the intentions of the latter miss their goal if God’s grace does not assist them. This is what Paul means when he says: “So then there is question not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God showing mercy” (Romans 9:16). God’s mercy precedes our will, accompanies it, and gives it fruitfulness. Nevertheless it remains that we wish, run and attain, except that all this we must ascribe to God, to whom we belong with everything we are. The knotty point how God’s foreknowledge