both knowen and deuided at once and nothyng was there vnordeyned or vndisposed yea euen of the qualities of the actions which yet haue no beyng For in God there is no chaunsyng motion or newe wyll no temporall counsell or mutable deuyce neyther is his thoughte chaunged with the inequalitie of mutable thynges but he comprehended at once and together in an euerlastynge and stable syghte or beholdynge all tymes and temporall thinges And he geueth all vnto al thinges who hath alreadi made the thynges that shalbe hereafter And thys is it that the Apostle Paule wrytteth to the Ephesi Blessed be god and the father of our Lorde Iesus Chryst which hath blessed vs with all maner of spirituall blessynges in heauenly thinges by Chryst according as he had chosen vs in him before the begynnynge of the worlde that we shoulde be holy and immaculate in his sight in loue whiche hath predestinate vs vnto the adoption of sonnes by Iesus Chryst our Lorde accordynge to the purpose of hys owne wyll vnto the prayse of the glory of hys grace c. The which he knitteth together vnder the predication of the same sence teachinge that the gyfte and workynge of grace hath euermore remained and abidden in the euerlastinge counsaile of