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…

Tiberius commanded the Virgins to be deflowered, that they might be strangled. Now is there any carriage of God taught by us like unto this? If God were disposed to strangle any, certainly he hath no need to have them deflowered first. For it is now a days confessed even by Arminius himself, that God can lawfully annihilate the holiest creature that lives, and that without all respect to sin, or the vitiation of them. And annihilation I think is much more then strangulation; this causing only a dissolution between the body and soul, but annihilation, setting an utter end to body & soul by turning them both into nothing. And farther, had Tiberius only permitted the deflowering of them, when he might have hindered it, though this were a foul part in him, yet I hope no Christian will say, it is a foul part in God, to permit any act never so flagitious, or facinorous when he is able to hinder it; especially when he may hinder it without any prejudice to the liberty of mans will: and that this is in Gods power Arminius acknowledgeth and supposeth at large in his Examen and Treatise there De Permissione. But Tiberius commanded the Hangman to deflower them. But is this our doctrine, that God commanded the ravishing of any, the murdering of any, or any other sin whatsoever? Do we not all teach rather, that God forbids it, and that under ⟨p. 24⟩penalty of everlasting death? yet it is true, the word of God expressly professeth out of the mouth of David, that God bad Shimei to curse David, and that he bid the evil spirit to seduce Ahab, that he might go up to Ramoth-Gilead, and that not to be strangled I confess, but, which was nothing better to him, that he might fall, and be slain there. But this is a figurative speech, and signifies not properly any command of God, but rather denotes the secret operation of Gods providence in the hearts of men, even of wicked men; for those as well as Devils, God knows how to make use of, to serve his own turn. And Austin professeth, Deum operari in cordibus hominum ad inclinandas eorum ¹voluntates quocunque voluerit, sive ad bona, pro suâ misericordiâ, sive ad mala pro meritis eorum judicio utique suo, aliquando aperto, aliquando occulto, semper autem justo: And, touching the particular of Shimei, writes thus, ejus voluntatem proprio suo vitio malam, in hoc peccatum judicio suo justo, & occulto inclinavit.

Tiberius commanded the Virgins to be defloured, that they might be strangled. Now is there any carriage of God taught by us like unto this? If God were disposed to strangle any, certainly he hath no need to have thē defloured first. For it is now a daies confessed even by Arminius himselfe, that God can lawfully annihilate the holiest creature that lives, and that without all respect to sin, or the vitiation of them. And annihilation I think is much more then strangulation; this causing only a dissolution between the body and soule, but annihilation, setting an utter end to body & soule by turning them both into nothing. And farther, had Tiberius only permitted the deflouring of them, whē he might have hindered it, though this were a foule part in him, yet I hope no Christian will say, it is a foule part in God, to permit any act never so flagitious, or facinorous when he is able to hinder it; especially when he may hinder it without any prejudice to the liberty of mans will: and that this is in Gods power Arminius acknowledgeth and supposeth at large in his Examen and Treatise there De Permissione. But Tiberius commanded the Hangman to defloure them. But is this our doctrine, that God commanded the ravishing of any, the murthering of any, or any other sin whatsoever? Do we not all teach rather, that God forbids it, and that under