AGaine, some referre the worke of God, which he sheweth in the hardning of the heart, to that generall power which he giveth unto the Creature, in whom all things live, move, and have their being; as Act. 17. 28. for the hardning of the heart, as it is an action, or worke, is of God; but as it is evil, it proceedeth from man. Evill acts, as they are acts are good, and proceed from God the Author; but this solution doth not take away the doubt, for as God is the Creator, and so the generall* 1.1 worker, he only giveth power to move the heart; which moving being the generall action, is divided into two parts; for there are good motions of the heart, and evil, the one mollyfying the heart, and the other hardning of it.
In the good motions God concurreth two wayes; 1. As a* 1.2 generall mover, by his crea••ing power. 2. As a particular di∣rection, by his regenerating grace. But in the other motion he hath a stroke, as a generall mover, in the particular act of hard∣ning; as it is evill he concurreth not, therefore according to that generall power the Lord is only said to be a mover, not an hard∣ner of the heart.
Now of these waies before rehearsed, there are three chiefly to be made choise of, viz. 1. That God hardneth the heart by lea∣ving it to it self, and depriving it of his necessary grace, as he is said to have given over the unbeleeving Gentiles to their owne hearts lusts, Rom. 1. 24. 2. That God causeth many things to be done, which are not in themselves causes of the hard∣ning of the heart, yet the wicked take occasion thereby to be further indurate, and hardned, as the Apostle sheweth, that the wicked abuse the patience and long suffering of God, there∣by to be further hardned. 3. That God by his just judgement doth force them to their owne hurt, whether they run headlong