The riches of Gods love unto the vessels of mercy, consistent with his absolute…The riches of Gods love unto the vessells of mercy, consistent with his absolute…

And the Prophet David we know prays, that God would incline his heart unto his testimonies and not to covetousness, arguing thereby that God hath power to incline a man's heart to covetousness. But Bellarmine saith more then this, in saying that, God wrests and bends them, torquet & flectit; those are his words; although he seems to blast all this in the end by saying that this is done permissivè, by permission, in flat contradiction to himself, whose express purpose is to show that God doth not only suffer wicked men to perform evil acts, and to desert the godly, but somewhat else also, namely, to rule and govern their w•lls, to wrest and bend them by an invisible working in them, to commit one ev••• rather then another. Secondly consider their general doctrine of congruous grace, standing in a necessary conformity and correspondency to another vile doctrine of theirs concerning the foreknowledge of God, called by them Scientia media By this doctrine of theirs God foresees in what ease and by what motives man being moved to abstain from this or that sin, he will abstain from it: And again in what case and after what manner being moved to abstain from sin, he will not abstain from it And God makes choice at his pleasure how to move him, whether after such a manner in which case he foresees he will abstain from sin; or after another manner in which case he foresees he will not abstain. Now who is so blind as not to observe, that as often as a man sinneth, it is the will of God, that is the decree of God he shall sin, by the very grounds received by our Adversaries. Thus much as touching my first answer concerning the necessary consequence of sin upon God's operation to be acknowledged by our Adversaries, according to the tenor of their own doctrine, as well as by us. 2. My second answer is this. Albeit God determines the will to any virtuous act, morally good; whether in the way of doing some moral good, or in the way of abstaining from some moral evil; yet unless God give man some faith and love, as fountains out of which every moral work must proceed, that it may be acceptable with God; such an one shall necessarily sin, though not as touching the act done, yet as touching the manner of doing;

And the Prophet David we know prayes, that God would encline his heart unto his testimonies and not to covetousnesse, arguing thereby that God hath power to incline a man's heart to covetousnesse. But Bellarmine saith more then this, in saying that, God wrestes and bends them, torquet & flectit; those are his words; although he seemes to blast all this in the end by saying that this is done permissivè, by permission, in flat contradiction to himselfe, whose expresse purpose is to shew that God doth not only suffer wicked men to performe evill acts, and to desert the godly, but somewhat else also, namely, to rule and governe their wlls, to wrest and bend them by an invisible working in them, to commit one ev rather then another. Secondly consider their generall doctrine of congruous grace, standing in a necessary conformity and correspondency to another vile doctrine of theirs concerning the foreknowledge of God, called by them Scientia media By this doctrine of theirs God foresees in what ease and by what motives man being moved to abstaine from this or that sinne, he will abstaine from it: And againe in what case and after what manner being moved to abstaine from sinne, he will not abstaine from it And God makes choice at his pleasure how to move him, whether after such a manner in which case he foresees he will abstaine from sinne; or after another manner in which case he foresees he will not abaine. Now who is so blind as not to observe, that as often as a man sinneth, it is the will of God, that is the decree of God he shall sin, by the very groundes received by our Adversaries. Thus much as touching my first answer concerning the necessary conequence of sinne upon God's operation to be acknowledged by our Adversaries, according to the tenour of their own doctrine, as well as by us. 2. My second answer is this. Albeit God determines the will to any vertuous act, morally good; whether in the way of doing some morall good, or in the way of abstaining from some motall evill; yet unlesse God give man some faith and love, as fountaines out of which every morall worke must proceed, that it may be acceptable with God; such an one shall necessarily sinne, though not as touching the act done, yet as touching the manner of doing;