hissyng, with the soūd of his trumpet, with his power & cōmandement the wicked ar stirred vp to warre. He calleth the Assyrian the rod of his wrath, & the axe that he moueth with his hande. The destruction of the holy citie & ruine of the Temple he calleth his worke. Dauid not mur∣muring against God, but acknowledging him for a rightuous iudge, yet confesseth that the cursings of Semei proceded of the cōmaūdement of God. The Lord (saith he) cōmaunded him to curse. We often finde in ye holy historie, yt what soeuer happeneth it cometh of the Lord, as the de∣parting of the ten tribes, the death of the sonnes of Hely, and very ma∣ny things of like sort. They yt be meanly exercised in the Scriptures do see, yt for shortnesses sake, I bring forth of many testimonies but a few, by which yet it appereth plainly enough, yt they do trifle & talk fondly, yt thrust in a bare Sufferāce in place of ye Prouidence of God, as though God saie in a watche tower waityng for the chaunces of Fortune, and so his iudgementes shoulde hang vppon the will of men.
[ 2] Nowe as concerning secrete motions, that which Salomō speaketh of the hart of a king, that it is bowed hether or thether as pleaseth God, extendeth surely to all mankind, and is as muche in effecte as if he had said: what soeuer we conceiue in myndes, is by the secret inspiration of God directed to his ende. And truly if he did not worke in the myndes of men, it were not rightly said, that he taketh away the lippe from the true speakers, and wisedom from aged men, that he taketh the hart frō the Princes of the earthe, that they maye wander where is no beaten waie. And hereto belongeth that whyche we ofte reade, that men are fearefull so farre foorth as theyr hartes bee taken with his feare. So Dauid went out of the campe of Saule and none was ware of it, be∣cause the slepe of God was come vpon theim all. But nothyng can be desyred to be more playnly spoken, than where he so oft pronounceth, that he blyndeth the eies of men, & striketh them with giddynesse, that he maketh them drunke with the spirite of drowsynesse, casteth them in∣to madnesse, & hardneth their harts. These things also many do referre to Sufferance, as if in forsaking the reprobate, he suffred thē to be blin∣ded by Satan. But that solution is to fonde, forasmuch as ye Holy ghost in plain words expresseth, that they are striken with blindnesse & mad∣nesse by ye iust iudgmēt of God. It is said, yt he hardned the hart of Pha∣rao, also that he did make dull & strengthen it. Some do with an vnsa∣uory cauillation mocke out these phrases of speche, because where in an other place it is said, that Pharao did harden his owne hart, there is his owne will set for the cause of his hardenyng. As though these thynges did not very well agree together, although in diuers maners, that man while he is moued in working by God, doeth also worke himself. And I doo turne back their obiection against them selues. For, if to harden do signify but a bare Sufferance, then the very motion of obstinacie shall not be proprely in Pharao. Now how weake and foolishe were it so to expounde, as if Pharao did only suffer hym self to be hardened? More∣ouer the Scripture cutteth of all occasions from suche cauillations. For God sayth, I will holde his harte. So of the inhabitauntes of the land of Canaan Moses saith, that thei went forth to bataile, because ye Lord had hardned their harts. Which same thing is repeted by an other Prophet, saying: He turned their harts that they should hate his people.