bleat ionigainf theofurance o f ame eleEiionanfivered. 259' the repentant whomhee dearelie loueth, and fometime fpa- reth the wicked when they but oumardlie humble them- (cluesbeforehim; therefore theProphets fpeakedoubtfully and exhort to repentance, referring the client to Gods wife and gracious prouidence. And thus doubtfulliedoth l)auid fpeake in this refpe&& z.Sam.I 2.22. Whocan tell(faidhe)n-he. z.Sam. aa,aa ther God will haue nner cie on me that the childmay lime ? and anc1.0.I s. chap. i 6. i z. It stay be theLordwill lool¿e upon mine afflicion; and yet though hee were doubtfull whether hee fhould bee freed fi om thefe temporall crolfes, hee wasnotwithílanding certainelyperCwaded ofhis ele9ion and filuation; as he pro- feífeth Palma6. I. Só that thefe places fpeaking of tern- Pfalru.16.1i. porarie chaf}ifements, make nothing againft the certain-tie ofourclec`tion. And like vnto thefe,is that which they alleage to the fame y where `Peter exhorteth SimonAlagsu to Aa.B.sz. repent ofhis wtck,ednefe, and topray untocod, that ifperaduen- ture thewickedthought of his heart might beforgiuen him. To which Ianfwere, fira, that the originali word deg, which is tranflated,ifperaduenture, & in our Bibles,ifitbepofble,fom- timesan fignifieth,that truly.and in this fenfe itmaketh no- thing for doubting. Secondly,thoughwee vnderftand itas a. fpeechofdoubting, yet it makethnot for their purpofe;forit is not tobe referred vnto God, as though it were doubtfull whether hewould forgiue the finnes oftheMagician,ifbee truely repent and call.vponhim; for hehathcertainly allured vs byhis gracious promife, that whofoeuer truely repenteth himofhis wicked waies,hewil receiue him to mercy,Ezech. 3 3.I I But it is tobe referred toSimon Map", of -whole re- Ezech.33. =s: pentance and liuely faith Peter might well doubt, left either they would bee none at all, or els fained and hypocritical', feeing his heart was not right in the fight ofGod, but in the gall ofbitterneffe andbond ofiniquitie. Laffly, though it íhould bee a doubtfull fpeech and bee referred allo to Göd, yet it maketh nothing againft the certaintie offaith ; for the Apoffle feeing him in the gall of bitterneffe and bond ofiniquitie,thought it not fit to raife himvp fuddenly, byapplying vnto him the fweete promifes ofthe Gofpell, S z nor
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