The Institution of Christian Religion

But there will be some peradventure that will grant, that Will being of her own nature, turned away from good, is converted by the only power of the Lord: but so that being prepared before, it hath also her own part in doing,¹ as Augustin teacheth, that grace goeth before every good work, but so, that will doth accompany it and not lead it, as a waiting maid after it, & not a forgoer. Which thing being not evil spoken by the holy man, Peter Lombard doth disorderly writhe to this purpose. But I affirm, that as well in the words of the Prophet which I have alleged as in the other places, these two things be plainly signified, that the Lord doth both correct our corrupted will or rather destroy it, & also of himself putteth in place thereof of a good will. In as much as it is prevented by grace, in it respect I give you leave to call it a Waiting maid, but for that being reformed, it is the work of the Lord: this is wrongfully given to man that he doth with will coming after, obey grace going before. Therefore it is not well written of Chrysostom,² that neither grace without will, nor will without grace can work any thing: as if grace did not work very will it self, as even now we have seen by Paul. Neither was it Augustine's purpose when he called mans will the waiting maid of grace, to assign unto her a certain second office in doing a good work, but because this only was his intent, to confute the wicked doctrine of Pelagius, which did set the principal cause of salvation in mans deserving: therefore he stood only upon this point, that grace was before all deserving, which was sufficient for the matter that he then had in hand, not meddling in the mean time with the other question, concerning the perpetual effect of grace, which yet in an other place be excellently well handleth. For sometimes when he saith, that the lord doth prevent the unwilling that he may will, and followeth the willing that he will not in vain, ⟨p. 21⟩he maketh him altogether the whole author of the good work. Albeit his sentences touching this matter,³ are to plain to need any long arguing upon them. Men (sayeth he) do labour to find in our will something that is our own & not of God, but how it may be found I know not.