The texte.

Of suche saiynges some deuilishe disposed person taketh occasion, and sayeth: if of whō soeuer he wyl, he haue mercy, and whō he wyl he maketh hard hearted, what hath he then, wherin to blame vs? Syth his wyl and pleasure noman is able to resist, let him laye it to him selfe, & not to vs, if any sinne be cōmitted. But heare now of the otherside, what may be sayd. Noman withstādeth his wyl (I graunt) yet is not therfore Goddes wyll Page  [unnumbered] cause of thy dānacion. Nor did god in suche maner hardē y^• heart of Pha¦rao, that he wrought the vice of stubbernes therin, but rather wheras he wel knew, y^• the arrogāt tyran was wel worthy sodenly to be destryed, yet vsed God toward him by litle & litle suche encrease of punishment, as he might therw^t haue been amēded: had not his malice been an impediment. But through Gods gentle fauor vsed in punishyng of him, his wicked mynde became worse & worse. And therfore the mans frowardnes God turned to his glory. In this matter for the defēce of Gods righteousnes many thinges might be answered, but briefly to say God hateth all haut∣nes* & arrogancie. And what a greatter point of arrogancie can there be, then that a man most vile & abiecte should with God reason y^• matter, en∣coūtryng with him, as though he were his felowe? For who (I pray you) could abide to heare the yearthen vessel quarel with his maker and say: why hast thou made me after this fashion? For as clay is in the hāde of y^• potter: euen so are we in Gods hādes, as by the prophet Esai y^• Lord him selfe sayeth. The potter, as his mynde standeth, worketh some vessels to serue for vile & vncleanly vses, & some other also appointeth he for honest seruice. In whiche acte, what reason soeuer the workeman folowe, therin doeth he lawfully, & why he so doeth, vnmete it is that the clay should re∣quyre any cause. The clay of it selfe is nothyng els, but clay, wherof if y^• potter worke a comly & a welfauored cup, for that his fayre shape ought he to geue thanke to the craftes man, & yet to the vile & filthy clay is ther* no wrong done at al, if of it be made a chambre potte, or some other vessel of more vile vse. Lykewyse is it of God, whiche leauyng mā in his sinne, because so he was borne, doeth him no wrong, as callyng man to right∣wyse life he therin sheweth his bounteous mercy & goodnes. In the for∣saken person it pleaseth God to shewe his iustice, to thentent he would be feared, in y^• approued, to thentent he would be loued, sheweth he his fre mercy. Nor besemeth it any mā, of God for so doyng to exacte & requyre a reason, nor why he calleth some one lately, & some other more tymely, nor why he draweth one whiche hath not so deserued, and forsaketh another, whiche hath deserued better. A muche more base creature is mā, beyng compared with god, then is clay compared with the potter.

So that then if it be an vnsene and a hiddeous presumpcion, that the clay should with the potter pratle & reason his matter, how muche great∣ter arrogancie is it, for a man to talke of Gods counsels, whiche so farre passe our capacities, that we therof haue, but euen as it were a shadowe or a dreame? Begyn to beleue, & leaue thy reasonyng, & so shalt y^• muche rather vnderstād. Besides this remēbre y^• the potter may be deceiued, but in God none error can be foūd. It is for y^• ynough to beleue this, y^• God by reason of his almightie power, may at his pleasure do what him liste, and again forasmuche as he is w^tout cōparyson beste, do wyl he nothing, but that whiche is beste. Nor should he, because our vngodlines he tur∣neth to his honor: therfore of vs be blamed, but this rather shuld we take as a sure profe of his exceadyng goodnes, y^• he suche mischief turneth to good. It was not God, whiche made the an vncleane vessell. But thou thy selfe art he whiche hast made thy selfe filthy, through appliyng of thy selfe to vngodly exercises. Beside this if God accordyng to his wysdome Page  xxvi both for the saluacion of the good, and glory of his name abuse thy fro∣wardnes cause hast thou none for y^• to complayne. Lawfully art thou for thy sinne punished, & through thine example the good people wil y^• better take hede, & whiles through thy blindnes and destruction they the better perceiue, how greatly they are bound to the goodnes of God, they are w^t more mery chere encouraged to geue him thankes. Nothyng had Pha∣rao to wyte God withal, but of his owne naughtynes only perished, and yet did that his stubberne malice among the Hebrewes highly auaunce the glory of God. And what can there be, that they can reproue, if, as god* at that tyme deferred the destruccion of Pharao: so likewyse now for a season, not without great fauour he beare with and suffre y^• vnbeleuyng and sturdy Iewes beyng vessels, whiche haue right well deserued euen out of hand to be crushed in pieces, to thentent that all the worlde shall more clearely perceiue, that they are well worthy of damnacion, whiche beyng so many wayes prouoked, amende not, to thende y^• bothe through theyr punishment other should feare almightie God, whom we may not through continuaunce in synne prouoke to sure vengeaunce, & also more plentifully to shewe the greatnes of his might and glory towarde good people, whō he hath purged beyng before vncleane vessels, and reserued them for holy vses: not for theyr circūcision or y^• lawes sake, but through the deserte of fayth, for whose onely sake they are called to this honoure. Called (I say) not only of y^• Iewes as we be, but also of y^• gētiles, because herein it is not byrthe whiche maketh inheritors, but the choyse of God. Nor ought the Iewes to meruaile, that the gentiles, whiche were before this tyme heathen & straungers to God, are now by adopcion receiued into the numbre of Gods children, syth they them selfe long synce wer for theyr offences done against God dispised, reiected, and as disinherited, when yet afterwarde beyng sory for theyr synnes and amendyng, they wer through the great bountyfulnes of God receiued into his fauor. That this should so be, witnesseth theyr owne prophete Osee, saying:* I wyll call them my people whiche wer not my people, and her beloued, whiche was not beloued, & her to haue obtained mercye, whiche had not obtained mercye: so that this shall come to passe, that in the place, where heretofore it was sayd: ye are not my people, there shal some be called the children of the liuyng God. Why grudge & reproue they that thyng in other, whiche they them selfe haue already assayed? Why stande they not rather in a watche & take hede, lest through theyr owne foly they become againe, that they wer once? Why enuy they at them, whom they might folowe, wer it not, they had more pleasure to striue, then to obeye?