An Answer to Blasphemous Cavillations by an Anabaptist, Section 40
ADVERSARIE.
That place of the booke of …he kinges.The …. argu…ent. The Lord commandeth Semei to curse Dauid, I vnderstād so forasmuch as God is the author of all goodnes▪ ād of no euill, he gaue not a wicked mynd to Semei. But willing to exercis… his seruant Dauid, vnderunder the cr…sse,The 40. section. and fin…ing Semei a naughtie and euill mynded man specially towards Dauid, he gaue him the bridell, which being left of God, he by the intisement of the deuill, which was alredie in his heart, did curse Dauid▪ and Dauid being gouerned by the spirite of God did paciciently suffer the wicked to curse him, h…ping that God, wolde turne his cursing into blessing▪ for this did Dauid knowe. that without the permission and suffering of God Semei coulde no more curse him then Balaam might curse the Israelites, it foloweth not therfor, that God did effectually m…ue Semei to do the wicked dede, but onelyonly s…ffered …, yet if ye will seke to the litterall sense of this place and a…rm that G…d did effectually command Semei to curse Dauid, then I must go this way to work with you: all that the Lord commandeth, is iust, if … be iust to …mmand to curse, It is iust to obey to curse. for the righ…ousnes of the dede, is knowen by the righteousnes of the commandemēt: as it is uniust to obey an vniust cōmandemēt, so is it iust to obey a iust cōmandemēt wherefor Semei obeing the cōmandement of God, which is iust, did iustly, you wil say tha… Semei did not obedien…ly, tha… is to obey God, but of an euill mynd cursed Dauid. I answer you after your own… saying, that this was also the w…ll of God that Semei should hauehave an euill mynd and not to please God cursed Dauid▪ for you say that God gaue him an euill mynd to curse Dauid, wherfor in tha… he of a disobedient mynd cursed Dauid he was obedient to God. and a… we hauehave said to obey God it is iust. I pray you then why commandeth Dauid,Iob. 17 his sone Salomon to punishe Semei for this iust acte, they which feare …hey hore frost, saie…h Iob, the snowe shall fall vponupon them, likwies so long as you stick to your error, when you think to auoyd one danger, you shall fall into a greater.
ANSWER.
You do euer decline from the principall scope and so mak ye a fals conclusion,To the 1. & 2 for we do not deny but God finding in Semei at that time a wicked mynd towardes Dauid did lowse the bridle to his corrupted affections. but in two things do you and we differre. The first is that whether he found any wickednes in him which his godly power might not hauehave remoued, if so he had determined to hauehave donne from the beginning? And secondarily if so he gaue him the bridle, that he might not hauehave impeded the s…me, if such had bene his godly will: and therefore where you affirme that God did effectually moue Semei to that wicked dede. if you vnderstand that in so farre as the dede was wicked, the Spirit of God, I meane the holy Gost did not moue him therunto, I subscribe with you. for so outrageously to curse Dauid, in the day of his great calamitie, he was moued by that venime which lōg had lurked in his breast, and by the instigatiō of the deuill. But if thereupon you conclude, as that you seme to do by your manifest wordes, that God did nothīg elles but onelyonly suffer him. Because I say that such ydle permissiō can neither agre with gods power, nor with his iustice, we must nedes affirme, that when God giueth ouer the wicked into a lewd, ād reprobate mynde, that thē as iustly he punisheth sinne by sinne, so doeth he more thē onelyonly suffer.To ye 3. & 4. There is more required that a fact be iust ād iustly and obediently donne, thē a iust commandemēt. to witt: That he doer hauehave gods expresse commandement for his assurance. And secondarely that he looke, and hauehave respect to the same endes, which God hath vttered in his word. and last that he do it onelyonly to obey God. Nowe proue any of these to hauehave bene in Semei, and I will confesse that ye hauehave once triumphed. I finde that Dauid did acknowledge gods commandement and coūsell, and therfor at that time wold he not arme him self nor his seruantes to take vengeance. But what commandemēt of God I pray you did Semei either acknowledge or confesse. I finde no mention that he excuseth him self, no not by any commandement that he had receaued of God, when after he submitteth him self to Dauid in the day whē he returned and came ouer Iordane. But I finde him plainely to confesse his offence saying: Let not my Lorde impute wickednes vntounto me,2. Re. …. nor remembre the thing that thy seruant did wickedly, when my Lorde the king departed oute of Ierusalem, that the king shoulde take it to his heart. for thy seruant doeth knowe that I hauehave donne amisse. If Semei had either knowen any commandement of God, or if he had looked to the same end to the which God looked, he might hauehave had plausible reasons to hauehave persuaded Dauid, to hauehave shewed fauor and merciemercy vntounto him. first he might hauehave said, Oh Dauid althogh thow was kīg, and that I did curse the, thow oghtest no more to be offended against me, then thow wast against the Prophet Nathan. for as he had gods commandemēt plainely to reuele thy sinne, ād sharply to rebuke the same, to the ēd that thou mightest be more effectually moued to repentance, so had I gods commandement bitterly to curse thee, to the end that thou mightest humble thy self before thy God, whom so highly thou hast offended.
These I say I had bene plausible reasons to hauehave moued Dauid to merciemercy. But the canckered conscience of Semei did witnes against him, self yt he to his knowledge had neither commandement of God, neither yet that he looked to any purpose or counsell of God: but onelyonly to Dauids, vtter confusion & destructiō, which he maliciously soght. And so I say albeit that gods commandement in the self was iust. for the purpose and end which he had appointed, yet was this commandement hid to Semei, and gods purpose also vnknowen to him: & therfore was his fact neither iustly nor obediently donne. for a iust fact (as I hauehave before said) requireth a good wil to obey a iust commandement: and obediēce requireth knowledge of the will, which neither of bothe was in Semei. Nowe proue if you cā either iniustice in God who thus doeth vse this wicked instrumēt, or yet in Dauid his sernant, who in his testament commanded the dissembled hypocrisie to be punished. The rest of your vaine sophisterie, which of Castalio you hauehave begged, doeth nothing profit you. for albeit we should confesse that it was the will of God in some respecte, that Semei should hauehave an euill and inobedient minde: how shall you be able to proue, that therfor he did obey God? Is it not the will of God, that sathan, and the wicked world, of a wicked and malicious mynde, trooble and tempt his children in this earthe? Doeth it therfor folowe that Sathan and the wicked obey God? or doeth it not most iustly folowe, that because God will that our pacience should be knowen, & that the wicked from tyme to tyme procede in their impietie till the measure be full, that therfor they cā neuer obey God. And in this our affirmation we feare not so much the frost nor snowe, as that we lament your vncomelye iesting in gods scriptures. Thus you procede.