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…

when thousands were converted in one day, it was not by the ministry of Peter and his fellow Apostles. This Authors meaning seems to be, that unless man converts himself, it is not done by sermons. But see how he overlasheth; when carrying the matter so as if God's decree necessitated and overruled all by our opinion; yet most absurdly he exempts from this divine decree man's endeavours. And who seeth not that to overrule is to carry the reasonable creature on to do contrary to his own will and judgment. For unless he doth toss strenuously he can prevail nothing with any sober and indifferent Reader. In like sort to necessitate denotes such a motion whereby the creature is carried to do a thing necessarily but this is not Bradwardines opinion, who alone amongst School-Divines, that I know, useth this phrase of necessitating. For he saith that God necessitates the creature to his free act, & this necessity is but modal, according to that expression of Austin necesse est ut aliquid fiat, which Austin confessed 1200 years ago to be no impeachment to man's liberty. But because that phrase Necessitating, is not only of an harsh sound & apt to be taken in a quite contrary sense to that of the Author's; therefore other School-Divines, and generally our Divines use it not. And how immodest a course is ⟨p. 132⟩this to think to choke us with other mens phrases, and that in a quite contrary sense to that wherein the Author's take it? And as if he had very substantially concluded the point, that laws do nothing, rules of religion, and mens endeavours do nothing, whereas he hath performed no part either of a Philosopher or of a Divine in all this, but of a mere trifler; he proceeds to demand why the one are made, the other prescribed; why men are encouraged to some things; and scared from the other. He might as well ask what meant King Hezekiah to have any care either of his food or of taking Physic for those 15 years which God told him, he had added unto his life? What meant Paul to tell the Master of the ship, that unless the Mariners were detained in the ship they could not be saved; what meant some to trust to their swimming, others to boards & broken pieces of the ship to get to land, when the Lord by his Angel had told him, that he had given him the lives of all that sailed with him?

when thousands were converted in one day, it was not by the ministry of Peter and his fellow Apostles. This Authours meaning seemes to be, that unlesse man converts himselfe, it is not done by sermons. But see how he overlasheth; whē carrying the matter so as if God's decree necessitated and overruled all by our opinion; yet most absurdly he exempts from this divine decree man's endeavours. And who seeth not that to overrule is to carry the reasonable creature on to doe contrary to his own will and judgment. For unlesse he doth tosse strenuouslly he can prevaile nothing with any sober and indifferent Reader. In like sort to necessitate denotes such a motion whereby the creature is carried to doe a thing necessailry but this is not Bradwardines opinion, who alone amongst Schoole-Divines, that I know, useth this phrase of necessitating. For he saith that God necessitates the creature to his free act, & this necessity is but modall, according to that expression of Austin necesse est ut aliquid fiat, which Austin confessed 1200 years agoe to be no impeachment to man's liberty. But because that phrase Necessitating, is not only of an harsh sound & apt to be taken in a quite contrary sense to that of the Authour's; therefore other School-Divines, and generally our Divines use it not. And how immodest a course is