An Answer to a Great Number of Blasphemous Cavillations

First say you, their hearts •ere already hardened which their ⟨p. 369⟩wickedness did plainly declare, yet hath he commanded the Prophet to do his office not to make their hearts hard, for that belongeth only to God who giving them over to their hearts lusts he already hardened them. And so ye conclude that the Prophet did only declare unto them the hardness of their hearts.¹ We do not deny but that their hearts were hardened before, and that justly for their iniquities sake they were given over to their hearts lusts. But whether they were so hardened before the preaching of the Prophet, that after they could be not harder, I greatly doubt. Yea I nothing doubt to affirm, but that even as the clay by the heat of the Sun, becometh more hard, and more hard, or as the branch cut of the natural stock doth more & more wither, until that no kind of sap, nor moisture doth remain, even so I say do the reprobate from time, to time become more obstinate, more blind, more hard, and more cruel, and that by the word, which doth plainly rebuke their iniquity, and evidently declare whose children their are. Examples in scripture hereof are manifest: Some lenity, and gentleness appeared in Pharaoh, toward the people of Israel before that Moses, at gods commandment required their liberty. But that will, and word of God commanding him to let his people go and serve God in the wilderness, did so quickly work in the heart of that reprobate,² that the greater hardness of his heart, was suddenly felt by the Israelites, to their great grief and grudging disconfort.

First say you, their heartes •ere alredy hardened which their ⟨p. 369⟩wickednes did plainely declare, yet hath he commanded the Prophet to do his office not to make their heartes hard, for that bel•ngeth onely to God who giuing them ouer to their heartes lustes he alredy hardened them. And so ye conclude that the Prophet did onely declare vnto them the hardenes of their heartes.