Mar.tS',31. Gen.rg. ,., Of the rv1nExpo_jition Father, I ofan earthly king, but of Almightie God the A King ofkings : and as they are the fonnes of God in · ChriO:, fo in him they may freely fpeake vmo God their father by prayer. And this ouerthrowes thedoc.'lrine offuch as beof the CHurch ofRome, which teach and hold, that a man mull: come to fpeake tO God by prayer through the interceflion ofSaints ;for, fay they, the prefence of God is foglorious, thatweemaynot bee fo bold, as ofour felues And whercas~the Father is faid to bee Al– mighty,itis not fo to be vndcrO:ood as though the Sonne were not almighty, or the holy Gh~O:not almighty; for eucry propertie or attnbute (faue the perfonall pr:>perties) ·is common to allthe three perfons. For as God the Father doth impart his godhead vnto the Sonne, and to the holy GhoO:, fo doth hee commuqicate the properties of the godhead to them alfo 1 God isomnipotenttwowaies: I. Becaufc he is able to doe whatfoeuer he will. I I. Be– cauk:heis able to do whatfoeuer he will doe. For the lirfr, that God is ableto doo whatfoto fpeake vnto him ; but needs mull: haue the interce!SioA ofothers. · LaO:ly, Godwill prouide for allhis Church and children all things needfull both for their bodies and foules : fo our Sauiour ChriO: bids hisdifciplestake no thought what they lhould eate, or what theylhoutddrinke, or where– with they lhoutd becloathed,adding this rea– f<>n: for 7'"' he•ueniJ FAther lt._noweth •0J••r w•nu, And ifwetake thought, it mull: be mo– derate, and not diO:ruO:full: itis a partofthe fathers duty to prouide for his Family& chil– dren,and not the children for the father.Now !halt an earth!y father haue this care for his children: and fhall not our heauenly Father much m11re prouide for thofe that feare and lou~ him?Nay, matke further, in Gods church there be many hypocrites which receiueinfi– nite;'benefits from God, by reafon ofhis elec.'l children with whom they tiue: and wee !hall fee this to be true, that the wicked man hath euer fared better fer the godly mans caufe.So– dome and Gomorrha recei~ed many benefits by reafon of rightCO!JS Lot : and when the Lord was purpofed to deO:roy Sodome, hee was faine to pull Lot forthofthecitie: for the text faith, the Angell ofthe L~rd mtldnot dot •"J•'i•g, till hte'riNticomllutofit. Soalfo in 'P•ult dangerous voyage towards Rome, all the men init fared better for 'P•uh cempanie: for the Lord told P•ul by an Angell, that there fhould be nolo£fe of any mans lifo, for· the Lordh•d giue11 t•him •flrh•tfoJled with him. And vndoubtedly, if it were not for fome few that feare God, he would powredowne his .vengeance vpon many nations and king– domes, thereis fuch exce£fe ofwickedneffe in all forts.Againe, ifthe Lord doe thus carefully prouide for his children all kind of benefits ; what a wonderful wickedne£fe is this,for men to gettheir liuitlg byvngodl~ meanes i asvfury carding dicing and fuch hkeexercifes?Ifa m~nwere perfwaded, that God were his Fa– ther, and would prouide fufficiently both for his body and foule ; fo that vling lawfull mcahes he lhonld euer haue enoogh: out ofall doubt he would neuer after the falhion ofthe world vfe vnlawfnll and prophanc meanes to get a liuiog. But this reprooueth,thathowfo– LJer muchmenfay,God istheir Father,yetin– eecde they deny him. And thus much ofthis title, Father, t~e firO: thi•g whereby the firfr perfon is defcribed. Now followcth the fecond poim,namely, his attributeofOmnipot'icy, in the wordAl""ghtJ. euer he.will, Da•idfaith, O•r Godu in he..en, PCLJf.l B AndbedothwhatfoeoerhewiO: for there isno– thing that can hinder God ; but ashe willeth fo cuery thing is done. Secondly, that God can doe more then he willeth to bedone itis plaine, where{•hnJJaptijl faith, G•d is •hleof Mat,f, 9 , the{< f/ones so roift vp sbildren vnto Abr.b•m: for though God can doe thusmuch, yet hee will not doe it. So tikewife when Chril! was betrayed, the Father could haue giuen him more then 12, legions ofAngels to haue deti- Mat , 1, uered himout oftheir hands,but yet he would fl• not:·and the like may bee faid ofmany other things. The Father is and was able to hitle created another wor!d,yea a thoutand worlds but he would nor, nor will not. Andlikewife ChriO: being vpon the croffe, W>S able artheir C bidding to haue come downe, and faued him– felfe from death, but he would not:and there– fore this is true, the Lord can doe any thing thathee willeth to beedone ac.'lually,, yea and more thenhe wiii.Butfome willfay, G.,d can notdoefome thing;s which mancandoe, as God<Annot lie, nord111ie hir>Jfi/fo;and therefore he is notomnipotent. Anf"· Althoughfome T;r.r.•. hauc thought that God could doe euen thefc :.T;m.,, things,and he didthem not, becaufehe would 1l · not: yetwemuO:knowandbekeue,that God can neither lie, nor denie himfclfe: iadeede man can doe both, but thefe and many other fuch things ifGod could doe them, he could not be God. God indeede can doe all things which !hew forth his glory and maieO:ie :but D fuch things as are againO: his nature he cannot doe: as for example: God cannotlinne, and therefore can not lie : and bccaufe he can not dow hefe things, forth is very caufc he is om– nipttent:forthefe and uiCh like,are workesof impotencie : which if God could doe, hee lhould euen by his owne word be iudged im– potenr. Secondly, he cannot doe that which implies contraditlion: as when athing is, to makeit atthe fame time to be,and not to bee : as when the Sunne doth fhi"e , tomake it at the fame inO:ant toJbine and not to 01ine.And thereforefalfcisthedoc.'lrineof that Church, which in thdr Tranfubfrantiation make the bodyofChrifl, (whofe e£fentiall propcrtie is to be only in one place at once) to be circum– fcribed, and notto becircumfcribed: to be in one place, and nottobein one place. And
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