Of the nature and use of lots a treatise historical and theologicalOf the nature and vse of lots a treatise historicall and theologicall

Beside, as the Heathen man sometime said though to an other and an evil purpose, ^cIt is a miserable thing for a man to live in necessity; but there is no necessity at all for any man so to live: So say I here, It is an hard case for a man to be driven to that strait, that he must of necessity betake himself to such courses: but ^dthere is no necessity at any time that so he should do. For what necessity speak they of that should warrant such a course? If absolute necessity; there is none such: For there cannot be any case possibly put, wherein a man is so straitened, that he cannot avoid it, but that of necessity he must do it. If conditional necessity, that either a man must do it, or he must sustain damage, yea or he must die if he do it not; yet here is no such necessity as may justify such an act. For it is not only a tempting of God, as some have described it, ^ewhen a man requireth some extraordinary work of God for his pleasure, or to make trial thereby what God either can or will do, when there is no need to have ought done: but for a man to require some extra-ordinary work of God even for his profit or his safety as well as for his pleasure without special warrant from God so to do, is likewise to tempt God: As ⁴not to admit it when God offereth it in such case, is to neglect and contemn him: so to require it before he offer it, is to tempt and to stint him. The Jews are said to have tempted and stinted ⟨p. 315⟩God, not then only ^gwhen they required to be fed with flesh having other food sufficient already, but even then also ^hwhen they required to have water by miracle, what time they were ready to perish for thirst, and had nothing else to drink. And how much more then is it ^*a tempting and stinting of God, when we prescribe him to work thus extraordinarily for us, for the recovery of some trifling loss, or the discovery of a Thief?