Vermigli:

1) Now let us see by what means god works so excellent good things un us. First he offers the promises of these things, secondly, by his inspiration by the opening the heart, that those promises may be admitted: which never find place in us; for man’s heart is stubborn and resists spiritual things; and therefore there is need of continual ministry in the church. For it is the duty of pastors, to lay before the people the promises of God, & not only to urge the same with words, but also to seal the same by sacraments, which are certainly visible words. But first of all their part is to remove two impediments, which chiefly lead men away from the promises of God. For on the one part, men think they cannot attain to the promises of God, because they be unworthy of them: here ought a faithful minister diligently to persuade & teach, that these things are freely bestowed by God, not through works, or for any worthiness of the receivers. On the other part, men are wont to doubt, whether themselves, by election of God, be excluded from these promises, or no: here must they teach, that it is the part of the faithful people to receive the promises of God generally, as they taught us in the Holy Scriptures, by the Spirit of God; and that they ought not to be very inquisitive of the secret will of God. For undoubtedly, he would have revealed & declared who be the chosen & reprobate, he had known that the same should be profitable to salvation.

Wherefore, seeing that the Scriptures reject none particularly from the promises, every man ought to harken unto them, as if they should particularly pertain to himself. And certainly, together with faith, there will be a persuasion of the Spirit, given unto the believers; so as they shall not be in any doubt, but that they verily pertain unto the elect…

But this one thing we seem to have affirmed, which as yet is not proved by the Scripture; namely, that God does not only by his mere grace and good will offer the promises, which we have now spoken of; but that he also by his Spirit bends our heart to receive them…

But men are wont to say, and commonly boast, that the grace of God is laid forth to all men; wherefore if the same be not embraced, the fault is in ourselves, for that every man may attain to it if he will. This could we must rid away, by some sort short discourse. Indeed we may grant, that after this sort, grace is set abroad unto all men; because the general promises of God are offered and preached to indifferently to all men. Neither do the preachers, which publish those promises, stick anything about the secret will of God, or else think this with themselves; ‘Peradventure this man is not predestinate;’ or ‘I shall further nothing by my travail’: they imagine no such thing, but they propound the word of God to all men generally. But this means the grace and calling of God may be said to be common unto all men. Albeit, when as any man receives the promises of God offered, he does it not by his own power or will…

Peter Martyr, “Of Grace,” in The Common Places, rans., and compiled by Anthonie Martin, 1583, part 3, pp., 49-50 and 51.

2) But some man will say God by the prophet Jonah, said it should come to pass, that the city of Nineveh should be destroyed, and that after 40 days. And by Isaiah the Prophet h showed unto Hezekiah the king, that he should dye: which things yet came not to pass as they were foretold. Yet also the Lord himself in Jeremy the 18. Chapter thus speaks, “if any man speak of any kingdom; or nation, to root it out and to destroy it and they in the meantime repent, I also will repent me. And on the other side, if I shall speak to plant, and to build any kingdom or nation, and they in the meantime behave themselves wickedly, I will not perform these things which I have spoken. But we answer, that the promise whereof Paul here speaks depends not of any condition, as do a great many promises of the law, unto which pertain these threatenings which are now alleged yea the Apostle himself sufficiently expressed, of what kind of promises he speaks when he says, “By faith, that it should be of grace.” For if it consist freely, then hangs it not on any condition, or supposition, and by this means the promise can in no case be made frustrate. This may the easier be understand by a similitude: If a physician should by taking of any medicine promise health, but yet upon this condition, that he would have for his pains infinite sums of money, & that the sick person should observe a very hard diet, a poor man might easily answer that that promise of health is vain, both for that he has not the money to pay, and also for that being weak he is not able to observe the diet which is prescribed him. But contrariwise, if a man promise a medicine which he will give freely, neither requires any work of the sick person, but only that he would drink, or some other way receive his medicine, this promise is easily made firm. So undoubtedly stands the case here: the promise is offered unto us, and that freely. For only is of us required, that by faith we receive it. And this bus the first principal point, whereupon depends the certainty of the promise: namely, for that the promise consists of the Word of God, and is offered freely.

Peter Martir Vermilius Florentine, Most learned and fruitful Commentaries of D. Peter Martir Vermilius Florentine, Professor of Divinity in he School of Tigure, upon the Epistle of S. Paul to the Romans: wherein are diligently & most profitably entreated all such matters and chief common places of religion touched in the same Epistle, (Imprinted at London by Iohn Daye, 1558), 91[b]-92[a].

Vermigli:

45. They also put forward the statement to Timothy, “God will have all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4).” Pighius regularly repeats this passage as if it were invincible. Yet Augustine often taught that it may be expounded in such a way that it lends no weight at all to prove their fond invention [Augustin Corrept. 14.44 (PL 44.943); idem, Ep. 217.6.19 (PL 33.985-86); idem, C. Jul. 8.42 (PL 44.75940), idem, Praed. 8.14 (PL 44.971)]. First, we take it to be spoken of all states and kinds of men, that is, that God will have some of all kinds of men to be saved. This interpretation agrees perfectly well with the purpose of the apostle. He had instituted that prayers and supplications should be made for all men, especially kings and those in public authority, so that under them we may live a quiet life in all piety and chastity (Tim. 2:l-2). Therefore, to declare that no state or kind of person is excluded, he added, “God will have all men to be saved.” It is as if he had said that no one is prevented by that calling and level in which he is placed, so long as it is not repugnant to the word of God, but that he may come to salvation; therefore, we should pray for all kinds of men. Yet we cannot infer from this that God endows everyone in particular with grace, or predestines everyone to salvation. Similarly, in the time of the flood, all living creatures are said to have been saved in the ark with Noah, but only some of every kind were gathered together in it.

Or we may understand it like this: God will have all men to be saved, for as many as are saved, they are saved by his will. It is as if one should say of a teacher of rhetoric in a city that he teaches all men. This kind of speech does not mean that all the citizens are hearers of rhetoric, but that as many as learn are taught by him. It is also like someone pointing to the gate of a house and saying that everyone enters this way. We must not understand from this that everyone enters that house, but that as many as enter do so by way of that gate alone.

Third, there are some who interpret these words of the apostle as referring to the signified will or antecedent will, that all men are invited since preaching is set forth to all indifferently. No one fails inwardly to feel some spur by which he is continually stirred up to do well. Thus if we relate this to the will of God, we will easily grant that he will have all men to be saved. They will not have it to be understood of the hidden and effective will which they call the consequent will. In this way one may understand such speech as “God illumines every man who comes into this world and “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden,”(John1 9; Matt. 11:21), for all are provoked by the oracles of God and all are inwardly moved by some spur.

All these interpretations are quite probable and also fitting, yet beside these there is another, both ready and plain. The Holy Scriptures set forth two human societies: one of the godly and the other of the ungodly. Both societies have universal propositions attached which should be restricted to their own category by j the careful reader. The prophets say, and Christ cites them: “All shall be taught by God (theodidaktos) and all shall know me from the least to the greatest”; and again he says, “When I shall be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself (John:4 5; Jer. 31:33). Unless these universal propositions refer to the godly who are elected, they are not true. This is also true of these passages: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” and “All flesh shall come in my sight and shall worship in Jerusalem:’ and again, “All flesh shall see the salvation of God:’ and finally, “God lifts up all who fall (Joel 2: 28; Isa. 66:23; Luke 35; Ps. 145:14). Who does not see that these passages are to be understood only of the saints?

In contrast, these following passages refer to the ungodly: “No one receives his testimony” yet many believed, and “You will be hated by all.” Again it is stated, “They all seek after their own interests”; and “They have all turned aside together; they have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one” (John 3: 32; Matt. 10:22; Phil. 2:21; Ps. 14:3). Those who are pious and regenerate are acceptable to God and endeavor to show him some obedience to the law, but these universal sayings should not be extended beyond their own society.

Augustine had this distinction in mind in his book The City of God, where he proves that there have always been two cities, one the city of God and the other the city of the devil. Therefore, in these general propositions we must always give due consideration as to which class or group of men they refer. If we do so here, we will apply the statement to the saints and the elect, namely, that “God will have all men to be saved”: and so all doubt is removed. Otherwise, it seems that God does not effectively will the salvation of all men, as is demonstrated by the many infants who have perished without Christ and many also which have been born fools, and deaf, and never had the right and proper use of reason. It often happens that some have had long lives, honest and faithful enough, and yet suddenly fall at last and are taken out of the world to perish eternally. Others, on the contrary, who have perpetually led a life of wickedness, are at the end of their lives endowed with faith and repentance and are saved. Yet they I might have been taken away first, so that evil would not have changed their minds. Who will in these examples say that God wills the salvation of all with the same effectiveness? They bring up a saying of Christ’s: “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her chicks, and you would not?” (Matt. 23:37) Here also it is the antecedent will of the sign that is meant. God through his prophets, preachers, apostles, and Scriptures invited the Jews to fly to him by repentance time after time, but they refused, but by his effective will, which is called consequent, he always drew to himself those who were his. Nor was there any age when he did not gather as many of the Hebrews as he had predestined. Therefore, as Augustine said, those that I would, I have gathered together, although you would not.

Peter Martyr Vermigli, Predestination and Justification, trans., by Frank A. James, (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, 2003), 8:62-64.

Vermigli:

Unlimited redemption:

1) This word predestination will signify nothing else than the eternal ordinance of God regarding his creatures (Dei de creaturis suis aeternam dispositionem), relating to a certain use. The Scriptures do not often use the word predestination in this sense except with reference to the elect alone. Although in Acts 4 we read “they assembled together to do whatever your hand and purpose predestined to happen” (Acts 4:28). If these words refer to the death of Christ and the redemption of mankind, they do not pass beyond the bounds of election to salvation; if they include those who gathered together against the Lord, they also include the reprobate. Let us make our judgments based on how the Scriptures most often use the term predestination. Peter Martyr Vermigli, Predestination and Justification, trans., by Frank A. James, (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, 2003), vol., 8, p., 16.

2) “They [the anti-predestinarians] also grant that “Christ died for us all” and infer from this that his benefits are common to everyone. We gladly grant this, too, if we are considering only the worthiness of the death of Christ, for it might be sufficient for all the world’s sinners. Yet even if in itself it is enough, yet it did not have, nor has, nor will have effect in all men. The Scholastics also acknowledge the same thing when they affirm that Christ redeemed all men sufficiently but not effectually.” Peter Martyr Vermigli, Predestination and Justification, trans., by Frank A. James, (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, 2003), vol., 8, p., 62.

3) FROM PSALM 74: If it were to happen, O almighty God, which we do not doubt often occurs, that we provoke your wrath against us because of the sins that we have just committed and we bring down the heavy whips which chastise us: remember, I entreat, your goodness and promises which you know we have laid hold of by faith. Do not hand our souls over to the power of those who oppose your glory and our salvation. They strive for nothing but destroying your works or making them useless and bringing to naught the salvation of the human race which you purchased by your mercy. All their efforts are finally aimed at making your name blasphemed and vilified. We ask you to remember how you previously conferred benefits on us. Do not put an end to the work of redemption you have already begun in us. Arise, O God, and assist those who call on you lest the plans of the wicked enjoy success either against your glory or against our salvation. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Peter Martyr Vermigli, Sacred Prayers, trans., by John Patrick Donnelly, (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, 1994), vol 3, p., 69.

4) Even Christ himself, when he had been raised from the dead, carried back with him the scars from his wounds and said to doubting Thomas, “Put your fingers here… in my side and in the nail marks, and do not be faithless, but believing” ((John 20:27). The wounds had already performed their function, for by them the human race was redeemed, but he still had them after he was raised from the dead, that his body might be displayed as the same one which had suffered earlier. Peter Martyr Vermigli, “Resurrection: Commentary on 2 Kings 4″in Philosophical Works, trans., by Joseph P. McLelland, (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, 1994), vol 4, p., 113.

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I am the person whom when befouled by the filth and mud of crimes you cleansed with the blood of Jesus Christ, you enlightened by the Spirit, you restored to a holy life, and made the heir, fellow, and partaker of eternal happiness. What more could I have ever asked of you since you have given me all things with Christ?… Since you took pity on the falls of your weak and foolish creature, through your prophet you indicated that you did not wish the death of the sinner but that he be converted and live. You wish to receive back the wretched sinner not just once but seven times seventy should that be needed, if he repents and returns to your flock. See, here I am, condemning, hating, revoking, renouncing whatever I did against your dignity and your holy will. I protest that I will order my whole life in a better way. So I ask you, good Father, seeing that you have so encouraged me through Jesus Christ our Lord, that you will to bestow on me such strength as may suffice. I am your work, both as regards my natural constitution and as regards this new spiritual regeneration. Therefore I beg you not to despise me–may that which cannot be done through my merits (I can find no good in them), be done through the merits of Jesus Christ and through your holy name, to which be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Peter Martyr Vermigli, “Letter No. Letter No. 152: To the Brethren at Lucca,” in Life, Letters and Sermons, trans., by John Patrick Donnelly, (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, 1999), 5:163-164.